Free Trader Box Set - Books 4-6: Battle for the Amazon, Free the North!, Free Trader on the High Seas

by Craig Martelle

  They started the water buffalo moving south on the plains west of the forest that bordered the ancients’ road. Braden had forgotten how agonizingly slowly water buffalo moved.

  Some Personal Business

  They squeezed a two-turn trip into five turns as they traveled to Whitehorse. Braden did the math in his head and then conferred with Holly. The water buffalo could not carry enough water to make it to Oasis 03. This revelation made Braden descend into a deep pit of darkness. They’d press on, but they had to find a way to speed up the herd.

  They settled the livestock in the plains, leaving the Aurochs, Bounder, Gray Strider, and some of the young adult ‘cats to watch over it and make sure the animals stayed close together. Skirill and Zyena offered to help. They left the wagon and Braden, Micah, and Zeller rode the two horses to Whitehorse, accompanied by G-War and Fea.

  They found that the barricade had been removed and there were signs that at least a couple wagons had traveled back and forth on the road to Cameron. They hurried into town as Zeller was eager to see the blacksmith

  The large man had somehow gotten word of their arrival as he waited impatiently, wiping his hands profusely on his work apron. As they drove up, he reached into the wagon and lifted Zeller out as if she were a child, hugging her extensively before putting her on the ground.

  “I never got your name, Master Blacksmith,” Braden said.

  “My name is Tomas, but everyone just calls me Tom,” he answered.

  “No!” Braden blurted out. “Tom the blacksmith. But we already have one of those!” Tom didn’t understand.

  “Tomas and I will be in his shop if you need us,” Zeller said, taking his large hand in hers and leading him away.

  “Is there any reason we’d need to go to his shop?” Braden asked.

  “None,” Micah said firmly.

  Fea watched everything with great interest. She’d never been outside of her own community before she met G-War and the companions. Now she was one of the most well-traveled of Hillcats. She enjoyed that and her new human, too. Micah absently stroked her fur as they traveled. Unlike G-War, Fea couldn’t get enough of the petting that the humans found so comforting. It worked for her, too. G-War sat on Braden’s lap, sympathizing with the human as he’d never done before.

  To make G-War feel better, Braden offered a look into a possible future. “I don’t think you’ll have any more problems with Klytus and Shauna’s mother.”

  G-War thought about it and agreed. He looked forward to the meeting, but he’d have to teach Fea how to fight first. He’d have to teach all of them how to fight.

  Braden looked at Micah. “What are we doing here?” he asked, not understanding why they were delayed. He felt like the water buffalo needed his attention.

  G-War and Fea excused themselves to return to the wagon as they had no interest in trading or waiting in the sun.

  “Zeller wanted to see her man and we need to do some shopping,” she said happily. Braden looked at the meager offerings before hanging his head. Another exercise in building up hope. It pained him to watch bad deals, but this time he smiled, nodded, and carried the purchases while the vendors beamed at their newfound wealth.

  Braden wrapped the goods in a huge blanket that he draped over his horse.

  Tom and Zeller had not yet reappeared. Micah hesitated to knock, but they’d delayed as long as they were comfortable. The ‘cats were just outside town, and Braden assumed that they would start making trouble soon. He understood innately what it was like trying to get a ‘cat to do something and getting thirty-four of them to do the same thing seemed impossible. His only hope was to keep them going in one direction once they started moving.

  Which they weren’t at present. Micah knocked a second time on the door to the blacksmith’s shop and walked in without waiting for an answer. She found Tom and Zeller carrying a couple bags each while Tom was shaking hands with a very young man and scrawny young woman, both filthy from working with the forge.

  Micah held her hands up, asking Zeller what was going on.

  “Tom’s coming with us,” she said as she handed Micah one of the smaller bags, and they all walked out. Braden took the bag from his partner and heartily welcomed young Tom as he thought he’d call him. They tied the bags onto the horses with the rough and thick rope from the north. They’d given or traded all of their Amazonian rope away. Braden missed it, knowing that if a trade route developed between the north and the south, the item in greatest demand would be that rope. Zeller already knew that she’d probably be the first one to do it as one of the most experienced in crossing the Great Desert.

