Finally understanding the warrior’s intent, Kent nodded and sat up. He pulled the nearby mat over, pulled the animal skin onto it, and shifted his body to lie atop all of it. The warrior seemed satisfied, turning and walking quietly back to the chamber’s entryway.
Despite the considerate gesture by the warrior, the time nonetheless continued to pass by with a heavy, pensive silence pervading the chamber. Logan stared down at the empty fire pit a few feet in front of him, letting his mind slowly drift off.
It may have been hours or just minutes later, but Logan’s sluggish attention was fully roused as the warriors in the doorway straightened up suddenly, and the sound of low voices came to his ears. The two warriors to Logan’s left proceeded to step aside, clearing the opening, amid a general sound of shuffling and shifting in the adjacent chamber.
The warrior in the opposite chamber opening had an attentive look upon his face, his gaze no longer fixed upon the occupants of the chamber, but rather on the other entryway. Logan followed the warrior’s eyes back across the room, to see what had compelled his attention.
A tall, older man with gray-streaked long hair then walked through the opening to Logan’s left, followed a step behind by Ayenwatha.
The older man had a hardened look woven into his amply creased face. Though clearly a man very advanced of years, his authoritative presence was accompanied by an aura of strength.
Wide-set, straight lines of a lighter hue streaked down his face. Showing prominently against the darker skin of his weathered face, the set of markings spanned from under the older man’s right eye down to just below his sharp chin. They looked like old scars, from the raking claws of some great, predatory beast.
He wore a banded type of headdress, the wide part circling about his head generously decorated with colorful bead and quill-work. Out of the center of the headdress emerged a plumage of long feathers, mixed with what looked to be clusters of horsehair. Two prominent feathers rose straight upward from the apex of the head covering.
The arms of his knee-length, buckskin tunic and leggings exhibited ornamented garters. They were wrapped snugly about his upper arms and at his knees, with the ending lengths dangling down from where they were tied off. An elaborate, multicolored strap traveled across his chest from the right shoulder down to his waist, where it secured a similarly decorated pouch.
His feet were clad in bead-decorated, moosehair-tasseled moccasins, and his ears exhibited long, circular earrings that were crafted of alternating dark and light hued shell beads.
“Deganawida, Great Sachem of the Onan Tribe, first on the seat of the Grand Council, Headman of the village of the Place of Far Seeing,” Ayenwatha announced.
Logan regarded the regal-looking old man carefully, recalling the name from the inquiries made by Ayenwatha when they had first entered into the village. Logan felt certain that the man now standing before them was the person that had been spoken of.
The seven occupants of the chamber arose at his entrance, giving nods and awkward bows towards Deganawida. Logan was one of the latter, not really knowing what the proper gesture of respect was for the Onan tribe’s particular culture. He endeavored not to make lingering eye contact with the old sachem, figuring that might well be taken as an affront.
There was a hint of amusement gracing the older man’s face when Logan glanced up, as if the sachem had perceived their cultural confusion.
“Deganawida has come here to speak with you himself… about your coming, and about your purpose here,” Ayenwatha informed the seven in a low voice. He then took a step backward into the opening to the chamber, turning and leaving Deganawida by himself with the seven.
The old sachem looked towards the seven, regarding each one of them intently for a few moments, before moving his gaze onward to the next. To Logan, the sachem’s methodical and scrutinizing manner evoked thoughts of the blue-robed Wanderer back in the woods.
When the sachem’s gaze encompassed him, Logan inadvertently caught the older man’s direct stare. The quality of it caused him to hesitate, despite his inclination to avoid meeting the old man’s eyes.
The alert, penetrating look within the sachem’s sparkling, dark eyes elicited even more comparisons to the Wanderer. It was as if Deganawida was looking through Logan’s skin, to something far more inward.
Logan had the inexplicable sensation that the tribal elder’s eyes could willfully look even deeper than his very thoughts. The feeling was quite unsettling, in that Logan was left in an unprecedented state of nakedness, one that went far beyond a mere lack of physical clothing.
“I have heard that you are not from our lands, or any that we know of. I have heard it said that some great magic is responsible for your presence here in the tribal lands. I have also heard that you spoke with a special man, the Wanderer, who is well known to us in our lands. I would like to hear you speak more about all of these things,” Deganawida told them. His voice matched his august appearance. It was low, resonant, and, although gentle in tone, carried an unmistakable air of authority just underneath its surface.
Logan looked to each of the others, and saw various degrees of caution and hesitancy in his companions. After a long pause, he finally took the initiative and started to relate their story to the prominent sachem.
On the way to the village, Logan and Erika had done most of the talking on behalf of the group. This time, Janus and Derek interchanged more often with Logan and Erika, as the four fleshed out the account of their strange experience with considerable detail. Kent, Mershad, and Antonio looked apprehensive and very uncomfortable, more than content to keep quiet and let their companions do the telling.
The tribal elder showed no reactions or emotion during the telling of their story. His attention was studious and ardently focused, as if he were pondering every single word that the visitors uttered. Even after the tale had been finished, he stayed silent, and appeared to be in deep contemplation for several minutes before he finally spoke aloud again.
“You speak of an incredible journey. One that is difficult to imagine. The gift of the Wanderer helps your speech, but I can tell by your appearances that you are not from any land that I have ever heard spoken of within this world. I do not sense any lies in your words. I do see your confusion, and I feel your fear. These are not the things I would see in a gathering whose purpose was bent upon deception and evil.
“Yet all things within this world have both good and evil within them, to a greater or lesser amount. It lies within each of us to decide which to empower, and it is possible that you may yet have darker things hidden that I cannot yet sense.
“Even so, I believe your words, and, as Ayenwatha has done, I can do no less than offer you a refuge and welcome within our village. I do not know if you will remain safe, even here in the midst of our people. As you have learned, the forces of the Unifier draw very near, and the skies are increasingly filled with the dark storms of war. That is something beyond your power, or ours, to determine. What will come, will come.
“For today, you may eat well and rest. I will leave you to yourselves now, but I would like for you to join me for a feast, and a celebration of life, this very evening.”
Deganawida then displayed a hint of a smile, one that emanated a kindly, compassionate warmth. The effect was enhanced within his dark eyes, the surfaces of which seemed to glitter from an inner light.
While there was little doubt that Deganawida had a very intense interest in the newcomers, Logan was relieved to see the signs of an affable disposition in the tribal sachem.
Deganawida turned and withdrew from the chamber. There was a momentary delay, as Logan strained futilely to make out the substance of a low conversation that then ensued in the adjacent chamber. Finally surrendering in his efforts, Logan stared impatiently towards the opening until Ayenwatha finally entered to rejoin them.