“Oh, Lord,” Kati muttered with a dry mouth once she was free of the restraints, and lying on the sand. “Everything’s stiff, and all of me hurts to move. Thanks, guys, but I’m afraid you’ll have to give me a little bit of time to recover. If somebody could pass me some water, I’d be ever so grateful.”
“Get your node to do a little bit of internal massage,” Mikal said to her, grabbing the nearest waterskin and a mug as he spoke. “We can try external massage if you want, but the nodal variety actually works better and faster.”
“Ah.” Kati closed her eyes for a couple of seconds. “It’s on the job,” she then added, “and you’re right, Mikal; it’s starting to work. I’ll be up and about shortly.”
She sucked up the mugful of water that Mikal brought to her lips and held there, while feeling seeped into her wrists and fingers.
Suddenly Mokri was there, butting its head between Mikal and Jocan, leaning over to lick one of Kati’s limp hands.
“Well, hello there, Mokri, friend,” she greeted the Narra with a laugh, accepting the caress of the beast’s tongue. “Come to see how I look in real life?”
“Isn’t this the Narra that dumped its rider?” Mikal asked Kati, making room for Mokri.
“Yeah,” Kati laughed. “Duk, the gang leader’s runnerbeast. Duk, it seems, is not good with Narra. Oh, he can ride all right, but he’s a failure when it comes to forming a bond with his animal. I was able to sweet-talk Mokri here into slowing down, and since he was in the lead, that meant that the whole gang slowed down. Then that idiot Duk used a whip on poor Mokri, and really annoyed the beast. It didn’t take much persuasion to get it to start doing acrobatics at an opportune moment.”
Mikal and Jocan exchanged glances and started laughing.
“We knew it!” Jocan cried. “Mikal said, and I agreed with him, that it was a sure bet that you would be trying to do something to help us get those guys! He said it before we even started riding!”
“There’s a saying where I come from, that if you need a helping hand, the nearest place to find one is at the end of your own arm,” Kati said, carefully rising from the ground into a standing position, and giving Mokri’s head a gentle caress with tingling fingers.
“What the heck am I going to do with this new friend?” she asked of no-one in particular. “Ceta is not going to like competition for my affections.”
“You can ride it back to the campground,” Yarm said, joining the group. “Then you can tell it to return home. It’s obviously a very intelligent animal, and no doubt knows its way home. I very much doubt that the fellow who whipped it is ever going to be able to get on its back again. He’ll have to make do with the beast that was carrying you, Kati.”
He dug into that Narra’s saddlebags and pulled out a bowl and a bag of grain. He fed the animal and then gave it a bowlful of water from the waterskin it was carrying.
“So what are we going to do with the louts?” Mikal asked Yarm while the latter tended the animal.
“I’ve got Matto looking through their bags to see if they have tents or tarps. If they have those, we can roll them under such, so they’re protected from the sun. The Narra will be fine, they’re built to withstand a little heat and sunlight. You said the fellows will be coming out of the stun in a couple of hours or so, right?”
“Yeah, that’s about it,” Mikal agreed. “And they’ll have nasty headaches; they’re not going to even want to think about chasing us—not for some time.”
“So by the time they’ll be thinking revenge we’ll be long gone, far enough away from MuddyWater and YellowWater that none of us will have to worry about Duk’s gang any more—at least not during this go-around. And I’m going to tell Taxom that as payment for our services in keeping Chrys safe, he is going to have to honour his commitment to give freebies at his House to the men of MuddyWater and YellowWater. That might help persuade the Elders of those villages to keep a better check on their riff-raff.”
Matto came to say that he had found two tents which when erected would hold eight bodies, not in comfort but at least out of the sun.
“Jess and Cay will help me get them up,” he said, “and once they’re up we can start dragging in the bodies.”
“We ought to put a couple of their waterskins in each tent,” Mikal said. “Those guys will be willing to kill for a drop of water when they wake up.”
