Over, Under, Around, Through
THE THUNDEROUS BOOM echoed throughout the three main mountains, halting Charmian and Augwak and Pakwa in their tracks. They froze, then peered eastward, past the great mountain in the middle, seeing nothing but its looming bulk and that of the smaller mountain behind it. They waited, but that was all; the wind which had started up out of nowhere even began to die down, and they found themselves standing in almost utter silence, their ears ringing. Pakwa made a face and batted at his.
Charmian rubbed her own, which were cold. "I don't like the sound of that," she murmured, and started walking again. "Let's go. For all we know he's sending another one of those Wendigoes after us right now..."
"I want to go home," Augwak muttered with just a trace of a whine, and for once Charmian agreed with him as they resumed their descent, albeit a bit more quickly than before.
The BOOM reverberated even down into the camp near the bay. Everyone in and around the main lodge sat up straight, tensing, as soon as the sound filled the air and then faded away; Kenu's face grew hopeful, but Francois shook his head and again they just sat staring at the entryway. More than a few of them looked anxious now; X'aaru's tail slid between his legs, Niskigwun gripped his spear tighter, and Stick-In-The-Dirt slowly lifted his rattle, but didn't shake it. No one spoke, just stared intently at the doorflap.
"Maybe Gitchi Manitou has gas," Marten said so suddenly that everyone else in the lodge screamed at once. Then Manabozho batted him over the head so that he yelled as well, rubbing at his cap.
Thomas winced and rubbed his neck. "I hope that wasn't nearly as bad as it sounded..."
"It sounded like it came from the east," Kenu said; when everyone looked at him, he stared back at them all, blinking. "What? Grandfather taught me to be good with directions!" He stood up and pointed. "I think it came from that little mountain east of the BIG one!"
"You're so good with directions yet you couldn't even find your way back to your stupid cloud...?" Manabozho muttered, but earned only a foul look from the little Animiki, before Niskigwun grasped Kenu's arm and gently nudged him to sit down again. The Michinimakinong sighed and rested his spear across his legs.
"Whatever it is," he murmured, "we can do nothing about it now. I am of the mind to believe it was something good. Why, after all, would there be such a hideous crashing noise if it were something bad...?"
"He's right!" Marten exclaimed, still straightening out his cap. "If it were bad I rather think it would be four LITTLE noises! Ow--!!" He winced when Peepaukawiss thwacked him this time, and glared up at him. "HEY! What'd you do THAT for--?"
"Er--sorry!!" Puka cried, going brilliant red and fiddling his fingers. "I honestly don't know what came over me!"
"I think something's coming over all of us," Moon Wolf muttered under his breath, and Lieutenant Barrington and Francois both looked at him, but he said nothing else. The voyageur frowned a little and turned back to the entryway.
"I think we should worry more for ourselves rather than for anyone out there," he said.
Singing Cedars frowned now. "Why is that?"
"Just a feeling I have," Francois replied, and like Moon Wolf said nothing more. The others stared at him for a while before beginning to sigh and settle back into their own personal miseries.
"It feels colder," X'aaru murmured after a while. He got to his feet and cast a meek look at Black Elk Horn. "I'm going to go see how Mishupishu's doing." He left the lodge, tail still between his legs.
Outside, it was considerably cooler than before, though this barely bothered the demon, with his thick coat of fur. He did pause long enough to glance up at the three mountains, brow furrowing in worry, before making his way to the edge of the water. He'd barely reached it before Mishupishu's horns poked up to the surface, and the Lynx raised his head so his eyes peered out. They looked up at the mountains.
"You heard it too...?" X'aaru asked.
Mishupishu nodded, the water sloshing around him. "It sounded positively gigantic! I wonder what it was...?"
"Well, Charmian and the others are rather small," X'aaru said. "Even compared to us! Wouldn't you agree--?"
"Oh, of course," Mishupishu agreed. "It couldn't have been them."
"Do you suppose it might have been a Wendigo? They seem to have them here, and from what I've been told, they're quite big!"
"Oh--of course! They have them all around Gitchi-Gami, too, though I never saw one. As tall as a pine tree! And taller!"
"Hopefully that's what made that noise," X'aaru said anxiously. "Though I'm not sure if that makes it any better..."
"Oh." Mishupishu's head lowered into the water again, eyes peeking from side to side. "Did anyone come down here with you...?"
"No," the demon said, cocking his head. "Why?"
"Well...I felt something funny going by not that long ago," the Lynx replied. "I think maybe those strange fellows who've been following us have caught up again!"
"Oh no!" X'aaru's ears pricked. "Could you tell where they went--?"
