The Dolorous Birthing (The Elephant and Macaw Banner - Novelette Series Book 9) Read online

  The Dolorous Birthing

  The Elephant and Macaw Banner ®

  Novelette Series – Vol. 9

  by Christopher Kastensmidt

  “The Dolorous Birthing” © 2017 Christopher Kastensmidt. All rights reserved.

  The Elephant and Macaw Banner® is a registered trademark of Christopher Kastensmidt.

  Cover art by Ursula “SulaMoon” Dorada.

  Cover design by Cristiane Viana.

  All artwork © 2016 Christopher Kastensmidt. All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 978-85-919338-8-4

  Visit our website at:

  EAMB.ORG

  For Leo Carrion, Thomas Albornoz, and Simone Saueressig:

  for helping me cope with those first crazy years in Brazil, and all the crazier ones since

  A brown-throated sloth hung from a jacaranda tree and stared at two unusual figures below him. The sloth had grown accustomed to the tall creatures who had come to his forest years before and built up massive piles of dirt and wood covered with palm leaves to live in. He found their tiny claws amusing and their lower arms bizarre, the ones they used for moving perpendicular to the ground. The two below him, though, were even stranger than the rest. One had a tone much lighter than the others, and the other a tone much darker.

  He did, however, appreciate the fact that they didn’t move around as haphazardly as the others. In a more dignified fashion, they had lain on the ground for hours, looking up at him as he hung from the tree. Others of their kind could learn much from these two.

  #

  Oludara lay on the grass beside Gerard. For hours, they had watched a sloth do nothing above them.

  He couldn’t imagine a more perfect day for doing nothing. The jacarandas surrounded them in magnificent spring bloom, looking like giant balls of violet cotton. Every light breeze caused a rain of the colored petals, bringing with them their sweet, slightly spicy perfume, and causing an occasional sneeze as well.

  These days, the two of them did little. After Father Miguel’s death, Gerard had lost much of his taste for travel. Their adventures had become fewer and farther between, and they spent more and more time in Arany’s village, now located at the farthest edge of the forest. In this new village, the tribe lived precariously between Antonio’s bannermen on one side and the arid land known as the Backlands on the other.

  Oludara couldn’t complain too much; Arany had become pregnant during their time back in the village and he would soon be a father. However, he did feel restless from time to time.

  "I think you are going to lose your bet," he said to Gerard. "That creature hasn’t eaten a thing all day."

  "Nonsense," replied Gerard. "It must eat something."

  "Activity causes hunger. That creature does nothing."

  "It’s one of the strangest animals I’ve ever seen, to be sure. It has the face of a child and the claws of a lion. Yet all it does is hang in the trees."

  Baiting Gerard, Oludara said, "The Tupinambá do not hunt the creature, because anyone who eats its meat will become just as slow."

  Much as he suspected, the remark riled Gerard. "That’s even more absurd than claiming the creature doesn’t eat!"

  Oludara grinned as he stood up and brushed away the violet blanket of flower petals which had accumulated on him.

  "We have been here most of the day," he said. "I am beginning to feel as slow as that creature. We should do something."

  "It’s not so bad to take a day of rest every once in a while."

  "A day of rest? We’ve done nothing but rest for months! You are not like yourself, Gerard. You used to run from one adventure to the next."

  Gerard looked off in the distance and said nothing.

  "My people have a saying," continued Oludara. "‘Laziness is the partner of fatigue.’ It is time to recommence our travels. Do we not still have almost two years left of our pact? There still remain two months before the birth of my son, more than enough time for some exploring." Oludara paused for thought. "I know what to do! We can find a gift for my son."

  At that moment, a whistling approached and Cabwassu emerged from the woods. A bright green parrot perched on his shoulder, a good match for the pointy green stones which protruded from his cheeks, earlobes, and lower lip.

  "Hey you two!" he said in Portuguese, a language in which he had once again become proficient. "Look at my new pet. I’ve been teaching him our traditional war cries. Watch."

