Rats in the Pipes

35: Reunions

Everything seemed unreal but I assumed that was the lingering effects of passing out or perhaps it was just my brain trying to process the fact that we'd somehow managed to get here against the odds. Mooke breaking down had been on my mind ever since we left the cave and I'd heaved a sigh of relief at the end of each day when it hadn't happened. I tried to bring myself back to earth by focussing on everything I could see as we walked. At first the land either side of the track was the same barren rocky ground that we'd got used on our journey. The track followed the rising ground directly away from the water's edge. After five minutes we reached the top of the slope and the landscape changed dramatically. The first indication was the wall, a very odd wall since it was full of holes. More hole than wall. It ran east for a short way but to the west it stretched into the distance. Behind it we could see clumps of green plants, not trees but as tall. Once we'd passed the wall and the stands of plants that were twice head height the ground became green and we were walking alongside small fields surrounded by low banks made of piled stones. The fields ran in strips and even I could tell there were all sorts of different crops. 

There were lines of posts with what looked like rolled up mats attached to them and when I asked the person who was walking next to me and carrying my xylophone what they were he explained they were woven rush mats that were used for shade and protection from hail and torrential rain. He called the banks 'swales'. When I looked blank he explained they retained water and stopped soil being washed away. The head height wall was full of holes because that reduced the force of the wind when storms blew in. The mats usually didn't survive a storm but since there was an almost endless supply of reeds they continuously made new ones. Planting took place in Autumn in between storms. Winter was their busy season with harvests in late Spring before the heat burnt everything to a crisp. I was confused for a moment then remembered that the Warrens had never adopted the City calendar and still used the old names for seasons and months. He must have sensed I was having trouble taking it all in and didn't say anything else. I was more than happy to wander along in silence.

Per was swaying a bit as he walked so I drifted across and put my arm round his waist. The way he jumped as my arm made contact confirmed my suspicion that he was falling asleep on his feet. He smiled and draped an arm over my shoulder. Jan and Sol were just in front of us and I noticed they'd also lapsed into silence. The only one of us who had any energy was Mik who seemed to have made an immediate recovery. I shook my head fighting off a yawn. Cure by strange contraption was a new one to me but if it worked I was all for it. Maybe I should take over from Mik.

"Are you seriously intending to ask your grandfather to push you on that thing?"

I blinked "Did I say that out loud?"

"Yes." Per grinned "You were contemplating the despicable act of making our six year old walk."

"Guilty but only in the dark recesses of my mind."

"What on earth are those?"

"Oh come on everyone has dark..."

"No, those things over there." I followed the direction of his finger. There were two structures ahead of us on the left hand side of the track. They looked like large upside down mugs without handles. They were covered in tiny plants and I couldn't see any openings. I could see a few others like them dotted among the fields

"Maybe they're some sort of bed..." I trailed off when part of the plants lifted up and someone came out of a hatchway "Or they could be houses?"

Per wrinkled his nose "Very cosy if they are; unless they're bigger underground? That would make sense. I wonder how they're constructed."

I shrugged since I hadn't a clue but recognising the signs of my beloved being seized with the need to know I angled us towards Da. We discovered they weren't houses for people. Da called them potting sheds which left us none the wiser. He laughed at our expressions and promised to take us on a tour to see everything and meet everyone