115 – Changes have been made

  As they sat around the fire and ate, Karen realized that there was one subject that had not yet been addressed. When she had thought about it earlier in the day she had looked over the inventory in the cart. Now at a lull in the conversation she addressed this. “Once you get your kids back, where are they going to sleep? Your tents are only big enough for yourself. Unless you are going to squeeze your kids into your tent, they or you will have to sleep outside. Do you have enough blankets for that?”

  Caspian kept eating his stew, staying out of the conversation. The tent he used was large enough for him to occupy with a little extra space. The kids using it and him sleeping outside as Karen did would not be a big issue. But what kids the age of Alex or Diana would want to sleep with an opposite sex sibling?

  Rox and Steven looked at each other. The unspoken conversation was that neither one had really thought about this question.

  Steven turned to Karen. “Is there a village or town along our way, where we could get something?”

  Rox added to the ideas. “Or are we going to have to pick some up when we get the kids?”

  Karen though for a moment. “There are towns and villages along the road, but I did not plan to go by one. This path is favored by the cave-dwellers for overall lack of locals along it. But most crossroads have someone with goods near by. I think there is a farm-village between where we join The Ring Road and where we turn back off of it. We can check there.”

  Steven nodded and looked at Rox. “Sounds ok. Worst comes to worst, we can wrap in our coats and cloaks, and the kids in our blankets. Maybe set the cargo tarp up as a tent against the cart.”

  “How about picking up something when we get the kids?”

  “I don’t know,” Steven answered. “If the locals are wiling to just give Diana and Alex back they may send some supplies, but I am not planning on it. I just hope we don’t end up in a long running fight.”

  Rox considered this, but had not answer.

  Journal of Steven Caplan: Day 142

  Sometimes you need someone from outside to point out the obvious flaws in your plan. We should have got blankets and a second or larger tent while in Skarg. Now we have to see if there is some other place or way to deal with this issue.

  They came to the Ring Road highway just before midmorning. Karen instructed a right turn, to head south. The road was wide enough to drive three large wagons abreast with room to spare, as the highways in the north were. Once they though about it up north, the Caplan’s were not surprised about most of the traffic staying to the relative right side of the road, probably for the same historic reason that most traffic on earth traveled on the right. As they walked they had again paired off, and rotated marching positions randomly. Soon Steven walked next to Rox behind the cart and horse. Karen led the cart for the moment, with Caspian beside to her right, his staff marking time. They went on past two left turns. Karen mentioned that these roads led into the mountains in to their direct east. One to a mining and lumbering area. The other went into a city over the first summit that was known for making musical instruments.

  A train of a half dozen carts passed going in the other direction. Karen did not sense anything to impress her about it. Caspian and Rox did not sense any active magic. The train moved on. Karen picked up a few stray thoughts about the two couples traveling together, the humans and the elves. Karen almost turned to correct that, then though better of it, and walked on.

  At the turn off they wanted, Karen paused, bringing the cart to a stop. It was a less used road that the last two. She turned to Rox and Steven.

  “This is the road to where we want to go. I was not certain where or if there is a village in this area. I think there is one a bit further south. I suppose we should have asked the train that passed us. That that is behind us now. So, do we divert and go south, or go ahead and up the road?”

  Rox and Steven had discussed this some as they walked this morning.

  Steven spoke for them. “Let’s go south, at least until lunch, or a hill where we can survey the area if such exists. If we don’t find anything by then, then we turn back and go up the road.”

  So they went.

  Cresting the second subtle rise as they went they quickly found a large cleared area where the forest had been removed for a small community of orderly several farms on one side of the road and pasture land on the other. At the center was a small crossroad and market with a church, a tavern and inn, and two storehouses all built in dug-out pattern for the lower lever, with the framed timber construction similar to Skarg above. They stopped at the tavern where Caspian held the lead for the cart as Karen and the Caplan’s went in. Once inside Karen’s senses pricked. She reflexively passively scanned over the locals as she led to the bar and the proprietor, a few of the patrons sitting a bit apart did not seam quite right. Karen took the lead and inquired about purchasing some blankets. As she did, she cast her senses about listening to what each person though about what was happening.