“That’s an idea,” Yarm replied, “although, after this nonsense, and considering what the GreenWater Elder I spoke to said about Duk’s gang, I won’t have any serious regrets if they do kill one another fighting for a drop of water.”
“But we won’t stoop to their level,” Mikal protested. “We will give them a chance to go home, tails between their legs, yes, but they will get home if they head in that direction once they wake up.
“I’m a bit disappointed by them, mind you. I had expected better of the Descendants of the Children of the Survivors. This kind of loutishness ruins their reputation for decency.”
“That it does,” Yarm agreed. “And believe me, the Elders know it.”
He turned to Kati.
“I want to thank you for doing what you did, Kati,” he said to her. “It was a brave act on your part. Without you playing the role you did and without the use of the stunners that you, Mikal and Jocan brought into play, Duk’s gang could have done much more harm than they managed to do in the end.”
With a wry grin he added to Mikal: “Those stunners—now there’s something that we could usefully import from off-planet. Dealing with knife-wielding louts is much easier when you can shut them down from a distance.”
“The trouble with importing better weaponry is that sooner or later the louts get hold of them, too,” Mikal pointed out in a dry tone. “And then you’re back to square one.
“However, what you were saying about Kati is correct. I have to admit that I, too, am quite impressed with her performance, even though I argued against it when she first broached the topic.”
He looked at Kati and grinned.
“You’re quite the gutsy woman, you know. And resourceful, too. I better warn you right now; when we get to Lamania and I tell my boss about you, she’s going to want to hire you on the spot.”
“As long as she hires me to go searching for Gorsh’s captives, she’ll have a deal,” Kati replied, grinning back at him.
“I’ll make a point of telling her that.”
*****
By the time Kati crawled into her blankets that night, she was thoroughly tired of people congratulating her on the success of her scheme, and the finesse with which she had executed her part in it.
The adventurers had returned to the campground shortly after noon, and the decision had been made to take the Caravan to the next campsite, a spot they had originally intended to use only as a rest stop but which had water and latrines and could be used for an overnight stay. Kati had whispered a few words of affection into Mokri’s ear after giving the mount a bit more grain and water, and then had told the Narra to return home by the shortest route it knew.
“Sweet Mokri, you have people and mates at home who are waiting for your return,” she told the animal. “You couldn’t go all the way with me in any case; I’ll be going into the mountains, and mountains are not a good place for Narra. They are cold and can be damp. The sun does not shine as much—no, we will be leaving all the Narra behind, long before we head into the mountains. So thank you for all you did for me Mokri, my boy; but do go on home. That’s where your life is.”
Mokri seemed to understand. It brought its head near for one last caress, and then it turned away from Kati, reluctantly at first, but then thrilled by the realization that it could run at any speed it wanted to, on its way home. There was no rider on its back to dictate the speed of travel, or to slow it down. For once, this Narra could run however fast it wanted to, and it wanted to run fast. It headed for the trail going south, and it was out of Kati’s sight in seconds.
Hardly had Kati parted from Mokr
i when Chrys descended upon her.
“Kati!” the shorter woman cried, running to embrace her in a hug. “Kati, you’re back, safe and sound! And you’re not teary or deathly pale! Things must have worked out, didn’t they? The plan worked, right?”
“It worked,” Kati answered. “And the guys were great getting all the louts stunned within seconds. And then Mikal and Jocan untied me, and I decided that life was worth living after all.”
The herder family and Taxom had come to stand beside to Kati and Chrys. Sany was jumping up and down in her excitement, and eagerness to know how things had worked out. Rober, Kaina and Seb were calmer but they, too, radiated curiosity. Taxom stayed a little apart from the others, the way that he usually did.
“So what did you guys do with that bunch of jerks?” Chrys asked.
“We left them to sleep away the effects of the stunners in the middle of the desert,” Yarm replied so Kati did not have to. “Mikal estimates that they should be crawling out of their tents at about now, thirsty and with nasty headaches. All they’ll be wanting to do is get home and sleep for a day or so.”
