Clove & Moose 17: The Big Bones

Clove and Moose is a serial fiction story. If you want to get caught up on what came before, click one of the buttons below.

Previously, on Clove & Moose: After the mysterious Cataclysm dried up the earth and its magic, Clove and her cat Moose travelled to find and repair pools of corrupted magic left behind in the Cataclysm’s wake. Along the way, she has picked up three travelling companions: Marissa, Jasper, and his trusty horse Miss Delilah. They've just arrived at Bone Gorge, where skeletons of ancient giants have been discovered in the cliffs.

“This is pointless,” Marissa complained. “They’re just going to tell you the same thing they have every other time we’ve come down here.”

They were walking down the path from their campsite toward the cliff that contained the giant bones. Clove, Marissa, and Jasper went in single file as the path was crowded with many others making their pilgrimage to see the bones. Moose was in Clove’s arms; he hadn’t wanted to leave his comfy bed on her sleeping bag, but she didn’t dare leave him unattended since the attempted kidnapping by the bandits.

“We’ve got to try, though,” Clove answered, looking back over her shoulder at Marissa. “What’s the point of being at Bone Gorge if we can’t even see the bones?”

While most of their efforts thus far had been dedicated to trying to find Marissa’s family, Clove was determined to see the bones up close, so they’d come to the cliffside almost every day since their arrival. The anxiety Clove had felt on the way to the Gorge had dissipated, replaced with only a burning curiosity. The bones had to be connected with the Cataclysm. There had to be a reason they were here. Maybe it tied into the corrupted magic. Maybe they could help her fix it.

There was a crowd along the cliffside. There was a crowd everywhere in the gorge–one of the reasons they were struggling to find Marissa’s family–but it was especially thick down here. Jasper, who had been trailing behind them, pushed ahead, using his height and broad shoulders to clear a path through the crowd.

Moose clung to Clove, his nails going into her, shying away from the sound and crush around them. Clove didn’t blame him; she hardly wanted to be here herself. She held him tightly and made herself small, following in Jasper’s wake until they reached the front of the line.

The crowd came to an abrupt halt about ten feet back from the cliffs, where a thick rope and a line of guards prevented anyone from getting closer.

Clove stepped up next to Jasper to speak to the nearest sentry. “We’d like to get through please.”

The man barely looked at her. “No one’s allowed through.”

“Why not?”

“Not allowed.”

“Not allowed by whom?” Clove had gone over this ten times by now and was getting frustrated by the lack of answers. “Who do you work for?”

“Miss, you’re going to need to step back.”

Clove growled in frustration. She turned to Marissa, who had come up on her other side, and held out Moose. “Hold him, please.”

“With pleasure.” Marissa took Moose and snuggled him close.

Clove darted forward and ducked under the rope. If she could just get past the guards, she could make a run to the cliffside and get a quick look. Or, heck, there were enough people here to overrun the guards. If she started, maybe others would follow.

She hadn’t taken more than a couple steps before the guard grabbed her by the back of the shirt and threw her to the ground.

“I told you, you aren’t allowed through.”

Clove groaned and rolled over. “I understand.”

The guard grabbed her arm and hauled her up before shoving her back in the direction of the rope. “Get back in line.”

“How dare you touch her like that!” Marissa yelled, getting as close to the guard as she could with the rope still between them. Moose threw in a hiss for good measure. “You have no right!”

Clove’s heart warmed at the defence, but she knew it wasn’t going to get them anywhere. The guard had proved just how far they would go to keep everyone away from the bones, and it only made Clove more curious than ever why they were here.

A soft touch on her elbow drew her attention to Jasper. “Alright?”

“Yeah.” She wiped at a smudge of dirt on her pants. “Hurt my pride more than anything.”

That was absolutely not true–she had very little pride to harm and her left side ached where it had hit the ground–but she was okay. 

A ripple of commotion grew in the crowd around them. At first Clove thought it was because of Marissa still yelling and Moose hissing, but soon the crowd drowned them out.

“Over there!”

“Look!”

“Why’s he allowed through?”

Halfway along the cliffside, a man walked past the ropes toward the bones. He wore a wrinkled shirt and much-patched jeans, a broad-brimmed hat protecting him from the sun. Amid the muttering of the crowd, he stepped up to the cliff face and laid one hand reverently on the nearest bone. 

“Hey!” Clove interrupted Marissa, who was still berating the guard. “Why’s he allowed?”

“Must have the right papers.”

“Papers? What papers?” Clove fumed. She had asked every time they were here if there was a way to get permission to see the bones.

“The right ones. Now move along or–”

Clove didn’t hear what consequences she would face for failure to move along. She was distracted by a flash of familiar orange light from the direction of the man at the cliff face. When she turned to look at him directly, nothing seemed to have changed. He stood still, one hand on the bones. If he was speaking a spell or doing anything else, she couldn’t make it out at this distance.

She whirled to Marissa and Jasper. “Did you see that?”

“Yes.”

“What the hell?”

“What the hell, indeed.” Clove turned back to the guard one more time, but he threatened her with a warning glare that brooked no further questions. Not wanting another introduction to the ground, she relented.

“Come on,” she muttered, and led her friends away, taking Moose back from Marissa. “I’ll have to find out some other way.”

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Katie Conrad is a speculative fiction writer living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. You can find her on bluesky and instagram.