Entry 11- Housekeeping

             The meeting began with a clamor. In the main long house smoke rose to the roof and went out. There were meats hanging at the top of the room drying and smoking. The wooden structure always had a raging fire, it was the main building during winter and the meeting hall for any of the family gatherings. This is one of those moments. The families had all been called. Heads of households with their partners or other important members. Racha keep a weary eye on everyone, still angered by the loss of the healing hut, especially so close to winter.

            I was tasked with gathering information on the other members in the list. So, I set about doing that. The community knew me and trusted me, for the most part. The conversations went smoothly, my wit saved me for the most part. The hardest was with one family when I found out two of the names were twins and the heirs to their family’s future. I reported it back to Racha and she nodded solemnly. We knew our plan. We were going to do a public execution for Yuda, and during that execution, we were going to grab the others who showed up. If anyone didn’t show up, we’d perform a raid during that execution and grab them from the family home. This was going to be a witch hunt, with proof of course.

            The meeting began formally when I returned to the Dias. Ithella spoke for the mystics.

            “Welcome everyone.” She said.

            Her voice silenced the entire hall. Everyone took their seats around the fire and she continued.

            “Last night, the healing hut was destroyed. You may all have smelled the rain and fire on the air this morning. Racha, in a rage induced sadness dowsed the flames. Parkik caught a culprit and Tallyden got him to confess his mission and accomplices. This may not leave the hall. You all are trusted and advised to stand back as we apprehend the people responsible for the attack. They are family members, but we fear a renegade order is building power in the regions to the north and hoping to destroy our way of life. The Order of Sina, a group that believes the Pillars are false idols and that we as a people need to bend to one god. I am of a mind to show these Heritics the error of their ways via fire. We will burn them in a public execution. Every person in the village needs to be present for this event. It will be held at noon today. So you have a few hours to gather your families and come to the plaza. We will gather the accused in the meantime.”

            Parkik came into the hall and came up to the Dias, whispering into Ithella’s ear. She nodded and smiled a bit and looked at Tallyden.

            “As a precaution. Our Tallyden will protect the town. Anyone who is apart of the Order of Sina is considered an enemy.”

            At this Parkik lead me out of the hut and to the town boundary where a thick line of salt circled the village.

            He said, “You need to protect the town. Ward it from any enemies who may want to leave. We are binding the Order of Sina into town. This is your towns full supply of salt, so please succeed in the ward. We cannot afford a misfire here.”

            I raised my hands over the salt and began walking the perimeter of the town. This took a while but I was drawing enough magic to ward the largest area I’d ever done. After a few minutes, I saw the heads of houses leaving the meeting hall followed by Ithella and Racha. Then the warding magic flowed through me and into the salt circle. A blue glow shot up into the sky around the village. I felt drained from the spell and Parkik grabbed my waist.

            We walked together to the older mystics who looked at my work and nodded.

            “Good work Tally.” Racha said. “You’re getting so strong already.”

            “The protection of steadfast is my mission.” I said.

            “Home is important to us all. We will find and execute the Order of Sina.”

            “The ward will only last until the first rainfall.” Ithella said.

            I nodded and felt it pulling on my energy. I felt fatigued and sat on the steps into the long house.

            “We don’t have long.” Ithella said, “Lets prepare the Pyre for four.”

            “I’ll help.” Parkik said.

            “Me too.” I tried then stood up and the world around me spun. Suddenly, I was sitting again and Racha had her hand on my shoulder.

            “You’re in no shape.” She said to me.

            “Where will we go.” I asked.

            “We…have an abandoned house.” She responded.

            I nodded and got up to make way to the house. Racha kept her hand on my back, Parkik left with Ithella. Little did I know, I wouldn’t be able to leave my own boundary at this point. Having the Amulet of the Order of Sina has unofficially marked me an enemy to myself. I didn’t find this out until later. Exploring around the abandoned house. The salt circle went around the house and when I wanted to go to the back. The circle trapped me in it. Until I dropped that amulet inside of the house.

            Racha was busy at work making the house into another healer’s hut. Cleansing the place of the negative energies of the Horror that haunted the place. The execution is the next event for us, but she lit the fire and cleaned the living area and the two rooms. There was a spare dining room off of the kitchen that would work great for a small ward. Racha finds the place quaint yet homey.

 To be continued…