“I like it. He’ll get his. I know what these women are going through. I know their pain. What about the other two warriors?” she asked.
“Between the rest of us, we’ll put them in their place so you have the time to do what you need to do. I will do everything I can not to kill them. As Master Aadi suggested, we need allies.”
The old man listened intently, then struggled even harder at his bonds. Every movement resulted in more blood streaming down his face from his shattered nose.
“I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you all!” he screamed hysterically. Braden felt even better about their plan. The old man seemed afraid of being handed over to the women.
A fitting end to this piece of crap, Braden thought.
‘Hear, hear,’ seconded the ‘cat in an uncharacteristic use of a human saying.
68 – Freedom’s Taste
One full turn later, they had not yet made it to the old man’s village. They stopped often to tighten the old man’s bonds, beating him on occasion as he struggled like a wild man to break free.
Aadi recovered after a full night’s sleep. He floated behind Braden, the cord in his beak as he was pulled along.
G-War rode with the flailing man. His legs were tied to the cart, so he was more of a hazard to himself, but the ‘cat was ready to slash him if needed. Skirill flew ahead where G-War directed him until he found the village. Braden pointed Max’s nose in that direction.
He picked a stand of trees to dismount where people from the village wouldn’t see them. Leaving Micah and Aadi with the man, Braden and G-War circled around the village to find the men and disarm them when they were distracted by Micah’s entrance with the Elder.
Micah waited with the horses as Braden and G-War padded away through the trees. Master Aadi kept a close watch on the old man, who shied away from the Tortoid as if his nearness was toxic.
Micah waited until G-War told her they were in place. She mounted Max and urged him forward. She was a bit reluctant, being new to riding. She didn’t realize that it wasn’t easy. Max was less than cooperative, so she gave him a hard kick in the ribs. He surged forward, and the rope tied to Pack was pulled free. She rode ahead, picking up speed as Max galloped onward.
She pulled back hard on the reins. The horse skidded to a halt, his nostrils flaring. Max was angry.
Pack meandered forward. Micah was glad she wouldn’t have to chase after him. She slowly climbed off Max, petting his neck and then his nose, which quickly calmed him. When Pack caught up, she took both their leads and walked with them. She needed Braden to teach her to ride. It was not intuitive.
Braden watched the madness from their hiding spot behind a small hovel at the edge of the village. G-War assured him that no one was nearby. He berated himself for assuming Micah could ride, even though she had told him there are no horses in the south. He thought she figured it out in the time that they’d been riding together, but then again, he never let her take the reins. He would fix that as soon as they were out of this mess.
Braden was pleased to see Micah walking the horses. It wasn’t as intimidating as riding in, but it would work because she was back in control of herself, the horses, and most importantly, Elder McCullough.
“Ho, Villagers!” Micah shouted. She continued leading the horses until she was even with the outermost buildings, little more than thatch huts. “Hello! I bring you the Elder McCullough, trussed as the piece of meat he is,” she bellowed with vigor and emotion.
Faces appeared in doorways from cautious village women. Nothing like this had ever happened before. They wanted to believe, but weren’t sure. They tentatively gathered, dirty children clinging to many of them, and approached Micah. She held up a hand to keep them from coming too close. She went to the cart, kicking the old man viciously before untying the rope that held his legs. Grabbing an arm, she leveraged herself and pulled him out. He fell unceremoniously to the ground. With a firm grip on his collar, she dragged him into the open area in front of the horses. She dropped him, then rolled him over by kicking him in the side.
The two warriors approached from behind the women, watching warily before drawing their swords. They pushed the women in the back out of the way, while the others cowered away from them. The men stood, threatening.
Micah wondered if they expected her to simply submit because they had swords. She reached behind her and pulled her new sword from her back, testing its weight in her hand before slashing it through the air in front of her. Where in the hell are Braden and G-War, she thought.
At that moment, an arrow hit one of the two men at the base of his skull, neatly separating his spinal column from his skull. The man dropped like a sack of potatoes. The second man looked at his partner, who lay dead on the ground. He looked back in disbelief to see Braden coming toward him, an arrow nocked and pointed directly at his face.
He looked back at the woman standing over the Elder. The eyes of the village women grew hard and they edged closer toward him. They were no longer afraid.
He dropped his sword and fell to his knees. “Please! Have mercy!” he begged in a simpering voice.
G-War ran past Braden and jumped on the man, knocking him to the ground. The ‘cat stood on the man’s chest, his claws raised, ready to strike. The man peed himself, then closed his eyes tightly, preparing to die.
‘I love that part,’ G-War said as he retracted his claws and hopped off the man’s chest. ‘Hungry,’ he said over the mindlink to no one in particular.
Micah started laughing, easy at first, then with a full throated howl. The other women began to laugh and cheer. They hadn’t heard the ‘cat, but they saw it all and realized that they were free. Braden took the sword away from the soiled warrior and dragged him by the back of his collar to throw him on the ground at the feet of the Elder.