"I think it was straight toward those mountains!" Mishupishu exclaimed. He snorted and water bubbled around him. "Do you think THEY might have had something to do with that sound up there--?"
X'aaru started shifting from foot to foot. "I don't know! But what if they do? Nnhheeeeeeeee!" He let out a whine and turned to look. "I wish I knew what's going on up there! But if I go flying up there, they'll see me! There's no way I can hide from people like them! Nnnhhheeeeeee!"
"I wish I could point out a tunnel to you," Mishupishu said regretfully, "but I can't find any! And I've looked all over this bay! At least, as well as I could..."
X'aaru paced in circles, whining to himself. He mistakenly stuck his foot in the water and paused to shake it off, sending little droplets flying before halting, eyes widening. An instant later he was hopping up and down. "Oh! Oh! Oh!" he cried, and the Lynx's head came even further out of the water. "I think I have an idea! But I need your help!"
"My help--?" Mishupishu asked, blinking.
X'aaru nodded. "You see your spines--?" The Lynx lifted his dorsal spines and X'aaru nodded. "Can you make them glow any brighter than that, maybe...? Just a little tiny bit--?"
"I don't know," Mishupishu said, frowning. "I've never tried it! Let me see." His face slowly screwed up in an almost comic fashion; the demon continued shifting from foot to foot as if he had to go. Several moments passed with no change, and Mishupishu let out his breath in a whoosh, looking quite dejected. Then he blinked. "Oh! Wait a minute--!" He wiggled his nose, and then his spines lit up. He turned his head and the two of them stared at them for a moment, puzzled.
"Huh," Mishupishu said. "I didn't know I could do that."
"That's perfect!" X'aaru said, hopping up and down. "Now--do you think maybe you can hold them up a little bit--and toss some water into the air with your tail? Not a lot of water--just a little mist of it? Maybe toss it past your spines a bit? I know it sounds strange--but if you could do it..."
"That doesn't sound too difficult," Mishupishu said, and raised his spines. He started tossing droplets of water into the air, peering at the demon from the corner of his eye. "Like this--?"
X'aaru nodded excitedly. "Just keep doing that!" he said. "I'm going to see if I can find a way up to that mountain to see what's going on." He bit his lip. "If anybody asks where I went--just tell them I...um...walked off for a bit to think," he said, and winced. "I hate lying! I'm so awful at it!"
"I think it sounds convincing!" Mishupishu said. "You just do what you have to do. I'll be right here!"
X'aaru nodded again. "All right!" He shut his eyes and stood very still for a moment or so...Mishupishu's eyes widened when something faint and shimmering began to fade into view over his spines, where he was splashing the water. He tilted his head to watch in surprise as a small rainbow formed in the mist, its colors vaguely greenish due to the glow of the spines. X'aaru opened his eyes, which lit up as soon as he saw it. "It worked, it worked! Wonderful! It's been so long since I made one!"
"Amazing!" Mishupishu said. "You mean you can just make them whenever you wish--?" When the demon nodded proudly he nodded as well. "I wish I could do something half as amazing! What do you do with it--?"
X'aaru's enthusiasm deflated a little. "Well...mostly I use them to travel around a bit...but so far I've only ever done so on the Island! And then only to just be by myself for a little while! I haven't done it very much at all since moving into my cave with Khiieta." He blushed. "I guess I just haven't had any reason to be by myself, lately!"
"Well, I think that sounds quite nice!" the Lynx replied. "Do you think this can help you get up the mountain without being seen?"
"I'm not sure," X'aaru admitted. "Whenever I used them on the Island, that's always where I went back to, the Island! But I guess I'll find out." He blushed a little, then said, "Do you think you could wish me luck, maybe...?"
"Of course!" Mishupishu said. "Good luck!"
X'aaru stood up straight again. "Megwetch!" He crouched close to the ground, like a cat getting ready to jump, then did just that, launching himself at Mishupishu. The Lynx blinked and then squinched his eyes shut, ducking his head and lowering his spines--but the rainbow lasted just long enough for the demon to vanish through it before they could collide with each other. When nothing struck him, Mishupishu lifted his head and glanced around himself, again surprised, before realizing that he was alone. He swam in a few circles and stuck his head underwater just to make sure that the demon hadn't drowned, then lifted it and sniffed at the air, looking toward the mountains. He let out a breath.
"Good luck, demon!" he exclaimed, waving his spines.
Winter Born's eye cracked open and she peered reluctantly at the ice wall in Kabebonikka's cave, fearing what she might see after the chase of the gigantic Wendigo after Little Wind and the mitchi manitou, and the horrific BOOM that had just emanated from the mountains, making their very tops shake. Her mouth slowly fell open as she realized what she was staring at...not a crushed and mangled manitou and Little Wind, but the Wendigo itself...lying sprawled out upon the glacier, unmoving, one arm outstretched before it.
