The Glaciermen #13: Escapade

Early access prepublication manuscripts of "The Glaciermen"

Hello Dear Readers,

I realized I have done you a disservice: one of the characters has been described in such as limited fashion as to be rendered a blurry blob. And that character is Aguta. So, please find a finer description of him below (which I have also added to the previous segment, in case you’re reading this in the future and are confused as to what I’m getting on about).

Aguta
He had an imposing face, with strong jowls, wide cheekbones, a proud nose, and a powerful brow. There were a few sparse whiskers on his face, implying that he had little need to shave but did so anyway. A short forehead was dominated by permanent wrinkles between his eyebrows, making him look as though he was perpetually irked by something. Combined with low set ears and a shaven head, his visage came across as decidedly bottom-heavy.

The bald man was still clad in just a loincloth and moccasins, but his skin was free of the blue coating, appearing a warm bronze in the lamplight. The scars were clearly visible, crisscrossing his entire torso, but this time Lee was able to discern there was a pattern to their swirling intricacies.

If that’s not enough for you, just know that I initially thought of him as “Dave Bautista, but narrower.”

Either way, here we go…

(Link to previous segment if you missed it, and a link to the beginning, if you’re new).

---

Escapade

It was more than an hour until Lee was confident Aguta had left. He stepped quietly to the hanging flap covering the entrance to the chamber. He hesitated in front of it for a moment, then took a deep breath and gently lifted the flap aside just enough to peak through.

Behind it was another chamber, a little larger than the one he hed resided in for the last month. The room appeared to be a kitchen of some kind, as there was a small firepit in the far corner over which an earthen pot suspended from a tripod, but there were other details that clued Lee that the space served many functions. A woven mat lay in the center of the stone floor, a variety of what looked like hunting implements leaned against the wall, and in another corner lay a pile of furs set out in a way that suggested Aguta had been sleeping on them. The furs looked out of place in the chamber, and Lee figured he had probably been enjoying Aguta’s normal sleeping spot.

He noted a few details with growing interest. First, the Aguta was nowhere to be seen, so his plan was going well. Next, there was another flap on the other side of the chamber—the exit, presumably—and light peaked through the crack around the edges of the flap, which was flowing gently as if in a faint breeze, and there was a small, bright opening in the wall next to the flap. It was covered by a opaque sheet of woven cloth, but to Lee, it cold only be one thing. A window, he thought excitedly, maybe I’m finally back at the surface.

Lee stepped into the chamber and crept toward the flap at the other side. On the way, he spotted his boots tucked beneath a wooden stool. He grabbed them and pulled them on before continuing to the exit. He hesitated again, suddenly second-guessing himself and becoming afraid. Then he remembered his anger at Aguta for smacking him and keeping him locked up like some kind of prisoner. Lee gathered himself and opened the flap.

Bright light poured into his eyes. It was too much, and he instinctively blocked his face with a forearm for a few seconds until his eyes began to adjust. Once he could see again, he surveyed the space outside Aguta’s chambers. Lee’s first reaction was disappointment—but this was immediately overwhelmed by wonder.

He was not on the surface, but there was certainly a breeze. Lee stood with his head poking out from behind the flap to Aguta’s kitchen and looked out into a great chasm, at least a hundred yards in width and stretching to bend out of sight to either side. Above him great walls of dark stone rose up, eventually giving way to glacial ice, which continued upward until disappearing into near-blinding brightness, possibly extending all the way to the surface.

Rivulets of melt water streamed down the walls to collect at the bottom of the chasm, which was several dozen feet below the where Lee stood. About half of the surface area at the base of the chasm was submerged in water, forming a narrow, snaking lake. On the dry area above the waterline, a dozen or so animal hide tents poked up from the rocky ground. They reminded Lee of the teepees he had seen in his history books at school. Thin wisps of smoke rose from a few of them.

Lee stepped from the entrance onto a small platform hewn into the stone of the chasm. A narrow carved stairway snaked up from the base of the chasm to the platform and continued upward past it. Across the chasm, Lee could make out a similar stairway mirroring his own, with several openings visible in the stone face as the stairs climbed up the side of the wall.

