Under a Starless Sky novel Chapter 58

Twenty days hard rowing put them in sight of a shore of new land. The beach was littered with debris. There were felled trees. There was a debate about making a mast from the wood of a different tree, but there was no apparent Sleeper Trees downed. There was no other way about it. They landed. They were breaking out tools to go to work on an appropriate size log when TL stopped them.

“Allow me,” TL said.

TL fell to work using tech, cutting and trimming the selected tree with her Light Sword.

“If we let her do this with magic, we might lose our strength,” Erico said.

“She will make short work of this. We can be on our way sooner,” Arne said.

“She could make short work of my wood,” Orton said.

“Your wood is already short enough,” Torny said. “Come on. Let’s explore. Fresh rations. Treasure. Threat assessments. Parties of four. Try and be back by night fall.”

“Erico, go with Torny,” Arne said. “Shen, Jerica, Uffe, with me.”

Shen followed his group along the beach. Uffe was tall, heavily bearded man. Even his cheeks spouted hair, almost to the point you might have thought him a different species of human. He had spoken fewer words than anyone Shen had met on the ship, mostly grunting. His boot prints were deep in the sand. The beach continued to be littered with debris as far as they walked. Most of the debris were branches, some smaller trees. Arne brought them to a stop when he found an artifact that suggested human activity. He studied the terrain and then headed inland. They walked up hill and came over it to a lake. He tasted the water and spit out.

“Sea water,” Arne said.

They went around, through bamboo and back and came up another hill. The huts were primitive. The people there were dancing around fire to drums, some were crying. The music stopped. The women came at them with staffs. The men made a circle around the children and women who remained. Jerica tapped her staff, illuminating it, and stepped forwards. She stepped forwards out of herself, and became two identical projections of herself. The approaching women were not dismayed. They came up and planted their staffs. Their staffs did not illuminate with magic. One spoke.

“You are not welcomed here,” the old one spoke. “We our mourning and this is a sacred moment.”

Jerica bowed. “You speak the language. We apologize for our intrusion into your heart’s grief,” she said. “We were at sea when the path changed. We are making repairs to our ship. We are simply explorers, and wanted to alert you to our presence. We are peaceful.”

“Did you lose anyone in the divergence?” the old one asked. “Do you need to share our fire?”

“Not from our ship,” Jerica said. “Hel did not claim any of us this round. We are far from home and do not know how family faired.”

“You can project,” she said. “I can take you to the sacred tree if you wish to commune with spirit and family, but not today. My people need more time.”

“My name is Jerica,” Jerica said. “This is Arne, my compass.” Arne nodded. “Uffe, he is my dog.” Uffe grunted a bark. “Shen is merely a traveler who has joined our ship; he is under my protection.”

“My name is Inno,” the old one said. “My apprentices, Rano, and Teyo.”

“Your light shines strong, Inno,” Jerica said. “We will return to the beach so you can grieve. If you tell me their names, my sisters and I will add prayer and smoke to the skies.”

“You can remember forty names?” Inno said.

“You lost forty people?” Shen asked.

Jerica lifted a finger suggesting Shen should be quiet. The old one did not seem offended.

Inno wiped her eyes. “The sea fell back. I have never seen the land there with my own eyes. The way was paved with jumping fish. They ran for easy meals. I called them back, but their eyes were bigger than their stomach. Greed took them.”

“Your people are hungry,” Jerica said. “We have enough food we can bring you enough for a day.”

“We have food,” Inno said. “We do not want to trade with you. You have nothing we want.”

“I see some of your children eating dirt,” Jerica said. “You need food.”

“We have food,” Inno said. “I think you should leave now. Stay on the beach. I will come to you in three days and guide you to the Sacred Tree.”

“Are we free to explore?”

“I would prefer you not,” Inno said. “We are simple people, not like you. Do not tempt them with magic and tech. Do not bed them. Do not take them from their home or fill their head with strange places. Go.”

“We withdraw from your heart light,” Jerica said.

They fell back, while the two projections remained. When the party was out of immediate magical combat range, the projections faded- its energy returning to Jerica. They were back on the beach before they started talking.

