by Don P. Bick
Chapter 9
It was raining. However, with the canopies of the huge trees above them, hardly a drop of water came through the umbrella of leaves to reach the ground. The party of four sat discussing their plans under the protection of one of these trees. Gena, now a member of the group, was informed about which planets would have representatives on the quest to uncover the secrets of the bridge. Bran explained to her what had happened inside the cavern and what it had been like. He seemed to have become quite protective of Gena in the short time he had known her. They also shared with her the events in the cave on the Isle of Flowers, although it was difficult to put those feelings into words. Gena was intuitive enough to sense that the dramatic scenes they had described had deeply affected all three in marked ways.
In the several hours since they had left the mayor and his guards, Bran and Twil had kept a constant vigil out for anything suspicious. All four were uneasy and spent a great deal of time looking up into the trees. They had seen nothing out of the ordinary, however, all of them felt sure the Guardians of the Bridge were probably out there somewhere.
The map was spread out between them as they considered their travel options. They were certain the enemy was following and watching their every move. Whatever plan they came up with would have to include someway of losing those watchful eyes. They were the only ones who knew which planets would be represented and consequently which villages they would be traveling toward. And there were several choices available to them.
Since they needed to travel to several different places, it really didn't matter in which direction they traveled first. They also took into consideration the enemy would guess they would be going to some of those same villages. It would be easy for them to watch all the villages and have people waiting at each for their arrival. They had no choice but to face that eventuality when the time came. For now, the immediate need was to lose those that most likely were still following them. They didn't want to face any more ambushes along the way.
It was still a long time before darkness set in so the party decided to head out toward the southeast, in the general direction of Nemaris. Nemaris is a settlement of people from Uranus. They would eventually have to go there and pick up the Uranian representative, but for now heading in that direction would be no surprise to the enemy. Along the route they intended to change course and lose anyone that may be behind them. The foursome held out hope that the enemy would withdraw to Echo Creek once they saw the direction they were headed and go the easier way, which was by ship. But they really had no intention of going to Nemaris just yet.
As darkness set in they would quickly move ahead, set up a phony camp and then change direction under cover of night. They would head toward the Talmus River to the northeast where they would buy a small boat at the trading settlement there, called Val. From Val they would travel down the river to the seaport trading town of Statmer. At Statmer they would gain passage on a boat to RockView up the coast. RockView was a settlement occupied by the Saturnian peoples. Hopefully the plan would work and they could gain some valuable time without interference from the Guardians.
There was one other consideration working in their favor. Very few had seen any of them in person and had to rely on seeing a group composed of the right combination of nationalities in order to uncover their identity. Those that now may know there was a fourth member traveling with the group could only pass that information on by going back and relaying it through Echo Creek. Until word had reached the other settlements, the Guardians wouldn't know how many, or what nationalities comprised the group. Of course these were all assumptions, there was really no way of knowing if anyone was indeed following them at this point. Perhaps the assassin they had come across outside of Echo Creek had been acting alone. If that was the case, then no one yet knew that Gena had joined the quest, except the mayor. But they had to assume the worst to be on the safe side. And the worst was that the Guardians knew their present whereabouts and were on their trail, intent on killing them.
Even though it was a long trip on foot to the Talmus River, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages of walking. No one would be able to recognize them if they separated into two groups of two when they arrived in Val. Word of their descriptions would take several days to get there and should offer them time enough to make arrangements for a boat and again be on their way.
They rested a while longer without talking. Camran pulled out the small book holding the copy of the legend and studied some of the statements once more. They were resting near Echo Creek, which was much smaller here than back in the village. A short walk up the creek revealed a spot that was shallow enough to wade across. They all crossed without incident, Bran and Twil keeping an eye out for any possible attacks while they were out in the open.
They traveled a considerable distance in that one long day. When it neared nightfall, they stopped to set up camp near a small creek. They were counting on their enemy not trying anything until long after dark. A fire was started, Bran and Twil set about gathering some of the more recently dropped leaves. When asked by Camran what they were doing, they replied they were going to erect shelters and make some beds.
Camran watched as they took a leaf that was fairly fresh, cut it down to the size of a bed, and stretched it out slightly above the ground. The four corners of the leaf were then tied to stakes that were driven into the ground. Each of these stakes was tied to a rope that extended a few feet out from each corner. These ropes were tied to another stake and driven into the ground at an angle. The effect was something like a trampoline. They could place their bed rolls on top of these leaves, rather than lay on the hard ground, that is if they were going to spend the night there, which they weren’t.
Next, the two men took another leaf that was curled and not so fresh. They placed it over three of the beds, like a tent, to protect them from the rain and wind. Bran explained that many times these leaves would only need to be tied down, since they were already curled and shaped well enough to use as a temporary shelter. Since many of the leaves were over ten feet across, they provided excellent tents to sleep beneath. They placed one last smaller leaf over the remaining bed and began to gather some firewood.
Not quite dark and the camp set up, they sat back to eat and relax. They gave every appearance they were settled in for the night. Once it became dark the fire was stoked up and the companions headed for their shelters. Twil volunteered to take the first watch. Twil being the quickest and most agile of the party, they all agreed he would be best suited to take first watch on this night.
Under cover of darkness, one by one, they snuck out beyond the circle of light into the surrounding forest. They met at a point approximately one hundred yards from the camp, on the opposite side from where they entered when they set it up. From there they moved quickly and quietly through the forest with Bran in the lead. Twil caught up with them in complete silence. He appeared at Camran's side from out of nowhere. They weren't overly concerned about tracks, figuring they would have a head start advantage. They figured if the enemy had caught on to their plan they would be waiting to ambush them by now. Of course there was always the off chance no one at all was following them, deciding instead to wait at each settlement for their arrival.