She lifted her head and furrowed her brow. She could see Little Wind and the manitou standing some distance before it, gasping for breath but very much alive. The Wendigo, however, didn't move a bit, not even when they gingerly approached it, the manitou even tapping at its hand with his antler before skipping back.
Winter Born looked up at Kabebonikka, standing beside her. "What happened?" she asked, perplexed.
The look on the North Wind's face was even more perplexing. His own eyes went wide, as if in surprise; then they began to slowly narrow, and his mouth formed into a thin line across his pale face. Winter Born's stare lowered and she saw how his fingers curled into fists, the long nails pressing into his skin. She bit her lip and took a deliberate step away from him, though she did pretend to pick something off of her moccasin when she did so, just in case.
"Interesting," Kabebonikka said, not sounding nearly as amused as before.
"What...what do you think happened...?" Winter Born asked again, fiddling her fingers. She looked back at the wall. "It looks like he tripped or something..."
"He did not trip," Kabebonikka said in a sour voice, and Winter Born held her tongue. The manitou's eyes turned into slivers of blue. "It looks as if I am not the only one with plans for your flame-haired friend."
"Huh--?" Winter Born craned her neck toward the wall. Two more tiny shapes had appeared on the glacier, walking toward the Wendigo. Her eyes grew wide on seeing them. She gasped, then turned to Kabebonikka and started hopping up and down.
"That's the OTHER two!" she cried, pointing. "The really BAD wabano! That other one with him must be his wife!" The North Wind looked down at her with a chilly frown and she pointed even harder. "They're both Makwamosa--Bearwalkers! They keep threatening us--they're the REAL ones in charge--under Megissogwun, that is! Little Wind and that manitou are NOTHING compared to them!"
"Really," Kabebonikka said.
"Uh-huh!" Winter Born nodded, ceasing her hopping. "You REALLY can't let them find us! Please don't let them catch up with Charmian and the others! They're REALLY strong!" She looked back at the dead Wendigo and took in a breath. "They--they're the ones who killed your Wendigo--aren't they?" She turned back to him. "They might even be more powerful than you--!"
Kabebonikka's slivered eyes flashed. "No human is more powerful than I am," he nearly snapped, before taking a breath and regaining his composure. He tucked his hands into his sleeves. "As for keeping them off your friends' tail," he said mildly, "this is no concern of mine. However...while they are busy meddling with my affairs...I rather see fit to do with them as I wish." He flared his nostrils and lifted his head. "Those four will not cause your friends any trouble upon my mountains. They will not set foot any further up here than they already have." He turned his head and looked down at Winter Born, frowning a little. She tried not to squirm as he looked her up and down, then turned back to the wall; there was a long pause before he turned from the wall and waved at her. "Follow."
Winter Born bit the inside of her mouth, but obeyed. The North Wind took the few steps toward the rough corner where this wall met the side wall, and gestured; a new entryway appeared where one hadn't been before, at least, she hadn't noticed it until now. He slipped through it and she followed, more curious now than anything.
"You have all sorts of secret passages in here?" she asked, looking all over as they walked through another narrow passageway which was darker than the first.
"You are surprised?" Kabebonikka said.
"Not really," Winter Born hastened to say; when he looked at her, she bit her lip. "Kind of," she admitted. His mouth twitched before he turned away.
"As it turns out, it is one such of these that I was planning to show you...right in here." He stepped out of the passage and into an ice cave much smaller than the first; it seemed even more confined with the tall manitou standing within it. Winter Born stepped in and peered around, but the ice here was dirty and opaque, not reflective at all. Kabebonikka touched the lumpy wall to their right and she let out a little gasp and hopped back when the ice and stone gave way with a soft grinding noise. She found herself staring into a black passage barely as tall as she was.
She pursed her lips and leaned forward to stick her head into it. A cold draft of air came from below and she shivered, rubbing her arms. "Where does it go to?" she asked, intrigued.
"That passageway," Kabebonikka replied, "leads back toward the north shore of Gitchi-Gami."
Winter Born blinked. Her head shot up--"Ow!"--she ducked back out, rubbing at it with a grimace as the North Wind smirked faintly. She looked up at him. "Gitchi-Gami--?" she exclaimed, eyes growing. "All that way--?" She looked down into it again. "I think Charmian said something about looking for a tunnel on the shore of Gitchi-Gami...that was why we had to dig two tunnels! You mean there really is such a thing--?" When he just stared at her neutrally her brow furrowed. "But we looked all over the place. I mean--all over."
