Chap. 314 The Pack Horse

Chap. 314 The Pack Horse

K’ndar felt relieved that his problems with the datalink seemed to have been solved.

“Thank you, Rand. I feel pretty sheepish, seeing as to how you know how to work the datalink better than I do.”

Rand grinned. “You’re welcome, lad, but there’s no need to feel small. Everyone has different talents, eh?”

And you work at Landing? he thought. But he refrained from teasing the young man for being technologically backward.
“You can communicate through them?”

“Yes. It’s very simple, says this dungbooted lout who can’t figure out how to use it! But yes, I can, for instance, call someone on Northern. I can call my sister at the Weyr. Or even a ship at sea.”

“How about a forester? See, that’s what it’s come to, dragonrider. You’ve introduced me to things I never knew I wanted- a fire lizard, now a datalink. Now I feel like the yokel.”

K’ndar smiled, shaking his head in disagreement. “You’re no yokel, you’re smarter than you let on. I can get you a datalink, if you like. It may be a refurbished one, not a brand new one, but it will be just as good as this one.”

“Expensive?”

K’ndar bit his lip. “I don’t know. This one is my official one, for business only. I have my own personal one, that I can call friends and family with. But I didn’t pay for my personal one. It was free because I was the one who found the original artifacts. But, Rand, if you continue to help me with this cataloging, I can truthfully say you need one. They’re making them for anyone who can afford it. Even my baby sister has one. And she’s a lot better at it’s use. She…”

Their fire lizards suddenly appeared. K’ndar realized he’d completely lost track of Siskin. Mushroom swooped to Rand’s shoulder, chittering.

Siskin, his mind unsettled, sent images of horses, coming through the forest.

“Mushroom is, um, I’m still not used to him sending images. Or maybe he’s still getting the hang of seeing them. All I’m seeing is horses. Is Siskin seeing horses?”

“Aye,” K’ndar said, looking inward. “Mushroom is still young, he’ll get the hang of sending images very soon. Siskin is pissed, though. He’s angry at the riders.”

He touched Raventh.

He says he recognizes one of the horsemen. He says he remembers them hurting a human with two green fire lizards

Do you?

No, because he’s not sending their faces.

“Mushroom shows me two people, three horses. The people are carrying crossbows,” Rand said.

“Then he’s better at it than you might believe. Siskin recognizes one of them,” K’ndar said, “but I’m not getting a solid view of their faces. He doesn’t like them, though, and usually he’s unbiased.”

His blue fire lizard swooped over his head, then settled on his shoulder and chattered. His eyes roiled orange.

“K’ndar. Quick. Come with me. I don’t want them to see us,” Rand said. He led the way deeper into the undergrowth. He positioned K’ndar behind one of the vine covered trees.

“Sit. From here, you’ll get a good look at their faces. Make yourself small and when you can hear their hoofbeats, DON’T move, not a muscle. We’re downwind of the trail. The riders won’t be paying attention to what’s on the ground, they’ll be trying to keep from getting slashed in the face by the taller vegetation. But the horses will see you in a flash if you move. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“Listen for what they say. Once they’ve passed, hold still for a few more minutes, then we’ll follow them. If they’re smart, they’ll take a look over their shoulders. But my gut says they’re on this trail because they’ve been told no one knows of it ‘cept those of us who live in the forest.”

“I can send Siskin to follow them, too.”

“He knows how to do that?”

“Yes. They’re capable spies, Rand, I’ve trained him to do a lot of things, and I can show you how to train Mushroom. They turn it into a game.”

They both heard a shout.

“Okay. I’m moving away from you. That shout was someone getting hit in the face, so I’m thinking they believe themselves alone. Remember. Don’t move a muscle until they’ve passed.”

Rand turned and melted into the undergrowth. K’ndar could barely hear him, and then any sounds he’d made stopped.

Siskin chittered, softly.

Raventh, tell him I must be silent. Tell him to perch above the trail and send me images of the humans.

Shall I tell Mushroom, too?

He listens to you?

Yes. Siskin is teaching him. Mushroom is like all fire lizards, he likes me.

That’s not hard to do, my brother.

Raventh sent an emotional smile. It warmed his heart.

Siskin chipped and whirred to a limb over the trail. Mushroom joined him.

He was beginning to wonder how far the horsemen were when he heard the ring of a shod hoof hitting a rock. It was followed by an oath, the same voice he’d heard earlier.

“Shaff this forest! You and your bright ideas, coming this way?” said a woman. “Now I know why you put me up front, you arsehole. I keep getting whipped in the face.”

A man laughed. “You’d rather be out in the open, for every dragonrider to see? Moron.”

The dull thuds of horse’s hooves told him they were near. He could hear one of them was lame. One of the horses snorted. He froze. Immediately, half his body began to complain of being uncomfortable or itchy.

