This time,
"You can run a horse to death chasing a mountain" — the saying rang true. That volcano shaped like Mount Fuji looked close, but the column still rode for most of the day before reaching its base. After passing through a vast expanse of black pine forest and winding around two small hills, Lorist finally saw the column's destination: a massive fortress halfway up the mountain, complete with a wall of rough-stacked stone.
From far off, they could see the White Snow Mountain Chief's approaching column, and three long blasts followed by two short ones sounded from the walls. Ashu, walking beside Lorist, explained that this was a signal of welcome, and that this was the settlement of the Habibaba tribe. Just yesterday, Qambasen of the Habibaba tribe had returned from leading his forces and had eagerly sent word for the White Snow Mountain Chief to come see him.
When they reached the gate, Lorist discovered the entrance consisted of nothing more than a row of log railings serving as a door. After entering, he found the fortress's layout closely resembled the human cities of the Galentea Continent — stone-walled houses lining the streets on both sides. What struck him as odd, however, was the roofs, which were shaped like huts, creating a bizarre and mismatched appearance.
Ashu was a big talker, and he quickly enlightened Lorist about the origins of this fortress. Supposedly, several decades ago, a young Habibaba warrior had been consumed with curiosity about the outside world. He wanted to know how the lowlanders lived. So he left his tribe and set off on a journey of exploration.
But the outside world was ruthlessly cruel. After reaching the lowlanders' lands, the young warrior was captured and made a slave. He spent over forty years building houses and cities for the lowlanders, and when he finally grew old, fell ill, and was abandoned in the wilderness, he still managed to survive. He begged his way back to the Habibaba tribe where he had been born.
The former mountain barbarian warrior was filled with deep remorse over his youthful foolishness and felt terrible that he had never contributed anything to the tribe that had given him life. He resolved to use the construction knowledge he had acquired during forty-odd years of slavery to build a magnificent city for the Habibaba tribe. Sadly, he completed the palace and was halfway through building the city walls before his aged body finally gave way, and he returned to the embrace of the mountain god. Without this brilliant mountain barbarian architect to guide them, the barbarians who had finished the stone walls improvised on their own, constructing all manner of different roof styles. The result was exactly what Lorist now saw before him.
Ashu said proudly that the fortress had been named Baribak City after that remarkable mountain barbarian architect.
Lorist couldn't have cared less what the fortress was called. What piqued his curiosity was Ashu's mention of a palace. He hadn't expected a mountain barbarian tribe could build something like that.
After another half hour, the so-called palace appeared before Lorist's eyes.
He couldn't help it — he burst out laughing. A palace? This was clearly a public mess hall and workers' dormitory from a construction site. The only difference was that the central wooden building was twice the size of a typical mess hall.
It was a pointed-roof log cabin, with enormous timbers felled from the black forest driven deep into the ground, forming a large square enclosure, then topped with an A-frame roof of logs. Flanking this central building were rows of long wooden lean-to cabins on each side, just like workers' quarters at a construction site. The only difference was that everything here was built from proper logs, whereas a construction site wouldn't waste such quality timber on laborers.
Ashu frowned beside him. "What are you laughing at? We're at the palace. Have some respect…"
Lorist slapped himself to stop the grin spreading across his face. This was just too hilarious. So this was the mountain barbarian tribe's palace. What an eye-opener.
Up ahead, the White Snow Mountain Chief dismounted, turned and beckoned a few attendants, then pointed at Lorist and Reidi and said a few words to Ashu. The gist was that he and another attendant were to follow behind her, escorting the two prisoners inside.
Sure enough, it was laid out like a dining hall. Before they even stepped through the entrance, a raucous commotion of noise poured out from within. Inside, it was indeed a massive dining hall — the room was enormous, with a two-meter-wide aisle running down the middle and four rows of long log tables on each side. Over twenty people sat on each side of every table, and the surfaces were loaded with roasted meat, fruit, and mountain kudzu root. The whole room must have held over two hundred people, gorging and guzzling without a care in the world. Some were drunk and disorderly — either pestering the barbarian women serving food and drink, or standing on the log tables singing at the top of their lungs and dancing barefoot. Lorist even spotted a few burly barbarian men in the corner, pinning down some barbarian women and thrusting rhythmically…
The aisle was long, and at its end sat a raised platform with three steps. On the platform was a broad table, also heaped with food. Behind it sat a man built like a lion — broad nose, wide mouth. He was lazily surveying the spectacle below, occasionally smiling as he raised a silver cup and drained it in one gulp.