  The proprietor looked at the local woman and the two tall strangers, and then led them across the street into one of the storehouses.

  Karen paused with Caspian as she went out. “There are a handful of shady characters in there. The locals don’t like them. Be on alert.”

  The storehouse was a cooling house filled with harvested vegetables stored for the winter. That was in the back. In the front were a few shelves of domestic goods. Rox and Steven quickly picked out four thick blankets of good size. There were no tents, nor was there any heavy fabric for making a tent available. Karen and Rox unfolded the blankets and checked them for vermin, then refolded each one; the blankets would do. Steven paid as the last one was being folded. Karen then quickly purchased a few pounds of assorted vegetables which she paid for, and they went back outside.

  Caspian had led the cart around to near the door and they quickly added their purchases into the existing stores and secured the tarp over all, as the weather looked threatening.

  They went back quickly and were back at the turnoff within in time to think about stopping for lunch. They all decided to walk a little and look for a good clearing to pause in, or a good tree to stand under as the weather was beginning to change. Rox could sense almost sense the energy of the area shifting as the storm front approached from the southwest.

  Karen led them east up the road. Her senses shortly told her that eight bandits were now stalking them. Karen wondered briefly why she had not picked them up sooner, and then chided herself for staying in the city among so many minds too long. It led her to automatically dampen her range of senses, simply to keep from hearing so many minds.

  Karen reached out to the three with her. Psionic to psionic this was easy, it was not really telepathy as thinking loud. Now she thought loud to three non-talented minds.

  -There are eight bandits moving to surround us. Be ready.-         

  Caspian jerked his head in her direction. She sensed Steven and Rox start looking around, slightly, as they continued walking normally.

  Karen expanded her range and felt a lot more minds going about their daily business of hunting and gathering and playing. She focused her senses on the eight bandits, but did not want to show off. Neither did she want to show her full capability. If she wanted, she could zap all eight within moments, and then be asleep from before dinner to after breakfast tomorrow. That would not be good.

  -Two for each of us, one with a bow, one with a sack. Take your two, then help whomever needs it. Ten steps, or so-

  Karen walked forward, and then the men jumped out of hiding beside the road. Some were behind scrub, some were under dirty and camouflaged blankets. For a moment four bandits with sacks tried to attack four travelers.

  Rox turned and kicked her sack man mid stride, doubling him over. Steven forearm blocked his across the man’s shoulders and upended him, while turning him into a shield. Caspian raised his hand, and the man felt himself hit by solid wall of force and thrown back. Karen let her man get close, dropped the horses lead, and then chopped the man in the throat, and grabbed his tunic.

  The archer facing Rox let fly, and hit a magic shield. A force grabbed him and pulled him from his tree stand at twice his height to the ground, hard. Steven used his human shield to catch the arrow shot at him, and then still carrying the human shield with an arrow stuck from its back charged at his attacker, who was only half again the archer’s height off the ground. Steven threw his shield against the tree trunk, careful not to drive the arrow further in, and grabbed the archers legs out from under him, dropping him from the limb, and to the ground, breaking the bow as he hit the ground. The archer facing Caspian had his own partner hit him and they flew past two more trees before hitting the ground. Karen held her human shield in place, pulling her stiletto from her left wrist sheath, and threw it at the archer, harder than a normal person could. That archer then fell from his perch.

  The four paused and looked around, and all were still standing.

  Karen let her man fall. She walked the two dozen or so yards into the woods and retrieved her knife, wiping it on the man’s shirt and sheathed it. The horses had started at the four bandits, but were already moving on, as Caspian led them. The Caplan’s were looking around, trying to decide what to do with their bandits.

  “Leave them. If they can get back home, they might decide to take up a more honest trade.” Karen said this as Rox stepped over the man she had possibly sterilized with her foot.

  Steven had left his injured men at the base of their tree.

  Karen’s psi-sweep showed that both of Caspian’s were dead, the one Rox had pulled down was unconscious, with assorted broken bones. Maybe half of the eight would live. She stepped over her bagman as he tried to gasp through a crushed throat, and bled around an arrow in his back.

  Steven took Rox’s arm and led her off, neither wanting to watch or see any more. Karen followed.