“Is there a third issue?” Youleena asked.
“Just a minor one,” I said. “There isn’t a back door. We could climb up and over the cliffs to get out if someone tried to lay siege to us like the Burners did to you, but--”
“I had actually already thought of that,” Quwaru said. “Youleena was going to hollow out more of the back part of the cave so we could travel deeper into the earth. Eventually we would come up in a different location so we could escape.”
“It’s what I would do.” I smiled at them both.
“Can we improve this fort?” Kacerie piped up.
“Let’s talk about what is wrong with our redwood fort,” I said. “Actually, let’s back up a bit. Sheela found this spot, and then she brought Galmine and Trel here after they had been dropped here by our alien overlords, correct?”
“Yes,” Sheela said with her usual nod.
“And this was your second cave?” I asked. “The first was overrun by the orange birds?”
“Yes,” the blonde cat-woman said with another nod. “The orange birds then decided they wanted this cave, so we had to leave.”
“Yep,” I said. “So we built this first fort as quickly as we could. Once I’d tamed a few more dinosaurs, we built the outer walls. If this planet was just about us surviving against dinosaurs, we would never need to leave this spot. We have plenty of space, and if we need more, we can push the walls out to the edges of the redwood forest. Hell, we could even cut down some of those trees and push out more.”
“But the dinosaurs are perhaps the least of our problems right now,” a deep voice behind me spoke, and I turned around to see Zoru walk out from under Hope’s doggie door. The purple furry monkey-creature was using a long piece of wood as a walking stick, and it looked like each step was painful.
“Let me help you,” I said as I jumped up so Zoru could lean on me.
“Thanks, Victor,” the creature said, and then it sat down next to Kacerie.
“How are you feeling?” Nomi asked.
“Better,” Zoru asked. “I heard you all talking, and was tired of feeling useless in the hut, so I thought I’d brave a few steps. I think I’m healing quickly now.” Zoru motioned to the fresh looking poultice on his wounds, and I didn’t see any blood on them.
“Good,” I said.
“Please continue,” Zoru said. “I am sorry for the interruption, but I see where you are going with this.”
“We are exposed out here in the open,” I said as I gestured around us. “It wouldn’t be a big deal if we just had to worry about dinosaurs. It also might not be a big deal if this other tribe didn’t know where we were, but I’m going to assume we can’t strike them back. Even if they were close enough for us to fight, we don’t have the numbers to take them out. We need to gather more survivors, and I need to tame more dinosaurs to stand a chance. So if we move, it does three things. First, it eliminates any advantage our enemy might have, since they won’t know where we are. Second, it allows us more time to prepare. Third, it lets us pick a better spot for our new home.”
“But they might not know where we are,” Kacerie pointed out.
“That’s true,” I said with a shrug. “There is a possibility that we might move for nothing, but we don’t know. We don’t even know if they can still teleport.”
“So, let’s just wait for them to attack us, then will we destroy them,” Trel scoffed. “Again, no need to move.”
“Let us talk about worst case scenarios,” I continued instead of engaging Trel. “They teleport inside our walls at night. They send a crew of people much more powerful than the six Liahpa and I killed, they overwhelm us, and we all die.”
“Or are enslaved,” Tannin whispered, and we all turned to the orange-haired elf. Our group hadn’t spoken about what horrible things the men who captured the beautiful woman had inflicted, but the scabbed over stumps on her back where her wings had once been were a visual reminder of how cruel the other survivors could be.
“So that is the worst case,” Emta said after a few moments as she smoothed back her twisting snake-like hair. “Best case?”
“Best case is that they have no idea where we are, and we killed the guy who could teleport people to the beach,” I answered. “They probably won’t attack us anytime soon, or ever, since they are so far away.”
“See?” Trel gestured to the walls. “We’ll be fine.”
“The other issues Victor pointed out are still there, though,” Sheela said. “This location is out in the open, and we do know there are enemy tribes out there. We are going to have to fight another group eventually. Why spend more time on this place when we know it is not optimal?”