  Cabwassu took a piece of cassava cracker from a pouch and held it up near the parrot. In perfectly legible Tupi, it squawked, "I’ll chew the meat from your bones!"

  "Good parrot," said Cabwassu, giving the bird the snack and flashing his toothy smile.

  "Interesting," said Gerard, finally lifting himself from the ground.

  "Cabwassu," said Oludara, "what would be an appropriate present for a warrior?"

  Cabwassu thought for only a moment before replying. "A good bow."

  "No, it must be something out of the ordinary. Something...legendary."

  Cabwassu’s tongue stumbled on the word as he repeated it. "Legendary?"

  "One of a kind," said Gerard. "Unique."

  "Oh," said Cabwassu, "wait, I..." He paused and his eyes unfocused, as if digging into the deepest corners of his memory. "I just remembered something. A magnificent bow. One which never misses its target."

  Oludara beamed. "An excellent idea! Where can we find it?"

  "Inland, somewhere in the Backlands."

  "Somewhere?" asked Gerard.

  "How long to get there?" asked Oludara.

  Cabwassu shook his head and his eyes seemed to clear. "A few weeks there, a few back. I can take you. We’ll need to pass through Tupinaé land."

  "Aren’t they enemies of the Tupinambá?" asked Gerard.

  "Yes," said Cabwassu, picking at one of the stones protruding from his cheek. "But just let me handle it. I can talk us through anything." He punctuated the remark with another of his terrifying smiles. "I’ll just give them a few compliments, like..."

  "You are worth nothing!" screeched the bird, interrupting him.

  "Perhaps it would be best to leave the bird behind for this journey," said Gerard.

  Oludara ignored the remark. "We should set out immediately!"

  "Are you sure about this? You’re going to walk through hostile territory for weeks to look for a bow which may or may not exist based on Cabwassu’s vague notion of its location?"

  "Do you have something more important to do?" challenged Oludara.

  Gerard seemed ready to protest, but choked back the words, resigned. "I suppose not."

  "Then let us waste no time. Say your goodbyes and let us be on our way. Is that all right with you, Cabwassu?"

  "Fine with me. What do you say, bird?"

  "You deserve to die!" it squawked.

  #

  Through the seemingly endless ups and downs of the canyon, Gerard huffed breaths through his parched throat with every step. The group had spent the first twelve days crossing the dry plains of the Backlands, through an endless sea of rocks, scrub, and cacti. Since then, they had navigated sparse woods through a corridor of plateaus. Birds circled overhead constantly, their screeches echoing back and forth between the canyon walls. The orchids which dotted the landscape with color might have filled Gerard with wonder at some other moment, but the dry air sapped his strength and ruined the charm.

  At a small pool, Oludara called the group to a halt. The watering holes were frequent enough, but Gerard felt almost constant thirst
between one and the next. He knelt and dunked his head into the water. Only after washing his face and taking a long drink did he take time to examine their surroundings.

  Shrubs and ferns--some a light green but many more brown and dry--surrounded the watering hole. The water which filled the pool came by way of a long, low waterfall made of slates of red stone. It formed a kind of natural staircase down to the water.

  "I don’t know how much more of this I can take," said Gerard. "I feel like I’m going to shrivel up and die."

  "Today I eat you!" the parrot squawked from nearby. Cabwassu howled with laugher, as he did every time the bird spoke.

  "Can you shut that thing up?" snapped Gerard.

  "Why would I?" Cabwassu replied between laughs.

  Gerard, famished, pulled a bag of nuts from his pack and set to cracking them open. When he looked up, Oludara stood over him, an enormous smile upon his face. To the same extent Gerard felt miserable, Oludara seemed energized. Gerard had begun to tire of Oludara’s unbridled optimism, especially when faced with the fact that they still didn’t know exactly where they were going or how long it would take to get there. Cabwassu, however, led them on with a purpose, as if an internal compass pointed the way.

  "How can you smile in this heat?" Gerard asked Oludara.

  "How can I not smile when I think of my son? Can you believe it, Gerard? In just over a month, I will be a father, and we will offer him a magnificent present to begin his life."

