Chapter 7: The Rough Dogs
The night had not been so bad, even after the enclosure became cold. Ludus went straight to sleep; he had been very tired and needed rest. During the night he had a very strange dream. In the dream he and Mith had arrived back in Rerum, though Mitchum was not there. Everything was different than it had been when they had left. The town was so small, and Mith and Ludus were giants. They walked around the town trying not to step on anyone, which was very hard. Soon they found Maows and the other elders on the beach, pushing a small wooden boat into the water, the same kind of boat that the fishermen used. Mith and Ludus kneeled down and asked the elders why they were leaving, but the two giants could not understand the answer, for some reason the elders were now speaking a different language. The giant Mith and Ludus asked over and over again, but it was to no avail. The elders got in the boat and appeared to be heading straight to the giant black rock in the bay. They watched the elders as they rode in the boat the entire way. Once they got there the giant black rock began to move, lifting out of the water, revealing that the rock was just a big hat. This giant was many times the size of Mith and Ludus, he had a sinister appearance. His eyes were cold and dark, he wore an everlasting frown. The giant rose until he was over one hundred feet out of the water, and still his legs were submerged. Then, before Mith and Ludus could react, for it was clear that they were the only ones who could stop him since they were also giants, the huge man lifted his left arm, and brought it down with a crash right on the small boat coming toward him. The elders had been crushed. The smaller giants tried to scream but only a muffled sigh came from their mouths. They watched unable to move, as the bigger giant came closer. He took huge steps through the water as he came nearer and nearer, Mith and Ludus could not move; they seemed to be frozen. Within seconds the man was in front of them. He raised both his arms up, one over Mith and one over Ludus. His arms came down with a crash.
Ludus jolted awake. He was sitting up on the sandy earth, which was very warm under the midday sun. He looked up and had to shield his eyes, the sun was directly over the enclosure. Blinking several times, he looked around to see where everyone was. Mith sat beside him, only a few feet away, she had the wooden bowl in one hand and the spoon in the other, and she was staring at Ludus, concerned. Mitchum sat across the way, on the other side from where the fire had been the night before, he looked as if he were trying to get away, but was stopped by the stone wall. He picked up a big stick that he used for walking, and looked at Ludus as if he were completely insane.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Was I screaming or something?” Ludus asked. Mitchum shook his head. “Then why are you looking at me like that?”
Mitchum shrugged his shoulders, putting down the walking stick. “I look at everyone like that.”
“Are you alright? You looked scared when you awoke.” Mith seemed to look right past Ludus as she spoke.
“I’m fine. How are you doing, feeling better?”
Mith did not answer; she acted as if she had not even heard the question. She continued to eat what was in the bowl.
“What is that?” Ludus nodded toward the bowl in Mith’s hand.
“Mitchum made it. What is it again?”
Mitchum smiled tensely, “Uhh, you may not want to know.”
Mith shrugged and continued eating. Ludus moved closer to see what was inside. It was some sort of yellow liquid with what looked like dark brown dumplings floating in it. Ludus got even closer and smelled the food. It smelled great, like spring flowers. Ludus’s eyes widened in surprise and smelled again. The aroma massaged his brain, his muscles loosened and he almost fell over.
“Wow, that smells good, you got any more?” His voice seemed to go through a tunnel just to get to his own ears.
Mitchum sat uneasily in the corner, “It looks like you got the full effect of the lalushah, huh?”
Ludus’s head fell strangely to the left, “The what?” He sighed dreamily, as if becoming infatuated at the smell of the food.
“Yeah, well, I figured you kids might be hungry when you woke up, so I made breakfast with what I had, and. . . well . . . just don’t tell your parents.”
Mith looked into the bowl, swirling the contents with the spoon, “Mitchum, what is this? I think I should know since I have been eating it.”
Mitchum picked up a brown bag that sat beside him. The bag was made of a type of fiber popular in the Merchant Region, derived from a common plant there. It had a large strap attached to it so the carrier could sling the bag around their shoulder. Mith had not noticed the bag the night before, and immediately assumed it was behind Mitchum the whole time. Mitchum sorted through the bag, taking things out, examining them, then setting them on the ground.
