Riverworld, Day 44, Afternoon

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Louis laid Shaka's body out as best he could in the cramped space of
the "iron mine."  He slumped against the wall, and slid to the floor,
dirt scraping its way up his spine.  It hurt but it felt good,
comforting.  He sighed, exasperated.

What a terrible, odd existence this is, Louis mused.  If I believed in
Hell, this place would surely fit the mold.

Sly sneered at Louis.  "Stuck in here with you eh mate? No wonder 'e
checked out.  I'm next 'en." 

He began slamming his head into the wall of the pit. Louis grabbed him
to stop him, but Sly flung himself harder, and dropped to the ground,
unconscious. Louis felt the man's pulse. Still alive.

The commotion attracted the Zulu above, and soon Pala's face frowned
down upon them. When he saw the bodies of Shaka and Sly, he smiled and
nodded approvingly. He pointed to Louis and spoke for a while. He
brought over another Zulu, to whom he gave a spear. The other Zulu
saluted Pala with the spear, and knelt before him. Then Pala held out
the spear toward Louis in the same fashion, and looked at him
inquiringly.

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Benjamin was only dumbfounded for a moment.  "Shaka dead?  But who
will be the Black King?" 

"Shaka can still be the chess king," Ehrich replied. "He's just going
to wake up naked next to a grailstone somewhere.  For all we know, we
may see him first thing tomorrow morning.  After all, weren't a big
lot of you resurrected all together in an unusual location?  If so,
those pulling our puppet strings may deem it amusing to keep Shaka in
the game and control what grailstone he wakes up at."

Benjamin nodded.  "Yes, of course.  After four and eighty Years in
which Death overshadowed everything by its Permanence, I fear it will
take me more than four and forty Days to learn that it no longer does,
or is."

"However," Freud said, "there seem to be puppeteers arrayed against us
as well as with us."

Benjamin turned to Charles.  "Are they sure all of Shaka's Companions
are dead as well?  Perhaps some are merely wounded, or captured, and
in need of our Assistance.  Ask them if they know how Shaka learned of
the location of the Forge, if you would."

Slightly frustrated at having to rely on someone else for translation,
Benjamin determined to learn some Zulu as well at the next
opportunity.

"Yes," Shaw added, "and we should also find out what has happened to
the scythe, and take it back if possible. We should send one or two
people to spy on these Celts and see what kind of opposition we would
face once we have learned all we can from these two." He indicated the
Zulu.

Josephine signaled Shaw with her eyes, and pulled him aside to
whisper.

"If Shaka knew where the Scythe was made, would he have sent so many
men to await us?  I think perhaps we should be wary."

She reached out and touched Shaw's arm softly, smiling at him.

Charles faced the Zulu and spoke a few words of Zulu and made some
motions with his hands. They replied quickly, and Charles asked them
to repeat themselves, which they did, with growing frustration. 

"They say that all are dead but them, and they plan to return to fight
and die against the Celts now that they've given us the message. Shaka
apparently learned of the forge from spies and dreams. They do not
know what became of the scythe, but it's reasonable to assume that the
Celts have captured it."

"How did Shaka die?" Jeanne asked Charles to ask the Zulus.  "And did our
other sometime companions meet the same fate?"

"All in battle, it seems," Charles replied after briefly conferring
with the Zulu.

"Our band originally had twice this number," Jeanne explained to
Father Gregory. "Half chose to travel on foot, and half by water. We
had prearranged to meet again, though it seems now that this is
impossible."

She frowned, and continued, "Shaka did die once before, however. And
rose the next day.  It may be that he will be risen up yet again."
She looked vaguely disturbed at the prospect.

"What bothers me most" Charles said, "is that a man such as Shaka was
only afraid of one thing in life, and that was the end of it.  Now,
here, even that possibility is gone, and Shaka has nothing to fear.
That fact alone can make a man mad."

Turning to Shaw, Charles said, "I'm not sure if we need to spy on
these 'Celts', They are many and control this stone.  If all our
friends are gone on to another life, then it will do us no good to
examine the Celts' force.

"I am concerned about this information.  In a tactical sense, it seems
that we are being led away from where we want to be.  I seek some evidence
that the metal forging place is 10 stones up river, before wasting the
time chasing like a fool. If we trust the Zulu, however, we might be
able to convince them to join us instead of waste themselves against
the Celts."

"True, perhaps Shaka is trying to lead us away from here." Shaw
replied, smiling.  "You are probably right about spying, assuming that
what we are hearing is true, but I would rather trust my own eyes,
than the dying words of a man who may or may not still be our friend."