Teleporter (a Hyllis family story #2)

by Dahners, Laurence

  They both raised their eyes and surveyed the countryside. Daum quietly said to Tarc, “I don’t see very well at long distances. Do you?”

  Tarc turned to look at his father for a moment, “Yeah, I see fine.” He frowned, “If that’s so, why haven’t you gotten a lens from one of the traveling merchants to help you see better?”

  Daum shrugged, “They’re expensive. And I didn’t need to see well in the distance for my old job. But if you see well, you should check my side of the road too, rather than just watching your side.”

  Tarc raised his eyes and looked all around the wagon train. “I don’t see any riders, nor any dead bodies.” He glanced around again, “Nothing looks like it’s been burned.”

  Daussie suddenly realized that Arco had stopped his horse and was now alongside her. He looked at her, then up at Daum and Tarc. “You told them?”

  She worried that perhaps he hadn’t wanted them to know, though that seemed like a poor strategy to her. Nonetheless she said, “Yes, they haven’t seen anything else wrong though.”

  Arco nodded, seeming pleased. “I’m going to go back and let the rest of the caravan know what’s going on. It’s better that everyone be prepared should anything happen.” He focused his intense eyes on Daussie, “If anything unusual seems to be happening, ride back and get me immediately. Okay?”

  Daussie nodded nervously.

  Arco said, “Drop back and tell your mother what’s going on first. Then move back up alongside the lead mules.” He turned his horse and trotted back along the wagon train.

  Daussie merely halted her own horse and waited for Eva to catch up.

  Looking worried, Eva said “What’s going on?”

  The worried expression on her mother’s face made Daussie’s stomach flip-flop again. She told her mother about the dead men and grandmother at the farm they were passing. Then about the absence of the women. Though in her heart she thought she knew what had happened to the women, she asked to be sure. “Where do you think the women are, Mom?”

  Eva took a long heaving sigh, her eyes scanning the horizon. “Hopefully, they knew about the attack ahead of time and escaped, leaving the men to defend the farm.” She shook her head, narrowing her eyes at Daussie as if trying to decide what Daussie was ready to hear. “More likely, the raiders are like Krait’s men.” Eva grimaced, “Or actually they are Krait’s men. The ones that survived and fled Walterston. Men like that would have captured the women as slaves and for… sex.” Eva said that last bit in a low sick voice. Then, with some despair in her voice, she said, “I hope we haven’t fled ugly gossip to arrive in the land of murderers and rapists.”

  Daussie’s stomach turned again. She’d thought that living in Walterston was unbearable. But, if she had to live with this kind of fear day in and day out… she suddenly leaned off the side of her horse and threw up.

  Eva reached out and patted Daussie on the leg, “Sorry Dauss.” She pulled out the rag she always kept with her to clean things, “Here, wipe your mouth. Then take a swig of your water and spit it out before having a drink.”

  Daussie did as her mother suggested, worrying that at any moment she might throw up again. She hadn’t thrown up very much, but then again her stomach was probably pretty empty. With a sense of internal surprise, she realized she could find out whether her stomach was empty or not. She sent her ghost inside herself and found very little in her stomach. “I’m supposed to go back up to the front. If anything happens, I’m supposed to ride back and get Arco.”

  Eva gently asked, “Do you want me to do that while you lead the team here?”

  Daussie gave a short, sharp shake of her head. She felt safer up on the horse. “I’ll see you in a bit.” She glanced back to see if Arco had reached the back of the train yet. He appeared to be near the end of it, but not all the way back. Daussie trotted on up to the front and eyed the man leading the guard wagon’s mules.

  He looked up at her, “Hi, I’m Henry Roper from the wagon behind yours. We sell all kinds of the ancients’ technology.” He appraised her for a moment, then said, “You’re looking pretty worried.”

  Daussie nodded at him. He was a pleasant, slightly pudgy looking man who looked to be in his thirties. He wore glass lenses mounted over his eyes, probably an example of the ancient technology that he sold.

