CHAPTER X
Before the sun had flooded the village with light, Hanna and Gunuruk left those lands behind.
The directions Narsak had given them over dinner had been brief, marked out on a small map that Gunuruk had carefully put away. Their stop in Bakalia had also allowed them to gather plenty of provisions and even acquire another Lewik to make the journey more manageable. Despite these preparations, however, the two young travelers would soon discover just how difficult their crossing would be.
As the day wore on, the journey grew increasingly arduous. The little cart moved slowly, its wheels straining against the uneven ground. The stone-paved road wound around the enormous cliffs of the great mountain range, and the landscape became steadily more barren. Colorful vegetation gave way to cold, lifeless rock, although gigantic trees still rose here and there, their crowns seeming to merge with the small clouds drifting at low altitude.
The morning had dawned cold, beneath a sky so clear that the few fluffy clouds scattered across it resembled little tufts of cotton. From their elevated position, they were able to look back upon Bakalia and its vast fields for much of the journey.
As they climbed, the views became increasingly spectacular. At certain points, beyond the treetops of Antraka’s great forest, they could even glimpse the broad inlet of Bettnuk.
Hanna was astonished by the panorama their privileged position afforded them. As they talked, Gunuruk pointed out many of the places visible from the mountainside.
According to the map the Snork held in his hands, they were to follow the road until they reached Ultur’s western summit. From there, they would descend along the southern face and enter the gorge leading toward the kingdom’s border.
The distance was not particularly great, but the poor condition of the road and the steep climb still ahead soon forced them to change Lewiks.
With the fresh animal pulling the cart, their pace improved considerably.
The rocks surrounding them were enormous, their bluish color seeming to deepen beneath the sunlight. Hanna was fascinated by the way the narrow trail managed to thread its way between the mountain’s massive walls.
As she studied a sheer rock face that looked as though it had been carved with a hammer, she turned to Gunuruk.
“Building this road must have taken an enormous amount of work, didn’t it?”
“Much time has passed since these roads were built. Oddeon ordered their creation. Many Snurks came from Sudum, and many dark periods passed before their work was finished. Then a few decided to settle in these peaceful lands, and Oddeon founded our kingdom.”
“Snurks?” Hanna asked.
“Yes. Great miners they are. Stoneworkers. Their kingdom lies far to the southeast, far from here. From them the Snorks descended. Hard were the early days, for barren this mountain was, and little metal could be found within it. But the Snurks who remained here, later called Snorks, discovered that wood was useful too. And so our lives in Antraka came to be what they are today. Few remain like our vigorous ancestors of Sudum. Our nails can barely carve hard stone anymore, but our strong teeth can grind even the largest puk!”
Gunuruk finished proudly.
Hanna laughed. The little Snork had struck such a comical pose, looking toward her while displaying his two enormous incisors, that she could not help herself.
After a long stop, during which everyone in their little traveling party recovered some strength, they prepared to tackle the final part of the ascent.
The bitter cold had begun to show on Hanna’s smooth face, and a thin mist spread around them.
She found it particularly irritating. It prevented her from continuing to enjoy the scenery, and with nothing to distract her, certain troubling questions began circling through her mind.
“Who are Vendemur and Oddeon? This isn’t the first time you’ve mentioned them. I know so little about your land. Sometimes I can’t make sense of anything.”
“Everyone says Snorks cannot speak properly, that only for work we are good. Perhaps right they are. What you ask is a long story, too long for my clumsy head,” Gunuruk answered, aware of the limitations commonly attributed to his people.
“Well, anyone who dares say that is wrong,” Hanna declared.
Still, from what she knew of the Snorks, she could not entirely deny that there was some truth in her friend’s words. She chose not to press the matter.
But before long, she could not resist asking another question.
“What are we carrying in the cart?” she asked, looking at the blanket covering its contents.
“Useful things, all of them. Provisions for us and our Lewiks, warm clothing that soon we shall need, and… some utensils for cooking our meals. Small the cart is. Much more it cannot hold.”
Gunuruk sounded resigned. There really was not room for much in their little cart.
“Nothing else? How are we going to defend ourselves if someone attacks us?”
