Angry cries of “Yaaa!” and “Yeeyaa!” answered him from many mouths.
By now most of the remaining Sem warriors had gathered around Loto’s rock to listen to the debate.
“Oh-mu kill oh-mu!” Suni screamed indignantly. “Suni was locked in the oh-mu castle. Many oh-mu were killed by other oh-mu and beaten by them with sticks.”
“Because oh-mu are evil,” Kalto stated simply. “We should not sacrifice Sem to save evil oh-mu.”
“If we don’t fight, all the Sem will be wiped out!” Siba interjected. “Those who die fighting sacrifice themselves to save the rest of us!”
Loto remained silent, still sunk deep in thought.
“Fight!”
“Save Rinda!”
“Hide, as quickly as possible!”
Siba, Suni, and Kalto screamed as if they were trying to drown out each other’s voices.
“Don’t shout so loud,” Loto told them gravely. “If the oh-mu are near enough to hear, the Sem will be exterminated before they have a chance to hide or fight.”
The arguing wildlings lowered their voices, but it was clear that none of them had changed their opinion.
“Fine. If the Raku want to fight, go ahead and fight,” Kalto spat. “The Rasa will take the Rasa’s path.”
“Just like that!” Siba clenched his fist. “We have too few warriors as it is, and without the Rasa…”
“Rasa cannot afford to lose more.”
“We need to fight to survive!”
“Rinda saved Suni!” the wounded girl put in.
“Then the Raku are the ones who need to repay the debt. The Rasa don’t have anything to do with it.”
“Kalto,” Loto said with calm solemnity. “Your mother’s mother is my sister.”
Kalto fell silent. Loto turned and slowly surveyed the crowd. With the weight of uncertainty upon him, he looked like an aged, white monkey with doubt and wisdom mingled in its eyes.
“Sem of the Guro. Who succeeds Ilateli now that he has passed?”
“I, Utari, son of Ilateli,” the powerfully-built young Guro answered immediately, and stepped forward from among the gathered wildlings.
“What is the will of the Guro?” Loto asked.
Utari hesitated; bold as he was, it seemed that he was not yet used to the authority of his new position. He turned and looked at his fellows. Whispers were coming from the crowd of Guro.
“The Guro are… ah…” Utari mumbled uncertainly, shuffling his feet. It appeared that he didn’t know how to answer in a way that would inspire the hearts of the Guro as their leader should.
“Ilateli said we had done enough,” an older Guro spoke up from behind Utari. Murmurs of agreement rippled quietly among the Guro.
“No! Ilateli was the bravest of the brave. If Ilateli was still here with us, I have no doubt that he would tell us to defeat the oh-mu!,” Siba countered passionately, not caring how his remarks would be received. “He was no frightened weakling to show the enemy his back during a battle!”
The Guro appeared to be unsettled by Siba’s words. Utari shifted his gaze between Kalto, Loto, and Siba, but said nothing more. It seemed that a turning point had been reached.
“Loto! I have something to say,” a deep, rough voice broke in suddenly, so harsh that everyone was startled.
Loto stepped forward a little. “Gaulo,” he answered simply. He had not anticipated the Karoi chief’s intervention.
“The Karoi know nothing about the promises made by the oh-mu named Riyaad. We joined the Raku and Guro in this fight because we received messages from Loto and Ilateli, and also because the oh-mu came to destroy our village. But the Karoi don’t remember any promise to save unknown oh-mu children or to become the lackeys of Loto and Riyaad.”
“Gaulo, listen to me…” Loto tried to interrupt, but the fierce-faced Karoi leader ignored the dignified old chief.
“The Karoi want to hear Loto’s explanation. Loto’s messenger said that fighting alongside the Raku would drive away the oh-mu—that this was the only way for the Sem to survive. That is the reason the Karoi joined the battle. But now we are still arguing about whether to fight or run away. Did you trick the Karoi, Loto?”
“This is no time to demand explanations!” Siba shouted angrily. “Loto is not the one who is wrong. This war would have gone differently if the Karoi had joined us earlier. Last night, if the Karoi had detected the oh-mu’s sneak attack, many more could have escaped. But an ally does not ask an ally for explanations after losing a battle.”
“No one is talking to you, young one,” Gaulo answered insultingly. “I am asking Loto.”
“The promise made by Riyaad,” Kalto began to speak with renewed vigor. “What has happened to Riyaad anyway? Where is the oh-mu who was with Riyaad? They didn’t leave to bring back reinforcements. They left us fighting with the oh-mu so they could escape and survive. Those two children plotted together with them! We cannot trust oh-mu—not any of them. Riyaad said to wait for four days. Those four days have already passed. There is no sign of Riyaad coming back. There is the proof.”
