Once he was satisfied that the others agreed, he sat down and motioned for Braden to continue.
“Thank you, Dantan. It started in the north after a short conversation with the Golden Warrior.” Braden tipped his head in the direction of the tree where G-War looked asleep. Braden resisted giving the finger as most eyes were on him and not the ‘cat. He smiled and looked at the eager faces waiting for the rest of the story. “It seems the ‘cats knew there was Old Tech down here. All we had to do was cross the Great Desert, something no one had ever done before. You know what we found there, besides our Tortoid friend, of course? An Old Tech oasis!” Braden felt his story flow as the others leaned forward, giving him their full attention.
An Old Evil Returns
Once the story was told and everyone understood the critical information that Holly provided, the Council agreed on the strategic goals of the war and their roles. The humans solemnly departed, going their separate ways to prepare their villages for the road ahead. They had to discuss a war already underway with their people and help them understand. They had to move the people from a state of fear to one of support, while preparing them to flee to a place of safety.
It was asking much, but they’d learned what it was to trust again since Braden and Micah’s arrival. The surprising strangers who gave of themselves so others could live free, live better. Everything they had was because of the two humans traveling with an ever-growing odd group of intelligent creatures. Once the wheels started turning, the move went quickly.
Brandt sent members of his herd to each of the villages pulling carts, wagons, and contraptions that dragged behind, anything to help the villagers move. From Coldstream to Greentree to Village McCullough, the wave of people, livestock, and things flowed. Half the people were to stay at McCullough and the other half would go all the way to Dwyer.
Braden, Micah, and their children moved with the others, their home in Greentree left behind. The King of the Aurochs pulled the wagon while their horses trotted along behind. They traveled comfortably with their companions riding. Sometimes, the Wolfoids would run for long stretches, keeping pace with the Aurochs. Along with G-War, Bounder and Brandt became fast friends. Three of the most dangerous creatures on all Planet Vii had banded together to help humanity.
With the twins, Axial and De’atesh, in their arms, Braden and Micah watched the group. G-War rode on Brandt’s head as usual, while Bounder and Gray Strider loped along on each side of the great creature, well clear of his massive horns. The Aurochs’ hair was growing in, leaving his numerous scars as faint memories on the landscape of his life. From the Bat-Ravens to Lizard Men spears. Brandt had been attacked on too many occasions. He shrugged it off, never showing that it bothered him.
Bronwyn would know if it did as she could see more deeply into his mind than they could, and she hadn’t said anything. They shrugged it off.
“Look at this,” Braden started, waving his arm from one side to the other, taking in the expanse of the Plains of Propiscius before them. “Did you ever think we’d be here, doing this?”
“I know you don’t mean riding in a wagon, although before I met you, I never knew such things existed,” Micah answered while she caught the back of Ax’s shirt to keep him from falling over the edge of the buckboard. “No. How could we? Your goal was always to establish trade. Negotiate, agree, deliver!” she recited the Three Laws of Trade.
“In my home village of Trent, we learned to count on ourselves, no one else. We did without because we couldn’t trade. You’ve shown us all how backwards that is. Trading makes us all stronger, better. But there’s always something in the way, isn’t there? First, the villagers themselves were afraid, then it was the distance between the villages, then the Overlords sent their minions. Each time, we’ve found a way to get past the obstacle. This is just another obstacle, but it’ll take all of us and then some, won’t it?” Micah ended with a question, but she knew the answer.
They’d moved far ahead of the walking villagers so they could set up a camp, maybe kill a deer or two, and be ready for when the tired people arrived. Ditarod walked with the villagers. As the village Elder, he wanted to make sure all his people arrived. They followed the now well-worn tracks of the trade route between the villages and could make it without having to be shown the way.
Braden smiled as he looked at the ground before and behind him. The well-worn track showed that trade was becoming commonplace. More than two cycles ago, the road hadn’t existed. It was a constant reminder of how far they’d come, a literal reminder of the distance traveled. He wanted to make a sign where they camped showing it was one day’s walk to Greentree or McCullough. It would be nice for people to know.