They continued for several miles before daring to stop and rest. When they finally did stop, they didn't make a fire or set up comfortable beds. They decided to sleep for three or four hours then head out again. All were hoping the Guardians wouldn't discover they had left camp until morning. The enemy knew they would have a guard out and hopefully wouldn't approach or attack the camp during the night. It was more likely they would set up another ambush somewhere up ahead during the daylight hours, now that they believed they knew the route the foursome was headed.
After a restless sleep they were off once more. Twil had an uncanny sense of direction. There were no compasses nor was there a sun or stars with which to gage their direction. Even though there was barely enough light to see, Twil
pointed out the way they should go without the slightest doubt or hesitation. His skills and talents constantly surprised Camran.
The trip to Val would take them several days on foot. There was no other source of transportation in this world, other than by water, which was not available to them here in the interior. One spot of travel along the way proved quite difficult during the night. The forest floor was covered by recently dropped leaves from a species of tree that normally shed its leaves in the summertime, rather than in the fall. Because of their size, these leaves presented a nasty obstacle course for the companions. To make matters worse there was very little light with which to navigate through the fallen forest litter.
The leaves were curled, standing on end, flat, stacked up, and in many cases several layers deep. They had to crawl, climb over, or hoist each other up or around various parts of the blockage. A short distance was transformed into a long tiring event that left them frustrated and exhausted. They made it through the obstacle just as morning dawned, tired and cranky.
Just before it got very light they were attacked. From out of the bushes came an animal. It was more of an evil beast than an animal any of them had ever seen. The closest comparison Camran could think of was that it was about the same size and looked similar to a tiger, sort of. It had no tail and its ears were small, more like a human ear. Its teeth were more like those of a shark. It did have immense claws. And they appeared very sharp! Bran drew his sword just in time to deflect the beast. But the sword wouldn't penetrate the tough scaly skin. Twil, with his lightening quick speed, fired an arrow from his crossbow into the open mouth of the leaping creature, just as the animal was about to land on Gena. Camran was just getting out his sword as the arrow hit its mark. The beast dropped to the ground, the muscles in his hind legs twitching. Once again they were saved by the little man's quick reflexes. Camran again was thankful for Twil's presence, he was sure the others were as well.
When the animal stopped moving they investigated closer. The skin of the beast was tough, like a tortoise shell. The carcass stunk. It smelled like death. The first animal Camran had seen in this world and the strangeness of it made him wonder what else was out there waiting behind the next tree.
Shaken, but otherwise unhurt, the foursome continued on, now keeping a much more watchful eye out for animals, as well as the enemy. They all felt pretty sure the enemy had not been able to follow them, especially through the maze of leaves. But even if they were followed they felt they had a sizable lead now. Even so, they simply didn't want to take any chances by stopping for a long period of time just yet. They decided to continue traveling for a while longer before stopping for a long rest period.
Several hours into the morning they came to a large lake. Here they decided to stop and get some much needed rest and consider their options. Bran set up a fishing rig and waded out into the shallow water near the shore. He used a brightly colored lure that floated on the surface. Most fishing hooks were made out of wood with a special tree sap laminate, which made them extremely strong. The one Bran was using, however, was made of metal. There were only a few of them made by the Vulcan, and consequently very hard to come by. The Neptunian captain had given it to him when he found out the warrior was an avid fisherman.
Camran asked why doesn't someone melt down some of the swords and make other things out of the metal. He was told the Vulcan forge the metal with a secret chemical that under heat enough to re-melt the metal actually dissolves it, much to the chagrin of those attempting this trick.
After a couple of attempts to cast his line far enough away from where he stood, the lure landed near a submerged stump, several feet farther out into the water and slightly to Bran’s left.
In just a few seconds the lure disappeared with a loud pop and splash. As Bran pulled back on the wooden pole he yelled to the others that he had one. As soon as the line went taut Bran was yanked into the water still holding on to the pole for dear life.
The others jumped to their feet, concern on their faces. Bran surfaced several feet from where he went into the water, the wooden pole still clutched in his hands. He turned and swam back toward shore. When he was able to stand on the bottom once more, he sheepishly looked at the others and said "he got away." The others were not able to contain their laughter. Twil remarked that it looked like he was the one that got away. Later, Bran commented that fishing in this world wasn't anything like fishing back home.
The laughter took away some of the tension of the past hours. Bran decided they weren't far enough ahead to start a fire to cook a fish anyway, which brought another round of laughter. They sat back and enjoyed the moment. At least Bran was thankful he didn't lose his lure with the metal hook.
They considered making some sort of raft to cross the lake, rather than walk around. They figured that would surely lose their tracks for the time being, and be a rest from the walk. They ruled out the option when they realized how long it would take to cut the logs and make the craft. They would probably be on the other side of the lake by the time the raft could be finished.
They traveled around the lake and made camp on the northwest side near a creek that fed into the large body of water. Bran went fishing again and came up with what Camran estimated to be about a sixty pound catch. He caught it this time without mishap. Twil teased that if he fished in such a small creek the larger ones wouldn't have a chance to bite on his lure. Twil thought that was taking all the fun out of fishing, at least it was taking the fun out of watching Bran do the fishing.
The fish was cut into fillets and cooked over an open fire, adding a new dimension to their evening meal. Camran ate as though he hadn't eaten in days, which was close to being the case when he considered the length of a day here.
Their stomachs filled and feeling more relaxed than they had for hours, they divided up the watch with Gena taking the first, while the rest got some much needed sleep.