“So we should be safe from their harassment for the rest of this trip,” said Taxom. “That’s a relief.”
“I was going to suggest that you put the word around that as a good will gesture you’re willing to honour the offer of letting the men of MuddyWater and YellowWater have their freebies at your establishment in GrassWater even though the louts did attack us,” Yarm said to him. “It might make any future trips that you take along this route, safer. None of us can count on having the likes of Kati, Mikal and Jocan on our side, every trip we take.”
Taxom pursed his mouth and seemingly thought this over. Then he nodded, a little reluctantly but apparently accepting Yarm’s logic.
“Will do,” he said. “Let’s hope it does some good.”
“Kaina, Sany and I cooked a meal for everybody at Rober’s campsite,” Chrys said. “Let’s go and eat. Rober and Kaina are kind of anxious to get going, and so is Taxom. I’ll be happy to get away from here myself. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to hear the names of MuddyWater and YellowWater without shuddering.”
She led the way towards where Rober’s family was camped. Kati raised her eyebrows and threw a questioning glance at Mikal. Had they managed to create a truce between Chrys and the herder family? Mikal just shrugged and grinned at her, and put a finger to his lips.
During the meal Sany took it upon herself to sit beside Kati, and fetch and carry for her any time she happened to need or want anything. She kept Kati’s mug full of tea, and picked the choicest morsels from the pots onto her plate. She listened attentively as Kati recounted her experiences as a captive and her efforts to affect the outcome of the adventure.
“You, young woman,” said Yarm from the other side of the circle when Kati had finished, nodding meaningfully at Sany. “Don’t you get any ideas about what Kati did, as being glamorous, worldly, or marvellous. Or whatever it is that young women wanting excitement think is this season’s best thing. What she did was daring, brave and altruistic. It was also very dangerous. She is fortunate to have some unusual talents which made it possible for her to successfully do what she did, and we are fortunate that she had the courage to give it a shot. But you’re not to get the idea that doing things like that is easy, or fun, or desirable, no matter how well and self-deprecatingly she tells the story afterwards.”
Sany had lowered her eyes to the ground in front of her, but there was defiance in her stance.
“Yarm’s right, Sany,” Kati said to her quietly. “I like to turn my doings into good stories, no matter how tough things were while stuff was happening. That’s the nature of adventures; they’re more interesting in the telling than in the experiencing. Half the time when you’re living through them you’re scared silly, and the other half, you’re either bored or hurting, or both. Nobody likes to hear about those things, so a person usually skips over them when he or she tells the tales. But anyone who lives an interesting life, as they say, will tell you that it’s interesting only in snatches; mostly its terror, pain, and boredom.”
“It’s got to be better than living in a little village and marrying the Narra-herder’s son next door,” muttered Sany, raising her eyes to stare into Kati’s.
“Be grateful that you have the option, Sany,” Chrys spoke up. “I do what I do, so that my younger sister can have the option of marrying a fisherman’s son, if that’s what she wants to do.”
“No-one is pushing you into marriage, Sany,” Kaina sighed. “That’s just silly talk. What your father and I want is for you to learn the ins and outs of Narra-herding, of running a household, gardening—all the things that both men and women in the grasslands need to know to prosper. Marriage won’t be an issue for years, yet, and you’ll be able to decide for yourself about it when the time comes.”
“But, Mom, there’s a big world out there, outside our house and garden, and the grazing lands!” Sany was almost in tears. “And I now know that there are people who travel around it, and find out what’s there, and what it’s like. That’s what I want to do—not shear Narra, or plant a garden, or cook for a household!”
“Sany, Sany, Sany!” Kati stared at the girl. “Have you any idea how useful knowing how to do all those things are if you ever do travel? You’re going to have to earn a living as you go; why not do it by shearing animals, or by cooking, or by working in someone’s garden? If I were you, I’d learn everything your parents and community can teach you, and I would learn it well. Then when I was old enough to travel across the continent, or the ocean, or whatever, my chances of actually doing so, instead of just dreaming about it, would be that much better!”
