Chapter 2: Cooling

Location Bloody Claw, Red Blade Territory
Time Dusk 6500 hours

Kin awoke to the sounds of flutes. He tumbled out of his hammock and pulled on a clean breechclout. With practiced economy he unslung the hammock, then collected and packed his gear, lugging it from the alcove to where Ka was stabled.

The wagon trays were up on stilts, and the Greens were piping the shard crabs back underneath the trays. One by one the shard crabs straightened up underneath their trays, taking the weight off the stilts. The Greens detached the silts and loaded them into the trays. They then started loading bales of fiber tree wool, rolls of net cloth, mana bricks, barrels of sweet sap, and smaller barrels of sweet sap rum, caskets of mana beer, and many other trade goods. He also saw six shard hunters being loaded into the wagon, which puzzled him as they were difficult to control with just a flute.

Kin saddled up Ka and stowed his gear in Ka’s saddle bags. He scrambled up on top of Ka to see if he could spot Zav or perhaps Pophur. Just as before, he saw Zav’s shard mount before he saw Zav. He piped Ka over to Zav.

Zav was watching an animated discussion between the two Green leaders Vaskia and Tomon, and the two Whites, Pophur and the slave girl. Zav’s tense bearing, Vaskia’s anger and Tomon resigned frustration painted a picture of conflict.

“What’s up?” asked Kin.

“Pophur been making a last minute trade for rock sugar. 5 hundred-days ago rock sugar be cheaper here than it be in the White territories. Now that no longer be true. There be a lot of heated talk and hand gestures be flying back and forth, but it all be a waste of time. It be too late to get rid of the rock sugar, delaying a day would be costing us more than the rock sugar be worth. Pophur not be going to change and he not being remembering this conversation 5 minutes after it be finished. He has been forgetting many things of late.” Zav commented with sorrow.

The discussion broke up with the Whites and the Green going their separate ways.

“Everyone ready to be moving out. We be taking the lead, after getting outside, you be scouting left and I be taking the right. We camping at Hawopt Grove for night sleep. It be North West of here. It be marked on the map.” Zav tossed a crystal disc to him, presumably the disc would display the map.

The caravan started up the main thoroughfare, soon they reached the main airlock which Zav piped open with his flute

Once inside the lock Zav piped closed the inner doors, and piped open the outer doors. A blast of hot fiery air hit them, a taste of what was to come. As hot as that first wave of heat had been, it was nothing compared to temperature they felt as the Artificia stepped on to the burning sands under the night sky. Kin pulled his legs up as far away from the ground as possible, and blessed the Gods that Artificia did not transmit heat.

This close to dusk only the stone and crystal-like day trees were out. The night trees were still buried in their tubes.

Kin piped Ka off to the left, and when they were far enough away he started to sing softly to her. He made sure to drink lots of water to replace the sweat that was pouring off him. He almost stumbled onto a magma snake, the day life creature still awake despite the setting of the sun now an hour past. The creature lifted its giant head and turned to stare at Kin and his mount. Kin backed away slowly. He galloped away to lead the caravan around the danger.

Slowly the ground cooled, and the night trees came out of their tubes. After a few hours, Zav came around, and insisted he break for brunch on one of the shard crab wagons. After leaping from Ka to the wagon, Kin piped instructions to Ka that she should follow the wagon.

The wagon was driven by Warron and his wife Kigia, cousins of Vaskia and Tomon. They shared a breakfast of mana bread and sour fruit wrapped in Net Tree leaves. All too soon he was out scouting again. He caught sight of some night wolves shadowing the caravan, but they were not desperate enough to attack. Kin reasoned that there must caves nearby.