He let out a rush of air at hearing those welcome words and bent over to put his head on the cool ground. Brooke and others looked at the map and writings of a single mark for red or two for blue. Cage didn’t move till his breathing evened out and looked over their work. “Good job. It is nearly exactly how I memorized it.”
“You memorized it, Chief?” Someone asked.
He nodded. “Yes, back when I was training on Earth I had to memorize every building and terrain to complete a mission. Would you like to test me?”
“Do we have time to waste?” Brooke said.
“I need to rest for five minutes before I’m able to even move properly. I need to pass the time somehow while everyone finishes prepping the horses.” She nodded and he turned his back to the map they copied. “Starting from where we are, the nearest blue light would be if we leave this area, take a right, another right, a left, go straight and pass by two right turns before taking the central fork and…” he kept speaking unerringly to the nearest marking of blue on the map.
“Amazing.” Brooke said then wondered “If we were to start from that point, where is the nearest one to it?” again he gave clear directions. “You really did memorize the whole system.”
He stood “Now we just need to get out. I’m feeling better.” He smiled and winked, making his beautiful woman shake her head with a smile. “Brooke, you get everyone ready while I and a few hunters scout ahead. I’ll leave markings along the way for everyone to know you’re on the right path.”
“Aren’t we sticking together?”
“Just to be on the safe side we should send a few ahead and make sure all is safe. This is what I’m good at.” He looked to Zanza. “Ready to have my back again?”
“Why would I want your back?” The warrior huntress queried in uncertainty.
He chuckled. “It is just an expression. It means will you follow me and be sure to tell me about something you see that I don’t. Scouts always protect each other.”
“Well then I shall watch your back.” Zanza affirmed. She looked over “Love’s, want to scout with me and the chief?”
Four beautiful young women and a large man by the name of Rin with a bright orange bead of a warrior came over. All except one woman chose to come. The remaining woman said she would watch over their children and kissed each one before doing just that.
“Be safe.” Brooke whispered to her new love.
Cage smiled. “You too, Brooke. Make sure everyone moves safely. If something happens, send someone ahead. We’ll do likewise.”
Chapter 2
A lone torch illuminated the cave for the five of them. Cage led, keeping the fire one of the huntresses held to his back to retain clearer vision. The cave made eerie echoes that put all of them on edge, but their chief’s calm confidence was reassuring. He left the map with the main group, relying on his sharp memory to guide them through the confusing caves. Sounds became more bearable when they didn’t hear the tribe’s echo haunting them. Zanza and her mates talked little, explaining only once that when working, they focus on the task to prevent costly mistakes a diversion talking creates.
Before they took another right Cage punched the wall as hard as he could for the tenth time.
The first time he struck the wall Rin, the man who fought and won four of the five women that walked with them, asked what he was doing and went to check his hand for injury. Cage simply admitted “I’m marking our path for others to follow. My skin is stronger than metal and as for breaking bones, when I was training with the old man I punched and kicked a wooden log for over three years every day for an hour. I made micro-fractures in my bones that healed and made them stronger. It’ll take a lot more to break my bones than for most people. Besides I’d rather release my frustrations on the rock instead of dulling your knife.”
The warrior tried punching the rock too and found it seriously hurt. His women and chief laughed, but it didn’t hurt his pride.
After enough fresh rock peeled off from a rapid series of punches they moved on. The others knew he hit the mountain for his beloved mate wasn’t near. They didn’t know what they would do if it were one of them in his or the priestess’s place and didn’t wish to consider the notion.
