Free Trader Complete Omnibus

by Craig Martelle

  They hurried on. The horses breathed easily while trotting in the cooler night air. The coolest temperature of the night was just before sunrise. That’s the time when the sun heats the upper air, driving the cooler air down, until it was replaced by the heat of the daylight.

  Braden did all he could to hang on to Aadi while also keeping Max on track.

  The sun was up and balanced on the horizon as they ran the final paces to the place Skirill selected for their camp. They halted, breathing hard from their efforts. G-War immediately jumped off the cart, walking past Braden, giving him a furled-brow glare.

  “Sorry. Master Aadi! Can you let yourself down to the ground?”

  No answer, but Braden was having difficulty holding him. The rope fell from the Tortoid’s beaked mouth. Braden leaned as far down as he could while still holding Aadi upright. Then he started to slip. Aadi was headed toward the ground with Braden headfirst after him.

  Mere finger widths from the ground, the Tortoid came to abrupt stop. Braden hit the top of Aadi’s shell with his face, sliding down, bouncing once, and landing flat on his back on the ground.

  “Holy crap, that hurt,” he said out loud.

  ‘Huh, what? Sorry. I fell asleep,’ Aadi stammered. ‘Wow. I feel great! These old muscles are lubricated like they’ve never been. I never thought it could be this good. Give us another drink, just a little sip, my friend.’

  ‘G! What the hell is going on?’

  ‘No water for the Master!’

  “Sorry, A-Dog, no water for you. Haven’t you had enough?”

  ‘Ah yes, you are right. A-Dog! I like it. What’s a dog?’ Aadi asked.

  ‘It’s a pathetic creature with no wit. Humans adore them because dogs look at them with their big eyes and their wagging tails,’ the ‘cat replied before Braden could muster a response.

  “Those are lessons someone in this group could learn, someone fuzzier than the rest of us.” The ‘cat lifted one paw toward to Braden, gesturing deliberately. Braden got to his knees and started brushing himself off.

  ‘Bravo! My apologies for last evening. I don’t seem to remember much of it, but I feel great! Is there any way I could get a small drink? Water would taste so good right now.’

  “I have to build the shelter.” Braden got up all the way, then leaned down close to Aadi’s head. “Two things, Master Aadi. Please don’t blast my head with that thunderclap of yours, ever again, and I can’t give you any more water. It makes you weird and gets me yelled at. So, please, to keep my soul at peace, as you suggest, no more water for you.”

  37 – Tonight’s the Night

  Skirill took to the sky as the sun was setting. He flew high into the air, sharing his view with his companions. The Oasis was clearly visible on the horizon. The shimmering of the heat on the sand and dirt made it appear bigger than it actually was. Skirill returned shortly after suggesting a way forward that Aadi agreed with.

  Master Aadi suggested they would reach the oasis toward morning, maybe even earlier. If danger was there, Braden wanted to address it in the daylight. He counted on Aadi to let them know when they were getting close. He didn’t want to surprise something that would attack them in the dark. There were creatures that could see much better at night than Braden and the companions.

  He envisioned G-War sneaking in on a flank, and Braden armed with his Rico Bow, ready to take on all comers. He wore a covering over his head in case Aadi let loose with his focused thunderclap. Skirill flew overhead and showed them everything.

  But they needed daylight to get the most from each of their gifts. They had to arrive at dawn.

  One water cask was empty while the other was mostly full, and all the flasks but one were empty. It was better than Braden had hoped. They could make it all the way back north out of the desert if they had to. If they found the oasis to be too dangerous. According to Aadi, though, the threat wasn’t as great as Braden had feared it might be. It always lurked in the back of his mind that any and every creature in the desert would be at the oasis, carving out some kind of niche for themselves.

  They would know soon enough. Tonight was the night they reached it.

  38 – Preparing for the Oasis

  Aadi urged them to stop when twilight was still a ways off. Braden watered the horses. They ate smoked pork and venison, cheese and dried greens. Aadi was curious about the meat, but Braden staunchly refused until G-War told him it was okay.