Braden looked at Micah, bowing. He looked at the women of the village, who eyed him suspiciously. He pointed back to Micah and started clapping and cheering. He backed away a step, giving way to Micah.
“I am Micah, recently of the village Trent on the Eastern Ocean.” A couple women nodded, most others just watched, waiting. “I am a Free Trader Apprentice.” She nodded to Braden. He bowed to her again.
“This man and five of his warriors attacked us without provocation, trying to steal our goods and kill me and our friends. We left him alive so you could deal with him as you desire.”
One of the older women stepped forward. She looked well-weathered, sporting a black eye and bruises on her arms. She kicked the Elder in the teeth, hurting her foot as she did so, but she limped away with a smile on her face. Other women shouldered their way close, kicking the old man. He tried to cover his head with his arms, pleading for them to stop and listen to him.
Many heartbeats later, he was no longer breathing. The women were avenged, but they wore expressions showing pain and sorrow. Taking another’s life was not an easy thing, even if the person was the Elder McCullough. Even though their lives had become easier with his death, killing cost a person part of their soul.
Braden leaned close to the remaining warrior. “Just stay down if you wish to live,” he hissed. The man nodded almost imperceptibly, trying his best not to be seen by the women. But their hatred was spent. For the time being anyway.
“We are traveling through the area, looking for trading partners,” Micah started, picking up the narrative that Braden had shared with her all those turns ago. “Trade is how we will return to being civilized. Trade, like it happens in the north, in Warren Deep.”
Master Aadi swam to her side from his position above the cart. The women again shied away.
“Muties,” a couple of them whispered.
“They are our friends. Treat them as you would treat me.” Micah held out her hand to the woman who led the parade against the Elder. The older woman grasped Micah’s hand, desperately and with surprising strength.
“Thank you,” she said. “I am Mel-Ash. I guess I’m the Elder now.” She looked around her. No one
disputed her assumption of the title.
“Do you need an Elder?” Braden asked.
“I don’t know. It’s how we’ve always been. The Elder guides the village. The Elder keeps us safe.” She trailed off as she thought about the safety of the village. “We have no one left to defend us. We are free. And doomed.”
Micah returned from the cart with the swords and spears liberated from the war party. She handed them over. “Take these. Learn to use them. You can fight as well as any man. Know that you can and you will.” The villagers looked at her. Micah stood proudly, trying to look strong. The tunic was too big and hung on her, making her look like a child, but they watched her drag the Elder from the cart and seen how he whimpered in her presence. “Can you teach us how to make these?” she asked as she pulled on the overly large tunic.
Mel-Ash nodded and smiled. “Yes. There are some tricks to getting the weave correct, but after that, the rest is easy.” Taking Micah by the arm, she introduced her to the rest of the women of the village.
A couple of the younger women angled toward Braden, smiling. “We’ve never seen a man defer to a woman before. Is she your leader?” one of them asked him.
Braden started to laugh, but quickly thought better of it. “No. We are partners. All of us, equally sharing in our journey.”
The shorter of the two women frowned. “She is your partner then?”
“What? No, no, not like that. We are partners in trade,” he quickly corrected. He felt defensive, but didn’t know why. He was uncomfortable as the women worked on him. He had been proud to have a woman in every town, but he felt differently now. He didn’t want Micah to get a bad impression of him. He wasn’t like other men, was he?
They took him by the arm, leading him away from the others. As he thought about it, he didn’t know anything about this village. What if they took over as the new tyrants?
‘G. A little help.’ He knew the ‘cat was not bothered by Braden’s lady friends.
‘The females of this village are no threat to us. Relax and take it like a man.’ The ‘cat chuckled over their mindlink.
‘Do you two have to talk like this? I’m embarrassed enough for all of us right now. Just get over here. There’s work to do.’ Micah ended with a harsh tone. Braden wondered how she managed to get so good with her thought voice that she could convey disgust. He better not push it.
“I’m sorry, ladies, if you’ll excuse me. I believe we have some work to do to help protect your village. If you’ll join me?” With one young woman on each arm, Braden swaggered to the hut where Micah and Mel-Ash were talking.
He entered, but the two young women quickly disappeared after a dismissive wave from their new Elder.
One other woman from the village sat beside Mel-Ash. She also was bruised, and this sobered Braden immediately. He was instantly sorry for his earlier reverie. When they solved the problem of the Elder McCullough, new problems popped up.
How would they protect themselves from raiders? Who would hunt? How could they take care of themselves?
They hadn’t been allowed to think independently, but Micah and Braden were confident that once they had a taste of freedom, they would not give it up again. They only needed to survive until they learned what it meant to take care of themselves.
69 – Helping the Village
With Braden’s encouragement and a sound arm-twisting from Micah, the lone remaining man in the village agreed to teach six volunteers how to use the weapons. He was only given a piece of wood himself, but he agreed wholeheartedly with his role as servant to the new Elder. G-War believed he was sincere and that was good enough for Braden and Micah.
Their training started immediately.
