The New World (The Last Delar) by Matthew Cousineau Page B

has uncovered.  Nothing could have prepared Ven for this.  On the ground is the decayed corpse of a foreign soldier.  All that is left of the warrior is a skull and a few scattered bones, but there’s more: Although his body has long become dirt, his armor is still intact along with a broken sword and helmet.  They are all worn by weather and time, but they are weapons of war all the same.
    "Quick! Grab the shield and the helmet.  I'll get the sword," says Taeau.  They pick up everything and run back to the gate.  Ven and Taeau crawl through the crack and into the city.  They both are breathing heavily and lay down their treasure too inspect it.  The helmet, made by a foreign blacksmith, is simple, with a few roughly carved symbols.  The shield is rusted and filled with many small holes made by burrowing insects.  The sword is cracked and broken, but is the perfect size for a youngling.  Ven starts to circle the found treasure with desire in his eyes.
    "Who gets what?" asks Ven.
    "Well . . . I was thinking I should get the sword and the helmet."
    "No, you do not get both the sword and the helmet! I get the helmet and the shield, and you get the sword."
    Taeau looks it all over and agrees.  "Fine, let's get the treasure to the fort."
    "Agreed."
    They both pick up their treasure and run toward the unspeakable, with Carn barking at their sides.  They reach the fort and crawl inside.  Their fort is a large mound of earth that has been hollowed out by some forest creature.  The two cousins came across their fortress during one of their adventures, and they dug further into the mound, making it larger.  They also made a gate at the entrance like the one to enter the city.  They even figured out how to create light by harvesting forest mushrooms that glow from a nearby stream.
    "Ok, we will store everything here and tell no one about it," declares Taeau.  "Finally we have something to defend ourselves against our enemies,"
    "What does that mean, Taeau? We can't use this stuff on them, or let anyone catch us using it," says Ven with a stern look on his face.  He takes a cautious step away from his cousin and looks at the sword in his hand.
    "I know, I know.  If our enemy ever attacks us at our fortress, we will use the treasure only to scare them off, and then we will just deny we have it.  I mean, who will believe them over us?"
    Ven does not like the idea.  His father is too intimidating, and he fears him too much to lie.  Ven does like the new helmet, though.  It makes him feel like his father, who wears the helmet of the city each day.
    "Tomorrow can you sneak out and meet me here? There is so much to do, and I have to get home before mom goes crazy," Taeau says, putting his hand on his cousin's shoulder.
    "Yeah, sure, I will see you here tomorrow.  Let's go." With this, they both leave the fort and start home.  When they get to the crossroads that leads to each of their homes, they wave goodbye and run off in different directions.  When Ven arrives home, his father is already there, sitting at the table and talking to Ven's mother.  Ven's sister hangs onto her father's back, and his younger brother watches from his mother's pouch.
    "What are you doing home so early?" Ven asks his father curiously.
    "I will be in and out all night as well as tomorrow.  Come to the table and sit down.  So where have you been all night? Out with your cousin at that unspeakable place again?" Ven senses that his father is only playing nice while baiting him for information, so he answers the question vaguely.
    "Yes, well, we were all over the place tonight, is that okay with you?"
    Ven's mother lowers her head in an unbelieving look.  She puts her hand on Black Claw's hand and gives him a look before leaving them alone.  "Come on, Whispers," she says, "I think it is time for us to get dinner ready."
    Now Black Claw and Ven sit alone, and Ven can feel his father's glare. "Look, son, you are getting older . . . so I am