  Braden gave a tiny strip to the Tortoid, who chewed it cautiously. They all watched him, even G-War, who knew that nothing was going to happen.

  ‘Interesting flavor and texture. Not as rich as a good nest of cactus weevils, mind you, but palatable. It’ll do. Thank you. Very refreshing,’ Aadi told them.

  ‘You said there were dangerous creatures here, but they would be intimidated by us. So, what can we expect to see?’

  ‘There were Seeders there ten cycles ago. If they are still there, then that could be a problem. There was a Mirror Beast. Let’s see, a Sand Crawler, some very nasty, and tasty if I may add, beetles, and oh yeah, don’t forget about the Gila Monster.’

  “What? How do we fight all that?” Braden asked in a surprised voice, then put his finger over his mouth as he realized his outburst. Sound carried in the desert.

  ‘The Seeders are easy. They shoot seeds out of an obvious pod near their flower. They can’t penetrate my shell and they only have one shot. If I can get them to attack me, you can pass with impunity.

  ‘The Mirror Beast reflects attacks made upon him. He feeds on your mental energy. I tried my focused thunderclap on him all those years ago and I was lucky to survive the encounter! He stays in one place.

  ‘The Sand Crawler is long and thin, one mouth, two fangs, and no legs. It crawls on the ground by twisting its body. It is colored like sand and hides well. If you can see it, then you can defeat it.

  ‘The beetles will take a lot of bites out of the soft flesh you have. They’ll swarm over you if you get too close. So don’t let them get close.

  ‘The Gila Monster is the most dangerous. She lures you in by making you feel that you aren’t afraid. Her bite is poisonous. Her skin is thick. She is slow, but that doesn’t matter. She gets in your mind and you become slower than her. Since there are four of us, we should be able to protect each other.

  ‘The source of the water is a strange creature. It never moves. It exists to spew water out of its mouth, maintaining the small lake in the oasis. It welcomes all equally. I remember floating over it and feeling unafraid. When are we going in? I’d like to visit that creature again.’

  “Skirill. When it’s light, can you fly over the oasis and find if any of these creatures are still there? If we know where they are, I can kill them with my Rico Bow before they realize there are more of us than just you.”

  ‘What? You’re just going to kill them?’ Master Aadi was confused.

  “Of course. It’s us or them, right?”

  ‘Of course not,’ the Tortoid responded firmly. Braden took a deep breath. He expected that his eyes would be opened to some hidden wisdom that he wasn’t in the mood for.

  ‘We make peace with the Gila Monster by offering her smoked meat. She will probably accept it and leave us be. The Mirror Beast cannot be defeated as far as I know. I suggest we don’t attack it. No attack, nothing to reflect. He feeds on your mental energy, but it just tickles. He doesn’t take anything that you can’t do without. The Sand Crawler, well, okay, if you can kill the Crawler then do so. They are rather creepy. I’ll take care of the Seeder myself. Once it attacks me, it is done. There are no seeds for another cycle.’

  ‘You are wise, Master Aadi. You saved me from making a huge mistake. You saved us from a battle we didn’t need to fight.’

  ‘Your soul is at peace, even as you readied for war. Be wary of the flames of battle. Be ready, but battle last.’ Braden nodded in understanding.

  ‘What about the beetles?’ Braden asked.

  ‘Very tasty, but only if they a
ren’t trying to eat you at the same time.’

  ‘Now that is wisdom I can wrap my head around!’ Braden held his hands high in the universal hallelujah sign.

  39 – Just a Scratch

  At first light, Skirill took off. Within seconds, the oasis was in full view. They had stopped only a couple hundred strides shy of the outer foliage while Skirill quickly circled the area. His eyes were second to none, but he couldn’t see through the heavy shadows of the undergrowth. He saw trees unlike any he’d seen before, with straight, tall trunks with few huge leaves at the top. He saw green bushes and plants. A lake stood at the center of the oasis. At the very middle of the lake, he saw the creature that Aadi had described. It continued to belch water, rippling and foaming the area around it. The water looked a deep black where the sun had not yet touched it.