The next issue was food. They maintained a couple small fields, while also picking wild from a large area to the south of the village. The men fixed snares on numerous game trails, rotating them to keep the wild animals guessing. Braden agreed to show them how to make their own bows and arrows, so they could hunt and better protect their village. Sword battles were ugly and generally favored the stronger opponent. With bows, the village could keep enemies away.
In the interim, Braden, G-War, and Skirill would hunt to put meat on their tables.
Braden took his leave of the meeting, heading outside with the intention of going hunting.
Micah chased him down before he made it to the horses.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” she said, head down, not looking at him. “You did a great thing for this village. I wouldn’t have thought of it. I would have killed the men and run away.”
“It’s what we did for this village. We. As in all of us. There’s plenty to do if we want this village to be a good trading partner. Whatever we’re able to kill during our hunt, we’ll trade. Maybe they can tailor a tunic for you. That would be worth a couple deer, at least.”
She smiled at him, then reared back and punched him in the chest. His new tunic absorbed much of the blow, but he still staggered from the force of it. “Hey! What the crap was that for?”
She waved him away as she turned. Speaking over her shoulder as she walked toward the hut, she said, “And leave those two children alone. They don’t need you to fill any void because the other men are gone.”
“G! Do you know what that was about?”
‘Yes and no,’ the ‘cat answered cryptically, not explaining further.
Braden climbed on Max’s back, stroking the horse’s neck vigorously. With one powerful leap, G-War was in his lap. The horse wheeled and they trotted out of the village in the direction where G-War said they’d find game.
Skirill took to the sky and looked ahead, excited about the prospect of fresh meat.
They didn’t have to go far to find what they were looking for. Rabbits were plentiful. The deer grazed in a large herd. And a village full of women waited for him to return with venison as a prize. He wasn’t sure it could get any better than this.
70 – Introducing a Friend
Micah and Elder Mel-Ash led the chorus of cheers as Braden returned with three deer. All clean kills, no wasted meat. They were field dressed, but needed more attention to prepare the venison to eat. A couple of the women took charge and a group went to work skinning and de-boning.
G-War had eaten the choice parts from a couple rabbits, while Skirill made his own kill of a particularly large rabbit. They were both quite satisfied. Master Aadi, on the other hand, seemed put out. He floated near the cart, well away from any villagers.
Braden went to him and stroked his neck, which he stretched out so the human hands could reach those places that Aadi himself could not.
“What’s going on, A-Dog?” Braden asked softly.
‘I fear that they are all afraid of me. You were the first human I’ve met. You accepted me and treated me with respect. I give that back to you in equal portion. You are a good man, Master Braden. These women do not accept me. Mutie they called me and mutie is what they think when they look at me.’ He blinked rapidly, as he did when he was upset.
“If they knew how downright mean and nasty I am, they’d be afraid.” Braden looked closely at Aadi to see if he got the jibe.
‘Mean? Nasty? I think you are confusing yourself with someone else, young human.’ Braden screwed up his face and made growling noises. ‘Ha! I get it. Well, not really, but I understand what you are trying to do, and I appreciate it.’
“C’mon, Master Aadi. I don’t know what this village is called or what they have to trade besides these tunics. I would like to see this place as a main trade center. Let’s see, where could we put the market square…” Braden rested his hand on the Tortoid’s shell as they walked, side by side, into the village.
The two young women saw Braden and made a beeline toward him, giggling to each other as they approached. When they saw he was with the Tortoid, they stopped and grimaced.
“Hey! I don’t even know your names. Come on over here. I want to show you something,” Braden said in his best come-hither voice.
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The young women started retreating, facing Braden and the Tortoid, but walking backwards.
“Come here!” he yelled with a snarl. If they had anything to fear, it was him when he was angry.
They reluctantly approached.
“Let me introduce you to Aadi, First Master of the Tortoise Consortium. He is my mentor. He is the wisest creature I’ve ever met, and that includes humans. Most importantly, he is my friend. This morning you wanted to be my friend. Nothing has changed between then and now. Come closer.” Braden stroked the Tortoid’s neck. He remained unblinking, making himself into a floating statue.
“He likes this. Here. Pet his neck, gently.” The first woman complied mechanically at first, then tenderly as she felt Aadi’s neck, the rough but living skin teasing her sense of touch.
“How do you talk with it?”
“Him. I talk with him. I am bonded with Golden Warrior of the Stone Cliffs, the Hillcat, over…” Braden looked for G-War, but couldn’t find him. “Here’s here somewhere. The ‘cat connects us all. I hear Master Aadi’s voice in my head.”
The girls giggled again, looking at each other. “One of the oldest women here was hearing voices, too. No one else heard them so she was driven away.” They let that linger with Braden. Would he be driven away? No, because Micah could hear them, too.
“Micah talks with my friends, too. You believe her, don’t you?” He could tell by the look on their faces that they didn’t like Micah. Maybe they saw her as competition, maybe even an interloper, changing their world and not for the better. ‘G. Can you arrange a demonstration for the unbelievers?’ Braden asked using his thought voice.
‘No. I don’t do tricks to impress stupid girls.’
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