The Free Trader of Warren Deep (Free Trader Series Book 1)

by Craig Martelle

  He hoped that his mistake had not led the caravan to certain death.

  For now, they had their routine. Through the darkness of night they traveled. The morning brought a quick flight, a frenzied run to cover, building the same shelter, over and over, and then sleep in the heat of the shade.

  They traveled more slowly with each passing turn.

  As twilight ended the third night after their departure from Oasis Zero Two, Skirill took flight, looking for the next oasis, hoping for a green oasis and not one in the death throes of its own demise.

  He flew in circles around the group. If their direction was off, the oasis could be anywhere. He found nothing. He proceeded south making a wide swerving S, creating a cone of travel. Skirill expected to see another oasis that lost its battle to the desert.

  But that wasn’t it at all. Far to the south south-west, he saw a complete settlement. Trees, fields, buildings, and the wondrous sparkling blue of a lake.

  ‘Is this right?’ Skirill asked. ‘Is this the oasis or have we made it through the Great Desert?’

  ‘We shall see after a good sleep. We shall see.’ Braden said, feeling far more hope than he had felt since they saw the last ghost of an oasis.

  49 – Oasis Zero One

  They traveled in the darkness, the cart creaking loudly, the horses’ harnesses slapping and jingling. They didn’t hurry as they wanted to enter the village in the light.

  ‘Buildings. Who lives out here?’ Braden thought. ‘Maybe we can trade. I still have one vial of saffrimander, platinum, silver, and gold. Do they know what any of that is?’

  ‘Fields.’ Braden thought about the horses. ‘They are going to love those. I already love those and I don’t even know what’s growing.’

  “G-War. Can you feel anything from that village?” Braden asked aloud, not bothering to turn around. He would not have been able to see the ‘cat. He was barely able to make out Pack’s large form.

  ‘Nothing,’ came the ‘cat’s reply.

  Maybe they weren’t close enough yet.

  Braden called a stop while the moon was still high overhead. They ate a little of their remaining stores and drank heartily. Braden sat on the ground, looking south, and waited.

  Twilight found Braden still sitting, but with his head between his knees as he was sound asleep. Aadi floated by, bumping him gently.

  He awoke to the oasis’ outline in the distance. They remounted quickly and got underway. Skirill was already airborne, flying circles around the oasis, carefully looking for any creatures. He saw movement among the bushes, but couldn’t see anything specific.

  He continued to circle, going lower as the sun broke the horizon and flooded the oasis with light.

  The others looked through the Hawkoid’s eyes, seeing a well-maintained series of one-story buildings standing along the shore of the lake. Small shapes swam in the water. Skirill swooped down for a closer look. Fish, not cold-water crocs. No monsters.

  He headed away from the lake, passing over the fields, plants heavy with beans and grains. He banked as the desert approached and winged gently back toward the oasis.

  Movement, coming from one of the small buildings on the end. He back winged to a hover, focusing on the creatures now moving about. They looked like Mirror Beasts, only smaller, with many arms, which were shaped more like snakes and tree branches than a human’s arms.

  They moved with purpose, each going to a separate part of the oasis. It looked like they were working. One was trimming plants. Two were now in the fields, working with the dirt, then the plants. One looked to be feeding the fish. The shapes in the water surged together, breaking the surface as the mini Beast dropped bits of something from a box on a small dock.

  In the underbrush, he finally got a clear view of what looked to be a small, wild boar. It was misshapen, though. It walked with a jerk as its legs were different sizes. A fifth leg protruded uselessly from its side. The Hawkoid at first thought that he’d like some pork, but that creature didn’t look appetizing. The fish, however, were a completely different matter.

  50 – Dinner Awaits

  “Master Aadi. You had the plan last time. What do you suggest we do?”

  ‘I suggest we not get killed! I’ve never seen the like of what awaits us.’

  “And you still don’t feel anything?” Braden asked G-War.

  ‘The small boars, yes. They are barely functioning animals. I suspect they will taste good.’

