116 – Final Plans and Preparation

  Karen fell in step with the Caplan’s “We hike all day tomorrow, then about this time the next day we should be at the cave entrance.”

  Rox was most shaken. “We just killed those men. Without any hesitation. Over what, some food?”

  Karen took up the answer. “You did not kill yours, though they were badly hurt. Food, metal items, you life. The bag was to cover your head and arms. The archer in case you tried to resist. They would not have worried about your life or pain. Don’t worry about theirs.”

  Karen knew that she now had two more faces to fade to gray in her dreams. She stepped away from the Caplan’s as Steven put his arm around his wife’s shoulders and kept her walking. Karen’s senses told her that Steven was as torn up as his wife, but better trained to deal with it.

  “That force wall was rather efficient.” Karen spoke to Caspian, taking the animals lead back.

  “Thank you.” Caspian replied. “Weren’t some of these guys at the village we stopped at?”

  “Possibly. I did not take a long look at them then. Probably should of. Would have if I were actively hunting. I must be a bit dull of edge right now.”

  Karen’s passive senses told her that Caspian was unsure. Cyrril was watching, her. She risked a brief active scan of Caspian. She found he wanted to compliment her, but did not know how.

  Karen walked along quietly smiling slightly. Caspian was cute when he was befuddled. Cyrril was just plain cute, when he wasn’t creepy.

  Over the next two days the most remarkable thing to happen was the road had a branch, and gained a bunch of altitude. After that it appeared to be little more than ruts across a forest and its meadows as the river valley gave way to mountain foothills. The road paralleled the stream between foothills and started into a canyon of the mountains.

  Along the way, they discussed the plans of who was going where, after which child. Karen had already mentioned that her information was of the two villages, elf and psi-warriors. As she had gotten to know the Caplan’s she was confident that Rox should go to the elf village after Diana, and Steven to the psi-warriors after Alex.

  Steven and Roxanne also took opportunity to practice fighting together, as a team. Caspian gave them some illusionary characters to fight.

  Karen was impressed by their competence, and heartened that this just might work. Her problem was that despite his dour and unfriendly behavior, she found that she rather liked being near Caspian. She was commissioned to kill him, and train the Caplan’s. She was in process with what she needed to for Steven and Roxanne. When the kids were here, she would need to do the same to them.

  Journal of Steven Caplan: Day 144

  Hiking though mountains, Again. It is both surprising and disconcerting how far we are and are not away from where we started. If I got our directions and distances right, we are a little over one hundred miles straight line east from Skarg. Looking at a local map would be nice, but we left the city in enough of a rush that we did not get one.

  The canyon climbed at an easy climb, mostly. A few parts were deceptively steep. The road picked up and followed a stream that wound back and forth a bit, before the canyon widening into a larger clearing. Two large boulders straddled the road as it entered the clearing and went up a short rise. The stream wandered to the south side of the clearing and into a small lake or large pond fed by several sources. On the north half of the clearing the road turned into a stand of trees against the curved wall of the canyon. The trees shaded a large cave mouth on the east wall of the north east corner of the clearing. Once at the cave mouth, and turned aside to a convenient camping spot, Karen began to relax.

  Steven was the impatient one. “Do we go in now; just saddle up and head in?”

  “No.” Caspian answered. “First and most importantly at the moment, you would not be able to see. We rest for the afternoon, and as far into the evening as we can. Tonight, after our eyes have adjusted, then we go in.”

  “I think he is right.” Rox seconded. “Sure, we could go in and be adjusted within an hour, but we would not be rested.”

  Karen spoke up. “And I have a bit more to tell you, now.”

  They turned to look at her.

  Karen put on her professional face and began. “I have been waiting to now to tell you that I have to give you the path to the villages. I need to do so in a manor that you will not loose, using my talents. The best way to do that is with you at or near asleep.”

  Steven responded. “So that was what you did to us those two nights. I wondered where those dreams came from.”

  Karen was slightly put off by this. “Yeah it was, but you were not supposed to remember my actions.”

  Rox laughed slightly. “You have never slept with someone for years. You notice when they are gone over long. Then looking out and seeing you kneeling over Steven was a shock, but since you were not hurting him so far as I could tell, I let it go, and figured you had done the same to me. We don’t remember your actions in first person, but each saw it done to the other, and put two and two together.”

  Karen was very put off by this. “I will have to remember that.” She continued. “Anyway, I need to do that now, to give you the borrowed memories of people who have been on the path you are now going to go. It will be easier than drawing you a map you will not otherwise be able to read.”

  “You won’t change your mind, about coming in?” Caspian asked.

  “No. I won’t. I would just be in the way of you and Roxanne. I could help Steven some, but he will do just fine on his own.” Karen answered.

  “And you will still be here when we get back.” Rox commented.

  “Someone has to watch the horses.” Karen responded. She had other things to prepare in the mean time anyway. “Any other questions?”

  “Yeah,” Steven turned to Caspian. “Why not teleport, this time? I am fairly certain that you don’t know the landing point, regardless of any magic shields that might get in the way. So teleporting in is out of the question. But why not teleport to get back together, or back to the surface?”

