“All right.”
Saosh Yant took off his outerwear with pleasure and seated himself on the trestle bed by the hearth.
“Tell me, dear Kudai Kam,” he asked politely. “Why so? The fire is set right in the middle of the chaadyr but there’s no smoke. And you have no stove, no air extraction. There would’ve been smoke all over the place. But no such thing happens, it all goes up and escapes. How come?”
”Ha-ha!” the Great Shaman smiled. “My dwelling has been designed and build basing on ancient laws. And oriented in a special way so that all the smoke could rise. It is important to place the chaadyr properly.”
“How is that?”
“I mean that if you do it a bit wrong, you won’t make it. And you’ll have to put up the chaadyr once again. Here you need to know how to do it.”
“And will you teach me?”
“Sure, when the time comes…”
Kudai Kam fell silent, his look plainly telling the apprentice that he was thinking about a different thing.
Saosh Yant became thoughtful for a while. There was an awkward silence. He felt uneasiness coming to the pit of his stomach and scratching him inside like a cat. His eyes began to wander round the chaadyr. He looked up and saw the large awning above the hearth.
“What is it?” the young man wondered. “What is it for?”
“It’s an awning. I dry things here.”
“Dry what?”
“Everything.”
“What exactly, Kudai Kam?”
“All kinds of things. Herbs. Berries. Mushrooms. Meat.”
“A-a-a-h!”
“You wanna have yourself dried?”
“Oh, no, please, a little later. Not now,” Saosh mumbled guiltily.
Kudai Kam looked significantly and firmly into his apprentice’s eyes, as if throwing into his soul a burning mace in one precise and accurate motion. Saosh gave a start and immediately understood his main mistake: he shouldn’t have bothered Kam with his fussy questions. The Power lies in quiet and silence. When your season comes, you’ll be told everything. Accumulate the energy and don’t twaddle. Be attentive and accurate. Saosh guiltily sat down on the trestle bed, his head low. Kudai Kam got the lid off the cauldron and threw a big handful of herbs into it. The awkward fussiness that had been clutching the young man’s soul like a sharp-clawed paw, finally abated and changed into a tranquil silence. As if an infuriated cat retracted its claws and again became a friendly fluffy kitten.
They were sitting in the chaadyr drinking herbal tea and enjoying the pleasing evening atmosphere. The steam rising from the big cauldron, was spreading the fragrance of meadows and fields, which remained since last summer. Saosh was reclining lax on the trestle bed enjoying the pleasant tiredness after the journey. He was relaxed but at the same time he seemed to be expecting what his master would say. But for some reason the shaman was silent, as if waiting for something. But what?.. Saosh could not understand. And he felt uncomfortable to be the first to break the silence. So he was quietly watching the flicker of the fire that warmed the dwelling.
Before he could think of anything, he felt a sudden strong vibration underneath. The dishes on the small table in front of the hearth, the cauldron with herbs and the chaadyr itself started shaking.
“What is it?” Saosh gave Kudai Kam a questioning look.
He was sitting on his bed, relaxed, as if nothing had happened. In the meantime the vibration stopped. Everything was calm again.
“Must’ve been my imagination,” the young man shrugged his shoulders, puzzled. And he continued to drink his tea, but it was not to be. As soon as he took a sip, the ground shook, and he was in no laughing mood anymore. He dropped the cup out of his hands, horrified, jumped up and began to rush about the chaadyr. The whole of his being was seized by inhuman, animal fear. He was ready run anywhere for his dear life! He glanced at the Great Shaman and saw that he wasn’t reacting at all.
“Kudai Kam! We must do something!” he shouted. “Why are you being so calm? Why are you sitting? We must run. What’s go…”
He didn’t have time to finish. The next instant the ground shook so badly that chaadyr tottered and all the utensils jumped. The horse harness clanked, the gun fell down, and leaves, herbs, mushrooms, flowers, slices of jerked meat and whole bundles of roots. It looked as if the chaadyr was going to collapse and bury its inhabitants.
Like a wounded wild animal, Saosh Yant started running more frantically about the chaadyr, turning everything upside down. Animal fear swept over him. Not knowing what he was doing, he dashed toward the exit. And then, all of a sudden!.. A shrilly lashing sound pierced the air. Something whistled by the ear. And then it twined around his ankles. A powerful yank! A sweep! And the unlucky runaway collapsed оn the ground.
“Help me! Let me go! Help!” he yelled with all his might.
“Why so much shouting?” Kudai Kam grinned with perfect calm. “No one will hear you here anyway.”
“Saosh shrank on the floor, frightened, like a little helpless kitten.”
“Going far?”
“I!.. I!.. I!..” he spluttered, rolling on the floor.
Kudai Kam came up to Saosh in a leisurely manner, cast a look of the tranquil and piercing eyes into his, which made Saosh feel the pleasing velvety calm spread in his entire body.
“Ah? What am I doing, really?” the young man muttered, coming to himself.
Seeing that his apprentice was fine, the shaman began to untie the lasso from his feet.
“What was it, an earthquake?” Saosh Yant asked, returning to his trestle bed.