  “I think Aadi and I will lead the way, G. You bring up the rear. Skirill, can you find a place to perch without being seen so you can watch us?”

  ‘Yes,’ was Skirill’s simple answer. That was all Braden needed. His trust in his companions was implicit. If they needed help, the Hawkoid would be there. G-War made sure that they were all connected via mindlink. Communication between the companions was instantaneous.

  “Thanks Ess. We’ll tie the horses to the first tree we come to and then bring them when the way is clear. Master Aadi, shall we?” Braden crooked his arm as if offering to take a lady dancing. The Tortoid looked at it briefly, blinked twice, and swam forward.

  They entered the oasis without being challenged by any of the mini Mirror Beasts or the boar pack. With the horses secured behind them, they moved forward. Braden had his hand on the hilt of his long knife still in his belt. The Rico Bow rested easily across his back. The Tortoid floated at Braden’s shoulder, swimming slowly, keeping pace with the wary human. The ‘cat padded effortlessly behind them by a few strides, staying to the shadows and the cover the bushes provided.

  The small boars, which Braden recognized as wild javelina ran around them, but never too close. They seemed disinterested in the companions. Many of the javelina were malformed; all of them were smaller than those from Warren Deep. He realized two things about them. They had no fear of him and they were vegetarians.

  ‘Let’s check the buildings first to see if there are any people,’ Braden told his companions with his thought voice.

  As Aadi and Braden walked from the cover of the trees to the open area in front, a mini Mirror Beast popped out from the underbrush at their side and came straight for them. The Tortoid instantly unleashed his focused thunderclap. Braden was happy not to be the target this time, but it still took him unaware. He clasped his hands over his ears, too late as he made to jump aside.

  He expected the blast would be reflected and that he’d be hit a second time. But this creature did not have the abilities of his larger brother. It popped its seams, two of its four arms were ripped off, and it toppled sideways to the ground.

  All of this in less than a heartbeat. Braden was still trying to get his hands over his ears when the attack was finished.

  Braden shook his head to clear it. “Master Aadi. I’m not sure that thing has any weapons.”

  ‘My apologies young human. It surprised me.’ He floated down close to the wreckage on the ground. ‘My, my. Isn’t that strange. It seems to be made of material like your knife.’

  Braden looked to see if any other attackers lurked nearby, but there wasn’t anything or anyone besides the javelina, playing and eating in the underbrush.

  Braden examined the pieces of the mini Mirror Beast without touching any of it. Using his knife, he levered the body of the thing until it flipped over. It was roughly the shape of a small tree trunk. Round. Flat on the top and bottom. The bottom plate had fallen off. Inside was a great number of small metal parts, a black and waxy box, some thin green pieces, and many, many thin colored strings. These were bundled as they connected one thing to another, their tendrils ending in gold, touched everything inside.

  He reached into it and touched the various parts and pieces. “This is all man-made! These strings are gold, silver, and copper with a thin layer of something to protect them. This is amazing!” His voice changed to a whisper. “Old Tech.” With this, Braden had now seen more Old Tech than any other human in Warren Deep. He was the only one to see functioning Old Tech.

  But they h
ad accidentally killed it. He continued his inspection of the detail within. He knew there was no way he could put it back together and make it function again.

  ‘Master Human…’ prompted the Tortoid. Braden looked up and saw another one of the creatures, this one boxy, shorter, with four arms. It was standing right next to him. Braden fell over and scooted away, holding his knife in front of him, pointed at the newcomer.

  This mini Mirror Beast was only interested in its companion. Using its arms with various devices attached at the ends, it collected up the entirety of the broken Beast. With a final brush of the dirt, it rolled away, its friend piled into a cart behind it. They disappeared into a shed-like structure near the end of a long building.

  Braden had never encountered a facility like this. He needed to take better stock of his surroundings before they took another step into it. These man-made creatures scared him because he didn’t understand them. He hadn’t tried to talk with them, but he needed to. They needed information that they could only learn by getting answers to their many questions.

