Friends and Liars

Chapter 174

Elim wished for a moment that Tiller had come along. Her recon ability really was second to none and he’d have liked to know where the seekers were exactly. There were more Lepusan in the camp than he’d thought there would be and they weren’t in good shape.

Leaning against the cart he stared at the dirt patch he’d been drawing squiggles on and sighed. It didn’t look much like the drawing he’d been given. Still, it would do so long as nobody got too close a look at the scroll in his hand.

“What the fuck is that?” Ewen asked. The man moved so quietly that if Elim hadn’t gotten a warning from Marlow he’d have jumped out of his skin.

“Seriously,” Joss added, menace in his tone. He let out a grunt a moment later, probably Ewen or Ban had socked him for trying to be intimidating.

“Looks magical,” Ban offered hesitantly. Since all three were present Elim felt a touch of relief. If Ewen or Ban had turned back before reaching the cart he’d have had to insist they come over to see. Joss was a good kid, but not much of a witness.

“Mayor gave me a scroll that holds things inside. I’m guessing by the state of the cart that y’all could use some extra food and such,” Elim explained. He cut his thumb and smeared blood on the scroll for the sake of appearances. The goods themselves he pulled from his inventory.

He’d decided on a second fully laden cart, complete with a set of donkeys to pull it. The three Lepusan men hadn’t done terribly well trying to drive the first one, but just leading on foot would work fine too.

“I don’t… know what to say,” Ban got out after a moment of staring. Ewen was just looking in disbelief between the ground and the cart. Joss wasn’t even moving his head, mouth agape and staring.

“Well, next time I’d suggest less in the way of argument with the mayor when she offers to supply you. I know it seems like a lot, but you can give what you don’t use back,” Elim started. 42 hadn’t told him to say it, but he was aware of the back and forth that had gone on. It was a good moment to break the lot of them of the habit of thinking stuff mattered.

At least enough that they wouldn’t risk being undersupplied on a rescue mission a second time. It was possible they’d be bringing other of their kin into the valley later on. Getting them in the right mindset to coordinate with 42 would be for the best.

“Besides, she’d rather y’all get back safe than worry about a few trinkets. She ain’t quite like us, magic isn’t something she has just a bit of, it's part of her,” Elim added. He wasn’t even particularly lying on the point, which he hoped assisted with making him seem truthful.

“We don’t have a way to repay her,” Ewen said, finally tearing his eyes away from the cart.

“Living in the valley is good enough. She calls herself the mayor, but I suspect it's a bit more than that. She honestly seems to need people to look after. So just think of it that way, living there lets her rest easier,” Elim offered.

“Like one of the old guardians?” Ban asked.

“The what?” Elim asked. The words individually made sense, but he wasn’t sure what Ban was referring to.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“I remember stories about them from when I was a kit. Things like statues that could walk or strange creatures that protected places. Sometimes they were natural places, others great cities and the like,” Ban explained. “My mother used to say they were appointed to the task by the gods.”

“Oh, well… possibly,” Elim replied. He’d heard stories like it, but not enough to think of the creatures in question as a kind of class of their own. Nobody had said they were set by the gods either. Though that wasn’t all that strange, Ban was from a different kingdom and of a different species. Folks always had their own stories to pass around.

“No idea about the gods part though,” he added honestly. He supposed 42 might have been appointed to her dungeon by an evil god or something similar, but wasn’t sure. Or rather a god of chaos, though he doubted anyone would find the distinction particularly comforting.

“Thank you for this Elim, and please let the mayor know my people will be coming, albeit slowly,” Ban said solemnly.

“You don’t want me to ride with you,” Elim said flatly. He wasn’t offended and hadn’t planned to anyway, but curious about the reason.

“My people don’t trust humans and I’m worried they won’t treat you fairly just now,” Ban replied bluntly.

“Alright,” Elim said with a nod. “I’ll send her a letter.”

“A letter? Aren’t you heading back?” Ban asked.

“No, I still have some business to attend to. I’ll be back before you know it though,” Elim offered with a bit of a grin along with his hand. Ban and Ewen accepted it in turn, clasping at the wrist for a shake before letting go.

“Right. I’m not getting within a mile of your doe,” Joss said. He refused to shake until Ban gave him a push in Elim’s direction.

A fond mixture of amusement and annoyance overtook Elim and he pulled the boy into a headlock.

“Keep yourself alive brat,” Elim offered. After tickling Joss’s ribs for a moment he let go and dodged a kick.

“Bastard!” Joss said, but he looked sadder than angry. They’d gotten along well and goodbyes probably felt more final to him than they should.

“I’ll be getting on my way, safe travels,” Elim offered as a final parting. Heading to his horse he was quickly mounted and on his way, setting a sedate pace though he didn’t intend to ride for too long.

Marlow came loping alongside once they were far enough away that there was no risk of him being seen. He looked quite pleased with himself and Elim couldn’t help a grin.

“It went well, I take it,” Elim asked.

“Very, the white cloaked humans are rather stupid. They didn’t listen to their dogs and are chasing the tracks I made,” Marlow replied, woofing like happy laughter.

“Good job,” Elim said. Marlows tail rose up and wagged at that.

The seekers were headed off course if they followed the trail and didn’t double back. Even if they did, Marlow had erased the Lepusan’s tracks for a good distance and done something that would make the dogs refuse to draw near to them. Elim didn’t know what, but had the rather amusing idea he’d just marked his territory like any beast and they’d recognize him as the stronger creature.

Elim cut into the forest, taking things slow still for the sake of his horse. They weren’t in any kind of hurry and though a potion could mend it, he didn’t care for the idea of causing it injury. It wouldn’t be any less stupid or cruel even if the damage could be healed easily.

“Do you think they’ll go high or low?” Elim asked conversationally as Marlow kept pace.

“I hope they go low, but I’ve no idea which they’ll choose,” Marlow replied after a few moments.

“Fair,” Elim replied. Once they got close to the cliff he dismounted and put the horse in his inventory. He spared a moment to look back and whistle in admiration at the total lack of a trail behind them. Marlow really could make it impossible to track something when he put his mind to it.

Elim gave the hound a scratch and then they both started descending using an easy trail. Elim donned the dead seekers cloak he’d stolen as he did. Marlow had drawn the main group off the Lepusan’s tracks, but there was no guarantee they wouldn’t find the trail again later. It was better to deal with the lot of them sooner rather than later.

Finding a hard bit of earth Elim set up the signal flare and waited a half hour before lighting it. If he were lucky the seekers would find the cliff and come down. Marlow would be able to bring the cliff down on them and kill them easily in that case. If they hesitated on the ridge though collapsing it would have a less predictable outcome.

Elim took the gauntlet he’d requested of 42 and sat down to give Marlow a good scritchen like he’d been meaning to. He really was a good boy and deserved to be recognized as such while they waited.