An Alex Hawk Time Travel Adventure | Book 3 | Return from Kragdon-Ah, стр. 47
Klipta-ak likewise tried to put a brave face on. He smiled and said, “It’s that time, then?”
Alex put an arm on his shoulder and said, “I have something that I think anyone in your position would want. A choice.”
Klipta-ak’s head snapped up. “That sounds like a lifeline.”
“Perhaps,” Alex agreed. He nodded toward Versa-eh. “You owe it to her.”
“Then I am thankful to you,” Klipta-ak said. “What is the choice?”
“Harta-ak, who was once a citizen of Lasta-ah, is making a new home. They have access to an asset that should make that new home profitable. However, there are only two of them. They have allies in the closest village, but that will not help them build what they need.”
The light dawned in Klipta-ak’s eyes, but he kept his mouth shut.
“So, if you are willing to commit to glinta, and then swear your allegiance to this new home with them, we will allow you to live.”
Glinta is the universal Kragdon-ah word for disavowing your membership in a tribe or city.
“This seems an easy choice, but sometimes things like political loyalties run stupidly deep. Would you let me speak with my men?”
The Winten-ah, Harta-ak, and Versa-eh left the enclosure. They had walked a dozen steps when Klipta-ak’s voice rang out, “We accept. What is our new tribe called?”
Versa-eh had to laugh at that. “We don’t even have a name yet, but we will create one.”
“The name doesn’t matter,” Klipta-ak said. “We pledge our allegiance and our loyalty to you.”
“Then you will be free men and partners with us.”
Alex felt a twinge of regret at losing the best builders he had met in this world, but felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders, knowing that he would not need to kill the men he had come to think of as friends.
Chapter NineteenFrom the Skies
It took Versa-eh, Harta-ak and the remainder of their new village a few days to leave Winten-ah and return to the natural bowl where they were going to build their new home.
Versa-eh and Sekun-ak negotiated over getting a few new horses to go with the two they had arrived with. Much like the scenario Alex had witnessed years before, where Sekun-ak and the trader had bartered over a dog, they yelled, appeared angry, then happily settled in the middle.
In the end, Sekun-ak agreed to trade two horses for a lifetime supply of danta. That was kind of him, because Harta-ak had already pledged that very thing to Winten-ah. Still, it was a graceful way for Sekun-ak to give a thank you gift to them for all they had done.
Over the following days, Klipta-ak and his men built several carts that were very similar in style to those Alex had seen in Lasta-ah. They used the two new horses and carts to carry the men who had broken legs or hips from the battle of Prata-ah.
Alex hated to see Harta-ak and Versa-eh go. They had not only helped him on so many occasions, but they were like family to him. Still, they were not so far away that he and Senta-eh couldn’t visit them from time to time.
Alex stood at the lower level of the caves and waved as the caravan moved toward what they had decided to call Danta-ah. Versa-eh’s mind was always working, and she had decided that naming their village after the valuable commodity they controlled would help spread the word.
When they disappeared onto the forest path, Alex, Senta-eh, and Monda-ak retired to their perfect little cabin. It was late in the summer and the days were growing shorter. Alex looked forward to the rainy season, then the snows of winter. He knew they would be happy and snug in their home.
Alex even did something he had never done since he had arrived in Kragdon-ah.
He took a nap.
His rest and leisure did not last, though. Having so many extra mouths to feed had put their feed stores low going into winter. While there was still plenty of game about, the hunting team went out every third day.
Also, Reggie had watched carefully what Klipta-ak had done in building Alex’s new home, peppering him with questions. He approached Sekun-ak and asked permission to build a smaller version for himself. Not on the bottom of the cliffside, as that would have been presumptuous, but on the ground at the side of the cliffs.
Reggie was loved wherever he went, and Winten-ah was no exception. He had a faithful audience who gathered around him every time he got his lute-like instrument out and played and sang. It was Tinka-eh who sealed the deal, though.
She was an explorer who was always on the move, laughing and twinkling her eyes and lifting up her arms to everyone she toddled by. Her chubby cheeks were pinched a dozen times a day and it made her laugh—a high-pitched giggle that made Alex think of Preta-eh, the chieftain of Tonton-ah.
Because childbirth had become even more dangerous, more and more couples were avoiding pregnancy. That was untenable over the long term, but no one wanted to purposefully take the risk. It was not that every woman who became pregnant died in childbirth, but the ratio had moved from one in thirty to one in ten. Very few couples wanted to take a ten percent chance of dying.
With fewer babies and toddlers in the cliffside, each one got more attention. And Tinka-eh was an exceptionally charming baby.
Sekun-ak was afraid he would have a mutiny on his hands if he declined Reggie’s request, but he liked Reggie, too.
There was no work crew to do the work this time, but Alex and Reggie were often able to recruit a helper or two on their daily forays into the forest to cut logs. Each time they passed the small clearing where his original team had been kidnapped,