In Search of Spice (42 page)

Pat limped along bravely, trying to forget the pain, half smiling and finding himself looking forward to telling the tale. It wasn’t every day you were bait for a monster! As they drew closer, he could see the officers’ eyes drawn to his amazing wounds, the suction marks of the octopus now looking like cicatrices all over his body.

The Great Ratu’s mouth was open as he looked down on the procession, not looking at Pat or Hinatea, but fixed on the octopus.

As they neared, he suddenly let out a bellow like the bull whale that had followed the Queen Rose for a week. He jumped forward, amazingly light and agile on his feet for such a big man, shouting hoarsely in Vituan. All the kai Viti villagers started howling. As he came up to them, he started ripping at his jewellery, sending shells flying everywhere, still bellowing.

Pat, Hinatea, Rat and Silmatea stopped, confused.

The Ratu kept bellowing, and to their horror they saw tears pouring down his face. For a moment, Pat wondered if they were for him and his injuries, but the Ratu pushed past him. Rat and Silmatea eased their burden down and the Ratu knelt beside it, wailing loudly. All the other kai Viti were joining in with the weeping and wailing. The fishing team stood about, wondering if they should say something and not knowing what to do.

The Captain came storming over, his face a thundercloud, with Sara beside him and Suzanne just behind.

“What the hell have you done now, Connorson?” The Captain snarled.

“We, uh, were fishing, sir, and we caught this monster. They prey on fishermen and children. We have saved lives,” said Pat, trying to be defiant, all his pride eking out into the ground.

“It is a god,” said Suzanne with a stony face. She was rapidly learning Vituan. She was listening to the Ratu as he wailed out his torment, holding one of the dead tentacles, tears streaming down his face. He banged his forehead into the dead octopus. “It guards them from the wrath of the sea. The Ratu calls him his brother. They mourn his death, no, his murder. They fear for the future with the Guardian gone.”

“Oh no,” said Pat, closing his eyes, whilst Rat looked around wildly for somewhere to run. The Ratu started to thrash on the ground and all the kai Viti did the same.

“Is grandfather,” said Hinatea obstinately, leaning on her fish spear. “Eat people, very dangerous. This one very big, catch, eat people.”

“It’s
tabu
to kill them,” said Suzanne, using a strange word that Pat didn’t understand but Hinatea and Silmatea clearly did, all the bravado going out of them in a rush.

“We are not on Pahipi now, Hinatea,” said Sara. “The kai Viti obviously have a different relationship with the fish. Damage limitation in order, Captain, we must ensure this desecration does not reflect badly on us and affect the new relationship we have created,” she continued crisply. “Place them under arrest and have them taken back to the ship. You will need these two in the sickbay, I think. Suzanne, up to you to find out what we need to do. I would prefer not to have to execute them, but we will if we have to.” She ended grimly, not looking at the boys.

Captain Larroche issued a quick few orders and the fishing team were marched off to the ship under close arrest, heads hanging, thoroughly chastened and all dreams of glory vanished. Hinatea was still muttering in Pahippian.

“Now, Captain,” continued Sara in full Princess mode, eyeing the kai Viti carefully. “I think we might remove ourselves from danger. We don’t know how they are going to react to one of their gods being slaughtered by us. Suzanne, sorry but you will have to stay. I can leave you a small guard.”

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.” Suzanne was confident of her safety with the Ratu. “He’s watching us, you know. Seeing how you react.”

Indeed he was, and as the fishing team went into the boat to take them back to the Queen Rose he let out another loud bellow then stood up and came back to the Princess and her negotiating team. He gestured to his people to continue the lamentations and spoke to them in the trade language rather than Vituan.

“What do you do with them?” He asked Sara directly, with no honorific and no expression on his face.

“They are under arrest and will be placed in a secure area on the ship while we decide what to do with them. They will first be placed in the galley for their injuries to be treated.” Sara responded directly and honestly.

The Great Ratu looked at her briefly then looked at the horizon. “We will discuss what to do tonight. Please return to your ship, all of you, and return here in the morning to hear our thoughts. It will be the decision of the
Bete.
” He turned and went back to his people.

