by Pam Uphoff
"Crocodiles," Lon croaked. "There are crocodiles in the warm water."
Gunfire picked up quickly, but too late for five soldiers. Dinner was a sober affair, and the Colonel led a brief ceremony as the five men were sealed in cold bags, to be returned Home for burial. The mobile medical unit had three badly injured, twelve were treated and released for light duty, AKA riding in a truck.
They relocated up to the plains, but the careful check of the nearest lake proved wise. Crocs.
The most detailed of the satellite maps, with patches from the drone aerial photographs, were consulted. The east-west road showed up at the edges of a couple of the high altitude pictures. "At a guess, it goes from Scoone in the East to this city in the west, which the natives just happened to not mention, and which just happens to be closest to the rift canyon." Colonel Elton tapped the map. "We just caught the road going through the mountains, and across this plain. That's enough to show this fort, here. We'll be planning on there being at least one on this side. We'll try to take it quickly and quietly, with no messengers getting out.
"Then we'll cross the mountains and acquire the fort on the other side, again not allowing messengers out. Then it looks like we'll have close to a six hundred mile clear run to the first town of any size. After that, towns and villages regularly for the last six hundred miles to this city, 'Karista'. That part, however isn't our job. We will hold the pass and the road well out onto the plains. There's only a single village that shows on the satellite maps within the area that we will be securing. Questions? Right. Tomorrow we'll head across the desert, the scouts will be out and checking for a nearside fortification."
Chapter Twenty-four
1360 Fall
Ash, Foothills Provence, Kingdom of the West
Never and Dydit were finishing pancakes over a discussion of road building in the Tavern. There was a fair sized breakfast crowd. Dydit, Nil and Justice had ridden in with all their kids, who had been herded off to school. The conversations around the room were all drifting back to the subject of Earth.
"If they'll just stay over there, no one will even notice whether they're mining or not." Answer sniffed. "And the way they reacted to Never's use of magic, they obviously had no idea of what they were getting into." She glowered a bit at Dydit, who oozed a bit further from Never.
"I wonder about that One World they were so sure I came from. I don't think they were actually at war with them, but they certainly over-reacted at every opportunity." Never tried to ignore the witches' opinion of Dydit. She was a witch, and witches used whomever they damn well wanted. Just because I'm using but failing to discard is no reason to nag.
"I think I'll go take a look at these Earth people." The Auld Wulf stood up abruptly.
Nil nodded "I'll go too."
Dydit nodded and straightened.
Nil stuck his index finger in Dydit's face. "Must have been about ten years ago I told you that you were not allowed to kill anyone. It shouldn't have stuck so badly, damnit, I was chained. So let me make this perfectly clear. If someone needs killing you have my permission to do so. It is entirely up to your judgment, all right?"
Dydit snapped his sagging mouth closed. "It never occurred to me to just fry those nasties when they first attacked us. I didn't even think of it!"
"Well," Nil sighed. "Don't be so damn nice next time." He turned away shaking his head. ". . . not believe I said that . . ."
"I'd better come too. You'll be wanting to travel." Never smiled blandly at Dydit's glower.
Gisele lifted her head, and looked at the Aulf Wulf. "Take some of that wine. In case you need it. I'll stay here unless you need help."
Coo shifted. "I'll go. About time a mage took a look at these hot springs and geysers that all of you've been talking about.
Harry thumped his spear a bit uncertainly. He looked around the Tavern and nodded. "I'll stay here. If you need me, send me a Location. I'll bring everything and anyone else who wants to party."
The Auld Wulf nodded, "I will, and I expect Dydit could give you a Location as well."
Dydit looked at him in surprise.
"You're good, boy. Don't doubt yourself so. You're too strong for her to ever kill, accidentally or on purpose."
"Perhaps I should go see about some horses," Dydit growled, and stalked out.
Never kept a straight face with difficulty. Gods were hideously hard to keep thoughts away from. Occasionally they replied to them as if you'd said something out loud, which could be a bit disconcerting.
