14. Devon
1900 Words
“Laten, what lies north of Donnick?”
“Nay much. There tis good land and there once were trees; both fruit and those suitable for lumber. The Kreppies stripped the timber. Tis much cooler there and in the northern part, the snows comes early.”
“Didn"t people used to live there? Papa says that all the cities on the other side of the mountains were destroyed by the Justines. There had to be more towns than just one on this side.”
“Aye, Devon was a city of considerable size to the North, and Danelle was to the South between the two stations. They both were destroyed and the remaining people moved to Donnick. Although tis said some of the populace had fled from Devon or were dead in the streets when the Justines arrived. The Kreppies renamed it Death Haven. Nay wished to go there.”
Lorenz grinned at him. “It sounds like a perfect place for the rest of the sheep. Let"s go check it out. I"m betting there are people there.”
Laten followed Lorenz to the fliv. “If there tis, they would be but Abs.”
“Who cares? They might want to tend sheep. If nothing else, they can eat them.”
Laten shrugged his shoulders. The Laird could plot all sorts of ways to rid himself of the hated sheep. It made no sense to Laten, but he was nay Laird. He followed Lorenz out to the blue fliv.
“Are there any buildings left?” Lorenz asked as they seated themselves and took off from the Laird"s and Lady"s Station.
“I dinna. The land Abs did nay go in that direction as Bi warned them that wild animals still prowled there.”
“What? What wild animals? Do y"all mean the elbenor or something different?”
“Bi said that they were large, so that would mean elbenors. I"m nay sure why they feared them as even their primitive Ab weapons could take one down. Mayhap they felt the risk nay worth the rewards.”
They were over Donnick and continued North. Lorenz sent a message to his father that elbenors might still exist on this side of the mountains, and kept looking over the land. He noted rivers, places where boats could moor, flat lush, green expanses of land contoured by hills gradually blending into the low foothills where new growth trees were beginning their march up the sides of the Skye Maist Mountains.
“Why didn"t the Kreppies bother taking these trees for lumber?”
“The Kreppies stripped Don first. These are new growth, nay more than one hundred or eighty years. Then they went after the ones on Betron.”
Lorenz had the old map of Don centered on the viewscreen. Devon, like Donnick, was on the coast, but once it had spread toward the hills.
“Laten, I find it hard to believe there weren"t more towns around here.”
“There was nay need. There were on the other side of the Skye Maist Mountains, but they were blasted into nothing for the land Abs to develop. All the Abs did was build huts or lived in caves. They preferred wintering in safe Ab quarters at one of the main cities. Of course, the Justines encouraged that.”
Lorenz had switched to the scanners while they talked and now he was picking up the rounded forms of Thalian architecture. On the viewscreen they seemed covered with overgrowth of brambles and lichen. To the East stood a grove of smaller trees surrounded with what looked like to him garden patches with stakes driven into the ground. The stakes surrounded the patches of green to protect them.
“What kind of animal would eat plant matter?”
“Probably the clegs.”
Lorenz swung the fliv downward and landed between the waterfront and a row of the green covered mounds. “What the hell is a cleg? What does it look like?”
“It tis a creature with fluffy, brown hair that turns black on the tips. It has large brown eyes that look like they pop out of its head and large front teeth. Tis about this size.” Laten held his hands a little of twelve inches long and about six inches high once Lorenz had the fliv down and could look at him.
“Sounds like a small rabbit or large water rodent. Does it have long ears and hop?”
“Uh, nay.” Laten was puzzled. As usual the Laird used word images nay Thalian could ken.
Lorenz grabbed his rifle before joining Laten on the ground.
“Tis green grass at least.” He turned towards the mounds of dramelberry bushes and froze.
“Laten, move back towards the fliv and pull yourself up into it.” The words came low and soft.
A man about Lorenz"s height walked around one of the green mounds.
“Don"t move.” Lorenz was still speaking in a low voice. “They have some kind of weapons pointed at us. I can"t see them, but I know they are there.” The Earth instincts were back, seconds too late.
They watched the man walking towards them. He stopped a few feet away and looked directly at Lorenz.
“Ye are holding some sort of weapon I dinna ken. Ye are nay Justine or Kreppie, and ye canna be Don. Your outfit tis wrong. I dinna care what color the fliv tis or the other faker tis wearing. I am Maca here. Ye may lay your head on my shoulders or ye may die.”