“This here is a special type of onion.” Mitchum explained as he looked over the onion in his hand, it had a yellow skin. Neither Ludus nor Mith had ever seen an onion like it. “It is only supposed to be eaten raw, because when cooked it unleashes a vast array of strange,” he looked to Ludus who was looking back at him with wide unfocused eyes, saliva flowing down his chin, “and powerful fumes that can cause . . . well . . . that.”
“Leafy Brain.” Ludus suddenly shouted.
Mith jumped, looking at Ludus angrily. “How come I am not like that?”
Mitchum thought for a second, “I guess you have to smell it like he did, all up in its face and all.”
“Is it going to wear off?” Mith asked hopefully.
“Immy Mcimmy.” Ludus yelled, and then broke out into laughter.
“It should be over soon, just ignore him until it is.” Mitchum picked out a ball of dough from his bag. “This is what else is in there, this and water. The onion is what makes it yellow, I think.”
“You think? You’re not sure whether or not the onion makes it yellow?”
“Bottom healer.”
“I hope so, I did not put anything else in – wait a minute, and here it is.” Mitchum pulled a small blue leaf out of the bag, it looked as if it had been in there a while. “This leaf is what will help young Skippy. Ya see, this leaf is grown in only one garden on the entire island, and that garden is in the courtyard of the palace.” Mitchum stopped to let his knowledge filter into Mith’s brain.
Mith walked over and took the leaf from Mitchum and smelled it, then gave it back. “Why is it blue? I have never seen a blue leaf.”
“They don’t have any in the Bay Region.”
“Yippy Yoddy.”
“We need to work fast.” Mith helped Mitchum to his feet, and then pushed him towards Ludus.
Mitchum dropped to his knees directly in front of Ludus, bringing the leaf up to his eye level. “I need you to eat this Skippy, it will help you.” He made sure to speak slowly.
“Darking Flops.”
“That’s it.” Mith snatched the leaf from Mitchum’s hand and shoved it into Ludus’s gaping mouth. After several minutes of chewing it, he came back to reality. His eyes refocused and he closed his mouth. Even after that it still took a minute for Ludus to figure out what was going on.
“Whoa, what happened?” Ludus rubbed his eyes and wiped the saliva off of his chin and neck.
“That is what happens when you smell things you shouldn’t.” Mitchum said with a fake disappointment in his voice. “So, you ready to go now? The day is only so long, and I do not feel like getting buffed by a sandstorm tonight.”
With that Mitchum grabbed his bag, threw it over his shoulder and put a wide brimmed hat on. He then picked up his walking stick, and headed for the exit. It was a tight fit but Mitchum managed to squeeze through the small opening that he made in the rocks. Mith and Ludus walked right through the opening. The three stepped out into the desert and took a look around. Just as the night before there was nothing in sight. The sea of brown sand and the occasional rock poking out of the ground went on as far as the eye could see. The wind blew softly through the land.
Mitchum led the way
away from the enclosure in the same direction that Mith and Ludus had been traveling before they found shelter. Mith walked on one side as Ludus walked on the other. Now walking next to him, Ludus was very surprised to see how tall Mitchum really was. Ludus, and Mith who was the same height as Ludus, only came up to Mitchum’s elbows.
The group walked on through the desert for some time without incident. Walking on the sand was hard for Mith and Ludus. They seldom walked on sand in Rerum, only doing so when they went to the water’s edge. Having to walk on it for miles really strained their legs. In addition to that, the sand was very hot. Their tan moccasins and boots, made with leather from indigenous deer, absorbed some of the heat which burned their feet. Even with this they continued without complaining, even Ludus, who was now all for complaining when things got rough.
They walked on, thinking to themselves of the wondrous events that would happen when they returned. One year, when the fourteen year olds returned from their journey, the town had a huge party and invited everyone. Of course that was the first journey where more than ten kids went, and all came back. But it was still a great party. The food was great, the entertainment (a hastily made up band of the parents of those who returned) was also great, even the weather was great.