I wish I’d been in a better position, he thought, I have such a small field of view.

There. The lead horse emerged from the undergrowth, her head down, scanning the trail ahead of her. That’s a good trail horse, he thought, she knows how to negotiate a rough path. The woman on her back was one he’d never seen before. She had a crossbow on her back. She slashed at the hanging vines dangling over her head with a machete.

A few lengths behind her came the second horse, the man on his back carrying something in his hand. Behind him, a packhorse limped, covered with sweat. The two horses look tired, their body language telling K’ndar they’d been ridden long and hard.

Siskin hissed from his perch in the tree, sounding like a steam kettle. The two riders looked up at him. The blue fire lizard levitated.

“Sharding fire lizards, I hate them,” the man swore. “I should shoot the damned thing.”

K’ndar recognized the man’s voice an instant before he recognized the man’s face.

Scar.

K’ndar resisted the overwhelming urge to look at what Siskin was doing. Beads of sweat rolled into his eyes. He blinked them away.

The lame horse passed his position. It met his eye and stopped.

I didn’t move, he thought. I didn’t. He saw me blinking!

For one long moment they held each other’s eye. K’ndar had seen that resigned look before. I’m sorry, horse. You’re done, aren’t you.

“Come on, you mangy beast,” Scar shouted, yanking on the lead rope.

The horse tossed its head, resisting the pull.

“Come ON, horse!” Scar shouted, yanking harder. The packhorse dropped his head, weary and in pain. The load on his back had shifted to where it was almost completely on one side. The lame side. K’ndar knew immediately that whomever had loaded the horse had no idea how to do it properly. Scar yanked again. The horse shivered, then resumed trudging past K’ndar’s position.

You bastards, he thought, sorrow piercing his heart, that horse has given his all.

“How much further in this forsaken wilderness?” the woman called.

“Not far, if that farmer was telling the truth. Ten kilometers, by the datalink.”

“You were too easy on him,” she said. “I think he sent us the long way around. When he fought you I was ready to cut his throat.”

“And call down every dragonrider on us? This ain’t Toric’s land anymore, you fool. It’s dragonrider turf. He should be grateful I left him alive.”

Several moments passed. He realized he’d been holding his breath. He released it and relaxed.

Rand appeared as if from between. His face was red with fury. He visibly controlled himself.

“Well done, K’ndar. When that horse saw you I thought we were blown.”

“I did as you told me, Rand. That poor horse is beat. I know that man. His name’s Scar. I’ll tell you the whole story later, but I’m betting the woman is Vika. They’re brigands, raiders of the worst sort. They are possibly murderers. Did you hear what she said?”

“I did. And they’re more than brigands, K’ndar. They’re horse thieves. That mare she was riding is mine.”

——————————————————————————————————

I’ve told Mushroom to follow and send images to Rand. He understood quickly.

“Are you hearing from Mushroom?” K’ndar asked. They were following behind the two raiders at a very safe distance.

It was difficult to concentrate on what the fire lizard was seeing as well as watch his footing.

“Aye, lad, but it’s difficult for me to walk this trail and see and hear him. I think it may be wise for me to be the eyes on this trail. You follow behind me and watch through Siskin.”

“Okay.”

“I don’t want them getting too far ahead.”

“Do we want to catch up?” K’ndar said, realizing he had no weapons other than his dagger. Vika and Scar were both armed and knew how to use them.

“No, I don’t want to, but that’s my horse. I want her back. What will they do when they see Raventh? They’ll bolt, maybe even head back this way. And when they do, they’ll be in a mood for killing.”

“Whoa. You’re right. I can have Raventh disappear, though.”

Rand slowed. “This trail leads downhill, once it leaves the rain forest it turns into jungle, I’m sure you remember that! It’s steep and hot going, even in winter. That will slow them down. Then it turns into relatively open lowlands. I bet I know where they’re going. There’s a system of caves that the Holdless have used for generations as a resting stop. Once they get there, they can hide out for weeks, if they have enough food.”

“They might find your stump.”

“I doubt it. It’s too well camoflauged,” Rand said, gritting his teeth. “But if they’re paying any attention at all, they’ll see my boma with the chickens and the pig. They’ll know I’m nearby, if the farmer didn’t tell them already.”

“He would have told them about you?”

“If you had a knife at your throat, wouldn’t you tell, too?”

“Um…”

“I’m not angry at him, K’ndar. The fact that that woman is on my horse tells me they gave him the option-talk or die. I would have talked, too.”

K’ndar slapped his head in sudden dismay. “Rand, I’m an idiot. I have the datalink. Those two, they’ve got prices on their heads for their crimes. I’m going to call D’mitran and the weyr. Maybe we can arrange for a welcoming party for them.”

