As Naza is comforting the alarmed jackal-dog, Roon barks another warning. A band of tusked boars break out of the brush, chasing a beautiful stag. Naza is moved to help the stag, perhaps because he has always been one against many and identifies with the stag's hopelessness against the back of wild boars. Though Naza slays some of the boars, the succeed in killing the stag. Naza stands over its dead body and wonders about the wisdom of being alone.
He notes to himself that he and the other Gairn are similar to the stag.
They are alone in a hostile world. Though Naza is a supurb warrior,
he knows that 'Man outnumbered is Man defeated'.
When he returns to Keena, Sola and Mair he discusses this with them.
He doesn't want the knowledge of the Gairn to disappear with their deaths.
He has decided that they must find another tribe that will hopefully permit
them to join its ranks. That way the heritage of the Gairn might
be preserved.
Naza leads his little band through the jungle. After an unknown time, perhaps days, Roon barks a warning, and the Gairn see a party of warriors sneaking through the jungle. Hiding from these warriors, the Gairn wait until they have passed, then race ahead of them until they find a tribe that lives by a broad river. They live in huts that are raised above the ground on poles and appear to be fisherman since they are spreading fish nets on the river.
Naza goes to warn the river people, and cautions his friends to remain hidden. As he runs to the unspecting tribe of fishermen he thinks, " It is not wise to mix in the fights of others...but how can I stand by and watch peaceful men, peaceful as our people once were, fall under a sudden attack."
He shouts a warning to the fisherman. Their medicine man, Grak, tries to belittle Naza, stating that his magic will protect the fisher people. But the chief, Tul, notes that what Naza has said is true and commands his people to take up their spears and clubs.
The raiders, called the Deng, burst from jungle cover and attack the Lars, the river people. The lars drive them back with spears and rocks. Naza encourages the river people to chase the Dengs, and finish them so they cannot return, but the Lars refuse to do so. Grak explains that the river gods only let the Dengs cross the river. When the Lars try to cross their boats are overturned and they drown. Grak promises that he will soon find the magic to permit the Lars to cross the river also.
The Lars welcome the Gairn, because of Naza's warning, and the Lonely One brings in his companions. Keena is in favor of joining this new tribe, but Naza cautions patience. He wants to make the right choice.
The Gairn are given a hut. They settle in for what they hope will be a peaceful night. That is not to be, for in the middle of the night, the Deng return in their canoes. The two lone guards are disposed of. Several women are taken as captives, including Keena and Mair.
Naza wants to pursue the Deng immediately, but the Lars will not do so, fearing the 'river gods'. Grak says they must wait until he finds favorable signs from the gods. There is an arguement between Naza and Grak that leads to a struggle. Tul breaks it up and commands that there be no fighting, and Naza should not die because he has helped the Lars.
The next day Grak approachs the river tribe with a new helper. This man is masked. Grak says that the river gods had commanded him to carve the mask, put it on his helper, and then they would send a solution to the problem of the river. The masked helper speaks eerily that a human sacrifice mist be made. He points to Naza and says that the stranger must be sacrificed.
Naza attacks the masked helper. In the fight, the mask opens up and it is revealed to the reader that the helper is Vang. The Gairn do not notice the presence of the traitor.
Quickly, Vang and Grak hurl Naza from the platform they had been standing on, into the river where a large crocodile is waiting. Naza fights it with his knife, Roon jumps into the water to help. Seeing a smaller, easier target, the crocodile leaves Naza alone and swims toward the jackal-dog. Naza gets on top of it and kills it with his knife. The crocodile, the messenger of the river gods, is dead.
Grak states that the angry river gods will never allow the Lars to cross the river. Naza persuades Tul to let him and some others try anyway.
Out in the river there are natural whirlpools. One boat is overturned, and Naza commands that his boat turn and pick up the men. He tries to paddle his boat out of a whirlpool, hoping to use the water to steer them out of the endless circle. They do so, but only at their starting position. The Lars are defeated. Naza is not. He feels the problem needs more study.
Naza sits on a tree stump by the river and watches it for hours. He notes how a log floats toward the other side, then comes back to the Lars side. There is no wind, so the Lonely One concludes that something in the river moves the water. Taking a one man canoe, he experiments carefully until he discovers the pattern of the whirlpools and learns to cross to the other side.
Again, Naza tries to persuade the Lars to cros the river. He calls them cowards, berates them for leaving their women in the hands of the Deng. Finally, Naza makes a bargain. If he cannot lead their boats across the river, then he will offer himself to the river gods. Sola protests what he feels is a foolish bargain, but the Lars, particularily Grak accept the bargain.
They wait for night to make the crossing,. so they can better sneak up on the Deng. Grak and Vang watch the men shove off. Both have the murder of Naza in their minds for two different personal reasons.
Naza's experimentations prove fruitful. They make it to the other side. Eagerly they attack the Deng encampment and rescue their women. They flee back to their boats and take to the river. At first the river pushes them back to the Deng side, but eventually they straighten out as the tide changes.
Keena tells Naza that she knew that he would not forget Keena and that the Lonely One would save them all. Naza replies, "I could not let anyone be taken off as a slave."
Mair interjects, "Naza, admit it! Does Sola look like such an unhappy man since he as chosen me for his mate? Who else is worthy of you but Keena?"
Naza never answers, because the boats are attacked by a herd of hippos. A Lars shouts that they were sent by the river gods to slay them. After a bloody battle, the men stave off the huge beasts and make it back to the Lars' shore.
Climbing back on the platforms that raise their village out of the water and river embankment, the Lars thank Naza and recognize his wisdom. But the danger is not past. Vang has conjured up a contingincy plan.
Grak shouts that the river gods allowed Naza and the others to save the women. They still demand the sacrifice of Naza, and as a sign they will send sharks to recieve the sacrifice. Down the river, two of Grak's henchmen kill a boar and toss its bleeding body into the river, near the village. Its blood does draw sharks to the area, and Grak uses this as confirmation that he is in comunication with the river gods and speaks their will.
The people turn against Naza. Sharks are a deadly meanach to them, and they foolishly think that if they sacrifice Naza the sharks will go away. Sola pleads Naza's case, but the Lars have decided to throw Naza to the sharks. Keena and Mair go down to a canoe while Sola speaks. When the Lars men come for Naza, he picks one of them over his head and hurls the unlucky fellow into the mob. Sola helps, and they both shimmy down a ladder to the canoe below. Roon leaps from the platform to the canoe where Naza has paused to wait for him.
As the escape they see the 'helper' take off his mask and realize it was Vang. Vang shouts that he has found a home. Naza's reply, "Let him stay there! We were seeking a people to accept us into their tribe! People who repay help with treachery are not a people among whom we should live!"
Thus ends Naza # 3
Another important part of the story is the illustration of Naza's intelligence.
He solves the difficult problem of the 'river gods', by observation and
experimentation. And he is smart enough to recognize the social dynamics
of the tribal situation. It is better to keep searching for
the proper tribe to recieve the Gairn culture and knowledge, than to settle
for the first 'safe' haven that comes along.
copyright by Rod Hunsicker 7-5-98
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