Quest for the Conestoga (Colony Ship Conestoga Book 1) (21 page)

A person stepped out from the back side of the hedge.  “I am Khin.”

Cammarry was shocked at what she saw.  The term ‘troll’ raced through her mind.  Khin was very thin, with medium to dark colored skin and large, bright brown eyes.  His eyes twinkled in the dim light.  His black hair was cropped fairly short, but ragged.  He had some kind of garment on which extended from chest to knees, but reminded her of the goat animals which she had seen.  The clothing was of similar colors and patterns to the animals and looked to be furry.  He also had some kind of pouch slung over his shoulder and a brown belt around his waist.  A small scabbard or holster was dangling from the belt.  The handle of something was sticking up from that scabbard.  His hands were extended forward and in them were two blocks of something which was a dark, faded yellowish color. 

“Hello,” Cammarry said.  “It is nice to see you.”

“Cammarry, Jerome is in position behind this new person,” Sandie said.  “He is next to the broken double doors where this person must have entered the goat room.”

“Thank you,” Cammarry said to Sandie.

Khin thought she was referring to him.  “You like the cheeses?  So you will teach me to make the bright light that you are using?  I would like to learn the ways of wizards.”

“I would like to learn your ways as well.”  Cammarry stepped forward.  “I am always looking to learn new things.”

Khin walked forward.  “Wizard Cammarry, you will teach me now?”
 

Cammarry sat down on the floor.  “Yes, let us talk.”

Khin’s eyes grew a bit suspicious, but he came very close to Cammarry.    “Where is your mate?” 

“I am back here,” Jerome said from behind Khin. 

The youth turned rapidly and stared at Jerome.  “I see that now.  Will you also teach me your ways?  I have the two cheeses, one for the male wizard, and one for the female wizard.  Will you teach me now?”

“You are not very afraid of us, yet we are strangers.  Why is that?”  Cammarry asked.  She patted the floor next to where she was sitting.

“Why are you strangers?”  Khin asked in reply.  “I have not met you before, that makes you a stranger.  However, I have watched you for several days.  You have wizard tools, and do wizard things.  Should a wizard be feared?”  He stepped toward Cammarry and cautiously sat down.  “Wizards are elusive, but not abusive.  Everyone knows that.” 

A bitter aroma struck Cammarry.  She resisted making a face or commenting, yet it was quite pungent.  Jerome stepped up near as well, and he scrunched his face at the odor.   Neither could tell if the foul smell was from Khin or from the yellowish items he was holding. 

“Here is your cheese.”  He handed one yellow lump to Cammarry and the other to Jerome.  “Now you take and eat!  Then you teach me to make wizard lights like you can do!”

It was definitely the cheese which had most of the strong smell. 

“What is this?”  Cammarry asked.

Khin laughed.  “It is a cheese.  Now take and eat.” His face was a broad smile. 

Through the privacy of the ear pieces, Sandie the artificial intelligence system began an explanation.  “Cheese is a product that is made from….”

“Your spirit-ghost is very smart,” Khin said. “Sandie knows many things.  It must be an advantage to have such a spirit-ghost.”

“You can hear Sandie?”  Cammarry asked.  She was shocked that the tiny voice from the com-link was audible to the youth. 

“Oh yes.  I listen carefully and your spirit-ghost Sandie can be heard.  It was easier before she started to whisper through the wizard tools, but I can still hear.  Hearing is a great way to learn.  I listen, I look, I learn.”

“Sandie, our new friend hears you so just use standard audio responses,” Jerome said.  He was still standing and holding the lump of cheese.  On closer inspection it had a hard yellowish exterior, but there were some cracks where a more off-white colored interior could be seen.  Jerome tried to imagine eating the cheese, but his stomach lurched at the thought. 

“Hello Khin,” Sandie said.  “It is a pleasure to meet you.  I was just explaining that cheese is a food derived from the lactate produced by the mammary glands of mammals.  Historically cheese was produced in a wide range of flavors, textures, and forms often utilizing the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep.”

“Is this from those goat animals?”  Cammarry asked. 

“Of course!”  Khin laughed and laughed.  “No goats, no cheeses.” 

“Khin, we have seen goats and we have seen rats.  What other animals are here on the Conestoga?”  Jerome asked.

Khin looked at him in wonder while continuing to chuckle.  He then replied.  “Oh a test.  I see.   All four kinds of animals are here: rats, goats, chickens, and cavies.  The cheeses are good, yes?  I make it in a pot over heat.  I heat up the fresh milk, then let it cool a bit.  Then I put my bag of cheesecloth over the pot and ladle the milk into it.  I ladle it many times. After it drips through, I set the bag on a cooler and wait.  I make a good cheese.  Try it.  Did I pass your test?”

“What about these little animals?” Cammarry said as she swatted at a flying thing which came toward her face.

“Not animals!”  Khin laughed and laughed again.  “Bugs are not animals.  You are testing me again!  Thousands of kinds of bugs, four kinds or animals.”    

Jerome handed Cammarry the cheese he was holding.  She set it on the other one and held both.  He then pulled out a fusion pack.  “You asked about the bright light.  This is how we make it.”  He fingered the switch and the beam shot out from the end. 

The light revealed that Khin was even more unkempt and disheveled than they thought.  His clothing was roughly sewn and his bare, dirty feet had thick heavy calluses on them.  The toenails, like his fingernails were dirty, but looked well-manicured.  He averted his eyes from the light.  “It is a marvel of a wizard’s tool.” 

Jerome switched it off as it was uncomfortable for Khin.  “Sorry if it was too bright.”

