***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***
***Magnus***
Most of our time was taken up by various appointments in the following days.
I wasn't directly involved with the planning and organization of the overall mission, but this didn't mean there weren't several personal things to take care of.
First on the list was a long discussion with Mary who had been handed the job of a babysitter. It was, to say the least, awkward to leave my offspring in the hands of another. Mary and I had improved our relationship as of late, but it wasn’t at the point where I would leave my children in her care on a whim.
It was hard to balance my feelings of responsibility with my other duties and goals. In the end, there just wasn’t any other way forward for me than to press on. I still had to do everything in my power to save Evanne who was still with the Thich. All my sacrifices up till now wouldn’t mean much otherwise.
I also told myself I was the best choice to hack another supercomputer – if there was one at the Hochberg’s settlement.
Aside from the elders’ firm suspicion of more assassins hiding among the clan, I could think up just as many reasons to stay as to leave.
Taking the eggs with me was out of the question.
Choosing a suitable caretaker was the only option I could live with at the end of the day.
It wasn’t like I had many choices, aside from recruiting Iv for the task. Unfortunately, most of my little sister’s time was currently occupied by her new BF. I avoided raising the topic with her since I didn’t want to have the discussion which would surely follow – her joining us on our trip.
With all things considered it was decided to leave the eggs in Mary’s care. She represented something like a grandmother to the rest of the family and Astra trusted her without question.
Mary herself wasn’t overly enthusiastic about playing babysitter. The only reason she agreed was because keeping watch over three eggs wasn't much to ask for.
And if all went well with the Hochberg, returning before the eggs’ likely hatching date was a possibility.
I really wished to be present when they 'hatched'.
Next on the list was a long appointment with our favourite smith, elder Gilbert Kline. He had finally finished the two matching armour sets which looked like a mixture between futuristic power armour and medieval plate. Somehow, he had even found the time to integrate some creature cores into specialized tools and add them to the equipment.
Among them was a laser pointer which could double as a very powerful flashlight. I had no use for it due to my Second Sight. Granted, if wielded without concern for others' health it had the potential to blind people temporarily.
Another core, the tooth of a Biter, had been grafted onto a handle and provided a handy utility knife. Biters were small pests with teeth which could penetrate almost anything thanks to their incredible sharpness. As if that wasn't enough, their teeth could vibrate at high frequencies and slice through meat like power tools. Each tooth was a core of its own. Thankfully, Biters didn't get large enough to truly threaten the native humans, which resulted in them being used as convenient garbage disposers.
Despite all the crap I had seen and experienced in this world I wasn’t truly prepared for what was yet to come.
The strangest thing was our invitation to the fifteenth's flight hangar, which led to Astra and myself standing awkwardly among grinning elders. We had been led onto one of the larger observation platforms which gave a nice view over the entire cavern with its tightly packed airships and the drake colony.
The expressions on the faces of Astra's parents said it all. Whatever they had planned, there was something to come which they anticipated to be hilarious.
Juliana and Skye Rumen were the ones to greet us upon entering the cave which housed the flock of drakes.
“Hello!” Skye waved his hand cordially at us and grinned. “I hope nobody spoiled the surprise and told you in advance?”
“No.” Astra crossed her arms and raised a suspicious eyebrow.
The entire affair had been kept quiet until Astra’s parents unexpectedly changed our schedule this morning and brought us up here.
“Wonderful!” Juliana clapped her hands together. “We thought since you are acting as our ambassadors you should have the right mounts for the job! Nobody would take an Aerie protector seriously without our recognized trademark.”
“Mounts?” I asked.
A dreadful feeling of foreboding crept down my spine. As if Death had just taken a look over my shoulder. Scratching my neck, I turned around and tried to find out what had given me the creeps.
I had never been very good with my precognition sense, but right now I felt it make somersaults, telling me to get the heck out of here. “I've never ridden anything! Doesn't there have to be some form of training to be a pilot, ahem, rider?”
“Aw, no.” Skye shook his head with a sad expression which was obviously fake. “The drakes are self-flying. They either take you on a flight or they don't, there is no 'riding' involved. You tell them where to go and they do… or they don’t and kill you. It’s their choice.”
