They gathered again in front of the small wood box where the Calzai stood with a proud but cold demeanor.i
After making sure that this time everyone had followed his instructions, the Yu Calzai cleared his throat and raised his strong voice.
"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. We will now begin today's event. May I call your attention to the two white flags placed over there," he declared, pointing to his side, and they all turned to see two flags planted on the ground, set apart almost like a gateway leading into the shadowy woods.
"Beyond that line, and inside the area shaded in red on your maps, several tokens similar to this one have been hidden and placed strategically," he went on, showing them what looked like a metal coin the size of the palm of a hand, printed with the eight-rayed sun of the Wen Empire.
"Your task is to collect as many tokens as you can. You have until the first hour after DunDaozao to do so, at which time you must be back on camp and present your tokens for counting. The use of daitai is allowed. But you are not allowed to injure any of your fellow participants in any way. You are free to leave whenever you're ready. We wish you all good luck and a good hunt. You are dismissed."
Most of the kids immediately ran towards the starting line and into the woods. ZaiWin watched them go from a distant and safe place. The last thing he wanted was to be alone in the middle of a crowd he knew wouldn't think twice before beating him to an inch of his life.
Once everything became quiet he finally made his way to the flags, carefully keeping watch of his surroundings, making sure no one would catch him by surprise. He could hear voices at a distance, shouting back and forth, but thankfully none was close enough that he could actually see.
Strolling down the shadowy path, he sighed.
He couldn't care less about that useless competition. He may as well spend his time looking for food, he decided looking up at the trees. It wasn't as if he had any chances of winning, since he was sure the royals would have countless kids giving them their tokens in hopes to attain their favor. On the other hand, ZenTar had always called him a sore-loser. And so, even though he had no chance to win, he still didn't want to end the competition completely empty-handed.
Finding a walnut tree he smiled and quickly started to climb it. It was just the right season, he thought, pulling himself upward. If only Nox didn't have such hot summers, when water was scarce to put it mildly, he'd make sure they planted a lot of walnuts, and almonds, and other such trees. Their nuts not only were delicious they were also very nutritious, much more so than regular fruits like oranges and apples.
Quickly filling his backpack with the round nuts, he was wondering where he could find a smooth rock where to crack them open, when a glint of silver caught his eye. Pulling his backpack on, he crawled on his hands and knees across a wide branch. And there it was, amongst the leaves, a round silvery coin imprinted with a sun.
Collecting it he quickly looked around and noticed a rope tied around the large tree trunk, and something that looked very much like a small wooden platformed nailed to the next tree. Unwrapping the rope, he pulled on it several times to test it, and then grabbed it firmly, jumping from the tree, swinging himself towards the wooden platform. He sighed in relief when he managed to safely reach it and, crouching low, looked around, searching, until he found another token.
Standing up, ZaiWin took a closer look at the surrounding trees. Here and there he could see that other platforms had been assembled, there were also rough, handmade stairs and a few planks stretching from one tree to another like wooden bridges.
So they had built a path through the tree's canopies, he concluded with a smile, holding on to the tree trunk to pass from one branch to the other. That was just perfect. He was sure that very few people would notice it and even less would choose to take it. And he'd be much safer up there, with the added bonus that he would still manage to collect a few tokens in the process. All he had to do was be careful not to fall, he told himself looking down at the ground far below his feet. If he didn't die from it, he'd most certainly die during the following days, once they left him behind.
ZaiWin spent the rest of the competition jumping from tree to tree like some wild animal, making use of whatever means they'd left for him. Still, it was far from being an easy task and, more than once, he was sure that his short height would be the death of him, since there were a lot of situations when his hands could hardly reach the next branch, or his legs were just too short to allow him to jump as far as he would have liked.
The sudden shrill sound of screaming captured his attention, making him turn back.
It wasn't the first time he heard or saw other kids. When that happened he'd always remain as quiet as possible, watching them from above, not wanting to reveal his presence. But this … this was different. And so he tried his best to pass from the tree where he now stood to the one behind him, and that had clearly been excluded from the path that had been previously built.
With a deep breath for courage he ran across the branch and jumped, barely holding on the next branch, his hands hurting from the impact, his fingers almost giving in. Clenching his teeth, he exerted all his strength to pull his legs up and lace them around the branch, so he could finally exhale in relief. Pulling himself up he finally crossed the branch and made his way to the other side.
