The Devil is in the Details

Rowen spent the next two hours sorting out the details of moving the tribe. For a nomadic tribe they had a surprising number of large artifacts that were considered essential to the tribe.

He got the gist that when they moved as a tribe, they always made allowances for their particular artifacts which included a 50-foot-tall totem pole, an altar of obsidian and 18 heating bracers that were used for heating their longhouses and for cooking and such.

Everything else the tribe had, had been designed to be mobile. None of the personal belongings were particularly burdensome to carry either.

The total number of Greentree Elves were over eighty, including at least twenty children. Rowen had planned on doubling up riding with his horsemen for traveling. He also planned on adding travoys for those who couldn’t ride and other personal effects. However, about forty of the tribe were warriors who insisted on traveling by foot.

Rowen thought about it and said, “Very well, but if we have to go for an all-out run, you are on your own then.” But the whole exchange rubbed him wrong. He wanted to ensure protection on ALL of them.

Since Greentree Elves were like other elves, they didn’t age after the age of adulthood, which usually took twenty or so years, so there were no old to make allowances for but there was one infirm. A former hunter who broke her back last year. If Rowen didn’t know better, he would have thought she looked like she was in her 80’s. Being laid up and feeling worthless must have aged her.

So, she gets a travoy.

As Rowen was thinking the numbers through, he suddenly realized that there were voices raised and he looked up to see the head Shaman yelling in the face of Chief Hann, something about the totem pole and altar.

Rowen closed his eyes and held up his hand, but the Shaman went on, “These are the heart and soul of our tribe! I don’t care what this human says, we can’t leave them behind!”

Rowen stood up and opened his mouth to speak but before he could open his mouth fully there was the shrill sound of someone whistling through their fingers.

He looked over to see Xyarra just taking her fingers from her mouth. She then said, “Do you think that our lord will disregard such things?!”

She looked to the shaman and said, “Did you not just hear him say that we need to bury our ignorance along with our enemies?! He swore to you that he will take you under his protection and that includes your treasures!”

Rowen smiled at Xyarra and said, “Thanks X.”

He turned back to the Shaman and said, “This Human fully understands your heritage and the need to protect their sacraments as well. That is why I will bring all your essential items with us.”

One of the dissenters from before stood up and asked, “And how do you intend to do that , oh great and powerful human lord?!”

Rowen shook his head and said softly, “Too bad there’s no pill for ignorance.” And he walked over to the obsidian altar and placed his left hand on it and then put it in his ring.

This was greeted by a gasp from all but his brides.

He then stretched out his hand again and unpacked the altar, “See just like always. I can store your important items in my ring.”

The Shaman ran over to the altar and touched it, closing her eyes. She then smiled and said, “It’s still unblemished.”

She then turned to Rowen and bowed her head and said, “My apologies for doubting you, my lord.”

Rowen smiled back at her and said, “I understand. Your responsibility is to safeguard the traditions and soul of the tribe. You are only doing your job. All I ask from you is to trust me to do mine.”

“I will my lord!”

Rowen turned to the dissenter who just spoke up and asked, “Do I need to do to you what I did to the War Chief?”

The dissenter looked mulish for a moment but turned his head and shook it.

“Good, we’re coming to understand each other then.”

He turned back to the Shaman and said, “For your information, I am half Cherokee, and my heritage has similar beliefs to yours.”

Then he turned back to the rest of the council and said, “Now let’s talk about food…”

Packing and preparations went on through the night. Just before first light Rowen and his soldiers were lined up. Half of them had travoys with many bundles ladened upon them. One travoy had the invalid.

Rowen’s heart went out to her because he was paraplegic not long ago. This got him thinking about composing a restoration spell for her back. Unfortunately, there wasn’t time for that now.

As the sun peaked up over the horizon, Rowen looked back along the line and asked, “Is everybody ready?”

He was answered with several nods and “Yeses”.

Sitting right behind him on his saddle was the Rias and he said to her, “Now refresh my memory, when did I say it was okay for you to ride with me?”

She just smiled up at him looking all sweet and innocent.

“Right, you’re the Rias. You probably always get what you want.”

He then looked forward and held up his right hand and waved it forward, “Move out!”