  Braden knew that it wouldn’t be him.

  They walked the loaded horses out of town and through the nearby woods where they encountered Hillcats climbing trees, chasing each other, and generally being everywhere other than at the wagon.

  The only two at the wagon were G-War and Fea, who were playing some kind of ‘cat cuddles game.

  ‘You’re back early,’ G-War said with surprise.

  “No. No, we’re not, and you didn’t sense us coming?” Braden asked, wondering if his best friend was losing his edge.

  ‘Yes, no, well, I knew there wasn’t anything dangerous. We have an army of ‘cats protecting us now!’ he said with great emphasis and pride. Braden walked two steps and plucked the tiniest of kittens from a tree branch, getting a long thin scratch on his arm for his efforts, and deposited her in the wagon.

  “You mean like her? An army of ‘cats?” Braden said, pointing, as if they didn’t know he was talking about the kitten batting at his hand. Micah stifled a laugh. Zeller and Tom didn’t seem to notice as she was showing him “her” wagon.

  “Bounder!” Braden yelled and walked away, hoping the Wolfoids had kept the herd together.

  What Braden failed to realize was that Fea ruled with an iron paw. When she told the ‘cats to return, they came, some slower than others, but all of them returned without anyone having to chase an errant kitten. Braden thanked Fea profusely while giving G-War the hairy eyeball.

  ‘Oh, stop it,’ G-War prodded lightly. ‘You were worse when you were courting.’

  “I don’t believe I was. We were in the middle of opening up free trade across the south. That took a great deal of effort and attention. We fought a few battles along the way as well. No. You’re worse.”

  ‘We shall agree to disagree. Onward, humans. Take us to our new home,’ the ‘cat commanded with a flick of his furry orange paw.

  Arnie pulled the wagon, while Brandt, Bounder, Gray Strider, with Braden and Micah riding the horses, moved the herd. The grazing was good and the water buffalo were reluctant to get started. Brandt turned out to be the secret weapon. The water buffalo looked on him as if he were one of them, but an order of magnitude larger. He charged them, lowering his great horns, which turned them from a slow-moving group to an all-out stampede.

  They ran in every direction except the one intended. Bounder and Gray Strider bolted for their lives when they saw the fear in the eyes of the water buffalo. Braden and Micah rode hard and wide to turn the heads of the quickest animals. It took them far longer than planned to get the animals going generally in the direction of the pond and the way south.

  “Any ideas, Brandt? Anyone? If we try this through the desert, we’re going to have to abandon the animals. If we do that, we condemn them all to death. We have to get them to move more quickly in a straighter line.” Brandt tried leading, then he tried following so he could push them. The Wolfoids ran alongside, encouraging the water buffalo with the tips of their spears, but the livestock would run a few steps then slow to graze, meandering as they went.

  Skirill and Zyena had to be bored out of their minds at the slow pace, but they took to hunting ground squirrels, dropping their prey into the back of the wagon as they killed it. But the kittens were making a mess and Zeller was having none of that in her wagon. She made them eat while hanging on the tailgate to minimize the blood and guts in the padded
interior.

  They didn’t stop for lunch or at any point during the daylight as they wanted to keep the livestock moving. As night started to fall, they’d made it halfway across the plain. Braden and Micah opened their neural implants, overlaid their location on the maps, let Holly calculate the distances, and they still came up short. Like Braden had done on his first trip across the Great Desert, he decided that they’d push the herd in and let them figure out the necessity of moving with a greater sense of urgency. There wouldn’t be any distractions of grass to graze on. They’d lose weight, but as long as they arrived in the south alive, the caravan’s journey would have been a success.

  As Braden looked at it, hope was a lousy plan, and it was the only one he had.

  They camped in the open plain, while the water buffalo grazed around them. They slept in, on, or under the wagon after an ungratifying meal of smoked meat and some vegetables they’d purchased. The ‘cats weren’t amused, even after G-War told them what their life would be like on the road and in the south. There would be suffering, which they were fine with until the suffering started.

