[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
I'm sorry. I'm just tired. I'll leave you now."
He shuffled out of the door.
Addressing Ryan, Doc inquired, "What is your initial reaction to our noble savage's
invitation?"
"To tell him thanks but no thanks," Ryan replied.
"Gold is still the best grease in most of Deathlands," J.B. reminded him.
"Could buy anything we want," Jak offered.
"Except safety," Mildred said. "We'd draw packs of two-legged coyotes to our trail."
"If the setup is how he said it is, we'd be fighting someone else's battle—for solid jack
this time," J.B. stated.
"We could have fought this last one for gold if we'd had a mind to," Krysty said. "We
could have followed Hatcher's map. It probably would have led us right to this Ti-Ra'-
Wa."
"Mildred, didn't you say there was something familiar about this place?" Ryan asked.
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Dlands 37- Demons of Eden
"Vaguely. Though my studies revolved around tribal linkages and genotyping, I touched
on creation myths from time to time."
"And?"
Mildred shook her head, the beads in her plaited hair clicking faintly. "It's been a long
time, and my recollection is foggy. Anyway, there's a legend among some Plains tribes
that says the source of creation came from a cave in a valley. Ti-Ra'-Wa means, roughly,
Sacred or Mystery Valley."
"Is this place anything like the villes of Cibola and El Dorado you told us about?" J.B.
asked.
"No, not really. It's more of a Garden of Eden type of myth. I remember a bit of poetry
about it. 'Magic Ti-Ra'-Wa/Life, death, good, evil, joy and sorrow/All born in the Cavern
of Creation.'"
"A myth, mebbe," Krysty said. "But Joe said he came from Ti-Ra'-Wa."
Ryan shrugged. "The tribe in the mountains probably named their valley after the
legend." Doc chuckled. "'Nature imitates art,' Wilde said."
He turned to Mildred. "Are you suggesting Joe wants us to fight a war in the Native
American equivalent of Eden?"
"I'm suggesting nothing of the sort," Mildred answered a bit sharply. "I'm not even sure if
I'm remembering the legend correctly, since all cultures share similar creation myths. I
may be confusing Ti-Ra'-Wa with Tir na-Nog, the ancient Celtic land of promise. The
two words are similar linguistically. It's been a very long time, and my memory is faulty.
You should be able to relate to that, Doc."
At the acid reminder of his own unreliable and occasionally severely fogged thought
processes, Doc lapsed into an abashed silence.
"I'll leave this decision to a vote," Ryan announced, "since nobody but me was anxious to
leave this place. On the one hand, we can turn Joe down and stay, mebbe help Amicus
rebuild. On the other hand, we can accept Joe's offer, have a destination in mind and, at
least, be on our way to somewhere again."
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Dlands 37- Demons of Eden
Krysty tapped her fingers on the tabletop. "This really all boils down to whether we trust
Joe."
"Only one way find out," Jak said.
No one could argue, or even cared to, with the statement. After an hour of discussion, it
was agreed to accompany Joe and at least find out if he was telling the truth.
Chapter Twelve
Around midmorning Ryan sought out Joe and told him they would accept his offer. Joe
said they would embark at dawn the next day, and he offered to buy the mounts and pack
animals. He added that the march to the valley would take three to four days. It was
agreed they would meet at the hostel at sunrise.
Taking a tour of Amicus with his friends, Ryan regretted ever raising the possibility of
staying to help the citizens rebuild.
The population had been reduced by one-third, and the elderly and children had been
pressed into service as medical aides and undertakers. The tavern served as a hospital,
and the boneyard contained the unburied dead. The Amican defenders were covered with
blankets and hides; the corpses of the Red Cadre had been stripped and dumped [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl exclamation.htw.pl
I'm sorry. I'm just tired. I'll leave you now."
He shuffled out of the door.
Addressing Ryan, Doc inquired, "What is your initial reaction to our noble savage's
invitation?"
"To tell him thanks but no thanks," Ryan replied.
"Gold is still the best grease in most of Deathlands," J.B. reminded him.
"Could buy anything we want," Jak offered.
"Except safety," Mildred said. "We'd draw packs of two-legged coyotes to our trail."
"If the setup is how he said it is, we'd be fighting someone else's battle—for solid jack
this time," J.B. stated.
"We could have fought this last one for gold if we'd had a mind to," Krysty said. "We
could have followed Hatcher's map. It probably would have led us right to this Ti-Ra'-
Wa."
"Mildred, didn't you say there was something familiar about this place?" Ryan asked.
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Ja...athlands%20037%20-%20Demons%20of%20Eden.html (86 of 258) [12/30/2004 8:13:12 PM]
Dlands 37- Demons of Eden
"Vaguely. Though my studies revolved around tribal linkages and genotyping, I touched
on creation myths from time to time."
"And?"
Mildred shook her head, the beads in her plaited hair clicking faintly. "It's been a long
time, and my recollection is foggy. Anyway, there's a legend among some Plains tribes
that says the source of creation came from a cave in a valley. Ti-Ra'-Wa means, roughly,
Sacred or Mystery Valley."
"Is this place anything like the villes of Cibola and El Dorado you told us about?" J.B.
asked.
"No, not really. It's more of a Garden of Eden type of myth. I remember a bit of poetry
about it. 'Magic Ti-Ra'-Wa/Life, death, good, evil, joy and sorrow/All born in the Cavern
of Creation.'"
"A myth, mebbe," Krysty said. "But Joe said he came from Ti-Ra'-Wa."
Ryan shrugged. "The tribe in the mountains probably named their valley after the
legend." Doc chuckled. "'Nature imitates art,' Wilde said."
He turned to Mildred. "Are you suggesting Joe wants us to fight a war in the Native
American equivalent of Eden?"
"I'm suggesting nothing of the sort," Mildred answered a bit sharply. "I'm not even sure if
I'm remembering the legend correctly, since all cultures share similar creation myths. I
may be confusing Ti-Ra'-Wa with Tir na-Nog, the ancient Celtic land of promise. The
two words are similar linguistically. It's been a very long time, and my memory is faulty.
You should be able to relate to that, Doc."
At the acid reminder of his own unreliable and occasionally severely fogged thought
processes, Doc lapsed into an abashed silence.
"I'll leave this decision to a vote," Ryan announced, "since nobody but me was anxious to
leave this place. On the one hand, we can turn Joe down and stay, mebbe help Amicus
rebuild. On the other hand, we can accept Joe's offer, have a destination in mind and, at
least, be on our way to somewhere again."
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Ja...athlands%20037%20-%20Demons%20of%20Eden.html (87 of 258) [12/30/2004 8:13:12 PM]
Dlands 37- Demons of Eden
Krysty tapped her fingers on the tabletop. "This really all boils down to whether we trust
Joe."
"Only one way find out," Jak said.
No one could argue, or even cared to, with the statement. After an hour of discussion, it
was agreed to accompany Joe and at least find out if he was telling the truth.
Chapter Twelve
Around midmorning Ryan sought out Joe and told him they would accept his offer. Joe
said they would embark at dawn the next day, and he offered to buy the mounts and pack
animals. He added that the march to the valley would take three to four days. It was
agreed they would meet at the hostel at sunrise.
Taking a tour of Amicus with his friends, Ryan regretted ever raising the possibility of
staying to help the citizens rebuild.
The population had been reduced by one-third, and the elderly and children had been
pressed into service as medical aides and undertakers. The tavern served as a hospital,
and the boneyard contained the unburied dead. The Amican defenders were covered with
blankets and hides; the corpses of the Red Cadre had been stripped and dumped [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]