"Blonde Goddess of the Jungle:
May. 13th, 2022 10:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dochermes"Blonde Goddess of the Jungle"
7/13-7/14/1998
I.
On the eleventh day of his trek, Josef Jubilec had penetrated deeper into Veganora than any maps showed. The dense canopy of interlocking trees overhead made even satellite infrared imagery useless. All that reconnaisance photos ever showed was a solid green surface that stretched for four hundred miles. During the peak of European colonialism, this area of Veganora had remained untouched because the lack of exploitable natural resources made its exploration unrewarding. Reports of hostile tribes and disease-bearing insects further discouraged the Belgians or the Germans from claiming any territory. Veganora remained mostly unknown.
It was surprisingly comfortable under the canopy, with open spaces between the huge centuries-old trees and sparse underbrush. The heat and humidity were less here than out in the open, and sunlight slanting down through the leaves was scattered. Josef paused as he sensed something approaching.
At twenty-five, Josef Jubilec was a rangy, lean man a few inches over six feet tall with short sandy hair and dark blue eyes in a surly face. Weathered by a lifetime of exposure to different climates, that face looked older than it was. He wore sensible clothing for an expedition like this... sturdy hiking boots, loose khaki pants and shirt, a wide-brimmed white cloth hat. Instead of a single knapsack, though, Josef carried two smaller travel bags hanging down on either side of his waist. This was to make room for a Y-shaped leather quiver filled with twenty-four long arrows. In his right hand, Josef held a handcrafted yew longbow, unstrung but seeming so natural in his hand that he would feel uneasy if it were out of reach.
This young man was a renegade from one of the most feared sects in the Midnight War, the Blind Archers of Chujir.
Even with his eyes uncovered, he could perceive lifeforce. He felt a Human approaching fast from behind him, coming at a rate that indicated a full run. Josef scowled, his normal sullen expression deepening as he bent the great bow and hooked its cord over the catch on the upper end. He had crafted this bow himself and it took considerable strength even to string it, much less draw it properly. He reached back with one hand to loosen a few arrows in the quiver. Those on his right hand side of the Y-shape had sharp steel points.
In another second, an African came running full tilt out of the bushes and straight at Josef. The Blind Archer remained alert but he could tell that this young boy was not a threat so much as someone being threatened. The lad seemed ten or eleven at the most, wearing simple white cotton shorts and an American T-shirt with the name of a basketball team and the prominent number 12. Arms and legs were thin as sticks. The boy had a full head of tightly curled hair and his skin was a rich chocolate brown, with regular features in a face contorted by fear.
As soon as he saw this strange white man standing in the way, the boy yelled in a Bantu-related dialect, "Run!"
Plunging out of the thick underbrush after the youth was a huge hound, big as a full-grown man. Six feet from head to tail, solidly built with massive front quarters out of normal proportions, the beast had short chestnut-red fur and yellow eyes. It launched itself head-high right behind the Veganoran boy, its jaws gaping wide.
Two long shafts hissed deep into the animal's chest, sinking half their length. The hound did not even have time to yelp before it died, but forward momentum made its body skid along the leaf-covered forest floor. Belatedly realizing what had happened, the African boy came to a halt himself to stare at the huge carcass.
Lowering his bow, Josef tried to smile in a reassuring way. His manner was naturally grim and it was hard for him not to be intimidating. "You're safe now," he said in the same dialect, which he spoke to some extent but was not fluent in. "How are you called?"
"Mu. Mu Tibi," answered the boy. He wheeled to stare back the way he had come. "We must flee! Hurry, hurry!"
Even before the lad had warned them, Josef knew they were still in danger. His gralic-enhanced perception alerted him to the approach of big living beings... easily a dozen of them, hurtling toward them straight from the same direction the boy and the dog had come. More of the Red Dogs.
The Blind Archer tugged up a black silk band from around his neck and tightened it over his eyes. With his natural vision cut off, his inner senses sharpened and expanded. He could tell where each of the beasts were and how fast they were moving. Josef braced his back against a tree covered with vines and notched another deadly arrow to the string. "Come over here, Tibi," he snapped, "Get right up next to me."
The soft padding of many paws thudded on the soft forest ground, hurtling closer. Josef Jubilec braced himself with feet spread wide apart, drew deep breaths and let his mind open its fullest to whatever was about to happen. Even so, the next few seconds took him completely off-guard.
Dropping down lightly from right overhead came a beautiful young blonde woman, half-naked and bronzed by the tropical sun. She snatched Mu Tibi under one arm and leaped up to catch a bare foot on a knot on the tree trunk, using its support to launch herself straight up and out of sight in the thick foliage. Josef blinked. It took a lot to surprise him but this was sufficient.
An instant later, he caught a glimpse of gorgeous bright blue eyes gazing down at him and a slender hand reached down to seize his arm. "Do you want to live? Come with me!" With help from that deceptively strong hand, the Blind Archer repeated the blonde's maneuver and scrambled up out of reach just as a dozen of the Red Dogs came galloping into the clearing.
II.
Standing on a horizontal branch that could have comfortably accomodated a few more people, the three of them stared down fifteen feet at the howling Red Dogs that leaped up trying to reach them. The animals were not any breed that Josef had ever seen before. They most closely resembled mastiffs, but the deep chests and rounded shoulders gave them almost human proportions. The ears stood upright, the tails were short and thick. Unsettlingly, the Red Dogs seemed maniacally determined to get at the three people who were out of reach. Several of the beasts scrabbled against the tree trunk, trying to climb, but their blunt claws could not gain any purchase.
Casting sideways glances, the Blind Archer added up his impressions of the girl. She was very young, not more than nineteen, standing five feet six and weighing about one hundred and ten pounds. Although she had the firm understated muscles of a gymnast or swimmer, the girl did show well-shaped breasts that were quite large for her frame. Bright golden hair hung straight over her shoulders and down past her shoulder blades. The girl had a sharp alert expression showing in cobalt blue eyes and a faint mocking smile on naturally red lips.
Josef saw that the girl wore a tight short skirt of tanned animal hide that barely provided modesty, and she had a small rectangular flap of red cloth tied to the front of her body with straps across her back and behind her neck. Her ornaments appeared to be actual gold... wide hoop earrings, an armband around her left biceps and a thin looped chain hanging around her neck. Strapped to her waist was a leather sheath that held a knife with a wide six-inch blade.
Most unexpected were leather straps around her palms and across the pads of her feet. He decided these were to help provide protection when climbing trees and running barefoot through the jungle.
All of these details were taken in by him within a second. Josef was trying to make some sense of this girl's presence here in the Deep Woods of Veganora when he noticed she was regarding him with a sardonic arched eyebrow.
"One might say, 'thank you' after having one's life saved," she said in a mellow husky voice.
Josef snorted irritably. "Ah.. I'm surprised you speak English, but then I guess that's the least surprising thing about you. Thank you but certainly I could have handled that myself. There was no need for you to endanger yourself, young lady. I'm one of the Blind Archers! My name is Josef Jubilec."
She seemed startled by his chilly reaction. "I am Ozara, the Holy One," she offered, placing a hand on her chest. "And Tibi and I have known each other all our lives. Good to see you, my nephew."
"This is the Goddess of Chu-Uviro," said the youth, pointing past Josef at the girl. "Even the beasts and the birds respect her."
"Is that so?" said the Blind Archer distractedly. He was gazing off into the distance with his head tilted to one side but he was not listening. He was perceiving life force. "More of these brutes are approaching fast. I'd say, at least fifty of them."
"The rest of the pack and their real leader, the Priest Mafisi," Ozara sighed. She supported herself with one hand on a vine as she watched the furious beasts beneath them. "We are in for a long day of jumping from tree to tree until we can lose these Dogs...."
"I don't think so." Josef still held his longbow but with his other hand, he snapped open one of a dozen small pouches on his belt. "I use detachable heads on my shafts, each designed for various purposes. Otherwise I would have to lug around a case with a hundred arrows."