“Because we already have?” Trel groaned. “Also, I have faith in us and Victor. We don’t need to move. We don’t need to run. We are smart and powerful. We can face any challenge and win. We have so far. Also, think how long it will take for us to rebuild. We’ve spent two months on this fort.”
“That’s a good point,” I said as I flashed the beautiful woman a smile. “It took two months with you, Sheela, Galmine and I doing most of the work. I was just learning how to control my dinosaurs, and Kacerie joined us after a month of surviving. Emerald and Liahpa joined us a week or so after. Now we have Quwaru, Nomi, Emta, Keefaye, Adella, Youleena, Urka, Zoru, Gee, and Tannin. There are seventeen of us now, and I have way more dinosaurs tamed. How long will it actually take for us to rebuild something like this?”
Trel crossed her arms and let out a long sigh, and then she glanced around at the courtyard and walls before she looked back at the parasaurs, trikes, and stegos that rested in the open field behind us. She blinked her black eyes a few times as she turned her head, and then she finally shrugged.
“I suppose it will only take us a few days, as long as we can find the correct trees to use as the wall.”
“See?” I laughed. “No big deal.”
“Well, that’s still a few days without shelter,” she argued.
“But how quick to build a little fort like this with a few covered huts?” I asked as I pointed at our smaller walled structure that had Hope’s door attached. “It took us a month for the four of us to make that, but I bet it would only take a few hours now.”
“Yeah, you are right, Victor,” Trel admitted.
“So, now our master builder doesn’t think the move will be a big deal,” I chuckled.
“Bah,” the spider-woman groaned. “Okay, perhaps I am being a bit melodramatic. Just this once.”
“Just this once?” Kacerie asked as she raised a pink eyebrow, and the other women in the group tried hard to keep from smiling.
“Quiet, you,” Trel laughed playfully. “I am always a vision of poise, grace, and confidence.”
“So, Trel doesn’t have a problem moving,” I continued as I turned back to the group, “but two of our members have experience managing armies, and I haven’t really asked their opinions.”
“Who?” Urka asked as she blinked her four eyes.
“Gee and Emerald,” I answered as I gestured at both of them.
Emerald’s white eyes opened wide when everyone turned to her, and she waved her hands apologetically.
“It’s nice to be recognized,” Gee purred as she stretched her hands over her head. “I’ve been called a genius strategist before, but my expertise is mostly naval.”
“So, what do you think about my plan?” I asked.
“It’s good that you have water here,” the onyx-skinned woman said as she pointed at the wells, “but you don’t have any stable source of food yet.”
“We have the garden,” Galmine spoke up, “but you are right, it isn’t producing much yet.”
“And we have plans to domesticate egg laying dinosaurs,” Kacerie said.
“Both of which can be done in a new location.” Gee shrugged. “The advantage to this place is that you are already here, there is water, and there is space to expand, but it would be hard to defend against a coordinated attack by sup
erior numbers. I’ve laid siege to many cities, and a place like this would fall quickly.”
“Even if we have Victor’s dinosaurs and the rest of our abilities?” Quwaru asked.
“Everyone has abilities,” Gee said as she shook her head. “Best to normalize them in our strategies and think about location and position. The hardest places to siege have superior elevation and a choke point that prevents an easy attack.”
“So, you are agreeing that we should move?” I asked the flame born woman.
“Long term, it is a good decision,” she said. “It’s a tough one though, I can understand why Trel would be hesitant. However, most cities on my world almost never get to choose their location. They are much like you, where they make the best with the spot they ended up in that had water. If we can find a superior place for our camp, it can become an impenetrable fortress where we can stage our own attacks and then take over this world.” As soon as Gee finished talking, her lips curved into a wicked grin, her green eyes flashed, and she pushed her right fist into the palm of her hand.
I was really glad she was on my side.
“Taking over Dinosaurland is like step one-hundred and twenty,” I laughed.