Bronwyn’s scream shocked him from his reverie. Micah jumped over the buckboard to join the little girl in the bed of the wagon where the Rabbits huddled, looking with concern at their new best friend.
“What is it, Bronwyn? What do you hear?” Micah spoke loudly as she held the girl firmly by her shoulders.
“The Bat-Ravens! They’ve returned,” she gasped through waves of pain splashing through her mind. Braden pushed the twins into the back to help Bronwyn. The Rabbits looked confused. Aadi let go of the rope he held in his beak-like mouth. He floated to a position above the horses, Max and Speckles, and looked skyward.
He didn’t see anything there. ‘Skirill, Zyena, can you see them?’ Braden asked the Hawkoids perched in a tree far ahead. He watched as they took to the sky and circled around the wagon, gaining altitude with each pass.
‘We see nothing, not clouds of Bat-Ravens, not even single birds. Where are they, Bronwyn? Where are they hiding?’ The last question terrified Braden. The Bat-Ravens had never hidden themselves before and that was the only reason the companions survived any of their encounters. Without the ability to blast hundreds from the sky at one time, the blaster-armed humans lost their edge. There had never been a doubt about the intelligence of the Bat-Ravens, but this was an improvement orders-of-magnitude greater than what they demonstrated before.
“They hide at the edge of the rainforest. They’re waiting, and their thoughts are black, horrible visions of shredding our flesh,” Bronwyn sobbed.
“The Overlords have a new ally,” Micah whispered.
‘The trees, Skirill, be careful. They aren’t aware that we know about their trap,’ Braden said in his thought voice. Brandt started moving again, the wagon creaking as it lurched forward. G-War was crouched on the King’s head, facing the rainforest’s edge, ready to slash should one of the mutant birds come too close.
The Wolfoids were lost until G-War shared images of the Bat-Ravens and memories of their battles with them. Bounder and Gray Strider fell back so they could better see the scars on the King of the Aurochs’ sides. They had wondered about the innumerable thin streaks across his back. Now they knew as they saw the images for themselves. Braden, Micah, G-War, and the horses all had scars from their battles with the mutant birds. The Wolfoids hefted their spears. They’d call the lightning down on the Bat-Ravens if they came too close to their new friends. Bounder and Gray Strider ran together, putting themselves between Brandt and the rainforest.
The Rabbits checked their laser pistols, finding them charged and ready. Micah helped roll up the cover over the wagon but only part way. She wanted the Rabbits to have a clear line of sight to shoot, but not give the Bat-Ravens easy access to the children.
Braden and Micah hefted their blasters, preparing to battle their greatest enemy. Skirill soared high above, sending the companions mental images of the trees where the Bat-Ravens perched. He watched with his Hawkoid eyes focused on where the evil creatures hid. He counted less than one hundred of them, tensing as his loathing bubbled within him. Zyena was overwhelmed by his feelings and started to screech as a Hawkoid does when arrowing in for the kill.
The Bat-Ravens sensed something was wrong, and they grew agitated, hopping on their branches. A couple even took flight, circling through the trees and vines of th
e rainforest to shortly return.
‘Calm, Zyena, calm,’ Braden urged over their mindlink as the companions carefully moved into position to ambush the ambushers. Brandt pulled the wagon off the road and casually, deliberately closer to the rainforest. Braden and Micah climbed from the wagon and walked alongside the Aurochs, close enough to protect him, far enough to shoot without hitting him.
In his thought voice, Braden ran through their impromptu plan one last time. Without another word, everyone who could turned as one and fired into the rainforest, creating an avalanche of flaming branches.
Bronwyn started to sob again as the birds’ death screams rang in her head. Zyena and Skirill dove for the rainforest, staying out of the raging flames, laser beams, and lightning bolts.