The blonde goddess gave him a quizzical look. "What is that device?"
"This is one of my specialized arrow heads," he answered vaguely. "I keep four of them in a metal-lined padded pouch because they are designed to go off on impact. Get ready to make a run for safety." He raised the small metal ovoid above his head, judged the direction of the breeze and flung it down at a flat rock in a midst of the Red Dogs. With a sharp cracking noise, the ovoid burst to release an expanding cloud of white vapor. Even where they stood, the three of them felt their eyes sting.
As the animals hastily dispered in all directions, stumbling and coughing, Josef simply said, "Tear gas with an extra ingredient to induce dizziness. You ready to get moving, miss?"
Despite his gruff attitude, she graced him with a flash of perfect teeth. "Follow me." Seemingly without taking a second to judge distance, she wheeled around and leaped across ten feet of open space to seize another, smaller branch on a nearby tree. As she nimbly pulled herself up to stand, she was joined by the boy Mu Tibi who made a similar leap. Josef unstrung his bow and fastened it across his back before crouching and jumping after them. He made it easily, getting an approving nod from the jungle girl.
As they proceeded from tree to tree, sometimes almost stepping from one branch to the next but mostly making wild death-defying leaps, Josef had a challenge keeping up. He was in near-Olympic level condition himself, but he was heavier and carrying twenty pounds of equipment. Where Ozara and Tibi were essentially barefoot, he had on heavy hiking boots which made getting purchase difficult. Frequently the two had to wait for him and once Ozara caught him by one arm and helped him steady himself.
Eventually, after what seemed like hours of effort, the blonde girl dropped lightly down to the soft ground and her two companions followed her. Ozara waited for them to get their footing, with Tibi rubbing his sore arms and legs after the exertion. She seemed impressed by Josef being able to have kept up with her at all.
The Blind Archer turned in a complete circle, scanning with his inner perception and satisfying himself that no pursuit was near. He gave Ozara a cool, appraising stare. "I came here to find a sorcerer named Priest Mafisi. My client believes he has gotten his hands on dangerous Darthan talismans. If you know anything about this business, miss, it would be better if you spoke up now."
"None of that is your concern, outsider. The affairs of Chu-Uviro stay in Chu-Uviro." She folded slim arms over that impressive breast ledge and fixed a puzzled gaze on him. "Unless, of course, you decide to ask in a properly humble manner."
"Really? Forget it." Josef swung around and marched off in the direction he had been heading before the whole Red Dog attack. He did not look back.
Ozara made an exasperated sound deep in her throat and placed a hand reassuringly on Tibi's shoulder. "Never mind him, my nephew. Outsiders are often ill-mannered. I will destroy Priest Mafisi myself."
III.
Josef's pace slowed as the area shifted from open woodlands to a denser tropical rain forest that was harder to navigate. The trees became smaller and closer together, the underbrush started to impede him and the air grew steadily more humid. He pressed on. If nothing else, that encounter with the Red Dogs had proven he was in the right area. The Lost City of Chu-Uviro could not be that far away.
As he hiked, the Blind Archer did not regret taking this assignment but he felt he should have asked for a steeper fee. He had been approached by the Interior Minister of the provisional government of Veganora to locate someone called Priest Mafisi, who evidently was well known as a sorcerer even if the local media never mentioned him. Josef had agreed to investigate for half his usual price, with the remainder being paid when he brought back either Mafisi as a prisoner or brought back proof of the man's demise.
Mostly, though, he was preoccupied with his upcoming trials before the Teachers of Tel Shai. Ever since he had met Jeremy Bane a few years ago, Josef had been urged to apply as a student at Tel Shai, with Bane's sponsorship. It seemed that the famous Dire Wolf was assembling a new team of Tel Shai knights, a new KDF, and he wanted Josef among them. Membership in the Order of Tel Shai was greatly prized. Not only did it mean access to the Tagra tea which enhanced healing and longevity, it meant studying under the people wisest in ancient lore and secrets not taught anywhere else. Being a Tel Shai knight was one of the greatest honors in the Midnight War; there were seldom more than a dozen of so knights active at any time. But he was so used to operating on his own, answering to no one....
Behind him and fifty yards to his right, a pack of small monkeys tore through the trees, shrieking like banshees in their panic. What was that all about? He was certain he hadn't done anything to alarm them. Josef bent his bow and notched its string into place, then drew a shaft with a killing head. More of those Red Dogs? No, he could sense it now.. a large animal, an apex predator, stalking him from out of sight. The Blind Archer drew the black silk band over his eyes and his perception sprang to full range. Yes. It was accelerating as it neared him. Bigger than a man, stealthier than a man, some deadly beast that had its intentions fixed on him.
Josef faced the oncoming threat and drew the bowstring back behind his ear. A lifetime of archery had given him a chest and arms stronger than any bodybuilder could match. His grip was completely steady as he cleared his mind.
Without a warning roar, a huge form flashed out of the undergrowth and launched itself entirely off the ground at him. Josef loosed his arrow, but in the tiny fraction of a second before it would plunge home, the beast was diverted down and to one side by a slim form crashing down on its back. The Blind Archer hesitated, confused for the first time in years.
A full-grown Bengal tiger rolled furiously on the forest floor, snarling like a whip cracking. Holding tightly to its back, long legs wrapped around its body, Ozara had her left arm squeezed around the big cat's neck. Her right arm blurred back and forth with the seven inch knife in its grip. In another instant, she kicked free, rolled over twice and leaped back up on her feet well out of immediate reach. The tiger convulsed with all four legs kicking, coughed up a flood of bright red blood and suddenly went still.
Standing with her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath, the blonde Goddess of Chu-Uviro lowered her weapon. She plucked up a handful of dry leaves off the ground and wiped her knife clean, then gave Josef another sample of that dazzling smile that would melt most men's resistance.
Instead of returning it, he blew up. "You almost got yourself killed! What the HELL is wrong with you, girlie? I had a second arrow already notched when you got in the way. It's just dumb luck you weren't hit by my first arrow as it was."
"But... I saved your life, Josef. Aren't you glad to see me? Aren't you grateful?" Her voice sounded almost like a child's.
"Hell no. Get this straight, Ozara-- if that is your name. I don't need protecting. I don't need a teenage girl placing herself at risk for my sake. Don't ever do it again."
Ozara's large eyes glistened wetly as if tears were going to start pouring at any second. "There is no need to be so mean. I was only trying to help."
"How on Earth did you pull that stunt anyway?" he demanded. "Look at you, you've only got a few scratches and scrapes. You should have been clawed apart instantly. An animal that size should have broken your legs or pelvis when he rolled over on you. Wait a minute. What is a tiger doing in Central Africa anyway?! Tigers aren't found in Africa!" Josef's face was getting red in an unprecedented example of his losing his temper. Usually he was cold and controlled under any circumstances.
"Why should I explain anything to you?" she said, folding her arms and turning her back on him. She did not walk away, though.
After a brief internal debate, Josef Jubilec made his voice more gentle by sheer will. "Forgive me, Ozara. I am under... some strain. Thank you for helping me. You show great courage and, frankly, incredible skill to take on a beast like that with just a knife."
"I understand," she said. The blonde looked back at him over one shoulder. "You are not used to meeting someone like me, Josef?"
"That's an understatement," the Blind Archer grumbled as he unstrung his bow and examined it automatically. "What is a blue-eyed blonde coed doing in this part of Africa?"
"Ah, but I am African. I was born here. This is my home. I have lived here all my life." She gestured to a clear spot where fallen leaves offered a comfortable seat. "Here, let us rest for a second. When the striped killer's body cools, we will share his heart. Eating it gives courage and strength. Until then, let me tell you a little of myself..."
IV.
"My parents were both successful doctors from Los Angeles, volunteers for a United Nations project offering medical aid where none was available," she began. "The Veganoran government provided some supplies and a few guides, and my parents traveled into the Deep Woods. They worked hard for years, treated the people fairly and earned a good reputation. I was born in a camp by the River Kuono. When I was nine, my family penetrated deeper into unmapped territory despite warnings from the friendly tribes and they found Chu-Uvino."