He reached into his pocket and took out two colour-coded whistles. After taking a look, he handed one to Astra and threw the other to me. “Here, this is for Elegance. And this is Loopsfast.”
I caught the ‘keys’ to my new mount and grimaced at the name. “Can I rename mine to ‘Flysveryslowly’?”
Skye didn’t bestow an answer on me. Instead, the elder decided to ignore me while he listened to Astra's bubbling enthusiasm.
“I heard rumours, but nobody wanted to confirm them first-hand!” Astra seemed eager to try while she fingered her whistle. “So, is it true that the drakes are intelligent? They can talk?”
I studied my whistle in confusion before my head shot up at Astra's words.
Juliana blew out a breath. “You can’t hold a real conversation with them per se. Though they are very smart. A drake is somewhere between a parrot and a toddler. You would be well advised not to humanize them too much. We managed to make a deal with the older ones who lead the colony. We keep their cave safe from other critters and cultivate their favourite food, the floating glowsponge. In turn, we can ride the younger ones who aren't breeding yet. During summer, we also take our fleet out to assist them with the protection of their territory.”
I had wondered about the logistics of maintaining such a big fleet of airships when there was no war. Using them for air and border control to keep unwanted critters away from Mount Aerie made sense.
And there was something about them eating glowsponges, which wasn’t much different from inhaling pure H2. I would like to… Actually, I didn’t want to know what crazy biology would require the regular intake of a fuel cell component.
Two people with large glowsponge balls approached. They had them on strings of rope, like floating gas balloons for kids. The two couriers had to hold onto the comically huge treats because they were large enough to require effort.
Each of us was handed a rope and I gingerly took it. Thanks to our strength mutation Astra and I hadn’t any issues.
“Ah, this is going a little too fast for me,” I complained weakly. The drakes were smart enough to be negotiated with? That was huge news. Why hadn't anyone told me before? Why was this kept a secret? Was this why everyone had avoided my questions about intelligent aliens so far?
And why was my Precognition sense yowling so loud?
“Just do it!”
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I didn't get the chance to ask further questions, because Astra raised my whistle to my lips while she blew her own. More out of reflex than real consideration, I mimicked her.
No noise came out, but I could feel an ultrasonic vibration through my filaments.
Two drakes the size of jets separated from the flock at the far wall of the hangar and quickly closed in on us. The larger one took its time, using its four wings to glide closer while the slightly smaller one used its very special propulsion system to run spirals around its companion.
I gave my best to think of it as the stuttering of an old propeller motor. It wasn't farting. They inhaled through their gills and exhaled compressed air out their hind-ends.
But just because the larger one seemed to take its time didn't mean it was slow. Within a few seconds, they were at the observation platform and the large drake landed gently in front of Astra, while mine snatched the glowsponge away from above my head in a neck-breaking manoeuvre.
In doing so, the creature destroyed most of the treat while it inhaled a large portion. The rest was left to float towards the ceiling. Presumably to grow more sponge.
It left the rope which had been cleanly separated by the creature's claws to fall onto my head before the monster finished its overhead looping and also landed in front of me, already chewing on a bit of glowsponge while eyeing me sideways.
Those things were far too fast and agile for their size, which gave me the creeps. But I also got my first close look at a drake!
The stout head and snake-like body could have belonged to an eastern dragon, while the appendages and four wings were a better fit for the western creature of myth. It had the flat teeth of a herbivore, but the scythe-like claws on the well-articulated fingers seemed better suited for a hunter. Along the spine were several long spikes which ended in a larger one at the tip of the tail.
~Food for flight? Pact question?~
I jumped when the thoughts popped directly into my head. The words had a warbling undertone, marking them distinctly as not my own. When I looked at Juliana and the others, the elder gave me a nod.
“Ah, yes. Hello, Loopsfast. That is your name? You get food in exchange for-”
~Flight!~
My unfinished greeting remained stuck in my throat when the creature reached out with a forearm and snatched me off the ground with a six-fingered hand – four fingers and two thumbs. It somehow avoided slicing me open with the claws, each half a metre in length.