The cave walls narrowed, but not enough for those following to get the horses stuck. They would have to go in a line to continue. Later the cavern opened wider than expected. Cage looked and there was a deep pit consuming much of the room. A ten foot wide path skirted the monstrous cavern. Amazingly even three airliners could fly side by side straight down with room to spare. He got down and had an idea. He conjured a red orb and roughly fed it about two minutes worth of mana. He tossed it own the hole and all watched as the light sped down. In a few seconds the light could no longer be seen and made it feel as if it were bottomless. Cage made three more and threw them as hard as he could in different parts. One barely ricocheted off the far wall and dropped. His shoulder hurt from the pitch required to toss such distances. It revealed the wall riddled with large holes that likely ran deeper into the mountain. In a few moments each light dropped from sight. “Well this could be a problem.”
“How so?” Zanza asked.
“If someone or a horse falls it’ll be impossible to save anyone. What I want to really know is how these caves were made. It’s been bugging me for a few hours now. I don’t see any normal tool marks associated with tunneling. I’ve been in a few caves before, but some tunnels are too straight and huge to be natural and I didn’t see any marks. It looked more like something expanded or pulled out large chunks of rock. And these aren’t even lava tubes. Can any of you fill me in on what I don’t understand?”
“Chief,” Rin began. “What do you know of dragons?”
“Are you saying dragons did this?” Rin nodded and waited to be answered. “All the fiction stories of my world claimed they were fierce and dangerous, a deadly pest to man. They stole sheep and other animals and burned villages to the ground. They hoarded gold and killed any who got in their way.”
The huntresses and Rin gave him a ‘Are you kidding us?’ look. The warrior planted the end of his spear and slightly leaned on it. “That is not the dragons we know of. Dragons here are great beings of power and humility. They are mostly peaceful, but their pride has limits and their magic is great. A year ago a young dragon thrice the size of a horse visited our people and asked to hunt a buffalo in our lands. They do not take, and if we were to say no he would have flown to another tribe to ask them. We would never dare tell a dragon no because they are fascinating and usually when there is great disaster or famine they help those who helped them. They do not interfere in human affairs, but natural ones they aid. For instance, if we lost all our buffalo herds and were about to starve, that dragon we fed would bring us enough to feed us as we did for him. There is no such thing as an ugly dragon for they have vibrant scales more beautiful than any gem or treasure.” The warrior gestured his hand to the enormous cave they felt like dwarfs in. “Only these great creatures could make a cavern. They prefer to be in the air as much as underground. It seems this mountain was left long ago, but stories make me believe dragons made this place. It is exactly how I imagined the stories, minus the dragons.” The warrior ten years Cage’s age smiled.
“Great, now I want to go see a dragon. Do you know where I can find one? When I get Meeka I want to take her too. She wants to see one as well.”
“Dragons, to my knowledge, nest in the Fire Mountains, near the city of Misty Way and the Blind Mountains where Twilight and the Magical Council call home. At least, that is what the stories say. Dragons don’t give out too much information about themselves.”
Cage became fascinated by this news. He looked around one last time to state “Someone needs to head back to the others or just to where I last marked our path and warn them about the gaping hole and this ten foot wide passage. Be sure to tell Brooke to keep the kids touching the wall at all times.”
One of the women grabbed an unlit torch and li
t the head before moving back.
The rest carefully walked around the cave, following the reasonable path. In fifteen minutes they entered another tunnel and proceeded.
“Is that light?” Zanza wondered hopefully as they turned another corner.
“It is from my memory.” He heard something sliding. “What is that sound?”
Zanza didn’t hear his whisper. She and the others smelled fresh air flowing in. In excitement to get out of the suffocating cave, she moved quickly past Cage.
Sliding sounds grew louder and something moved, catching Cage’s eye.
Reacting, Cage reached for Zanza’s arm, gripped and jerked her back. She went to yell at him until she looked in shock. Biting at Cage’s feet were several snakes. Cage pulled her away just in time as he felt sudden and momentary pressure striking the top and sides of his foot. He created a white light when he realized the snakes couldn’t pierce his skin/boots. He tossed the orb ahead to find a pit writing with venomous snakes. Some hung oddly from the roof by holding the ceiling with their tails. He’d never seen snakes do that before. Thankfully the snakes weren’t large enough to strike his flesh just above his calf muscles. One of the snakes must have broken its fangs on his foot as it slithered away. He slowly backed away, needing to kick two reptiles to stand safely with the others.
