The next four days of work at the dump brought in slim finds. The excessive amount I scavenged the first day would sustain us for a while but only if Enyo managed to sell the trinkets at the market. I did succeed to kill a scrawny, mangy but vicious fox that attacked me on my second day at the dump site. I was convinced I’d killed a dog until Bodil negated my assessment. She assured me that the animal I’d killed was a fox. That secured food for a few days for us women. I kept the tail in my personal stash. I’d never seen such a bushy appendage before and I was intrigued.
Jolon did not return to the dump for days and I began to worry that perhaps he had reported me and then decided to keep his distance. On the fifth day I finally saw him but he was working far from me, the guard having assigned him to a distant quadrant. There was no way I could speak to him during my shift. As soon as I spotted him I began to search the general area for a suitable weapon to kill him with. I found a piece of splintered wood and tucked it in at my waist. I would have to wait until he was done working and leaving the refuse site.
Bodil and I had decided to arrive at the dump at different times and so avoid any more suspicion. We were typically assigned different sections anyway and so had no interaction during the day. I worked best on my own regardless.
Keeping an eye on Jolon while I worked, mid-afternoon I noticed him heading to the gate to leave. Gathering up the valuables I’d found, I stuffed them into my bag and followed him. I waited for Jolon to exit and head toward the residential area before picking up my pace. Trailing him, I decided not to speak to him until we entered the streets of the city where the buildings could conceal us.
When Jolon reached the squalid living quarters that rose three stories high around the narrow street, I picked up my pace and called to him.
He turned immediately, smiled and pointed to an alleyway. Once safely out of sight, he faced me and asked, “So, you’re ready to deal?”
“Yes I am. Tell me what you know. I need names.”
He listed off name after name of those who’d committed infractions of some sort or the other. My memory was good. I knew I’d recall them easily.
I said, “Casimer suspects there may be an insurrection being planned. Do you know of anyone who might be involved? Have you heard any chatter?”
His shocked look, which he recovered from quickly, made me wonder. “No. I’ve heard nothing of the sort.”
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“Have you heard of any whispers of uprising, revolution, that sort of thing?”
“No.”
The look in his eyes told me otherwise. He stared without blinking and his body seemed too tightly wound. I wondered if he’d himself joined in the cause of the revolt. But I didn’t trust him. He was too willing to hand over his own people to Casimer’s cruelty. Perhaps he only did so to ensure his own survival. He was hoping I’d pay him for the information he’d shared, money that would keep him from starving, but still, I didn’t trust him.
“I don’t believe you,” I said, glaring at him. “I could have you arrested, tortured and questioned, get the information out of you one way or the other. Let me assure you, you won’t enjoy the process.”
He raised his voice and said, “I told you, I don’t know anything about a revolt.”
“And another reason I think you’re lying. You’re raising your voice.” I fingered the piece of splintered wood at my waist and prepared to kill him.
His eyes followed my movements and he clearly knew what was about to happen. Raising both hands, he boldly, “All right, I do know about a revolt but I will not tell a single name of even one person involved. Take me to one of the killing centers now and kill me if you must but I will not talk. Torture me but I will go to my grave in silence.”
I stared at him in surprise. Jolon was no coward.
“Keep your voice down,” I said, grabbing his arm and leading him to a spot farther down the alley, behind a pile of crates and trash, a place that was even more secluded. I forced him to face me and said, “Tell me the truth, are there many in this revolution in these parts.”
His forehead creased in confusion. “You are part of it?”
“Yes.”
“But, how? Who are you and where are you from? You’re clearly not from this neighborhood.”
“I came from another farrin.”
Shock filled his face. “Which farrin?”
I ignored him and asked, “Why did you expose all those people to me when you believed I worked for Casimer? Why expose your own people to torture or death?”
“They are all informers. They squeal on the populace and send many to a premature grave. They would hand over those in the revolution in a heartbeat. None of them can be trusted and don’t deserve to live.”
“And as a Casimer spy, don’t you think I would know that?”
“I hoped you wouldn’t and would just clean up the riffraff without question.”
“You are young and stupid.”
“But I’m no coward.”
I had to agree with that.
Jolon asked, “Are you the one?”
“What are you talking about?”
“The one that is supposed to come and unite us all?”
I stared at him in confusion. I had never heard something so outlandish before.
He continued. “My father began to dream two years ago. As you know, no one dreams, not ever. When his dreams started he was shocked and shared them only with me at first. They began with dreams of Mowae. But there was another name he goes by, one that is strange to us.”
“Towsaj. Mowae is also knows as Towsaj.”
“How do you know this?”
“This is what Tarman Farrin calls him.”
“So the tales are true?” he asked, his eyes as wide as saucers. “He resides on Tarman Farrin?”
“Yes.”
“How did you learn this?”
“I know one who traveled there.”
“No!” He looked undone by the information. “Did they return home? Did this one survive?”
I nodded. “Tell me, what other dreams has your father had.”
Getting over his shock, Jolon swallowed hard and with a quaver in his voice said, “One consistent dream he began to have is about a woman who was to come. She was a warrior, strong and brave, and she would gather the remnant together, unite us as one and lead us to victory.”
“Where is your father?”
“Our small place is not far from here. I can take you to him.”
“No, not now. But tell me, how many are willing to join the revolt?”
