The Remnant

by Paul B Spence

  "We'll figure something out. The villages should become more common as we get closer to our goal. Tebrey said it should take us about six to eight weeks to reach the capital."

  "Seems a fair bit to be walking," McGee said mildly. "I still think we should just move in here."

  "I know, but we have a responsibility to guard these people. There are only four of us marines left, not counting the commander and Hunter. I need to know that you're committed, McGee."

  "I feel like I ought to be, sir." He grinned. "This journey seems just crazy enough, but not too crazy, if you know what I mean. I'm with you, never fear that. I'll follow orders to the end, but a man can dream."

  "Good man," she said. "I'll go and see if I can extort an exact date for us leaving."

  "And I'll go work on getting those thrice-damned mules to walk when I want them to," McGee replied.

  "Are you certain that you want to travel with us, Lord Jeroen?" Mason asked. "I suspect you'd make better time without us."

  "I'm sure we would," replied Jeroen. "But then, I might not see any of you again. I think you are going to want me and my men along with you on this trip. The capitol is a long way away, and there are many dangers along the road."

  "I'm sure there are," Mason agreed. She was actually relieved to have the young man along. She'd been worried about what kind of reception awaited the refugees at the capitol. This way they would have someone to speak for them. "I suspect that you also want to be near Tebrey and Hunter."

  Jeroen grinned. "Of course I do. They are like one of the legends brought to life. I want to see the look on my uncle's face when I arrive at the capitol in the company of a Lawbringer."

  Two weeks of travel hardened the survivors. They were beginning to gain weight again after the horrors of starvation. Walking for hours, day after day, was bulking muscles that most of them had never realized they had. Tebrey was happy that he was starting to look like himself again. He had a fast metabolism and needed more calories than most people. He'd lost more weight over the winter than he had been comfortable with. Now, with plentiful food and steady exercise, his lanky frame was filling back out.

  "You look like travel agrees with you," Jeroen said as he pulled his horse into place alongside Tebrey.

  "It does," he replied. His auburn hair was getting longer, and the wind ruffled it as he walked. "I was never one to sit in one place for too long."

  Tebrey was amazed at what the exercise was doing for Hunter. He had gained fifty kilograms of muscle and was larger than any neo-panther Tebrey had ever seen. The great cat prowled far and wide while they walked, always exploring some new trail or animal spoor. The panther was hunting for himself completely now and enjoying it.

  I am enjoying the experience, Hunter thought to him, having felt his regard. I'd still like to be doing other things, though. Things like what you told me about. Space seems interesting; I hardly remember what it was like. By the way, there is a village up the road from your present position, about five kilometers.

  That should be Denton, Tebrey responded.

  It fits the description Jeroen gave you, agreed Hunter. Not much to look at.

  Don't let them see you. Tebrey wasn't sure how the villagers would react to seeing the huge cat. He didn't want to find out.

  "Looks like we'll make Denton by tonight, Jeroen," Tebrey said out loud.

  "Yes, it shouldn't be too much farther up the road," Jeroen replied.

  "We'll be there within the hour," Tebrey told him.

  Jeroen gave him an odd look.

  Tebrey shrugged. "I think we've made good time. We may actually be getting used to walking," he said, looking back at the string of people.

  "I still think that you should have taken me up on my offer of a horse."

  "Oh, I appreciated the gesture," Tebrey said. "I just didn't trust my ability to stay on the thing. I'm better off using my own feet. Besides, I'd feel uncomfortable being on a horse when the rest of my party has to walk. I'm enough of an outsider."

  "I can understand that, I think. Mason said that you have always stood apart from them. How is your old one?"

  "Still breathing," Tebrey said. "He was ill even before we started, but I think the warmer temperatures and riding in the wagon have helped some, although we're worried about his cough."

  "The lung fever is bad," Jeroen said. "They may have an herbalist in Denton."

  "I'm not sure he'd agree to that. He's a stubborn old bastard."

