“Exactly,” she confirms. “Go back to camp when you’re finished in the Desert. I’ll meet you there soon.”
“Don’t let your guard down.”
“I never do,” she says.
The tall Murkovin races away across the rough terrain. After he breezes into the light, the woman walks to a narrow gorge between two almost vertical slopes. She stops when she reaches the center of the canyon, sits down on the dirt, and lays her spear on the ground. Less than fifty feet in front of her stands a sheer wall of rock with a crevice in the base. That seam, just wide enough and tall enough for a person to fit through, leads to the current refuge of the Traveler.
For the past two morrows, the woman and tall Murkovin had painstakingly searched the southeast Barrens where the Traveler had last been seen. Without the tall Murkovin’s uncanny skill at tracking others, the woman doubts she would have located the Traveler. He always notices the tiniest stone out of place, the faintest footprint in the dirt, or the smallest of creases concealed in a hillside. Of even greater value is his ability to think like his opponents. He anticipates every move that enemies might make in battle, and instinctively seems to know where they’ll hide if they run.
Even though the tall Murkovin had already seen the Traveler in this general area, they still had trouble finding her. The tall Murkovin finally spotted a faint wheel track in the dirt. Although the Traveler had tried to erase the groove by brushing the branch of a tree over it, they were able to follow the trail to a small gully cut into the side of a hill.
Hidden in the wash was a steel transport, one the woman could tell had been crafted by the Murkovin in the Desert, not by Constructs of the Mount. Since they hadn’t recruited Murkovin in this area yet, the woman concluded that the transport had to be the one stolen by the two Travelers.
Well hidden in the rocky terrain, the woman and tall Murkovin laid in wait until the Traveler showed up at the transport. After the Traveler refilled her canister and flasks, they secretly followed her to where she entered the cavern. It’s now better to wait for the Traveler to come outside on her own than to risk surprising her in a cramped, dark cave.
After very little time passes, the woman’s head begins to nod. During their two morrows of searching for the Traveler, she and the tall Murkovin had only allowed themselves one brief rest. Fearing she might give in to sleep, the woman stands to her feet and forces her eyes open. Moments later, a silhouette appears in the seam of the rocks in front of her. The person immediately vanishes back into the shadows of the tunnel.
“You’re in the Barrens again!” the woman calls out, knowing the Traveler must have seen her. “But it appears you mean to stay this time.”
“Why are you here!” the Traveler shouts from the dark.
“I mean you no harm. I want to talk with you.”
“I have nothing to say!” the Traveler yells, a growing viciousness in her tone. “How many are with you?”
“I’m alone. I give you my word.”
“Your word means nothing!”
The woman holds her empty hands out in front of her. “I’ve proven before that you can trust me. I’m not in search of a fight.”
After a long silence, the Traveler leans her head out of the crevice. She snaps her head to each of her sides to look for others. White strands interwoven with long, black hair whip across her face. Seeing no one else in sight and the woman’s weapon on the ground beside her, the Traveler slides her body through the opening in the rocks. Aiming her spear at the woman, she steps down to the flat ground.
As the woman studies the Traveler’s appearance, the woman wonders why her pant legs are torn off above off the knees. Other than the dusty boots on her feet, there’s nothing about her that would lead someone to believe she’s from the Delta.
“How did you know where I am?” the Traveler asks.
“Very little happens in the Barrens that I’m not aware of,” the woman answers. “Why are you here?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“I’m concerned for your safety,” the woman tells her. “There aren’t many Murkovin in the outer regions, but those who do dwell here could find you. Some live peacefully. Others take what they want. You’re a healthy young woman. If a certain kind finds you, they’ll make you serve them in many ways. Although you’ll crave death, they won’t grant it to you.”
Although the Traveler maintains the grip on her spear, she relaxes the muscles in her arms. “Why do you care what happens to me?”
“I don’t tolerate women suffering abuse,” the woman says. “Even a woman from the Delta.”
“No Murkovin can catch me,” the Traveler arrogantly replies.
“You have to sleep. I doubt you know how to secure a cavern the way most of our kind do.”
“I can take care of myself,” the Traveler grumbles.
She has a decent level of control over the wild sap, a sign of a strong mind, but her temper is volatile.I hope Darkness doesn’t fall before our conversation ends. I’m sure the cravings would overwhelm her.
“Is this the life you want?” the woman asks. “Dwelling alone in a tiny cave in the outer regions of the Barrens with tattered pants on your legs?”
The Traveler looks down at the ground. “I just want to be left alone.”
What could have happened tomake her flee so deep in the Barrens? If I learn the answer to that question, I may be able to exploit the knowledge to manipulate her into doing what I want. But before I can find out, I have to gain her trust.
“I can show you that life in the Barrens isn’t what you believe it to be,” the woman says. “I’m teaching our kind to peacefully coexist.
