A World Within
Page 14
When they arrived back at the wagon, Jale was still unconscious. “How is your son?” Marissa asked.
“Still down,” Bon said. “They must have used a potent drug to tranquilize him, but at least he is alive. I have all of you to thank for my son’s life.”
“Bon, there are countless more cyborgs up the coast. We can’t afford to risk a fight with them, so we’ve decided to travel to Gennedy and seek transport across the Waron.”
Bon nodded, but he didn’t like the thought of being out on the sea. “I know you don’t care for sea travel, but we still need your company in order to make it to my father,” Marissa said.
“A panthera is not exactly going to be welcome aboard a ship in close quarters with other passengers,” Bon said thoughtfully. “And I’ve an aversion to being cramped up for so long. There is nowhere to run or hunt on one of those leaky ships.”
Marissa appeared disappointed. “I understand.”
“But I still intend to see you to King Nicholas,” Bon continued. “I will wait with my son until he recovers from the metamen’s venom and then we will make our way around the Waron Sea and meet you at Corsica.”
The suggestion clearly pleased Marissa. “Thank you, Bon. That would be very helpful, but what about the metamen?”
“We pantheras can move silently and swiftly, taking paths not used by men. We’ll most likely be waiting for your arrival when you get to Corsica. Look for us beyond the city walls and, the Maker willing, we’ll be there.”
Marissa smiled. “Very good. I would also suggest you retreat with the wagon to the tall grasses until Jale has recovered. Hannibal and his cyborgs may come hunting for this raiding party sooner than we expect. He’s not going to be happy with what he finds.”
Daniel stepped down from the wagon and patted Bon’s shoulder. Then he unfastened the buckles on the harness to free the great cat. “Thank you, Daniel, for your courage. I have my son alive because of your willingness to risk your life.”
Daniel nodded. He wasn’t really sure what to say. He hadn’t actually risked his life much in the doing, but he had been willing. He joined Meineke and the others as they set off for the town of Gennedy. Daniel watched Bon as he grabbed the harness up in his teeth, using it to pull the wagon back up the hill and into the tall grasses. Their camouflage would allow them to remain unseen even if the metamen happened to come along.
The great cat soon disappeared among the grasses with his unconscious son. Daniel wondered if Jale would understand and appreciate what these people had done to rescue him. Hopefully he would feel kinder toward men for the kindness which had been rendered to him.
GENNEDY
The day had begun to wane by the time they spotted the spires of Gennedy’s guard towers poised atop the high defensive wall of the town. The wall stood nearly one hundred feet high and was made from tall, thick trees with black bark.
“Nothing gets into Gennedy unless they allow it,” Meineke said as they continued their trek along the seaside road.
“It certainly looks well defended,” Daniel said.
“Aye, it should,” Bob said. “Those trees come from the Deadwood.”
“The Deadwood?”
“Yeah, the Deadwood lies on the other side of the Waron Sea,” Louie said. “The trees there give the forest its name because they’re petrified.”
“So, it’s a forest of dead trees?”
Louie smiled. “Well, not actually dead. It’s a defense mechanism the trees have. Their outer bark petrifies once the trees reach a certain age—makes them nearly impossible to cut down and useless for timber.”
“Then how did the people of Gennedy get them for their wall?”
“Ah, very clever they were,” Meineke said. “They actually took trees of a young age and transplanted them into the soil here. The petrified portion is on the trunk below the living boughs, so they just cropped off the tops along the wall except for the towers.”
As their group drew nearer, Daniel noticed that the towers were actually pruned tops of the trees with bushy branches and man-made battlements constructed among the large boughs. “Do you suppose the people will let us in?”
“That depends,” Louie said. “They generally don’t allow weapons inside of the city. Any traders or shipping passengers are made to leave weapons behind with the keeper of the armory. But it wouldn’t do for us to be caught on the other side of the Waron without any weapons.”
Daniel contemplated that possibility. They had already encountered so much danger along the way in just two days time. Daniel may not have had any skill with weapons, but he had been put more at ease by the knowledge that these capable warriors were well armed.
Each of the human men carried a broadsword or battleaxe and an assortment of daggers. The elf men had outfitted more like Marissa with pairs of long fighting knives and bows. None of these warriors had been very talkative, certainly not as friendly as Louie and his cherubs, or Meineke.
“Meineke,” he whispered, “how come the men don’t talk very much?”
Meineke leaned in a bit to explain as they walked. “Well, it’s not really the friendliest of alliances, you see. The humans and the elves tend to not get along very well. But with all of the Living Land at risk from Mortis’s invasion, they really don’t have much of a choice. We either fight against him together as allies, or we all perish together.”
“Not a very tough choice is it?”
Meineke shrugged. “Not for me and my people anyway. We halfling types, like wils and cherubs, tend to be dismissed by the taller folk anyway. So, you probably won’t find them chatting it up with us.”
“That’s a shame. I guess they don’t want to bother with a kid, either.”
“I wouldn’t take it personally. After all, everyone is pretty tense on this quest. Everything depends on finding the Wielder. Without him to fight Mortis, there won’t be any of us left to be friendly with one another.”