LW Browning - Krystile Warriors 01 - Warlord's Honor (3 page)

***

A
s they filed out of the tent into the morning air, Robare muttered under his breath, "Who are they trying to intimidate? It was a business meeting, but they show up dressed for battle."

The warlord with the scar down his arm smirked. "Most of our business meetings involve battle, this is casual. When we dress for battle, you will know it," he said. 

Claire looked up to see Robare squirming under the scrutiny of the warlords. The whole trip was worth this one moment. She fought back a smile, turned away to see the warlord looking at her. He winked at her.

Koda had a group of 20 more waiting outside the tent. Claire spotted several more barbarians with the warlord mark on their left arm. These must have been guards for the meeting. Calks had told her the warlords ranked higher than the warriors. Down the trail, she sensed some females, obviously companions for the warriors. She wondered idly if one of the females was Koda's companion. She shocked herself. Why had such a thought occurred to her? The oddness of this assignment must be getting to her. Out of sight, she felt more of Koda's warriors. Claire cast an apprising glance at Koda. The crafty warlord had stacked the deck in his favor.

Claire's attention was drawn back to the warriors. Perhaps they needed all those weapons for the meetings they usually had. Why was she going off alone with mercenary barbarian warriors? Her stomach fell at the thought.

A warlord with many braids in his long blond hair and scar along his jaw approached with six large warhorses. The paccar did look similar to horses, only bigger than any she had ever seen. Their legs flared out to large feet with tufts of hair hanging over their huge hooves and a single short horn that protruded from their foreheads. They were sturdy creatures, both beautiful and intelligent despite their fearsome look. Claire touched their minds briefly in greeting.

She worried there were so many in this group. Claire had already used a lot of effort to keep her shields from weakening. Already she felt the beginning of a headache from being around so many people.

Koda and Calks came toward her. Calks adopted his regular fatherly role. Koda stopped a few steps away. As usual, while Calks spoke with her, his eyes darted all around. He never made eye contact when he spoke one on one with her. "This is a different assignment. Don't worry, you're capable. You've always performed well." He gave the last of his instructions and told her to be careful.

Claire looked at Koda walking toward her. She was glad she was still standing by Calks when he stopped close to them. Hiding a shaky breath, she had the unreasonable feeling that Koda was looking straight into her soul. She broke eye contact and looked just beyond his left ear. It was an old trick she remembered from her training.

Calks stepped closer to Claire and raised his hands as if to hug her. Claire reflexively stepped away. Calks dropped his hands to his side. Surely he had not been about to embrace her before he sent her off with this band of barbarians. He knew better. Calks' actions had been unusual lately. She tried to remember when his behavior had begun to change. It was inconceivable that he would touch her.

"We leave now, girl. Follow me," Koda said. He walked to where his people waited. Claire followed Koda toward his group of waiting warriors.

Koda mounted a paccar and turned to look down at her. She was dwarfed by the huge warriors and even more so by the size of their mounts. Koda's paccar was white with a black mane and tail and black stockings that began at its knees. Koda held his hand down to help her onto the animal.

She looked up at him. "I do not... " She slowly shook her head and took a small step back. Did they intend for her to ride on this creature with him? 

"You will ride behind me, girl," Koda said. His voice was soft, but his attitude said he expected obedience from her. He had paid a lot of danon for her services.

'Girl.' Claire sighed. She was no longer a girl, if she ever had been. She needed no additional reminders of her place in society, but she did need help. She glanced back at Calks. She could not be that close to the warlord.

Calks hurried toward them. "He's right. You can't control one of these animals. You'll have to ride on the beast with him. I should have mentioned it sooner." 

Yes, Calks should have mentioned that sooner. Claire had a flash of emotion from the paccar. She felt the amusement of some of the warlords at her predicament. She took a deep breath and held up a hand to Koda's waiting arm. He grasped her forearm and swung her up behind him. She was on the great beast, behind the big warlord so fast she almost did not believe it had happened. Sitting up so high, she felt a small surge of fear, got control and sent a sense of calm to the animal.

Koda turned the mount and they started down the trail through the luxurious green landscape. The feeling of riding on a living thing with a mind of its own gave Claire a lot to think about. The mounted warlords and warriors on either side of the trail fell into a column two abreast as they rode through them. All of them were armed. The suspicious one with the scar down the side of his face came up on their left to ride beside them.

Claire hooked her hands into the loops of Koda's wide leather belt for balance. She sat straight and did not touch his broad back. 

Riding beasts of burden was not something Claire had occasion to do very often, as in never. Even being outside was a rare treat. She turned to get a last glance at the Meeting Tent and saw Calks and the team as they boarded the shuttle to go home. She experienced a rare feeling of melancholy.

It was hers. How strange.

***

O
n the shuttle, the MX handlers were busy as they prepared to return home. The engineer checked the com link as part of their takeoff procedure. He noticed a recent com on the vid. "Damn!"

Team members turned to see what was wrong. "All teams are to return at once and bring their MX with them. What is going on?"

In stunned silence, the team members looked to Calks. "Verify that transmission," he ordered.

Robare ran to the vid that showed the surface of the planet. He swore when he realized Koda's entire group had disappeared from the viewer. "Impossible! Calks, they’re gone."

Calks blinked and gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head, "Recheck your calculations and your equipment, we only just left them, they have to be there."

"But th—"

"Check the calculations and run diagnostics on the equipment," Calks repeated.