  "Indeed. But I'd hate for him to die. You have lost so many of your people."

  "Yes, we have. If there is an herbalist, we may have to force Anderson to accept some medicine. I'll talk to Bauval and see what he wants to do."

  Tebrey would just as soon have let Anderson die, but it would be bad for morale if they lost anyone at this point. They needed to stay focused and confident if they were going to survive.

  Are you sure morale wouldn't improve if he died? Hunter asked.

  You may have a point, Tebrey thought back to him. Can we really afford to find out?

  Hunter's response was the mental equivalent of a sigh.

  "I think that would be wise," Jeroen was saying. "Else we may be burying him by the road before too long."

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Denton was much smaller and dingier than Renivee, if that was possible.

  It was afternoon when they arrived, and the sun made sharp shadows with the low spiked wall surrounding the village. The village had little to fear from animals, since the large sauroids that haunted the mountains were rare in the southeast, but it was plagued by occasional groups of bandits.

  As their party came around the last bend of the road, shouts and a bell rang out from the village. Tebrey saw figures running in from the fields and felt a sudden compassion for the poor people. They were far from the seat of their government and subject to raids and warfare without much hope of defending themselves.

  Not a lot different from the people on the Federation Frontier, Tebrey reflected.

  Is this what it's like? Hunter asked.

  Sort of.

  The meager village militia turned out to the dull ringing of the bell. Tebrey heard the excited barking of a few dogs. His group paused a few hundred meters from the wall, just outside bowshot, and Jeroen rode ahead to talk with the village elders, his hands held up where they could see them.

  Tebrey couldn't hear what they were saying from his position, but he could see that the discussion was becoming animated. He hoped that it wouldn't go badly. He didn't want anything to happen to the young man, and not just because they were depending on him. He liked Jeroen, much to his own surprise.

  "Do you think they'll let us in for the night?" Mason asked from just behind him.

  Tebrey turned and grinned down at her. "I doubt they want to risk saying no. They just aren't happy about it. They won't want Jeroen's father against them, and we have more armed men than they do."

  "No, I suppose they wouldn't want to alienate him. They seem quite scared, though. The village isn't what I expected." She shrugged. "I guess I just got used to Renivee."

  "This place does seem a little pathetic. I imagine they have a lot of trouble with bandits."

  Jeroen rode back from the gates. He was red-faced and scowling. "We can stay within the walls tonight. Best be on our guard, however. They are not pleased by our arrival. There were some who opposed the elders openly; they could be trouble."

  "Do they have a market?" Mason asked. "We will need supplies."

  "They do not," Jeroen replied. "I dare say that the local farmers would be happy to receive hard currency for their labors, though. We should be able to get what we need."

  "Is there a local healer?" Tebrey asked.

  "I don't know. I'm afraid I didn't inquire. There should at least be an herbalist. You are thinking of your Anderson?"

  "Yes. I thought maybe someone here may be able to do something for him, like you suggested earlier."

  "I will ask once we are in the villag
e and settled."

  "Thank you."

  Jeroen moved off to talk to his guards.

  "Do you really think a local healer can help?"

  "That remains to be seen. We have little choice but to try."

  "I'll not let some witch doctor ply me with herbs and leeches," Anderson growled.

  "You'd better let them try something, Anderson," Mason replied, looking to Bauval for support. "Your cough has gotten steadily worse in the last few weeks."

  "I'm not that ill. I just have some congestion. I'm probably allergic to those damn horses."

  They all knew it was much worse than that.

  "James, be reasonable," Bauval said quietly. "You probably have pneumonia. You need medication, and all that's available is what the locals use. Many medicines were originally derived from herbal sources. It was one of the mandates of the biological survey team that we try to obtain local medicines for study."

  "Obtain all of them you wish, but don't expect to experiment with them on me," Anderson said, punctuated with a wracking cough.

