The Story of Samo-Chapter Two, Part Six
Samo trudged down the hall with a touch less enthusiasm than he had barely a few minutes earlier. He had known something big was going to be discovered, and he was not disappointed in that. But this, Sarenti Dacule faking his own death and living at least another seven years? The city would riot. The fools out there didn’t realize what Dacule had done for them. The hospitals and medicines that they had were because of his movement. Lora, the surgeon’s apprentice, was one of the most vibrant haters against Dacule and the Inventors, but his own profession was brought about by them, drawn out of apothecary arts and alchemy. All they saw was the decades old propaganda, the lies, and that one little incident where he nearly destroyed the city. Qatarans had a bad way of not forgiving people.
As he stalked the corridor, something fast and pointed struck him in the side of the head. He bellowed and dropped to the floor, placing his left hand on the floor for support as a third leg and clutching his temple with his right hand. He looked at his hand to see blood, but found none. He brushed his temple and checked again. Still nothing. As he was still trying to discover where he was bleeding, two children ran up to him. The older boy looked to be about twelve years old, while the younger was perhaps ten. It was either that or he was just short.
The taller boy said, “Are you all right?”
“Did you see it?” Samo asked. “Did you see the guy that attacked me? He tried to kill me! Where’s the dart he used? Where is it?”
The short boy bent over and picked up a folded piece of paper that was lying on the ground. He held it out with both hands and said, in a shaky voice, “I’m sorry.”
“That’s it? What kind of numbskull would try to kill a person with paper? I mean, a paper cut on an artery could do it, or a poisoned paper cut, but that?”
The taller boy answered, “We weren’t trying to kill you.”
Samo looked at him. On his hands and feet, he scurried back away from them. Putting his back to the wall, he said, “You threw that?”
The boys nodded. The tall boy said, “Are you a student here?”
“Yeah.” Samo chuckled and sat down on the floor. He said, “My name’s Samo Diarcha, I am, or was, the engineer Gianan’s apprentice.”
Shuffling his feet, the shorter boy said, “Sorry.”
“For what?” Samo asked. “For hitting me in the head with paper or for what happened to my master?”
“For both.” He held the folded paper behind his back and started to back away.
Samo held his hand out. “Wait,” he said. “I’m not mad at you. I am curious about something, though.” He waited for the boys to ask what it was. When they did not, he said, “How did you get that paper to hit me like that. It was going pretty fast.”
The older boy smiled and grabbed it from his friend’s hand. He brought it forward and showed Samo a triangular form that seemed to have a handle on the bottom. He said, “I call it a paper bird.”
Samo took the ‘paper bird’ and ran his finger along the top triangle. He evened out the now-bent tip and said, “It doesn’t look much like a bird to me. It looks more like an astrolabe.”
“Astrolabes don’t fly.”
Looking at the boy, Samo said, “You mean this is supposed to fly? Are these the wings?” He pointed to the triangle on top.
“Uh huh,” the boy said. He was getting excited about his invention, if it truly was his own. He said, “I’ve been watching them and trying to figure out how to fly.”
“Really? What’s your name?”
The shorter boy tugged on his friend’s arm and whispered something to him. The tall boy made a calming gesture and said, “It’s all right. He’s a student.” Turning to Samo, he answered, “I’m Cemas Tul, and this is my cousin Yufas Tul.”
Samo held out his hand for the boys to shake it and said, “Nice to meet you. Where are you supposed to be right now?”
Both boys looked at each other nervously and muttered anxious noises. Samo laughed and said, “Looks like I caught a couple of truants.” Standing, he said, “Let’s get you back to where you belong. It would be easier on you if we got it over with now.”
Nodding, Cemas and Yufas began walking with him, with Yufas on the opposite side of Cemas. Cemas said to Samo, “Don’t mind Yufas. He’s just shy around strangers.”
“It’s all right,” Samo answered. “It’s a healthy thing to be.” He grinned at Yufas, who gave a weak smile in response.
Tales of the Inventor's War 