Relzin (Chapter 2)

{Thick, moist, air close and choking, emphasises the already oppressive atmosphere. Plants sprout from every surface, winding their way higher into a tangled mass of leaves and thorns. That little light that can successfully filter through the canopy ceiling illuminates a vague trail through the undergrowth.}1

{I pull hard at the oiled deerskin sack dragging behind me, knowing that I am almost home.}2

{Shoving my way through a dense patch of foliage, I see the portal, a circle of the jungle replaced with bleak desert, Relzin. I climb through, dragging the heavy sack behind me then turn and close the portal. The wind howls its mournful greeting and I pause to listen to its song before continuing my work.}3

{The sand is course and gritty as I dig into it, soon I have made a shallow bowl shape. Some of the grains are slightly magnetic holding the sand in shape, at least until the next big storm.}4

{The slight magnetism is what shapes this world, storms sweeping across the land pile the sand into twisting shapes, and the wind swirling between towers of sand creates its constant mournful song. In no two places on Relzin will the shape of the landscape be the same and on no two places will the wind call in the same voice.}5

{Once the hole is deep enough I turn my attention back to the sack, I force it open and allow the water to spill into the hole before taking a drink.}6

The wind is growing stronger; I consider stopping to find shelter but am reluctant to stop without finding water. On the other hand walking into a sandstorm could also be fatal, I weigh my options and keep going.7

Two hours later the wind drops again and the visibility improves. Climbing to the highest ground I can find I scan the landscape, looking for the faint shimmer that suggests water. I find it and memorising the direction as best as I can I head towards it.8

{The wind fades away with a sigh. I should go home, back to the group, should do but don’t. I stretch out beside the water point I have made and wait. I will return eventually but for now I am content to wait here.}9

{In the absence of the wind a rare moment peace settles, bringing a calm feeling of stillness and tranquillity. I close my eyes and listen to silence.}10

Water shimmers and glistens in the halflight, rippling and glinting. Pure, cool, sweet water; my mouth burns as I stare at it. Stare at it in vain as it is guarded. A Versh is sprawled in front of it. Guarding the water, selfishly denying it to anyone else.11

Bitter hatred floods through me, I draw my knife and edge nearer. It looks like it is asleep but I know better than to trust a Versh by appearances.12

{The human seemed to make up its mind and advanced. I watched it through half closed eyes, it was forcing me to make a decision and I still wanted more time to consider my options. I stood up and backed away to gain time.}13

I gritted my teeth in frustration and hatred, the water was clearly bait for a trap, designed to lure the Versh’s victims close enough for it to attack. Luckily I had gone for the Versh itself instead of the water.14

Still, even having avoided the trap I knew I was in trouble, I had killed a Versh before but I cannot pretend I wasn’t lucky, and this one was bigger.15

{The Human ignored the water and continued to advance. It clearly expected me to attack it, I wasn’t surprised. I backed even further away and gestured for it to drink the water. It seemed confused and suspicious of me but slightly less hostile. I tried to convey that I wasn’t going to hurt it but without a shared language this was impossible. Giving up I used the standard greeting in my own language in the hope it would understand.}16

“Reshka vea” The harsh twisted language of the Versh did little to reassure me although the tone did not seem threatening. Carefully I edged closer to the pool, knife still pointing at the Versh. I untied my water-skin from my belt and dipped it into the water, never taking my eyes from the Versh.17

{The human was clever. Had it looked away from me while drinking I might have attacked it. The human finished drinking, it was still glaring at me but the knife was lower and it didn’t look quite so mistrusting. I realised that if I could gain its trust I could have a lot of fun with it. I had wanted something to do and now I had it.}18

I was confused; the Versh had let me drink and now seemed to be waiting for something. Was it playing with me? Could it really be friendly? Was this an elaborate trap? If so I wasn’t going to be caught. I tied the now full water-skin back to my belt and said thank you to the Versh although I knew it couldn’t understand then still watching it started to walk away.19

{The strange blunt words of the human sounded alien and echoing, ending with a stretched woop noise. I couldn’t guess at the meaning but it sounded friendly enough, it wouldn’t take long to gain the humans trust. Then I realised the human was walking away, I was not going to just let it escape. Jumping up I followed it.}20

The monster was following me, loping happily behind me like some puppy. I shook that image out of my head, Versh are not wolves and defiantly not dogs despite their appearances. It’s reluctance to lose sight of me meant I was now almost certain this was some elaborate trap. I wondered why it didn’t just attack me then realised; it was too scared, my cloak was made of a Versh hide, as was my water-skin. It wouldn’t know how much I had relied on luck the one time I had fought a Versh. Provided I never let my guard down or showed any sign of weakness I would be safe, it might even be in my advantage if the Versh could find water. Smiling slightly I carried on.21

{Not quite as trusting as I had thought, every time I get to close he waves the knife at me. This is going to be fun.}