The Iceman

The Iceman
Cold, so cold.
I lie here.
On the wet, cold snow.
Snow stained pink with blood.
My blood.
It hurts.
It hurts with a pain that will be with me as I leave.
I know I am dying.
Leaning against this rock, life possessions strewn around me, I am dying.
But I am not forgetting.

Avaros ran to me shouting happily. “Ötzi! Ötzi! Guess what!” without waiting for me to answer, he exclaimed, “We are the ones chosen to trade with the Others!” He tripped over a rock and went flying into my arms. Though he was younger than me by more than 8 storm times, Avaros was one of my closest friends. “Great news.” I told him. “When do we leave?” “This moonfall”, he answered. “Then we better start packing our supplies.” I said. He agreed and ran off. I sighed, the never-ending energy of the young.
I walked slowly back to my hut as my mind sorted out which items were necessities and which were needless luxuries. Cold and hunger were only some of the many dangers traveling the mountains would bring.
Upon entering the hut, my wife, Lalit stood up from tending the fire. Answering her unspoken question, I told her about my conversation with Avaros. “Do you know how long you will be gone?” She asked. “Many, many moonfalls from now.” I replied. “Then I’ll begin packing for you.” As she said this, she began filling a deer hide pack with some of the smoked meat that hung from the ceiling. She was about to add my axe to the pack when I took it from her. “No Lalit, the axe stays with me.” I let her continue packing my other supplies.
As I walked out of the hut, I looked at my axe. The blade was a rare, brownish-red color. It was one of only a few in the whole village. On past trade expeditions, our people had come back saying that the Others called the strange metal “bronze.”
A frantic barking broke into my thoughts. A rabbit ran past me with my dog Samiec tearing after it. The rabbit leaped into the underbrush, Samiec bounding after it. There was a great shaking in the bushes. Then, Samiec trotted out with the rabbit hanging limp in his jaws. I called his name, and he dropped it at my feet. Rubbing Samiec’s head, I picked up the rabbit by the ears and brought it inside the hut for Lalit to cook. I had almost forgotten about Samiec when I was planning the necessities for the crossing of the mountains. Samiec was definitely coming. I had trained him since puppy-hood and he was a wonderful hunting dog. I tied him to a post in a corner of the hut and sat down to eat rabbit that had been cooked over the fire. I tossed Samiec the heart, to reward him for the hunt.
Later I lay down on my saber fur. I closed my eyes and thought about the morrow and the beginning of the great journey. The thoughts slowly faded away to darkness that lasted until morning.
I woke up to the hazy blue world of the Leaf-Fall’s early day. Lalit was awake, breathing on last night’s embers. My own breath fogged the air making clouds of what looked like smoke. I sat up and savored the pure silence. I stood up and stretched my back and my arms. Lalit looked up from the fire. “ Would you bring in another rabbit for me to cook?” She asked. “ I’ll see what I can do.” I answered.
I untied Samiec, slung my bow over my shoulder and strode out of the hut. Walking into the more forested part of the camp, I padded as silently as I could in the brush, listening to the sounds of the wood and watching for signs from Samiec to see if he heard anything. Samiec stopped and cocked his ears. I tensed and knocked an arrow. Samiec barked and ran ahead of me into the dense overgrowth. I launched after him pushing through bushes and small willows. I came to a walled in clearing and found Samiec snarling ferociously at a fully-grown saber. Its fur was bushed up and its tail was lashing side to side. Ears flat on its scalp and lips drawn back, it hissed savagely. I shot an arrow at its chest but missed and it took it in the front leg. It screamed a cry of pain mixed with rage but turned tail, melting away into the thick woodland. Samiec hadn’t moved but was still barking hysterically. “Samiec! Hush!” I cried. His barking slowly died down to whimpers and he retreated to stand aside me. “ Lets find some easier prey,” I said half to myself and half to him. We continued walking, this time towards the camp.
It wasn’t long before a rabbit hopped across the path and I took it down with an arrow to the head. I picked it up and set off towards my hut. “Lalit,” I called, once I had reached the hut. “Here’s your rabbit.” She came to me and I handed the rabbit over. She went to work skinning and preparing the rabbit for cooking.