“Chief, thank you for watching my back.” Zanza admitted. She looked at the confusion of the others. “I will explain later.”
Rin asked “Chief, are you well?”
“Yeah, thanks to my protected feet. They couldn’t pierce my skin to use venom.”
“How are we to get past? There are hundreds and our people need to get through here. What’s to say the other exit is better or worse.”
Cage spoke “I don’t want to kill them if that is what you suggest. We are the trespassers here. I too do not wish to find another way. The only thing I can do humanely is to draw them or throw them out…”
With an epiphany he snapped his fingers and whispered a spell “All female snakes within my line of sight go into an early mating frenzy. Increase hormone and pheromone production to gain every male’s undivided attention.”
The spell started and immediately every snake’s behavior changed. The ones hanging from the ceiling dropped and rushed to every female now in heat.
“They are eating each other!” Rin exclaimed.
“Nope!” Cage laughed. “They are in a mating frenzy and can think of nothing else. Look, that is called a mating-ball.” He pointed to the growing ball of males surrounding every female. “This will make things much easier to manage.” He outstretched his hands and every writhing ball rose by magic. It wasn’t too hard to maintain. “Wait here until I come back. I don’t want any of you bit if I missed a straggler.” Cage moved forward, carrying three dozen large balls of snakes. He stepped outside the cave and placed them far away from the entrance, knowing they would be occupied for some time. Stagnant water lay near the cave entrance and he used it to wash off all the venom from his feet. Last thing he needed was to transfer the venom to another.
Cage looked around to understand just where they would find themselves and realized they exited into a valley between several mountains. From the sun’s current position in the west, they had cut through a mountain or two and safely escaped on the south side. Untouched trees explained that none lived near and any trails belonged to game, not man. He hurried back into the tunnel, seeing enough to know they successfully escaped from real danger of being obliterated. He did a quick search and found only one snake remained behind. He brought it out, biting his hand without effect. He released it near the others, washed his arm and announced “Come on out!” Rin and his loves cautiously stepped outside and quickly looked much better out in the open. He then said “Steer clear of that area, but go scout for a suitable place to make camp and if you find any food or game make sure to bring it back. We’ll have hungry people coming. I’ll wait here by the cave till the rest arrive. It’ll be dark in two or three hours so do what you can and tell me if you find anything.” The women and Rin smiled and moved off into the forested valley, giving a wide berth to the area he deposited the snakes.
Darkness consumed the valley and several hours of waiting came to an end when Cage heard a jumble of voices. In the time he waited, he shaved with a magic knife of his own creation that cut only hair. He also did a complete exercise regimen when he could not sit around the whole time worrying about everyone and Meeka. He felt less anxious though the tree that obliged his release lost quite a bit of bark. The snakes remained elsewhere occupied, not one even tried returning to the cave. After the strenuous workout he had found something delectable.
An orange glow grew with the voices. He smirked and hid behind a rock just before a torch came within sight. He heard Brooke’s voice state “The exit must be close.” He peeked and saw she led the entire tribe.
Right when she got close enough he jumped right in front of her, making Brooke scream in surprise with others. He laughed till she smacked his arm. “Don’t do that!” She put a hand over her racing heart.
“Couldn’t help it.” He chuckled and saw she was about to smack him again, but he caught her hand and kissed it. She relented and relaxed, seeing him well. Cage looked to the others and said. “Follow me to the exit.” That raised everyone’s spirits and lessened worry.
Brooke laced her fingers intimately with Cage’s as he led the tribe outside. Fresh, clean air and open space made some cry in happiness or just relax. Seeing stars and the crescent moon told night had clearly arrived. He said “Rin and the others found a suitable place to make camp. Follow me there so we can all rest.”