  Caspian looked at Steven for a bit, trying to decide whether Steven was just teasing, bringing up a settled argument for the sake of rearguing it, or being serious. After a few moments of the men not staring each other down, Caspian answered.

  “I expect that there are magic users of several stripes among the elves. If you have a teleport of sufficient distance prepared to do, you can escape them quickly. Otherwise they can sense you casting your spell and interfere, piggyback, or follow easily. Do you want to try to fight in a cavern where you have to provide your own light, and they can see clearly? How about have tag-along’s showing up unexpectedly? No, the better way is that of the mouse, run for the tunnels and hide where they can’t easily if at all follow. Once we are clear of the initial search groups, we can reassess the situation. That is of course assuming that these elves that Rox and I are going to go to react typically, and aggressively.”

  Steven accepted this. He really had not expected Caspian to want to teleport, but was curious to know why.

  The horses were hobbled, but otherwise allowed to roam and graze. The cart was set among a copse of trees in sight of the cave. They had taken time to sort through their things and set up their bags and equipment to hike. Steven was still going back and forth about carrying his crossbow, particularly because he had his gun, but noise of the gun vs. bulk of the crossbow . . .

  Karen set up a bit of a camp for herself. After some reluctance, she set up Caspian’s single occupant tent for herself, and she left it to air out before putting her sleeping gear into it.

  After being sure that they were ready, the Caplan’s and Caspian lay down to rest, and nap. Karen took advantage of this, with permission this time. Once done she puttered about camp and the meadow. She had dinner ready when the other three got up from their naps.

  They sat around the fire burning down to coals talking as the last light from the sunset fled the sky, three of the moons had set behind the western hills in the afternoon. The one of the twins was up over the eastern mountains before full dark, brightening things a little.

  Caspian had given Steven the trackers the elves had made for Roxanne and Alex. Somewhere he had acquired necklace chains and attached the trackers as medallions. Steven quickly intuited how to read them. Rox’s had a bright rainbow dot at the center of the doomed surface. Alex’s had a very dim dot partway down the side and to the southwest, as oriented to the compass. The necklace was long enough to look at the medallions without removing the chain from around one’s neck. Caspian had thoughtfully arranged the trackers on independent loop-strands. Steven unhooked Rox’s from the neck chain, and hooked it into the pocket of his jacket.

  Rox was given the pair for Diana and Steven. Diana’s dim dot was to the southeast. Like Steven she put the chain on and separated Steven’s from Diana’s and put it in a pocket.

  Along the way, Steven had gathered three sticks that were of a length to use as torches. He had some strips of canvas that he had acquired and soaked in lamp oil carried in a sealed leather bag. As he sat he wrapped some strips around the end of one of the sticks to use as a torch. He took two more sticks and secured them to his pack to use if this one he had burned to un-usability. He expected to use one each for about a day before it was little more than kindling for cooking on and maybe starting the next one.

  Caspian declined any torches, stating that he would use his magic. Rox had been practicing with her heat-vision and was going to work with it.

  Steven sat across the small fire from Caspian, Rox to his right, Karen to his left: they were conducting a final briefing and discussion. Karen was discussing the path they would have to travel. As Caspian and Rox began to digest and brainstorm about getting Diana out of the village, Karen turned to Steven.

  “You have the harder task. The people in the village you are going to – there is no way you can stand up to them in a concerted fight anymore than you could stand up to me long term. You have seen what I can do, with my talents. There are people in the village you are going to who may be orders of magnitude stronger than me.” Karen was deadly serious about this.

  “So how do I fight them? Hit and run, and don’t let them pin me down?” A tinge of negativity lurked in Steven’s mood, partly from the sense that Karen might be bragging just now.

  Karen shook her head. “You don’t fight them. You use a different tact, and the one thing that should convince them. Your blood-right to your son.”

  “Just walk in and ask?”

  “Exactly.” Karen could sense Steven’s dubious assessment of the situation, or of her information. But she had already put this idea into his subconscious. She threw down her next play.

  “Look. My grandmother’s grandmother came from them. They value family above all else. Twelve generations ago they broke out of slavery. Ten generations ago they came to this world. That sense of family is the primary reason for both of those. You assert your family and it should be a stronger means of battle than your physical skills. Your preferred weapons are unavailable. Your army is not here to back you up. But just by being the father of your son, you have already won. Those who are true to culture will stand with you, against those not true.”

  Steven considered this. At the same time, he decided not to take the crossbow.

  “And if I do have to fight?”

  “They are as human as you an me. Still soft and squishy with a few hard parts. Your sword does not stop psionics, so be careful with that. Most psionics do not use magic. I haven’t heard of any locally that do. If they attack you with psionics, just keep your mind as focused as you can, like any other attack and injury. Almost no non-psionics can withstand direct psionic attack.” Karen was a professionally matter-of-fact as she could be.

  Steven accepted this, as he put the prepared torch away.