Episode 12: Ben Hamor

A mountain fell on us. Hunh.


The last thing I remember seeing of our destination was the giant red raccoon... thing. Probably another one of those Kyo Tee-Shee like the giant purple bird earlier. I wonder if it caused the avalanche? Oh well, no time to think about that now. I am fighting for my life, running, dodging, splitting stones. We are not going to make it. I yell at Moses to grab Mokuzai and run. I hope he heard me. There is no sign of Una or Rei. I do not even bother to look for Highdive. I am sure she got out of there at the first hint of trouble.

I was right. I did not make it. I am pinned against the side of the mountain, a boulder slowly crushing my leg. My left shoulder was hit; every nerve in my body cries out with the pain. Highdive shows up and tries to help. Wait! No! Stop! Blinding pain shooting from my leg. She is going to crush me! She stops, and Mokuzai arrives to help. I think about it for a bit and figure out the correct sequence and leverage I need to get out. I direct Mokuzai to move first one stone, then another, and then... yes! I am free. I think my leg is broken, but I am free.

We make camp at the bottom of the now-blocked pass. Surprisingly enough, everyone made it, and I am the only one injured. I just have all the luck. Highdive and Una go scouting for another pass while the rest of us rest. That damn Jevuum is laughing at us and stalking outside the firelight. Let him face me in a fair fight and... I shudder. No. I do not relish the thought of killing a Karian. The vision has faded somewhat; I think I could stomach meat again, for instance. But I do not think I will ever be the same again. The planet itself is alive, and every Karian is part of it. A strange concept, but true.

Una and Highdive return hours later, and with them a few Gogajin. We have been offered shelter at their village. Well, this is certainly more hospitable than the Zipsum were. Rei had splinted my leg, but I would still slow us down, so Una healed me. I wish she did not have to cry to do that. We traveled to the Gogajin village nestled in the foothills, arriving just before dawn. The men were ushered to one building and the women to another. They were odd buildings, made of trees. Not just made of wood, but just raw logs bound together it seemed. Inside was row upon row of cots, like a soldier's barracks. I did not care; I was exhausted and fell asleep almost as soon as I laid down.

I did not get to sleep long. The Gogajin are early risers, it seems, and loud in everything that they do. I rose and cleaned myself as best I could. I practiced some sword forms and then Una asked to spar. I was surprised but accommodating. I found an appropriate bokken, which seemed to surprise Una. Did she really think I was about to use Keibatsu against her? I surely did not want her dead or grievously wounded! She, too, took up a bokken, though she left her armor on. I did not say anything about it; if this is the way Vorax spar, then so be it. It was over quickly. Though I hit her twice as often as she hit me, her armor absorbed most of the blow. Meanwhile each of her strikes against me sent pain coursing through every inch of my body; I could not long stand up to that, and conceded the bout.

Later on I tried entertaining some young Gogajin with sleight of hand. I should have known better. They quickly became angry at their inability to track the coin and tried to forcibly remove it from my person. I quickly dissuaded them of that notion, and tried to teach them a thing or two. Their minds and fingers were both too clumsy for the exercise, however, so I left off.

Later that evening there was a party. I remember the beginning well enough, with everyone dancing and singing and having a grand time. I tried some of their honey drink and found the taste to be quite pleasing. I suppose it was a little too pleasing, as I do not remember much after that. There are vague half-memories of very large women, Aimi's face (though I know she was not there), and for some reason my face hurts.

I awoke the next morning and wished that I had not. That drink packs quite a punch, and, yes, my face did hurt quite a bit. I hoped I had not made a fool of myself falling on my face or some such thing. We were gathered before the leader of the community, an older Gogajin woman. She explained that we would have to undergo trials. Was every Karian settlement going to make us prove ourselves? First there was a trial of work. We had to build a house. Let me reiterate that. We had to construct for the Gogajin a new house. I hoped that one of my companions had some knowledge of such things. As it turned out, Moses did know something about construction, and we finished the project handily.

The next trial was of courage. Now that I was feeling much better I agreed to stand in this challenge. Essentially, a Gogajin threw a boulder at me. I wish I was kidding. I entered the Void and used Keibatsu to slice the thing in two. There was no way I was going to attempt to catch it! It turned out that the stone was soft and hollow, however. Either way, I passed the challenge.

Then there was a challenge of trust. Highdive was blindfolded and had to... drink. A good deal of drink. This was starting to get ridiculous. Well, she managed to down a horn twice as big as she was, and so won the challenge. Finally, Mokuzai was given the challenge of wisdom. He had to choose between three objects which was the most important. Figuring this had something to do with Karian culture, and that Mokuzai had everything in hand, I took the opportunity to ask Moses about the happenings of the preceding night, figuring that I could trust him of all of my companions to give me the facts without embellishment or judgment.

Apparently, three or four (!) Gogajin women had decided to be... intimate... with me while I was drunk. I was, of course, horrified to hear this, but it seems that Rei stepped in and put a stop to this. By hitting me in the face with a shovel. To stop me from cheating on Aimi. Had the situation been any other than it had been, I would have been livid at Rei. As it was, I felt compelled to thank her.

Mokuzai did pass the test and we were given directions to our destination. Apparently the mountain we sought was known as Ben Hamor, and it had long been a sacred site to the Karians. It had an old Prill guardian, the Guardian of the Song of Earth, whatever that meant. The Guardian had apparently gone mad and now attacked all who came near. It was presumably this Prill that had caused the avalanches when we first approached. Fun. As we set out, I rather hoped that that was a trick it could not repeat often.