The Purlieu Experiment
Chapter 17
Copyright 2015 & 2021
Kafil sat at his desk in the complex. He had forgotten about the letter Donte sent to his father until he received the message requesting the return of Donte’s body. Where was Donte? He should have arrived by now – or at least sent a message to his grandfather that he was alive. The last time he had seen Donte, he was in the company of the Anialwch. He appeared to be on good terms with them.
Monomi, they had called him. He hadn’t heard that term spoken voluntarily for a long time. When the Anialwch used it to address Donte, it sounded genuine. They couldn't have known him long, though. Of course, they probably knew who he was, and a person didn't have to know Donte long before he earned their respect.
Kafil laid the message on his desk, debating whether he should answer it. If something had happened to Donte, the Nyumbani would be blamed. Of course, they were already being held responsible for his death, even though he was still alive. Had the Anialwch detained him? Another thought made the hair stand up on the back of his neck. Had the Lochfowk taken Donte captive? Had he even been permitted to talk with their leaders? The Lochfowk woman had made no promises. Even now, the Lochfowk could be gathering to attack. He would have to get word to the docks to watch for Lochfowk ships. Guards would need to be placed at the mountain passes in case they came from that direction. The council would have his job for releasing Donte and the Lochfowk woman if they were attacked. At the moment, the loss of his job sounded appealing.
At first the Nyumbani colonists had been grateful that Farasi was gone. That didn’t last long. Without the raids, food was getting scarce. Even those who benefited from Halisi’s generosity were starting to grumble. Donte no longer provided them with meat and their hunts were unsuccessful. They blamed Donte for killing all the game and Halisi for abandoning her farm for a better life than they had. Donte would have squelched their grumblings, but Kafil was at a loss for words.
Kafil didn’t have to convince Halisi that the raids must not resume, but the council was already comparing their relative prosperity when Farasi was alive to the growing famine. Something had to be done. He had presented a possible solution to Halisi, but she wanted to wait a little longer to give Donte a chance to negotiate.
It wasn’t as though he wanted to beg Anialwch for food. Other people traded with them. He couldn’t think of anything they could use for trade, but there must be something. He was willing to talk to them about it. They couldn’t afford to wait on Donte. He might not be in a position to help, but even more important, the colony of Nyumbani needed to grow or fall under its own power. If something didn’t happen soon, the new government would be tossed aside and their colony would return to its dependency on raiding.
He pulled a sheet of fresh paper from the desk drawer. Dipping the quill into the ink, he began an answer to Pieter and Quade.
"Our colony did not execute Donte. He was released. We last observed him in the company of the Anialwch, who welcomed him with honor. From there he planned to visit Lochfowk."
He stared at the paper. It said so little. The purpose was to relieve Nyumbani of any responsibility, not inform them. He wanted to tell them how much Donte had done for them and how badly they missed him, but they wouldn’t want to hear about Nyumbani. They wanted Donte back…dead or alive. He added one more line.
"I would like to conference with a representative from one or both of your colonies."
He signed the paper, folded it and sealed it in an envelope, addressing it to Quade & Pieter. He called a messenger to take the note to the dock. There were always ships going out to sea, searching for seafood. Libertad still allowed them to dock in Playa, where they could leave messages that would get to Quade or Pieter in a day.
Halisi was their leader, but right now Halisi had another problem that consumed her thoughts. Chiku had developed a bad cough – probably from being held in the cellar for so long. Halisi was using herbs, but she lacked the knowledge of them that Donte had. Chiku constantly asked for Donte, and to be honest, at the moment he would like to see the man appear. But Donte wasn’t their answer. They could only find a long-term answer by working together and solving their own problems. They couldn't sit here and starve, refusing to communicate with other colonies in any way but raiding. Donte might never speak for them. They couldn't blame him. In any case, they needed to stop depending on other colonies for their meager existence. Libertad & Bergen were thriving colonies. If nothing else, he hoped to get information from them. They had no reason to help the Nyumbani after what they had done to Donte and his family. Still if Donte was true to his upbringing, they might be compassionate enough to realize that Farasi was not a fair representation of the colonists of Nyumbani – not yet, anyway.
Soft Science Fiction