On another occasion the town came together for the return of the soon to be grownups. Except that time there were eight, and they all came back with presents from the Merchant Region, though Mith and Ludus did not know at the time where the presents came from. Maows and the other elders threw them a party, and again the whole town was invited. Maows even invited some people from a nearby town called Tuppon. It was the first time the younger kids, including Mith and Ludus, had seen people from other towns, save for the occasional traveling salesman who at once would have been sent away by Maows.
Mith had never understood why Maows would never let anybody into the town. It seemed rude to her, the elders always preached about being nice to others, always treating them with respect, yet, as it seemed to Mith, the niceties ended at the boundary of the town. She could now understand suspending beliefs when it came to the Westward boundary of Rerum, where the town connected to the Rough Region. Mith thought about this for a while longer before deciding to ask Mitchum about it.
“Mitchum?”
“Huh.” He grumbled upon hearing his name.
“I was just wondering something.” Mith said, more to the ground then to Mitchum.
“What is it?”
“Have you ever been to Rerum? I mean, the way you were talking about it made it sound like you had.” She asked, not sure if it was a stupid question or not.
“Yeah, I’ve been there, a long time ago.”
“Really, I thought you lived in the Forest Region.”
“I told you already, I moved away from the Forest, moved to the palace. It is when I left the palace that I bumped into your little town, before that I knew it from reputation only.” Mitchum sounded as if he would rather talk of anything then when he went in Rerum.
“No, what you said was that you enrolled in the guard school after you left the forest.”
Mitchum finally looked down at Mith; she was looking back with a great intensity in her eyes. He then looked to Ludus, who was listening eagerly. “I did not know you were listening last night.”
“I heard the whole thing.” Mith said, indignant that Mitchum should doubt her listening skills.
Mitchum rubbed his temples, sighing. “I suppose I should tell you this story then, huh.” The kids nodded. “When I left the palace I traveled a while through the Bay Region, hoping I could find a place to live there, since everyone knows it is a rather good region to get settled in, if you can please the townsfolk. After trying several towns, and not liking any of them, I found Rerum. It was a nice place, small, right on the bay. I praised my good fortune and immediately tried to find out who was in charge. Unfortunately for me, I arrived at night and there was nobody around, so I started knocking on doors. Nobody answered of course so I slept on the ground for the night. When I awoke I was tied to a chair in a hut, which I would later find out is the elder’s home.” Mitchum suddenly stopped walking. “Is the mouse man still the head elder in Rerum?”
Mith looked to Ludus, they both laughed. “You mean Maows, and yes he is still the head elder.”
“Alright, good, so you know who I am talking about.” They continued walking, “Anyway he was something else, very mean, that guy. He started asking me a whole bunch of questions and wondering why I was there and all. I told him I was trying to find someplace to live, and do you know what he did, he left me there, tied to that chair.”
“Wait a minute, here.” Mith interrupted, “That doesn’t sound like Maows, he would never tie someone to a chair; he protects us.
“Exactly, he protects you from foreigners. He loves anyone who already lives there; he just hates everyone who does not. Anyhow, I was a captive there for over a week, and some other elder, a really mean looking one, only gave me bread to eat.”
Ludus nodded, “That’s Allard, he is a real meany.”
“Yes, well, I ended up being saved by some nice man. One night some strange man crept into the elder home and saved me. I was very surprised seeing him out at night, especially after Maows had told me that nobody in that town goes out at night. But nonetheless the man saved me; he brought me to the edge of town and told me I would have better luck in the Merchant Region. But after I got here, I realized I liked it here better.”
Ludus looked to him in disbelief, “You liked it here better than the Merchant Region? How bad is that place?”
Mitchum laughed, “It is not that bad, I just like being alone.”
“Did that man give you his name, the one that saved you?” Mith asked.
Mr. Quinn scratched his chin, “I do not recall, but I believe it started with an ‘H’.”
“Hardel?”
“That’s it.”
“That’s my dad.” Mith almost shouted with excitement, “That’s great; I knew he would do something like that. But wait, how long ago was that?”
“About seven years ago.”
“We were little.” Ludus said quietly.