  Henry said, “Try to relax. The guards we have are the best I’ve ever seen since I’ve been on the road. Of course, it’s always a little dangerous, but, if anyone can get us through, it’ll be Arco and his team.”

  Daussie took a deep breath and tried to relax. She looked ahead and saw the guard, Sam, trotting back their way from his scout position. She tried to judge whether he had encountered anything awful or not, but she couldn’t tell at this distance. Daussie looked back over her shoulder and saw Arco trotting back up to the front of the train as well.

  Soon the two of them met. Once again Daussie was close enough to hear.

  Sam said, “Everyone’s okay at that next farm on the left.”

  “Did you tell them what had happened to their neighbors?” Arco asked.

  Sam nodded, “They say there’s been a gang going around demanding tribute for protection. The folks I talked to up on the left apparently knuckled under and paid. The old man said that the farmers back on the right were a really proud lot. He thinks they probably refused to cough up any tribute.” Sam shrugged, “He claims he didn’t know they’d been murdered though.”

  Though he’d been looking around the landscape, this last statement focused Arco’s attention back on Sam. “You think he did know they’d been attacked?”

  Sam shrugged, “He says they were worried that it might have happened, but weren’t sure. They’ve been staying to their own farm so as not to piss off the guys with the protection racket. I guess if I were them, I’d be wanting to keep all my potential fighters close at hand, not haring off to see what was happening elsewhere.”

  Arco sighed, “Yeah, I suppose most people would.” He glanced all around once again. “We’ll stay at Prichard’s farm again. Let Lizeth know so she can check it out. The two of you keep switching out to check the rest of the farms we’re passing.”

  Sam nodded and kneed his horse up to an easy canter, heading out after Lizeth.

  The last hour of the day on the road continued uneasily in much the same fashion. Lizeth and Sam reported back intermittently on the farms along the way. Every farm they came to had been extorted, but they encountered one more that had been raided, leaving the men dead and the women gone.

  Arco turned to Daussie and said, “Can you ride back along the train, letting each wagon know that although the bandits are extorting all the farmers they’ve only plundered two farms. Also, tell them we’ll be turning in at Prichard’s farm shortly.”

  Daussie nodded and turned her horse, grateful to have something to do. When she didn’t have a task, she found herself worrying and her stomach coiling into knots.

  ***

  Prichard’s farm, when they came to it, appeared to be bigger and better organized than any they’d seen so far. It had a field set aside for caravans with grazing nearby. The farmhouse was large and apparently had a few rooms for let to travelers. A small stream ran nearby and provided plenty of fresh water.

  Arco turned the caravan into the field and had it run into a tight circle that placed the guard wagon on the far side from the farmhouse. He gathered all the caravaners into the middle of the circle and stepped up onto one of the wagon’s wheels to talk to them. “As you can imagine, the situation around here is worrisome. Usually we’re feeling pretty safe here at Prichard’s, but tonight I think we’d best keep more than one guard up. Usually we let the teams out into Prichard’s grazing field. We’ll do that for a few hours, but later we’ll bring them inside the wagon circle here so no one can poach them. That’ll make it pretty crowded inside the circle, so pitch your tents, if you’re going to, right up against your wagon. Better yet, sleep under your wagon.” He glanced around at the
clear skies, “I don’t think it’ll rain tonight.” He paused and looked over the caravaners, “Keep your weapons close to hand.”

  Daussie, limping around and trying to stretch the soreness out of her thighs, heard the caravaners muttering apprehensively. That did little to calm her own flutters. She saw Daum talking to Arco and turned her walk to pass close by. She heard Daum say, “Tarc has amazing hearing. If I were you, I’d assign him to the watch during the part of the night you think is most likely to see any trouble. He’ll hear people coming long before anyone else.”

  As Daussie walked on, she wondered what Daum was talking about. To the best of her knowledge Tarc’s hearing wasn’t anything special. Then Eva called to Daussie and she forgot about it.

