Although the team has made it out of the Shadow World, they are still in a rather tense mood for a while, heading back towards the ranges of Karrabata. Although that particular Fene was no longer as scary and terrifying as previously thought, it still filled the hearts of most Athamanas with an uneasy feeling. The only exceptions were perhaps Razvan and Rahul, both of whom regarded the Fene with its gruesome reputation as a mere piece of earth.
This time, the small group's journey led to the heart of Madüjawr. Etele returned to his usual routine after they had reached the defense of the mountains. He appeared and he disappeared for a longer or shorter time. Luckily for them, the team didn't run into any stray hegins. The fact that they did not stray into villages, thanks to Achilleus, was not surprising. However, even that certain omniscient map could not indicate the raiding hegins.
On the way, the boys explained to Rahul that now no one would have to go home until early summer, so they would raid together. It's true, the chüvigh boy didn't yet know exactly how intense this 'they will raid together' thing would be, but the team quickly changed that. In the next two weeks, the team switched to nocturnal mode.
And this certain nocturnal mode meant that they slept during the day, and in the evening they looted the capital cities of one of the tribes. Perhaps looting is not the best word for what they did, since they almost never took anything. Rather, they left something behind. Wherever they went, they left a message to the chief of that tribe with the name of their team.
Razvan said this is so the tribes know who they are up against. According to Etele, however, he only wanted to rub it under the noses of the tribal chiefs that the Athamanas can walk in and out of even the most protected places without any problems. After all, no one ever caught them doing it, when someone started chasing them, usually one of the Athamanas directly drew attention to themselves.
But Razvan didn't let the team go crazy all night. They always knew how much time they had to return to the chosen meeting place and the team leader always set the seven-mile column exactly. As he said, 'You only have enough time, those who fall behind will have to find their way back!' Of course, no Athamana wanted to risk this, so they always arrived on time to return to the clearing designated as their base.
This clearing was in a very good location and was chosen directly by Achilleus to be as far as possible from any yurt village, to be deep in the forest, but to be large enough to set up a yurt big enough for their team and to have water nearby. This is how the Motumisz boy chose this particular clearing, which met all the criteria. Not upstream at the main branch of the Oughervolgjagh, but near a smaller tributary, deep in the forest in a grassy area surrounded by large trees perfect for camping.
The team returned here every morning and spent their days here. They hunted for food and waited for the night here. Considering how deserted the place was, they didn't even have a guard. It was only Etele who watched the surroundings with half an eye while the children slept the sleep of the righteous in the yurt. As the days passed, the weather became warmer. The sun is slowly moving to the time of the year when you only need to make a fire in the yurt for meals.
So far, the team has got on the nerves of every tribe and left their mark everywhere. However, as the time was approaching for the team members to go home, the night raids began to become less frequent and the Athamanas began to get used to sleeping at night again. Today they were on a big hunt, most of the team members were busy debating whether to make soup or roast from the killed deer first. And Rahul and Razvan decided to refresh themselves in the nearby river.
Rahul usually went to wash separately from the team, for him bathing meant me time, when he could clear his head a little. If one of the other Athamanas had said that he wanted to go with him when he was already halfway to the river, he would have said no, but since he knew that Razvan couldn't 'see' him anyway, he agreed to bathing at the same time.
At the riverbank, he took off his outer clothes, leaving only his knee-length pants as underwear, before entering the water. As always, Rahul shivered when the cold water surrounded him, but it was good to wash off the dust of the forest and the last few days. He always felt much better after such a bath, and this time was no different. He hadn't finished yet, but he was already feeling the effects.
He had almost forgotten that he was not alone at the river. However, when he remembered that he now had company, he immediately turned to the other boy. Razvan was already in the water up to his waist and was washing his face. Rahul noticed that the boy hadn't taken off his headband even now, though his hair was held back by an other ribbon at the back of his head. Rahul involuntarily looked Razvan up, to his surprise the boy was much more muscular than he expected. Under his ordinary clothes, it was almost lost how well-trained the Zaukán boy was. "Everything okay?" Rahul's eyes widened when he heard Razvan's voice and saw that he was looking at him. "Yes, of course. I just got a little distracted." Rahul snapped and turned his back to the leader of the Athamanas. That way he couldn't see that the boy's eyes widened when he saw the chüvigh boy's back. However, thanks to this little interlude, Rahul finished washing twice as fast as usual and after telling the Tapló boss that he was done, he went back to the camp grumbling to himself. "I don't know what you're trying to do, you idiot! We still don't understand anything from your scribbles." Rahul heard Benkó's voice when he got back. The group gathered around Achilleus, who was drawing something on the ground with a wooden stick, not far from the soup simmering on the campfire. "Leave it alone, Benkó. When the boss comes back, he'll look at it and explain what it's all about." Suk waved, and Rahul raised one eyebrow. "Well, he won't see much of it." Rahul remarked, walking over to the group so he could look at the drawing too. "Why wouldn't he see it, he's not blind." Citar snorted. "But aren't all Zaukáns blind?" Rahul raised his head and looked at his friend, who was still holding his chin and looking at the drawing on the ground. "Most Zaukáns are, but the boss is an exception." Citar waved, then suddenly turned to Rahul, whose mouth remained open and whose eyes had grown to twice their size. "Rahul..." At this everyone turned to the chüvigh boy. "I thought you knew he could see." Citar grunted, but Rahul just straightened up and silently walked towards the forest. "What is this..." Razvan returned at that moment. However, Rahul didn't even wait for him to finish his sentence before punching him in the nose. "That's because you lied! I went to clear my head, if you really need me, send Grandpa after me." He announced and stomped out of the clearing. "What did I do?" Razvan asked, holding his nose. "Rahul didn't know you could see." Etele appeared next to him, and with his statement he managed to make Razvan let go of his nose and, closing his eyes, run one hand through his hair. "Fuck me!"