The air was brisk, but not as chilling as within the ice of the glaciers, and even wearing just pants and boots, Lee felt comfortable enough. He began to descend the stairway, placing each foot carefully as the steps were no more than four feet wide and there was a long drop below him. There was no railing either, so Lee carried on with a hand pressed against the stone face next to him, leaning his weight away from the edge. He felt his stomach bob a few times whenever he paused to look down.

On the way down, Lee passed four additional openings, each covered by their own flap. Stimying his curiosity for the moment, Lee resisted the urge to peak behind them, choosing instead the safer option of sneaking past as quickly as he could while still maintaining his balance. The steps were damp, but they were carved with a rough-textured surface, and the rubber soles of his boots gripped them nicely. With little risk of slipping, Lee was able to make it to the base of the chasm without incident.

At the bottom of the stairway, Lee realized he had come to the end of his plan. It hadn’t been very elaborate, after all—simply waiting for Aguta to leave and then sneaking out—and he had not actually expected to make it much past merely seeing what was outside his small chamber. While he was passing each of other entrances on the way down the stairs, he had half expected Aguta to pull aside the flap and catch him in the act. But Aguta had not materialized, which was good, but now Lee was left without a plan.

The stairs came to an end close to the edge of the lake and the tents were some distance away, so Lee wandered over to the water’s edge first. The lake had a stony shore, comprised of rounded pebbles ranging in size from marbles to golfballs and covering every shade of gray from nearly white to pitch black. The water lapping over the stones was crystal clear, and Lee could easily make out the dark rocks under the surface.

He squatted down and poked a finger into the gently ebbing water. He was surprised. It was not frigid, like he would have expected, but was merely cool, almost warm even, but not quite. It’s not lukewarm, Lee thought, so I guess it’s luke-cold?

He chuckled softly to himself at his invented word and flicked a few splashes across  the clear water. There were darting streaks in the water, and Lee recognized the telltale movement of small fishes in the water. He flicked the water a few more times and watched as a school of minnows zipped back and forth. Absentmindedly observing them swim around for another minute or so, Lee remembered there was more to see, so he rose from his squat and turned around.

They were just standing there, thirty feet away from the water’s edge. 

Lee froze. His heart dropped against his stomach—how could he be so stupid? In his excitement to get out of the chamber, and after nearly a month of isolation since encountering the tunlaq, he had forgotten to consider the perils of his escapade.

There were six of them, all bare-headed men, and two of them were carrying thin, multi-pointed spears. But they weren’t covered in the blue coating, and they weren’t charging at him, either. In fact, they were simply staring at Lee with surprised curiosity. They were clad like Aguta, with the typical loincloth and moccasin combination Lee had become accustomed to seeing. Three were carrying nets over their shoulders, and a fourth had a conical woven basket in each hand.

They’re not tunlaq, Lee realized with relief. They’re just here to fish. Aguta didn’t tell me there were others.

With the prospect of imminent death becoming significantly less likely, Lee was no longer terrified, but his nerves still tingled. He glanced toward the stone steps and considered making a break for it, but he wasn’t sure he could make it in his clunky boots on the loose stones before one of them caught up to him. Plus, these guys were probably friends with Aguta. They were his neighbors after all.

Lee felt a sudden need to interact with someone besides Aguta, and so he made an impulsive decision. He raised one hand in the sign of greeting, just like Aguta had showed him.

“Hello,” he said in Kalaallisut.

The fishermen exchanged glances, then the one carrying the baskets set them on the ground and began walking towards Lee. Suddenly regretting his decision, Lee stood in place awkwardly while the man approached him. He was built somewhat like Aguta, lean but not as muscular, and while they clearly shared a related facial structure, he had a rounded face as opposed to Aguta’s blunt features. Most notably, the skin of his torso was also covered in swirling, crisscrossing scars.

When he reached Lee he stopped, then held up his own hand in the sign of greeting. They looked at each other in mutual fascination. The man’s gaze went to Lee’s bare torso and his eyes widened with disquiet. He knelt on one knee to lower himself to the boy’s level, then slowly reached out his hands. Lee flinched back initially, but the man’s movements were gentle, and something about the wonder in his eyes piqued Lee’s curiosity, so he did not pull away. 