"It wouldn't have been very much fun if you had found it so easily," Kabebonikka replied.
Her face screwed up in confusion. "Then why are you showing it to me now--?"
He pointed into it. "Because I think it would be a bit more fun, truthfully, to see you outwit those four twits, at least this once." His nose wrinkled a little. "The way they killed off my Wendigo was hardly fair, and hardly amusing."
Winter Born stared at him for a moment before deciding that arguing wasn't worth it; Never look a gift horse in the mouth, she'd heard people in the town say, and for once the odd saying made a little bit of sense. "So this would take me back to Gitchi-Gami--?" When he nodded she bit her lip. "But what about the others...?"
"Head through it and you'll see that Gitchi-Gami is not the only place it stops," Kabebonikka replied. "This was once a Mishupishu tunnel, full of water. As far as I recall, it leads out to that bay I've been attempting to freeze over, as well...at least, it once did." His mouth twitched. "Whether it still does or not is not for me to say."
Winter Born was already putting one foot in the tunnel. "So you mean I could end up underwater, or at a dead end?" she asked.
The North Wind shrugged a little, eyes narrowing. "Perhaps."
She gnawed on her lip and paused halfway over the threshold. "Do you think it's still safe?"
"Of course," he said; then, "But would you honestly trust me?"
There was a very long silence. Winter Born studied him for a long time, then grasped onto the stone. "Yes," she said. "I think I can." She stepped into the passageway. "Megwetch, Grandfather Wintermaker! I won't forget it!"
Kabebonikka's mouth twitched. "You should learn not to take others at their word so easily, little winter girl, else you'll end up in that Bearwalker's mouth next."
"A manitou always keeps his word," she called out as she crawled into the blackness.
"I did not promise anything," his voice echoed down after her.
"I know," she shouted back up, having to duck her head. "But I believe you anyway, so there!"
Her voice faded away into silence. Kabebonikka stood looking down into the passageway. After a while his mouth twitched again, then slithered into a fullblown grin. He waved and the wall sealed itself back up again after her, as if a passage had never been there at all.
"Interesting," he said, simply, and turned away to head back to the main cave to watch the fun commence.
The young medicine man stood with his hand clasping at his chest as if his heart had just stopped. It honestly felt like it had. The manitou standing beside him wasn't much better off. The two of them stared, gawking, at the still form of the ice giant lying stretched out before them, one massive arm flung out, its dirty claws, larger than the largest knives they knew, gouging deep holes into the glacier.
Little Wind leaned on his knees and let out a shaky breath, wiping his brow. That had certainly been way too close.
Crunching noises came from behind them and they both jumped a little, Little Wind whirling around and the manitou turning his head. A man and a woman were approaching, wrapped in deerskin robes that had been dyed black; Little Wind and the mitchi manitou ducked their heads as Mishosha and the woman halted several paces away, also staring at the fallen Wendigo.
"Hm," Mishosha said after a moment. "It looks as if we overestimated Keewadin-Nodin."
Little Wind lifted his head a bit, blinking. "Huh...?" he asked, puzzled. "Overestimated how...?" He winced and ducked his head again when the manitou thumped him on the temple with his antler, but the wabano didn't appear to have taken offense. He stepped past them to look down at the Wendigo's giant hand, prodding at it with his walking stick.
"Overestimated, in that we incorrectly assumed he would be ill inclined toward the party we're following," he said, still poking. "It looks as if he's taken a liking to them...unfortunately for us." He looked back at Little Wind and his eyes narrowed. "Unfortunately for you."
Little Wind winced again. "I...we believe they headed up the other mountain, Grandfather, at least, based on the fact that we didn't see them in the camp! There seems to be an old woman there looking after the rest of them. They didn't notice us. We looked just like two moose passing through. Though those wolves could be a problem..."
"The wolves are the least of your problems," Mishosha replied, and pulled his stick away from the Wendigo. "For now, simply do as you were doing. Your medicine is far too weak to take on all of them, much less that little winter-haired girl. But the two of you might want to think about attending to your piddling duties a little more closely in the future. At this moment, that girl is up there, just where we didn't want her to go." And he looked up at the tallest mountain, everyone else looking as well. Little Wind's eyes widened.
"Up there--?"
"I still say we should just do away with both of them," the woman said, and Little Wind and the manitou grimaced, shuffling their feet and hooves. "What good have they served us so far? All they do is get underfoot, and muss up our plans. We would have had that girl by now, if not for these two." Her eyes narrowed.
