Chapter 73: Tale 7, Ch 6: Licking Wounds

“Meng,” I say, stuttering. I snap the flag off William’s quarterstaff and tie it to my spear. “We are Mengs, followers of your order. We have come to live beside you and—”

“It’ll be dark soon. We should leave.” Meng says, and silently walks away.

“Wait, there’s more!”

There is nothing for us to do for Horal. The creatures got to him before we even knew we were under attack. As for Bay, well. The creatures must have tried to drag him away during the fight. He tried to climb away but he didn’t have much of a chance with a broken leg. Even William’s Prophet powers couldn’t heal him and he died sputtering blood and cursing me. Thankfully, they left Minnle lie, his eyes still glazed over in paralyzed fear.

The rest of us follow Meng out of the clearing, questions and words beyond control sputtering out of our mouths as Iris and I help Mally walk. She’s unconscious but alive. Meng carries Minnle under the crook of his arm.

We’re all pretty sure he’s leading us to his camp but he doesn’t say a word. I keep glancing over at William, as if seeing him for the first time. He makes no effort to hide his golden Prophet weapon. At the same time, he makes no effort to get close to Meng or speak to the man.

Meng doesn’t reply to Iris and my questions. We ask him all sorts of things like what those creatures are called, are there any more like them, has anyone else ever found him, what does he think of our group, our flag, why didn’t they attack Minnle?

Occasionally he grunts. Occasionally he points to where the trail moves off in another direction. The whole time he tries his best to visibly ignore William.HeHH

Meng takes us to his camp. It’s not far away, half a mile at most, and when we get there we all take a long sigh of relief and sit down beside a smoldering fire in the middle of a large clearing.

Not far from the blackened firepit stands a square-shaped house made of thin, green logs. It stands perfectly straight with a tall, pointed roof and would seem hospitable if not for the fact that one entire wall were missing. I don’t comment about this as Meng props Minnle down on the cabin’s floor and indicates for Iris and me to put Mally on the bed.

It’s only now, after we’re safe and the death of my compatriots has finally eased a little, that I get the courage to step in front of Meng and extend my hand. “Meng, sir,” I say, trying to seem strong as possible. “It is a great honor to finally meet you.”

Meng examines me, my hand, then gives me a quick, light handshake. “What do you want?” he asks and walks over to a pile of brown logs split into smaller pieces.

He takes a few of these and tosses them on the fire. In a long pile, next to the brown logs, lies a stack of green logs still smelling alive and resembling thick bamboo. Meng begins hacking away with his hatchet at the end of one of them, carving out what looks like a flattened tip.

It’s only now that I notice the other green logs with similar tips, laid out in what looks to be a purposeful order. “Are you building another cabin?” I ask, realizing the tips are meant for the logs to be laid across.

“No. Fixing the one I have.” Meng points to the empty wall. I notice that the logs on the other walls extend to flattened tips as well, so that a new log could be easily slid into place. “Do it every day. Have to use fresh timber. The decaying timber keeps parasites away, but gets brittle and useless after a few days.”

“You have to rebuild a wall of your house every day?” I ask, impressed, laughing to see my hero at work.

“What do you want?” Meng asks as he continues to work.

“Should we be asking something in particular?” Iris asks, standing beside me.

“A person doesn’t come to Wilds unless they have a reason.”

William uses his quarterstaff to push around the logs burning in the fire, making the flames go higher and stronger. Meng shoots him a brief, furious glare that makes William take several steps away.

“We’re here because we’re Mengs,” I say, proudly holding up our flag once again.

Meng stops working and gives me a look of pure confusion and annoyance. “What?”

“We’re Mengs. Modeled after your example — we are a group of all races unified in the spirit that you started.”

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Meng doesn’t reply, but continues to stare at me like a predatory bird.

“We… we have over a thousand members across the continent. Each and every one of us were chosen based on our skills and survival expertise to represent the group and come to meet you.”

“How many came?” Meng asks.

“What?”

“How many came?”

I lick my lips. “Ten. Three died when our ship broke apart. You saw what happened to Horal and Bay.”

“Razor Wolves.” Meng turns and returns to his work. “That’s what I call them. They always go for the strongest of a group first and can kill without a sound. That’s why your paralyzed friend is still alive. They must have gone after your crippled friend in desperation.”

“Bay,” Iris says.

“Bay. So ten of you came and now five of you are left. Was it worth it?”

“We all knew the risks of coming here, Meng,” I reply. “We have devoted our lives to your example and consider any cost necessary to… what’s so funny?”

