by Candy Rae
Well to the south of the convicts, at the edge of the Larg pack-ranges, Andrew Snodgrass was suffering. The Larg had insisted that he learn their language; a learning process that was marked with many a menacing clout and snarl when it was felt he was not learning quickly enough.
He had soon found out that he was indeed the only survivor from the convict base camp.
The Larg way of life was hard and brutal. The Larg did not tolerate any weakness or insubordination in any form. Infringements were dealt with savagely. Andrew spent the majority of his time in a state of abject fear as to what was going to happen next. It was a never-ending nightmare of degradation and mute terror. The worst of it all was that his mind was no longer his own.
At last Aoalvaldr decided the time was right. As foreseen by Zanatei and Afanasei, the Larg intended to form alliance with these men in order to better attack the north. Larg spies had reported back on the existence of the human settlement on the northern continent. Most importantly, from the Larg point of view, the settlement had been built not far from their landing beaches. It was time to enlist convict aid to circumvent this hazard.
: Alliance : Aoalvaldr forced the word into Andrew’s mind : No fight. Together invade. Defeat Lind. Andrew alliance arrange :
Andrew began his solitary walk towards the encampment and Fort and with Murdoch and his cronies pondering the two problems of the threat of the wolves and the lack of women, Andrew duly arrived with the answer to them both.
They jumped at Aoalvaldr’s proposal.
Murdoch and his men would invade the north alongside the Larg. There was a rush of volunteers for the army that would invade once it was learnt that there were many women in the north from the WCCS Argyll.
The alliance was not, however, to result in the same close relationship that was emerging in the north between the colonists and the Lind. The Larg were not being entirely honest with Murdoch when they told him that the Lind were a peace-loving species and would be easy to defeat. Murdoch did not tell the Larg that he liked the sound of the northern lands and would like to settle there instead of in the south. The southern alliance was not built on trust and mutual respect. The Larg did not think much of their human allies and the men distrusted the Larg. They had, after all, tortured and eaten some of their friends and comrades. It would take a long time for the men to forget.
At the moment both their paths and plans ran beside each other. What would happen if these plans started to go awry? Only time would tell.
* * * * *