“True,” Gee laughed, “but it is exciting.”
“Emerald?” I turned to the green-skinned beauty. “What are your thoughts?”
Emerald nodded to everyone, and then she looked at me, pointed at her eye, pointed to the walls of our base, and then pointed at Sheela.
“What does that mean?” Emta asked as she looked at the feline-woman.
“I think she wants to know if Sheela or I have seen any good locations on our travels,” I answered, and Emerald nodded.
“It is a fair question,” Sheela commented. “I have roamed mostly east and west. I also went to the south hills and hiked to the top, but--”
“You call those hills?” Kacerie laughed as she pointed to our south. Everyone else turned to face in that direction and most of us let out little chuckles. The southside of our valley was guarded by what looked like mountains, and it was hard to tell exactly how long it would take to hike to the top of them.
“It took me half of the day to get up and down,” Sheela said. “I also ran part of the way, but there was a path that can fit our dinosaurs. The range is one of the tallest across the nearby valleys, and I was able to see south. There is an ocean and islands in the distance, but I am not sure how far. During all my explorations, I was not thinking about where to build a new fort, so my memory is not perfect.”
“That is understandable,” I said. “I haven’t really thought about it either. I just kind of started thinking about moving this morning.”
“If we don’t have a spot in mind, how are we going to move?” Emta asked, and the rest of the group turned to look at me with questions on their faces.
“We scout,” Zoru answered for me. “My kind are good at moving through the jungle. We can swing through the branches, hide in the bushes, and we can Jaunt back in time if we are discovered.”
“Didn’t work so well for you when you got attacked by the horrific winged man,” Ukra snickered.
“Hey, I would have died if I hadn’t used my ability to dodge his first attacks. He was vicious.” Zoru put his hand to his chest in mock outrage, but he smiled wide.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Trel sighed as she waved her long dark fingers. “The big bad winged man almost killed you, but Victor defeated him easily because he is amazing. Let’s continue our--”
“I wouldn’t say I defeated him easily, Trel,” I chuckled as I patted Zoru on the shoulders. “I had a bunch of help from my dinos. Zoru seems like a capable fighter, but our opponent was strong.”
“Thank you, Victor.” The purple-monkey creature nodded to me. “I appreciate you not belittling my capabilities.”
“Pffft,” Trel scoffed. “I’m not belittling. I’m just pointing out that you aren’t as amazing as Victor. This is not an insult. No one is as amazing as he--”
“Okay,” I interrupted the spider-woman, “back to the discussion about our move. Emerald, do you have any more thoughts?”
The green-skinned woman nodded, and then she pointed to Sheela before she pointed to her own white predator eyes. Then she pointed south and gestured to the cave on the northside of our valley where the orange birds roosted. Then Emerald made a wave motion with her hand and held her fingers up like a triangle.
“Okay, I can’t even guess what she’s trying to say,” Liahpa laughed.
“I think…” I started to say as Emerald turned her eyes to me. We stared at each other for a few moments, and I suddenly felt like my head was starting to spin slightly.
“Victor?” someone whispered, and I blinked and took a long breath. Then I realized that everyone was looking at me with concern on their faces.
“Sorry,” I said after I cleared my throat. “It’s been a long few days. I think Emerald was asking if Sheela saw any caves, or rocks, or mountains south of us by the water. Is that correct?”
Emerald smiled and clapped her hands as she nodded. Her eyes still stared at me, but the expression didn’t seem hostile. It was the usual way she looked at me.
Like she was studying me intently.
“I was not able to see the details of the coast line exactly,” Sheela admitted. “I was only on the top of the hills for a few minutes to gauge my general location.”
“I know you said you couldn’t tell how far away the coast was, but could you guess?” I asked.
“I dislike guessing,” Sheela said as she frowned slightly. “But it seemed like there were maybe eight or so valleys between us. Perhaps a three or four day travel to the coast.”
“Okay,” I said as the logistics whirled around in my head.