Then it jumped, using its elongated snake-like body like a spring.
The next moment, the world turned left, then right and up and down like on a rollercoaster!
I think I was screaming.
~Faster? Yes, faster! Faster fun! Exhilarating emotion!~
“Not so fast! Slow and straight! And I want to ride on top!” I tried to negotiate with the beast.
~Top boring! Slow or rider falls off. Then everyone very sad. Better hold to fly fast!~
Loopsfast didn't listen immediately, but it at least adjusted its erratic flight pattern to longer arcs.
It allowed me to identify the observation platform where Astra was just taking off with her drake. Annoyingly, she was sitting properly between two spines on the creature's neck.
This gave Loopsfast another burst of enthusiasm and it banked to circle the larger drake.
~Mate flying! Impress!~
The renewed bout of quickly changing centrifugal force almost had me puke. But I covered my mouth and forced myself to fight through it.
Loopsfast didn't just somehow transfer its thoughts to me, but also what it felt. It was a childlike innocence and happiness about the mere act of flying – and impressing its mate. Which I guessed was the larger drake.
Not wanting to spoil the show-off's air acrobatics, I endured until Astra was done with her gentle circle around the huge hangar. Loopsfast did its best to demonstrate his virility, but Elegance didn’t deign us with so much as a glance.
When Loopsfast didn't land too, I pointed at the observation platform. “Land! Land there!”
~Nosedive! Fast! Impressive!~
“Nooo!”
The fucking creature tucked in its wings and went into a free fall. My only saving grace was that it was holding me now with both hands.
We were about to crash when it swung out its wings and came to a propulsion-assisted hover before it landed softly.
“Thanks!” I exclaimed. “Put me down now!”
Loopsfast let me go and I landed on my own two feet before I went to my knees and kissed the observation platform's smoothly polished stone.
“Don't make your woman envious!” Astra approached me after dismounting her drake.
Having an idea, I approached her on my knees and took her hand, placing my whistle inside it. “Please, let us trade.”
Astra shook her head and pressed the whistle back towards me. “Not in a million years!”
“Damn it!” I cursed and pumped my fist in dismay.
Astra turned to her drake. “Thank you, Elegance. Go back to your roost now.”
The large drake listened like a puppy and jumped off the observation platform to fly back to the colony.
Loopsfast wriggled its entire body, obviously torn between looking after its mate and waiting for me to dismiss it.
It was a long shot, but I had to try it. “Go and find the tastiest glowsponge and bring it to your mate. Impress her with good treats!”
The drake eyed me with a calculating expression before it seemed like a light went off above its head.
~Impress with presents!~
Then it performed a vertical take-off and went for the hangar’s ceiling to search through the glowsponges floating there.
“Heeey,” Astra complained. “Are you trying to get Elegance fat?”
“I am trying to save my hide!” I shot back. “Loopsfast has a serious case of puberty hormones. The dude needs to get laid!”
After the little episode with our mounts, Astra and I got a crash course on how to present our political cause to the other clans, followed by a very detailed introduction of Caravaner and Hochberg customs.
The former was of more immediate concern to our mission, as we would be in the Caravaner’s care for three to four weeks until we arrived at Hochberg.
Among all the clans, the Caravaners were the ones who went practically native on this world. They were also the smallest in number and were barely considered one of the big five. Nonetheless, they had the respect of everyone who relied on their trading caravans.
Unlike the large clans which had established permanent settlements, the Caravaners had split into smaller groups and adopted a nomadic lifestyle. They lived most of their lives in Tirnanog’s wilderness while the various groups travelled from clan to clan. What they couldn’t make on their own, they traded for by buying and selling goods. Presumably, it was one of the most lucrative business models in a world where the various resources were limited to specific regions.
A direct consequence of their lifestyle was their valuing of power and skill above all else. A Caravaner either had exceptional combat abilities or some unique mutation which made him or her valuable for wilderness survival and worth the group’s protection.
Except for children, there was no in-between. It wasn’t unheard of for young teens with less than optimal mutations to find themselves kicked out of their caravan and forced to join whatever clan the Caravaners were stopping at. Either that or those considered unfit for travel established and managed trading outposts at the various settlements.
