Eeri sprang up from behind a large piece of bark and threw her pique, which hit its target in the chest. Without waiting, she dashed forward, pulled a dagger from her belt, grabbed the spike with her left hand and swung its handle upward to knock the animal to the ground. She finished off the capryni with a blow from her dagger, wincing a little. Then, grabbing it by its hind legs, she dragged it a hundred meters, towards Azazor.
"Azazor, set up a fire! We're going to gorge ourselves on nosh !"
The Fyros complied at once, with the few wood he could find. He was hungry, it had been quite two days since they had last seen the trace of an animal.
As soon as the fire started to burn, he put his breastplate on it to cook the slices of meat that Eeri was carving. After that, she hung thin meat slices cut from the fatty parts on her pike, and positioned the weapon horizontally near the fire. A rather quick way to dry the meat to be able to keep it for a few days, she hoped. The task would have been easier in natural light, but the area was cool, in the shade of the canopy, and evening was coming.
The two chewed in silence, enjoying the meal. As soon as Eeri finished, she stood up.
"We don't have enough wood to finish drying the meat. I'll go back and try to drill some."
Without waiting, she grabbed her hatchet, the pickaxe Azazor luckily still had, and walked away.
The Fyros sat chewing on the rest of his meal. He watched the canopy above him with a dreamy eye. The vegetation that covered some parts and not others, the way some roots seemed to rest literally on others, as if by their complex entanglements, they helped each other not to collapse. Then his gaze followed the interlacing up to the horizon, hoping to see the places where the bark and the canopy met. At a glance, estimating the size of the various canopies was difficult, even from where he was sitting. He moved a little closer to the fire. If they had suffered from the heat during their ascent and then enjoyed the cool nights, the area they had just passed through was permanently shaded by this large canopy. They were expecting a freezing night.
Going through the top of the ridge was certainly the best way to get to Coriolis. However, they could only carry a small amount of food, as their mektoubs had remained at The Citadel. The altitude and steep path, or rather, the lack of a path and the crevasses, made the likelihood of encountering kitins almost nil. At most, they saw one or two kipestas on the hillside below. But they soon realized that they were also encountering few game. The capryni that Eeri had just hunted was an unexpected miracle. Since their departure, they had only caught one or two rather skinny and dehydrated Yubos.
When Eeri returned with more wood, she began to feed the fire with it and then brought the meat to dry a little closer. Crouching there, near the fire, she looked at Azazor, and smiled. For the first time in days, he seemed rested and relaxed.
"I have to tell you how I got through it."
Azazor, turning his eyes from the canopy to the fire, replied:
"The question I have is how we're going to get back. Going back through The Citadel is out of the question, and I don't think they're going to rebuild that rope bridge any time soon. All the more so since I won't be there well received either..."
Eeri continued, ignoring the words Azazor just grumbled:
"That's thanks to a friend of Lopyrèch. He has known me when I was young.
Azazor shuddered at the name, his jaw slowly stopped chewing and his eyes opened wide. He remained silent for a few seconds, as if to convince himself that he had heard correctly.
"He set you free?"
"ney. He took a lot of risks for that. He's the one who gave me this blue armor, mine was too flashy."
"That didn't stop them from spotting you and chasing you."
Eeri recounted her captivity and escape, only skimming over the subject of her liberator's Trytonist beliefs.
"Are you sure that's all?"
The girl looked at the fire, hesitated for a moment, then continued:
"I wasn't done. I had to kill a Marauder, before I could climb. It was either him or me... He dematerialized and probably raised the alarm. I guess they think I'm a spy from another Marauders clan. They probably think you are too, now."
"I don't think so, but it will make it harder to get back."
"We'll get through it. We always find a way."
Eeri went back to tending to the meat that was drying here, while Azazor softly resumed his grumblings:
"By the way... Do you still have your crystal?"
"Azazor, set up a fire! We're going to gorge ourselves on nosh !"
The Fyros complied at once, with the few wood he could find. He was hungry, it had been quite two days since they had last seen the trace of an animal.
As soon as the fire started to burn, he put his breastplate on it to cook the slices of meat that Eeri was carving. After that, she hung thin meat slices cut from the fatty parts on her pike, and positioned the weapon horizontally near the fire. A rather quick way to dry the meat to be able to keep it for a few days, she hoped. The task would have been easier in natural light, but the area was cool, in the shade of the canopy, and evening was coming.
The two chewed in silence, enjoying the meal. As soon as Eeri finished, she stood up.
"We don't have enough wood to finish drying the meat. I'll go back and try to drill some."
Without waiting, she grabbed her hatchet, the pickaxe Azazor luckily still had, and walked away.
The Fyros sat chewing on the rest of his meal. He watched the canopy above him with a dreamy eye. The vegetation that covered some parts and not others, the way some roots seemed to rest literally on others, as if by their complex entanglements, they helped each other not to collapse. Then his gaze followed the interlacing up to the horizon, hoping to see the places where the bark and the canopy met. At a glance, estimating the size of the various canopies was difficult, even from where he was sitting. He moved a little closer to the fire. If they had suffered from the heat during their ascent and then enjoyed the cool nights, the area they had just passed through was permanently shaded by this large canopy. They were expecting a freezing night.
Going through the top of the ridge was certainly the best way to get to Coriolis. However, they could only carry a small amount of food, as their mektoubs had remained at The Citadel. The altitude and steep path, or rather, the lack of a path and the crevasses, made the likelihood of encountering kitins almost nil. At most, they saw one or two kipestas on the hillside below. But they soon realized that they were also encountering few game. The capryni that Eeri had just hunted was an unexpected miracle. Since their departure, they had only caught one or two rather skinny and dehydrated Yubos.
When Eeri returned with more wood, she began to feed the fire with it and then brought the meat to dry a little closer. Crouching there, near the fire, she looked at Azazor, and smiled. For the first time in days, he seemed rested and relaxed.
"I have to tell you how I got through it."
Azazor, turning his eyes from the canopy to the fire, replied:
"The question I have is how we're going to get back. Going back through The Citadel is out of the question, and I don't think they're going to rebuild that rope bridge any time soon. All the more so since I won't be there well received either..."
Eeri continued, ignoring the words Azazor just grumbled:
"That's thanks to a friend of Lopyrèch. He has known me when I was young.
Azazor shuddered at the name, his jaw slowly stopped chewing and his eyes opened wide. He remained silent for a few seconds, as if to convince himself that he had heard correctly.
"He set you free?"
"ney. He took a lot of risks for that. He's the one who gave me this blue armor, mine was too flashy."
"That didn't stop them from spotting you and chasing you."
Eeri recounted her captivity and escape, only skimming over the subject of her liberator's Trytonist beliefs.
"Are you sure that's all?"
The girl looked at the fire, hesitated for a moment, then continued:
"I wasn't done. I had to kill a Marauder, before I could climb. It was either him or me... He dematerialized and probably raised the alarm. I guess they think I'm a spy from another Marauders clan. They probably think you are too, now."
"I don't think so, but it will make it harder to get back."
"We'll get through it. We always find a way."
Eeri went back to tending to the meat that was drying here, while Azazor softly resumed his grumblings:
"By the way... Do you still have your crystal?"
---
Eeri"Quand on a le nez trop près de la bouteille, on ne voit plus le bar"