Progress was slow but steady. The warriors that chose to be on foot tried to keep up with Jade when she would scout ahead and failed miserably. So, they did their best to fan out to ensure that the way forward was clear.

Travel for the next two days was uneventful but halfway into the third day, Kit had ridden up alongside of Rowen and said, “We’re near Cam Village. Probably another hour or less away.”

Rowen nodded. He smiled at Kit and said, “Sorry we haven’t spent much time together lately. When we get to Cam village, I’ll try to make it up to you.”

She just smiled back with love in her eyes.

From over to his left he heard, “If you two are done flirting with each other, it would seem that Jade has had an encounter that needs our attention.” Xyarra was saying as she was spurring her horse forward.

Rowen nodded and followed suit but saying back, “Dana, take charge here! Captain, take the first platoon with us!”

“Yes, dear.”

“Yes…Sir!”

They followed the trail forward till it went over a ridge into a gully. The scene that awaited them was ghastly.

There laid a man who looked like he was torn up by a chainsaw or woodchipper. Laying across from him was another man who also looked like he was in bad shape. By the second man was a child who was crying out, “Dad, please don’t die!”

About fifty feet away from them was the biggest bear Rowen had ever seen. Looked like a grizzly but it was up on its hind quarters and it must have been twenty feet tall.

Jade was standing still with both her swords out between the bear and the people.

The bear looked enraged and there were obvious sword wounds on its chest and forelegs. But it also looked like it was being wary of Jade.

The whole image of seeing five-foot, six-inch Jade standing off a twenty-foot grizzly bear brought to mind the story of David and Goliath.

Rowen thought that David didn’t have the advantage that Jade did though.

Jade also had four gashes along her back that looked like it would have killed a normal person.

Rowen drew his rifle from the scabbard on his saddle and cocked it and aimed. He told himself to take his time and aim. He remembered his breathing and at the optimum moment he squeezed the trigger and shot it between the eyes.

The bear fell over dead.

Jade then turned and bowed her head to Rowen then rushed over to the side of the wounded man. She looked at him then looked back at Rowen expectantly.

Rowen understood and nodded.

She then took out a number II stick and broke it over the man.

The man began to stir and opened his eyes.

The boy embraced the man then looked at Jade and said, “Thank you lady, thank you very much!”

“No need to thank me. You owe your thanks to my master because without him I couldn’t have done what I did.”

Rowen rode up closer and looked at the other man who was obviously quite dead and said, “Captain, have two men prepare a tarp for the body.”

“Yes…Sir!” and the Captain picked two men and they both nodded understanding.

The man said up to Rowen, “Thank you, Sir! We owe you our lives!”

Rowen said, “Don’t worry about it. We only did what was right. Are you from Cam Village?”

“Yes Sir. We were out here hunting for food when we came upon this bear.” He then looked over at the other man who was being wrapped up in a tarp and he said, “Poor Clem here tried to shoot it with his bow but… well that bear moved much faster than any bear I’ve ever seen.”

After a few minutes, the rest of the tribe had caught up to Rowen and his advanced party. They loaded the wounded man, the bear, and the dead man on the front travoys.

Rowen ordered those travoys be moved up to the front of the column, “This should smooth the way for us entering Cam Village.”

Xyarra said, “Good idea.”

Once they had arrived at Cam Village, Rowen saw that it was fortified with a wall of logs. They looked well-built and sturdy. He sensed that the wall was enchanted.

He realized that as they approached, they were under the observation of the watch towers for some time. So, he wasn’t surprised that there was a delegation of armed men and women waiting at the gate for them.

In the lead of the delegation was an attractive but stocky looking woman with red hair that looked like she was in her mid to late forties.

She held up her hand as Rowen approached and said, “I am Tamera Cam, mayor of the Free Village of Cam.”

Rowen smiled down to her from his horse and said, “My name is Rowen Kanati.” He then motioned to the front travoy and said, “I have one of your citizens here, who was hurt by a bear.”

“Oh my!” she turned to some of the others with her and said, “Josh, Mark go get Sam.”

Rowen pointed to the tarp wrapped body and said, “Sadly we weren’t able to get there in time to help Clem here.”

Tamera nodded and said, “My thanks to you for bringing my people home.” She then looked along the column of soldiers and elves and said, “That being said, I’m going to have to ask you to move on. You are not allowed in the Free Village of Cam!”