  He circled a couple more times, then dove in quickly over the lake. There! To the side, they all saw the Seeders at the same time. Three of them stood serenely, huge purple and white flowers topping their heavy green stalks and the seed pods prominent between the stalk and flower. The Mirror Beast stood among the Seeders, unmoving and glistening as the first rays of the sun reflected brightly from a squat, shiny body.

  Movement. In the underbrush. There. The Gila Monster. ‘She’s no threat. So sweet.’ Skirill’s thoughts came through the mindlink. ‘I should go down and talk with her.’

  ‘STOP!’ G-War’s ‘cat voice roared.

  ‘What was that for?’ the Hawkoid asked.

  ‘She was in your mind. Fight those thoughts! If you don’t, she’ll end up eating you.’ Skirill made a few strong strokes and climbed quickly away from the lake.

  ‘I didn’t see anything else.’

  ‘Good enough, Ess. I think we can make this work. G, can you go first? Make sure there are no surprises. Master Aadi with me. Skirill overhead.’ Braden had Max’s lead in his hand. Pack followed, pulling the cart behind him.

  They walked over the top of the low hill. Braden smiled as he saw the oasis in front of him. After nearly five turns in the desert, as Aadi had described it, it did indeed look like heaven.

  G-War walked in front of the others as if strolling through an open meadow. Braden watched the ‘cat’s head and neck to give him an idea of the ‘cat’s mood. If his ears were back, a fight was brewing. Fur ruffled around the neck, something unknown lurked. Whiskers back? He usually saved that for the lady cats or a good meal. Right now, he showed no signs that Braden could read. His mindlink was open, connecting all the companions.

  G-War angled slightly from their original path to head toward an opening between two small bushes. Although he could have entered anywhere since he was an agile Hillcat, he was being mindful of the horses. The cart was another matter. Braden wanted to go as far as they could into the oasis before unhooking it. With water so near, their greatest treasure was the smoked meat. He didn’t want to put too much distance between him and their food.

  The cart caught up on that first bush, so that’s where it had to stay. Braden quickly unhooked it while the others waited. The ‘cat sat upright in a small open area, casually watching everything. Master Aadi floated in place, eyes unblinking.

  They continued several strides into the area toward the largest of the trees, when suddenly G-War jumped straight up. His claws came out and he twisted sideways. Braden began pulling out his long knife, but the ‘cat’s actions were so quick, the blade hadn’t made it free of his belt before the ‘cat struck.

  A Sand Crawler appeared from under a bush. It struck at G-War’s leg, narrowly missing. G-War’s jump brought him back down on top of the Crawler, where the ‘cat had the best leverage to drive claws from both front paws into the head and body of the snake. The thing twisted furiously and flipped from under the ‘cat, who jumped straight into the air a second time, its eyes never leaving its enemy.

  Braden’s long knife finally appeared in his hand as he let go Max’s reins. The horse bucked and jumped, trying to get away from the snake that was flopping and twisting on the ground between the ‘cat and the human. With a quick slash, Braden cut the snake neatly in two. The ‘cat landed on the snake’s head a second time and, with well-practiced motions, shredded it.

  Braden watched as G-War limped away from the fight.

  “G! What’s wrong? Let me see.” Braden ran the few steps forward and dropped next to the ‘cat.

  ‘Not as fast as I used to be. I never felt it. I barely saw it. Something is different here and I don’t like it,’ the ‘cat told Braden as he looked at a thin cut across the ‘cat’s back leg. He pulled some numbweed from the pouch at his waist and applied it liberally on the wound.

  “Just a scratch, G. Enough for some of the poison to get you, although it doesn’t look like the fang penetrated the muscle. You’re one lucky ‘cat. That’s seven lives left for you.” Braden didn’t know where he heard that ‘cats started with nine lives, but he’d seen G-War in grim places and walk away without a scratch. Besides the turn Braden saved him from drowning, this was the closest anything had ever gotten to hurting him.

  “If you can’t sense them, how do we protect ourselves if another Sand Crawler is around?” Braden asked.