“They must not find us. If that happens, nothing can we do. Warriors we are not. Only a few have fought in battles, brave Snorks, all remembered. Narsak a great warrior was too. Beside humans he fought, though now a grumpy old Snork he is. Little trust he has in them, for dearly he paid. His family perished in Kettke, like mine, like so many others. Since the last war there, he has lived in peaceful Bakalia. Yet not even a hundred like him could defend us if they found us.”
“But who are they? What are they called?”
“Their names matter little, for many and varied they are. The Dark Army they are called. Ikais, Bábagos, Giants of Ork, and many more fill their ranks. Most are humans, but other beings and beasts accompany them. Even some creatures seem loyal to them. Evil, all of them! Most are merely greedy, but many breathe death and seek only destruction. Those are the worst.
“All are led by an evil being, a Nárako like Vendemur, yet nothing like him. Dark he is. Very dark! Though no one has ever seen him…
“His armies he commands through one who seems to escape death, for many dark ages he has lived upon this land. Drujas he is called. They say he was once Oddeon’s son, but so long ago was that, only a few ancient writings still remember.”
Hanna listened attentively.
She still did not properly understand what was happening in that world, although in a way, it hardly seemed to matter anymore. Perhaps she had grown accustomed to accepting that answers would come eventually. For now, she was content to enjoy the brief stories her friend told her.
Without realizing it, she became absorbed in them as though she were merely a spectator, despite the fact that reality had inevitably made her one of its central figures.
Drujas! Why does that name sound familiar?
Narsak had mentioned him, but Hanna had the feeling she had heard the name even before that.
She struggled for a moment to remember where.
Then, still intensely curious, she continued questioning her companion.
“What is Kettke like? Have you ever been there?”
“I was born there!” Gunuruk answered proudly. “Though few memories I have. A little Snorky I was, living with my family. Aknus was a great chief there too. Many Snorks lived upon its lands for a long time, rebuilding the city. But tragic was the day betrayal came. The kings died, and many other beings with them. Cursed is that land, where peace seems unable to endure.
“My father was a great fighter, remembered by all. The Great Gunuk they called the brave Snork. The Warrior Snork! Swift with his dagger, great men fell at his feet. Even Drujas himself he wounded!”
Gunuruk was almost beside himself with excitement.
Then he fell thoughtful, hesitating in silence for a couple of seconds.
“I’ll show you!” he exclaimed at last.
He began rummaging through a bag lying in one corner of the cart.
“Look, Hanna!”
He held up the very object that had caused him so much trouble some time before.
“It’s the dagger!” Hanna exclaimed, unable to believe her eyes. “I knew it! I knew it! I was right. I saw it! Why did you lie to me?”
She was furious.
Without hesitation, she snatched the disputed object from Gunuruk’s hands.
“We hid it only to protect you. Restless your mind is, and questions you ask that lead only to more questions. Difficult it is to explain. A complicated world this is, for everyone, but more so for those who do not know it. Only that you trust us I ask. The answers will come… Sorry I am, but only this can I do.”
His voice was sorrowful. The secrets he carried seemed to weigh heavily upon him.
“I don’t understand you. I just can’t. I would never hurt any of you. Nothing you told me would ever leave my mouth, even if someone forced me to speak… But you can’t trust people who don’t trust you.”
She sounded sad now, deeply disappointed.
“No, Hanna. That you must not say. We trust you, more than you know. But fragile your spirit seems. Some truths must come in their own time. Only then can our hearts accept them. The hopes of many are at stake.”
“But what do you expect from me? I can’t do anything useful. Everything around me terrifies me, and I don’t even know how I got here. How am I supposed to understand any of this if you won’t help me?”
“Do you believe in destiny?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. Ever since I was born, I’ve only believed in what I could see. Dreams are for people who’ve been luckier than me.”
“But destiny is not dreaming. It is trusting that things may happen, even things we do not wish for.”
“Well, when you put it that way… Yes, I suppose I believe in it. I always believed that one day I’d find my family, that I’d learn what happened… That I meant something to them!”
Her voice rose with emotion.
Gunuruk looked at Hanna in a strange way, as though his heart had suddenly tightened.
Then he drew a deep breath and managed a smile.
“And why did you believe that?” he asked.
“Because I always felt something inside me. I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t remember anything, but I know there’s something within me, a part of them…”
“That is destiny!” the Snork interrupted emphatically.