“D’mitran is? And an illegal cothold?”

“D’mitran is my friend, formerly my wingleader, now a contracted dragon rider for Lord Dorn.

Scar and Vika teamed up with another criminal, named Shawn, who carved out an illegal cothold on Lord Dorn’s Holdlands. They manned it with holdless people. They would abduct women and children, put them in chains, and told their menfolk that if they didn’t obey, the women would die.

When I found the cothold, I called the weyr and they sent out a wing to take them all into custody. Scar and Vika escaped. The rest of the folks were tried by Lord Dorn. The vast majority were pardoned and continued living on the cothold.

The wing will need room to land. Is there a place a bunch of dragons can land?”

“Remember my first ‘reception area? At the base of that hill is a nice open area, big enough for a lot of dragons. How will they catch them?”

“If B’rant brings in the Fire Lizard corps, they’ll chase them right into the weyr’s arms. Fire lizards aren’t gentle, like dragons.” K’ndar snickered.

“I’d like that. That damned bitch, riding my mare? And what did they do to my friend who was keeping her? Stars help her if she’s hurt him.”

“How long do you think it will take them to reach the lowlands?”

“On two good, sound horses, on this trail? Maybe an hour, especially with my mare leading. She knows this trail like the insides of her eyelids. With the poor lame beast, I don’t know.”

Siskin began sending images.

“Rand, I have to listen.”

“Okay. Mushroom is sending, too.”

“You’re sure of this trail, Scar?” Siskin and Mushroom floated noiselessly behind the riders. K’ndar could hear the indecision in Vika’s voice.

“No, I’m not sure. I’ve never been on it. But the datalink seems to show it goes clear down to where the caves are said to be.”

She swore. “I’m sick of fighting this stuff,” she snapped, beckoning with her machete, “Come up here and take the lead.”

Scar laughed. “And let you handle the pack horse? Not on your life, woman. There’s a nobleman’s ransom in that pack.”

Vika reined the horse to a stop and looked back at Scar. “Half of it’s mine, Scar,” she hissed.

The scarred man laughed. “Of course. T’ovar agreed. That was always the deal, aye?”

“It was, but I don’t trust you. Or T’ovar.”

“I never trusted you, not ever. But that’s what we do, Vika. Trust no one. You’ll get your half.”

At that moment, the packhorse groaned and collapsed.

“Blast! Look what you’ve done! Stopping to argue and the damned horse decides to take a break!”

“I’m not to blame, Scar. It’s lame.”

Scar dismounted and moved to the pack horse. He gave it a sound kick. “Get up, you lazy beast! Get up!”

The horse groaned again. Then it rolled over onto the pack, moaning feebly.

“It’s laying on the pack! Get up! Get up!” Scar screamed, kicking the horse.

K’ndar’s heart broke, seeing through Siskin’s eyes. Rand muttered something filthy.

The horse raised its head, then let it drop to the ground. It gave one long, rattling gasp. And died.

Scar swore and kicked it again. He stood for a moment, then began to pull the horse’s forelegs. Vika laughed.

“It’s dead, Scar. Can’t you see that?”

“Of course I can see that, bitch! Help me move it off the pack.”

“It looks heavy.”

“Bloody right it’s heavy and if you don’t help me, we’ll have to leave it. Get off that horse!”

Vika dismounted and moved to the dead horse’s hind legs.

Rand touched K’ndar on his shoulder and motioned him to move further into the undergrowth.

Raventh. Recall the fire lizards.

Siskin and Mushroom lifted from their perch and flew high over the struggling raider’s heads. Siskin landed on K’ndar’s shoulders.

“Good lad, Siskin. Well done.”

“K’ndar,” Rand said softly, “Send for your friends. That Scar, he said he had a datalink, too. Can’t your Jansen at Landing track it?”

“I’m a fool! I hadn’t thought of that! Yes, she can. Oh, that poor horse. Worked to death by those bastards. I’ll call D’mitran and the weyr, too. Maybe, maybe, that poor horse has given us some time.”

“Maybe not, K’ndar. I bet my boots they’ll load my good little mare up with that pack, just as badly as they did that poor gelding, and be on their way.”

As he thumbed the datalink awake, he touched Raventh.

Raventh, please call Careth. Tell him to tell D’mitran we’ve found Lord Dorn’s raiders. Tell him where we are. Then tell Banarth at the weyr. Tell them we need a wing, with the Fire Lizard corps to catch Vika and Scar.

I will. I heard Rand say where they should land. I am going there now.

“K’ndar. Let’s get ahead of them.”

“How? You mean pass them? Isn’t this the only trail?”

“No, laddie, just the longest and easiest one. If you’re up to bushwacking, call and then let’s go.”