Chapter 111: Canyon

Alan was board yet again. The rest of their journey was nothing but walk, walk, walk. There wasn't a single time that they had to fight. No bandits tried to rob them; no hungry wild animals were coming after them; in fact, they hadn't even seen anything dangerous during the entire trip to the Sun People. All this was very infuriating for Alan and he wished this trip would be over with already.

The closest known villages of the Sun People were in a place once known as Canyonlands National Park, Utah. The largest gathering of these unusual people from this area was at the junction of the Green and Colorado Rivers. The river merchants that came to trade at The Damn said that the place was called Shadow of the Sky Island. Which in hindsight was a bit redundant since it actually was in reality south of Island in the Sky Park.

In any case the entire trip was going to take four days and tomorrow they would arrive there. The route they had taken was along the Colorado River with the muddy water on their left and the canyon cliff wall on the right. They did have an old road to follow for the first day of travel, but it ended at several long-abandoned Potash evaporation ponds. Meaning the rest of the journey would be along the uneven rivers bank side.

The views from the riverbank were extremely rugged, barren, and beautiful. The rocky multiple layered cliff walls of various colors ranging from tan, red, grey and black created a myriad of amazing formations. These imposing rock cliffs were paired with the bright blue endless sky added to the wild, open vastness of this lonely landscape. Scattered along the river’s edge were ragged small, leafed bushes, twiggy underbrush, and yellowing tan grasses. Hidden among them were boulders and river worn, smooth rocks that made traveling a rather zigzagging affair.

If they traveled too close to the river water’s edge they would be met with red clay and silty mud. The soaked soils would grab onto their shoes and feet making it very difficult to proceed. This kept them closer to the center of the cliffs and river. Occasionally a lone hawk would pass by overhead or as they rounded a bend in their path a coyote would run away startled by their sudden appearance.

Yet, if they traveled to close to the cliffs the loose shale and rocks made traveling very dangerous and opened up the opportunity for ankles to be twisted or rolled. This, however, was unavoidable at times where the river and cliffs narrowed dramatically. At these moments they were subjected to crawl vertically parallel on all fours to continue on. It was a shame that they had no way to utilize the river to travel on. They had boats but none at the time were available to use for the journey.

The lengthening of the sun’s rays was definitely showing signs of summers approaching. However, its heat was only oppressive during the late morning and early afternoon hours on this trip. The cliffs on either side of the murky brown river provided temporary shade and made the journey less overbearing. Additionally, they didn't need to worry about drinking water as the river proved enough to sustain them. It was food that was the most difficult to obtain.

If they wanted to eat, they would have to search the sparse, but thickly grown foliage for rabbits or ground birds like Rails, Pheasant, Grouse and Quail. If they wanted fish it would be too time consuming to stop and go fishing for them. The provisions that they had brought with them, however, would have been enough for the journey there, but not back to The Damn. They would have to get some from the Sun People or find food along the way back.

As they traveled Alan had always kept a suspicious eye on the two cloaked men lingering at the back of the group. Still the entire time both Wind Talker and Ashen One kept their hoods on and kept themselves hidden well. It seemed as if those hoods were glued on and this annoyed Alan. He had considered trying to "accidentally" pull on off to see what they looked like but thought it too risky. He was sure that sooner or later they would review themselves.

"According to the map, we have to go around that right veering bend up ahead and then we can see the first signs of the Sun People's village." Hemlock called out from the head of the traveling group with a paper map in hand. "Shouldn't take any less than half an hour."

"Finally, my feet are aching from walking on all this slippery rock." One of the Skull men replied.

"Ya, and all these bushes have been scratching my shins up so badly. I should have had on long pants." Another Skull member said chiming in.

"Ah, save it you lot!" Alan shouted. "You don't want the Sun People thinking we are a bunch of pushover pansies. Now do we?"

"No boss." Several of the men replied halfheartedly.

"Good. Now let's keep going and try to look impressive. First impressions are always important, even if they are a bunch of crazy people." Alan called out.

The Skull group trudged on, though slightly weary. The last few hundred meters felt like forever, but the journey was worth it. They arrived safely at the Sun People's village.

