Chronicles of Akhani - 15 - A Good Doiketian
Iosodoros and Kodomi had spent two days looking for a single salvageable bottle or barrel within their cellars. Bottle after bottle was uncorked, but each was too viscous to drink. Iosodoros’s heart sank as he walked over to the barrels. Having been born and raised the son of a cooper, it had been his life’s dream to not only make barrels, but to fill them. He stretched out his hand and softly laid it upon the first barrel and turned to his wife.
“I can’t do it; I’m too attached,” he said casting his eyes to the ground. “This is not just my life’s work, but my father’s. If these barrels are ruined, so am I.”
Kodomi’s soft, loving eyes did all the acknowledgment that was required. As Kodomi began to wrap her arms around her distressed husband, they heard footsteps coming from the barn above.
“Who could that be?” Iosodoros cautiously asked while they stared at each other intently. “Stay here, I’ll go find out.”
As Iosodoros’s hand gripped the ladder, a familiar voice rang out from above, “Come out you dirty Doiketian! You better not have dried up the lands again, you scoundrel! You should know by now that no matter how much water you use, your body odor will still remain!”
In a flash, Iosodoros flew up the ladder to the barn floor above. All his previous dismay melted like wax before the fire as he met his unexpected guest. His spry gymnastics earned him new comments from his guest as well.
“Look at you! Who would have imagined an old, worn out, washed up Doiketion like you could make it up such a ladder, let alone in a single jump straight from the floor to the top rung!” Akhani exclaimed with eyes beaming and his hands wildly gesticulating.
“Bugger off, but I guess that would be too fitting for an insect such as yourself!” Iosodoros retorted in kind.
“Hey, now! You Doiketians refer to us as lizards, not insects. Don’t be mixing up your slurs on me or I may have to check you for senility,” Akhani replied in a wry voice.
Iosodoros turned his attention quickly to the unknown companion of his friend. “Who is the Syverenian? I didn’t know that you associated with the likes of them. They’re worse than you lizards, you know,” Iosodoros quipped while winking at the young woman.
“She is no Syverenian. Look, she wears the token of a Xotokian warrior proudly!” Akhani exclaimed motioning for Zhorovna to display her dragon fang.
Zhorovna, in turn, blushed and stood dumb as she pulled the fang out for display.
“For being a mighty warrior, she sure is shy!” Iosodoros jested.
“Yes, and for being naturally blue-tinged she sure is red, too,” Akhani laughed, which only made Zhorovnas face all the brighter.
Squirming with embarrassment, Zhorovna finally mustered the will to speak and quietly said, “I’m Zhorovna.”
“Speak up, girl! Or else I will fail to believe any of the stories of your people!” Iosodoros exclaimed while giving a friendly slap to Zhorovna’s arm.
“Ioso! Akhani! Mind your manners! That’s no way to speak to a young lady,” Kodomi scolded as she made her way out of the cellar entrance on the floor. “Now, my dear, come with me. Let’s get you away from these brutish fools. They’ll continue abusing you endlessly if you allow them.” Kodomi shot a glare and shook her head at her husband as she took Zhorovna by the hand and guided her to the area they used as a kitchen.
After Iosodoros and Akhani shared a good belly laugh over the reaction, Iosodoros turned to his unlikely friend and asked, “What brings you here? Has the desert heat gotten too much even for a lizard like you?”
“I’m afraid that strange things seem to be happening. I keep acting impulsively against my will, having strange dreams, and now it appears that I am a target of the Doiketians once again,” explained Akhani in a serious tone that broke the previous jovial nature of the conversation.
Iosodoros face returned to the troubled look that it had born for the past two days. His brows furrowed with concern and he let out a deep sigh before speaking, “Strange things are happening here as well. A blight has fallen upon our humble vineyard and every last drop of our wine has been ruined. Look,” Iosodoros gestured towards the wine bottles and continued talking as he guided Akhani to them. “Every vintage is like this. Look how viscous it has become. It oozes out of the bottles so slowly that these bottles will never be cleaned. It is my fear that all of my barrels are in the same boat.”
A glum expression washed over Akhani as the realization of his friend’s situation hit him.
“What will you do? Do you have any means to continue here?” panic was clearly audible in Akhani’s voice as he uttered these words.
The old man answered in a calm voice of resignation, “What can we do? We’ve lost everything.
“Go. Look at our vines. Barely any blossoms turned to fruit, and those that did rotted before they ripened. But, that is not the worst of it. The rot was not constrained to the fruit. No. It spread through the entire vine, all the way down to the roots.
“When I saw this, I said to myself, ‘Maybe if I cut them and plant new vines things will be well.’ And so I did cut some, but a dark red ooze, like thick blood, seeped from their stumps and soaked into the ground. But that, my friend, was not the end of it.
“When I returned to the first vine that I had cut, I found that even the grass and clover that had been growing around it had withered and died. Not only that, but they had rotted. A putrid smell surrounds my vines now. The earth itself is rotting. And, I day say, Achinos itself might be rotting.”
After Iosodoros had finished speaking, he looked over to his wife and Zhorovna. He took in all the movements of the two. Every subtle aspect of the conversation was noticed. Zhorovna, who had appeared so shy and unsure of herself also had a way about her that exuded strength and confidence. Everything that she did, he noticed, she did as though it was something she had done all of her life. Not one falter was made while helping Kodomi. Suddenly he became aware of something. Something that amused him.
“What is the nature of your relationship?” Iosodoros asked in a way that only a person who has lived by the land can ask.
“She has told me that I am her master because of the will of the gods, but I do not know these gods. I saved her from certain death in the desert and she, likewise, has saved me at least once herself,” answered Akhani wondering why the topic had come up.
The old man nodded, smiled to himself for a brief moment, and then gestured for Akhani to follow him. Iosodoros lead Akhani to one of the empty stables within the barn. It was apparent that it had not been used for quite a while, and was perfectly clean. No straw, mud, or other expected furnishings were present. Akhani understood the meaning, and began to unload his pack into the area. He stopped and looked at Iosodoros as he laid his bedding upon the ground.
“Why did you ask that question?”
“It is better left unsaid, and for you to figure out yourself,” Iosodoros answered with a smile. As he left Akhani to his chores, Iosodoros composed himself before going and meeting his wife.
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