CHAPTER 07

A few days had passed when the opportunity arose for Alex to leave the protection of the Shaman's hut.

“From now on, you are in a condition to use the outdoor latrine. I think you can abandon the basin now.”

“Outside?” Alex asked, worried.

“Yeah, where did you think the latrine was?” said Dona Eliza, the Shaman's wife.

“In the bathroom?” Alex asked, already knowing he would get a negative answer.

“What is a bathroom?” the lady said, confused.

“Forget it... Anyway, do I need to bundle up to go out to the bathroom... I mean, latrine?”

“But of course.” She affirmed it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. And it was. “Five minutes out there without proper protection is enough for you to suffer terrible burns. It is absurdly cold today.”

“Well, I don't have...”

“I set aside some of my husband's. You can use them. Get dressed and go. The latrine is about 400 meters away from the house. Try not to take too long; it is public.”

“What do you mean... public?”

“That anyone from the village can use it, for crying out loud.”

“And privacy?”

“What? Privacy? My son, look at this hut, look at the other houses in this place! There is only one heated room, and we all live together in this same space. Privacy doesn't exist among my people. Now go already! Weren't you complaining that you were about to soil your pants?”

“Yes... Thank you for the clothes... I'll get dressed... just a moment.”

After what seemed like an eternity, Alex had finished putting on the 20 layers of pelts and hides to protect his body from the cold. He could barely move; after all, he had never worn so many clothes in his life. His weight seemed to have doubled.

“Looks great, now go on. Because if you dirty those clothes, I'll make you wash them in the frozen river. And without gloves!” The lady threatened him.

“I'm going... I'm going,” he said, leaving the heated room and going into the frozen room of the house.

Walking with difficulty, he made his way through the snow to the septic tank.

“It shouldn't be hard... It's just a different experience... that's all.”

He moved with difficulty. His walk resembled that of an automaton so mechanical was it. At a certain point, he fumbled his steps and tripped, falling face-first into the snow.

“Now what? How do I get up...”

“What are you? A turtle flipped on its back?” said Lÿarah, arriving and offering him a hand to help him up.

“It's just that... I'm not used to walking in the snow... nor with so many clothes.”

“It shows... where are you going?”

“Bathroom.”

“Where?” Lÿarah asked, surprised.

“Latrine.”

“Ah, the pits,” Lÿarah said, arching her eyebrow. “Okay, follow me. I'll take you there.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Upon arriving at the public latrine, both entered that very special cabin, quite diminutive given its function.

There was a large wooden board with four holes. The purpose of each hole was already obvious.

The smell was nauseating for Alex.

He made the mistake of looking into one of the holes. He could see a stalagmite at the bottom, formed from the frozen waste of other users who had used that place before them.

“Wait... how... how did this get piled up like this?”

“Oh, you mean the 'elevation'?”

“Elevation?”

“Yeah, the waste freezes as soon as it leaves the body. It falls onto others and petrifies immediately. It doesn't even have time to settle. That causes these 'atypical' formations to appear...”

Alex almost vomited. But the nausea vanished with the surprise he got in the next instant.

Without any ceremony, Lÿarah began to use one of the holes in the wood, sitting on it.

“What is it? Aren't you going to use it?” Lÿarah looked at him, intrigued. “If not, what did you come here to do?”

“Wait... You're going to use it here?”

“Huh? And what is this place for if not to do that?”

“It's just... I didn't count on you using it right next to me...”

“Why?”

“Why? Because you're a girl... I'm a boy and...”

“And what about it?”

At that moment, another village resident entered, also without ceremony, with natural ease, and greeted them.

“Good morning, how are you, Chief?”

“Hello, Forge Master. How are you?”

“The work is tough, Chief. Those symbols you asked me to engrave on the blades... They are very small... and placing them in the exact layout you requested is quite challenging. I don't really understand what they are for, but I promise they will be as you need them. I can guarantee it.”

“I expected no less from you, Forge Master.”

“Thank you for the trust,” the man said, lowering his pants a bit, just enough to use the latrine. He took care to use a cloth in his hand to hide any improper part that might be exposed.

Thus, the two holes between them were left free.

“What are you waiting for? Are you going to wait to freeze out here before using it?” Lÿarah questioned Alex.

