Extraction Issue 20

Chapter 20

Mondri Village

Cycle 6002.667.08.5W

Neodig had nearly been part of proper village life for a week now. The discussions about where he should stay had turned into a weird argument in the village. Some where hoping they could instantly marry him off to Hana, because this definitely would have gotten around the issue the two living alone once he was back on his feet.

After a few power plays failed, the chief had steered it so he stayed in Negham’s tidy little home. Like the other houses the solid beams had neat intricate joinery, but unlike other residences the beams were vibrant in colour, clearly well oiled in a way that only some of the shops or community buildings had been maintained.

It must have once been a family home; a painted dusty portrait on one of the small tables showed a wife and son with a much younger looking Negham. Like the oil there were many other oddities or luxuries furnishing that were out of place when compared to most of the simple houses in the rest of the village. His work as a trader had clearly given him access to a bigger range of furnishings.

When Doug had indicated to the family portrait Negham had smiled and his face looked softer. He had taken his family to the main port and got the portrait made. It had been quite the talking point in the village at the time. Then his face returned to it’s tired hardened state. He explained that his wife had helped organise things in the village centre until she had passed away when a strange sickness hit the village.

His boy and many other of the youngsters in the village had long since left for more lively villages. Mainly the old or stoic had stayed. With almost no new trading happening, the village was seemingly frozen in time.

Negham’s boy’s now unused room was tidy enough. There was even an empty wardrobe and desk that easily accommodated his possessions. He helped load and unload Negham’s boat for starters. Then when Negham didn’t need help, he would report to the chief for other jobs.

The jobs the chief assigned were an odd mix of those from people desperate for a hand, to those hoping to grease up and give him some easy work in the process. Overall the villagers were a kind bunch and the chief seemed to pick a balance of the jobs. This allowed Doug to get to know the villagers comfortably as he recovered.

Today Negham was still away. Doug was finally considered reliable enough to tackle the village landscaping. He wasn’t sure if this was a blessing or a curse. He was brought to the area of interest and it felt like it might be the latter in that instant.

It was some hugely overgrown stonework. The chief asked him to see what he could do and check in with Iris or Hana if he needed food or water. He hesitantly pulled at an easy weed close to him, it came out easily and brought soft soil with it. Encouraged he wandered in to grab one of the bigger woody weeds. After a struggle it pulled free flipping up one of the stones with it.

As the process was repeated a few times, he was encouraged with the results. It looked like at least the nearby stonework had been laid with only soil in the generous gaps between the stones and not mortar.

Halfway through the morning and he was happy with his progress. He would use a hook weeder that he had been shown how to use at the temple to start with. Then if things got difficult, he would get the shovel and flip the entire stone up. From there he could deal with more severe roots and use nearby sand to re-seat the stone nicely.

He wandered off for a break. It was a clear sunny day. He was luckily his work area was reasonably shaded to keep it comfortable. He didn’t have to wander much further up the hill to Hana’s place.

Hana must have been busy on an errand or out riding, so he wandered down the road to check in with Iris. She looked up from her knitting and greeted the new arrival cheerfully. She made him a cup of tea filling him in with the latest in the village happenings. When she asked who he was helping today she was surprised by the answer.

She asked if he minded showing her the progress with only a cup of tea, she promised food would still be provided after having a nosy. Iris was one of his favourite villagers to chat to; so a longer break from wrenching weeds and stones around would be appreciated anyway.

When they arrived she let out a gentle, ‘oh my’ in what seemed to be appreciation.

Doug asked if the place had meaning to her. She nodded and said that it was made by the village founders to celebrate the completion of the roads and waterways. It had been such a sensitive area that it had ended up being neglected by indecision.

She thanked him saying he had made a wonderful start. From an old illustration she had seen she described what it would have been like. Then she awkwardly tottered through the weeds and directed him to which areas would suit his style of weeding. She also pointed out which areas were small canals or landscaping features that were better to keep distance from or be left altogether.

It was a much grander piece of landscaping than he realised. He had assumed two of the areas were just strangely overgrown bits of the hillside. The steps especially seemed interesting and he wondered if they could be tidied or if they were one of the features with mortar or lime securing them.

She thanked him for taking the time to let her ramble on and said she had better feed him up well for the rest of the day to come. He had yet to convince or have the villages the benefits of not eating till later in the day, so he was fed with a large pile of dumplings.

They were delicious and he thanked her. He definitely felt a bit sluggish heading back to the stonework though. He wandered around the area once more examining it and giving his stomach a chance to recover from a generous meal so early in the day.

After a while he got back into the flow of things. He started on the second level that he had just assumed was vegetation on the hill side. It had become a relaxing job to work on at that point. But more and more he got the feeling he was being watched. As he turned around he would now often catch people trying to discretely peer around the corner to see how he was going.

They got braver and approached. They were only given a friendly greeting when they came to see the progress, so more and more of the villagers came to see. Now as villagers came to see the work happening they would also chat a bit.

Most admired the work. From the sounds of it the chief had only had permission for him to do general landscaping and many were surprised that he had started here. He wished that the chief had given him a heads up that it might be a sensitive job. He looked at it from the perspective that at least now he had regular breaks as he would listen to people talking through their hope and worries related to the landmark they associated with their founders.

A few villagers were not so pleasant this time. They would make statements along the lines that he wasn’t qualified to deal with such an important project. They were quick to focus on damaged and chipped stones, whether or not it was by Doug’s doing. The best approach seemed to be to ask how they thought the project should proceed.

