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ZE - Chapter 42: The Yellow Mountain Tribe
🕑 Added 2024-04-28 20:57:11 +0000 UTCDisclaimer:
“Dialogue”
‘Thoughts’
Author notes
Chapter 42: The Yellow Mountain Tribe
The lizards were able to run at an incredible speed through the grassy plains, and soon enough, they reached the massive mountain range they called the Yellow Mountains.
The tribe was much larger than what Zephyr was expecting. It looked almost as big as the village where he grew up. It was filled with huts made of rocks and hides and surrounded by a large wall constructed by just piling many large stones.
“There are a lot of people living here!” Seth was as surprised as Zephyr.
There were hundreds of tribesmen all around them, watching with interest.
They were all quite larger than normal, at least for their standards. And this included the women.
On average, the tribesmen were around six point five feet (2 meters) tall for the men and five-point nine for the women (1.8 meters).
They all wore clothes made of animal hide, and they were very revealing.
“They are staring at us…” Seth felt very self-conscious.
“I know... we must be a very unusual sight,” Zephyr said. From what he had gathered so far, no human had ever made it past the wall. Or at the very least, they were not seen by this tribe.
“We go to my father's tent. He is the Chief and will want to meet you.” Tolfin said.
They remained on their mounts as they traveled through the large village until they arrived at the largest hut.
Like the rest, it was made of stone walls and animal hides sewn together to create roofs.
They dismounted the dangerous lizards with a lot of care to avoid being bitten.
Tolfin's two companions left them alone while he guided them inside his father's house.
There was no door, and instead, it had a very large hide of a beast that reminded Zephyr of a red bear, except it was pitch black. The hide acted as a curtain that had to be moved aside.
Once inside the house, he saw a fire lit in the middle of a large circular room.
Two people were sitting on the opposite side, a large man and an old woman.
On the sides were two young men armed with rudimentary weapons made of large bones.
“Father, I have returned,” Tolfin announced his presence.
“So I see... and you have not come alone. Are these the ones you saw?” His father addressed the old woman to his right.
The woman stared at Zephyr for a long moment before smiling. “Mmm... they must be….”
Zephyr didn't understand that quick exchange. But it appears to suggest they somehow knew they were coming.
“Welcome, foreigners from distant lands. I am Guskarr, leader of the Yellow Mountain Tribe.” He signaled to his side. “And this is my mother... she is the wisest person in our tribe.”
“Thanks, uh... Leader Guskarr. I am Seth,” Seth greeted politely.
“And I am Zephyr….” He noticed the old lady kept staring in his direction, making him uneasy. “You seem to have known we were coming… how is that possible?”
“Ah… you see, my mother here has some unique abilities. But we can talk about this later. I'm sure that you and your young companion must be very tired. My son can take you to a tent for you to rest, and we can prepare a feast for tonight!” The tribe leader announced with a smile.
Zephyr glanced at Seth. The boy looked ready to collapse at any second. It's already been well over twenty-four hours since they had any sleep and had been walking nonstop. He was also exhausted.
Right now, he had no other choice but to trust these people. At least he hadn't received any warning from the Goddess, so that had helped to put him at ease.
“Thank you, good sir. We appreciate your hospitality,” Zephyr said.
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Tolfin escorted them to a nearby tent. It turned out to be the one belonging to Tolfin himself and his wife, who apparently was working outside at the moment.
Zephyr and Seth were shown some beds made of several layers of furs.
It may have been very primitive, but it was the most comfortable thing that Zephyr had ever slept on.
By the time they awoke, it was dark outside.
Tolfin informed them that the feast in their honor was ready.
And he once again escorted them to the center of the village where a gigantic fire had been lit.
Several animals were being cooked all around the pyre.
As they walked, the tribe men and women kept turning their heads to look at them. They appeared to be especially interested in Zephyr. He assumed it was because of his silver hair.
Like the humans of the north, everyone here appeared to have black hair and eyes, so his appearance would stand out a lot.
The tribe leader, along with his mother, were sitting on an elevated platform and sat on actual chairs made of bones, while the rest sat on the ground.
Two extra chairs had been placed at the side of the leader, and Tolfin told them it was for them.
Zephyr had no idea why they were being treated with such respect. They had done nothing to earn their favor, as far as he knew at least.
Guskarr was very sharp and seemed to cough on this when he gazed at Zephyr. “We can talk later, young traveler. But now is the time to enjoy the feast; it's been over a year since we had one this big, and the tribesmen are very anxious to start.”
“Zephyr, look!” Seth kept pulling on his shoulder. “So much food!”