In hushed tones, he said, “We know of forty to fifty in this general vicinity that are willing to fight against Casimer’s rule.”
“Is there a safe place where we can gather?”
“Let me ask my father and I will get back to you. He may know of a secure location where we would not be found out.”
“When and where will you give me this information?”
Jolon thought for a minute and gave me directions to a spot where he’d relay the information, in a burned out building not far from where we stood. The location would be a bit of a trek for me but I was okay with that, the farther from my place of residence the better.
“Bring your father when we meet so I know you’re not lying.”
“Absolutely. He will be there. He would not miss meeting the one he’s been dreaming about for so long.”
“All right, tomorrow night when the sun sets I will meet you there.”
I sent Jolon off first before leaving the alleyway. I felt undone by what I’d learned. How could I be the one to unite the people? What if it was all a trap? As I left the tight space between the two buildings, anxiety pulled at me as I scanned the streets for trouble and for a possible ambush. Taking a convoluted path home, I made sure I would throw any plot of betrayal off my track. When I arrived in my neighborhood, I waited a block away in a waste cluttered alley until the sun began to set before I walked home and slipped through the back entrance of the building.
That evening, after our meal, I spoke with Akiko, Enyo and Bodil about my encounter with Jolon.
“He’s part of the revolution?” Bodil asked in shock. “So you didn’t kill him?”
“He’s very alive.”
“We are taking a great risk,” Akiko said.
“Or, perhaps Tarman Farrin orchestrated my meeting with Jolon.”
Silence stretched for a moment.
Enyo finally said, “Do you really believe that Tarman is that involved here on Dwarkaa? Wouldn’t the Tonrar sense them in the air and retaliate?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “It seems that so far Cassimer, his guards, employees and goons don’t know what’s happening right under their noses.”
“Mowae help us when they do figure it out,” Bodil said.
“I believe it’s time we call him by his proper name,” I said.
“And what is that?” asked Bodil.
“Towsaj, the name he goes by on Tarman Farrin.”
“Towsaj,” Bodil said thoughtfully. “I’ve never heard of it before.
“He is the one who sees and judges.”
“Let’s hope Towsaj judges Casimer before his goons learn of us and bring Dwarkaa’s judgment down on us,” Enyo declared.
I said, “Each one of us knew the danger in getting involved in this revolution. No one has ever attempted to defy Casimer or Dwarkaa’s rule before. Not only is there danger from Casimer’s regime, we also have the Tonrar against us and the many informers willing to hand over their own people. There is no way of knowing whether this movement will be successful or crushed in its infancy.”
“I’d say we’re past the revolution’s infancy,” Enyo said. “You two are here in the flesh on Dwarkaa Farrin, and Casimer is none the wiser. That is astounding. No one has ever accomplished this type of feat before.”
Bodil nodded. “Yes, I agree. We are no longer in the movement’s infancy.”
I leaned forward and asked, “Do either of you know of others in the vicinity that are siding with the revolution?”
Bodil and Enyo both shook their heads. Bodil said, “I’ve often thought of asking questions, throwing out hints to those I suspected were part of it but I held myself back. The risk of being discovered and betrayed was too great.”
“I just wonder how Jolon and his father have come by this information so easily.”
Akiko said, “Do you suspect it’s all a trap?”
“I don’t know. I don’t trust anyone at this point. There’s too much threat of exposure.”
Bodil said, “I believe we have no other choice but to trust Jolon. You meeting him in the first place seems efficacious. I’ve never heard of something so extraordinary.”
Akiko said, “That’s true. Perhaps Tarman is involved and making sure we systematically meet who we need to meet to advance this cause.”
I nodded. “But it could also easily expose us, especially if Jolon has ulterior motives. We must move cautiously and not let our guard down. His bravery and stupidity could cost us any advantage.”
Enyo added, “We need a sign among us, something that only those sympathetic to our cause would know, something to unite us and bring a measure of safety.”
“Like what?” Akiko asked.
Enyo said, “Perhaps a hand signal, a tug of the ear, a colored piece of twine attached on our clothing or any number of other things.”
“Yes,” said Bodil. “And, as a safeguard, we could change it every few weeks to throw off any one who would happen to learn our signal and be tempted to betray us.”
“I like the idea but we have time to discus this later,” I said. “Now, who will accompany me to the meeting with Jolon and his father tomorrow night? I want an extra pair of eyes to monitor any foul play.”
Akiko said, “I will go.”
Bodil said, “No. You don’t know the streets like Enyo and I do. I will go with Viveka.”
We all agreed and, exhausted from the day’s events, I stood and went to the door. Akiko followed me and we left for our own room down the hall. Akiko had secured water for our living quarters earlier in the day so we were set. Apparently no one in their right mind would wander the streets at night, especially to the well to get water. Dwarkaa has a strict curfew; no one is allowed outside after dark. The Tonrar are more active when the sun sets and any lone souls could be accosted and abused, sometimes killed.
Worry assaulted my mind as I thought through the strategy of tomorrow night’s meeting and heading to the assigned spot in the dark. We would be taking a chance going out at night but it seemed the best option and the least dangerous. There would be fewer eyes around watching us. Most people would be safely indoors and settled down. If anything would go wrong, I realized that this could be my last night on Dwarkaa Farrin.