  ***

  Daussie was stirring Eva’s large pot of vegetable stew and watching the sausages Eva had started grilling. Tarc had left to scrounge more wood for the fire. Eva had sent Daum to see if he could buy some food from the Prichards for the meal after this one.

  Daussie’s eyes wandered the camp. People were setting up their tents inside the wagon circle and laying weapons, mostly spears, bows and crossbows, but also some swords, close to hand. Some were working on their own meals, but it looked like quite a few might be intending to try Eva’s camp cooking.

  A burly man Daussie had not seen before entered the wagon circle from the farmhouse side. He looked around, saw Norton, and headed that way. Daussie watched him because he looked like he had such an intent purpose. Norton was talking to Arco and Lizeth, Daussie presumed about the defense of the camp and caravan.

  When the burly man arrived, Norton turned and greeted him. They shook hands and fell to talking. Both looked like they were upset and Arco looked quite concerned. More bad news? Daussie wondered. Or just further discussion of the existing bad news?

  Henry Roper, from the next wagon, approached and looked into the stew, taking an appreciative whiff. “That smells good! Is it true that you folks are planning to try to cook for the entire caravan if people want it?”

  Daussie nodded, “We’ve been in the restaurant business and working as healers. We probably aren’t very good traders so it seems like we should try to keep cooking.” She pointed her chin at the man with Norton, “Is that Mr. Prichard?”

  Henry turned to look, then nodded. “Yes, usually he’s jovial and friendly. It looks like he’s as worried as we are about the gangsters that are taking over these parts.”

  “Do you still think our guards will be able to protect us?”

  “If anyone can. I guess it depends on how many of the raiders there are and how well trained and armed they are.” He glanced around, suddenly morose. “Even high quality guards can’t protect you if the attackers have enough men.”

  The tension in Daussie stomach increased again, “Do you think their… band is big enough to overwhelm us?”

  A distant look in his eyes as he studied Norton and Prichard, Henry only said, “I don’t know…” He turned and slowly wandered toward the two leaders.

  As Daussie looked on, it appeared that Norton and Prichard were having a serious disagreement. From the expressions on their faces and the way they appeared to be throwing their words at one another, neither party was happy with the other’s stance. Daussie desperately wanted to know what they were talking about.

  A moment or so later, their conversation broke up when Prichard suddenly turned and left, his spine stiff. Norton looked after him for a moment or two, then his shoulders sagged unhappily. Arco shrugged, said a few words to Norton and turned to make a circuit around the circled wagons. Lizeth started walking towards the guard wagon next to Daussie.

  When Lizeth arrived at the guard wagon, Daussie said, “What was going on over there?”

  Lizeth eyed her, as if unsure what to say. Then she shrugged, “A disagreement over what should be done about the raiders.”

  Heart in her throat, Daussie asked, “What did they decide to do?”

  Lizeth grimaced, “Nothing,” she said darkly.

  “Nothing!” Daussie’s mind whirled, “What does that mean? Surely we’re not just going to let them…?”

  “No. We’ll protect ourselves. The Prichards will protect themselves. Hopefully we’ll all live through it.”

  “Oh,” Daussie said. “But… what was the argument about?”

  “Prichard wanted us all to get together and take the fight to the raiders.”

  “Oh,” Daussie said, her head spinning with questions she didn’t really know how to ask. Who normally protected the farmers from people like this? Is there somebody whose job it is to take on raiders? Or is it really supposed to be someone like the Prichards and the Nortons getting together to do it? Why haven’t I ever wondered about things like this before?

  Daum and Tarc arrived back at the same time. Tarc had a big strap of deadfall limbs he’d collected in the nearby woods. Daum had a couple of bags of food suspended over the withers of their older black horse. He started putting potatoes, cabbages, onions, carrots, and some kind of meat into the trailer for the next night’s meal. Daussie said, “Dad, who’s supposed to stop men like the ones who’ve been attacking the farms?”

