.... chastened, he waited until he was handed the two bowls he had asked for.
after he ate, oto sat absently rubbing the spot oto waited for quotillda to finish so he could return the crockery and utensils to the vendor . after a moment he felt her hand on his shoulder and she said, all right oto, let's go. they rose and returned to the old vendor lady her stuff and went to rejoin their fellow travelers. they made their way back to the conveyance for the last part of quo's trip. turning to quo he found her right behind him, ready to rejoin their fellow travelers. heading in the direction of where they'd stowed the vehicle overnight, they and the others followed the sound of the team leader's call until they were all standing in a loose crescent at the entrance to the conveyance waiting for their turn to climb aboard.
the team leader stood at the foot of the laddered steps preventing anyone from boarding. he looked around at the people as if assuring himself that everyone who was supposed to be there was. he glanced at a steward who nodded, indicating all were present. clearing his throat he called for attention to the murmuring assembly and they quieted, gazing attentively they waited for his announcement.
the next portion of our trip is going to be quite grueling, he said. at this, here and there the travelers gasped. i don't want to worry you, he said raising his palms to supplicate, so let me explain it. we will be moving into hotter drier lands after we're an hour underway. we will have to push harder to cover the area quickly. the listeners turned to each other worriedly, testing their reactions. the team leader continued speaking, we will travel at double time in the next leg after which we will have a break at an oasis for a brief time. to have a snack, hydrate and rest. sleep if you can. it'll give us all a chance to cool down until the sun's angle starts to shift. from there we will again go double time or better if we can. we need to arrive at our overnight rest destination before the sun's angle will again shift to a dangerous one. don't worry, we always make it. i just needed you all to understand the urgency for the hurry. with that, he turned and boarded the conveyance, his passengers quietly in tow.
having become used to the ride, quo and oto and the others all quietly with heads down concentrated on the grind. the ground's surface, baked hard and dun colored seem to pass in the featureless blur. the times quo looked up from her feet flashing away, all she saw looked to be wasteland. that however, was an illusion, due to the speed of their passage. in reality, low-lying vegetation and woody spiny cactus like growth profused. burrowing mammals, insects, lizards and birds all made their homes there.
it felt like no time had passed on the ride when the call came to slow for the break stop. unnoticed a small copse of trees lay before them and on the tracks laid by previous stops they pulled into a pool of shade and creaked to a stop. right away the temperature dropped several degrees and everyone sighed in appreciation. soon all sipped from bulbs of water distributed by the stewards. all had filed off the vehicle and found patches of shade to lay prone in. seated in one of his own, the team leader advised everyone to eat some of the food bundles filled with ingredients meant to replenish their expended energies. before they knew it they were being called to wake and embark again onto the conveyance and continue their journey.
this last section of travel, despite the break, turned out to be the most grueling part indeed. the sun seemed to be angry with them and spotlit them relentlessly. their team leader and the stewards, who pedaled away with a focused energy, were also feeling the pain. the team leader breathlessly called out encouragement every few minutes, reassuring them the riders would soon arrive at their destination, bringing the days' exertions to an end. filling them with anticipation of shade and a chance to bathe.
just as it seemed unbearable to continue, the ground sloped radically downward and when she looked, quo saw a depression ahead rapidly widen and the conveyance coasted into a cool dark opening. enough light leaked in to allow everyone to disembark and sit on the edge of an impenetrable darkness. until the stewards shoved it back outside into the punishing heat to dry off the leaked perspiration of the riders. they then went about turning on globes suspended throughout what turned out to be a wide cavern. whose opening from inside resembled the snaggletooth grimace of a jack-o'-lantern. the sound of water splashing was audible and once illumination began to fill the rocky chamber the riders began to circulate, exploring the space. at not so random appearing intervals were rock formations perfect for seating. the center of the room was dominated by a rectangular protrusion erupting from the floor. it's surface looked aged and battered, burns and streaks marred it's surface. it obviously been used as a hearth for cook fires. old scars were scored irregularly around its size. all of these things struck quotilda as her gaze traveled over the now illuminated interior of the chamber. as they took in the scene quo and oto stood alongside each other watching as their fellow riders staked out stone formations to settle at. others, having already done so strolled about gazing around the space.
some, still feeling the heat like quo and oto did were drawn to the source of the lightly audible splash and trickle of a spring running at the back of the cavern. oto joined a man frowning at a spot in a dry depression. it was adjacent to the stream and clearly it was meant to be sat in. following the other man's gaze oto saw an assembly of sorts preventing the stream from flooding in. gesturing to the other man to join him, together they lifted a strategically placed sheet of slate and set it aside. the two,standing in the depression, the pool, sighed gratefully as the chilly water gushed over their dusty feet. before long the pool was filled and the two men sat upon a bench carved from the floor of the cavern. quotillda didn't wait to be invited and joined them. the three chatted and relaxed as they splashed themselves and sluiced away the dust adhered to crusty perspiration on their skin. there was seating was enough to accommodate all of the riders.
after a bit quo started feeling crowded and climbed from the pool. she stood and waited for oto, marvelling at the design of the reservoir with its clever channels to divert the displacement of waters as bathers got in and out. feeding out the excess and intaking a continuous fresh flow.
she and oto moved back toward the warmer area at the caverns' entrance to dry themselves. though they'd gone in fully clothed in plant-based garb. it still was best to dry it and themselves thoroughly.
they sat in companionable silence. quo losing herself in the wave distorted path they come from and the conveyance in the baking incendiary sunset.
oto's attention was drawn to the sounds of the conveyance team preparing the next meal. all had gone in shifts to wash and refresh and were now being overseen by their team leader who sat nearby, obviously having just stepped from the water himself. soon sounds of food prep, chopping and mixing, gave way to scents of warming foods and they pulled oto to his feet. he murmured to quo that he was going to see what was on. she made a sound of distracted acknowledgment without moving her gaze from the scene outside. minutes later oto returned with a steaming bowl of stew with a big chunk of bread on top it in each hand. the scent wafting up from the dish that oto passed under her nose roused quo from her thoughts and she gratefully accepted it. quietly they consumed the meal and the fatigue of the days exertions hit them both. oto suggested they retire to the area he'd secured for them to bed down. quo took the empty dishes and using sand and water from the spring she washed them. she then walked to them to where one of the stewards from the conveyance worked cleaning up the cook pots and dishes from the meal. they chatted and as they did, a great wave of numbness began to wash over quo. she slayed a little and her eyelids fluttered. seeing this, a lone steward mistook it for fatigue and led quo to a nearby stone outcropping to sit, not realizing that quote had fallen involuntarily into a trance state.
from some distant part of her, quo took in the great rectangular structure before her and recognized that under the soot, grime and gouges all over its surface was an altar of sorts. something so ancient it had lost relevancy and the respect it duly deserved. when quo had approached it up close to assist the attendant, she had unwittingly triggeredg a connection to that side of her that made her a sage to her people.
oto soon noticed how quiet the chamber had become. the others were quietly speaking or asleep so he set up, scanning for quo. he spotted her staring somewhat hunched as she sat across from the blackened edifice. her mouth moving as if she conversed with an invisible other or chanted. oto knew this posture and got up to go carefully collect her. he knew eventually she'd awaken herself from the trance state, so he maneuvered her to the area he'd chosen for them, as far from the others as possible. knowing quo's need to isolate. the further from the rectangular stone structure they got, the more quo came to herself.
finally, when oto didn't think he could keep his eyes open any longer, exhausted herself, quo said, that thing triggered me. then she folded herself down next to where oto sat and worn out, she slept. oto folded himself around her and joined her in slumber.