“I don’t know. Nobody can know what’s going to happen,” Hanna replied skeptically.
“Yes, right you are. The future is not written. Each of us makes our own path. But if you do not fight for what you believe within yourself, you will never follow the path that lies inside you. Destiny lives within us. Only that can guide us. Do not ask us for your answers. Find them within yourself…”
Hanna smiled, although she had long since abandoned such fruitless philosophical reflections.
“Well, I think they’re all coincidences,” she said.
“Coincidences? I went to Tover to find Gunuk. That was my only wish. When I was only a Snorky, one day he left and never returned. Dangerous was my journey, but other things I found. Things that one day will surely lead me to him. If you had not reached Tover, dead I would certainly be by now. Did you not follow something within yourself when you appeared there?”
Hanna was astonished by Gunuruk’s words.
They came from his mouth with a conviction she had never heard from him before.
Even his use of the word appeared could hardly have described the circumstances of her arrival in that world more accurately.
“Yes!” she exclaimed, her heart racing. “I came here because I followed something. Something inside me. I shouldn’t have done it, but I did. I don’t know why, but something kept making me go on. It was all so strange. The eclipse, that creature…”
Hanna gave a sudden little start.
She stared directly at Gunuruk, and her heart seemed to shrink until it could have fit in the palm of her hand.
“It can’t be!” she exclaimed.
“What is happening?” the Snork asked curiously, seeing the expression on her face.
Hanna went blank, as though struggling to recover a memory.
And that was precisely what she was doing.
She was trying to bring back the creature from the museum.
That strange being…
“He was round, short, and his face…”
She whispered the words while staring into her companion’s eyes.
“Gunuk!”
She spoke the name thoughtfully, as though she were somewhere else entirely, astonished that she had not realized it sooner.
“What is happening? What are you thinking?” Gunuruk asked anxiously.
“Is this Gunuk’s dagger?”
“Yes… A gift from Tuarkket, the last king of Kettke. His life he gave to defend him, and the king gave him this. Valuable it is. Always he carried it.”
Hanna could not take her eyes off Gunuruk.
There could be no doubt in her mind.
But what would a Snork have been doing on Earth?
“Why did he go to Tover?” she asked.
Gunuruk considered his answer for a moment.
“Much I cannot tell you. Something valuable he carried. Very valuable! To protect it from those who wished only evil…”
Hanna froze again, blinded by the thoughts racing through her mind.
Of course. The dagger! That’s why he was there. Kron found it and brought it back to its world.
She murmured the words to herself, trying to make sense of everything she had experienced some time earlier.
How had she failed to realize it before?
Admittedly, the creature in the museum had looked very different from a Snork. But Hanna felt certain. Doctor Hern had said that its appearance had deteriorated terribly.
It had to be Gunuk!
“What are you saying?” Gunuruk asked again, increasingly intrigued.
The conversation was beginning to worry him. There was something suspiciously unsettling about it.
“And is the thing he was protecting here now?” Hanna asked, watching the dagger intently and imagining that it might possess strange powers.
Gunuruk was taken aback.
The question caught him completely unprepared, and for several seconds he made little sounds as though about to answer, only to think better of it.
“I do not know what you mean,” he finally replied. “Give it here! I shall put it away. I would not like the dagger to fall and be lost. Very precious to me it is. The only thing of my father I know.”
He finished as though determined to bring the conversation to an end.
Hanna took his silence as confirmation.
“All right. Put it away. It’s yours. I’m glad you found it!”
She smiled as she handed it back, unable to stop looking at the weapon.
Now she felt as though she understood a little more of everything.
Even the word destiny.
Gunuruk slipped the dagger into the bag.
As it fell inside, it made a peculiar metallic sound, as though there were many other objects within.
Hanna noticed immediately.
“What else have you got in there?”
“Look, if you wish,” Gunuruk answered, taking the dagger out again and placing it on the seat.
Hanna accepted the invitation.
She picked up the bag and opened it eagerly.
“But these are jewels! Gold! Precious stones! Where did you get all this?”
She plunged her hands into the sack, so astonished that she could scarcely believe what she was seeing.
“Ha, ha, ha, ha!” the little Snork laughed. “As greedy as Narsak you seem now! Ha, ha, ha! These things are valuable only to some, useful when dealing with other beings. Many treasures we possess. Workers we all are, and many spend not even a small coin in their entire lives. Valuable are our ships, and beings fight because the Snorks build them.