“I do not like liars. It bothers me seeing children so hungry they are eating dirt,” Uffe said. It was the most Shen had ever heard him speak in one sentence.

“We will come back and remedy this, even if we must conquer them,” Arne assured him.

‘They’re not hungry,’ TL said in Shen’s ear. ‘They’re infected with parasites. Stomach worms. Their decreased intelligence is likely the result of malnutrition. They are eating dirt because the dirt helps ease their stomach pains. This parasite has an Earth analog. The eggs are released in feces, people, dogs, cats, and the barefoot children walk in this and the larvae enter the body through soles of the feet, eventually making it to the stomach were they become adults, eating and procreating. Humans are the primary host for this species.’ Shen translated his new understanding.

Jerica didn’t question his understanding. She believed him to be Shaman. Uffe grabbed his arm and stopped their progress. Shen’s first reaction was to extricate himself from the grip. He did it without thinking, applying a joint lock that took Uffe to his knees. Arne and Jerica were both surprised by the suddenness of it, impressed, and concerned. Both brought their hands up, a gentle request for him to be awake and aware. TL put an invisible hand on his shoulder.

“Whoa whoa whoa,” they said. Arne added: “Easy, brother.”

Shen let go. His hands were shaking.

“I apologize for touching you,” Uffe said. “I was out of line.”

“I apologize, Uffe. I overreacted,” Shen said.

“I merely wanted to know; can you heal them?” Uffe asked.

Shen met Uffe’s eyes for a moment. He then looked back towards the village, sorting it with TL. “Loxy can manifest a medicine that will kill the parasite. It will not undo the damage the parasite has caused. Intellectual impairment is likely permanent.”

“Their offspring will be superior mentally,” Jerica said.

“In a perfect world,” Shen said. “They don’t just need meds. They require a culture change. They need to be educated. They need to be taught about hygiene. They need to wear boots. The parasite is likely indigenous to this region, and so they either got it originally from eating something, or it was deposited by migrating birds. It would take several generations to remove the parasite from the land”

“Except for this worm in their stomach, they are healthy?” Arne asked.

“Worms,” Shen said. “They are infested. We should not eat any food on this island. We should wash our boots and our hands before we board the Aslog and return to sea.”

“I want to help these children,” Uffe said.

“Hell, Uffe, they’re all children, even the eldest of them,” Jerica said.

Shen agreed with that assessment.

“I can offer them medicine and instructions,” Shen said. “That is the best I can do.”

“It would be better received if Loxy gave it,” Jerica said.

They returned to see the men angry. There was a pig laying on the beach, its legs tied to a bamboo. They were angry with Loxy. She stood with her light sword, blocking access to the dead animal.

“What is going on here?”

“We are going to eat this animal, even if we have to kill her to get it,” Orton said.

Arne hit Orton hard, dropping him. The men that were once standing with Orton scattered.

“She has bewitched you, too, or are you just that desperate for strange?!” Orton said more than asked.

Arne pulled out his sword. TL extinguished her light and came forwards.

“Don’t kill him, please,” TL said.

“Orton, if you ever threaten my guests again, I will kill you,” Arne said.

“It’s my kill. I claim it,” Orton said.

“Uffe, destroy this carcass. Everyone hear me. If you eat things from here, you will be harmed,” Arne said. “Jerica, send your spirit to our parties. Warn them, and have them return to us.”

Jerica nodded. She found a place on the sand, spread a blanket, and knelt on this. She sent her awareness out to connect with others.

With TL’s help, the new mast was set and seamless, as if it had always been a part of the ship. Before it was complete, Inno came with a few others, bringing them food and thanking them for honoring her request. The food was refused. TL explained to Inno her understanding of their island. The wild bores were likely the original host of the parasite, and eating uncooked or insufficiently cooked meat resulted in infection. A book with pictures of how to improve hygiene, made of metal and plastic to ensure its longevity in this environment was offered. Medicines were offered. These were rejected. Inno was insulted by the information. She was offended that their foods were rejected. She insisted they leave her island. They did.