  Gerard could believe it, if for no other reason than the fact that Oludara had spoken of little else during the trip.

  "Arany will provide me with a fine, strapping son to follow in my footsteps. I will call him Kayode, which means: ‘He who brings joy’."

  Oludara’s insistence of referring to the unborn child as a son bothered Gerard. The man would accept nothing else, and Gerard worried what would happen if the child were born a girl. He had not mentioned this to Oludara, but decided to dare a hint at the subject.

  "Any healthy child would be a blessing," he said.

  Oludara shot him a puzzled look that ended the conversation.

  "Look over there!" said Cabwassu.

  Gerard looked to see something hobbling toward them. As the figure neared, Gerard made it out to be a bent over native man, walking with the help of a stick. Unlike most natives Gerard had seen, he used a cloak which covered most of his body. His face was mostly hidden, except for an enormous, hooked nose which jutted out from the hood.

  The man said nothing as he approached the pool and bent down to splash water in his face. Then he stood slowly, holding his back with the strain, and finally acknowledged them with a hearty "I jump to meet you" in Tupi.

  The trio introduced themselves and the man replied, "I am Sokoy, of the Tupinaé."

  "I’ll chew the meat from your bones!" screeched the bird.

  Embarrassed, Gerard pulled down the brim of his hat, but Sokoy took the taunt in stride.

  "That is a funny bird you have," he said. "It is rare to see a Tupinambá warrior here, and much less two men from across the water. Why have you come to these dry lands?"

  Gerard thought it best to not mention their quest to a stranger, but before he could make something up, Oludara spoke out:

  "We seek a bow which never misses its target. It is to be a birthday present for my son."

  "A worthy quest for three warriors," said Sokoy, "and a worthy present!"

  "You know of it?"

  "Know of it? I know where to find it!"

  Oludara slapped Gerard on the back. "See, Gerard? You worried we would search these lands forever, but when your course is true, fortune favors you."

  Gerard decided to reserve judgment.

  "We are well met," said Sokoy. "I can lead you to the bow, if you will in return retrieve something for me."

  "Name it," said Oludara, "and it shall be done."

  "You see, some years ago, in my arrogance, I went looking for the bow myself. However, a terrible creature guards it, a dog made of iron!"

  "A dog made of iron?" asked Cabwassu.

  "Do you not believe me?" asked Sokoy.

  "We believe you," said Gerard. "An iron dog is almost mundane compared to the creatures we’ve seen."

  Gerard could just make out Sokoy wrinkling his eyebrows and studying him up and down from beneath his hood.

  "This dog is called Massone," said Sokoy. "Be wary, he hides in the shadows and attacks when you least expect."

  "Shadows?" asked Oludara.

  "Oh," said Sokoy, chuckling, "I forgot to say. The bow is in a cavern: the longest and deepest I’ve ever seen."

  "And where do we find the bow in this cavern?"

  "I don’t know. Massone attacked me, and I was forced to run. He bit my old walking stick from my hand; I’m glad that’s all he got. Massone was too much for me to handle, but I’m sure he’ll be no problem for three sturdy men like you."

  "And what is the item you seek?"

  "I want my walking stick back."

  "Your walking stick?" asked Gerard.

  "Yes," said Sokoy, holding up the gnarled branch in his hand with a sigh. "I’ve looked, but I’ve never found another like it. It is hard to walk these canyons without it. Please help an old man."

  "As you wish."

  "I almost forgot, the stick looks much like a club." At Gerard’s quizzical glance, he added, "Makes the wild cats think twice about attacking me."

  #

  "How much farther do we have to go?" asked Gerard.

  "Almost there," replied Sokoy, the same reply he had given Gerard for an entire day as he hobbled along, leading the group through the canyon.

  This time, however, he veered from the canyon and led the group up a wooded path between two plateaus. When they entered the shade of the towering cliffs, Gerard sighed and removed his wide-brimmed hat to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

  Sokoy pointed to a spot some thirty feet up a cliff. "Up there," he said.