“Take whatever you wish. But later, before we leave Antraka, put it away you must. Treasures attract greedy beings, and at the right moment useful they may be to us.”
Hanna took her friend at his word.
She put on some of the rings, bracelets, and necklaces she found in the bag.
Gunuruk thought she looked rather ridiculous, but Hanna was delighted. Never before had she worn such an assortment of beautiful jewels, and the discovery entertained her for a while.
Searching among the many necklaces now hanging around her neck, she managed to find her own delicate chain.
She separated it from the others and showed Gunuruk her pendant.
“This is my treasure. My only treasure. The one thing I’ve always had,” she said proudly.
The Snork examined it with great admiration.
“A true treasure it is. Unique indeed it seems. Take care of it you must.”
“I’m sure it belonged to my parents. I’m sure I meant something to them. Otherwise they wouldn’t have left it with me. It’s a very valuable jewel. At least, I think it is.”
This time her voice carried a trace of sadness.
Suddenly, without warning, the cart struck a rut in the narrow road and lurched violently.
The impact was so severe that the frightened Lewik veered dangerously close to the edge of the path.
Gunuruk had to pull hard on the reins to correct its course.
The cart twisted alarmingly, its entire frame creaking and groaning.
Hanna let out a startled cry.
Terrified, she watched several stones tumble over the edge and plunge into the abyss, their impacts echoing ominously after a long descent.
Had it been the cart, their adventure would have ended in that ravine.
Both travelers drew several deep, frightened breaths.
Once Gunuruk had regained control, he said nothing more and concentrated entirely on guiding the Lewik along the road.
Night was beginning to fall, and the path was growing steadily worse.
Hanna remained silent too.
She seemed intent on anticipating the difficulties that made their progress slower with every passing moment.
But her thoughts kept returning to Gunuk.
Sooner or later, she would have to tell her friend what she believed had happened to the father he had loved and searched for.
Worse still, she believed his body lay far from his homeland.
For the first time, Hanna herself began to understand the burden of carrying a secret.
As the light faded, only the cart’s constant jolting prevented her from surrendering to her overwhelming exhaustion.
By the time night had fully fallen, they finally reached their goal.
Gunuruk decided to spend the night on a small ledge they happened upon beside the road.
Moving quietly so as not to wake Hanna, who had finally fallen asleep, he began preparing their well-earned rest.
The space was far from large, and loose stones covered much of its surface.
Nevertheless, it was level enough to park the cart without too much danger.
Gunuruk unhitched the Lewiks and provided them with their evening meal.
While the animals ate greedily, he tried to build a small fire with a few sticks he had collected during their first stop.
The night was growing colder by the minute.
An icy breeze made Hanna shiver involuntarily, although she still appeared to be sleeping peacefully.
When the little fire had grown stronger, Gunuruk went to wake her.
At first, she was disoriented.
Darkness surrounded them completely. At that altitude, the clouds seemed almost close enough to touch, and the cold had penetrated her entire body.
“Where are we?” she asked, shivering uncontrollably.
“Here we sleep tonight. The best place I could find this is. Tomorrow we cross to the southern face. Look, the passage opening through the mountain almost can be seen.”
Gunuruk pointed along the road.
To Hanna, however, the trail disappeared into the darkness only a few yards ahead.
“Come, sit here. A little fire we have. Enjoy it while it lasts,” he continued, rubbing his hands beside the flames.
Hanna needed no further encouragement.
Her body ached from the cramped position she had been forced to maintain in the little cart throughout the journey.
She walked slowly toward the fire.
The two settled beside the small blaze, sheltered by the mountainside.
After eating a little, Gunuruk rose to fetch his kettle.
“A careless Snork I am!” he muttered when he noticed his little dagger lying precariously on the cart’s seat.
He picked it up and returned to Hanna, who was gazing into the flames.
Once he had made himself comfortable, he placed the kettle over a few glowing embers he had separated from the fire.
“A little Dudok we shall drink. Peaceful dreams it will surely bring. Rest we must, for tomorrow at dawn our journey must continue.”
As he spoke, Hanna silently watched him trying to slip the dagger into his belt.