Suzanne bent her head to Sara and spoke in a low tone, loud enough for the Captain to hear as well. “The
Bete
is the priest, who talks to the Gods.
Tabu
means forbidden by the gods. Lots of things are
tabu
and they kill anyone who does anything
tabu
.”

Sara closed her eyes for a moment in pain, and Suzanne went after the Ratu.

It was nine o’clock by the hour glass as the ship’s boats slid up the sandy beach, sailors leaping out to run them further up from the tide. Sara jumped lithely ashore and walked up to a welcoming party of Suzanne, Maciu and a young Kai Viti, Maru, another of the Ratu’s son and Pat’s friend from his explorations. Both looked fairly grim.

“Have you brought them with you?” Suzanne asked.

“Yes, I got your message. In chains, as you suggested.”

“We must bring them to the Bure Kalou.” Suzanne looked at the Princess’ youthful face. “You know this is a test, don’t you?”

“Oh yes. On a great many levels, as well. Does he care at all about that damn fish?”

“I don’t think so. He’s over the moon at the opportunity to test you, and to test you on all the levels.” Suzanne continued to look at her Princess, unsure as to how many of the levels she was aware.

“I thought as much. Is he equally aware that this is a great opportunity to test him on a number of levels?”

Suzanne looked startled. “Uh, no, I don’t think so. Do you want me to let him know, ever so gently?”

“I don’t think that will be necessary. I am sure I can do it perfectly well myself, thank you,” said Sara sweetly. “What is the Bure Kalou?”

“It’s the odd building, the tall one on the rocks. That is, well, not a church exactly, but where the priest, the Bete, lives and worships. I don’t quite understand it all.”

They turned and watched the Bosun bringing the prisoners up the beach. She was gentle with them, being fond of Pat and she genuinely liked Hinatea and Silmatea. They clanked as they walked, eyes downcast, the gashes all over Pat red and angry with inflammation. Without speaking, Sara led them to the Bure Kalou where the Great Ratu sat waiting, the entire population of not just the town but the neighbouring villages sat around in a semi-circle, watching the proceedings.

The Great Ratu was in his finery, grass skirt, shell necklace interposed with the mummified fingers of enemies killed personally in battle and his hair done up into a magnificent frizz, with flowers interlaced through the strands. He watched expressionlessly as the prisoners were marched up and displayed in front of him.

On either side of him stood two enormous warriors, naked torsos gleaming in the sun where they were freshly oiled, massive muscles coiled under the skin and holding the wicked Vituan war clubs, dainty sticks with a crook in them, and a raised ridge at the end for smashing open skulls. These were the Ratu’s guards and his executioners.

The Princess watched the Bosun array the prisoners, then turned to the Great Ratu and spoke loudly in the trade language for all to hear.

“Great Ratu of Vitua, we bring before you the prisoners. We accept our responsibility not just for the prisoners, but for their actions, as we have brought them to your lands.” The Ratu’s eyes flashed at her with interest, and she continued. “While I regret the misunderstanding that has caused the death of your Guardian, I am delighted to have this opportunity to see and learn the justice and wisdom of Ratu Ilikimi Nailatikau, the Great Ratu of Vitu Levu, who is famed far and wide for his fairness and good governance.”

The Ratu grunted at that, he liked to think he was famous for being a vicious fighter who massacred his enemies. He waved his hand, and asked for the prisoners to be unchained. He looked at them closely, grunting in disapproval of the rough canvas clothes they were wearing. Rat did not meet his eye, looking down at his scuffling feet, while Pat’s eyes rested on the horizon and he didn’t seem to be present, his mind ranging elsewhere. Hinatea and Silmatea looked him straight in the eye, standing tall, proud and not particularly repentant.

The Ratu spoke first in Vituan, for the majority of his audience, then repeated himself in the trade language. He recounted what everybody knew, how the four had come ashore with the Reef Guardian making no attempt to hide their actions. He asked the prisoners to tell what they had done, and Hinatea stepped forward and recounted the fishing trip, in simple, stark terms that were the more dramatic for their brevity. Pat looked up briefly when she admitted they had not taken a grandfather before, but had the stories of their forefathers. Under questioning from the Ratu, she revealed the sad tale of Moana’s end which made Pat blink.