  Bauval sighed and gave Mason a sad look. They'd known it would be difficult to convince Anderson, but not this difficult. The man simply couldn't be reasoned with.

  "Okay, Anderson," Bauval began. "I'll go and talk to the local herbalist and see what they have available. I'll see if I can recognize any of the herbs used. If I find something that will help, you're going to use it. We can't afford to lose you." For morale, if nothing else, he thought.

  Tebrey was waiting outside the wagon, talking quietly to Jane Svenson and Douglas Cain. The two students had grown quite close over the months. They had both been close to Mason's assistant, Fitch. When he died over the winter, they had taken it hard. Now they were inseparable.

  "How is he, Doctor?" Jane asked.

  Bauval sighed. "He's an idiot, as always. His cough is getting worse again. We may have to force him to accept medication if we can find any that might help."

  "Is that really ethical?" Douglas asked. "If he wants to die, who are we to interfere?"

  "He doesn't want to die, Doug. He just doesn't trust the local medicines."

  "I'm not sure I see the difference."

  "He's a health hazard to us and everyone around him. He could spread his contagion to others. We need to get him back to health one way or another. Besides…" Bauval took a deep breath "We can't afford to lose anyone else right now. Losing Anderson could take the will from the rest of us. If he chooses to die after he's healthy, I'm sure a bandit or sauroid would be happy to oblige."

  They stayed just the one night at Denton. The villagers were glad to see them go the next morning. They didn't get as many supplies as they wanted, but they did acquire some herbs that Bauval thought would help Anderson.

  It took some persuasion to talk Jeroen into cutting across the fields east of Denton. The wilderness was not to be traveled without preparation. Jeroen had heard of the ruins that they sought to the north. That didn't help; he'd heard those ruins were haunted. Only the fact that road looped back around father northeast convinced him. The trip would add only a few days to their expected date of arrival at the capital.

  "How long before we find these ruins?" Tebrey asked.

  "Maybe tonight or in the morning at our present rate of travel," said Bauval. "It's hard to tell exact scale because of the differences in the accuracies of the maps."

  They were standing behind one of Jeroen's wagons, with the ancient maps laid out on the tail. Bauval moved the map over and spread out a parchment map he had acquired from Jeroen. There were a few features that matched on both maps, but Tebrey could see that Jeroen's map contained several glaring mistakes. The Lyonan Empire had trouble measuring distances accurately. The older map was better.

  Mason climbed down from the next wagon and walked stiffly over to them. There were lines of worry etched into her face, and her hair was starting to grey. The few months on Cedeforthy had aged her.

  "How is he?" Bauval asked.

  "He's responding to the herbs. We were able to get him up and walking around a little when we stopped for lunch."

  "Is he going to recover?" asked Tebrey.

  "I don't know. I wish I knew more about illness. I'm afraid his lungs may have been damaged. At his age, without real treatment, I'm not sure he'll ever fully recover."

  "Tebrey, I hesitated to mention this before, but do you think a transfusion of your blood would cure him? The antibodies from your implant would take care of pneumonia without any trouble."

  Tebrey shook his head. "Even if he could take my blood, which he couldn't, I'm an exotic – the antibodies produced by my implant are made for my body. They would attack his cells. He'd be dead within an hour."

  "Oh, I didn't realize," Bauval said. "Sorry."

  "Don't worry about it. You did the best you could," Tebrey said with compassion. "You both did. Jeroen says that people often get the lung sickness in the winter. He said the doctors in the capitol should be able to help more, if Anderson can make it that far."

  "I wish you'd let me do that genetic scan, back when I had the chance," Bauval said.

  Tebrey grinned. "I couldn't. That information is classified. My blood could be used to gain access to secured areas on a ship."

  "Still, I'd like to know why your blood is an exotic."

  "I think that's easy enough to explain: my father was from a fringe world. He looked a lot like me, as I remember. I'm sure that I got my weird teeth and red hair from him. My mother was a tall blond, completely local to Valhalla."