When he spotted the White Snow Mountain Chief approaching, a rare look of warmth and affection crossed the big man's face, and he burst into hearty laughter. His booming voice reverberated through the dining hall — no, the palace — drowning out even the raucous singing: "Oh, my darling, the most beautiful flower on Fire Spirit Mountain, the jewel of White Snow Mountain is finally here! Hahaha, come, let your daddy see whether my lark is doing well…"
The White Snow Mountain Chief rolled her eyes. "Daddy, why do you have to be so loud again? You nearly scared me to death."
She walked over and threw herself into the big man's arms. "Daddy, why were you gone so long this time? It's been almost a year since I last saw you…"
The big man patted the White Snow Mountain Chief's shoulder fondly. "My little princess, it's not that your daddy didn't want to come back sooner. It's that old mountain lion Bilulu refused to submit. If it hadn't started snowing, your daddy would have torn that old lion's den apart. I'll let the old fool off for now, but if he still won't behave, your daddy will go thrash him again next summer. Haha… Oh, by the way, your daddy found you a fine husband this time. My lark has grown up — it's time for her to marry. Aleik, come here!"
The big man called out toward the long table on his left. A tall, powerfully built young barbarian stood up, strode over to the big man and the White Snow Mountain Chief, and crossed his hands over his chest. He bowed toward the White Snow Mountain Chief. "I have long admired the fame of the White Snow Mountain Chief. Aleik holds you in the deepest reverence. May Kuwavesen bless you, the most beautiful moon in my heart…"
The White Snow Mountain Chief eyed Aleik with open curiosity, then, under his adoring gaze, shyly lowered her head.
The big man laughed heartily. "My lark, Aleik is very well-known. At his young age, he is already the chief of the Emmbly tribe and a ten-ring mountain-spirit wule. This time, if he hadn't led three hundred wule to break through that old lion's encirclement, your daddy might have fallen into that old lion's trap and never come back. That's why I brought him back to meet you. You should show him around our mountains and our herds these next few days. Understood?"
The White Snow Mountain Chief blushed. Her daddy asking her to show Aleik the mountains and herds was essentially a roundabout way of showing off how much dowry she would bring. Barring any surprises, her marriage to Aleik was as good as settled.
"Eh? Who are those two?" The big man had just noticed Lorist and Reidi, surrounded by four of the White Snow Mountain Chief's attendants.
"Daddy, they're important lowlander slaves I captured. Look — here are his badges." The White Snow Mountain Chief held up Lorist's
The big man chuckled. "My darling, the lowlanders are all terribly cunning. Don't let them fool you. Bring them up here — I want to question them."
The White Snow Mountain Chief said, "Daddy, this lowlander has some ability. He claims to be a Golden Instructor in architectural studies from Dawn Academy, and he knows how to build houses. Though the houses he builds aren't as big as our palace, and they look strange — like pointed mountains."
Lorist and Reidi were brought forward. The big man toyed with the two badges while staring at Lorist the way a predator eyes its prey. "Tell me where you came from… Hmm…"
Lorist stepped forward, bowed first, then repeated the lie he had fabricated — that he was a Golden Instructor specializing in architecture at Dawn Academy. He had been hunted by enemies, gravely wounded, fallen into the water, and been rescued by the White Snow Mountain Chief. He had also found his and student, who had gone mad and lost the power of speech, and so on and so forth…
The big man cut him off. "What in the world is an architecture instructor?"
"Um… Honorable Qambasen, an architecture instructor isn't a 'what in the world' — no wait, it is. No, that's not right either. This is awkward. What I mean is, I teach people how to build houses…" Lorist had no idea how to answer the big man's question, and it took him a while to piece together an explanation.
The big man laughed contemptuously. "You teach people to build houses? Who'd believe that? You're barely more than a child, and you claim to teach people how to build? And how exactly do you prove you can teach anyone?"
That was the trouble with the mountain barbarians — they insisted on seeing things with their own eyes.
Lorist glanced at the big man's table, where there was a large basin of steamed mountain kudzu root. He reached over, picked up the basin, dumped the kudzu root onto the table, and turned the earthenware bowl upside down on the table's surface. He grabbed a dagger sticking out of a roast, then cut a few pieces of fruit into neat cubes and arranged them on the base of the inverted bowl. Then he peeled the steamed kudzu root, gently squeezed it into a paste, and sculpted it over the fruit cubes. Before long, a small white castle had taken shape.