“Wait,” Gaulo snorted derisively, “what of his promise to return in four days? The Karoi were not told about that.”
“Listen, and you will hear what happened.” Reluctantly, Siba explained Guin’s promise to the Karoi chieftain.
Gaulo’s ugly face grew distorted with a sneer as he listened.
“Wait for four days? The Lagon will come to save us? Hah!” he yelled, his fury growing with every word. “What kind of child’s tale—leaving hostages! Hah! Gaulo of the Karoi should have been there. Not even a fool would dare to make Gaulo such a stupid offer!”
Utari stirred uncomfortably.
Siba could not hold his tongue. “The Karoi don’t know Riyaad! Riyaad has helped the Sem. Riyaad is no coward and would never run away by himself and leave the other oh-mu behind. If Riyaad said he will bring reinforcements, he will bring them. With Riyaad on our side, even if the oh-mu had ten times our numbers, we would win in the end.”
“Loto,” Gaulo snarled through clenched teeth. “This inexperienced one makes so much noise we cannot have a conversation. Anyway, the Karoi cannot put their faith in stupid tales of reinforcements, brought by some child of Alphetto born in answer to our prayers. Such tales do not answer the question of why we Sem have to risk ourselves to save two oh-mu children. If they are oh-mu, let oh-mu save them. If not, leave them. The Karoi have finished what the Karoi came to do. The Karoi will follow the path of the Karoi.”
“The Guro, too—the Guro are going with the Karoi,” announced Utari, urged by those who stood behind him. He seemed flustered as he spoke.
Kalto stepped forward into the momentary silence that followed. “Let’s hide in the mountains.”
Loto met Gaulo’s stare calmly and spoke with an air of self-possession before Siba could pitch in. “I see. The Karoi wish to run away without losing their heads. The Karoi don’t have the energy to fight against the oh-mu anymore.”
“What are you saying?” Gaulo’s voice began to rise, but in the next moment he broke into a smile. “I won’t be fooled by your trick. The Karoi don’t know the one called Riyaad. If he has made promises, let him keep them; it is no matter to us. We will do as we will. If you try to stop the Karoi, they will make their way by sheer strength.”
“Gaulo!”
Loto stepped forward, and Siba’s body grew tense. The young warrior and several devoted followers crowded close behind the Raku chief, gripping their stone axes. Immediately the Karoi who stood with Gaulo poised themselves for violence, holding their darts at the ready.
Threatening sounds like the growling and snorting of beasts filled the air; all at once the Sem were reduced to bristling animals facing off with all the ferocity of their wild nature. Their upper lips curled up and they bared their teeth. Siba edged closer to Loto, wanting to protect his chief. If the Rasa joined with the Karoi, the Raku would be left to fight alone against four tribes—the Karoi, Guro, Rasa, and Tubai. Even though these others were all at least as badly depleted as the Raku, together they formed an overwhelmingly superior force. Siba was undeterred, however; he still believed fervently in Riyaad and was determined to hold out for him no matter what. To Siba, it was not possible that Riyaad would abandon his friends to save himself. A low growl leaked from the young warrior’s mouth. Very slowly, Loto lifted up his hand in a calming gesture, as though he meant to speak again.
Just then a Raku warrior ran up, staggering from exhaustion.
“Loto! Danger comes! Oh-mu are coming here, bearing fire! They are searching for the Sem.”
Loto had learned his lesson after the attack the night before, and this warrior was one of the perimeter sentinels that he had placed around the new camp at Devil Rock. Now the Raku chief wasted no time getting to the point.
“Where are they now?”
“There are many torches moving in the desert. They are probably less than half a day away by foot.”
“Gaulo, Kalto, Utari,” Loto commanded briskly, “let this arguing cease! Gather all your warriors immediately, and let us go to Dog’s Head Mountain.”
“Dog’s Head Mountain? But there’s a pack of terrible wolves that lives there,” Kalto started to disagree, but shut his mouth abruptly when he realized that this was no time to argue.
“This does not mean the Raku are giving up on fighting the oh-mu,” Loto added calmly. “Anyway, I will still need some time to devise plans.”
“Do you mean to do that on your own? Or have you put all your trust in the one called Riyaad? Are you still waiting for the oh-mu who abandoned us so he could escape?” Clearly, Gaulo had made up his mind about the leopard-man.
“We will see,” Loto replied, unruffled, and turned to give an order to one of his messengers.
As he did, a second watchman came running from the edge of the camp.
“Oh-mu are coming this way! There are many!”
Tumult gripped the Sem as the news spread among them. Worn out as they were, it seemed they would not be permitted a single night of rest.