Ontogeny

Chapter 2b

     They made good time through the friendly Helberion countryside, stopping at inns and boarding houses for the night and exchanging greetings with the other travellers they passed on the road. They rode in silence for the most part. They had gotten to know each other so well over the past few years that words were not necessary. One of the men would see a group of good looking women working a field and would give a grunt to attract the attentions of his fellows, followed by a nod of his head towards the objects of interests, bringing smiles and chuckles of appreciation. Or one of them would scowl at a fly buzzing around his head, waving at it with his hand, causing the others to exchange amused glances.

     The Brigadier himself rode at the head of their little column, eyes fixed straight ahead, thinking thoughts that he kept to himself, and Malone rode beside him on his much smaller horse. Now and then he silently cursing legs that still had not quite adapted themselves to a bipedal gait and that were sore from being spread wide on the saddle for hours at a time.

     It took them a couple of weeks to reach the end of the civilised, well populated lands that surrounded the great city of Marboll, after which they found themselves passing through the much emptier, less friendly lands that covered the greater part of the world they lived in. There were still towns and villages to be found here, but they were a full days travel apart and suspicious of strangers, heavily defended against the wild tribes and bands of outlaws that preyed upon the weak and unprepared. Soon they found themselves passing beneath the dense canopy of the Great Southern Forest and felt the air growing heavy about them, humid and filled with clouds of biting insects. Every man kept himself wary and at full alert as they passed along the narrow road, knowing that unfriendly eyes could be upon them at any time, searching for signs that they would be easy prey. They kept swords, pistols and crossbows in plain sight, therefore. A warning and a deterrence in case the uniforms and armour of the Helberion Ranger Corps were not enough.

     They spent their first night after entering the forest in an abandoned woodcutter’s cottage. They left the horses in the conveniently empty woodyard whose surrounding fence had been hastily repaired some time in the recent past, indicating that other travellers came this way on occasion, probably passing to and from the nearby market town of Thellow. The Brigadier detailed two of his men to keep watch in case they had visitors, then returned to where Malone was cooking a stew.

     “Found some wild carrots growing out front,” the batman explained as the Brigadier bent over the cook pot. “Probably used to be a vegetable garden. Adds some much needed bulk to the mutton.”

     “As do the globs, I see,” the Brigadier muttered to himself without enthusiasm.

     “Nothing wrong with globs, Sir. My parents used to practically live on them. My dad said they’re ubi... ubi... What was the word? Ubiquitous. That means they’re good for you.”

     “Your father had a rather larger vocabulary than you, didn’t he?” chuckled Crane, grinning at the others to share the joke.

     Malone shot him a savage look. “Back home, we had a big metal tank full of globs that we dropped all the food waste in. Potato peelings. Carrot leaves. All the animal bits we didn't eat. The globs ate it all and multiplied like rabbits. They split in half when they get too big, you know. Then, anytime one of us fancied a snack we just scooped out a few with a big ladle, washed them, boiled them up and ate them like berries. Just popped them into our mouths one at a time. We never went hungry in our family. I was thinking of carrying a few here, with us. A small sack or something...”

    “Please don't,” said Crane, looking around at the others and winking.

     Malone ignored him and spooned one of the small, gelatinous creatures out of the stew with the ladle. Its original transparency was turning a milky white. Another few minutes should do it, he mused, dropping it back in.