Sany’s jaw dropped. Clearly this was the first time she had thought of travelling as a reality, rather than as a romantic notion. For a few moments she just stared at Kati; then she began to shovel the last of the food on her plate into her mouth.
Later when they were packing their belongings and getting ready to ride again, she stopped beside Kati for a moment.
“Maybe you’re right, Kati,” she said in a low voice. “Maybe I should learn everything I can at home while I can. But I am going to travel and nobody’s going to stop me.”
“You’ve got my blessing for doing so,” Kati replied. “You can learn a lot through travel. But you do want to be able to take care of yourself. Life’s just a lot easier that way.”
Rober stopped by Kati moments later.
“Thanks for talking sense to my girl,” he said softly. “Now at least we have some time, if nothing else. We’ve been worried that one day she’ll just up and run away, and then who knows what will happen to her.”
“Teenagers can be such romantic idiots,” Kati replied with a shake of her head. “I can remember being one myself. And, speaking from experience, a lot can change in four or five years, so you have plenty of room for optimism where Sany is concerned.”
“Well, I certainly hope you’re right. Kaina and I will try our best to deal with her in a fair and sensible manner.”
Rober and Kaina were basically good parents, Kati thought to herself as she mounted Ceta and caressed the Narra’s neck before asking it to follow Mikal’s Wayfarer along the trail. And their daughter was a good kid. But like youngsters of a certain age, apparently all throughout the universe, she would not hear sense from her parents, but would accept it from an outsider whom she had decided to hero-worship. Suddenly Kati found herself biting her lip and fighting back tears. She would not be there to argue with Jake when the time came for him to be an irrational adolescent. Who would be?
She swallowed and whispered to Ceta to head down the trail. The animal obeyed, after tossing a quick concerned look at its rider. No time for grief, Kati told herself, stiffening her back. There were a lot of other things to think about.
*****
The rest of the trip across the desert, along the Old River Trail was relatively uneventful. Everyone in the Caravan, except po
ssibly Sany was grateful for that.
The stunted trees along the trail were growing more plentiful as the trip progressed, and the campgrounds had large piles of deadwood which the travellers could use for firewood when they had the energy to sit around a campfire. A couple of times, when the day’s ride had ended unusually early, thanks to excellent weather and good riding conditions, the Caravanners did take advantage of the opportunity to relax and talk. Stories were told, and it was the off-Worlders, Kati and Mikal, who were most besieged with requests for tales. Even Rober and Kaina, along with Seb and Sany joined the chorus of the curious, and Mikal and Kati did finally relent, although Mikal turned a portion of his allotted time into an instructional session, repeating the tale about the planet Paradiso, which he had told to Captain Lomen of The Seabird, in Oasis City.
“Any teaching values that my stories may have,” Kati began, grinning at Mikal, once it was her turn to speak, “have to do with how to pick up slaves from a World whose inhabitants don’t believe that there is intelligent life outside their planetary home.”
“Ooh! Very carefully!” Jess interjected.
The trio of young men was full of energetic high spirits this evening, even though there was no beer to be had.
“Sneakily,” Cay suggested, while Matto brandished a dry stick in Kati’s direction, saying:
“Let’s hear about your abduction, Kati.”
“Actually,” Kati objected, “I mean to tell you about my friends’ abductions before I get into mine. Their stories are really more typical than mine, since neither of them had the slightest chance of fighting the snatchers.”
“These friends would be the attractive teenagers on Gorsh’s ship, right, Kati?” Mikal asked. “The two whom I thought of as ‘The Angels’?”
“Right,” Kati conceded. “They looked after Mikal while he was comatose. Roxanna and Ingrid, amazing girls, both of them.”
“I think Gorsh must have wanted them for their looks,” Mikal mused. “Both of them were—are—very beautiful, though very different from one another, if I remember correctly, having been rather drug-addled while I knew them.”
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