Josef realized she was pausing for him to react, and he said, "I have heard of Chu-Uvino. There are many legends of Lost Cities in Africa, the remnants of outposts of the Phoenecians or the Crusaders or even Zhune. But I assumed that Chu-Uvino was only a legend."
"You will see its walls before nightfall," she assured him. "And I can tell you, there are many other citadels throughout this land where descendants still linger of nations long gone from their homelands. Africa is ancient and huge and it has many secrets."
The Blind Archer had absently taken a rag and a vial of resin from one of his small travel bags and was rubbing it into his bow as he listened. "What happened to your friend, the young boy?"
"Tibi? I left him with a foraging party of Kimango we encountered. I could smell the striped killer and knew he was following you." She drew her knees up and wrapped her around them thoughtfully. "Back to my story. A terrible disease was wasting the inhabitants of the city. Of five thousand Chu-Uvinites, only a few hundred remained. My parents worked day and night to save those who remained. They determined the disease was spread by mosquito bite. After standing water was removed and a nearby swamphole filled in, no new cases of the disease started. The people of Chu-Uvino survived in numbers enough to be able to repopulate. But the cost was my parents' lives...."
"They contracted the very disease they were fighting," Josef said somberly.
"Yes. I was more heartbroken than I had ever imagined I could be. The Council of the Elders met and called for a public vote on my fate. It was almost unanimous. The people of Chu-Uvino took me as one of their own. My name became Ozara, 'holy one,' because they saw my mother and father as healers who had sacrificed themselves to save the people. In a sense, they were right." She let out a wistful, barely audible sigh.
"Where does Priest Mahisi come into this?"
The blonde girl frowned at the interruption. "He has always been the splinter in my foot. Before I was taken in, Mahisi enjoyed complete luxury. King Majeed always deferred to him. Mahisi had the most elaborate house, the finest food, even the most beautiful maidens to serve as his so-called attendants. Hah! But I was the new girl that everyone doted upon. I presided at all the festivals and holidays. The people of Chu-Uviro regard me as their good luck totem, the incarnate spirit of the city." She straightened out her legs and rose to her feet with the ease of youth. "I think we will honor the striped killer now."
Josef Jubliec went along with her actions as they rolled the dead tiger over. Chanting a lengthy ritual prayer in some esoteric language, Ozara cut deeply into the big cat's chest, manuevering past the thick ribs and came out with a dark red lump of tough muscle that filled both hands. They took turns biting into the heart and chewing thoroughly. Josef had no problem with this. He had traveled in many countries and in many of the adjacent realms, and he had eaten even less appealing items in his time.
When they were done, the jungle girl led him to a swift-running stream nearby to wash up. Josef knelt and scrubbed his hands, then dunked his head a few times to get the sweat and dust out of his hair. He glanced up and his heart almost stopped. Ozara had shrugged out of her clothing and ornaments, and was standing naked in the chilly water up to her thighs. She looked amazing, with a flawless even tan over her entire body. The golden hair shone with health in the sunlight. She squatted to rinse out her mouth and rubbbed her teeth with a finger. As she wrung her long hair to get most of the water out, the young blonde smiled blissfully at him.
Surprisingly, the Blind Archer responded with irritation again. He shook his own head, stood up and scowled at her as if she had struck him unexpectedly. "We'd better get moving," he snapped.
Ozara was more puzzled than ever. She quickly slapped herself dry and tugged on her simple skirt and chest cover, putting on the gold ornaments as she hurried to catch up with Josef. "Wait, wait. I have not warned you that Priest Mafisi is behind the packs of Red Dogs!"
He paused, turning only from the waist to watch as she walked up beside him. "What is the story with those Red Dogs anyway? And how did a tiger even get here?"
"Chu-Uviro is very old," she said. "Its people are not the original founders of the city, but they have been breeding animals only found within the city for ages. The striped killers, the Red Dogs, the Walking Vultures...."
"Good to know," Josef snapped gruffly and started walking again.
The blonde goddess remained where she was. In a suddenly hard voice, she called after him, "I have done you no harm, Josef! I do not deserve to be treated so badly."
"Manipulating me is not that simple," he said over one shoulder without pausing. "I've been played for a fool by experts."
Ozara stood there with a face that had gone white with anger. Her fists trembled visibly down at her sides. "Maybe I should drop down from a tree on HIM next time," she muttered to herself before scampering up a trunk and vanishing instantly.
V.
Making his way through the increasingly stubborn vegetation, swatting at swarms of midges which hovered by his eyes, Josef trudged on. The nerve of that girl. So obvious. He fumed and only gradually simmered down to his usual detached self. In the distance, he started getting glimpses of cleared fields and small villages, but he kept well clear of both. At one point, he crossed a well-worn path that showed signs of being actively kept clear. On both sides of the path, branches and shrubs ended with sharp edges which showed they had been cut by tools.
Stepping off to one side into the brush, he moved parallel to the path. Several times, Josef froze behind cover as people strode by on their errands. The inhabitants of Chu-Uviro were tall, lanky Africans with thick hair cropped short, rich brown skin and features that seemed vaguely Meditteranean to him. Both men and women wore colorful sarongs wrapped around their bodies from left to right, and one was barefoot although the rest wore rope sandals. He saw two women carrying heavy water jugs suspended from wooden beams across their shoulders and a group of three men bent under the weight of wood cut for fires, tied to their backs in bundles. Despite their burdens, all the Chu-Uvirans seemed animated and chatty as they passed were Josef watched unseen.
At one point, two five-feet high stone pillars marked where the path gave way to broken gravel and flat stones. The Blind Archer creeped up into view to get a better look. The posts were topped with scowling faces carved from the granite, wide flattened faces with short tusks in mouths that were open in a grimace. The eyes were sunken and left without pupils. These warning totems marked the territory beyond which outsiders proceeded at their own risk.
Footsteps on the gravel warned him of approaching Chu-Uvirans. The Blind Archer stepped back against a tree trunk and found it had been partially hollowed out. Long vines hanging down like a curtain provided good cover. Feeling he was well concealed, Josef pressed back and found to his distaste that the inside of the trunk was sticky and smelled vaguely rancid. What kind of tree was this, he wondered. Chu-Uviro certainly seemed to have an unusual number of unique animal and plant species. As he waited for the natives to pass by, Josef felt movement. A dozen curved branches snapped shut around his body like a living bear trap. His arms were pinned. Sharp thorns pierced through his clothing and stung with some sort of toxin. The Blind Archer braced himself and tried to break loose but got nowhere.
Two men approached him, grinning at his struggles. They were tall and in fine condition, carrying thick cudgels which ended in rounded knobs. Each of the warriors also had a short wide knife tied at the waist with a cord. "The Hungry Tree had caught more than a tiny monkey this time, Embiwa."
"I think it will take three days and three nights to digest this prey," laughed the other one. He bent and picked up the longbow from where Josef had dropped it when the plant had tightened caught him.
"Men of Chu-Uviro, I have come with a message for King Majeed," the Blind Archer announced with as much dignity as he could manage. He was trying not to grunt as the Hungry Tree tightened its grip around his body. "Take me to him."
The warrior called Embiwa shook his head, still smiling. "Sad is it to say that the King has gone to the land of ghosts. His wives wail and mourn. Priest Mafisi has taken his place upon the Lion Throne to serve until the Prince is old enough to rule."
"Hah! Prince has not even deepened his voice yet. It will be a long wait before he can throw a spear or judge a grievance." The Chu-Uviran raised his cudgel and smacked its head into the cupped palm of his other hand. "Still, we will cut you loose and bring you before the Priest.. although I think you will regret it. Mafisi is no tender-hearted gentleman."
Embiwa swung his own weapon as if to loosen up his arms and shoulders. "Before you are freed, though, you must be broken. Our orders are that all intruders are admitted to the city in a properly humble state...."