A Bat-Raven appeared in the open and Zyena attacked it with a vengeance, repulsed at its appearance which fueled her furor. The Bat-Raven was dead in an instant as she caught it in her talons and twisted, ripping it in half. She dropped it and looked for her next prey.
Skirill dove into the trees as the survivors fled into the rainforest. He chased them, but they were quicker. He picked a spot where the canopy was open to the sky, giving up his chase and leaving the rainforest before they trapped him where he couldn’t maneuver.
“Bronwyn! Find in their minds where the Overlords are. Find the Overlords!” Braden shouted, not knowing if the little girl heard him or could get the information he begged for.
The Rabbits unleashed bolts from their lasers into the rainforest, but their beams were narrow and as the humans had learned, the Rabbits weren’t very good shots since they never practiced shooting, generally abhorring violence. They would defend themselves and that was the only role Braden could ask of them. Everyone had their fundamental nature. Rooting them out of that would scar their very souls.
Braden and Micah kept continuous lines of flame streaking from their blasters toward the area they’d last seen the Bat-Ravens. Lightning bolts sparked from the Wolfoid spears at regular intervals. Aadi sent a thunderclap into the trees, but he was a long way from the action. He stayed close to the horses, just in case any of the hellspawn returned. If nothing else, he could use his shell to protect their exposed backs.
But nothing emerged from the Amazon. Skirill circled high overhead while Zyena danced at the edges. G-War sat calmly on the King’s head, despite the Aurochs swinging his horns back and forth, taunting the mutant birds.
Braden called for everyone to stop firing. He checked on Bronwyn and the children while Micah watched the rainforest. The young girl was starting to relax. The twins both cried because they had heard the Bat-Ravens, too, and they were afraid, even though the threat was gone.
G-War leapt from Brandt’s head and with the Wolfoids, raced into the trees to look for any survivors, thinking they would tear them apart. Skirill and Zyena flew in the area between the wagon and the rainforest, keeping a close watch, to give early warning should the evil return.
“Bronwyn, did you see anything?” Braden asked, keeping his voice quiet and calm. The young girl nodded as she rubbed her eyes.
“They are such horrible creatures! I can’t believe anything like them exists,” her small voice cried even as she powered through the pain in her head and in her heart. The twins snuggled under Braden’s arms and quickly stopped crying. They snuffled and wiped their little noses on their sleeves. The Rabbits moved in close to put furry paws on the children. The twins let go of their father and buried their heads deep in the belly fur of the oversized Rabbits. Bronwyn embraced Patrice and Delavigne. Their pink noses twitched rapidly as they helped her out of the dark hole of the Bat-Ravens.
“We’ll use what you saw, Bronwyn, to find the Overlords, the masters of the evil ones, and we’ll stop them from hurting you ever again.” Braden looked to the four Rabbits, who nodded in return. The children were in good paws.
McCullough
Village McCullough had always been hard-pressed for food, but with the Amazonian War at a critical stage, they had even less time to hunt and work their fields. At least they were loaded with mushrooms, but the trading with the Amazonians was irregular at best. They could only plan future meetings when Bronwyn was around to talk with Zalastar or Akhmiyar.
They were afraid to go into the Amazon to their normal trading point, especially since the attack on Braden, Micah, and their companions. If that group wasn’t safe, then average villagers stood no chance, even though they were armed with swords and bows.
When the tired villagers arrived, Mel-Ash, McCullough’s Elder, met them on the road. She warmly greeted the large group and directed them to an area that had been prepared north of the village, with a stream running nearby and a pit useful for a toilet.
Braden and Micah unhooked Brandt from his harness, and he led the Earthshaker Herd farther north where they could graze the Plains of Propiscius. It was near there that Braden and Micah had first approached Village McCullough. Even traveling with intelligent animals, they were quickly welcomed since they had purged the evil that had befallen the village in the form of its tyrant bloodline.