“You are wanted for the ceremonies,” Lalit said. I acknowledged her and set off towards the ceremonial clearing. Once I got there, I met up with Avaros and we stood near the center or the opening facing the village medicine man. He stared at us solemnly as other villagers took spots around the clearing. Geet, a not-so-close friend of mine, was in the front row. He nodded to me and smiled. “There are two travelers crossing the mountains.” I looked back towards the medicine man, who had started to speak. “They crossed the mountains in safety and met with the Others.” He stopped and looked directly at me. “After that, it is up to you.” He touched the tattoos on my knees. “Trust the sense that was brought on by becoming a man.” He then turned me around and touched the tattoos on my back. “Trust the sense that was brought on by your first kill and the responsibility of caring for your family.” Turning me around again he touched my forehead. “Lastly, trust yourself. Let no one think for you.” He let go of me and turned to Avaros. He repeated the process and then spoke to us both. “You are the ones chosen to trade. Be strong. Be brave. Be clever. And again, be yourselves. Your only master is you.” He stopped and fumbled with his bag. He took out two mushrooms that were strung together. He placed it over my head and said, “These mushrooms are for pain and great hurt. Use them wisely.” He then gave a string of them to Avaros and then stood silent. Avaros and I bowed our heads and then the ceremony was over.
The crowd dispersed and I headed quickly back to my hut. Lalit had prepared some rabbit for me to eat as I walked. I thanked her and gave her a hug, then shouldered my pack and exited the hut, Lalit behind me. With Samiec in tow, I said my goodbyes to the others who also wished me farewell and set off, meeting up with Avaros. We headed out of camp silent, each with our own sad and somewhat lonely thoughts in mind.
We continued walking at a swift pace until the village was far and beyond out of sight. The trees were immense above us, but were not forbidding. Mainly conifers, with a scattering of maple, made a mix of pine and broadleaf that gave the ground a soft, springy feel. There was a pleasant mix of bird songs along with the brilliance of the sunlight beaming through the trees creating stunning shafts of shimmering gold. The sky created a beautiful baby-blue backdrop against the forest collage of green, orange and yellow. It was altogether a very appealing sight. Samiec pranced around us, alternating chasing small creatures through the underbrush and striving for attention. I divided some strips of rabbit meat for us to chew on. Our pace never faltering, we continued in comfortable silence toward the snow-peaked mountains that loomed over us.
About midday, following the telltale sounds of running water, we reached a fast mountain stream, doubly powerful because of the abnormally high temperatures this time of year, causing snow to melt unusually fast from the mountains. It was quite wide, and very deep, too far so as to safely swim across. The water broiled around glistening rocks, spray flung high into the air. Samiec bounded joyfully in the wet bank mud, splattering all with the stuff. Discovering a shallow inlet, I refilled our water skins, a few of them with lower quantities from the previous hours. Avaros began searching for a spot where the banks of the stream were not so far across. Moments later, he hurried back with news. “ I have found a place where we may be able to cross the river.” He said. “ The banks are still far apart, but I have found a great tree that we can use. It is still standing, but is many storm times dead. I believe it may have been struck by the fire-from-the-sky. It shouldn’t take much trouble to topple it. We can then roll it in to the stream so it lays lengthwise, enabling us to cross.”
“That may work,” I said. “But I need to see this tree of yours.”
“Follow me then.”
Packing away the skins, I called Samiec to me and followed Avaros to where he found the tree. It was a giant. Avaros and I together could not span the width of its trunk. Avaros was right when he said that it had been slain by the fire-from-the-sky. The entire top of the tree had been burned. There was a great, jagged scar leading down the trunk to the base of the tree. It seemed too large to be cut down, but Avaros wrapped the trunk soundly, giving off a distinct sound. “Its core is hollow,” He said. “Can you cut it down?”
Inspecting the tree, I gave a nod. It would not be a difficult job, but I needed wedges so I could force the tree to go in the direction I choose. Instructing Avaros to hold Samiec, I began testing the trunk for areas of the least resistance. Finding where I was to cut, I took up my axe. Using a good amount of force, I cut to somewhere around the middle on the side facing the stream, discovering the hole that caused the sound Avaros and I had heard earlier. Cutting off a branch from a sturdy maple nearby, I placed the broad end into another wedge shaped cut I had made on the side facing away from the rushing water. Using my eyes for angle and direction, I set the maple limb where under force, it would hopefully lever the tree towards the stream. Calling Avaros to me, we proceeded to lean heavily on the fresh cut limb, causing the giant to grown and snap. We continued to press all our weight on the maple limb, as the dead tree slowly leaned in the direction of the stream. There was a great screech, as the remaining wood of the giant separated and split in to jagged pieces. With a mighty crash and a spray of water, the dead giant fell into the swift current of the swollen stream, lodged between some great boulders.
