Food And Bombs

Ketha bends Maris’s flare until it makes a crack sound, and its end ignites with a white chemical flame. They hold it over the cliff’s edge. Hopefully Elliv can even see it, and hopefully the sents don’t happen to be looking here at the moment. A blast echoes across the mountainsides, and moments later, a gunshot. White figures are swarming from a building in the refinery, and those in the valley head for the gate.

“Good luck El,” Ketha says, leaning on the huge barrel positioned at the cliff’s edge. A web of multi-layered ropes wraps around it, leading to a braid of three of the ropes that wrap around a huge tree, and then run down the road, their other ends tied to the harnesses of the drakes many Lengths away.

“Perra, Kurri!” Ketha puts his hands on the edge of the barrel, and Kurri and Perra stand next to them. Pushing with all their strength and all their weight, they manage to send the barrel over the edge of the cliff. It hangs there, suspended by the ropes.

Perra climbs down and stands on top of the barrel, holding onto the rope. “Ready!” He hangs on as it sways. He even looks like he’s having fun.

“Krev! Back ‘em up!” Ketha shouts. The rope comes back their way and the barrel descends. Slowly Krev walks the drakes back as it gets lower and lower, until finally the rope goes slack, with the drakes and Krev right near the tree.

“Well, looks like your ridiculous idea actually works, Keth,” Krev says.

“Of course it does,” they say. Two pulls on the rope signal them to reverse and pull it back up, and once the drakes are out of sight again, Perra climbs up onto the ledge out of his makeshift rope harness.

“That was a good time,” Perra says.

Perra and Ketha wrap the ropes around the next barrel and tie them off, with several backup knots on each juncture.

“Ready,” Ketha says.

“You ready to go down, Kurri?” Perra says.

“I don’t know about this...” Kurri takes a step back, putting his hands up in front of him.

“It’s the only way down to the Temple, to our mission, after all,” Perra says. “Besides, I proved it’s perfectly safe.”

“Yeah, I guess it is, but...”

“Here, I’ll come with you!” Perra jumps onto the top of the barrel and catches the rope, extending his hand out to Kurri.

“Well, okay.” That boy must be such a being of pure courage that it bleeds over onto those around him, except for Filla. Kurri takes his hand and steps with shaking legs onto the slippery top of the barrel. He immediately grips the rope as his platform sways under him like a pendulum. “Get this over with, Ketha!”

“Krev! Let’s go!” Ketha shouts. “Bye Kurri, have a nice trip!” they say as he descends below the ledge.

His hand keeps slipping down on the wet rope, and he almost loses his footing as more rain covers the slippery wood. The barrel bounces off of a protruding rock and swings to one side, and both his boots slide toward the edge. But Perra stabilizes him, pulls him closer until he’s right up against his body, and puts his arm around him.

“I got you, comrade!”

“Wow, thanks, I thought I would...” He looks over the edge. They are about halfway there. Looking is a mistake, and he snaps his head away and shuts his eyes. Perra is holding him tight against him with his arm around his waist. He feels really warm. Somehow, he feels safe.

“Ha! If Filla saw any part of this situation, she’d never let me hear the end of it!”

“Y-yeah,” Kurri says, lost in the moment.

Suddenly the barrel strikes something. It jolts him from his daze as Perra lets go of him. He feels off balance.

“There, we made it!” Perra jumps down and begins to untie the rope, while Kurri carefully climbs down to the solid ground of the temple graveyard. “Hey Kurri.”

“Yeah?”

“I’ll go up for the next one, why don’t you go get Nisho and explain the situation.”

“You mean he doesn’t know what we’re doing?!”

“Well, y’all kinda left town in a hurry last time, this wasn’t really exactly the plan, but I’m sure he’ll be willing to help,” Perra says.

“Oh, okay then, I’ll go try to explain.”

“Great, see you soon!” Perra pulls twice on the rope and he starts ascending back up the mountain.

Kurri walks around the white stone temple to the front garden and up the steps to the entrance. He looks down at himself. What a state to be entering a holy temple of Thea in, soaking wet, half naked, and half coated in mud and leaves. Perhaps the guardian Chi would be pleased. He clutches his necklace and at least tries to wipe most of the mud off of his boots on the porch.

He steps inside. Nisho is tending to the sick when he notices his guest.

“Is that...Kurri, right?” He looks at Kurri strangely.

He stands up straight and tries to pull himself together a little. “Kurri Koronova, Helbender Collective, K.R.A.. We need your help, Nisho.”

“Anything for the Helbenders.”

“Me and Perra came to help out in the clinic too.”

“Thea bless us for that.” He turns and looks around the sanctuary. “We’ve lost two patients since you were last here. And I’m afraid we’ve picked up three more.” He touches the holy symbol around his neck and makes a sign like an arrow over his chest.

Kurri repeats the gesture, bowing his head.

“What is it you need?” Nisho says.

“Come outside and I’ll show you,” Kurri says.

“In this storm?” Nisho goes to the rack by the door and picks up a white umbrella.

Kurri leads him back into the rain and out around the temple. It’s finally starting to lighten up. Good thing they wouldn’t need its concealment soon.

“You can share this if you want,” Nisho says, staying dry under his umbrella.

“What’s the point? At this rate the water is only making me cleaner,” Kurri says. “So, we brought you a whole lot of food from--well it’s not important where, the people here need it, right?”

Nisho’s eyes widen at the two barrels and the large crate now sitting out behind his temple. “On behalf of the holy temple of Thea I will graciously accept these food donations, no questions asked.”

The last crate descends, with Perra and Ketha on top. But just a few Length off the ground, one of the ropes snaps, the whole assembly comes apart and flings its riders off. The crate plummets down, and upon landing its side cracks open and falls off. Nisho’s eyes widen, and he covers his mouth. Out from the broken crate pours a whole stack of rifles and pistols, and powder flasks, and ceramic grenades. Nisho falls to his knees.

Kurri runs over to his comrades on the ground. “Are you okay?”

Ketha sits up and brushes some grass from their jacket. They stretch out their arms and legs as they stand up. “Fine!”

Perra looks himself over. “A little bruised. Good timing, huh?”

“K-Kurri...” Nisho says.

“Oh.” Kurri returns to the priest-apprentice, staring at the busted crate of armaments. “Um, this was the other thing we needed help with.”