The new Village McCullough under the sage leadership of Elder Mel-Ash prospered because of trade, sound leadership, and the addition of many people. The village was larger than it had ever been. They produced more protective material than ever, but less food, because they traded for what they needed. Their Market Square was a place where people conducted the business of trade, something they had never contemplated a mere two cycles before.
As a favor to Braden and as leaders in building a new world in the south, the villagers of McCullough, both new and old, welcomed the refugees from Coldstream and Greentree.
The stalls in Market Square became temporary shelters for families. Open spaces were filled with people and the belongings of those designated to remain in McCullough. The rest would continue to Village Dwyer.
Mel-Ash wasn’t shy about telling the newcomers what needed to be done. She arranged work parties for the fields, for scavenging edibles from the nearby rainforest, for hunting. Braden and Micah would have liked to see the refugees rest before starting to work, but the village needed the food if they were to survive.
Braden, G-War, and the Wolfoids led the group of Coldstream hunters toward the rainforest. After listening to them crash through the brush, Braden halted the group and instructed them to wait.
With G-War’s help, Braden downed a young buck and the Wolfoids were able to catch two does. Braden called the hunters to him and turned over the fresh kills for cleaning and return to the village.
Braden didn’t have enough time to teach these newcomers to hunt. Village McCullough had three women and two men who excelled with the bow and had reasonable woodcraft. They’d have to do the hunting for the whole group. Braden was disappointed in the hunters from Coldstream, but then again, they maintained livestock in the form of a herd of pigs while also working extensive fields.
The group bringing the hogs from Coldstream had fallen far behind, so Braden had guided them to the north, away from the rainforest. They traveled slowly, but when they arrived in the next turn or two, the pigs would be a nice addition to the diet of the expanded Village McCullough.
Until then, the hunters would have to find ways to bring home more game.
Expanding the Trade Route
When the last of the refugees from Coldstream and Greentree arrived in McCullough, Braden and Micah built a bonfire. Bounder and Gray Strider were bringing back two deer that they’d caught. G-War and the Hawkoids had gone with the Wolfoids to watch for threats while they hunted.
From when Braden first arrived, the group he now traveled with was probably the single most powerful force on all of Vii. Blasters, lightning spears, and laser pistols gave them a technological edge, but their real power came in working as a tight-knit group. They executed Braden’s plans flawlessly and with intense violence when the situation demanded it.
That was nothing any of them wanted. But to realize a world living in peace,
they had to make war better than the enemy. They knew they had to cut off the enemy’s head. Without the Overlords, the other creatures would disappear into the shadows and leave the civilized world alone.
To make that happen, the companions had to be in two places at once. They had to defend the humans, the refugees, and they had to travel deep into the rainforest to find the Overlords.
The first order of business was in getting the refugees settled and the second was to draft some of them to serve as guards because Braden and his companions couldn’t be in two places at once. They only needed to appear like they were in one place, while being someplace the Overlords didn’t expect.
“I think it’s time,” Micah offered out of the blue. Braden looked at her oddly and shrugged. He didn’t know what she meant. She took a deep breath.
“It’s time to visit Trent,” she said abruptly. “They have food they can trade. They have people who are willing to work. They have men who know how to fight. I think we add them to the trade route as well as Cornwall, the village to the south. I’m ready to go back home, see my parents. There is a lot to fear on Vii, and they aren’t in that group.” She heard the warm caress of G-War’s purr over the mindlink. The other companions added their warmest feelings, too. They understood the magnitude of Micah’s revelation. They also knew that they wouldn’t let anything happen to her, no matter how the villagers from her former home reacted.
The most protective of the companions was Braden. He’d been ready to see the Eastern Ocean for quite some time, but hadn’t wanted to push Micah before she was ready.
“Once we get everyone settled in Dwyer and McCullough, we’ll continue east. I’d like to meet your parents, ask your father’s permission to be your forever partner!” He smiled and they both laughed. “Or maybe they’d just like to meet their grandchildren.”
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