That got no disagreement. Even the horses were eager to move.
Cage led the tribe downhill, avoiding the snake area and using a game trail. On the way he asked “How did it go?”
Brooke avoided a branch. “Slowly. We had a difficult time fitting the horses through the tunnel before we arrived at the empty dragon cavern. It wasn’t easy keeping everyone safe and walk around that gaping hole. We nearly lost a horse on that narrow ledge, but we all made it through alive. The sister you sent back warned us what lay ahead and we certainly needed it. And you, Love?”
He told her about the snakes and she shivered, obviously disliking the creatures, but she laughed as he explained how he made them go into a sex frenzy.
An orange glow ahead signaled they arrived at camp. Rin, Zanza and the other two women came over to welcome everyone. They found a reasonably flat area near a clean running stream. Lush grass would make a more comfortable bedding. Two large fires cooked two plump deer the hunters took down and the smell made the village hungry. Cage didn’t even need to say for them to find a place and bed down for the night. The spitted deer cooked while the people let the horses roam and other foods were stewed. Only a few warriors scoured the nearby area for threats.
Conversations turned lighter now that the Utala weren’t confined in a mountain. The fresh meat was distributed to everyone besides Cage. He found a filling meal for his own dietary preference. A bush of almost ripe berries, edible flowers and wild potatoes, that had to be dug up, sated his hunger. Cage sat and watched interactions as Brooke and Rena sat on the large, soft fur. When it seemed stomachs were full he pulled out his container. “I have a treat for everyone!” He announced. He looked over and smiled “Zanza, did you and your sisters do as I asked?”
The huntress grinned back. “Sure did.”
“Good, bring it over.” Zanza and one of her lovers brought over a wrapped blanket to the fur, intriguing everyone. They opened it to reveal a large stack of flat, circular bread. He then knelt before the stack with his wooden water container and said “Children, I can use your help.” Nearly every child ran over. He opened the mouth, began lightly pouring a thick golden stream on the topmost piece of bread and said “I followed some bees and found us some honey. I want everyone to share so each of you give your mothers and fathers their own sweetened bread.” One littl
e girl took a piece to her mother who thanked her, took a bite and Cage watched as the woman’s eyes widened at the delectable treat.
Cage gave everyone the dessert, saving the last three for himself, Brooke and Rena. A drop tried to escape his chin and before he could go after it Brooke leaned in and licked it straight off. She smiled mischievously to say “Can’t let such a rare treat go to waste.” She gained a thoughtful look and said “Though this honey is sweet, when I kiss you your taste is even sweeter.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “I would not lie about that. You taste much sweeter. I do have a question. How did you collect the honey for you do not look to have been stung.”
He leaned back after swallowing the last bite and said “While I waited for close to five hours I had enough time to learn how to make a barrier much like what those the men and mages had that made arrows useless. It is much like using magic to move things around. I just think of a sphere around myself and I can regulate its strength and properties. If I add more mana to the barrier it becomes increasingly stronger. It works a lot differently than other ways to use magic. Usually when I add more, the magic can sustain itself. Not so with the barrier. It just gets stronger or weaker depending on the amount I give and cannot remain on its own without me focusing. Properties of the shield vary on how I want them to. Like the soldiers, they could block arrows, but not close range attacks. It also seems the more I block against the harder it is to maintain and yet the stronger it becomes as well.” He saw Brooke followed while Rena just listened and didn’t understand. Cage held up his sealed container and the inch of remaining honey. “When I figured out how to make a barrier, I set the spell to repel bees and their larvae. I found the hive not too far away and pulled out a few combs to harvest the raw, fresh honey. The bees swarmed around me, but couldn’t get near because my shield repelled them just outside my reach. I took only what I needed to share with everyone, leaving the bees more than enough to not be weakened. No one was hurt and I got what I wanted.”
Familiar's Ancient Throne (Book 2 of the Death Incarnate Saga) Page 4
