suddenly, in the midst of the dark blackness, right in front of the young, red eyes lit up, and huge pupils appeared in them blacker than night: the stranger’s gaze suddenly quickened, and fiery eyes, closing their eyelids over and over again, began to look first at Ronin, then at Unga, then at Elna and Omi, then somewhere in the distance.
Ronin collapsed unconscious. Omi, seeing the luminous ghost, turned away and screamed with all her might, her screech echoing through the Temple of the Shaper. Clinging even closer to the black-haired maiden, the baby began to roar excitedly. Ungi was not audible at all, and the pale Elna, at that moment shaking with fear and not feeling her legs, inadvertently caught a captivating and terrifying look.
And that gaze was alive and intelligent! And there was no light in the Abode of Unity, except for the light of fiery eyes. The reflections of the radiance of a terrible look dimly illuminated the outlines of the petrified face, and the black-haired maiden recognized the features of her leader in those outlines. And it seemed to Elna at that hour, as if the leader’s lips were moving, trying to say something, but the gloomy stems held back the cheekbones, as if suppressing the voice…
Midnight procession
By dusk, Valla’s squad had skinned Longneck. The relatives cut off as much meat as they could easily deliver to the camp, and a third of the carcass had to be left to be torn to pieces by carnivores.
Bags were made from the skin of a defeated reptile. They were stuffed with slaughter. And the hunters also profited handsomely from the bones: each time, any defeated giant replenished stocks of equipment with their remains – at least two bone equipment. There was also an increase in production for other accessories useful in everyday life, not to mention trophies in the form of teeth and a skull. Part of the ridge at the end of the tail was one of the components of the bone bow. Another such tail, and a full-fledged powerful small-arms gun to replace a wood one, would have been picked up by some ranger.
More than a hundred steps from the remnants of the lizard, the detachment set up a tent for the night, and already in the dark, to the chirping and clatter of nocturnal living creatures, the relatives finished off the last goats around the building. It was then that the hunters noticed a strange luminary in the sky not far from the moon.
– Hey! Look! What is this star? Arwen pointed to the vault.
Rylan, Iris, Kun, Taro and the others raised their heads and began to look at the mysterious phenomenon with curiosity.
«I see it for the first time,» said Kuhn, puzzled.
«Yes… I’ve never seen such a star either,» Rylan said.
The tribesmen were distracted from the gouges and began to discuss the unfamiliar phenomenon in a lively manner.
«We should call Valla,» Taro suggested. Maybe he saw?
Wall at that moment left the tent to hurry his relatives:
– What are you doing there? Do you want a wild night?
Val, look! Some strange star near the moon,» said Kuhn.
The shaman anxiously looked at the sky and at the star discovered by the hunters, which was born last night. The star still shimmered with shades of scarlet, and it seemed to the leader that it approached the Moon and increased – became larger than its yesterday’s appearance. Wall frowned.
– Yes, I saw it. Finish off the goats and into the tent until the reptiles go hunting! We will refresh ourselves, and I will tell you about the star and about harmony with the Long-necked, and about the Fireplace.
The Kindred looked at each other and, intrigued by the shaman’s call, hurried to deliver the remaining stakes.
The portable camp tent was similar to the usual tents that were built in the camp in the Hunters’ House: the same chimney, the same rounded walls and the same coverage on the ground. Only now this building was covered with skin twice so that the light from the flame of the fire did not shine through, and its walls were not coated with lime, and the piles were not so powerful and were not driven in tightly, and the beams – thinner – and were not tied at all. The tent was collapsible! And every hunting detachment that went to the Great Hunt always had one. If you had to stop in a field, as this night, or in swamps, or in some coniferous forest, like an araucaria grove near the current settlement, or in another place where there is no liana tree, then they put this building on the ground and ten steps along goads were driven in a circle. And if the tent in the House of Hunters was designed for a close family – four or five relatives, among whom there were children – then in the portable tent the hunters slept crowded one to one. Twenty tribesmen – exactly a hunting detachment – fit close to each other in a lying position, and not one more!
After the meal, Vall lit two torches and tied them to a beam under the chimney to better illuminate the sleeping area. The shaman extinguished the fire and stirred up the fire, making room for gatherings. The relatives settled in a tighter circle, and the leader took out a parchment from his bosom and threw it on the ground in front of the tribesmen.
«This is our shortest route to the Great Volcano,» Vall pointed with the tip of his arrow at the marked path. «Last night I climbed the crowns and saw the light of the Bonfire.
«Risky,» Kun scolded, and took the card.
«It’s better at night than during the day,» the shaman objected, and pointed to his scar on his face. The hunters nodded in agreement.
Having studied the path, the shaggy kinsman handed the parchment to Arwen, who was sitting next to him. Taking turns examining the inscriptions made by Wall, and passing the painted patch to each other, the tribesmen got acquainted with the upcoming road.
«What do you think, Val, will we get there in three Fires?» Taro asked.
«Let’s try,» the leader replied. – If no adventures come along the way.
What about Salas? Is he even alive? Did you come to your senses? Taro turned to the Tyrant.
Breathing, alive. I never woke up,» the thin youth reported. «Maybe you should try to shake him up?» Or splash with water?
– No! Val objected. – Let him. Only Pangea and the spirits of Zavrini know what’s wrong with him. Let’s start to disturb, and then he, like Azis, will end up… What will I say to Radon?
The steadfast trackers murmured, supporting the leader’s decision.
«Vall, do you even know who violated the unity of Azis?» No one knows…» Without finishing, Arwen caught the frown of not only the leader, but also other experienced hunters.
– Don’t know! The shaman answered, raising his voice. And I don’t want to know! Who ever violated something there… Found something to think about on the Big Hunt – about the tales of the sentinels!
The senior rangers grumbled grumblingly, supporting the indignation of the leader, and the young ones, annoyed, looked at Arwen – they were very curious to know who it was that once entered the Tent of Unity.
Everyone in the tribe, by the way, being a beater heard, and more than once, instructions about unity around the fire. Whether those instructions were from an old man or a healer, from an experienced hunter or
