The Power of Gnaris (13 page)

When the
Prehistorics returned to the inner cave the following morning with
more food and water, Barrow was ready for them. He donned his
goggles and concentrated his gnaris, preparing to use its power
against their captors. Although they had shown some kindness
towards him and Elena, the creatures still held them against their
will. Barrow resolved to hurt the Prehistorics, but did not wish to
kill them.

The first
Prehistoric to enter carried food, and was not armed; but the two
that followed carried clubs. Barrow did not doubt that they would
use them if necessary. His still throbbing head was a reminder of
the damage the Prehistorics’ clubs could do.

So Barrow did
not hesitate. He looked through his goggles at the first man, and
concentrated his mind to direct the power stored in them towards
him. A flash of power passed from the goggles towards the man’s
arms, causing him to drop the food and to howl with pain. Without
waiting an instant, Barrow turned towards the second man and sent
another flash of energy his way, knocking the club from his hand.
The third man soon joined the other two, lying stunned and
semiconscious on the hard rock floor.

“Come on
Elena. Let’s get out of here,” he said.

Barrow took
the lead, passing through the narrow passage that was the only way
out, and easing his way around the corner that led to the outside.
A fourth Prehistoric stood guard at the cave entrance. Barrow dealt
a swift numbing blow to him also, before the two Karavec passed
into the light.

Barrow looked
up and saw the sun high in the sky.
It must be noon,
he
thought. By now Elena had also put on her goggles for protection
against the glaring sunlight.

Barrow looked
around. He could see remnants of the previous evening’s ritual. The
fire still burned, and was kept alight permanently to be used for
cooking and to ward off dangerous animals. The pipe that had been
used for smoking had been tossed on the ground, and the drinking
cups lay scattered all around the area at the mouth of the cave.
They saw no sign of any other Prehistorics.

“The men must
have gone hunting,” whispered Barrow, “and the women are probably
busying themselves with other chores that comprise part of their
daily routine.”

“Which way
back to the ship?” Elena asked.

“Barrow
searched with his gnaris. “That way,” he said, pointing towards the
south-west. “It’s quite far. I estimate it will take us at least an
hour to get back.”

“Assuming we
don’t come across any other Prehistorics,” she said.

They set off
at a brisk pace whilst keeping vigilant. They didn’t want any more
encounters with the Prehistorics, and above all didn’t want them to
gang together against them.

“We could
easily deal with them one at a time,” said Barrow, “and disarm them
of their primitive weapons, but they might prove more difficult to
deal with in large numbers.”

When they had
walked for about half an hour, they began to relax, confident that
they had managed to escape from the Prehistorics.

Their journey
took them downhill from the cave towards a valley where a small
river meandered through a copse of tree-like plants. They found a
shallow spot where they could ford the river.

They had just
reached the other side of the river when an arrow whistled past
Barrow’s ear and embedded itself into the trunk of one of the
plants.

Chapter 11 –
Leila Takes Charge

“
A great
leader needs an even greater deputy.”

 The Book of
Karavec (88, 7)

When Leila
awoke on the morning following Barrow and Elena’s disappearance,
she went to talk with the Great Savant, and discovered that his bed
was empty. She felt the cold blankets, and concluded that Barrow
must have risen early.

“Have you seen
Barrow?” she asked Sirrow.

“No, not since
last evening.”

She enquired
with Kuthrow, the
commander
of the guards.
He also had not seen Barrow since the previous evening, and nor had
any of his men.

Leila was not
too worried until she discovered that Elena had also
disappeared.

“Where could
they have gone?” she asked the ship’s captain.

“Maybe they
have just gone for a walk,” he said.

“Just gone for
a walk? Do you really think it’s likely that the Great Savant of
the Karavec would take a stroll in a barren landscape on the
surface of a foreign planet, and that he would take no one with him
for protection except an educated Karavec who knows little about
how to fight?”

