The vision in the clamshell pot dimmed as black squid and octopus ink escaped from the latest additions to the stew. The Chief snapped out of his trance and looked up to see the adult Little Fish looking down upon him holding an armload of driftwood. "Seen enough?"
The Chief had to shake his head for a second to take in all he'd seen. "The Valley Knight was the Skull-Face? He's your father? How the hell did that happen? Where's Qatula?" Dadisi sat down and carefully used several hollow reeds to poke holes in the sand where the tuna was buried.
As white smoke and steam rose from the reeds with an older version of the laughter the Chief remembered the grown Little Fish said, "Ha! The questions you should be asking are; what happened to your men, me and how you got here?" That hit the Chief hard and he blurted, "My men! Where are they?" At the asking of the question, the fish-scale necklace lit up bright green upon Dadisi's chest. The Chief saw that the man paid no attention to the light of the fish scale nor to his question. He merely kept stirring the pot.
As if absent-minded Dadisi replied, "The minute I asked Qatula to make himself useful around here, he took off. Typical of a god...." Now serious the Chief reiterated, "What happened to my men?" Reluctant, Dadisi replied, "I sent them back to the time just before they were lost in the storm which led them to the Knight's past. With luck, they will avoid the storm and continue on their journey to your homeland." His time amidst the denizens of the Valley and these three days of quest made the Chief super suspicious. "And if they're not lucky, what will happen?"
Dadisi cut out a piece of boiled clam and chewed on it thoughtfully which annoyed Chief Svengald immensely. Just as the man was about to stick his bamboo knife into the pot again the Chief was ready to explode. Before he could draw breath to scream, Dadisi stopped mid-way and said, "If they get caught in the storm again, it's certain they'll be sent back to the City of Golden Towers either just before or after we got there." Not liking the sound of that the Chief whispered, "What happens if they get sent back?" Without blinking and in mid-chew Dadisi remarked, "Oh..., since your men have have already played their part in what happened, they would undo all that occurred when we all were there. Thus undoing everything."
"Everything as in everything?" exclaimed the Chief. Still chewing Dadisi replied, "Yes. Everything meaning everything. You, me and the Knight are never born, the Valley most likely never comes to be as we know it, your people never come to be, so on and so forth." The Chief leaped to his feet and screamed, "By Loki's stinking shit-hole! I've gotta’ go help them! Fuck! How do I do that?" The fish scale continued to glow with green light and the adult Little Fish stopped mid-chew again and sighed. "Yes, I suppose you should go help them. Just know you’ll cause them more problems the more you try to help."
Adamant as the Chief was, he caught that warning. "What do you mean by ‘cause them more problems’?" Sticking the knife back into the pot Dadisi asked, "Do you still have the Yellow Stone Chief?" "No! That stupid bitch of a demon took the damn thing from me!" While digging in the pot for a choice morsel Dadisi replied, "Well, without it you can't save your men let alone help guide their way home. With the stone, they could use it to home in on the one you gave little Mjarga for safe keeping. They will need a stone to find their way back to the shore and through the desert leading to the Valley.
You must understand Chief. No one has ever left the Valley once they found it. A few as you have seen have been cast out, but your men are the only ones who ever left of free will even with the intention to return. The Valley is an intentionally hard place to find. Only those who get lost and find their way to it and those who know where it is have any chance of finding it on purpose. All too often, finding the Valley is a once in a lifetime gift. So I ask you again; are you sure you want to help them?" The younger man's words struck the Chief like an iron bar. However, the possibility his men could undo everything was something he couldn’t stand by for. Kneeling before the man who but hours ago to him was a stripling youth Chief Svengald pleaded, "Yes! I am willing to take that chance. Please open the way for me!"
Dadisi looked over and locked eyes with the Chief and the green glow of the fish scale reflected in his eyes. "So be it. But, I will do so only for fair exchange. It is not for you to set foot upon your homeland by that which is either dry or wet. Make no contact with your wife whatsoever. Do not divulge any details of anything you have seen or heard this day to anyone you may meet. You will have to steal something important to you from someone. They will want it back. Last are two important things; accept nothing offered you while are off this island and you must return to these shores before sundown. That is my price for opening the way. Is it a bargain?" The Chief held out his hand and said, "It is a bargain!"
His wrist was clasped by the strong hand of the man Little Fish would become and that man said, "Done. Before you can help your men, find the stone and my younger self. Then ask me to open the way to find your men. When I agree, think only of your longship and under no circumstances are you to take the Knight or myself along. Instead, give me this...." Dadisi picked up a brightly colored shell from one of many sea creatures that waited to go into the stew. He had no idea what it was for and wasn't going to ask. All of this gave him a headache, but it was the nature of his life among gods, demons and powerful mortals.
The Chief walked down the beach with the younger man and saw much of the boy he once knew. Upon reaching the shoreline, the fish scale changed color from green to red. The calmly lapping waves pulled away from the beach and spun in an abrupt whirlpool. With admiration and pride the Chief said, "You have become master of your powers! 'The Gatebringer' is a suitable name for you." "Thanks Chief. That means much coming from you. Now don't forget the things I told you and be back in time for the evening meal. I don't plan on saving any tuna if you're late!" Running out into the surf towards the whirlpool the Chief laughed and said, "Ha, ha, ha! When have you ever known me to miss the evening meal?" With an enthusiastic leap, the Chief went over the rim of the whirlpool and was swallowed down into the vortex.
© 2011 H. Wolfgang Porter. All Rights Reserved.
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