“Wait, Gunuruk! Let me have it,” she said, holding out her hands.
“Careful you must be. This is my treasure too,” he replied with a smile, remembering what she had said about her own chain.
Hanna smiled back.
She continued looking at him, as though trying to assure him that she too understood how precious it was.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be very careful.”
Gunuruk handed her the treasured object with great delicacy.
A strange sensation passed through Hanna.
She remembered the conversation he had held with Narsak that morning and could not help thinking that the dagger must surely be the valuable object Gunuruk had spoken of carrying.
“Tell me, Gunuruk. Well… only if you want to. How did you get to the place where we met?”
“A long journey it was. Hidden aboard a ship I departed. Hard was my journey to Tover. Things I should not have done, I did too. But something within me compelled me. Destiny it was.
“Many days I searched there, before they arrived. Hunger and thirst I felt, but only I searched. For Gunuk I searched. That was all I knew. There he had disappeared… The rest you already know.”
Hanna began thinking about many things.
Most of all, she thought about destiny—whether it truly existed and why she was there.
“Did Ynack tell you what my name means?” she asked after a few seconds.
“Yes, Hanna. Kettke is a revered name here. A kingdom representing hope, the Kingdom of Kingdoms. Though hated it is by those who think only of darkness. Proud you should feel.”
He touched the kettle, which was beginning to warm.
Hanna did feel proud.
Thinking once more about destiny, she wondered whether perhaps she had come to that world to help its inhabitants.
Maybe her mission was simply to return the dagger to them.
Or perhaps it was to help Gunuruk find his father.
That thought made her sad again.
She was convinced Gunuk was dead, and that his body was now being displayed like some carnival curiosity, as though his life had held no value and his remains existed only to feed the theories of scientists or depraved people who knew almost nothing of the goodness of his kind.
A tear rolled down Hanna’s cheek.
Still, she could not bring herself to tell her friend what she believed to be the truth.
She feared it would hurt him too deeply.
Perhaps it would destroy some of the hope he still carried.
And then she understood what the others had done for her.
She realized that Gunuruk probably had many questions of his own, yet he had asked her nothing.
Hanna felt even worse about her earlier behavior.
She looked at her friend with a heavy heart.
“One day, together, we’ll find your father,” she said through her tears.
Gunuruk looked at her and smiled, making light of the situation.
“Nothing is wrong, Hanna. Perhaps the world you come from is peaceful, but troubled are these lands. Terrible things happen every day. Not even peaceful Antraka is safe anymore. Only my life I owe to you. Had you not been on that ship that day, my body would now rest beneath the great ocean.”
“No, Gunuruk, don’t say that. What would have happened to me without you? Alone in this world, I’m sure I would have met a terrible end.
“I’m beginning to see things differently now, but it’s still hard for me to understand where I am, what I’m doing here. I’ve had so many doubts all this time, questions that twisted inside my heart and sometimes made it hard to breathe.
“So many nights have passed when I could barely sleep. It’s hard to explain what it’s like to miss something you might never have again.
“But I left very little behind in that world. I had so little throughout my life.
“I never knew the love of a family. I never wanted the pity of people who might have been moved by my sadness. I always tried to be strong, strong for myself and strong for others, although I didn’t always succeed…
“You gave me that. Without even knowing me, you gave me everything: a home, food, and most of all, your affection.
“Maybe that feeling had been hidden inside me for a long time. Maybe I’d never felt it before, and at first I didn’t know what it was. But now I do.
“I owe you everything, Gunuruk, and I’ll give you everything I have. It may not be much, but I’ll fight beside you to the very end.”
“Do not say that, Hanna. A brave young woman you are. On the Island of Tover you proved it. Great courage it takes to challenge an Ikai. Brave was your friend too. No fear his eyes showed. With a single glance they can bring a man to his knees, yet both of you stood against them.”
Gunuruk looked proudly at his companion, remembering their first meeting.
“Kron! His name was Kron. He found the dagger. I’ve cried so many tears for him. He was the only one who ever gave me his love.
“He was abandoned too, you know. But perhaps he always thought of me as his family.
“It was wonderful to feel his affection. During the time we were together, he was the only thing that made me happy.
“Although perhaps none of that matters now. We may never see each other again.”
