The Toils (Book One)

VI. A Day Away

The main road through Pa was full of life. Magnus felt her eyes grow in wonder as she and Thatcher were guided up the core street.
The entire street looked as if it could be a kilometer long, and side streets ducked away either side of them. Unlike the roads of Gossfordshire, the roads here were not paved. Weka picked at the dirt roads to dig for worms, their orange feathers shining like miniature suns in the morning light.
A family had gathered in the road gawking at the foreigners, dressed in their funny robes, strutting down the street behind Ruataupare. Magnus gave them a friendly wave, and the two children waved back.
Finally, they came to a vacant house in the middle of the street. It was entirely unlike anything Magnus had ever seen in Gossfordshire.
The walls and roof were all crafted from punga trunks, much like the fence surrounding the hilltop settlement. The walls looked coarsely hairy, vaguely threatening. The house had a typical house shape; a square bottom, and a slanted roof. There was no front door or window - instead, those two features were blank rectangles in the front wall, the window one-fifth the size of the door, allowing for only a slim slit of sunlight to enter the core room.
Entering, there was nothing more than what immediately met their eyes. Two small straw beds sat either side of the interior, large feathered blankets heaped against the wall.
Against the back wall, a small hole in the ground crackled, a burning fire inside.
Magnus got closer and saw that the firehole lead outside, the wind whipping the smoke out the back of the house.
"You boil water, for cooking", Ruataupare pointed at the fire, "There's not too much food to go around, but you should have enough for the next fortnight".
"Thank you", Thatcher leaned forward, bringing her nose to Ruataupares.
The two parted - "I'll leave you to settle in", Rutaupare farewelled them.
She left them alone, the sounds of the people outside overwhelmed Magnus, for a brief second she found herself forgetting about Maya - she almost felt happy.
Thatcher collapsed onto the bed on the right.
"I'm going to look around", Magnus stood in the middle of the room and watched Thatcher close her eyes, "I'm assuming you'll be good here?".
"Mhmm", Thatcher grunted, her breathing growing deeper.
Magnus gave a look around the whare, before stepping out onto the main strip.

People in Gossfordshire didn't live like this, she thought happily to herself, drinking in the sight of people chatting in a language she didn't understand, kids playing amongst animals, older people playing hand games with young people, there was a real sense of community.
She walked back towards the main meeting house, careful not to trip over a loose pukeko pecking about her feet.
The main building, cast from purple clay with a staw roof, passed Magnus by.
At the end of the street, she stumbled across a small mass of people headed by Riwai, each holding staffs similar to the one behind Ruataupares' desk.
Magnus stopped, standing a few feet from them.
"You lost?", Riwai spoke over their heads to her.
Magnus stepped closer - "Looking around".
"Maybe looking back that way is a smart idea", he pointed back in the direction she'd come from.
"Alright", Magnus nodded, turning on her heel.
Stepping away, she heard footsteps behind her.
"Come", a woman towered over her, light wrinkles decorating her face, "Take it". She thrust her staff into Magnus's hands, the end pointed to an arrow. The handle was ornate, intricate carvings ran around the thick wooden end.
"You think he'll appreciate that?", Magnus tilted her head in Riwais direction.
"All are welcome", the woman responded, her accent became thicker the more Magnus listened for it.
She led Magnus back to the group, where Riwai continued to speak to his troops in Maori. Magnus tried to give her attention but found it difficult when she had no idea what was being said.
The group of ten set forth, walking through a break in the border at the eastern end of the border fence. The hill sloped downward until they reached a plateau forty other soldiers waiting in a field at the bottom of the hill. They were an eclectic mix of people, all ages and body shapes. One man stuck out to her; he was the oldest there, his tattooed body hung with age. His back hunched, bending him almost in two.
Magnus stuck close to the woman who had given her the staff.
The warriors lined up into five rows, ten across, with four feet or so dividing them, leaving enough room for each to swing their staffs comfortably. Magnus stood stuck out the end row, the eleventh person in a row of ten.
Riwai walked down the first row, calling commands in Maori.
The entire troop swung their staffs out from their bodies, holding the pointed end to their right.
Magnus fumbled about, looking like an idiot. The woman next to her, who'd obtained a second staff for herself, gave a small smile.
Magnus observed tattoos crawling up her arms.
Riwair issued another command, the troops pulled their staffs back in toward them, before flicking out the bottom end in a manner that would trip an opponent, should one be standing in front of them.
Magnus tried keeping up but had all the dexterity of a drunken Kiwi. Pulling her staff quicker than she should've, Magnus gave herself a whack to the shins, causing her to yelp in pain.
Suddenly all eyes were on her hopping about on one foot.
Blood dripped down her leg inside her robe, staining the rags about her feet.
The woman next to her spoke in Maori to Riwai, breaking away and taking Magnus to the edge of the forest and away from the group - who continued to train as if nothing had happened.
"Your nerves aren't helping you", the woman sat next to Magnus, placing their staffs between them.
"Being around fifty people speaking an entirely different language to you is pretty nerve-racking", Magnus half-chuckled, pulling her robes up and wiping blood from her shin.
"I know", the woman gave Magnus a soft smile, "I'm Rena, by the way".
"Magnus".
"I've never seen you around, before, where are you from?".
"Uh, north - Gossfordshire".
"Ah", Rena bowed her head, "the Kingdom of No-Food".
"That's the one", Magnus pursed her lips.
"Are you here to bring more food?", Rena asked.
"No... We're here because your leader is significantly less... cutty... than ours".
"Right, well, if you're staying, get involved, it's great to see you trying", Rena gave Magnus a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.
She stood - "If you want to rejoin, come stand next to me, I'll be right where I was before".
Magnus passed her up one of the staffs from the ground and watched as Rena trounced back in line.