Armed with the knowledge of Caravaner customs, we approached Family Northroute’s winter quarters – a generously-sized underground installation at the foot of Mount Aerie which required a one-hour trip per lorry to reach.
Etan, Teresa, Astra, and I showed up in full armour, ready to prove our worthiness to be taken on a trip south.
We were received by a young woman close to Iv’s age. Unlike the clanner’s preferred woven fabrics which ranged from linen-like outer clothes to wool and silken garments, our greeter was clad in fur and leather.
Seeing Etan and Teresa, she immediately bowed. “We greet the honoured elders. If you would follow me, please? Our pathseekers are ready to receive you.”
I exchanged a quick glance with Astra. According to Etan’s introduction, the seekers were akin to clan Aerie’s elders. They were generally the oldest Caravaners who had travelled the various routes often enough to know the lay of the land without needing maps.
Meanwhile, most of the one hundred and forty-four Caravaners currently enjoying clan Aerie’s hospitality could be regarded as close to a juggernaut in power.
Admonishing myself, I quickly abolished my last thought. That way lay hubris.
I tried to avoid thinking in terms of power levels like unpartnered, partnered, juggernauts, and elders. It oversimplified the real world with what felt like a game mechanic.
After my training sessions with Etan, there was no question in my mind that ten elder classified warriors would very likely win against ten juggernauts in a head-on confrontation.
But due to our training, I no longer saw Etan as an insurmountable opponent. Without holding back any of my abilities and by relying on trickery and a cheap shot, there was a real chance of beating him. No matter a person’s power, they could always die, given the right circumstances.
The recent assassination attempt was a grim reminder and I had to count myself lucky to be alive.
The woman led us down a corridor which ended in a large, round room which was comparable in size to the Hall of Law.
Four people, three women and one man were sitting cross-legged on an elevated divan of furs which allowed them to look down at the others who had made themselves comfortable on the floor. Except for furs, the Caravaners didn’t think much of furniture. There were about twenty people in the room.
At our entrance, a straight path to the divan was cleared without questions asked or orders given.
Our guide bowed to the four people who stood up from their positions. “Honoured Seekers, Clan Aerie has sent us two elders, as promised.”
If I wasn’t wrong, then the titan to the left was Holly, who was the closest to what I would call a chieftain. The Caravaners didn’t have real leadership, since they were all more or less one large family. Though, they had a hierarchic structure based on power and seniority.
The leader, a grim-looking woman standing a whole three heads above anyone in the room, addressed us, “Teresa! It is good that our friends from clan Aerie finally deign to speak with us. Given the surprise with the U.I.’s message boxes and your continued silence on the matter, some raised questions about whether we are still welcome at the mountain.”
Teresa bowed. “Holly, we are here to address those questions and the demands we made.”
The male seeker next to Holly narrowed his eyes. “I hope you have good answers. It isn’t our way to transport children through the wilderness. And it is still too early to depart without a good reason. Transporting someone not of our people certainly isn’t one, no matter the payment.”
Teresa straightened and firmed her voice. “You are not going to transport children, but a delegation to clan Hochberg. War is coming.”
She then continued to tell them of Thich’s attack on Aerie’s recruitment mission. Of what we had concluded from interrogating the surviving Thich. Following, the subsequent revelation of the colony’s old supercomputer. And lastly, the Forgotten’s attack and their death, which served as proof in Teresa’s narrative.
The Caravaners didn’t ask questions and instead listened with an intense concentration, as if it would be the height of insults to interrupt a story.
Once Teresa was done, Holly spoke, “This is a troubling tale you bring us. But you know our rites. We do not transport the weak – not even if it’s a diplomatic mission of great import.”
Astra stepped forward. “We are not weak. We can match any of your warriors in single combat and protect those of us who aren’t fighters. No Caravaner will have to raise a hand to protect us against nature.”
The seeker next to Holly, a stout lady who looked like a dwarf next to the giant, grinned nastily.
“Then let’s put your claim to the test!”