Web of Deceit

Chapter 1
The Village

Rejji gazed up at the sun's first glint, as the top of the huge orb rose just high enough in the sky to crest the tall cliff surrounding him. He knew it was time to get his belongings together and head back to the village. He was excited as he surveyed the small pile of petrified shark's teeth he had gathered this morning. Most people would not even stoop to pick up one of these fossils, which by some strange quirk of nature were only found on this small sliver of beach surrounded by tall cliffs. Rejji, however, had discovered the delight the traveling merchant had shown when he first saw them. Since that day several years ago, Rejji had spent every morning on the little sliver of beach gathering every tooth he could find. Brontos, the traveling merchant, would buy every one of them from Rejji and the boy used the money to buy items the villagers needed. The merchant only came twice a year and tonight he would be arriving.

The village Rejji lived in with his grandfather was very small and barely had enough to survive, so the teeth Rejji gathered was the only commodity the villagers had to bargain with. Still, Rejji never considered the fossils as his property, but something that was shared by the entire village, so the villagers all had a say in how the money was spent. Mostly the villagers voted to try different types of seeds in a search for some crop that would grow in the poor Fakaran soil, but nothing much ever grew. Mostly the village subsisted on a small flock of scrawny clova, a few chickens and the small fish that could be caught by string from the top of the cliffs. Even with such meager offerings, the bandits came once a year and demanded a tenth of what the village had. Soon the village would have nothing at all.

Rejji thought about what the villagers had decided to purchase and his face broke into a broad grin. He knew that the villagers didn't really believe in his plan, but had voted for it because Rejji brought it up every time there was a vote. Still, he was very excited. Tomorrow after the merchant had had a good sleep, Rejji would order what he needed to make a small boat, including oarlocks, canvas for sails, nails and lead. When the merchant returned in six months, Rejji would build a boat and cast for larger fish offshore, which he hoped would feed the villagers and escape the tribute they had to pay each year.
If only there were some other young people in the village, Rejji thought as he dove into the surf to cool off before getting dressed and climbing the cliff to go home, he would have help with his project. There were no other young people though, as the village kept shrinking every year. The few young males who had lived in the village had joined up with the bandits, which seemed to be the only way to survive in Fakara. Rejji pondered whom the bandits would steal from when everyone became a bandit. Probably each other, he surmised, as he emerged from the surf and shook the water out of his hair.

Rejji took off his fingerless gloves and squeezed them dry as he strode over to the cliff and retrieved his clothes. Rejji dressed and put his gloves back on and glanced up at the sun again as it grew larger over the top of the cliff. A puzzled frown etched into his face as he saw the clouds of smoke wafting over the top of the cliff. The landscape around the village offered very little that would burn, mostly small brush. The only real source of any amount of wood was the village itself.