“Oh... right... I'll use it... of course I'll use it...”

With enormous difficulty, Alex freed himself from part of his garments and, with much disgust, sat on the latrine.

He began to turn red when the sounds of passing gas became evident.

His “neighbor” found it amusing and decided to join in that “symphony” as well.

Ah... how unpleasant... Alex thought, making every face possible.

“And has our friend gotten used to our people yet?” the blacksmith asked.

“Me?”

“Who else?”

“Yes, right... of course it's me... I'm doing well... I mean, I've gotten used to it...”

“Is that so? I'm the blacksmith. Bring your weapons so I can see if they need maintenance.”

“Weapons? I don't have...” As soon as he noticed the blacksmith's disapproving look, Alex changed course. “I do... of course I do. I will bring them to you, yes. Sure, absolutely...”

“Great.” With that, the man stood up in one motion, dressing without leaving himself exposed for a single second. There was a very special way of using that place.

Lÿarah did the same when she finished.

“See you later, Chief. Drop by the forge later so I can show you how the blades are turning out.”

“I will go today, Forge Master. Thank you for the hard work.”

“Whatever I can do for our people.” Saying this, he left. “See ya.”

Lÿarah looked at Alex, who was still sitting.

“So? Is it going to be today?”

“I'm finished..., but...”

“But?”

“Where are the wet wipes?”

“Wet wipes? I don't know what that is, but anything wet at this temperature turns to stone...”

“And how do you wipe yourselves? In the Shaman's house I was using...”

He gave up on pursuing that line of thought. “Ah... you know what? Forget it! Let's go.”

He tried to stand up and pull up his pants in one motion as the blacksmith had done, but he failed miserably, falling forward, tripping over his own feet.

Lÿarah, seeing such a deplorable scene, wondered whether that man would manage to survive even a single day away from the village.

“I am really very worried. We have a lot to do,” she said, lamenting.

•••

Lÿarah took Alex to the stables and showed him her Gruoh. The large animal that the Nidhogg people use to transport their cargo in that freezing climate.

“And this is what we will do,” Lÿarah explained to Alex, laying out the plan she had concocted with Igor. “If you really want to go back to the 'comfort' of the wall, you will have to help me when we get there. However, before that, you will need to learn many things. The first of them is knowing how to ride a Gruoh. They are extremely docile, but if they get annoyed with you, they won't let you get on.”

“We are going to travel on top of this beast?”

“We are. At least part of the journey. Why? Would you rather go on foot?”

“Me? On foot? No... I mean, of course not... I'll learn how to ride this beast.”

“Well, this 'beast' here is Star,” Lÿarah said, pointing to her Gruoh. “She is one of the best.”

“Yes, she seems to be in great shape,” Alex said, to say something, since it was obvious he knew nothing about those animals. In fact, the only thing he could focus on was the exceedingly strong smell emanating from that beast's fur. It had never been washed in its entire life.

“Isn't she? She is very special. Aren't you, Star? My good girl.”

Lÿarah pulled the animal out of the stable.

“As you can see, there is an apparatus on her saddle that acts as a ladder on the animal's sides. She is almost three meters tall... so you need to be careful.”

Alex was surprised when the animal came out of the stable. Star was enormous. Almost seven meters long and approximately three meters tall. It had a large carapace with distinctive formations. Some resembled horns or tusks. Its head resembled an armadillo's, and its paws had extremely sharp claws. It was a great surprise that such a magnificent animal was so tame.

“I will climb up to show you. After me, you try to do the same.”

“Right.”

And Lÿarah, with great agility, climbed onto the animal and settled into its saddle.

“See? Isn't it easy?”

Watching Lÿarah do that made Alex believe it really was easy.

She climbed down and handed him the animal's reins.

“Your turn.”

“Alright.”

And Alex went and tried for the first time.

He fell almost immediately.

On the second try, the animal moved abruptly, and he fell again.

On the third try, he almost succeeded, but when he tried to sit in the saddle, he fell off the other side of the animal. If he hadn't held onto one of the harnesses, he would have fallen hard from that height.

Lÿarah sighed in resignation.

“Yeah... this is going to be a lot of work. Come on. Again! Get up!”

She rolled her eyes when he fell on the fourth attempt, too.

“Alright... no rush. In your own time... I guess...”