“Skippy, you’re little now.” Mitchum joked as he wiped sweat from his forehead. Mith laughed, though Ludus was not amused.
“I was scared, then. If it weren’t for your dad Mith, I may have been sent to the jail or something.”
“The what?” Ludus chimed in.
Mitchum stopped again, a look of fear on his face.
“The what?” Ludus repeated.
“SHHHH.” Mitchum waived his hand wildly to get Ludus quiet.
“What is it?” Mith whispered.
“A Rough Dog.” Mitchum whispered back.
“A what?” Ludus asked loudly, looking for the dog.
“Shut up.”He then pointed directly in front of them. There, only fifty yards away, stood a large, skinny dog with a light brown coat. The kids had almost not seen it; its hair looked surprisingly like the sand. The dog stood completely still, watching the travelers intently.
“This is called a Rough Dog. It is one of the only animals that live in this region.”
“What do they eat?” Mith asked, not seeing anything in sight that was edible.
“Travelers.”
Ludus began to shake with fear, “They would not send us out here if it were dangerous. They would not do it.”
“Look at how he watches us. He would have attacked by now, but there is only one of him and three of us.”
“Mitchum.” Mith tugged on his shirt.
“They hate being outnumbered, so they work in packs.”
“Mitchum.”
“Usually one will stand and try to look innocent while others form a circle around the prey, once the circle is complete, they attack.”
“Mr. Quinn!” Mith shouted finally. Mitchum looked to her. Her head was on a swivel, looking in all directions with innate fear.
Mitchum also looked. Dogs were appearing in all directions, closing in.
“There’s the circle.” Mitchum said, clutching his walking stick closely to his chest. “On the count of three we run. One –” Ludus took off, running straight for the one area (a little to the right) that the dogs had not yet closed off. Mitchum sprinted after him, Mith behind him.
Immediately the dogs sprang into action. They closed in on all sides, as fast as their skinny legs could carry them. Ludus was a fast runner, and managed to get out of the circle unharmed, with only one dog chasing him. All the others went for the main prize, two is better than one, the dogs closed in on Mith and Mitchum.
“What do we do?” Mith shouted, trying keep up with Mitchum.
“This.” Mitchum swung the walking stick and took out three dogs that had leapt at them from the front. The dogs hit the ground hard, still more came, faster now than ever. Mith and Mitchum ran straight as fast as they could, but it was not fast enough, the dogs closed the gap fast.
“Stick.” Mith shouted.
Mitchum threw it to her, just in time. She caught it and spun around. A dog jumped at her, its mouth hitting wood, not flesh. Mith pounded the stick into the ground, there was a crack, the dog immediately let go, its mouth bleeding. The dogs had separated into two groups, one group going after Mith, the other group going after Mitchum, with one still after Ludus, who ran in zigzags, too fast for it.
“Hey.” Mitchum shouted. Mith threw the stick back to him. He had been cornered by three dogs. Upon catching the stick, he swung it down, onto the back of one dog, then around to hit the other two. But still more were coming after him. He looked to Mith and saw two were leaping at her at once.
Mitchum threw the stick, knocking one out of the air just as Mith dodged the other. She picked up the stick, waited for the dog to pounce, then came down with a devastating blow. A loud thud came as the stick made contact with the dogs head. The other dogs that were after her now ran toward Mitchum, knowing that he did not have the stick.
Mith ran to help Mitchum. A dog, which had been thought down and out, reached its head up and bit down on Mith’s dress, only inches away from her leg. Mith screamed, though nobody could help her. The Rough Dog, who had been hit hard on its back, could not get up. It dragged Mith to the ground, and towards it. She picked up the stick, which she had dropped when she fell to the ground, and started bashing away at the dogs head, the dog did not let go of the dress. The dog finally tore a piece of the dress away, now putting its mouth around Mith’s leg. Just before it sank its teeth into her flesh, Mith kicked the dog as hard as she could in its throat, then came down with one more hit from the stick. The dog’s head hit the ground. Mith sat in shock for only a moment, before remembering Mitchum was still in trouble.