Rowen felt puzzled and asked, “Why so?”

“We don’t allow slavers here. If I could, I would also order you to free your slaves, but I don’t want to shed any more blood today.”

Rowen nodded, “I fully agree with you. Slavers are vile and heartless people. I happily and proudly don’t count myself as one of those villains. These people are under my protection.”

She looked at him with surprise on her face, then her surprise turned to suspicion, “I have a hard time believing someone with so many soldiers will take it into their heart to protect Greentree Elves, a Foxia, an elf and who knows what that dark skinned woman is.”

“She’s one of my wives and she’s a dragon. I don’t think that any slaver would be bold enough or rather stupid enough to try to enslave a dragon. And if you knew my other wives, the Foxia, elf and Greentree Elf, you would know that they are too spirited to be enslaved too.”

She looked to Dana who calmly nodded her head, then to Kit who’s tail, and ears were up and she had a fiery look in her eyes and said, “I think I believe you.” She then turned to her people and said, “Let them in!”

She turned back to Rowen and said, “If you’ll forgive me but, I’m still going to keep an eye on you.”

“I would expect nothing less. But food for thought,” Rowen motioned over to his soldiers, “I wouldn’t advise you to let an uncertain army into your fortifications. In respect and honor of your resolve to keep people free, I’ll station my troopers outside the village, minus a few that will act as bodyguards for my wives.”

“I appreciate that.”

Rowen turned to the Captain and said, I want two troopers for each of the ladies and two more for the Rias. Take charge of the rest and station yourselves in the woods out of sight.

Rowen entered the village with ten troopers, the Grental tribe, and his wives.

Rowen looked at the village and he was surprised to see that all the buildings were well built with a kind of handmade precision that signified master carpenter.

He dismounted and let his reigns drop. He held out his hand to Mayor Tamera and said, “Seeing a village like this restores to me faith in this world.”

She shook his hand, but looked doubtful and said, “I wish I could say that there were many more places like this but only in the Kingdom of Tier are Demi humans given respect and rights.”

Kit, Dana and Xyarra had dismounted and came up to stand side by side with Rowen.

Rowen saw that Eliarra was helping her people get settled into a relatively open area within the village that looked like it was a plowed field that had been snowed over for winter.

Rowen said to Tamera, “I would like to introduce my wives. This is Kit, this is Dana, and this is Xyarra.” He pointed over to Eliarra who was helping her father organize the temporary shelters and he said, “That’s my fourth wife, Eliarra Grental.”

“I know Eliarra and Chief Hann, they traded with us on their way through here last fall. I thought that they were going to winter by Antagar’s Gap?”

“Well, there’s a problem that arose and I think that you need to be made aware of it also…”

Rowen proceeded to tell her about the legion of Woague that they encountered.

About halfway through his briefing, one of the guards in the tower on the southern side of the village called down, “Mayor Tamera, there’s soldiers approaching!”

Xyarra leaned close to Rowen and whispered in his ear, “Looks like a troop of more than 100 cavalry bearing the banner of the Church of the Creator. Jade is watching them closely.”

Rowen nodded and tried to visualize the area around them as best he could with what little he had seen. He said to Xyarra, “X, tell Jade to keep an eye on them and then tell the Captain to also quietly move into position to attack if necessary.”

Xyarra nodded.

Rowen said, “I wish I had created a way to connect with my…protectors, myself.”

“We’ll fix that later, otherwise you might think you have no use for me.” She said smirking.

“Oh, I’ll never think that. One could always have uses for a dragon.” And he winked.

Xyarra got a mischievous look on her face and asked, “Tell me the truth, since you’ve seen me in both my forms, which do you find more attractive.”

“Both actually.”

She looked surprised then smiled wickedly and said, “Pervert.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ve been accused of worse.”

While they were talking, they were following Tamera up to the southern gate.

By this time a man dressed in shiny armor and too much white had two other troopers pushing their way through the people blocking the gate, all the while sitting atop his horse and announcing, “I am Lord Knight Rupert, the High Paladin to the new Temple of Stiarra Nor. We have liberated that city and we’re laying claims on all the surrounding environs in the name of the Holy Church and the Ruby King! Bring out all the tainted here so that they can be cleansed from this area and used to raise needed funds for the Church!”