  Even squinting, Gerard couldn’t make out anything exceptional on the rocky face. Sokoy, however, approached the cliff and started up some uneven steps in the rock, each around three feet high. Gerard couldn’t be sure if they had been carved there long ago or were an accident of nature. On the third step, Sokoy slipped and cut his leg. Oludara and Cabwassu took to either side of him and carried him the rest of the way.

  At the top of the steps, they discovered a fissure behind the rock face. Gerard could see why he hadn’t spotted it before; from the angle it entered the rock, it was nearly impossible to spot from below.

  Just beyond the fissure was a larger opening, curving in between two walls of layered rock. Above the opening hung a dozen horned skulls. Gerard could recognize skulls from deer, oxen and goats, but some he couldn’t recognize at all--and didn’t much care to.

  To one side, a green mantis hung on a wall at eye level and stared straight at him.

  "Pleasant place you’ve got here," Gerard said to the insect.

  "What was that?" asked Sokoy, huffing with exhaustion.

  "Nothing," said Gerard. "Please lead on."

  Sokoy nodded and led them through the opening into a deep cavern with a bowl-shaped lake at the bottom. A shaft of sunlight found its way in from above to illuminate the water with an eerie blue glow, one which darkened into blackness at its lowest depths. Massive, fallen boulders lay to every side.

  Sokoy hobbled slowly toward one of the boulders and sat down.

  "This is as far as I go," he said. "I need to rest. But if you dive over there," he pointed to the far corner of the pool, "you’ll find a way to reach the main cavern."

  "I’ll go," said Oludara.

  He dove into the lake and disappeared into the darkness. He came up for air and dove another three times before staying under for quite a long time. When he finally reappeared, he announced, "I’ve found it! A passage some ten feet down, leading into a dark cavern."

  Gerard took his harquebus and powder and offered them to Sokoy.

>   "Mind keeping an eye on these while we’re gone? Won’t be much use if I get the powder wet."

  "Not at all," said Sokoy. "And good luck!"

  #

  The enormous, complex cave impressed Oludara; he had never seen anything like it. By torchlight, they searched dozens of rooms and corridors formed naturally from the rock. The cavern led them up and down, through stalactites and stalagmites and over massive piles of fallen rock. Most of the corridors were ample and easy to traverse, but crawl spaces connected some. Gerard got stuck in one, and to his embarrassment, Cabwassu and Oludara had to pull him out and find a larger opening.

  The three walked with weapons at the ready: Oludara with his knife, Cabwassu with his bow and Gerard with his rapier. The stress of expecting an attack at any moment wore on all of them. Any movement caused them to spin in anticipation, and with beetles and bats everywhere, there was no lack of movement.

  The cavern descended into yet another massive space, this one covered in knee-deep water. When Gerard yelped, Oludara, nerves on edge, jerked his torch nervously from side to side.

  "There’s something in the water!" shouted Gerard.

  Oludara ran toward him, ivory knife in one hand and torch in the other, scanning the water for movement. Indeed, he spotted ripples all around--something circled them. He lunged at one movement but it spun away, like a fish. Oludara lowered his torch to see the movement was just that: a group of eyeless catfish.

  "Calm down, Gerard," he said, relaxing. "It’s just fish."

  Cabwassu, however, eyes wide, screamed, "Behind you!"

  Oludara turned just in time to see something shiny leap at him from a crevasse in the ceiling. He lifted his knife too late, the creature crashed into him, knocking him back into the water.

  Oludara surged up for breath, and a shiny snout lashed at his throat. Just in time, Cabwassu slammed into the beast and splashed with it to one side. The parrot circled overhead, screeching furiously and weaving through the stalactites.

  As he struggled to stand, Oludara glanced at the beast. At first sight, the creature looked like a metal wolf, but Oludara quickly realized that "armored" might be a better word. The creature was not made of metal; instead, bronze plates covered most of its body--Oludara could see black fur poking out at the gaps. Its legs bent in awkward directions and its eyes glimmered with tiny blue fires. As Cabwassu wrestled the beast, Gerard lunged at it with his rapier, which clinked harmlessly off the metal.