VII.
He had been beaten with sticks until he was half dead. Josef forced himself to stand up inside the cage, bracing his left arm through the bars to support his weight. His right arm hung useless at his side, and both eye were so swollen he was squinting through slits. Yet the Blind Archer had never given in to his tormentors, had not cried out at the pain or begged for the abuse to stop. From childhood, he had been raised to endure in silence.
Even now, given only a few minutes to recover, he began looking for a way to escape. The cage was made of wooden bars thick as his wrists, lashed together with leather straps. The knots were where he could not reach them. Along with his bow and quiver, all the contents of his pockets had been taken. The Blind Archer kept mulling over the lessons of his youth. Every trap offered a way out, his teachers had repeated, it only remains to see it.
He was at the dead end of a mile-long alley formed by ten-foot high stone walls, its open end terminating at a cliff overhanging the river far below. Standing atop the walls, holding torches which flared and wavered in the night breezes, were dozens of the Chu-Uvirans. The people of the Lost City were wrapped in their most colorful sarongs, with bright feaathers in their hair, golden armbands and necklaces glinting in the uncertain light. The Chu-Uvirans spoked in excited but hushed whispers at what they were witnessing.
Lined up at the dead end of the alley were a dozen horrifying creatures. The Walking Vultures had long legs bent backwards at the knee, ending in vicious talons. Their wings had grown small and almost vestigial, folded against the round bodies, but the long naked necks and hideous beaked heads remained unchanged. Standing nearly eight feet high, the Walking Vultures struggled against the rawhide straps around their necks, straps which led up to converge at an iron ring set on top of the stone wall. Here, a Chu-Uviran warrior stood with his long machete in hand, face grim and determined.
Watching those creatures intently, Josef decided they were not any of the giant flightless birds he had read about in paleontology books. They were something new, evidently evolved from common vultures to chase prey on foot. Maybe the people of Chu-Uviro had bred them for that purpose. He rattled the bars of his cage and was not sanguine about its ability to protect him from those powerful beaks and taloned feet if these Walking Vultures went for him.
An excited murmur ran through the crowd on top of the tall as Priest Mafisi strode down the alley to step up onto a knee-high stone platform almost within reach of those birds. On the front of that platform was carved one of the scowling faces with tusks and protruding tongue that marked the demanding gods of Chu-Uviro. Mafisi was wrapped in a bright red cloak woven with gold threads throughout, he had an elaborate headress that rose up into two prongs like the horns of an animal, and he carried a staff of copper-colored metal capped with a green jewel.
Mafisi flourished the Darthan blasting wand twice and sang out a long repetitive chant that echoed up and down the walls of the alley. Standing on the walls watching, the assembled citizens frequently yelled a word in response as Mafisi waited. The ritual went on for some time, and even Josef was getting restless when the Priest finally got down on one knee and laid the ancient talisman across his feet. He clapped his hands three times.
Coming slowly down the alley, two of the biggest Chu-Uviran warriors escorted Ozara to stand before the Priest. The young blonde was completely naked, her body had been rubbed with oil so its curves shone and gleamed in the torchlight, and her hair had been brushed out to its fullest. The jungle girl stood relaxed, with hands down at her side, not embarrassed or ill at ease at all. She gazed at Mafisi with calm distaste.
Bowing low, the warriors quickly excused themselves from the scene. Priest Mafisi raised both arms in a melodramatic gesture and intoned, "Let the curse be lifted from our lands. May the sun rise tomorrow. Oh great gods of this nation, dreaded Draldros who lives in the world of fire, accept this sacrifice. We offer you the golden-haired stranger who came to ruin our lives!"
Ozara snorted disdainfully, glanced up at the watching crowd and held her tongue. She did catch Josef's eye. Watching from the cage within reach of the killer birds, the Blind Archer was astonished to her wink at him. She is either very brave or completely insane, he thought.
The blonde girl twisted around to take in the crowd watching from atop the wall. "Hear me, citizens of Chu-Uviro. These are my words. I do not blame any of you for this. You fear Priest Mafisi, both his magic and his unnatural beasts. So be it. But in a few minutes he will be dead and I will judge you all by your silence now."
The crowd held their breaths. It is hard to explain the unique blend of reverence and affection they felt for this golden child who had been their token of good fortune all her life. She was more than a mascot, she was a living symbol of hope to them and the fact she had many times fought off intruders or captured rogue mankiller beasts added to her mystique. Most of the Chu-Uvirans were visibly distressed at the situation but the terror of Priest Mafisi held them in its grip.
"It is the will of the Dread One that you have a fair chance to escape," called out the sorcerer. "I shall clap my hands five times before the birds are released. Run now!"
As the words were spoken, Ozara spun away and took off as if launched from a catapult. The Priest rapidly slapped his hands together five times, not giving her much of a head start at all, before gesturing to the warrior on the wall behind him. The big native raised his axe up behind his head and brought it sharply down to sever the cords which restrained the Walking Vultures.
The terrible birds had been straining at their leashes, eager to chase and kill the young girl running away down the long alley. As soon as they were freed, the Vultures galloped after with long strides no Human could match. On the encircling wall, the inhhabitants of the city cried and screamed as the horror of what they watched full sank in. In a few seconds, their beloved living icon would be brought down and ripped to shreds.
But the unexpected happened. Just before the Walking Vultures would have caught her, Ozara spun on one heel and hurtled between them, moving even faster than before. Quicker than any prey the predatory birds had encountered, the blonde girl took them completely off guard. In the split second it took them to react and wheel around after her, Ozara had already flashed back to where Priest Mafisi stood with goggled eyes staring.
The sorcerer realized that the jungle girl was hurtling straight at him. He began to bend down to grab the Darthan blasting wand, but he was much too late. Ozara leaped up onto the platform, shoved Mafisi bodily off it onto the ground and then sprang up herself to catch the top of the encircling wall and pull herself up, all in one fluid motion.
As Ozara rose to her feet, the Walking Vultures pounced on Priest Mafisi. His high shrill screams rang out into the night, only weakening and trailing off after he had been pulled apart and partially eaten while still alive. The giant bird clustered around the body and jostled each other for their favorite bits.
Standing on the encircling wall, Ozara glared at the Chu-Uviran warrior who had severed the restraining cords. The man bowed his head, held out both hands palms up as if asking for clemency and backed away. The blonde jungle girl snatched up the machete that the man had dropped and swung it around her head. She gave voice to a weird yodeling cry of triumph that echoed up and down the alley, and as it died down, the people of the city burst into cheers and stamping of feet.
One of the Walking Vultures turned its attention to Ozara, lunging up to snap at her feet. Agile and quick, she sidestepped and slashed her machete halfway through the creature's neck. A gout of dark blood spurted as the giant bird collapsed in a wiggling heap.
"Warriors of Chu-Uviro, the law is clear!" the blonde girl yelled. "No beast that slays a person may live. These berengim [unnatural monsters] must die!" As soon as she said that, a dozen of the men hurried to her side and cast their spears down with deadly accuracy. As soon as that task was finished, she pointed at the cage in which Josef was imprisoned.
"That man is my guest," she announced. "Free him at once. Return his belongings to him. The Council of Elders will meet at dawn to select a regent from their number to serve until the rightful Prince is of age. For the moment, this city will have to get by without a High Priest on the throne!"
The cheering and huzzahs rose until she had to wait for the crowd to settle down. In another moment, Josef was brought up onto the wall and handed his bow and quiver. Some usefulness had come back to his bruised right arm, although he still held it crooked in close to his body. Two of the attendants gave him a wicker basket which held the effects which had been in his pockets.
"Thank you," he said simply from a bruised mouth to the jungle girl.
"I should have left you in that cage," Ozara snorted, seeing no one was close enough to hear. "Why have you treated me so badly? Did some woman break your heart? Have you been left betrayed and bitter?"
Moving gingerly, the Blind Archer managed to pick up the Darthan blasting rod from where Mafisi had dropped it. He shrugged. "No. I guess I'm just something of a jerk."
