The Glaciermen #19: Fist (part 2)

Early access prepublication manuscripts of "The Glaciermen"

Hello Dear Readers,

Find out what happens to Lee after busting those sinus passages: Will he be respected for showing strength? Or will he have to pay for what he has done?

Let’s dive in…

(Here’s the previous segment if you missed it, and the first chapter and index, if you’re new).

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Fist: Part 2

Recap: Lee has just beaten Nantuk in a fight. He sits atop the unconscious, bloodied boy, shocked into a moment of silence after the brutal exchange…

Then the moment was over. 

“Outsider!” someone said, then spat on the ground. 

A woman screamed, and then chaos broke out. Lee felt multiple hands grab him from behind and yank him backwards off of Nantuk. The woman who had screamed rushed to the Nantuk’s side and began wiping the blood from his face with her tunic.

What have I done? Lee thought, guilt creeping up into his heart as he was dragged backward and then dumped on the ground. Looking up, he had to squint past the light until his eyes adjusted to see three men standing over him. It was Nantuk’s fishing crew: Sugu, Nassiq, and Pek. They did not look happy.

“We oughta teach the pale whelp a lesson for this,” Sugu said, cracking his knuckles and flexing his wiry forearm muscles.

“I agree,” Nassiq said, grabbing Lee’s arms to hold him down, “Break a few bones to help him think about what he did.”

The third fisherman, Pek, was about to say something, but he stopped when he saw something behind Lee. Lee turned his head to see what it was. Muktuk was crouching next to Nantuk, holding his head in his hands as the boy was just beginning to return to consciousness. Then Nantuk sneezed violently, sending a spray of blood across his chest. It must have been painful, because Nantuk’s eyes rolled back again and his body went limp for the second time.

“Who has done this to my son?” Muktuk asked, looking to the gathered crowd.

Several fingers pointed toward Lee.
“It was the outsider,” someone said.

Muktuk stood, a cold rage locked on his narrow face.

“First you insult our ways by spurning our traditions, and now you insult me by dishonoring my son,” he said to Lee, then to the crowd, “Did my son issue a formal challenge?”

Sugu looked like he might say something, but a caustic glance from Muktuk shut him up. 

“Or did this outsider initiate such senseless violence?”

No one in the crowd responded, but a few heads were beginning to nod along.

“That’s what I thought. This filth has no respect for our traditions—he starts fights with no challenge. What was my son to do? Fight dishonorably without an issued challenge? No! His only option was the honorable path—to attempt to subdue the offender without injury, a heavy disadvantage which the outsider clearly exploited.”

Several people in the crowd began to murmur in agreement. 

Lee said, “But that’s not what happened! Nantuk started—”

“Silence, boy!” Muktuk snarled, “An outsider does not deserve a voice—he deserves punishment. The weak may cry for mercy, but we must remember that the tunlaq will not tolerate such weakness among us.”

The mention of the tunlaq quieted some in the crowd. 

“But we are strong! And we will purge this weakness from our midst. The outsider must be punished!”

The quick rhetorical turnaround worked. The crowd was getting riled up. Muktuk smiled—they were eagerly waiting for his next words.

“I say death!” he yelled, throwing his fist in the air, “Death to the outsider!”

“Death!” they shouted in response, “Death to the outsider!!”

Lee was beginning to panic, and he thought about trying to make a break for it, but the fisherman was still holding him down, and even if he got away from him, there was no chance he could make it past the jeering crowd. Before he could decide, he was hoisted to his feet..

Muktuk reached to his belt, grabbed a carved bone handle and slowly drew a gleaming fishing knife. Lee watched as Muktuk’s eyes traced lovingly across the blade, then jumped to Lee. There was an evil glint in Muktuk’s eyes, filling Lee with terror. The creeping flames of Lee’s panic flared into a wildfire. He thrashed against the fishermen holding him, but their grip was strong, and he wasn’t going anywhere.

Muktuk took a step toward Lee, his mouth twisting with a greedy predatory smile.

“I’m gonna gut you like a fish, boy,” he said before letting out an unstable cackle.

Then something was in front of Lee, something big, blocking Muktuk from view. Someone had stepped in between them, a man, his back rippled with tight muscles and covered in swirling patterns of scars.

“You speak of honor, Muktuk. What of yours?” a voice boomed, cutting through the noise of the crowd and commanding immediate silence.

“Get out of my way, Aguta,” Muktuk said, taking another step, “I am the hand of punishment.”

“No,” Aguta said.