  Most of them were kittens of various ages. There were seven or eight young adults and Fea. There were two other adult males and G-War put them in their place in a hurry. The heavily scarred G-War was intimidating to the Hillcats who’d been raised with less of an edge. Exasperated, he gave up and turned the young adults over to Fea, who empathized with them while calming them down. G-War had to train the ‘cats how to be good Hillcats and Fea learned that she needed to train her Prince.

  That reminded Micah of a saying that she heard once. Men chase women just until she catches him.

  When the sun started to rise, they drank heartily from the wagon’s stocks while the water buffalo licked the dew from the grass. The ‘cats jumped from the wagon, one by one, to take care of personal ‘cat business. One of the older kittens thought chasing a water buffalo would be fun, but then ventured a jump onto its back. He’d seen G-War and Fea riding on Brandt and knew that’s how he wanted to travel. Once on the water buffalo, he dug in his claws and hung on as the beast kicked and snorted. It soon settled down and the kitten found that he could give it basic directions. Pleased with himself, he brought the water buffalo to the wagon and declared that he had his ride for the daylight. The beast turned and headed in the direction of the pond.

  Braden looked at Micah with a huge grin. “The ‘cats can drive the water buffalo,” he said as the revelation swept over him.

  “Hey! You, what’s your name, how did you do that?” Braden yelled. Micah pointed to her own head. “What?”

  ‘Thought voice, lover. No need to yell. You are scaring the children,’ she laughed.

  ‘Come back here, Treetis,’ Fea jumped in. She questioned him on how he did it, then shared his thoughts with the rest of the ‘cats and one by one, they were each assigned a water buffalo. Even the smallest kittens were unafraid, but Fea expected they’d have to bring them into the wagon at regular intervals to rest.

  With the ‘cats situated and the water buffalo settled down, they started off with Brandt setting the pace. Although it was slow for him, the water buffalo had to trot every few steps to keep up. They continued that way until the sun was high in the sky and the pond was near. They took a break, let the smallest kittens rest, and continued with only half the herd carrying riders. When they arrived at the pond, the water buffalo waded in, fouling the water for the rest to drink. They headed upstream to drink from the clear flowing fresh water. Then they started filling the saddle bags that each water buffalo would carry.

  The Wolfoids had to use their spears to dissuade more adventurous water buffalo from getting upstream, but in the end, it all worked out.

  G-War took the older ‘cats hunting, but once again, it was an arrow from Braden’s bow that guaranteed their dinner.

  After passing out the raw bits and quite a bit of flesh to the ‘cats, the humans settled in to cook the rest.

  “What made you decide to join us?” Braden asked, looking to find out more about their new addition. By riding the horses, Braden and Micah didn’t get to talk with Zeller and Tom as they traveled.

  “That’s your question?” Micah interrupted, which led to a short back-and-forth between her and Braden regarding small talk.

  “No, I’ll answer,” Tom offered. “Even before the Provincial Government showed up, I was tired of being in the same old place, doing the same thing every day. I love working the iron, but I also love getting out. When I saw Zeller, I knew that I wanted to run away with her, see what else Vii has to offer. She was the best I could have ever hoped for.”

  “Because she had her own wagon?” Braden taunted, looking at his partner. She punched him in the shoulder, eliciting an unhappy cry from Fea sleeping in her lap.

  “Of course!” Tom played along. “A woman with such attributes should be blessed to receive the attention of a man such as myself.” His statement and coy grin earned him a punch in the shoulder, too. The banter continued as the companions talked. Zeller and Tom had yet to determine if they’d make a home somewhere and one or both would work the routes as Free Traders.

  On Vii, life was usually short and hard. When people found their mate, they didn’t waste time. Zeller and Tom’s courting period lasted a few heartbeats. After that, everything was a detail to be hammered out, negotiated, or traded away.

  But they had plenty of time to talk about their futures as there was a great deal of journey remaining.