5/13/2017
7/13-7/14/1998
I.
On the eleventh day of his trek, Josef Jubilec had penetrated deeper into Veganora than any maps showed. The dense canopy of interlocking trees overhead made even satellite infrared imagery useless. All that reconnaisance photos ever showed was a solid green surface that stretched for four hundred miles. During the peak of European colonialism, this area of Veganora had remained untouched because the lack of exploitable natural resources made its exploration unrewarding. Reports of hostile tribes and disease-bearing insects further discouraged the Belgians or the Germans from claiming any territory. Veganora remained mostly unknown.
It was surprisingly comfortable under the canopy, with open spaces between the huge centuries-old trees and sparse underbrush. The heat and humidity were less here than out in the open, and sunlight slanting down through the leaves was scattered. Josef paused as he sensed something approaching.
At twenty-five, Josef Jubilec was a rangy, lean man a few inches over six feet tall with short sandy hair and dark blue eyes in a surly face. Weathered by a lifetime of exposure to different climates, that face looked older than it was. He wore sensible clothing for an expedition like this... sturdy hiking boots, loose khaki pants and shirt, a wide-brimmed white cloth hat. Instead of a single knapsack, though, Josef carried two smaller travel bags hanging down on either side of his waist. This was to make room for a Y-shaped leather quiver filled with twenty-four long arrows. In his right hand, Josef held a handcrafted yew longbow, unstrung but seeming so natural in his hand that he would feel uneasy if it were out of reach.
This young man was a renegade from one of the most feared sects in the Midnight War, the Blind Archers of Chujir.
Even with his eyes uncovered, he could perceive lifeforce. He felt a Human approaching fast from behind him, coming at a rate that indicated a full run. Josef scowled, his normal sullen expression deepening as he bent the great bow and hooked its cord over the catch on the upper end. He had crafted this bow himself and it took considerable strength even to string it, much less draw it properly. He reached back with one hand to loosen a few arrows in the quiver. Those on his right hand side of the Y-shape had sharp steel points.
In another second, an African came running full tilt out of the bushes and straight at Josef. The Blind Archer remained alert but he could tell that this young boy was not a threat so much as someone being threatened. The lad seemed ten or eleven at the most, wearing simple white cotton shorts and an American T-shirt with the name of a basketball team and the prominent number 12. Arms and legs were thin as sticks. The boy had a full head of tightly curled hair and his skin was a rich chocolate brown, with regular features in a face contorted by fear.
As soon as he saw this strange white man standing in the way, the boy yelled in a Bantu-related dialect, "Run!"
Plunging out of the thick underbrush after the youth was a huge hound, big as a full-grown man. Six feet from head to tail, solidly built with massive front quarters out of normal proportions, the beast had short chestnut-red fur and yellow eyes. It launched itself head-high right behind the Veganoran boy, its jaws gaping wide.
Two long shafts hissed deep into the animal's chest, sinking half their length. The hound did not even have time to yelp before it died, but forward momentum made its body skid along the leaf-covered forest floor. Belatedly realizing what had happened, the African boy came to a halt himself to stare at the huge carcass.
Lowering his bow, Josef tried to smile in a reassuring way. His manner was naturally grim and it was hard for him not to be intimidating. "You're safe now," he said in the same dialect, which he spoke to some extent but was not fluent in. "How are you called?"
"Mu. Mu Tibi," answered the boy. He wheeled to stare back the way he had come. "We must flee! Hurry, hurry!"
Even before the lad had warned them, Josef knew they were still in danger. His gralic-enhanced perception alerted him to the approach of big living beings... easily a dozen of them, hurtling toward them straight from the same direction the boy and the dog had come. More of the Red Dogs.
The Blind Archer tugged up a black silk band from around his neck and tightened it over his eyes. With his natural vision cut off, his inner senses sharpened and expanded. He could tell where each of the beasts were and how fast they were moving. Josef braced his back against a tree covered with vines and notched another deadly arrow to the string. "Come over here, Tibi," he snapped, "Get right up next to me."
The soft padding of many paws thudded on the soft forest ground, hurtling closer. Josef Jubilec braced himself with feet spread wide apart, drew deep breaths and let his mind open its fullest to whatever was about to happen. Even so, the next few seconds took him completely off-guard.
Dropping down lightly from right overhead came a beautiful young blonde woman, half-naked and bronzed by the tropical sun. She snatched Mu Tibi under one arm and leaped up to catch a bare foot on a knot on the tree trunk, using its support to launch herself straight up and out of sight in the thick foliage. Josef blinked. It took a lot to surprise him but this was sufficient.
An instant later, he caught a glimpse of gorgeous bright blue eyes gazing down at him and a slender hand reached down to seize his arm. "Do you want to live? Come with me!" With help from that deceptively strong hand, the Blind Archer repeated the blonde's maneuver and scrambled up out of reach just as a dozen of the Red Dogs came galloping into the clearing.
II.
Standing on a horizontal branch that could have comfortably accomodated a few more people, the three of them stared down fifteen feet at the howling Red Dogs that leaped up trying to reach them. The animals were not any breed that Josef had ever seen before. They most closely resembled mastiffs, but the deep chests and rounded shoulders gave them almost human proportions. The ears stood upright, the tails were short and thick. Unsettlingly, the Red Dogs seemed maniacally determined to get at the three people who were out of reach. Several of the beasts scrabbled against the tree trunk, trying to climb, but their blunt claws could not gain any purchase.
Casting sideways glances, the Blind Archer added up his impressions of the girl. She was very young, not more than nineteen, standing five feet six and weighing about one hundred and ten pounds. Although she had the firm understated muscles of a gymnast or swimmer, the girl did show well-shaped breasts that were quite large for her frame. Bright golden hair hung straight over her shoulders and down past her shoulder blades. The girl had a sharp alert expression showing in cobalt blue eyes and a faint mocking smile on naturally red lips.
Josef saw that the girl wore a tight short skirt of tanned animal hide that barely provided modesty, and she had a small rectangular flap of red cloth tied to the front of her body with straps across her back and behind her neck. Her ornaments appeared to be actual gold... wide hoop earrings, an armband around her left biceps and a thin looped chain hanging around her neck. Strapped to her waist was a leather sheath that held a knife with a wide six-inch blade.
Most unexpected were leather straps around her palms and across the pads of her feet. He decided these were to help provide protection when climbing trees and running barefoot through the jungle.
All of these details were taken in by him within a second. Josef was trying to make some sense of this girl's presence here in the Deep Woods of Veganora when he noticed she was regarding him with a sardonic arched eyebrow.
"One might say, 'thank you' after having one's life saved," she said in a mellow husky voice.
Josef snorted irritably. "Ah.. I'm surprised you speak English, but then I guess that's the least surprising thing about you. Thank you but certainly I could have handled that myself. There was no need for you to endanger yourself, young lady. I'm one of the Blind Archers! My name is Josef Jubilec."
She seemed startled by his chilly reaction. "I am Ozara, the Holy One," she offered, placing a hand on her chest. "And Tibi and I have known each other all our lives. Good to see you, my nephew."
"This is the Goddess of Chu-Uviro," said the youth, pointing past Josef at the girl. "Even the beasts and the birds respect her."
"Is that so?" said the Blind Archer distractedly. He was gazing off into the distance with his head tilted to one side but he was not listening. He was perceiving life force. "More of these brutes are approaching fast. I'd say, at least fifty of them."
"The rest of the pack and their real leader, the Priest Mafisi," Ozara sighed. She supported herself with one hand on a vine as she watched the furious beasts beneath them. "We are in for a long day of jumping from tree to tree until we can lose these Dogs...."
"I don't think so." Josef still held his longbow but with his other hand, he snapped open one of a dozen small pouches on his belt. "I use detachable heads on my shafts, each designed for various purposes. Otherwise I would have to lug around a case with a hundred arrows."
The blonde goddess gave him a quizzical look. "What is that device?"