  "Your mother was Valhallan?"

  "Yep."

  "Interesting. Do you know if she had any genetically-enhanced ancestry?"

  "Bauval!" Tebrey could feel Mason's indignation. "You don't ask things like that!"

  "Now, Mason, I didn't mean anything derogatory by it. You know that, right, Commander?"

  Tebrey laughed. "I took no offense. As far as I know, none of my ancestors were modified in a lab, but I suppose it's possible. I know from my military history lessons that the enhanced warriors hid and eventually bred back into the normal population in the system after the wars. So… maybe."

  "It would explain a few things."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Do you think that it's normal for a person to survive the injuries that you've sustained?"

  "You haven't met many Special Operations personnel, have you?"

  "I haven't met any besides you."

  "I'm nothing special, Doctor, trust me."

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  They broke camp just after dawn and entered the valley, not without some degree of trepidation. On the map from the beta dig site, the ancient city they walked toward was marked in red, the color of danger; there had to be some reason for that. They couldn't see the city itself through the thick fog. If Tebrey had been alone, he would never have gone into that valley.

  They walked in silence on what must once have been a wide road, past the dead, gnarled trunks of trees. The trees, bleached to the color of old bone, stood sentinel over the road and seemed to lean toward the party as they walked. Nothing grew past the entrance to the valley. Tebrey wished that he had a radiation counter; such complete lack of life wasn't natural. The fog muffled all sound, and even the clop of horse hooves horses and the jingle of harness sounded far away.

  The rising sun burned back the mists as the party advanced, and shapes began to become clear. A great, crumbling wall of pale stone soared to a majestic six meters around a ruined gate. Through the gate, they could see tumbled towers. The ruins stretched the full extent of the valley. It was much more impressive than the beta site, and Tebrey wondered why Anderson hadn't chosen to dig here instead – not that he wasn't grateful that he hadn't.

  Hunter felt ill at ease from the moment they entered the valley. I don't like this place, he thought to Tebrey.

  I don't like it much, either, Tebrey replied. Something bad happened here, a long time ago. He kept one hand near his holstered pistol. There's s
omething familiar about the feeling, something really unpleasant.

  Tebrey started as someone touched his arm.

  "You feel it, too, yes?" Jeroen asked. "This is why my people never come here. I doubt even a brigand would dare these ruins. What is it you seek here?"

  "Answers," said Tebrey. "We want to know who built this place and when. Why did it fall? What happened here?"

  "The legends say it is a city of the gods," Jeroen said. "The dark gods. It is said that it was old when men were young upon this world. It was not built by men."

  "No, you're probably right, there. It doesn't seem like the kind of place humans would build, does it? There's something wrong with the angles and proportions. The architecture is almost non-Euclidian."

  "As you say," Jeroen replied, not really understanding. "It is a dead place that somehow still lives."

  A new problem arose when they attempted to enter the gate. The horses and mules refused to pass the threshold. Tebrey could see foam in the mouth of the nearest horse. Its eyes rolled in obvious terror. Jeroen's men didn't look much happier.

  "What's wrong with them?" Mason asked him.

  "I don't know," Tebrey said. "Jeroen! What makes the animals so afraid?"

  "I don't know, but they will not enter that place. Perhaps a wild sauroid lairs within," he replied. Tebrey could tell that he didn't believe that. "I think it best if we stay out here. You may lead your people into that if you wish. We will fall back to the entrance of the valley and make camp."

  Jeroen walked over to Tebrey and placed his hand on his shoulder.

  "Be careful in there, my friend," he said quietly. "We both know it is not some natural beast that lives within, but something else. Be careful."

  "We will," said Tebrey. He was touched by Jeroen's concern. "We will be back before dark. We just want to see this place, and then we can go."

  "Be back tonight. If you don't return by then, no one will come to find you."

  "If something in there could keep us from leaving, there won't be anyone to come and find. I'm not easy to detain, and I would fight to the death to save the others."