The big man, the White Snow Mountain Chief, and the young barbarian Aleik all stood there dumbfounded, watching as Lorist used the dagger to carve and shape with practiced hands. A small white castle now sat on the base of the earthenware bowl.
Lorist set down the dagger, stepped back a few paces, and bowed again. "Honorable Qambasen, this is how I teach people to build…"
The big man scratched his head, looked at the castle model made from kudzu root paste on the table, then looked back at Lorist, at a loss for words. He had just finished saying that someone so young couldn't possibly teach others to build, only for this kid to whip up a beautiful miniature castle right before his eyes. The was like a slap across his face. It was the White Snow Mountain Chief who rescued her father from his awkwardness: "That's quite nice — this castle is very pretty. Could we build a castle like this?"
Lorist nodded. "Honorable Mountain Chief, if you want to build one, it's certainly possible. It would just take a great deal of time and manpower, plus some materials that are only available in lowlander lands…"
"How long would it take?" the White Snow Mountain Chief asked.
"Given your conditions here, I'd estimate three to four years and over ten thousand laborers." Lorist deliberately exaggerated.
The White Snow Mountain Chief knitted her pretty brows. "That long? Never mind, then. Let me ask you — how long and how many people to build a palace like my daddy's?"
"Well, Honorable Mountain Chief, now isn't the season for building. Construction can only begin in summer — snow and rain won't do."
The big man slapped his thigh. "When I was a boy, that Baribak spent over a year building this palace for my father. If you're saying something similar, then you must have some skill after all. Here's what we'll do — next summer, you'll build a palace just like this for my lark, and she can use it as her wedding home with Aleik. It's settled."
The White Snow Mountain Chief grabbed her father and threw a tantrum. The big man laughed boisterously, waved his hand, and Lorist and Reidi were led away.
For the next five or six days, Lorist and Reidi were cooped up in a run-down little stone house. Ashu came by to visit them a few times. According to Ashu, the White Snow Mountain Chief had spent the past few days showing Aleik around the mountains and herds. Their affection was growing rapidly, and they were already inseparable. In a few more days, Aleik would depart for his own tribe, and by next year he would bring his tribe here to merge with the White Snow tribe into a new combined tribe. That was when the White Snow Mountain Chief would marry him.
Lorist felt a faint pang of loss as Ashu told him all this. It was painfully obvious that his childhood companion was about to marry, and the groom wasn't him. A mix of envy, jealousy, and resentment was only natural. But compared to Aleik, his four-ring mountain-spirit wule status was frankly unimpressive. It was the classic story of a poor loser versus a rich, handsome rival.
Two more days passed, and snowflakes began to drift from the sky. The frigid winter had finally arrived. Lorist and Reidi were brought out of the stone house by Ashu, who told them they were returning to the White Snow tribe today. Ashu and several attendants led them to a high ground outside the fortress, where several hundred people had gathered. Ashu explained that these were members of the White Snow tribe who had been sent to follow Qambasen into battle, and they would be heading back to the tribe today as well. The White Snow Mountain Chief was currently saying goodbye to Aleik, and once she had seen him off, they would set off immediately.
Lorist quickly spotted the two figures clinging to each other in an embrace. The White Snow Mountain Chief was wrapped tightly in Aleik's arms, as if they were parting for eternity. After what felt like an eternity, Aleik finally mounted his horse and rode off with his followers. The White Snow Mountain Chief stood on the high ground, waving ceaselessly, until Aleik and his party vanished entirely from sight…
On the way back, the White Snow Mountain Chief suddenly summoned Lorist to her horse. She peppered him with questions about building the palace next year, and only let him go after he had repeatedly promised that he would build her a dining hall — no, a palace — even bigger and finer than her father's.
Lorist thought to himself: this girl clearly couldn't wait to get herself married off. She was so eager she practically wanted construction to begin during winter. How desperate could she possibly be…
Back at the settlement, Lorist discovered that a hunched-back old barbarian had actually moved into the wooden house he and Reidi had painstakingly built. When Ashu saw this, he reported it to the White Snow Mountain Chief, and the old hunchback was dragged out and given a whipping. Ashu told Lorist that in the tribe, seizing another's labor without the chief's permission was an unforgivable crime. It was a pity Lorist was a slave — otherwise, the hunchback could have been demoted to slave status to serve Lorist…
Peace and quiet finally returned. Lorist closed the little wooden door behind him. The long winter of over three months lay ahead, and he intended to use this undisturbed stretch of time to heal his wounds, restore Reidi's memory, and then find his way back to his family's domain…