"Grab anything in the stable, no visitors today," Harry said.
"Food," Never muttered. Harry grinned and pointed toward the kitchen.
They were mounted in half an hour, and headed for the hot springs. Three young mages had joined Coo, and a Half Moon Triad had decided the witches needed more orthodox representation.
They circled up and held hands. "This will take about ten jumps, even from hotsprings. I'm going to start about fives miles into the ice cap. Everyone keep your eyes open, in case they're exploring." Dydit said.
Never felt him recalling the Location, and the smooth power of the god taking it. The horses spooked and danced as everything changed around them. Never steadied her mare and mentally apologized to Storm, who'd taken traveling in stride. They circled up again and jumped further. And again. And again. Brief sights of places where they'd camped, bridges they'd built.
The sixth jump, she turned the upset mare toward the road and stopped. Even over the sulfur of the springs it was obvious.
"Never?"
"It smells to me like a couple of hundred people all stopped at once to take dumps or pee."
"Oh crap!" Dydit snorted. "You made me say that. They can't have got so many people here so fast."
"There were guards and soldiers all over the other side of the gate. So, where shall we start looking for them?" she said.
"Where they can do the most damage," the Auld Wulf said. "Let's check where your road crosses the Rip."
"They can't have gotten that far!" Dydit argued. "This stuff is two weeks old, maximum."
Never shook her head. "Remember the gyps? They aren't like horses. On this surface, they'll be fast, they can go all day. All night. They have lights."
"And they can trade off drivers," Dydit held out his hands. "But I still think . . . Well."
This time the Auld Wulf took Dydit's Location and made a single jump. Never could feel the deep power draw as he moved them thousands of miles. Traded mass, location, orientation, momentum . . .
Vultures flapped away from dead lizards. Lots of dead lizards.
"They don't smell too bad yet. Must have happened yesterday." Coo slipped off his horse and examined the nearest carcass. "No charring. Just holes. Little ones going in and blowing out big holes on the other side." He pulled out a knife and efficiently ripped into the lizard, slicing from a small hole into the beast.
"You're tracking the wound?" Dydit joined him on the ground.
"This one didn't have a big hole opposite it. Made quite a mess of the lungs." He reached in and pulled out a small chunk of metal tossed it up on the rocks and dug further. Sat back. "That little thing can't have done all that damage."
"It's as big around as an arrow," the Auld Wulf pointed out. "All it needs is speed." His forehead was furrowed. Never couldn't tell if it was thought or headache. Perhaps it was both.
"Wolf, can you take us home? I think we need to warn the soldiers at Fort Stag and get ourselves over to where we can stop them in the mountains." Nil was looking worried. "If they can come this far in less than two weeks, they'll be in the mountains in a few days."
The God stiffened, dressed suddenly in mail and armor, a black horse almost visible before they both disappeared.
Chapter Twenty-five
1360 Fall
Northern Pass
Jin was glad he'd gone with the four horse hitches when they hit the slopes of the mountains. The wagons were loaded with grain, an abundant harvest they could sel
l either at Fort Stag or one of the larger towns further west. But that was superfluous. A cover for more valuable cargo. The garnets alone would have been worth hiding their presence in the wagons. The gold. Old Gods! He almost wished they hadn't found it. Some of the big veins of quartz in the zones between the old lands and the lava strips were riddled with it. He'd hoped for a peaceful existence, farming and raising a family. Not the sort of frenzy that came with a gold rush.
So the wagons were loaded with grain, on top of empty boxes to make them look fuller, to explain the weight of the sacks of gold dust. A mere six hundred pounds in each of the four wagons. Really. It wasn't much. This first trip. They'd try to find a way to sell it discretely, but he wasn't about to cheat on his taxes. He owed the King his life, and his new home. He'd try to talk with Colonel, General now, Negue. Whatever he recommended, they would do.