Mith picked herself up off the ground and looked around for Mitchum. Her heart was beating fast. She had become disoriented from the fight; it took a moment for her to find him. He was some twenty yards away, five dogs all around him, poised for attack. They snarled and barked threateningly, taking small steps toward Mitchum, taking away any way of escape. Mith walked toward the scene slowly, afraid any sudden moves would make the dogs attack. She raised the stick as she neared; the dogs had not seen her coming.
At once the dogs leapt at Mitchum. He grabbed one by the throat as Mith knocked one away with the stick. The other three landed on his back and knocked him to the ground. Everything was chaos. Sand was being tossed all around as Mith came down with the stick on everything that moved, knowing there was only a twenty-five percent chance that she might accidentally hit Mitchum. One dog was thrown from the mess, then another, and then another, until it was just Mitchum lying on the ground, still Mith attacked with the stick.
“Stop hitting me!” Mitchum shouted. Mith finally realized what she was doing and stopped.
“Where’s Ludus?” They both looked around, squinting in the sun, and then spotted him. He was standing with his back against a large rock; a Rough Dog steadied itself only feet away.
“Ludus, catch.” Mitchum took the stick from Mith and threw it to Ludus. Ludus put his hands out, but the stick bounced off and hit the ground. The dog looked quickly at the stick, then back at Ludus. Ludus dove to the stick, the dog jumped. Young Mr. Tinn closed his eyes and waited for the pain, though it never came. He opened his eyes to see Mitchum on the ground wrestling with the dog. He had his hands around its throat, tightening his grip until the dog was unconscious. The dogs that were not lying on the ground fled, they knew it was a useless fight.
Mitchum sat up, breathing hard. Mith came over and sat between the two of them. She examined the tear in her dress. It was not as bad as she had originally thought, but she did not like the idea of walking around the Merchant Region with a bite taken out of her dress. She looked around at the dogs that littered the ground. One by one they got up and walked away. None came near Mitchum, they were still afraid of what he would do to them. Ludus looked down at his hands sadly, then to the stick on the ground. He could not believe that he missed the catch.
“That was fun.” Mitchum said while getting to his feet. He wiped sweat off his forehead with his sleeve and re-adjusted his hat. He reached into his bag and pulled out a brown jug filled with water. The water was passed around, and then put back in the bag. Mitchum picked up the stick, wiped some sand off. “We ready?”
Mith got up and stood beside Mitchum. She looked back to Ludus, who still sat on the ground. He got up after a while, and without saying a thing, followed behind Mitchum and Mith toward the Merchant Region. The rest of the day passed without external problems. Though internally there were problems all around.
Mith walked quickly alongside Mitchum. Feeling light headed and overheated, and having a terrible headache from the sun which was starting its descent, she felt worse than she had in a while. The shocking truth still resonated in her head. The thought of never seeing her mother again drove stakes right through her soul. All her life she had the notion that if ever someone she cared about died, she would always be able to see them again at night, when the spirits roamed the land. There was now emptiness in young Mith, and with every step it grew larger, engulfing her hopes and dreams of what she wanted to do once home. Now the only thing that mattered was walking, continuing onward no matter what the cost. The sand continued on as far as she dared look, but that was alright with her now. She did not have anything else to keep her going except for the sand under her feet. Her mind was now set, she would continue walking until the sand run out. Then once it did, she would find a new ground to walk on until that one ran out, and so on until she was back at home, walking on the pink sand and the green grass, with her father.
Ludus walked behind, he too was caught up in his own thoughts. He stared in a numb disbelief at his own hands. How did I miss that catch? He quickly imagined what would have happened if Mitchum had not jumped in. He pictured himself being torn apart while Mith looked on, terrified. He had seen death before, knew of its power. Once while at the beach he had seen a crab being attacked by a sea bird. The poor crab fought valiantly before succumbing to the more valiant bird. He remembered the crabs last moments very clearly. The bird threw its beak down into the crabs shell. It could do nothing, and within only seconds the crab was motionless, dead. Ludus was with his father that day. Mr. Tinn told his son to not be scared, for he was witnessing the continued life of one over another. Ludus was scared then, and still was, of going suddenly motionless. Ludus continued to think, and stare at his gloved hands. Finally he took the gloves off and threw them on the sand out of rage.
