Slave Girl 3: Chapter 71 (Patreon)

The situation with Kreer had been attended to as best as I could though tension remains high among our group as we creep up the steep slope of the path. Before long however internal anxieties are forgotten as our focus was forced outward. Leading our party with Cassie taking up the rear my eyes dart among the foliage and boulders that bordered the trail, alert for any motion or sign of kobaloi. The light but steady drizzle muffles the sounds of our travel but that same din gave audio camouflage to our enemies. My head snaps left as my ear catches a rustle among the undergrowth and I just catch the flash of gray-green dart between two rocks.

“Just a viper.” Kreer says as he steps up beside me. “We’ll see more of them. Don’t step on one and you’ll be fine.”

“Vipers?”

“The island is known fort hem.

I mutter. “As if we don’t have enough to worry about.”

“You didn’t wonder why it’s called ‘Snake Island’?”

“You didn’t think to warn us?”

“The captain chose to forgo that particular detail.” He says. “He wanted as little friction between you and your heroism as possible.”

With a sigh I shake my head. I liked Nikias but damn he was one manipulative son of a bitch. First he tugs on my heartstrings by involving me in the meeting with Theron and Ora and now I learn he had undersold the peril we were truly walking into. “Anymore surprises we should know about?”

He waves a hand over the ruddy red-brown earth. “The land is mostly rich in clay with sections of exposed limestone, both of which become extremely slippery in the rain. Another reason to mind your footing.”

“It gets better and better.” I grumble. “Watch your step everyone.”

With the thick, sweet aroma of Cypress filling the air we carefully make our way up the path toward the olive grove on the plateau above us. Before long the trail begins to bend, cutting back on itself as we climb the ever steepening slope. About halfway to the top and so far all I’d seen was a startled hare and another viper resting upon a flat stone that was sheltered from the rain, the diamond pattern down its back reminding me of a dress my mother used to wear. Thus far we’d seen no signs of anything out of the ordinary which bothered me more than if we had.

Slowing my gait a step I fall in beside Rosa and Colly and say, my voice low. “Danae?”

“Nothing.” Rosa says. “She’s not talking to me. I think she might be hunting.”

“Hunting!?”

“I told you, Quin. I do not control her. She’s her own woman.” After a pause she adds. “Or fox.”

Colly and I exchange concerned glances. “See any signs of your people?”

“You are my people. I haven’t among wild gobboth thinthe I wath a thprog.” She says, he stress of the situation bringing out the lisp she’d been working so hard on controlling. “Th…th…thsprog. Since I was a thprog. A sprog.” Pulling her cloak tighter she says. “One thing I do know ith that even wild gobs hate being cold and wet. Days like thith we just wanna be holed up in a nice dry cave. If they’ve got scouts out here they’ll be as miserable as Thithyfuth.” Her brows furrow as she licks her lips in frustration. “Thith…Sith…This…Thithithithi…hrm!”

Despite the tense mood she brings a smile to my face. “Sisyphus.” Patting her wide head proudly I say. “That’s a tricky one for anybody.”

Her shoulders relaxing just a bit she says. “Silly name anywayth.”

Rosa grips her hand tighter and shares a smile with us. Refocusing, and a bit more relaxed, I take the lead again.

A few minutes later I motion the group to stop. After rounding a corner I could now see the top of the rise, the path disappearing over it half a stone’s throw away. We had lost the canopy of the forest along this steep stretch though it came with the benefit of leaving less around us for something to hide. Seeing no threat in the vicinity I feel comfortable leaving Rosa with Colly alone.

Waving Cassie up beside me I whisper. “If we see one hold your fire until we can determine the situation.”

She nods. “Kreer stays with us.”

Glancing to Rosa I nod back. “Always.”

Giving away his preternatural hearing that I had already forgotten about Kreer moves forward to join us. Cassie and I look at each other, quietly reminding the other that even whispers might be heard when Kreer was about. Flanking the ship mage we pad forward to take a peak over the rise.

