Chapter 74: Tale 7, Ch 7: The Wisp Horde

Dutifully, William, Iris, and I climb after Meng. Moments after we push through a gap in the thatched roof, resealing it behind us, a roar like a tornado thunders around us.

We sit in a circle, the only light a candle Meng ignites with a flint and steel. The candle is green and I really want to ask how he made it, or how he made the bed, the nightstand, the painting framed with Meng and a small boy, the silverware, everything. Only the anxiety at the unseen danger outside the green walls holds my tongue.

Minnle begins moaning, able to loosely move his arms and lips, and tries to show us how angry and afraid he is at the situation.

“They can’t get in can they?” Iris asks as she checks on Minnle and Mally.

“They won’t,” Meng replies. “Like I said. The decaying wood gives off an odor. Plus the different urines I’ve got traced around this area will keep anything we don’t want far away.”

“What are they?” I ask over the sounds outside.

“The urines? They’re tough to find is what they are. Have to reseed them every week or so.”

“No, I mean the wisp horde.”

“Oh. They’re just a bunch of insects. Different types all mixed in — I’ve never tried figuring out what’s what. All I know is I’ve seen a Jabbin the size of an elephant disappear inside the swarms. One second he was there, then the swarm passed and he was gone. First time I got in one, had to dig a hole through some real deep mud and hold my breath. Even then I got bit like crazy.” Meng leans in closer, his eyes shadowed in the light of the candle. “This is the kind of stuff you have to deal with in Wilds. You really want to make a colony here?”

I nod. “We can tame it, or at least cope with it for a while. I mean, you can live here,” I say.

Meng leans away from the glow of the candle, reclining against the low post of his leaf-covered bed. “I got lucky.”

“Lucky? You came and went twice. You’ve survived here for two decades. Forgive me, Meng, but that’s not luck,” Iris says.

Meng shrugs. “People have been trying to live here for centuries. Someone would have to make it eventually.”

“Then someone is going to have to make a colony here eventually,” I say. “Wilds can’t be like this forever.”

Meng closes his eyes. “Every morning I dig a hole. I dig it about five feet deep and put a trap in it. Usually I catch a little critter that might or might not be poisonous. This hole, this five foot hole every day gets filled. Dirt, bugs, all sorts of stuff. The hole never lasts more than a day before dirt and grass grows it back to its normal level. Things grow, fight, die, regrow here on a level I can’t even comprehend. The only way to tame Wilds would be to sink it into the ocean.”

The green walls groan as if something big were pushing against it. For a moment I fear the wall we’d just put up is going to topple over on us, or collapse and allow the deadly swarm to enter the cabin.

“Relax,” Meng says. “It’s just wind from the wisps. The cabin’s meant to move a bit but the bugs won’t come near it.”

William gently lays his quarterstaff back across his lap. Sitting in a cross-legged position, the Prophet has yet to relax or take a hand off that weapon of his.

“Meng,” Iris says, taking a glance to the groaning walls as if to reassure herself they’ll hold, “you said you left the continent after the Mills took over. What made you come here?”

Meng drums his long hands against the wooden floor of his cabin, his fingernails scratching against the dried surface as he examines Iris. “It’s not like I didn’t try other places. Everywhere Hamans had built up their empire, wherever the Mills took back their power, I couldn’t live. And because of the color of my skin and eyes, I was always labeled a Haman and associated with the old order. I couldn’t get away.”

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“So you sought a place of your own, where race didn’t matter,” I say, smiling with pride.

“Call it what you want. I just wanted a job.”

I furrow my brow, looking at my hero strangely. “Excuse me?”

“A job. I couldn’t own land so I couldn’t farm anymore. And all the jobs in the cities were going so fast my family would’ve starved before I got my first pay stub.”

A shriek outside, barely audible through the roar of the swarm, causes all but Meng to turn to the walls. I feel a great ping of guilt, not for the animal that got caught in that cloud of insects. I feel immense guilt at the image of Horal and Bay, my friends, the wisp swarm devouring their corpses in seconds. I choke down a little bile and try to put the thoughts out of my head and concentrate on what Meng says.