“That seems far,” Keefaye said as she shook her golden hair. “Will we all walk there? What about these wild dinosaurs? What if we are attacked by other tribes on our way there?”
“Moving everyone without knowing where we are going isn’t going to work,” I said. “I don’t have enough dinosaurs to protect everyone, and it will be a bit of a pain to make a shelter and find food for everyone while we travel. Zoru is correct. I’ll need to scout a spot for a new home, and then we can all head there.”
“I can be ready to leave in a few moments,” the purple monkey-creature said as it wobbled to its feet.
“Ehh, sit down,” I laughed. “Your idea was great, but you aren’t coming. Sorry.”
“Why not?” it asked.
“Because you are still wounded,” I snickered as I gestured to the wounds.
“But I--” Zoru started to say, but the monkey-creature was interrupted by Quwaru.
“I will come with you, Victor,” the succubus-woman said.
“I’ll come also,” Kacerie said.
“I will join you,” Sheela said.
“I want to go,” Emta called out.
“You aren’t going anywhere without me,” Liahpa said.
“I want to come!” Adella sang as she waved her arms in the air.
“No, take me!” Urka squeaked.
“Woah, hey,” I laughed. “Uhhh. Look, I need to figure out who to bring with me, if I bring anyone at all.”
“You would go alone?” Nomi said, and since the dark-haired beauty almost never talked, everyone turned to look at her.
“Remember the worst case scenario?” I said. “These assholes could teleport in at anytime. I can ask my dinos to guard, but I’d still feel a lot better if all my capable fighters were here to defend the camp, and if you can’t fight, you probably won’t be able to help me scout. I’ll just be worried about you the whole time.”
“You should not go alone,” Sheela insisted. “You need someone to watch your back.”
“I’ll bring a few of my buddies,” I said as I gestured over my shoulder at the pack of dinos lounging in the open field.
“Lunch is ready!” Galmine called out, and then we all took a few minutes break so that we could grab some of the
smoking meat from the fire.
The food was more orange bird meat, but Galmine had seasoned it with salt and mint herbs from her fledgling garden to the point where it almost tasted like a completely different meal. I scarfed it down while it was still steaming, gave a couple of morsels to Jinx, and then took a few long gulps of filtered water from one of the clay jugs that Kacerie handed me.
There was plenty of food to go around, but Liahpa and I had multiple helpings since we hadn’t eaten much while we were traveling. As soon as we were finished, Quwaru cleared her throat, and then fixed her silver eyes on me.
“I still think you need to take someone with you.”
“I agree,” Kacerie said.
“Yes.” Sheela nodded.
The rest of my friends all voiced their agreement, and I sighed and waved my right hand at them. “I’ll think about it. Why don’t we do a camp update, plan what we have to do for the rest of the day today, and then I can leave tomorrow morning.”
They all nodded, but none of them looked happy with my decision.
They would be a lot less happy if our enemies attacked and they weren’t prepared, but I didn’t want to belabor that point again, so I decided to get back to work.
“Sheela?” I asked as I turned to the blonde woman.
“We’ve trained with spear and bow for a few hours every day,” she said. “We’ve also worked on re-stocking our arrow supply. Each raised platform now has a few dozen arrows, two bows, and a few spears. Each of the tips have flint on them now, so they should do a bit more damage on a successful hit.”
“Good.” I smiled at her, and then I turned to Trel.
“You saw the copper smelting,” the dark-haired beauty said as she gestured toward the kilns with her long fingers. Using Keefaye’s blessed water is an interesting alternative. I believe we’ll still have to use charcoal to create some chemical reactions that will produce the metal from the ore, but the heat increase will make the process much easier. I will need to do a lot of experimenting to find the most efficient methods, but I’ve already talked with Youleena about shaping better kilns with her stone ability. I believe that a combination of their abilities, and my own amazing genius, will soon produce a method of smelting copper quickly.”
Tamer- King of Dinosaurs Book 6 Page 5