Mishosha held up a hand. "Now, now, Makwaquae," he said in a mock-chiding voice. "They might prove to be useful yet. At least they can keep those others distracted a little bit." His mouth twitched. "They can also be the first to get cut down, before we move in and make short work of those others. The smallest delays can end up being the most helpful, after all."
Little Wind and the manitou paled, eyes going wide. Makwaquae got a smile as nasty as Mishosha's. "Yes, I do think I rather like that plan," she agreed.
Little Wind started quickly fiddling his fingers. "Ah--as it turns out, he believes he heard something!!" he cried desperately, and waved at the mitchi manitou. "From the mitchi manitous dwelling in these mountains! Go on--tell him!"
The manitou stepped forward and started whistling. Say that the party has split up further, he said. Three--fire-haired one, and Wendigo ones--near west mountain--winter-haired girl on middle mountain. Say that three head down, other one stays with Wintermaker One.
"What?" The word shot out of Mishosha's mouth like an arrow, and the other two hunched in on themselves reflexively. His eyes narrowed to dangerous slits and his hands curled into fists; his nostrils flared so that the bone ring in his nose twitched. "What do you mean," he grated, "stays with the Wintermaker--?"
"J-just as he says, Grandfather," Little Wind insisted. "Apparently, the other three left her behind. The manitous didn't say they saw her coming down the mountain, at least, not in their company."
"That makes no sense, fools," Makwaquae growled. "That little girl is the daughter of one of their party! They would never leave her behind."
Little Wind could only shrug. "I--this is all I can tell you, Grandfather, Grandmother. She isn't with them! He attempted asking to find out where she is--" he gestured at the mitchi manitou, who began nodding adamantly "--but none of the other manitous could say. They...er...wouldn't answer." He blushed and fiddled his fingers anew.
"What?" Mishosha barked, making them flinch. "What do you mean, WOULDN'T answer?" the wabano demanded, gripping his stick so tightly that his fingernails dug into it. "Speak up!"
The mitchi manitou whistled, his antlers lowered nearly to the ground. Tried asking them, requesting, threatening them! Would not answer--!
"It--it's not so much that they couldn't answer, Grandfather," Little Wind added, "as--as that they refused to. They...ah...say that they don't want to get in trouble with Keewadin-Nodin!"
"Keewadin...?" Makwaquae echoed, and her eyes narrowed as much as her husband's. She turned to look at him. "This means they've struck some kind of bargain with him! He's letting them go!" She clenched her fists. "You said that we would get here first to speak with him! Now we find out that we're last and a deal is already in place--? Do you have any idea how powerful a manitou he is--?"
Mishosha waved a hand at her, his face settling into a scowl. "Merely a setback!" he muttered. "We knew heading in how unreliable the Wintermaker's allegiances are. I doubt they've made a deal with him. Everyone knows what he thinks of humans--more than likely he's dragged them into some kind of game." His smile started to return. "In which case, now that they're heading back, it means that it's already in play." He turned on one heel and jerked his hand at the air. "If this is so, then we have no need to head up there," he stated. "The Wintermaker has already set things in motion for us. They won't be getting far. Every little obstacle he sets up for them is just another step closer for us."
"But--what about the winter girl?" Little Wind asked, scrambling to follow--he didn't want to get stuck behind with the Wendigo, no matter how dead it was. The mitchi manitou hurriedly followed suit, and they glanced over their shoulders at it nervously.
"She stayed behind," Mishosha said. "Isn't that what the manitous told you?" When they both furrowed their brows but nodded, he jerked his hand again. "Then she is currently in the safest hands that can have her, outside of ours. I doubt the Wintermaker would keep her for any good reason. Everyone knows how he detests humans! I'm betting that fire girl and her friends are only heading out in order to get her back." His smile shifted into an ugly grin. "How thoughtful, that Keewadin's little game should end up serving us so nicely!"
He and Makwaquae went crunching off across the glacier, the manitou tagging along. Little Wind's step slowed somewhat as he did the same, until he finally halted, rubbing his head uncertainly. He peered back up at the mountains.
"But..." His confused look grew. "If he hates humans...then why...?"
He left the question unfinished, staring at the mountain. Then he looked down at the ground, chewing slightly on his lip. Apparently, nobody else had felt it. The tiny sensation beneath his feet, beneath the ground, heading vaguely southward. It felt familiar somehow...and it was heading away from the mountains, apparently of its own volition.
But nobody else had sensed it. Mishosha was the most powerful medicine man alive; if he hadn't said anything about it, then it must be nothing.
Little Wind let out his breath and pushed the feeling away. He promptly resumed walking, picking up his pace to catch up with the others before he could get left behind.
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