The wagons made it over the first long climb, and the lead driver pulled the horses to a halt for a bit of a breather. It was going to be a long, hard, three days winding through the peaks and over the crest. No need to rush, no need to abuse the horses. There was no sign of bad weather, a disastrous early snow that could trap them. Jin walked the short train, noting that the horses were just fine, and he was worrying needlessly.
The brake man in the last wagon spat over the side. "Someone's out on the old road, way out there. Raising a bunch of dust."
Jin frowned and climbed the steep hill beside the road. The dust was thin. Maybe just the wind, but there were dark specs at the bottom of it. "There must be a bunch of them to raise that much dust."
"Or they're in a hurry." The brakeman shrugged. "Could be a bison stampede too."
"There's no grass along that stretch. I wouldn't expect bison," Jin huffed a bit. "Well, let's move out. Whoever they are, they couldn't catch us even if they killed their horses."
The horses walked and even seemed eager and trotted a bit at the slight down hill stretch, then they leaned into the harness as the slope turned up and climbed around the side of the first of the big peaks. At the top of the climb the road leveled out along a ridge, a bridge crossed a small river, then they climbed again. At the crown of this climb, Jin looked back. The horses were all moving easily, and as he looked out over the endless spaces, he could see a patch of the flat desert plains below. The dust was much closer to the mountains. The specks larger. As he turned away his skin crawled. How fast are they traveling?
The next bit was a long difficult downhill switchback to a bridge across a large river, followed by a long difficult switch backed climb up the far side. They'd camp at the bottom, where they'd have water, and start the climb in the morning. The brake men earned their pay, keeping the wagons under control around slope and corner after slope and corner. They all breathed easier as the reached the bottom, and pulled into the wide spot before the bridge.
He checked horses, wagons, and men. And slept poorly wondering who was behind them on the road. They were all up early. This would be the worst part of the trip, and the sooner started, the more rest the horses could be given on the way up. They kept well separated, and the wagons weren't heavily loaded. The switchbacks, however tedious, made it possible to climb out of the canyon without double teaming the wagons. Halfway up they stopped on a flat stretch for another breather, and Jin saw the . . . things following them.
Wagons without horses. Looking across the steep mountain valley, in the clear air, he could not be mistaken. The wagons were packed with men. An uncanny army, coming fast.
"Jek, there are six torches under the bench, hand them down to me." Jin grabbed his crossbow and bolts and dug into his pouch for his fire kit, a flint, a bit of roughened iron bar and the dry tinder he kept on hand. He took the torches. "Drive on, keep going. Whatever else, we don't want to be on this slope when they get to us." The first of those demon wagons was low enough now that he couldn't see it from here.
The torches were well pitched, and the tinder took quickly. He laid them in a circle, and stepped back respectfully. In the bright daylight his circle was marked more by the wisps of dark smoke than the flames.
"God of War! God of Defenders! Come to us, we face an uncanny enemy!"
From up the mountain the chant of "War! War! War!" No one from Gemstone doubted the existence and beneficence of the God of War.
As before, the rearing black stallion, the god glittering in silver and black seeming too large to be real. The stallion touched down. And still towered over Jin. The god rode out of the circle of torches and studied the horseless wagons.
"Damn. They are fast." He pulled off his helmet and grinned back at Jin. "Your call is very timely. I hadn't realized we would have trouble reaching here before them."
Jin blinked to be so casually addressed by a god.
"Stand back, I've got some friends to bring along."
The god dismounted and walked out a bit and stood there with his eyes closed. Eleven horses sprang into existence, skittering around a bit as if surprised to find themselves here. Their riders reined them around and they all surveyed the group on the opposite slope.
Jin suddenly recognized the tall lanky old man. The Wizard who killed Master Orgaphos. And the muscular man was the goat wizard who had killed Neet. Three of the five women looked familiar. The witches. The fourth one was wearing a hell of a lot more clothes, and her blonde hair was pulled severely back and braided, but he was almost sure she was the one . . .