The round-faced man ran his hands over Lees arms, whispering to himself as his face filled with a mix of amazement and fear. Lee could not make out most of the words and was unable to discern what he was saying. The man lifted one of Lee’s arms toward the others behind him, who had now taken a few paces forward upon seeing their companion’s reaction to getting close to Lee.

“He is not claimed,” the man gasped.

Lee knew the word, but he still did not understand what the man meant, and the weight with which the he said it was enough to make Lee uncomfortable. This apparently signified something important to the others as well, because a short pause after the man said it, they began speaking energetically amongst themselves, then all five of them started toward Lee at once.

Lee tried to pull his arm from the round-faced man’s hand, but the grip tightened fiercely and he was unable to free himself. Lee felt a rising panic, but there was another feeling too, a fierceness, and it drove him to anger. I’m not just here to be claimed as some pet by the first guy I run into.

Lee balled his free hand into a fist, but kept his thumb firmly pointed outward, then he swung it around forcefully to jam it directly the eye socket of the round-faced man. The man cried out in pain and instinctively brought his hand to his face, letting go of the boy’s arm. The instant the man’s fingers loosened, Lee was dashing away toward the stairway. He didn’t look back, but could hear the men behind him break into shouts as they ran after him.

He scurried over the loose stones as fast as he could, reaching the base of the stairs within a few seconds and bolting up them as fast as he dared. Unlike his stealthy descent of on the stairs, the shouting from his pursuers drew curious faces to the openings along the stairway as he ran. He half-consciously registered that a few sported long, jet-black hair, but he did not pause fully grasp the observation in the excitement of the moment. 

When he was about half way to Aguta’s chambers, Lee risked a quick glance behind him. The fishermen had already reached the stairs, and the round-faced one must have recovered quickly, because he was among them, and he was furious. Lee turned to continue his dash and ran headlong into what felt like a brick wall, bouncing off it and falling backward to the smack against the stone of one of the platforms.

He looked up. Aguta was standing in front of him on the platform, and his presence filled Lee with relief until he saw the look on Aguta’s face. His mouth was set firmly in a frown and there was a ferocious glint in his eyes. Lee could see the muscles of his temples twitching as he clenched his jaws tightly.

He stepped over Lee and placed himself between the pursuing men and the boy. The man in the front paused when he saw Aguta on the stair ahead of him. The others collided into him from behind, not seeing why he stopped. One nearly lost his balance and began spewing curses until he too spotted Aguta and became silent. 

“Return to your fishing. There is nothing for you here,” Aguta said. 

The round-faced man was the first to respond, pushing past the others to stand just below Aguta on the stairs. The eye Lee had jammed was now swollen shut.

“He is unclaimed. We must bring him to them. They will want him...”

Aguta crossed his arms. “I do not see your mark upon him, Muktuk. This is not your concern.”

“But you know what they will do if we do not,” Muktuk replied, smiling wickedly, “This will not be the first time you have denied them. Let us take him to them and maintain the Treatise, lest the past repeat.”

“He is not yours to offer. The boy has passed the First Trial.”

Muktuk raised his eyebrows at this. “But the First Trial is to not come until after the Offering is made. You have a strange way of following the Treatise, Aguta.”

“The Treatise will be honored,” Aguta said, shifting his feet slightly, taking up a stance that was not unnoticed by the men on the stairs below him, “As I said, return to your fishing. And be careful, the steps are moist today—it would be shameful if you were to fall.”

Muktuk was silent for a few seconds, recognizing the disadvantaged position he was in on the stairs. His face twisted into an evil scowl.

“Fine,” he said, throwing up his hands,  “I see you have not changed. Keep the boy. He is too skinny anyway—he will never survive the Claiming. And do not expect to see anyone standing with you when they punish you for this. I will make sure of it.”

Muktuk turned and started down the stairs, stepping past the others. They begrudgingly turned to follow him, casting bitter glances back toward Aguta.

The last one spat on the stones before following, then said, “This will not be forgotten.”

---

And that’s it for now folks

Thanks for reading! I’ll try to post another segment by next Tuesday, so keep an eye on your inbox.

If you wondered upon this, or were sent it by a friend, please subscribe to get the next update:

If you want to help me out and encourage me to continue writing this story, the best thing to do is subscribe, then share this with a friend. I sincerely appreciate it.

©Xavier Macfarlane 2024. All rights reserved.