The tension increased while they checked the coordinates on the planet surface and verified that the last transmission from the MX Facility was authentic. Soon the entire team was gathered around the view of the planet's surface, searching frantically for any sign of the people they had just left there.

"They must have some type of shield that prevents us from seeing them," one of the team members said.

"Don't be ridiculous," Robare snapped. "They're barbarians riding on stinking animals."

Another insisted, "We have to go back to the planet surface to get the MX."

"Go back?" Calks asked. "Go back where?"

His question was met with silence.

Calks continued: "Even if we could find them, they are well-armed warriors. Shall we tell them that although they paid a huge sum for the services of the MX, we have changed our minds and they must give her back?"

Calks looked at his team. Not one of them made eye contact with him. The idea of confronting Koda's warriors did not appeal to them.

"Then we'll follow the orders we can and return to the Facility."

Calks turned away and ordered the captain to set the coordinates for the return trip home. Only Robare saw the faint smile Calks allowed himself. 

***

W
hile riding on the paccar, the pace was slow enough to let Claire actually enjoy the scenery. She looked at the plants and landscape as they traveled down a well-used trail.

It was a beautiful morning. The day had turned to brilliant sunshine and blue skies above a vast array of green. Claire had no idea there were so many shades of green. Huge trees, the tallest she had ever seen, created a dense forest on the right side of the trail. Just a short distance in, the massive canopy of the trees cast shadows so thick it looked like the dark of night. A rolling meadow with wildflowers and scattered trees sat off to the other side of the trail with a view of mountains in the background. Wisps of fog still clung to some of the trees in the lower parts of the valley. The air was crisp and clean. A slight breeze stirred the scent of the soil and foliage that surrounded them. Claire heard numerous unusual sounds and felt the many little minds of the animals that lived in this lush place that made those delightful sounds.

It occurred to her that she had never heard the wind in the trees. This trip might be alright after all.

She observed the warriors. Most of them had their long blond hair in braids and fastened with something at their napes. One of them had all of his long hair pulled up on top of his head. A fastening held it standing straight up almost the width of her hand before his hair fell down and was gathered at the end with an adornment. One of them had shorter hair than the rest. His was pulled into a queue at the nape of his neck. In the assignment briefing, Calks told her they braided their long hair to keep it out of their way when they fought. All of them had golden hair varying from corn-silk white to light golden blond.

She looked for the mark of the warlords. All those in the tent had the mark on the outside of their upper left arm. Several others wore the mark also. The ones who did not have it were regular warriors. All warriors served the warlords and all the warlords served Koda, the leader.

The one whose hair was shorter whistled and rode up on their right side. "Shields are up. They just tested them."

"Good job, Dare," Koda said. He had a beautiful deep voice. Claire thought about warm chocolate.

"That cut it close. We got lucky," the suspicious one with the scar on his face said from beside them. 

From behind them the warlord who wore the headband laughed and said, "I would rather be lucky than good, Var." He rode up alongside the one with shorter hair and laughed as he looked across Koda at the suspicious one called Var. "I am called Lodi." He leaned forward to see her while he introduced himself and then the others.

Claire noticed several creatures in the fields to the left of the trail. They had four legs and branching horns sticking out of their heads. 

"They are called dareea," Lodi said with a smile, "very tasty."

"You eat them?" Claire asked.

"Yes, we eat them," Lodi answered.

"H-how do you... Um. Do you use your swords to...?"

Lodi laughed. Koda answered, "Dareea are skittish creatures. We could not easily get close enough to them to use our swords."

"If we ever get that close, we will let Revi talk them to death," the one with the hair sticking up from the top of his head said from behind them.

"That is Ache," Lodi said. "The one who never shuts up is Revi."

Claire turned to see two warriors who must be Ache and Revi riding just behind them.

"We use the crossbows to hunt dareea," Koda continued.

"That is horrible," Claire did not need that visual. She shuddered at the thought of those graceful creatures being pierced with arrows.

The warlords became quiet. Claire wished she had thought before she spoke. She had just insulted them and their way of life. Keeping herself shielded from so many was taking a lot of effort. She resolved to be more careful.

When the sun was high overhead, Koda pulled his paccar to the side of the path. They had traveled through some beautiful lush forests and fields and Claire had enjoyed the verdant landscape if not the actual ride. So far, this had been a visually stimulating trip. Claire's bottom, where it met the paccar, was stimulated as well. Her back had never ached so much. Her thighs felt like she had run a race. She had clamped down tight so avoid falling off the animal. She was going to be sore tonight. Who rode horses anymore?

Koda turned to grab her arm. She jerked away.

Saddle leather creaked as Koda turned to look at her over his shoulder. Var stopped his paccar and sat watching. Patient. She felt their patience.

"Do you want to get off by yourself, girl?" Koda asked.

The ground was a long way down. "No." Her arms were covered by the long sleeves, her hands by the gloves. She held her arm out. 

Koda's big hand fit easily around her forearm as he eased her gently to the ground.

She was small beside the huge paccar. She moved away from the animal's hooves and body to give Koda room to dismount. The touching made her uncomfortable, but she saw no way around it. These people had no fear of touching her. They must not understand.

She waited on the right side of the trail while they tended to the large animals. 

The females opened bags and pulled out food. Claire saw one woman who wore a silver chain around her neck with a lavaliere. She had been riding behind one of the warlords also. All the females except the one wearing the lavaliere, had tattoos on their faces and bodies.

Claire turned away. She never associated with normals, her presence upset them. Instead, she admired the beautiful landscape; forest on one side of the trail, open fields and gentle rolling hills on the other and mountains in the distance.