  Tomorrow, they’d hunt and rest. As the sun waned, they’d head into the desert. Over one hundred living creatures would brave the heat and lack of water in an effort to bring livestock south.

  Missing ‘cats

  The first night of travel went well. The tent was set up before dawn and the ‘cats were settling their rides. The humans had to help with the water saddlebags for the water buffalo to drink what they carried. They used the wagon’s supply of water sparingly for the extra drinkers. The ‘cats had been unplanned, but fortunately weren’t great consumers of water.

  When the sun broke the horizon and Braden and his caravan could see, they discovered that they were short seven water buffalo and three ‘cats. Skirill and Zyena immediately launched into the air, flying a wide track on both sides of the night’s route. They saw nothing right away, so they zigzagged wider, flying farther.

  Braden climbed on Brandt with G-War and Fea as they raced into the desert, retracing their steps in search of the lost ‘cats. The sun was up and the heat was pounding as they ran, then waited for anything from Skirill and Zyena.

  Far to the south, they spotted something and Zyena dove, feeling scorched as she continued to fly under the blistering sun. In one of the many dry river beds in the northern part of the desert, the water buffalo huddled under an overhang. Zyena was finally able to make contact and talk with the kittens. Treetis was one of the three. Once the sun started to rise, he realized that he’d fallen asleep and mistakenly directed his beast to the south. The others blindly followed. He was afraid that he was in trouble and mewed helplessly as he found himself alone.

  Fea finally heard the kittens’ voice as the King of the Aurochs ran in the brutal heat. His hide was hot, but he pressed on, squinting in the bright sunlight. It was mid-morning when he finally arrived. Fea and G-War bolted from the King’s head to join the kittens, looking miserable and thirsty as they cowered in the shade.

  “I have another favor to ask, my great friend. Can you dig us a hole to sleep, in the shade of this overhang? We have to stay here as I fear we’d all die if we went back into that heat. Six saddle bags of water and two flasks. That’s all we have until we meet back up with the caravan. Let me talk with Micah and see what we can do,” Braden asked as they moved the water buffalo into the sun, against the animals’ desires, so Brandt could dig into the bank, creating more area under the overhang while also getting into the cooler ground beneath. Some of the overhang fell, but much of it was stone and remained in place after the King
’s quick and vigorous work.

  Everyone huddled in the shade, Brandt laying down first and the rest of the creatures working their way in around him. Braden used the water from the saddle bags for the livestock and Brandt. The great King finished three of the saddle bags on his own, but he needed the water after running in the desert heat.

  Braden opened his neural implant, accessing the map. They had traveled farther than the rest of the group, only it was due south instead of south, southeast. With a good night’s movement, Braden thought they could get close to the oasis, drink whatever was left of their water, and then power through until they reached the lake. He thought they’d make it before the others. They had nothing to eat, though. Skirill had returned to Micah’s group, while Zyena joined Braden.

  “Just like old times, eh, G?” Braden said as he tried to relax through his discomfort and get to sleep. “Making it up as we go.” The five ‘cats curled together, hair dry and looking frazzled.

  ‘It wouldn’t be us if we did otherwise,’ G-War said with uncharacteristic understanding. Braden could feel Fealona’s discomfort, but she didn’t express it out loud. They huddled as an impromptu group, praying that the cool of night would quickly return.

  Race to Water

  Braden awoke well before nightfall, but didn’t get up as he didn’t wish to wake the others. He was thirsty, but everyone would be a little thirsty that night.

  ‘I think we’ll make it, G,’ Braden ventured, assuming the ‘cat was awake.

  ‘Yes, but not all the water buffalo will,’ G-War said calmly, not opening his eyes.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Two of them are already sick from not getting enough water. Even if you gave them the rest of what we have, it wouldn’t be enough,’ G-War said, finally opening his eyes.

  ‘Two of the ones without ‘cats?’ Braden asked. G-War nodded almost imperceptibly. The ‘cat riders had encouraged their beasts to drink fully before they entered the desert. Then there were those who didn’t. It seemed that little extra was the difference between life and death.