“What?”

“If you lay a hand on the boy I will kill you where you stand.”

Muktuk scoffed, but Aguta’s flat tone halted his advance.

“Of course, the outsiders look after their own.”

“You speak of tradition, Muktuk, yet you ignore it—All of you ignore it!” He said, addressing the crowd, “It is well known that the rite of challenge cannot be initiated among boys, but is reserved for men—and neither of these has undergone the Second Trial to be considered a man. This was but a scuffle among children.”

“Easy for you to say,” Muktuk replied, then pointing his knife at Lee, “But this boy has nearly murdered my son, and he must be punished for what he did.”

Aguta pondered for a moment, looking at the bloodied boys, first at Nantuk, then at Lee, and then around the crowd.

“We all know Nantuk. He is just like his father—a hothead. But we are sikanuk, of the ice, and our hearts are cool. We live by honor, not by rage. I challenge anyone here to deny that he initiated this violence. May the truth honor you, and a lie tarnish your name forever.”

Muktuk turned to the crowd, “Well, tell him! It was the outsider boy, not my son.”

No one spoke. He whirled to face his fishing crew.

“Sugu, you must have seen it. Tell us that it was the outsider.”

Sugu avoided his gaze, looking down at the ground and not saying a word.

Aguta continued, “It is as I supposed. Shall we then punish Nantuk?”

“That’s preposterous!” Muktuk said, “Look at him, he was brutalized by this animal.”

“It looks to me like he should have known his limits before picking a fight with a superior opponent,” Aguta said.

There were offended mutters among the crowd, but also a few chuckles.

Muktuk snarled, furious, and began pacing in front of the crowd.

“You bow to these outsiders?” he yelled, “When did you lose your spines? Fine! Let us invoke tradition then. I challenge the boy!”

Aguta sucked a breath. There was not a sound from the crowd. Lee didn’t know what was happening.

“But he is just a boy,”  Aguta said, “You cannot challenge him yet—he has not passed the Second Trial. It will be years before then…” His voice trailed off as he realized the trap he had just walked into.

Muktuk let out a triumphant laugh.
“I agree, my observant friend. But we cannot wait years to settle this, can we? Let us put aside our quarrel today, return to peace and tradition—we must not let our traditions go ignored any further. And while I strongly feel that the boy must be punished, and you are no doubt opposed, surely we can agree that the Second Trial is a worthy compromise. He must then complete it right away!”

Murmurs of agreement came from the crowd. Aguta was losing them.

“But he is not yet of age! He has only just been claimed—his Second Trial is not to happen until he reaches maturity.”

“Ah, but as you yourself must admit, many things happen out of order for this one. He is special, no? And strong? Then certainly the Second Trial should be no issue for him.” Muktuk said, his normal air of superiority restored, “In fact, if he completes it within the changing of the moon, I will rescind my challenge. That is a vow.”

Aguta spoke again to the crowd, “The path Muktuk suggests is contemptible. Surely the people of the Sikanuk do think as he does? Surely you would not send this boy to the Trial so soon after his Claim?”

Aguta looked at the faces in the crowd and was dismayed. Too few were moved by his words.

Muktuk then said, “If we cannot come to an accord on our own, then perhaps we should seek out our masters for conciliation. They will no doubt have very strong opinions on the matter, especially with the boy being an outsider.”

Lee saw a flash of fear in Aguta’s eyes, which made him afraid in turn. Lee still did not fully understand the dynamic between the ice tribe and the tunlaq—he had not seen a single tunlaq since he was brought to the chasm. One thing was clear: the people were afraid of them, and avoided mentioning them by name, or even talking about them at all for that matter. He had so many questions, but no one would give him any answers. Would the tunlaq really come to mediate a dispute? Lee thought it was unlikely—more realistically they would probably just kill him, like they did to everyone back in the pit.

After a pause, Aguta said, “Very well. The boy will complete the Second Trial before the new moon. And after that, Muktuk, you will rescind your challenge, and if you or your son lay a hand on him, you will not live long enough to regret it.”

“It is settled then,” Muktuk said, “but of course, if he does not complete the Trial in time, my challenge still comes into effect whenever he does complete it, and be assured I will not show mercy.”

Saying nothing in reply, Aguta grabbed Lee under the arm and began pulling him away from the gathered crowd. As they went, murmurs went back and forth among the people, and while Lee could not hear what was said, the way they looked at him did not make him feel they were rooting for him. Not one bit.

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And that’s it for now folks

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