Across the Sands of Aurinko (The Goats in Space Saga, #2) by E E Oakey

Author:E E Oakey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Adventure, Scifi, fantasy, new home, new friends
Publisher: E E Oakey
Published: 2020-07-01T00:00:00+00:00

31. Sandlubbers, AHOY!

THREE DAYS LATER, THEY were back in Honey Valley, and what had been dust - and a flood - was now a sea of pink, yellow and blue blooms. Zafe was happy enough about the prospect of picking them, and so were the others, but he thought perhaps he detected something else. ‘Is perfume really this exciting?’ he asked Suza.

‘Yes,’ she said, ‘But the ceasefire is even better, especially on a windy day like today.’

‘The nomads and bandits are a peace – and picking flowers,’ said Walf.

White flags were flying from all the towers, but Zafe could see no sign of the bandits.

‘THERE THEY ARE!’ Suza was jumping up and down, pointing into the distance. ‘It’s the Sandlubbers!’

Zafe turned and saw, on the rippling horizon, wibbling shapes. Was it something? He looked again. Tents? Teepees moving at speed? ‘Ty, what is that?’

‘Sand-boats,’ he said, gazing into the distance. It looked like the bottoms of the sand-boats barely touched the sand, their lint sails catching the wind and being yanked this way and that to ensure they kept their course. Each craft held a dozen people, and was driven by a single pilot, who was the first to jump off as they came to a gentle stop at the bottom of the valley. It was a beautiful sight.

‘WOW.’

‘Yes,’ said Addie. ‘Big wow.’

‘Why don’t we have that?’ asked Zafe, thinking of the caterpillar that had brought them to the valley (and produced its own wind).

‘You’ll see,’ said Suza.

And then the bandits began breaking up the boats! And, as Zafe watched, the sails, mast and decks were transformed into tents to protect them as they worked.

Casual conversation flowed between the two groups. It was odd and it was beautiful. The bandits and non-bandits were laughing together, comparing buds and sniffing blooms and Zafe noticed that the Hundredgrainiacs who hadn’t come over from Aurinko mingled freely with the group — although everyone kept their lenses firmly tied on.

After a late breakfast of cactus buns and crispy rollmops, they got to work. The picking would last one day and one day only; leaving enough buds for next year’s desert bloom.

Hours of back-breaking work later, the brief ceasefire drew to a close. Zafe watched as the enormous sacks of petals were divided between the two tribes, and dragged away to be made into perfume. The tents were dismantled and remade into transport for the way home, and all of the nomads watched as the bandits sailed away across a sandy sea.

‘Why don’t the bandits and the nomads make the perfume together too?’

‘They do something different with their flowers,’ said Walf. ‘It’s a snack called pot-pourri.’

‘WALF! How many times have I told you, it is NOT supposed to be eaten,’ said Addie.

‘I had it last time I was kidnapped, and it’s scrumptious!’

Days two and three of the perfume festival were quiet, and much less exciting without the bandits. After the petals had been sorted by the grown-ups, the children’s job was to mash them up — all the better to extract the smell.

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