“Wizard places are always bright.  You have proven to be the wizards I thought you were.  You have shown me the wizard light, will you now bless me and my ways so that I may prosper.  Please bless me?”

“Khin, I am not sure what you mean by bless you.  How can we bless you?”  Cammarry asked.  “I wish you well and hope that you do prosper.”

“Wizards routinely bless people who are lucky and brave enough to find them.  The wizards will bless those of noble heart who seek and find them.  Everyone knows that.  I found you two when the goats avoided this place.  You are the first wizards I have ever found.  I have seen wizard works, of course, but never up close or in person.  Thank you for the blessing,” Khin replied. 

“Khin?  What can you tell us about the Conestoga?”  Jerome asked.  He finally sat down. 

“You use an old word for the world.  The Conestoga,” he pronounced it using very long draw out vowels, “is the world, and the world is the Conestoga.  I just call it the world.”

“So tell me about the world.  How many people are there?  Where are they?  When can we meet them?  How do they live?”  Cammarry was curious for the first time since the failure of the teleportation receiving pad. 

“People are all over the world, but there are not many of them.  There are fewer wizards than people.  There are more goats than people, and lots more rats than people.  Depending on where in the world you are searching or traveling, there may be more chickens in that part of the world than people.  And cavies, well, all clans have cavies.”

“How many people in the world?”  Cammarry asked.  “How many people are still on the Conestoga?”  She was about to ask how many were on the planet, but realized that she was not sure Khin even knew about the planet, since he called the ship the world. 

“You test me about numbers of people, but who can count so high, except a wizard?”  Khin answered with a chuckle.  “Wizard machines might know such high numbers.  Wizards are rarest, people are next, then chickens, then cavies, then goats, and finally rats.  Rats are highest number in the world.”  He paused for a moment.  “Except for bugs.  Bugs highest number of all things in the world.” 

“Can you take us to some of these people?”  Cammarry asked.

Jerome looked at her with a puzzled expression. 

“This is our new home, we must meet the neighbors,” Cammarry stated and turned back to Khin.  “Will you take us to meet them?”

“Me?  Me?  Am I to be on a wizard’s quest?”  Khin asked.  His face was almost swallowed by the wide open gape of his mouth.  “Are you really asking me to be on a quest with wizards?”

Jerome nodded yes at Cammarry, but she already was answering, “Yes, we want to meet your people.”

“Well then,” Khin said and stood up.  He marched around Jerome and headed away.  At the broken doors he stopped and turned back.  “Are you coming?”

“We will need to pack our….wizard tools,” Cammarry stated. 

“It should only take a short while.  Please wait for us, and will you carry the cheeses?”  Jerome asked.  “We will be bringing food rations.”

“You do not like my cheeses,” Khin said with scorn.  “You have not taken and eaten.  Have I failed in some way?  To return my gift of trade brings me shame and sorrow.”

Cammarry took a bite of the cheese.  The taste nearly gagged her.  The flavor exploded in her mouth and she felt odor come pouring out her nose as she chewed.  After a moment she was able to swallow, but it took a herculean effort to do so.  “Thank you… for the cheese.”  She took both of the cheeses and held onto them.  “We will keep them.  Thank you.”

“It is good, is it not?”  Khin replied. 

Jerome handed a water ration to Cammarry who quickly drank and tried to wash down the taste of the cheese.  She then sputtered and said, “The taste is new and invigorating.  I can honestly say I have never tasted a better cheese.”

Khin fell to his knees and put his hands over his head and waved them in ecstasy.  “A wizard praises my cheese!  What a glorious day!”

“Please wait here, and we will be back to start this quest,” Jerome said.  He took both cheeses and led Cammarry away and through the rooms they had made their camp.  When they were back in the chair room he quickly grabbed the medical kit and pulled out a packet of blue gel.  “Take this in case that was toxic or poison of some kind.”

Cammarry took the packet and consumed it.  “I do not think it was poison, and since we are forced to stay here, we will need to learn about the indigenous people and what they eat.  Our own food rations will run out in a few days.  Besides, I did manage to eat some of it.” 

“Sandie?  What is your assessment?”  Jerome asked. 

“Khin is human, very likely a descendant of the original crew, although it is possible he is descendant from someone revived out of suspended animation, or his ancestors were from a habitat.  He has limited technological knowledge and attributes mechanical items to wizardry and paranormal forces. Folklore and science are mingled in his thinking.  My best conjectures are that he is only a minimal threat, however, that is an early assessment and the conjecture may not be including all relevant factors.  His mere presence here indicates a high chance for both of you to survive. His clothing was made from the integument of a goat.  The cheeses appear to be a relatively safe source of food.  I doubt you will have any ill effects from consuming it.  Doctor Carolyn immunized you against a broad range of items.”

“So how do we secure the teleportation receiving pad?”  Jerome asked.  “Can you continue to monitor for the Dome 17 signal and work on the problem as well as assist us in the quest to interact with Khin’s people?”

“After assessing the nonphysicality here, I believe with some repairs, the doors which Khin and the goats pass through can be powered by one of the four fusion packs,” Sandie replied. “I can design a security code which will allow me to open and close them.  That will seal off the teleportation receiving pad, the goat room, the chair room, the bedroom room, and the airlock from major biological threats.  The FTL scout is secure and its hatches are under my command.  The second fusion pack will remain with the receiving pad.  That will allow you to each take a fusion pack with you.  My observations and conjectures project that the rats will still find a way inside these areas, but they should not be a threat to the teleportation pad.”