  “Next time, we talk first and blast second.”

  ‘Hungry,’ popped into Braden’s mind. He looked back to see the ‘cat crouched, ready to pounce.

  “G! Not now, by all that’s holy! We already killed one creature. How many more before they all turn on us? I’m not sure we can win that fight my friend,” Braden said firmly.

  ‘Let’s go, then. Dinner awaits,’ the ‘cat responded without humor.

  51 – Repair Shed

  Braden decided to follow the boxy beast to the shed. As he approached, the door opened by sliding upwards into the roof. He jumped aside, expecting someone or something to emerge. The door promptly slid back down.

  He stepped from his cover toward the door. It opened again. He jumped aside. It closed.

  ‘This is rather fun, don’t you think?’ The Tortoid offered.

  Braden hung his head and laughed silently to himself. How did he get here? He not only had a ‘cat that constantly questioned his intelligence, he now had a Tortoid giving him grief. He looked at Aadi and shook his head. The Tortoid blinked once, floating serenely to the side.

  “Be my guest, Master Tortoid,” Braden said. Aadi swam toward the door, but it remained closed. He floated left and right in front of it. No change.

  ‘Sorry. It seems to like you better.’

  ‘There’s no accounting for taste,’ the ‘cat chimed in. ‘Like one of these tasty morsels running around. Can it stop goofing around, please? Hungry.’

  Braden stood before the door. It opened and stayed open as he stood there. It seemed dark inside, but his eyes quickly adjusted. It was a work area, but nothing like he’d ever seen before. The bench was low and in the middle of the room. On it, all the parts of the blasted beast were arranged. A mechanical device was overhead, working itself along a beam. Other smaller devices were arranged around and on the table. They appeared to be working to put the mini Mirror Beast back together. Sparks flew here and there, but Braden couldn’t see a forge of any sort.

  Along the inside walls were bits and pieces of various metals, bands of the coated copper, silver, and gold, and a wide variety of parts and pieces. It was an Old Tech repair shop. The tech repaired other tech. And that’s why the ancients aren’t here anymore, he thought. If he had nothing to do, he would wither and die. The ancients built these magnificent creatures and then the humans themselves no longer mattered.

  That’s what Braden supposed anyway. Maybe he would find out some turn, but not if he couldn’t talk with these things.

  He went inside the room, filled to bursting with Old Tech. “Oh wondrous creatures from the before time, incredible Old Tech creations, I am Braden, Free Trader of Warren Deep.” He bowed as he finished, watching for any sign that the metal creatures had heard and would talk with him.

  Nothing.

  The door finally closed as Braden moved to look more closely at the materials along the sides. Aadi was still outside. Braden started to panic and rushed back at the door.

  It promptly opened. Aadi looked at him with his expressionless face. ‘Yes?’

  “Nothing.” He quickly replied. “I’m not sure they can talk with me. C’mon in Master Aadi and see for yourself.”

  ‘Thank you, but no. I’m perfectly fine right here. I shall await your return.’

  Braden looked at him. A single blink as the Tortoid hovered motionless outside the door. Braden went back inside, the door slid down behind him. He looked around to make sure that nothing had changed, that nothing was coming after him now that he was alone.

  Nothing did.

  While digging in a box, he found a small round device with two arrows. The numbers one through twelve were inscribed on the outside. It had a metal band shaped for a person’s wrist. He put this in his belt pouch. He looked up to see if anything cared. The small Bots continued repairing the mini Beast.

  “What are you?” He asked, knowing he would get no reply.

  He went back outside, walking briskly past the Tortoid. “Let’s check out the building. There’s no one in here.”

  52 – A Venison Meat Pie, Please

  Starting with the first door they came to, Braden pushed on the door, but it was closed. There was no handle, only a small panel to the right of the door frame. It looked to be shaped for his hand, so he put his hand on it. It flashed red. The door remained closed. He tried it again with the same result. He tried the remaining five doors in the building and received the same result. Each panel flashed the color red beneath his hand.