Passing from that tree to the next one, and from there to the next one was thankfully much easier, the screams growing closer and closer, two distinct voices begging for help.
Finally reaching the area, ZaiWin lay down on the branch and peered down.
The first thing he saw were two red heads. They were both sitting on a large boulder, as if they had decided to take a rest, and they were both calmly looking down a deep hole.
He recognized the twins immediately. Even though they were brother and sister they were so alike that they could easily pass for one another if they dressed the same clothes, which was presently the case. But what shocked him the most were the two boys at the bottom of the hole, screaming for their lives, screaming in pain, since their bodies had been stabbed by numerous thin, pointy wood stakes.
There was blood everywhere, he thought with a shiver, seeing as they could hardly breathe, coughing and choking on their own blood. Not that he was new to blood and death. He'd seen plenty of that in the past six years. But it still horrified him at a deeper level that he had never shared with anyone, not even with ZenTar. And yet, more than the blood, the most disturbing thing was the calm, indifferent expression on the twins' faces. They were clearly not going to help them. And looking at them he was sure that the trap that had victimized the two boys had been of their own doing.
Even when they'd been younger, the twins had always been weird. Only one year older than him, Wen LinWan and Wen GinWan never interacted much with the other children, keeping mostly to themselves, talking to each other in some weird language no one else seemed to understand. Although, unlike FeiWan and CalWan, they had never actually picked on him, they had always glared at him with a cold and creepy expression, as if they were imagining ways to torture or punish him, and finding comfort in their fertile imagination. They had been known for being especially cruel towards animals, and they had even dared to kill one of the El'Dai's favorite horses and open it up just to see what it looked like on inside, or so the rumors said. That during the last six years they'd upgraded from animals to people, though appalling, was hardly unexpected.
Keeping as quiet as possible ZaiWin simply lay there, watching until the screaming finally subsided and the two boys drew their last breaths. There was no way he could have beaten GinWan and LinWan, even if he had wanted to save them, even if they were salvageable, which was hardly the case.
You have to stop thinking with your heart and start thinking with your head! What's the use of killing yourself trying to save them when they're already dead?, ZenTar's angry voice echoed in his head. What if you die? Who will save all the others that can actually be saved? No matter how strong you are there's no way you can help all of them! And you're still just a weak kid! If you really want to help your people you have to live for a very long time! So stop with the egocentric, self-gratifying act, wanting to be some kind of hero, and use your brains! That's why you have them!
Only after the two inside the hole finally went silent did the twins stand up, peering down one last time, before calmly making their way into the woods.
Since the appointed time drew closer, ZaiWin decided it was better to start making his way back to the camp. Still he refused to leave the treetops until the last minute. Besides the twins' cruel trap, he'd seen enough stealing and extortion to know that it was hardly safe to stay on the ground. He only wished he could jump from treetop to treetop all the way to the safety of the camp.
Making sure no one was around, keeping in sight the Calzai's men expecting them by the flags, he finally slid down the tree and dashed at full speed towards the finish line. He was gasping and out of breath when he reached it, but at least he hadn't been intercepted by anyone. Handing them the thirty-seven tokens he'd managed to gather, he could finally sigh in relief.
By the time the appointed hour arrived only thirty of the thirty-six kids that had taken part of the event were back. Half an hour later another boy returned, limping severely, his ankle swollen and purple.
Since no one else came back the Calzai's men left the camp to look for the rest. So they didn't know where they were, ZaiWin thought watching them go. Which meant that, although they were there to keep them safe, they weren't really watching them that closely.
They returned a few hours later, carrying a crying blond girl on the back of one of the men. Apparently she'd fallen, trying to jump over a ditch, and broke her leg. Of the other four there was no sign and the searches would go on during the night.
ZaiWin took a peek at the score sheet nailed to a tree and sighed.
The six that hadn't been able to comply with the schedule had all been attributed zero points. Penalty points from delays on the fulfillment of yesterday's tasks had also been accounted. And so, overall, his thirty-seven tokens had landed him in tenth place. Not that it mattered either way.
As expected, with a total of one-hundred-and-seven tokens, CalWan had taken the lead, closely followed by FeiWan with one-hundred-and-five. NimRen had placed third, with ninety-eight, and the twins both had gathered ninety-three tokens each. The gap between the royals and the nobles was clear, since the sixth place, a boy named FonRou from the Province of Pon, had totaled only forty-six tokens.