“No, Hanna. Hope makes us free. You must not give up what you love. Remembering what once made you happy should not bring only sadness.
“Brave you must be, to look ahead toward your future. Sometimes our path seems clouded by our desires, but within ourselves we must look. Our hearts we cannot deceive.
“Everything is written, and nothing is written.
“Remember, only hope must be your guide. What remains within you, all else must strive to achieve.
“That is destiny!”
“Yes, Gunuruk. Now I understand what destiny is, and I’ll never forget it.”
Gunuruk poured the delicious Dudok, which was nothing more than aromatic roots boiled in water.
As they drank the hot infusion, they continued talking, their spirits steadily improving.
“Who did you live with, where you grew up? What is your world like?”
The question surprised Hanna.
Never before had Gunuruk shown any interest in those parts of her life.
“It’s a little hard to explain. Maybe you won’t understand. I don’t think you have anything like it here.
“I lived my whole life in a big house, enormous, like a palace, in a city four or five times the size of Bettnuk. And even then, it wasn’t one of the biggest cities.
“I shared the house with lots of boys and girls, like me, of all ages. There weren’t any other kinds of beings there. We were all human.
“Many of them didn’t have parents. We were all given a bed, food, and an education so we could grow up to become useful members of society.
“You know, so we wouldn’t become criminals or anything like that. So that when we were adults, we could earn an honest living. They weren’t going to support us forever…”
“A wonderful life you had! Surely a peaceful land that must be,” Gunuruk interrupted.
“Well, maybe I haven’t explained it very well,” Hanna replied quietly.
She wondered how she could make him understand how unhappy she had been without sounding like a spoiled child, especially when she compared her world with his.
“There were other places where wars seemed never to end, just like here. People died in them, and in other places people didn’t have enough food, or diseases swept through entire populations.
“Even the city where I grew up had suffered wars long before I was born. The people living there had endured fear and misery.
“But yes, you’re right. Now it seems to be a peaceful land, even though people do nothing but complain, and most of them don’t seem very happy.”
“Peace is something very precious. Never have I known it, though one day I hope to see it with my own eyes.”
“You’re right, Gunuruk. Maybe back there we only valued the things we didn’t have.
“It’s hard to explain, and you might not believe it, but in that peaceful world I always felt unhappy.
“Maybe I couldn’t enjoy anything because I was always searching for what I didn’t have.
“I wouldn’t even have minded living in a world at war, or having nothing to eat, if I’d been able to have my family and their love.
“But I’ll never know what that would have been like. Don’t you think?”
“I understand, Hanna. A simple Snork I am, but I understand you. The peace around us has meaning only when we can find it within ourselves too. You and I are alike.”
“You’re absolutely right. I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
She looked at Gunuruk with a broad smile, happy to be facing the adventure alongside him.
The truth was, when she had first seen him, she had hardly imagined he could be more intelligent than a dog or some similar animal.
Yet that little being, and all the others of his kind, had given her far more than anyone she had known before.
Not only were they capable of creating genuine works of art, but they could also awaken feelings within her, helping her discover emotions she would never have known how to explain.
And they did so humbly, without making anything of it, using their simple language.
It was extraordinary.
Hanna never ceased to be amazed by them.
So many people had tried to guide her life, to make her feel better by teaching her to accept who she was.
And in the end, it seemed the Snorks might be the ones who would finally open her mind and reach her guarded heart.
Whatever the circumstances surrounding her dangerous adventure, Hanna felt comforted.
She had discovered so much that day.
There, in some unknown place, exposed to the elements, sitting on hard rock and savoring that strange broth, she felt something beginning to change.
Perhaps it was because the inner peace her wise little friend had spoken of only moments earlier was finally finding its way into her heart.
They continued talking for a while, although about matters far less profound.
Hanna told him a little of the history of her world, which she had learned only with considerable effort.
She also spoke of the radio, movies, cars, ships that needed neither oars nor sails, lights that came on by themselves, and countless other things that fascinated Gunuruk.
Some of her descriptions were so extraordinary that he could scarcely believe them.
Surely, he thought, such wonders could exist only in a magical world.
And so the time passed quickly.
Before long, their little fire burned out.
With no more sticks to feed it, they decided to take out some blankets.
Wrapped warmly beneath them, the two curled up together and fell into a deep sleep.