  He tried looking in through the windows between each of the doors. Although the windows were large, he couldn’t see inside. They were glass, but black and opaque. Even with his nose against them and his hands cupped around his eyes, he couldn’t see in. He expected that he could break the glass, but he didn’t want to do that yet.

  He thought no one cared that they had damaged one of the Old Tech devices. But he didn’t want to push his luck. It wasn’t his intent to destroy the oasis. First and foremost, he wanted his party to be safe. They hadn’t found anything so far that was a threat. He wanted answers from these Old Tech creatures.

  Another small building stood beyond the building with the dark windows and closed doors. This had a single door, of a type like the shed. Larger, clear windows took up much of the wall space. He looked in to see various overstuffed chairs, a strange desk area, and a table with Old Tech devices on it.

  He boldly walked up to the door, and it promptly opened. Cool air welcomed him. It was like a gentle breeze that came off the mountains. He hadn’t felt air this cool since before they entered the Great Desert. It felt good against his face. Aadi blinking rapidly, backed away from the cold air.

  Braden went inside. He ran his hand over the materials of the chairs and the couch. He looked around the room. It reminded him of the hotels in the bigger cities where he had often traded. But this was an Old Tech version. He looked around in awe. At the table, a flat pane of glass was held upright by a clever black metal stand. He had no idea what it did.

  He continued to a high desk, enclosed in a U shape facing toward him. When he stood in the middle, the desk was chest high on three sides.

  Suddenly, a figure appeared before him. It looked like a reflection in a pool of water. He knew it wasn’t flesh and blood like him, but it was still real. And it talked.

  “Welcome to Oasis Zero One,” a pleasant female voice sounded from what seemed like all around him. “We do not have you in our records, for some reason, but if you would like, we will add you, and then you can be checked in and given your room. Would you like to be added to our records at this time?”

  Braden was wary. Last time he simply agreed to one of the Old Tech creations’ requests, he lost the ability to learn from it.

  “What lies to the south of here?” He asked.

  “The desertscape of Devaney’s Barren covers the next seventy-five kilometers to the south. Does that answer your question?”

/>   From his conversation with the Mirror Beast, he knew that this was about eighty-six thousand strides, two to three turns of travel with fresh horses, or only part of one daylight’s flight for the Hawkoid.

  “What’s beyond the desertscape?”

  “The Plains of Propiscius lie beyond the desertscape,” the pleasant voice responded.

  “How far from there to where we can find an outpost of the ancients?”

  “I don’t understand your question. Do you wish to be added to our records?”

  Braden felt the ‘cat’s impatience in his mind. Aadi floated outside. He was on edge. The Tortoid was uncomfortable around the Old Tech.

  “Are the javelina outside pets or creatures that you take care of?”

  “Javelina. The small pig-like creatures. Wait, please.” The lady’s reflected face smiled at Braden. “Those creatures are new additions since Oasis Zero One was built. Would you like us to clear them away for you?”

  “No need…” Before Braden could finish his sentence, the image of G-War’s claws digging into the neck of a javelina flashed into his mind. A brief struggle and then the Golden Warrior purred his delight as he feasted heartily on his fresh kill. “Where were we? Oh yes, we are looking for Old Tech, but it appears like we’ve found it. I am willing to trade for Old Tech that we can take with us. Are there any weapons here?”

  “I’m sorry. There is no trade here. Oasis Zero One is a rest stop as people travel through Devaney’s Barren. We provide food, water, and a place to rest, before travelers continue on their journey. We have no weapons here. Would you like to be added to our records now?”

  “Yes, yes, go ahead. No wait!” Braden forgot himself.

  “You are now added to our records as Caretaker Braden. You have been assigned Room A, the first door on your right. It is coded to your handprint. Thank you and please enjoy your stay.” The reflection vanished.

  “Crap!” Braden shouted. He stepped out of the area in front of the desk. Then stepped back in.