The Mender

Nabbing

As soon as the Shell Bead People left Flat Rocks, Jolam and Grayla went to get Saba, Sela, and Muni and bring them back to the bode.

"What if they sneak up on us in the night and kill everyone?" asked Sela.

Muni asked, "Are the other children from our bode dead?"

"We are many more than they are. Someone at Flat Rocks is always watching. They will not attack us," said Jolam,

"What about the children? And Riga? Why didn't Riga come?" said Sela.

Saba said, "I don't know, Sela. I'm worried too. We need to make a plan. You can help us because you can tell us things about them."

Grayla put her arms around the children, "You and Muni are safe with us. We will not let them harm you."

The next day, after Nat and Kai returned. People gathered to discuss what to do about the Shell Bead People who they now called the Violent Ones.

"We need to attack them before they attack us," said Piram. "Now that they have seen where we live and how many we are, they're making plans to come in and kill the strong ones and make the weak and little ones slaves. We have all seen what people like this can do. We must move quickly."

"If we attack them, many of us will be killed. It will bring sorrow and anger and then we become killers and Violent Ones like them." said Nagar – gasping and coughing.

"But Piram is right. We can't just sit here. And what about the children and Riga?" said Tars.

Zura said, "Listen to what Nagar is saying. If we kill them, we're saying that killing people is right. Our Agreements say it is not right. She is not saying we do nothing, but we need to find a way to help the slaves that is not by killing."

"A few of us can go and watch them. See where they live, how many are in their bode," said Nat.

Esri said, "It might be possible to get slaves away from them during the night."

Barsa said, "Maybe some of the Violent Ones want to leave. Last night at their campfire, the young man, Geslo, who doesn't say much in the tradings, sat with me away from the others. He asked me many questions about our Agreements and how we live. Some of his questions were curious. He asked me if we laughed a lot and if everyone laughed a lot, not just the Elders."

"You're saying they're not all Violent Ones?" said Esri.

Barsa shrugged, "Perhaps not."

It was agreed that Kai and Nat would scout the Violent Ones' bode and they left the next morning. It would be several days before they returned as it was nearly a two-day walk.

The people at Flat Rocks felt unsettled and anxious. They made sure that a number of them were always keeping watch. When people took children any distance from the bode, they did so with several adults for protection. A few days after Kai and Nat left, Grayla, Jolam, Sela, Muni, Grilu, Wilki, and Wilki-Dumu decided to go down to the river and gather mussels. Wilki said, "Esri, come with us. You've hardly left the bode in days."

Esri said, "No Wilki, I want to stay. If Nat and Kai come back early, I want to be here. Anyway, I have a bone carving I'm working on."

"I'm going to stay too with Esri," said Sela. "Can I work with you?"

"Of course, here, I have another bone. I'll show you how to make Muni's face." She turned to Wilki. "Be careful."

"Don't worry. We're a big group and we're not going far."

Esri was working on replicating Zura's Sky Bones with marks for noting the new rhythms of the plants and animals that they were noticing. Before she started on her work, she gave Sela a thigh bone from an antelope and showed her how to etch it with a flint, being careful to cover the flint edge resting in Sela's hand with a small piece of skin so she wouldn't cut herself.