  ‘We talk with the Gila. She will tell us if there are more. She should know. Tie the horses behind the cart. Bring meat,’ Master Aadi told them.

  Tying the horses wasn’t as easy as that. They were spooked by the snake, the whites of their eyes showing with their fright. They danced wildly, trampling bushes and bouncing off trees. Once Braden had a tight hold on Max’s reins, he was able to pull the horse down to calm him. With Max under control, Pack quickly followed. He tied them to the back of the cart, giving them some dried grass that they had brought with them. The snake was soon forgotten.

  G-War limped forward, head slung low as he looked under each bush, in each patch of grass before he passed. The going was slow, but the distance wasn’t far. The oasis wasn’t large, about a hundred strides out from the central lake, creating a circle of life in the waste of the Great Desert.

  40 – The Oasis Pacified

  As they approached the lake, they heard the pleasant tones of the Gila Monster’s siren song. She sang to them to come closer. Braden started to fade, a beautiful woman projected in his mind. It’s Ava. She is so nice waiting here for me. Then sparks as something smashed into his head, knocking him off his feet.

  “What the hell?” He looked up, rubbing his temple. Master Aadi floated there, looking down at him.

  ‘Get a grip on yourself. Your Ava is not here. She pulled the image from your mind and you were falling for it. You are naïve, Free Trader Braden. If something is unbelievable, don’t believe it. I have much work to do with you.’ With that, the Tortoid swam forward, leading the way toward the Gila. ‘Don’t forget the meat,’ he said as he passed.

  The three of them continued toward the Gila Monster, avoiding the Seeders by moving in a wide arc. Skirill circled overhead, getting lower and lower as the heat of the daylight built. Finally, he gave up trying to fly and landed in the top of the highest tree. The branches weren’t anything like what he was used to. They were prickly, but not like a cactus. It was better than getting roasted, so he repositioned to a better perch. The oasis felt much cooler. He let out a Hawkoid sigh, returning his attention to his companions as they approached the Gila Monster.

  ‘Master of the Gila Monsters, we bid you good tidings and bring you a gift from the foot of the mountains far to the north,’ Master Aadi said in his stately and deliberate way. The Gila Monster bobbed her head one time. Aadi looked at Braden, motioning slowly with his head. The human walked forward cautiously and dropped a substantial pile of smoked pork on the ground before the Gila Monster.

  Her tongue darted out, barely missing Braden’s outstretched hand. He withdrew quickly until he was slightly behind the Tortoid. The Gila Monster’s tongue touched the strips of meat, then she moved forward in one very slow motion. With one bite, she had half the pile in her mouth. She let it sit
there before throwing her head back and swallowing it. Then she ate the rest.

  ‘Welcome to the oasis, Master Aadi. Yes. I remember you from when you were last here.’ A new voice entered their mindlink.

  ‘I am honored that you remember me although ten cycles have passed.’

  ‘One turn, ten cycles. It is all the same to me. You’ve brought an army with you. Why?’

  Braden stepped forward, bowing deeply to the Gila Monster. “I am Free Trader Braden,” he said, flicking his head and sending his braid behind him with a flourish. “We are but travelers on our way south. We have joined together in our quest for Old Tech. We found that we share gifts and are better as friends. Is it possible to include you as a friend?”

  ‘I am Tiskanay. Welcome to the oasis.’ She bobbed her head slightly. ‘I’ve never tasted flesh as you have provided me. This pleases me. I would be happy to join your army for the time you are here.’

  Braden bowed deeply again. “I thank you for your kindness and look forward to sharing with you more about ourselves, as well as learning about your oasis.” Tiskanay had taken a step back and rested on the ground. It appeared that she was going to sleep. “One last question, if you don’t mind. We had a misfortunate encounter with a Sand Crawler. How many more can we expect to see?”

  ‘There has been only one. There will be only one.’ Her thought voice trailed off as she mentally retreated to the calmness of sleep.

  “Shall we?” Braden asked the ‘cat and the Tortoid, gesturing toward the lake. “I believe the stage is yours, Master Aadi.”