“Ötzi! We did it! We did it!” Avaros was practically dancing with glee of having the strength to defeat the majestic skeleton. “Now we can cross and have a way back, providing that it isn’t swept away.” Having caught Avaros’s mood, Samiec pranced around us both, barking and jumping up to lick our faces.
Returning to where I had left our packs, I shouldered one and gave the other to Avaros. Already the water had begun to rise against the fallen tree. Spray had given the tree a wet sheen. “We had best hurry,” I called to Avaros over the rushing water. “The water is rising quickly, it may become too dangerous to cross.” Avaros nodded agreement and took up his pack. I fixed Samiec to a rawhide leash; it wouldn’t do for him to leap from the tree while we were crossing. Crossing over the stream, we were hard put to keep our footing on the slippery wood.
It happened in a flash. Samiec had slipped in to the raging water. The leash in my hand tugged, nearly pulling me in after him. I shouted to Avaros over the boiling stream. “Samiec has gone in! Take my pack and hurry to the other side!” He did as I told, looking back in worry. Samiec was floundering in the water, going under again and again. Dragging on his leash, I pulled him to one of the rocks, barely visible through the foam and spray, a few yards over from where I was. With one arm clinging to the stump of a branch attached to fallen giant, I lowered myself into the frigid current, keeping a firm grip on Samiec's leash. The icy waters were dragging at my lower body, trying to rip me away from my only defense against being swept away. Fortunately, the rock was quite close to the tree, and I was able to reach it. With one arm around Samiec's chest, I slowly struck out for the shore where Avaros was, pulling myself along, seeking further and further handholds on the fallen tree. Something hit me on the head. Avaros held out a thick branch that he had cut with my axe. Latching on to it with my free hand, I allowed Avaros to pull Samiec and me to shore.
Resting face-first on the muddy bank next to the river, I looked over at Samiec. The dog was panting feebly: his side rising and falling unevenly, half-drowned. Avaros rushed about us both, asking if I was all right and inspecting Samiec, pumping water out of his stomach. After coughing up some water myself, I rolled over upon my back, staring up at the afternoon sky. I was soaked; the icy-cold water had almost instantly seeped through my fur clothing. I staggered upright, moving over to the soft grass, where I sat, shivering. Samiec was regaining his energy; limping over to me and seeming intent on licking my face clean off. Avaros hurried about, collecting the dry branches and limbs scattered about on the forest floor. Creating a nest of dry moss and pine needles, he proceeded to light a small fire, where, after shedding my sodden clothing, I thankfully warmed myself.
I must have dozed off, for when I regained consciousness, a thrush was roasting over the fire, along with a small trout. Avaros sat turning the meat, whilst Samiec tore voraciously into some small rodent.
Avaros acknowledged me, and asked weather I felt any great pain. Shaking my head, for I head escaped my watery battle with naught but a few scrapes, I looked at the sky, judging it to be evening, the sky a light lavender.
I called Samiec over to me. He had finished his meal, leaving not a single remain. I checked him for cuts and injuries, finding none.
Late that night, after we had all eaten and were settled next to the slowly smoldering fire, I saw a streak of light cut its way through the entire black, starry cloak of night. There for a moment, gone the next, the Arrow-Star kept me awake, thinking of what it might have meant. What I had seen was very rare, small flashes of light that you could easily believe was imagined. An Arrow-Star of that size I had never seen before. Usually they warned of a battle, or even a successful hunt soon to happen. What did it mean for our small group?

End of Part 1

A week later, we had traversed over half of the forested valley without any other great mishaps. We had used up our supply of dried meat, and, the hunting unusually good this Leaf-Fall; we now hunted a seemingly endless supply of rabbit and small birds.
More than once, we had met up with sabers, both the cat and us escaping without injury. One tiger in particular however, seemed to be following us; we had met with it many times, a lean, limping, one-eyed beast, with great yellow fangs. We would come across it devouring the soured remains of some deceased creature. Its first appearance was as it made off with a rabbit carcass. Samiec often scented it, many times stopping and growling uneasily. Needless to say, we were being very watchful.
Just touching upon the long, sloping foothills of the Ice Teeth. The elevation was rising slightly, the wind stronger, the trees less dense. The maple thinned out rapidly, the temperature far too cold in some seasons for them to survive. Pine was the ruler here, footed by dense undergrowth.
It was now mid afternoon, and I noticed that the air was getting strangely heavy. I looked off toward the northern sky, and saw a roiling mass of black clouds heading towards us at an alarming rate. I pointed it out to Avaros, who was ahead of me.

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