Mitchum walked in front, beside Mith. He pulled his wide brimmed hat down to block the sun. He thought of the past as he looked to the kids he was now helping. He also thought of what might have happened to Ludus had he not been there to help. He then thought about Rerum, Mitchum now hated Rerum with a passion almost unknown to him. He considered Rerum a place of fools who treated children as if they were inferior and lacked the ability to l
earn and process the true horror of life. And life in Parli was much better than it was in . . . well. . . Mitchum did not know enough of anywhere else to finish the thought.
These type thoughts continued on through the day. Nobody talked; all were too consumed in his or her own head. Then, after hours of walking, with sore legs and aching backs, they came to a small wooden sign. It was more of a block of wood than an ordinary sign. It sat on a wooden pole that was stuck in the sand. The words were carved into the sign, and then brushed over with white paint. It appeared to be very old, for it was no longer a square board with words, but more of an oval board battered from centuries of sand storms. The sign read: Here is the end of the Great Valley-Marsh.
Mith looked around with doubt, “Valley-Marsh it says, people here are certainly optimistic.”
Ludus looked beyond the sign, about three feet after the sign the sand suddenly stopped, after that grass took its place. Relieved to see the grass he ran ahead and sat down on the grass with his feet in the sand. Mith joined him.
“Wait.” Mitchum suddenly shouted. Both Mith and Ludus looked up in shock.
“What is it? We made it, we are here.” Mith said, shaken slightly from Mitchum’s scream.
“Something is not right.” Mitchum looked wildly around as he said this.
“What could not be right? If anything is not right its how the people there,” Ludus was referring to the fact that he was now in a different region, “think that they live in a valley and a marsh.” Both he and Mith began laughing.
“Stop it.” Mitchum snapped, “This is not right.”
“What is not right?” Ludus repeated.
“First off, Valley-Marsh is the old name for the region, I’ll tell you about that later.” His voice showed proof that he really did not want to tell them about it later. “And secondly, don’t you two remember when you entered the Rough that your region vanished behind you?”
“I do remember that.” Ludus announced, proud of himself for remembering, “We asked someone how it worked but he did not know.”
“It’s magic.” Mitchum whispered.
Mith considered asking Mitchum what he meant by magic again, but decided not to.
“The magic is gone.”
Hearing the sadness in Mitchum’s voice as he spoke, the kids became serious at once.
“Mr. Quinn, we cannot possibly know what you are talking about unless you tell us.” Mith said apologetically.
“Yes, yes, I know, I’m sorry. It is just that . . . never you mind.” His face suddenly changed, a smile appeared. “Let us continue, that way you might make it home by morning if you hurry.”
Ludus jumped to his feet. “Now we’re talking, Mitch, let’s go.”
Mith looked sadly at Mitchum; she could tell he was hiding something. Though not wanting to start an argument she got to her feet and followed. As they walked through the grass, which did feel good compared to the sand, she kept her eyes fixed on Mitchum. He did not notice her gaze, keeping a look of confusion and dread on his face.
The Merchant Region was different, though not as different as Ludus and Mith had hoped. The sun’s intense rays did not dissipate as they walked farther in, the heat did not either. The only difference that could be seen was the ground. The green grass felt much better under their feet, though it did look as if it had not seen water in a while. Mith wondered how the grass had survived with such strong heat. All her life she had heard stories, or rumors of the place fourteen year olds went to. The stories were told from other small children who overheard their parents or older siblings, so Mith was not sure how much of it to believe. Even so, most of the stories had one thing in common, and that was the weather in the region. It was said to be very similar to that of the Bay Region, which did not make sense to Mith now. Had all the stories been false, just so the smaller citizens of Rerum believed them? Then again, did anybody know the children were listening? And finally, could Mith believe anything she heard from anybody in Rerum? They seemed to lie about other things, why not about everything? Mith continued this negative train of thought for as long as it took them to arrive at the entrance of the first town.