“I do believe there is another solution to this situation. If your group fires at us, ye would be the first to die.” Lorenz knew that sentence gave him time enough for the next.
“Ye canna be Maca. My fither tis Maca of Don.” Lorenz figured he"d best use Thalian speech. Laten was blinking both eyes trying to ken how the Laird could ken about the other weapons.
“Ye lie!” And the man leapt at him, his huge fist pulled back to deliver a crushing blow.
Lorenz jumped upward, whirled in the air, and sent his boot crashing into the side of the man"s knee. When he landed on his feet, he sent his rifle butt into the side of the man"s head. The man finished sinking downward. Lorenz blessed his father for all those lessons in the gym.
The man rolled on his back holding onto his knee, but was too woozy and in too much pain to stand. Lorenz turned towards the camouflaged buildings and yelled. “I know it"s customary to fight to the death, but I don"t want to kill the man who can lead a group and keep people from starving. I didn"t come here to fight. I came to offer a way for ye to make a living.”
At first there was silence and then a tall, stocky woman clad in makeshift leather pants and a frayed, light blue top came striding towards them. She too had come from behind one of those buildings. The doors must be in back, thought Lorenz. In back and away from where a boat might land.
“Is he your counselor?” asked Lorenz as she neared them. He saw her hair was long and done into one long braid.
She stopped, nodded, and wet her lips and then realized that this man had blind eyes and could see. She took a deep breath before speaking.
“Aye, and I would tend him. Why are ye here? Who are ye? Ye are nay Justine or Kreppie, and ye canna be blind.”
Lorenz took a deep breath. “I am Lorenz, Laird of Don. My fither tis the Maca. I don"t, dinna want to fight anyone here. I just want to relocate sheep to this area. You all,” and he saw the puzzlement in her eyes and rephrased his sentence. “All of ye that dwell here can tend them, eat them, shear them, whatever it tis that people do with sheep.” It was difficult to keep the exasperation out of his voice.
As he spoke an elderly man appeared, moving more slowly than the woman had. A much diminished purple sash was around his waist. The ends barely went to mid-hip.
The woman spoke again. “I wish to bid him farewell. I ken by the laws ye must kill him.”
“I do nay intend to kill him.” His speech was slow and deliberate. “I am going to contact my fither and when he arrives, if anyone is still stupid enough to fight him about being the Maca, they deserve to die.”
“Young man, if ye try to do things nay right, the archers may still kill ye.” The old man from Medicine was beside the woman.
Lorenz looked at him. “Ye are Medicine. When did ye get here?” He was hoping the man could verify what he had been saying, but the looks of the man"s clothes denied that bit of hope.
“We"ve been here close to one hundred and thirty odd years. Tis hard to keep track without a calendar.”
“What tis your name?”
“I am called Michael, Lad of Medicine.”
“It tis a fine name. In my land Michael means he who tis like Gar. Do ye ken Magda, Maca of Medicine?”
“Aye, she tis my sib. She was born after our Maca went to the Darkness. Does she still live?”
“Aye, let me contact her on the com. She can verify who I am, and then you, that tis, ye can explain to the people here.”
“Nay, the Sisterhood will kill me.”
“The Sisterhood tis broken.”
They stared at him and he hit the com button.
“Magda, Maca of Don, please connect and explain things to your brother Michael.”
The screech in Lorenz"s ear made him wish he had contacted his father first.
“Michael, my brither, he lives?”
“Aye, explain how things have changed. I"ll hand the com to him.” The look on Michael"s face was one of disbelief, the woman was staring at them all.
“They"ll kill you,” she whispered.
“Then explain to them. No one needs to die. God knows I"ve killed enough men in my life.” Lorenz kept looking at her, but spoke to Laten.
“Laten, get Papa on your com.”
To the woman he said, “I ken there are people behind the buildings, and mayhap someone had time to go behind or up one of the trees, but if people start firing at me, this rifle will take them down. It may be primitive compared to the weapons of Don, but it is effective.”
Michael held up his hand, “Lona, he speaks the truth.” Tears were rolling down his cheeks. “My sister tis on the way here. She tis bringing help for your Counselor.”
Laten broke in. “The Maca of Don is also on his way here. He"s ordered the First Sector to stand by in case anything is needed.”
- Writer
