One of the four men who had run from the karak-ta gestured to his group and said, “Let us go.”
Senta-eh put two fingers against her forehead and settled in to wrap Alex’s chest. As soon as she finished with that job, she and Alex worked together to bandage the wounds of the two who had fallen.
By the time they had done what they could, the runners returned with the arrows that could be salvaged.
When they hit the forested area, Alex used his axe to chop several saplings and cut them into the proper lengths to help the injured walk.
By the time they had walked through the valley and reached the plain of the dire wolves, the sun was already low in the sky. They hiked up the hill and camped in the same spot where Alex had spent his first night as a captive.
When he went into the forest to relieve himself, he remembered not to urinate on the tree, which he now knew would disturb the giant cockroaches that lived in the treetops.
They had not planned on stopping on the return trip, but the battle with the karak-ta and ensuing injuries had slowed them so they knew they wouldn’t make it across the plain until after dark. They were already concerned with their ability to fight off the dire wolves. Attempting to do so in the dark was unthinkable.
They next morning, they stepped onto the waving grass of the plain just as full light blossomed.
Their one advantage was that so early in the spring, the grass hadn’t grown to its full height. Typically, the prairie grass grew until it was above the waist of even the tallest warrior. The dire wolves used it as camouflage, walking with their bellies close to the ground until they were ready to strike at their prey.
On this trip, though, where the grass was only knee-high, the Winten-ah knew they would be able to see the wolves coming at a distance. Or so they hoped.
Spending the night sleeping on the hard ground had done nothing to improve the ability of those injured to make good time. Alex knew they would make an inviting target.
Still, as they limped across the plain, they were undisturbed by the wolves or any other predator.
We might get lucky on this trip.
That was the moment that Senta-eh’s sharp eyes caught movement off to her right.
Typically, the wolves tried to encircle the humans before attacking. With the grass not offering as much camouflage, the prowling wolves abandoned that strategy.
Instead, they came charging directly at the humans, sprinting, gobbling up the distance between them at a frightening rate. They didn’t howl before they attacked, but snarls and snapping jaws still erupted from them as they ran.
The Winten-ah collapsed together, forming a circle with the most-injured in the middle.
Alex had his axe and cudgel, but for the initial charge he wanted a different weapon. He reached back and grabbed a heavy spear from one of the injured men. Instead of waiting for the pack to reach them, he charged straight toward the huge animals.
The lead wolf leapt when it was still twenty feet from Alex, aiming directly at his head and neck. Much as he had once done when fighting the dandra-tas, Alex knelt at the last moment and planted the butt of the spear in the ground.
The wolf tried to twist away, but its momentum was too much, and the tip of the spear ran through its throat and out through the top of its head.
Alex didn’t bother to look at the wolf flopping about in its death throes, but instead gripped his two-bladed axe and loosed a primordial scream as he lunged at the next wolf. He sidestepped the charge and swung the axe in an overhand arc. The sharp blade bit deep behind the wolf’s head and stuck firm. The beast was incapacitated, but its hurtling velocity pulled Alex along behind, as the axe was tied to his wrist.
Alex worked to free the axe but looked up in time to see a third wolf charging directly at him.
And then Monda-ak and all the warriors of Winten-ah stepped between him and the rest of the wolves, brandishing teeth, spears, swords, and stone hammers.
Alex finally wedged his axe loose and looked up to see that the rest of the pack had turned and run.
They had survived another encounter with the dire wolves intact.
Chapter ThreeTraders
When the hunting party returned to Winten-ah with the eggs, they turned them over to the men and women who processed them. The processing allowed the eggs to retain their psychotropic qualities for several weeks without spoiling.
Sekun-ak immediately sent runners to the nearest villages to let them know that there were eggs available for trade.
That gave Alex an idea, so he approached Sekun-ak.
“How long will the eggs stay good?”
“Once we’ve processed them, if we keep them cool and dry, they retain their dream quality for as much as a moon cycle. They don’t taste as fresh and lovely by then, but they still have the same impact. Some say it is even greater.”
“It is a lot to ask, but would you give me one of the prepared eggs?”
Sekun-ak smiled. “I know you do not want to eat an entire egg. We would likely never wake you up again. What do you want to do with it?”
“I want to take it to Rinta-ah. They have something that will be valuable to us. They have said they will just give it to us, but I prefer to take something of value to them. A karak-ta egg would be perfect.”
Sekun-ak contemplated the question. They had only returned with eight of the eggs from the last expedition, so losing one would be a substantial portion of the prize. Still, a chance to open