"This is one of my specialized arrow heads," he answered vaguely. "I keep four of them in a metal-lined padded pouch because they are designed to go off on impact. Get ready to make a run for safety." He raised the small metal ovoid above his head, judged the direction of the breeze and flung it down at a flat rock in a midst of the Red Dogs. With a sharp cracking noise, the ovoid burst to release an expanding cloud of white vapor. Even where they stood, the three of them felt their eyes sting.
As the animals hastily dispered in all directions, stumbling and coughing, Josef simply said, "Tear gas with an extra ingredient to induce dizziness. You ready to get moving, miss?"
Despite his gruff attitude, she graced him with a flash of perfect teeth. "Follow me." Seemingly without taking a second to judge distance, she wheeled around and leaped across ten feet of open space to seize another, smaller branch on a nearby tree. As she nimbly pulled herself up to stand, she was joined by the boy Mu Tibi who made a similar leap. Josef unstrung his bow and fastened it across his back before crouching and jumping after them. He made it easily, getting an approving nod from the jungle girl.
As they proceeded from tree to tree, sometimes almost stepping from one branch to the next but mostly making wild death-defying leaps, Josef had a challenge keeping up. He was in near-Olympic level condition himself, but he was heavier and carrying twenty pounds of equipment. Where Ozara and Tibi were essentially barefoot, he had on heavy hiking boots which made getting purchase difficult. Frequently the two had to wait for him and once Ozara caught him by one arm and helped him steady himself.
Eventually, after what seemed like hours of effort, the blonde girl dropped lightly down to the soft ground and her two companions followed her. Ozara waited for them to get their footing, with Tibi rubbing his sore arms and legs after the exertion. She seemed impressed by Josef being able to have kept up with her at all.
The Blind Archer turned in a complete circle, scanning with his inner perception and satisfying himself that no pursuit was near. He gave Ozara a cool, appraising stare. "I came here to find a sorcerer named Priest Mafisi. My client believes he has gotten his hands on dangerous Darthan talismans. If you know anything about this business, miss, it would be better if you spoke up now."
"None of that is your concern, outsider. The affairs of Chu-Uviro stay in Chu-Uviro." She folded slim arms over that impressive breast ledge and fixed a puzzled gaze on him. "Unless, of course, you decide to ask in a properly humble manner."
"Really? Forget it." Josef swung around and marched off in the direction he had been heading before the whole Red Dog attack. He did not look back.
Ozara made an exasperated sound deep in her throat and placed a hand reassuringly on Tibi's shoulder. "Never mind him, my nephew. Outsiders are often ill-mannered. I will destroy Priest Mafisi myself."
III.
Josef's pace slowed as the area shifted from open woodlands to a denser tropical rain forest that was harder to navigate. The trees became smaller and closer together, the underbrush started to impede him and the air grew steadily more humid. He pressed on. If nothing else, that encounter with the Red Dogs had proven he was in the right area. The Lost City of Chu-Uviro could not be that far away.
As he hiked, the Blind Archer did not regret taking this assignment but he felt he should have asked for a steeper fee. He had been approached by the Interior Minister of the provisional government of Veganora to locate someone called Priest Mafisi, who evidently was well known as a sorcerer even if the local media never mentioned him. Josef had agreed to investigate for half his usual price, with the remainder being paid when he brought back either Mafisi as a prisoner or brought back proof of the man's demise.
Mostly, though, he was preoccupied with his upcoming trials before the Teachers of Tel Shai. Ever since he had met Jeremy Bane a few years ago, Josef had been urged to apply as a student at Tel Shai, with Bane's sponsorship. It seemed that the famous Dire Wolf was assembling a new team of Tel Shai knights, a new KDF, and he wanted Josef among them. Membership in the Order of Tel Shai was greatly prized. Not only did it mean access to the Tagra tea which enhanced healing and longevity, it meant studying under the people wisest in ancient lore and secrets not taught anywhere else. Being a Tel Shai knight was one of the greatest honors in the Midnight War; there were seldom more than a dozen of so knights active at any time. But he was so used to operating on his own, answering to no one....
Behind him and fifty yards to his right, a pack of small monkeys tore through the trees, shrieking like banshees in their panic. What was that all about? He was certain he hadn't done anything to alarm them. Josef bent his bow and notched its string into place, then drew a shaft with a killing head. More of those Red Dogs? No, he could sense it now.. a large animal, an apex predator, stalking him from out of sight. The Blind Archer drew the black silk band over his eyes and his perception sprang to full range. Yes. It was accelerating as it neared him. Bigger than a man, stealthier than a man, some deadly beast that had its intentions fixed on him.
Josef faced the oncoming threat and drew the bowstring back behind his ear. A lifetime of archery had given him a chest and arms stronger than any bodybuilder could match. His grip was completely steady as he cleared his mind.
Without a warning roar, a huge form flashed out of the undergrowth and launched itself entirely off the ground at him. Josef loosed his arrow, but in the tiny fraction of a second before it would plunge home, the beast was diverted down and to one side by a slim form crashing down on its back. The Blind Archer hesitated, confused for the first time in years.
A full-grown Bengal tiger rolled furiously on the forest floor, snarling like a whip cracking. Holding tightly to its back, long legs wrapped around its body, Ozara had her left arm squeezed around the big cat's neck. Her right arm blurred back and forth with the seven inch knife in its grip. In another instant, she kicked free, rolled over twice and leaped back up on her feet well out of immediate reach. The tiger convulsed with all four legs kicking, coughed up a flood of bright red blood and suddenly went still.
Standing with her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath, the blonde Goddess of Chu-Uviro lowered her weapon. She plucked up a handful of dry leaves off the ground and wiped her knife clean, then gave Josef another sample of that dazzling smile that would melt most men's resistance.
Instead of returning it, he blew up. "You almost got yourself killed! What the HELL is wrong with you, girlie? I had a second arrow already notched when you got in the way. It's just dumb luck you weren't hit by my first arrow as it was."
"But... I saved your life, Josef. Aren't you glad to see me? Aren't you grateful?" Her voice sounded almost like a child's.
"Hell no. Get this straight, Ozara-- if that is your name. I don't need protecting. I don't need a teenage girl placing herself at risk for my sake. Don't ever do it again."
Ozara's large eyes glistened wetly as if tears were going to start pouring at any second. "There is no need to be so mean. I was only trying to help."
"How on Earth did you pull that stunt anyway?" he demanded. "Look at you, you've only got a few scratches and scrapes. You should have been clawed apart instantly. An animal that size should have broken your legs or pelvis when he rolled over on you. Wait a minute. What is a tiger doing in Central Africa anyway?! Tigers aren't found in Africa!" Josef's face was getting red in an unprecedented example of his losing his temper. Usually he was cold and controlled under any circumstances.
"Why should I explain anything to you?" she said, folding her arms and turning her back on him. She did not walk away, though.
After a brief internal debate, Josef Jubilec made his voice more gentle by sheer will. "Forgive me, Ozara. I am under... some strain. Thank you for helping me. You show great courage and, frankly, incredible skill to take on a beast like that with just a knife."
"I understand," she said. The blonde looked back at him over one shoulder. "You are not used to meeting someone like me, Josef?"
"That's an understatement," the Blind Archer grumbled as he unstrung his bow and examined it automatically. "What is a blue-eyed blonde coed doing in this part of Africa?"
"Ah, but I am African. I was born here. This is my home. I have lived here all my life." She gestured to a clear spot where fallen leaves offered a comfortable seat. "Here, let us rest for a second. When the striped killer's body cools, we will share his heart. Eating it gives courage and strength. Until then, let me tell you a little of myself..."
IV.
"My parents were both successful doctors from Los Angeles, volunteers for a United Nations project offering medical aid where none was available," she began. "The Veganoran government provided some supplies and a few guides, and my parents traveled into the Deep Woods. They worked hard for years, treated the people fairly and earned a good reputation. I was born in a camp by the River Kuono. When I was nine, my family penetrated deeper into unmapped territory despite warnings from the friendly tribes and they found Chu-Uvino."