It was quite the sight to behold. Three peninsula shaped landmasses were naturally carved out by the two merging rivers forming canyon walls that were over four hundred meters high. The canyon walls were colored a lighter tan and sun-bleached rock near the base and waters. The topmost half of the canyon were rose pink and sandstone colored. The only vegetation growing here could be found on the skinny and steep riverbanks. In these rock walls were hundreds of manmade holes and caves.

The northernmost peninsula appeared to look like Swiss cheese as each hole had been burrowed by human hands into it. The holes stretched from the Colorado Rivers side towards the Green river side that snaked its way into the Colorado River from the north west. This was the side that the Skull group would be able to reach by land. The other two peninsulas were cut off from them by the two rivers.

The south western shore peninsula was thinner than the northern one but had just as many holes and caves. This peninsula appeared to have the most docks and boat ramps connected to it as well. Smaller dinghies and canoes were scattered all around the rivers. Some catching fish, while others carried goods to larger ship that couldn't dock close to the shallow shores. They could see these ships were from shipping companies from the far south according to the ID numbers painted on their sides. Though for a backwards people they too still had needs from the outside world.

The eastern peninsula was the thickest of the three. There were no see-through holes in this peninsula, only five massive cave entrances and dozens of smaller ones. This was likely where the main portion of the Sun People lived. It was especially apparent seeing the large amount of smoke billowing out from four of the five massive cave entrances. It looked like instead of a canyon cliff that there was some giant earth dragon slumbering in the ground.

The most amazing thing that was about this place was not the canyons, caves, docks or rivers; but it was the hundreds of wooden and rope bridges that interconnected all three peninsulas. They appeared to look like some giant spider had woven the area together with bridges and now the people had taken the place over. On these rope bridges the Sun People had hung their animal pelts, flags, clothing, and even various foods to out in the sun to dehydrate. Hundreds of people were always crisscrossing the bridges at any given moment.

No one could have ever guessed that this desolate area would have so much human life. Seeing it the Skull couldn't help but gawk at the scenery. It wasn't until Ashen One loudly clapped his hands together that they finally woke from their awe.

"We must be getting on our way. No need for us to stare at what we will soon be walking along." Then he and Wind Talker moved on to the front of the group as if they were now leading the way. This too also made Alan feel slightly annoyed. It wouldn't hurt to look at this place for a little longer.

In no time the Skull group was noticed by the Sun People patrols and quickly surrounded by them on both river and along the cliffs. The Sun People were all clothed in very strange attire, men and women alike. Some wore nothing but animal loincloth, while others had tied animal bones onto their bodies to create a replica of their own internal bones. Still, some wore normal looking clothing like pants, bras, hats and one man was seen wearing a wedding suite jacket. None of what they wore, however, was clean. They all had lathered on clay and mud onto their bodies, which blended them into their cliff surroundings making a natural camouflage.

The Skull group had shown no signs of fear or aggression, but firmly stood their ground. Even as the Sun People inched forward brandishing their spears, crossbows and modern firearms. Their number was twice the Skulls.

Then one of the Sun People warring a Bison skull on his head stepped forward to speak. "Who are you and why have you come? Only those traveling by boat are normally welcomed without suspicion."

Alan calmly stepped forward to casually speak. "We are of the Skull. Those that rule over The Damn town beyond Moab City. We have come here by the command of Lady Cassandra to speak with your leaders about a prophecy that she has divined."

Hearing the name of Lady Cassandra sent whispers throughout the Sun People. Clearly her name was not unknown to them. This was hopefully a good sign.

The Bison skull man nodded. "If that which you say is true then come peacefully with us. We will consult the shaman to see if this be the case."

"We shall come peacefully. We have no intention of causing trouble." Alan replied visibly relaxing. The rest of the Skull group did the same and removed their hands from their weapons.

"Very good. Follow me." The Bison skull man said turning to go. The rest of the Sun People also lowered their weapons but stayed alert and ready.

"Now, how am I going to explain to them that we need to go fight with us. This is going to be a rather interesting ordeal." Alan thought to himself as they followed the strangely dressed man.

**This is a real place where the rivers meet and if the description of the area was hard to picture, you can look up the coordinates in Google Earth: 38° 11’ 37.77” N and 109° 53’ 20.81” W to see exactly what the area looks like. It’s very neat!**