Sara didn’t think the questioning very thorough, but on the other hand it wasn’t as if the facts were in dispute. She wondered if it would be possible to save Pat, appreciating that the prisoners were clearly reconciled to receiving a death penalty, each handling the thought in their own way, Rat very badly.

There was a slight commotion in the crowd, as a tall youth stood up, immediately followed by another from a different location. The Ratu frowned at them, but they picked their way through the seated watchers and stood beside Pat. The first was Maru, and he looked at the Ratu and spoke in Vituan. The Ratu looked pained briefly, but nodded.

“Maru and Wiwik just claimed responsibility for Pat and the others breaking
tabu
,” Suzanne whispered to Sara. “Say they will share their punishment, they should have been with them. Makes it hard for the Ratu.”

“Brave boys,” whispered back Sara, her eyes full of unshed tears.

The Ratu closed the questioning abruptly and stood. He turned to the crowd and spoke at length in Vituan. They all nodded their heads and made gestures of approval. From the corner of her eye, Sara noted Suzanne trying not to smile and wondered. The Ratu switched to the trade language, looking Sara straight in the eye.

“I blame myself for this incident,” he surprisingly announced. “It is a misunderstanding caused by being different peoples. It often happens, and I should have foreseen it. Our peoples are too alike, we think the same way and get on together so well that we forget how different you are.

“In future, all visitors to our island who leave the town must have a kai Viti accompanying them, to ensure they understand the correct customs. This will ensure no repetition of this affair nor the breaking of tabu.

“Now we must hear the words of the
Bete
who will decide the
soro
, what must be done to placate the gods.” The Great Ratu sat down heavily, his guards remained standing on either side.

For a moment there was silence. A lone, quavering voice split it, an old man at the back raising his voice in song. One by one, others joined in, till most were singing, but not the Ratu nor his guards. Tears were rolling down Suzanne’s face, though she didn’t bother to translate, and Sara could see many tear-bedewed cheeks amongst the kai Viti women. As the song went on, the Ratu slumped slightly where he was sitting, and with his frame diminishing, Sara’s hopes followed. Desperately, she searched for a way to save the fishermen.

The Bure Kalou was a peculiar building, built on a bed of rocks themselves higher than a man. A ladder led up to the entrance, simply a woven bamboo screen in the front wall. The building on the rocks was a simple narrow box with a roof like a tall, thin pyramid, not much smaller at the top than the bottom and about twice as high as it was across. The screen moved slightly and a head stuck out from behind it. The figure came out from the room, turned and came backwards down the ladder to the ground. The Princess looked at the Bete with interest.

He was a mature man, but slightly younger than the Ratu, she guessed. Unlike the Ratu, he was thin, and his hair was quite short. He wore an elaborate grass skirt, and his chest was painted with an intricate red and white design. A long snake of woven leaves was around his neck and trailing down on either side of his chest.

He ignored the foreigners and made his way to stand in front of the Ratu.

“The Guardian of the Reef is an Elder God, a Kalou Vu. An insult to him is an insult to all Gods,” the Bete said abruptly in Vituan. “I shall tell his story.” A sigh went up from the audience. Suzanne translated his words for Sara and the Captain, and she noted that Maru was doing the same for the fishermen.

“Kaduvu looked down on the kai Viti and he was pleased. He enjoyed the daughters of the kai Viti and fathered the line of the Great Ratu. He knew that the shark god, Dakuwaqa, was hunting for victims and determined to protect his people. He entered the body of a Giant Octopus, and waited by the entrance to the reef. Dakuwaqa came to the reef, swimming swiftly to come in and go up the river to eat the kai Viti. Kaduvu grabbed him with four tentacles as he went past, using the other four tentacles to hang onto the rocks of the reef. Dakuwaqa was a proud god! He was strong, he was big, he was fierce; he beat every god he faced. But he could not beat Kaduvu.