Josef realized she was pausing for him to react, and he said, "I have heard of Chu-Uvino. There are many legends of Lost Cities in Africa, the remnants of outposts of the Phoenecians or the Crusaders or even Zhune. But I assumed that Chu-Uvino was only a legend."
"You will see its walls before nightfall," she assured him. "And I can tell you, there are many other citadels throughout this land where descendants still linger of nations long gone from their homelands. Africa is ancient and huge and it has many secrets."
The Blind Archer had absently taken a rag and a vial of resin from one of his small travel bags and was rubbing it into his bow as he listened. "What happened to your friend, the young boy?"
"Tibi? I left him with a foraging party of Kimango we encountered. I could smell the striped killer and knew he was following you." She drew her knees up and wrapped her around them thoughtfully. "Back to my story. A terrible disease was wasting the inhabitants of the city. Of five thousand Chu-Uvinites, only a few hundred remained. My parents worked day and night to save those who remained. They determined the disease was spread by mosquito bite. After standing water was removed and a nearby swamphole filled in, no new cases of the disease started. The people of Chu-Uvino survived in numbers enough to be able to repopulate. But the cost was my parents' lives...."
"They contracted the very disease they were fighting," Josef said somberly.
"Yes. I was more heartbroken than I had ever imagined I could be. The Council of the Elders met and called for a public vote on my fate. It was almost unanimous. The people of Chu-Uvino took me as one of their own. My name became Ozara, 'holy one,' because they saw my mother and father as healers who had sacrificed themselves to save the people. In a sense, they were right." She let out a wistful, barely audible sigh.
"Where does Priest Mahisi come into this?"
The blonde girl frowned at the interruption. "He has always been the splinter in my foot. Before I was taken in, Mahisi enjoyed complete luxury. King Majeed always deferred to him. Mahisi had the most elaborate house, the finest food, even the most beautiful maidens to serve as his so-called attendants. Hah! But I was the new girl that everyone doted upon. I presided at all the festivals and holidays. The people of Chu-Uviro regard me as their good luck totem, the incarnate spirit of the city." She straightened out her legs and rose to her feet with the ease of youth. "I think we will honor the striped killer now."
Josef Jubliec went along with her actions as they rolled the dead tiger over. Chanting a lengthy ritual prayer in some esoteric language, Ozara cut deeply into the big cat's chest, manuevering past the thick ribs and came out with a dark red lump of tough muscle that filled both hands. They took turns biting into the heart and chewing thoroughly. Josef had no problem with this. He had traveled in many countries and in many of the adjacent realms, and he had eaten even less appealing items in his time.
When they were done, the jungle girl led him to a swift-running stream nearby to wash up. Josef knelt and scrubbed his hands, then dunked his head a few times to get the sweat and dust out of his hair. He glanced up and his heart almost stopped. Ozara had shrugged out of her clothing and ornaments, and was standing naked in the chilly water up to her thighs. She looked amazing, with a flawless even tan over her entire body. The golden hair shone with health in the sunlight. She squatted to rinse out her mouth and rubbbed her teeth with a finger. As she wrung her long hair to get most of the water out, the young blonde smiled blissfully at him.
Surprisingly, the Blind Archer responded with irritation again. He shook his own head, stood up and scowled at her as if she had struck him unexpectedly. "We'd better get moving," he snapped.
Ozara was more puzzled than ever. She quickly slapped herself dry and tugged on her simple skirt and chest cover, putting on the gold ornaments as she hurried to catch up with Josef. "Wait, wait. I have not warned you that Priest Mafisi is behind the packs of Red Dogs!"
He paused, turning only from the waist to watch as she walked up beside him. "What is the story with those Red Dogs anyway? And how did a tiger even get here?"
"Chu-Uviro is very old," she said. "Its people are not the original founders of the city, but they have been breeding animals only found within the city for ages. The striped killers, the Red Dogs, the Walking Vultures...."
"Good to know," Josef snapped gruffly and started walking again.
The blonde goddess remained where she was. In a suddenly hard voice, she called after him, "I have done you no harm, Josef! I do not deserve to be treated so badly."
"Manipulating me is not that simple," he said over one shoulder without pausing. "I've been played for a fool by experts."
Ozara stood there with a face that had gone white with anger. Her fists trembled visibly down at her sides. "Maybe I should drop down from a tree on HIM next time," she muttered to herself before scampering up a trunk and vanishing instantly.
V.
Making his way through the increasingly stubborn vegetation, swatting at swarms of midges which hovered by his eyes, Josef trudged on. The nerve of that girl. So obvious. He fumed and only gradually simmered down to his usual detached self. In the distance, he started getting glimpses of cleared fields and small villages, but he kept well clear of both. At one point, he crossed a well-worn path that showed signs of being actively kept clear. On both sides of the path, branches and shrubs ended with sharp edges which showed they had been cut by tools.
Stepping off to one side into the brush, he moved parallel to the path. Several times, Josef froze behind cover as people strode by on their errands. The inhabitants of Chu-Uviro were tall, lanky Africans with thick hair cropped short, rich brown skin and features that seemed vaguely Meditteranean to him. Both men and women wore colorful sarongs wrapped around their bodies from left to right, and one was barefoot although the rest wore rope sandals. He saw two women carrying heavy water jugs suspended from wooden beams across their shoulders and a group of three men bent under the weight of wood cut for fires, tied to their backs in bundles. Despite their burdens, all the Chu-Uvirans seemed animated and chatty as they passed were Josef watched unseen.
At one point, two five-feet high stone pillars marked where the path gave way to broken gravel and flat stones. The Blind Archer creeped up into view to get a better look. The posts were topped with scowling faces carved from the granite, wide flattened faces with short tusks in mouths that were open in a grimace. The eyes were sunken and left without pupils. These warning totems marked the territory beyond which outsiders proceeded at their own risk.
Footsteps on the gravel warned him of approaching Chu-Uvirans. The Blind Archer stepped back against a tree trunk and found it had been partially hollowed out. Long vines hanging down like a curtain provided good cover. Feeling he was well concealed, Josef pressed back and found to his distaste that the inside of the trunk was sticky and smelled vaguely rancid. What kind of tree was this, he wondered. Chu-Uviro certainly seemed to have an unusual number of unique animal and plant species. As he waited for the natives to pass by, Josef felt movement. A dozen curved branches snapped shut around his body like a living bear trap. His arms were pinned. Sharp thorns pierced through his clothing and stung with some sort of toxin. The Blind Archer braced himself and tried to break loose but got nowhere.
Two men approached him, grinning at his struggles. They were tall and in fine condition, carrying thick cudgels which ended in rounded knobs. Each of the warriors also had a short wide knife tied at the waist with a cord. "The Hungry Tree had caught more than a tiny monkey this time, Embiwa."
"I think it will take three days and three nights to digest this prey," laughed the other one. He bent and picked up the longbow from where Josef had dropped it when the plant had tightened caught him.
"Men of Chu-Uviro, I have come with a message for King Majeed," the Blind Archer announced with as much dignity as he could manage. He was trying not to grunt as the Hungry Tree tightened its grip around his body. "Take me to him."
The warrior called Embiwa shook his head, still smiling. "Sad is it to say that the King has gone to the land of ghosts. His wives wail and mourn. Priest Mafisi has taken his place upon the Lion Throne to serve until the Prince is old enough to rule."
"Hah! Prince has not even deepened his voice yet. It will be a long wait before he can throw a spear or judge a grievance." The Chu-Uviran raised his cudgel and smacked its head into the cupped palm of his other hand. "Still, we will cut you loose and bring you before the Priest.. although I think you will regret it. Mafisi is no tender-hearted gentleman."
Embiwa swung his own weapon as if to loosen up his arms and shoulders. "Before you are freed, though, you must be broken. Our orders are that all intruders are admitted to the city in a properly humble state...."
VII.