One particularly difficult villager had only had his objections diverted by being directed to see the chief if he wanted the project halted. With a couple more stones cleared around or re-seated he did a finishing sweep up at the end of his days work.

Doug had cleared the worst of two of the three ares. Also the steps in-between the two areas had half been tidied. One of the side walls of the steps and some of the steps mortar was so far gone that it had been better to pull them apart. Once he had figured out what sort of puzzle he had from the other steps, piecing it back together was frustrating initially, but satisfying on completion.

He’d thought he was done with villagers chatting with him and was looking forward to heading back to Negham’s to make himself some dinner. However, Trader Chen was back from his latest trip and heading over for a chat. The chief and Trader Chen had several talks with ‘Doug’. Some had to be reprocessed and happened officially through being summoned to town meetings, which had suddenly become an almost daily event.

But there was also another matter which they were not discussing with the villagers and judging from his demeanour, that was exactly what he was here to talk about. Of course with excellent diplomatic skills he greeted the boy; complimenting him on the work and on almost being an unofficial village counsellor for the day.

Doug laughed with Chen’s odd presentation of the compliment. He assumed it deliberate to ease tension. After a brief chat about his latest trip Chen mentioned that he had managed to pick up the pulp that would be required for the ritual the soul had outlined. He asked if Doug had though further on the matter.

Trying to assist keeping the tone light as Chen was, Doug pointed out that he wasn’t one of the villagers and was there to figure things out. His thoughts were that if there were anymore agreed upon jobs, he should finish those and have a day to rest. Then go ahead with the ritual as soon as they were free to do so.

Chen thanked him for his practicality and determination. He excused himself to go and talk with the chief and see if he could further assist.

Doug looked around enjoying the scene that was now around him. The place had clearly been an amazing part of the landscape. Not only that, but working here seemed to let all the things that had been worrying or frustrating him start to untangle. Maybe this area was part of the magic that made the village so peaceful and had given him the chance to catch his breathe despite the circumstances.

He was left to finish his day and make a meal for himself. He could tell that his time was almost up in the village given that he had almost run out of jobs that had been agreed upon. But in some ways he was also looking forward to what would come next.

As far as Doug could tell Hana’s initial reassurance had been right. After arguing and making a big fuss about nothing, the villagers made sure new additions to their area were well supported when they worked in the best interests of their people.

The next morning with Negham still away, Doug went to check in with the chief. He looked like he would be busy for a demi with all the people there to hash things out. So after passing on a sympathetic smile he headed back to the stonework.

Doug felt quite pleased with himself as the next steps and half of the top paved area tidied up really well. It was partly because it was so overgrown that each stone had to be pulled up for cleaning and re-seating. The result was that though only half done, it was looking even better than the first two areas.

He had his first visitor for the day. The chief greeted him saying he was starting to fit in with the village perfectly. Standing around and smiling to themselves was one of the villagers go-to postures.

Doug laughed a little embarrassed. He asked if the chief if he had important business or had just visited to get away from the villagers for a bit.

The chief laughed and said that it was a bit of both. He let him know that Negham was back and could use a hand. After that he could finish off what he could manage today and then old Jerb would take over. He would have done the job long ago, but before now it was far too big for him to manage.

Stopping to look around the chief thanked Doug saying if it was up to him he would have been quite happy letting the boy finish off he was doing a great job. He switched gears again and said instead he could have tomorrow off.

Doug agreed as he was ready for a break. Then he wondered if it meant that they had the ritual planned. Clearly it had been the chiefs planned transition to the idea. He said that they could accompany him to the cave of focus the day after.

Doug politely thanked the chief and then tidied up. With the few tools he was using returned to the villager that owned them, he went to help Negham unload his latest haul. He heard Negham before he got to the boat. He was not happy. He was not the most thrilled when he had left to ferry sheep a couple of days ago. Doug wondered what was worse, that had him in a mood.

When he got closer he could smell it. Seeing Doug Negham looked a little relieved. He was glad to see the boy and wanted him to get the stinking fertiliser off his boat pronto. Doug laughed and said he would get right on it. He lost his sense of humour by the time he was carrying the second bag, it must have almost have been fresh out of the animal, he guessed this had been one of Negham’s amazing trades that was too good to be true.

This was loaded onto a cart with a couple of donkeys looking unfazed by the strange human antics. The cart was there to get the pungent cargo to get it to an unused hay shelter to season. Word had got around the village quickly though and some couldn’t help but make comments that Negham always did have a nose for bargains. Negham wasn’t yet in the mood to join the laughter.

The extra distance to deal with the cargo with a strong aroma meant that by the time Doug had unloaded and got back, that was his work day over. He did an unusually thorough wash and slept well after his day.

For his day off he scribbled down notes and ideas from the villages political system. He reflected on the relevance for establishing decent systems for the colonies. Unfortunately this was still as difficult as talking and he was left with a very unimpressive scrawl of ideas recorded.

He had a nap by the river to keep himself from filling the rest of his day. Often it was a struggle to wind down on his days off. Then to make things worse, because he didn’t work that day often strange dreams played out as things from the week caught up with him. A lot of other nights he was so in need of a full nights sleep that there wasn’t the chance for strange dreams.

But at least he’d had half a chance to recover before things changed again.