Sirrow chewed
over the doctor’s words. “You’re right,” he said. “There must be
some other reason, and I don’t like it.”

Leila called
Kuthrow once again. “Take your men and search the area around the
ship to see if you can find Barrow and Elena. If not, look for any
clues that would indicate why they have disappeared.”

Kuthrow
returned a few minutes later. “We have not seen the Great Savant or
Elena, he said, “but one of my men found this by the rocks over
there.” He held out the dagger that Barrow had intended to use for
the sacrifice.

“It’s a
Karavec dagger,” said Sirrow.

“The marks on
the knife tell me that this belongs to the Great Savant himself,”
said Leila. “What could this mean?”

“Did you see
anything else?” Sirrow asked Kuthrow.

“There are
tracks leading towards the north-east. They are the tracks of three
humanoids who were not wearing any shoes

they have four toes on each foot. Two sets of tracks are deeper
than the third, indicating that the creatures carried something
heavy.”

“Or someone
heavy,” added Leila. “Barrow and Elena have been abducted by some
hostile creatures from this planet. Sirrow, Kuthrow, we must talk
and make some decisions about how we can get them back.”

Leila, Sirrow
and Kuthrow were the only ones left with any authority, and they
had to make the crucial decisions that would lead to the recovery
of the Great Savant, and ultimately the success of their mission on
Ziemia. They met in the back room of the ship.

Leila’s face
could not betray her concern. “What can we do?” she asked.

“I don’t think
we have much choice,” said Sirrow. “You and Kuthrow must go with a
contingent of the guard and find the Great Savant. My crew will
wait here on the ship to be ready for a speedy departure, should
that prove necessary. Perhaps a few of the guard should also remain
with me and my crew.”

“How many?”
Kuthrow asked.

“I think four
should be enough. As long as we stay inside the ship, we are
well-protected. Even those inhabitants of Ziemia who have attained
the technological age are not nearly as advanced as we are. They
will not be able to breach the ship’s defences.”

“Good,” said
Leila, “then it’s decided. Kuthrow, thirty of his men, and I will
go in search of Barrow and Elena. After we’ve found them, it may be
Barrow’s intention for us to go directly to the capital, but we
must first await word from Captain Forster.” She turned to address
Sirrow. “So, if we do not return quickly, you need not be
concerned.”

“The men who
remain are well prepared to deal with any eventuality,” added
Kuthrow.

They equipped
themselves with their protective suits and goggles and their ray
guns, and were ready to depart within an hour.

“Some of my
men will go ahead to scout for any danger,” said Kuthrow. “The rest
will form a protective group surrounding you, doctor.”

They set off
walking towards the north-east, following the tracks of the
Prehistorics. They began their walk in the semi-arid desert region
where the ship had landed. The soft ground meant that they could
easily follow the tracks. Vegetation was sparse, and only the rocks
gave them an occasional respite from the sun. Although the Karavec
wore their goggles to protect their sensitive eyes, they were also
unaccustomed to the intense heat. They made slow progress, and
stopped frequently to rest in the shade of one of the rocks. They
rapidly used up their water supplies, and Leila worried that they
would not have enough water to last the crossing of the
semi-desert.

When they
reached the crown of a ridge and saw a more fertile area of land
below them on the far side, Leila let out a sigh of relief. A
narrow river wound its way from the north passing through a glade
of tree-like plants surrounded by an area of grassland. Their pace
quickened when they descended towards the river.

“Be careful,”
cautioned Kuthrow. The river tempts us with its water, but the
trees might also conceal some hidden dangers. “We must wait for the
scouts to return.”

The scouts
reported that they had seen nothing suspicious, so the party made
its way to the edge of the stream and threw themselves into the
shallow waters, gulping up handfuls of the cool liquid. Then they
replenished their drinking bottles.