He had been beaten with sticks until he was half dead. Josef forced himself to stand up inside the cage, bracing his left arm through the bars to support his weight. His right arm hung useless at his side, and both eye were so swollen he was squinting through slits. Yet the Blind Archer had never given in to his tormentors, had not cried out at the pain or begged for the abuse to stop. From childhood, he had been raised to endure in silence.
Even now, given only a few minutes to recover, he began looking for a way to escape. The cage was made of wooden bars thick as his wrists, lashed together with leather straps. The knots were where he could not reach them. Along with his bow and quiver, all the contents of his pockets had been taken. The Blind Archer kept mulling over the lessons of his youth. Every trap offered a way out, his teachers had repeated, it only remains to see it.
He was at the dead end of a mile-long alley formed by ten-foot high stone walls, its open end terminating at a cliff overhanging the river far below. Standing atop the walls, holding torches which flared and wavered in the night breezes, were dozens of the Chu-Uvirans. The people of the Lost City were wrapped in their most colorful sarongs, with bright feaathers in their hair, golden armbands and necklaces glinting in the uncertain light. The Chu-Uvirans spoked in excited but hushed whispers at what they were witnessing.
Lined up at the dead end of the alley were a dozen horrifying creatures. The Walking Vultures had long legs bent backwards at the knee, ending in vicious talons. Their wings had grown small and almost vestigial, folded against the round bodies, but the long naked necks and hideous beaked heads remained unchanged. Standing nearly eight feet high, the Walking Vultures struggled against the rawhide straps around their necks, straps which led up to converge at an iron ring set on top of the stone wall. Here, a Chu-Uviran warrior stood with his long machete in hand, face grim and determined.
Watching those creatures intently, Josef decided they were not any of the giant flightless birds he had read about in paleontology books. They were something new, evidently evolved from common vultures to chase prey on foot. Maybe the people of Chu-Uviro had bred them for that purpose. He rattled the bars of his cage and was not sanguine about its ability to protect him from those powerful beaks and taloned feet if these Walking Vultures went for him.
An excited murmur ran through the crowd on top of the tall as Priest Mafisi strode down the alley to step up onto a knee-high stone platform almost within reach of those birds. On the front of that platform was carved one of the scowling faces with tusks and protruding tongue that marked the demanding gods of Chu-Uviro. Mafisi was wrapped in a bright red cloak woven with gold threads throughout, he had an elaborate headress that rose up into two prongs like the horns of an animal, and he carried a staff of copper-colored metal capped with a green jewel.
Mafisi flourished the Darthan blasting wand twice and sang out a long repetitive chant that echoed up and down the walls of the alley. Standing on the walls watching, the assembled citizens frequently yelled a word in response as Mafisi waited. The ritual went on for some time, and even Josef was getting restless when the Priest finally got down on one knee and laid the ancient talisman across his feet. He clapped his hands three times.
Coming slowly down the alley, two of the biggest Chu-Uviran warriors escorted Ozara to stand before the Priest. The young blonde was completely naked, her body had been rubbed with oil so its curves shone and gleamed in the torchlight, and her hair had been brushed out to its fullest. The jungle girl stood relaxed, with hands down at her side, not embarrassed or ill at ease at all. She gazed at Mafisi with calm distaste.
Bowing low, the warriors quickly excused themselves from the scene. Priest Mafisi raised both arms in a melodramatic gesture and intoned, "Let the curse be lifted from our lands. May the sun rise tomorrow. Oh great gods of this nation, dreaded Draldros who lives in the world of fire, accept this sacrifice. We offer you the golden-haired stranger who came to ruin our lives!"
Ozara snorted disdainfully, glanced up at the watching crowd and held her tongue. She did catch Josef's eye. Watching from the cage within reach of the killer birds, the Blind Archer was astonished to her wink at him. She is either very brave or completely insane, he thought.
The blonde girl twisted around to take in the crowd watching from atop the wall. "Hear me, citizens of Chu-Uviro. These are my words. I do not blame any of you for this. You fear Priest Mafisi, both his magic and his unnatural beasts. So be it. But in a few minutes he will be dead and I will judge you all by your silence now."
The crowd held their breaths. It is hard to explain the unique blend of reverence and affection they felt for this golden child who had been their token of good fortune all her life. She was more than a mascot, she was a living symbol of hope to them and the fact she had many times fought off intruders or captured rogue mankiller beasts added to her mystique. Most of the Chu-Uvirans were visibly distressed at the situation but the terror of Priest Mafisi held them in its grip.
"It is the will of the Dread One that you have a fair chance to escape," called out the sorcerer. "I shall clap my hands five times before the birds are released. Run now!"
As the words were spoken, Ozara spun away and took off as if launched from a catapult. The Priest rapidly slapped his hands together five times, not giving her much of a head start at all, before gesturing to the warrior on the wall behind him. The big native raised his axe up behind his head and brought it sharply down to sever the cords which restrained the Walking Vultures.
The terrible birds had been straining at their leashes, eager to chase and kill the young girl running away down the long alley. As soon as they were freed, the Vultures galloped after with long strides no Human could match. On the encircling wall, the inhhabitants of the city cried and screamed as the horror of what they watched full sank in. In a few seconds, their beloved living icon would be brought down and ripped to shreds.
But the unexpected happened. Just before the Walking Vultures would have caught her, Ozara spun on one heel and hurtled between them, moving even faster than before. Quicker than any prey the predatory birds had encountered, the blonde girl took them completely off guard. In the split second it took them to react and wheel around after her, Ozara had already flashed back to where Priest Mafisi stood with goggled eyes staring.
The sorcerer realized that the jungle girl was hurtling straight at him. He began to bend down to grab the Darthan blasting wand, but he was much too late. Ozara leaped up onto the platform, shoved Mafisi bodily off it onto the ground and then sprang up herself to catch the top of the encircling wall and pull herself up, all in one fluid motion.
As Ozara rose to her feet, the Walking Vultures pounced on Priest Mafisi. His high shrill screams rang out into the night, only weakening and trailing off after he had been pulled apart and partially eaten while still alive. The giant bird clustered around the body and jostled each other for their favorite bits.
Standing on the encircling wall, Ozara glared at the Chu-Uviran warrior who had severed the restraining cords. The man bowed his head, held out both hands palms up as if asking for clemency and backed away. The blonde jungle girl snatched up the machete that the man had dropped and swung it around her head. She gave voice to a weird yodeling cry of triumph that echoed up and down the alley, and as it died down, the people of the city burst into cheers and stamping of feet.
One of the Walking Vultures turned its attention to Ozara, lunging up to snap at her feet. Agile and quick, she sidestepped and slashed her machete halfway through the creature's neck. A gout of dark blood spurted as the giant bird collapsed in a wiggling heap.
"Warriors of Chu-Uviro, the law is clear!" the blonde girl yelled. "No beast that slays a person may live. These berengim [unnatural monsters] must die!" As soon as she said that, a dozen of the men hurried to her side and cast their spears down with deadly accuracy. As soon as that task was finished, she pointed at the cage in which Josef was imprisoned.
"That man is my guest," she announced. "Free him at once. Return his belongings to him. The Council of Elders will meet at dawn to select a regent from their number to serve until the rightful Prince is of age. For the moment, this city will have to get by without a High Priest on the throne!"
The cheering and huzzahs rose until she had to wait for the crowd to settle down. In another moment, Josef was brought up onto the wall and handed his bow and quiver. Some usefulness had come back to his bruised right arm, although he still held it crooked in close to his body. Two of the attendants gave him a wicker basket which held the effects which had been in his pockets.
"Thank you," he said simply from a bruised mouth to the jungle girl.
"I should have left you in that cage," Ozara snorted, seeing no one was close enough to hear. "Why have you treated me so badly? Did some woman break your heart? Have you been left betrayed and bitter?"
Moving gingerly, the Blind Archer managed to pick up the Darthan blasting rod from where Mafisi had dropped it. He shrugged. "No. I guess I'm just something of a jerk."
5/13/2017