  Daum looked up at her and frowned. A thoughtful expression on his face, he resumed putting away food. Just when Daussie thought he was going to ignore her question, he said, “It’s not like it’s anybody’s job in particular. I heard that Sheriff Walter had an agreement with the nearby farmers. They paid a tax when they brought their goods to market and in exchange he said he would give them protection.” He shrugged, “Even if Walter was still alive, it seems like this band is likely bigger than he could have driven away with his deputies.”

  “So no one’s going to do anything about them?”

  Daum sighed, “I don’t know. From what I hear, these men are charging for ‘protection.’ If so, then they are acting like they think they’re people who are supposed to protect the farmers from other raiders. With Walterston powerless at present… that might not be such a bad deal.”

  “But,” Daussie said, horrified, “when they didn’t get paid by those farms, they killed the men and, and…” She couldn’t bring herself to say what she thought had happened to the women.

  “I know,” Daum said, “I know. It’s bad. But over time it may settle down and stabilize. Sheriff Walter was a bully initially, but finally became a bully we could live with. Sheriff Farley is starting off ugly too.” Daum glanced off into the distance, “In the olden days there were higher levels of government than local sheriffs. If the Sheriff didn’t treat his people right, the upper level of the government came in and straightened him out. But that doesn’t happen nowadays,” he said wistfully

  “Mr. Prichard came and talked to Mr. Norton while you were gone,” Daussie said. “Lizeth told me that Mr. Prichard wants us to team up with him to go out and attack the raiders.”

  Daum looked worried, “What did Norton say?”

  “I guess he didn’t want to do it. They both looked pretty angry before Prichard left.”

  Daum looked somewhat relieved, “A lot of people could get hurt trying to attack a group of trained soldiers like that.”

  “So we’re just going to leave these people to…” Daussie didn’t know how to finish her sentence. She felt the farmers were being left to deal with something horrific, but she didn’t know how to express it.

  Daum had finished putting away the food. He stood looking at Daussie as if he weren’t quite sure what to say. He walked closer and finally said in a low voice, “I know it seems awful, but we can’t help everyone in this world. We can’t feed everyone who doesn’t have enough to eat and we can’t protect everyone who’s being threatened by someone like these raiders.”

  “But…” Daussie’s throat worked as she struggled to come up with something to say.

  Daum put a hand on her shoulder. “If we feed everyone who’s hungry, we’ll starve ourselves. If we try to protect everyone in danger, eventually we’ll be hurt trying to protect them
.” He shrugged, “Probably sooner rather than later. We’re not trained fighters.”

  Daussie turned and buried her head in his shoulder. As he put his arms around her, she said, “I think we should have stayed in Walterston.”

  Daum patted her on the back. “I’d like to tell you that I’m sure you’re wrong… but I’m not.”

  Chapter Six

  As the sun set, the caravaners brought their teams over and herded them into the center of the circle. Many of the caravaners came by to avail themselves of Eva’s vegetable stew and grilled sausage. They seemed pleased, commenting that it was well worth the cost of the meal to get something that good and not have to make it themselves.

  Once the caravaners had been fed, Daussie found herself sitting next to Tarc eating her own stew and sausage. They were both leaning up against one of their wagon’s wheels. She started their conversation. “Dad was saying earlier today that you have really good hearing? I’ve never noticed that you can hear any better than anyone else.”

  Tarc snorted, “No, I can’t hear any better than anyone else. What did you want him to say? ‘Hey Lieutenant Arco, Tarc there has a special talent that lets him tell where people are. You should use him as a night watchman.’ This is going to be a huge pain in the ass! You know how I hate waking up in the middle of the night.”

  Daussie’s eyes widened as understanding rushed over her. “Oh! You mean like… how we can tell where the lamps are?”

  “Yeah, lamps. And the sun, and fires, essentially anything warm including horses and rats… and people. It’s how I could tell where the people were so we could sneak through town that night we dropped off the dead guards.”

  “Oh,” Daussie said, thinking back to that night and how Tarc had turned this way and that to avoid running into people. He’d been pretty successful up until they’d gotten trapped when Krait’s men came in both ends of the alley.