They sat on
the bank of the stream, gulping in a sweet aroma from the yellow
blossom on the tree-like plants. Bird-like creatures trilled and
chirped high up in the branches of the plants. A large insect with
vivid purple wings fluttered in front of Leila’s face. A krowy
lowed in the distance. For a moment Leila imagined that she was at
home on Hikon, and not in an inhospitable world of primitive
beings.

“There is only
one problem,” said Kuthrow. “From this point onwards the tracks are
not so clear. There are also other tracks coming from the north.
This is obviously a popular watering-hole for the creatures, and
maybe others as well.”

“What makes
you say that?”

“The tracks
are not all made by bare-footed creatures. There are others that
wear some kind of shoe.”

Leila pushed
her way forwards in anticipation. “Could they be the tracks of
Barrow and Elena?” she asked.

“No, my men
cannot identify any Karavec shoeprints. They must belong to some
other humanoids from Ziemia.”

“Jesse and his
men were wearing boots.”

“They also
rode horses. There is no sign of any horse footprints.”

Leila’s
excitement turned to despondency. “So, where do we go from
here?”

“Can you use
your gnaris to scan for any sign of them?” asked the captain.

Leila
concentrated her gnaris and scanned for Karavec. “I can pick up
only one,” she said, “quite far away towards the east. And he or
she does not bear the powerful gnaris of the Great Savant.”

“That will be
Lolena,” said Kuthrow.

“What can it
mean? What’s happened to Barrow and Elena?” Leila was becoming
desperate.

“We must hope
that they have been captured, and are being held in a place where
their gnaris cannot be detected.”

“So how will
we find them?”

“I don’t
know,” said Kuthrow, “but our best bet is to find where the
creatures live.”

He had hardly
finished speaking when they heard a yell, and one of the
Prehistorics appeared from behind a boulder. He wore only an animal
skin, and his body and face were covered in hair. He had a club
raised above his head, and he charged straight for Leila.

Kuthrow did
not hesitate to use his ray gun, which he had set to stun mode. He
fired the gun straight towards the chest of the assailant, who
dropped like a fly in front of the terrified doctor.

Kuthrow
clicked his fingers and instructed two of his men to tie up the
prisoner. Then he turned his anger towards the scouts. “Where did
he come from? Why did you not see him coming? Are there
others?”

The scouts did
a quick reconnaissance of the area and reported back. “There is a
hole,” one of them said. “It’s a sort of small cave, and well
concealed by the vegetation. The creature must have been hiding in
there.”

“Are there
others?” Kuthrow repeated.

“No, sir. He
is on his own.”

Kuthrow waited
for the Prehistoric to regain consciousness. He poured water over
his bearded face, and slapped him violently on both cheeks. The
creature began to stir, and groaned in pain.

“Where are
they?” Kuthrow asked. “Where are our companions?”

The
Prehistoric did not answer.

“He does not
understand our language,” said Leila. “I doubt he understands any
language. Look at him. He is a primitive being

a Prehistoric. He probably only communicates with
grunts.”

“You’re right.
So how can we expect him to tell us where Barrow is?”

“He may not
tell us, but he will lead us to them.”

“How?”

“If we untie
him and let him go, he will run back to the place where he comes
from. He is like a scared beast that does not act rationally, and
will make a beeline for his home and his people, who he hopes will
help him.”

“You’re right,
doctor. You should be a psychologist instead of a physician.”

They did as
Leila suggested. Once free of his bonds, the man looked around like
a frightened animal, and took off as fast as his legs could carry
him towards the north. The Karavec followed.

The man
stopped every so often, glancing back over his shoulder at his
pursuers. He was a Prehistoric, unsophisticated and wild, but he
was not stupid. He knew their intentions and the reason why they
followed him. He also knew this part of the country, every element
of the terrain that he could use to his advantage and to mislead
his pursuers. So he did not return directly to the home of his
people, the cave where Barrow and Elena were imprisoned. Instead he
took a circuitous route, intending to lead his pursuers into a
trap.