Meng has stopped working and nearly drops his hatchet as he leans against the logs and laughs. His wide shoulders take long leaps up and down as his deep laughter rumbles through his muscled frame. “Devoted your life to me?” Meng asks.

“Of course. Meng, you don’t know what your example has meant to us.”

Meng turns to me, all laughter gone from his expression. “Meant enough to get five of your friends killed?” Without waiting for my response, Meng gets back to work. “I just survive. Nothing more.”

“But you survived where no one else has before,” Iris insists. “Not since Henderin has a man of this planet been able to tame the wilderness like you. Even Henderin didn’t go to Wilds!”

“That’s why we’ve come under Henderin’s banner, to tame Wilds at your side. Even you have to be impressed with yourself,” I say.

Meng finishes with the log, stacks it on his pile, and goes to work on another. “I have to rebuild my house every day, start a fire out of water-soaked wood, fight off packs of razor wolves and hide hounds and feral pigs and grags and all sorts of other animals I haven’t even bothered to name yet,” Meng says as he hacks away.

With every word Iris and I become more in awe of this man. Truly we chose wisely in modeling our lives after him.

“I have to fetch salves and herbs from caves and forests so dark it seems always night,” Meng continues. “I have to get urine from the biggest of beasts every mating season just to keep them from wandering into my camp. I have to rub my body with the gills of a fish only found in a lagoon rife with sharks just to keep parasites off my body when I go out of my camp at night. All this and more and do you know why I do it?”

Iris and I shake our heads, as does William.

“I do it,” Meng explains with a sigh, “to survive. That’s all. It’s not a life worth admiring and it’s not worth modeling after. It’s just a life.”

“You don’t get it,” I say. “You survived… here! For centuries people have been trying to do that but you, you did it.”

“Only because I had no choice.” Meng finishes the last of the logs and piles them on top of each other. “Here, if you’re going to bask in my glory you might as well be of use. Grab a log.” Meng puts two logs under the crook of either arm.

Unable to keep a childish smile from my face, I run over and lift two logs, barely holding them with both hands. Iris fights even more and after dropping them only once, is able to bring two logs as well.

“Not you,” Meng says to William when the man tries to come over and help. The meddling Prophet eyes us jealously.

I’m still not sure what to think of William being a Prophet. I should have known. He doesn’t look like a Grichian. He said he was a Grichian but he’s nothing more than an off-worlder Sevens Prophet. The filthy meddlers. Still, William was my friend when I thought he was just a man of another minor race. And he saved Mally’s life. For that, I’ll have to tolerate him. But I’m sure Iris, Meng, and I will all be very far off from liking him.

We work on the wall, placing the logs in their positions as Meng hammers them in place with the flat, back side of his hatchet.

“What is so wrong with modeling our lives after you?” I ask, lifting a log and setting it in the gap between the other standing walls.

“You’re Haman,” Meng says, notching the log in place. “Like me.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Bout the time you were born, Hamans were the major race. Then the Mills fought their revolution and took everything from us, from me.”

“But we’re not just Hamans, Meng. We’re from all races. Mannil is a Cawn. Mally is a Hendran. Iris is a Joril. Even Dorin was a Mill. We’re all here together because you inspired us.”

Meng sets a log in place and leans against his nearly completed wall. “I didn’t come to Wilds because I was inspired, boy. I came to escape.”

“I’m not a boy!” I nearly shout. “And my name is Burin.”

“Well then, Burin. You got these people here. You can take them back. For your sake I hope a higher proportion makes it home than got here.”

“Wait, whoa,” Iris says. “You can’t just kick us off Wilds. We came here because we wanted to help you.”

Meng hammers the last log in place, taking a long moment to examine his perfectly level handiwork. “Does it look like I need help?”

“Not help, really. We want to start a colony, Meng. We want to start a new life here,” I say, hoping to see that glimmer of excitement in Meng’s eyes I’d dreamed of. Instead, he walks off and grabs a stout ladder from behind the cabin.

The ladder is made of a different type of wood, with browned rope of some kind binding it together. Meng practically slams it against the side of the cabin. “Get inside,” he says.

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t put doors in my cabin. You get in through the roof. Now climb. There’s a wisp horde coming.”

“A wisp horde?” William asks, readying his quarterstaff.

“I don’t hear anything,” I say, looking into the silent forest for a sign of danger. “What’s a wisp horde?”

Meng starts climbing the ladder and says, “Something you don’t want to be outside for. Smell that lime, metallic tint on the air?” Everyone sniffs. I can barely make out a smell somewhat like the soap we used on our ship. “That’s them. Now get in.”