23 The Old Fox covered his face with his hands. "That which is done," he sighed, "cannot be undone. Take them to the Healer's tent, and put them under guard. They are not to be left alone."
24 Gray Dove obeyed and returned to his tent. He had just finished his supper when an excited fighting man ran in. "Lord!" he cried, "Lord! You must come quickly. The men you had us take to the Healer; they have gone mad!"
25 Now, Gray Dove hurried to the tent, and when he got there found the women outside wailing and screaming. From inside came the most horrible sounds he had ever heard, like the cries of some wild animal! When he entered the tent, he found the captives were making these cries, that they were bound, hand and foot, struggling violently. In the back of the tent the Healer was working quickly on one of their guards. "What happened?" asked Gray Dove.
26 The elder of the guards spoke. "We were talking Lord, all seemed well, when suddenly one of them seized my club, screamed that we wouldn't keep HIM prisoner, and attacked one of my men! While we were disarming him, the other two went wild! They weren't just angry, they are like savage animals. We had to bind them!"
27 Gray Dove knelt down by one of the men, and looked at his face. His lips were drawn back, he snarled at Gray Dove like an animal. His tongue was swollen and black, the edges of his lips were black, and so was the flesh around his nails.
28 The Healer had finished his work and came over. "I have seen many cases of poisoning," he said, "but few as bad as this. The poison attacks the mind as well as the body. They have no reason left at all."
29 "Will they recover?" asked Gray Dove.
30 "They will be lucky," whispered the Healer, "if they last the night."
31 The Old Fox entered. "The Lords warned them," he explained, "but they would not listen. They knew more than The Lords. Many have fallen to the sweet looking water of this valley, and They warned me when we entered here, but these ones would not listen. They chose instead, to die like this. Let it be a lesson to us all."
32 Long into the night the men screamed, then one by one, their screams turned to moaning, and their moaning to whispers, then a gasping sound, as they struggled for breath. Then, finally, only the weeping of the women mourning their dead could be heard.
33 They buried the men by the spring and carved a sign into the rock above it. "This water is poisonous," it read, "these men died from drinking it. Drink only from the springs at the head of the valley."
34 As the men finished their work, Gray Dove looked at the spring. "What fools these men were," he then explained. "Look! The Tabr stops growing twenty paces back There is no sign of animals or insects. The water is crystal clear. Any man with any sense at all, would know it was poison, even if he had not been warned!" The other men nodded in agreement and they returned to their work.
35 Now, when all the food was gathered, The Old Fox brought his councilmen, and, his warlocks together, and said, "Tell the people that the ample supplies we have must last for a great journey still. Put the bundles of feed onto every cart. When those are full to overflowing, let every man including the fighting people, carry a bundle on his back. Fill every water skin, and also, every pot, every bottle, every barrel."
36 Everyone obeyed, and the following day, as soon as it was light enough to see the trail, they journeyed on. Higher into the mountains they went, and they grew like menacing giants, before them.
37 The passages and valleys became narrower and narrower. There was little feed for the animals or, water. If it had not been for the water they brought with them, they would have perished.
38 But upward they climbed, day after day, mile after mile, and the grumbling started again. But The Old Fox ignored them, his eyes were ever eastward.
39 One day they were travelling north, along a narrow valley, that was rather pleasant and easy going. There was feed for the animals, and a few springs here and there.
40 Suddenly, The Old Fox stopped. Off to the east was a hill. Slowly he climbed it, and looked down the other side. There, was a narrow passage heading off into the distance. "This is it!" he cried, "This is the way!"
41 "But Lord," said one of the Elders, "we cnnot get our carts up over this hill. And the passage is so narrow. Let us continue the way we are going. Perhaps there is an easier passage further on."
42 "There is no other passage," The Old Fox told them, "THIS IS THE WAY! The Lords have said we go this way. THIS IS THE WAY TO GO! Bring shovels, rakes, hoes. This hill is nothing but wind-blown sand. Move it, if it is in our way. Move it, and go the Way The Lords intend us to go."
43 The Elders agreed, and soon the people worked fevorishly. In the blazing heat they moved the hill, took it down, basket by basket, until the passage was cleared.
44 "Let the cattle graze here, for a day or so," ordered The Old Fox, "until all the ox carts are in the passage. Then drive them in behind us. Also, leave some men behind to cut feed and empty three carts. Fill them with every barrel we can find and put water in them. Let them follow after for the animals."
45 So it was, again the people journeyed. Now, this passage was so narrow that they could not put up their tents. And the people slept on their beds where they could throw them down. Here and there there was a hidden spring, and a little grass but the passage was mostly barren rock, seeming to go almost straight up into the sky.
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