“I came here because I thought I could own a little land,” Meng explains. “Start a farm, get a place where my family could live. Took me years to figure out how to survive here. And after all my work was done and I’d gotten the pattern established, found the perfect location and methods for maintaining it, I set sail to return for my family.”

Meng looks to the painting hanging on the wall above Minnle’s head. Its glass has nearly stained completely over and the painting barely holds its original shape and color. In the painting, Meng sits on a leather sofa, a blurry body standing beside him that I can only imagine is his wife. In the woman’s arms is the white bundle of a smiling baby.

After a long moment of waiting for Meng to continue, I clear my throat and ask, “What happened to them?”

Meng doesn’t respond, only stares at the painting. “The swarm has passed.” Meng stands up and grabs a little stool made of stout, tanned wood I don’t recognize. He stands on it and parts a section of the roof and climbs out.

I follow Meng, telling Minnle to call if Mally wakes up and leave the candle glowing for his benefit. Iris comes shortly after but William has apparently decided to stay in the cabin.

“Meng,” I call after the man. He grabs a long-handled tool that looks like a rake made of bone and begins sweeping the many dead insects lining the ground. “Meng, where is your family?”

“Wilds is a place of balance, you know. These things will eat you in seconds. But if you survive them, the things they leave behind will keep ants and other parasites occupied. I got a couple more rakes behind the cabin. Help me make a perimeter. It’s gotta be a good stack to work.”

Iris is already running to fetch the tools and hands me one of the bone-toothed rakes. I can’t help but smile as, once again, we’re helping Meng with his camp.

“Can you eat them?” Iris inquires.

“Only a few, like these red ones.” Meng picks up a crimson colored insect with large wings and a curling tail. “The tails have a few vitamins and minerals in them. Best of all they increase the ammonia in your urine, which helps keep some of the nastier plants away from camp.” Meng bites off the long, curly tail of the bug and chews on it. “Tastes terrible, though. And don’t eat the wings. That’ll kill ya.”

Both Iris and I examine the ground for these specific insects. I spot one and pick it up, looking over the head and tail. It flutters its wings limply and I realize it’s still alive. Clearing my throat and closing my eyes, I take a bit out of its tail and have to hold my mouth shut to keep from spitting it out. Iris has a similar reaction.

Meng chuckles at the sight. “The tan ones make a good dressing on meat if you grill them till they pop,” he says as he rakes. “But you can’t live on these alone. That’ll kill your kidneys pretty quick. You have to supplement it with meat. And for that I have traps and hunting.”

“Can we go hunting with you?” Iris asks eagerly.

Meng shakes his head. “Too late for that. I’ve got some meat in the cabin we can eat for tonight, just barely enough for everyone I think.”

“What about tomorrow?” I ask.

Again, Meng shakes his head. “You’re leaving tomorrow.”

I have to laugh and say, “Yeah, right. Because we can build a seaworthy ship in a day.” My eyes go wide and I nearly drop my rake. “Wait, you couldn’t actually do that could you?”

Meng chuckles again. “You really have a problem with this hero worship thing, Burin. I couldn’t build a ship in a day, not that could get out of Wilds’ breakers. But I don’t need to. You have mine.”

“We get to sail your ship!” Iris says. “Wait, are you coming with us?”

Meng ignores the comment and gets back to work, putting his back to us as he rakes. “You set out just after sunrise, when the tide is high enough. I’ll lead you through the path and get the ship in the water. After that, you’re on your own.”

“No,” I say, dropping my rake and walking over to Meng. “No, Meng. We’re not leaving. We came here to learn from you, to help you make Wilds a place where—”

“You’re misguided and stupid and you’re leaving in the morning. I’m not going to hear anything else.” Meng sighs, stopping his work as he looks up at the setting sun. “It’s going to be dark soon. Hurry up and help me rake so I can cook before the night wolves come out. They smell cooking meat and not even my Grubbin urine barriers and traps will keep them away.”