Book 2 Chapter 39: Giving you what you want…

  “True or not, the only thing we can do now is survive, get stronger, and prepare for Valla.”

  Fox’s flat stare softened into worry.

  “And I pray with the help of my people, we can deal with her.”

  The “If they still live” remained unspoken, but her eyes said it anyway. Hoping to change the subject, Oskar told them the rest of what he’d learned.

  “Want to hear some good news?”

  Blinking away her darkening thoughts, Fox looked up at Oskar expectantly. Lifting his spear into view, he said, “We have a seed.”

  “A seed for what?” Fox’s voice came out a whisper, but there was wonder in her voice that said she knew the answer.

  “A Great Tree, Fox. We have a seed for a Great Tree. It’s in the spear that Bastet gifted me when I first arrived.”

  Nearby, Erik sat up straight, but didn’t interrupt. Oskar took note but continued.

  “With better access to using my Wayspring magic, we can plant the Tree, providing we find a place that is safe and has what we need.”

  The heat was growing slowly, but the wind was cutting some of the worst of it. Oskar tried to ignore the rising suns. The colors in the sky were odd to see, knowing they were partially a shroud, hiding a battle that Oskar could only hope lasted long enough that he could do something about it.

  “What is needed?”

  Oskar’s face dropped, “I… don’t know yet. At the very least, a buttload of Wayspring magic to Grow the seed and likely an Oasis.”

  Erik whistled, and Touwon said his cool Kobold curse word. Groaning, Fox nodded at Touwon in agreement.

  “Indeed. The only Oasis I knew of for sure was Gramm’s. That could be a major barrier.”

  “Bluebottle had a tiny one, but it was far too small and on the side of a cliff. I’m not even sure it could even be called an Oasis. I don’t yet have enough power to Grow the seed, anyway.”

  “We will find a way,” Fox said, looking in the direction of where the lantern had flickered throughout the night. “It all comes down to surviving long enough to see it through.”

  “First, though, we gotta check on our well-lit neighbors.”

  Erik smirked and took a long pull from his waterskin. Standing, Oskar leaned into the wind, holding the spear a little more delicately than he ever had.

  I can’t think like that, it’s a weapon for a reason, I’m not going to hurt it.

  // There’s no risk of that. //

  “So, we find a Wayspring to fill up, and then check out the lantern camp?”

  “Agreed.”

  ***

  // It’s hard to get a fix on the distance with so little to go on, but we’re talking miles. Several, at least. //

  Oskar nodded, his mind already churning. Several miles. That was gonna take half the day, even in good conditions. And these conditions sucked. The wind was barreling through the dune valley at their backs instead of overhead. It was still gusting occasionally, and although Oskar could drown out most of the noise, the others could not.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “We can’t go rushing off half-cocked,” he said aloud, more to himself than to Erik. “We need a plan.”

  Fox perked up at that, leaning backwards to stay upright. “Plan? I agree, but it is likely Crocos, and their plan will be to kill us on sight.”

  “Maybe not?”

  “Out here, Oskar, I doubt we will find many Crocos with morals.” She was all but yelling to be heard, and it came out a little snappier than normal. It wasn’t meant to be unkind, just a statement of fact.

  Even if it was a little too snappy, Oskar would have forgiven her the rare slip in decorum. She was worried. Worried about the implications of having a potential camp of Crocos out in the open so close to what she’d hoped to find; Benedicuto leading what remained of the free Kobolds.

  “They can likely already smell us in the dry boned wind. We might we well rush in and kill them.”

  Oskar sighed. It was a plan, of a sort. A very… direct plan. Not at all Fox’s usual careful strategic, which spoke volumes as her how she was feeling.

  “Maybe it is a Collective of grouchy Crocs, but it would still help to know what they’re doing.”

  Erik tapped his fingers on his shoulder, just above the stump of his arm. It was a rapid, almost frantic rhythm as he walked. His fingers stopped.

  “Recon,” Erik finally said.

  “Recon,” Oskar echoed. “Exactly. We need to get closer. Without being seen.”

  It really was a daunting prospect with the wind at their backs. The open desert offered little in the way of cover, and the wind, while obscuring visibility to some extent, would also carry sound. And scent, as she mentioned. It meant moving around and approaching from another direction, which had its own dangers. Fox, despite her earlier eagerness, looked distinctly less thrilled at the prospect of walking half a day into what was very likely a fight.

  “If we get close enough, I can use Fade and Blur to get close. As the least likely to be seen, I can be in and out quickly. The only other option would be you flying up in the sky and giving up our position. Or maybe Penny or Sara could recon,” she said, grinning.

  Knowing he could cover the distance faster, if not safer, was frustrating. Fox really was the clear choice, but Oskar felt uncomfortable splitting up, even when it was the clear choice.

  Penny was walking beside him instead of under the sand, giving off an adorable sense of misplaced solidarity. Oskar looked down at her as the Pangolor was looking back and forth between Fox and him.

  “You know you can go underground. I won’t hold it against you.”

  He felt relief through the companion bond, but he knew she was gonna play tough until he insisted.

  “Go on, Penny. You’re our surprise attacker. Our counter ambusher. You can’t do your job up here.”

  She looked up at him again, hesitating, but it was all show, and she dove down out of the wind when Oskar smiled and gave her a nod.

  Oskar considered for a moment, running the possibilities through his mind.

  “Okay,” he said finally, as he looked back up at the Kobold. “You scout, but we’re gonna get as close as we can first, and I’m gonna be ready to take to the air. Quick and fast, like you said. See what you can see, but don’t engage. Come straight back.”

  Fox nodded, grinning fiercely.

  “Understood.”

  But first, we freaking walk.

  As always, the sky was where he wanted to be, but it didn’t feel quite as inviting as it had. Besides, he still needed a little work on his Resonating Ward for whatever plan Fox had to get them closer to the Kobolds. Regardless, he was going to make it a point to get some air time tonight if at all possible.

  Not like I miss constantly being under attack, but I’m not spending near as much time in the air as I was.

  // I feel like you should be careful what you ask for. This world has a tendency to give you what you want in ways you don’t want at all. //

  Watching the sky, Oskar walked. Erik looked to be dealing with the wind the worst, but he was trucking along anyway. Sara was riding on Touwon’s bag for this trip, though, tucked under the top flap with her tri-colored head poking out.

  The wind howled, the sand swirled, and the suns overhead bore down on them. After two hours of walking, the sand dunes curved enough to get them out of the direct wind, and Oskar searched for a Wayspring. With only a slight detour, they found themselves squatting and resting as they drank and filled their waterskins.

  The moment of reprieve was interrupted when she ground shook beneath them. They froze as a few seconds passed, and even the wind overhead seemed to slow as they all lowered their center of gravity and tried to figure out what was happening; were they under attack or was this something else?

  Oskar opened himself up to Sora and Talau, and so he felt the patterns of Talau beneath them stretch and shift, vibrating as the long moment passed. And then, the patterns shattered as the fault lines far below them shifted. Oskar barely had the chance to call out “Earthquake!” before the warning became useless.