She threw up a hand suddenly and a projectile that flew from the far side of the valley exploded like a Sea King's thunder ball in mid-air. Their horses again tried to leave the vicinity, and were wrenched back around to face the valley. The War God's black stallion just lifted his head and surveyed the oncoming vehicles.
The old wizard turned his mount to face the others and muttered something. The horses all froze, and he hopped down and walked away. The other riders swapped baffled looks, and dismounted.
They faced the army across the way, the three witches together, four men in a square, the two wizards each with a woman beside them. Jin edged to the outer cliffside and looked down. The horseless wagons were rushing across the bridge. He looked back to warn them. The god nodded. "I see them." He finished looking over the enemy, and turned to the others. "So, Sisters of the Moon, can you remove that bridge?"
The witches grinned, and the bridge suddenly collapsed, no, it was still there. Jin rubbed his eyes. It was sort of there. Two wagons dove into the water before the next stopped. Several others weren't controlling their speed down the steep road well, and crashed into others ahead of them.
"Good thought, Dydit," the god murmured. "Make them question every thing they see. Never, keep that shield up. Beware fast moving metal particles."
"Bullets." The woman with the blonde braid nodded. "I believe that's what they're called."
"So they are, hmm." The god stared hard. "Nil, if I recall correctly, their fuel is quite flammable, and will be in the tankers."
"The what?"
"The wagons with the big cylinders. You'll have to break the sides, and they're quite tough, and then throw a fireball."
"Hmm." The lanky man, Nil, made a left handed throwing motion. A deep metallic bong echoed from the far side, but "tanker" didn't appear to be holed.
A puff of smoke, and another projectile. This one was well over their heads. The witches waved, and it exploded against the rock, forty feet over their heads. The rock loosened or broken by the explosion crashed down, and stopped, hovering thirty feet over their heads. Two more projectiles were deflected, more rock fell.
Jin looked down, counted. "Sir, err, eight of those wagons made it across the river before the bridge collapsed."
The young wizard was sending flicks of light across the valley, and another bong echoed as the old wizard hit the 'tanker' with something more substantial. "Damn it, it's too far away."
The god looked over the edge. "Damn." He leaned further and looked straight down. "Sisters? If you were to tilt your shield so the rocks will slid
e off over the cliff?" He jumped back hastily as the rocks started moving.
"Keep your eyes open, Jin. They often aren't very aware of where people are when they're working." He looked up as the light dimmed. Clouds were moving in, covering the sun. Light flickered within the clouds as they built up into thunderheads with remarkable speed. "And then there are the mages. This could get a bit wild." The wind whipped through the valley, and thunder rumbled.
The soldiers across the valley were moving their wagons, some backing up and some moving forward, getting around shoulders of rock at the curves.
"Damn good idea. What are we doing standing here in plain sight?" The god walked over the blond woman. "Never? Can you hold that shield while we move? We should get some solid rock between us and those weapons."
She nodded rather absent-mindedly. "Sure, moving up hill?"
"Yes, do you want to ride?"
"I'd rather walk." She started backing up the slope as she spoke. "I'll make a slanted shield so the triad can move quickly."
Rain sluiced down suddenly, but not on them. It poured across the witches' shield as if across a pane of glass. Lightening struck the mountainside across the valley, writhing and dropping down toward the soldiers before flicking out. Jin swallowed, blinking around the after images. He'd never seen lightning do that.
"One more, I think." The old mage gazed across the valley. A blinding flash of lightning was followed by a gout of flame leaping from one of the tankers. It erupted upward and poured down the road in a flaming flood that had soldiers running for their lives. Some stopped though and grabbed things from a wagon that spat foamy suds on the fire, other things were thrown on the road, the stream of fire diverted over the edge, away from more wagons and men. The fire cascaded down the steep mountain face, and was extinguished.