The unmistakable herbal fragrance mixed with the smell of wet earth strikes me before the sight of it. Stretching out before us was a vast area cleared of the native vegetation and in its place…row upon row of young, healthy olive trees. The moment hits me harder than I was prepared for. Here, in the middle of the sea on an snake infested island, was the civilizing touch of mighty Ceres. The hard, chaotic wilds had been pushed back to allow this patch of skillfully tended crop to exist. Through sweat and toil the people of the village down below, with the goddess herself watching on, had made this commitment, this act of faith, to themselves and their progeny. The trees themselves were no more than ten years old, probably only beginning to bear fruit over the past couple of seasons, and it would be another decade or more before they reached maturity. The children and grandchildren of the young lovers we hurried to rescue, and many generations beyond, might sit under the shade of these very trees and enjoy the rich fruits of what their ancestors started. The magnitude of our actions here washes over along with my goddess’ presence. This was about so much more than a couple or even a village. Seeing no thread among the smooth, slender trunks of these juvenile trees I step out into the soft earth with a reverence I normally saved for temple. Moreso than before any statue or symbol, among these olives I could FEEL Ceres’ love. It comforts me even as it hardens my resolve.

Stepping up beside me Cassie continues scanning the tree line in the distance where crop turned to forest. “They said it was on the far side. If I were a young couple trying to sneak out of sight I’d make for that oak.”

“It’s as good a place as any to start.” Pointing to center of the grove where a newly built wooden platform stood among the trees, the beginnings of a watchtower unless I was mistaken. “Post up there and keep watch. You’ll have better range on anything the kobaloi can manage. Watch over us as we move. I’ll give a signal when I want you to join us at the oak.”

Cassie stares at me a moment then smirks. “Look at you taking charge.”

“A wise woman once told me the pater familias has to be the rock when the world goes crazy, that he had to lead when the moment called for it.” I smile. “I’m doing my best.”

Slowly she nods, looking me up and down with respect and admiration and undisguised hunger. “This woman does sound wise.” Stepping into me Cassie grabs the back of my neck and kisses me hard. “Stay safe.”

“You too.”

Cassie then looks left and right and makes a dash for the structure. I let out a low whistle back down the path and within seconds Colly appears leading Rosa by the hand. I could feel Kreer watching me, taking quiet mental notes of our every word and action.

As if sensing my thoughts were on him he says. “There are trails beyond the oak leading deeper into the island. I would agree with her that is the best place to start.” Watching Cassie weave her way alone through the grove he adds. “She’s a bold female, for a human.”

I fight a grin. “She comes by it honestly. Her Granny’s a force of nature.”

When the others join us I let them know what was happening then lead our group across the center of the grove. There might be a hundred eyes following us from among the brambles and undergrowth of the forest ahead of us but there was simply no way to hide our presence among the slender trunks of the olives so I opt for swiftness over stealth. Standing tall atop the platform brave Cassie watches out over the tops of the young trees, bow in her hands with an arrow knocked and ready, her white dress fluttering the breeze. She looked…magnificent! When I passed through Rome I’d seen a marble sculpture of the huntress Diana and at the time I had marveled at her grace and power and beauty. It might be sacrilege to think it…but that goddess had nothing on my Cassie.

Thankfully the arrow stays nocked to the string as soon we had arrived at the massive gnarled trunk of the ancient oak tree. With no danger present I give Cassie a wave. She deftly hops down from the platform and hurries to join us.

“Rotha?” Colly whispers, drawing my attention back again.

Rosa stand beneath the sprawling boughs of the old tree, staring up at it with wide unfocused eyes. Having just experienced it myself I recognized that look of being in the presence of the divine. While my goddess was to be found in cultivated fields and tended orchards Rosa’s was the lord of the woods, Silvanus.

“Oh! Sovereign Mother. You humble me.” Hands out in front of her she approaches the trunk. Using the clicks and whistles taught to her by Kreer was making her way fine on her own but I hurry to Rosa’s side I guide her to the rough gray bark of the twisted and knotted trunk nonetheless. She lays her hands on the tree. “She’s old, Quin. So old.” Rosa whispers, then gasps. “She’s…hurt.” Reaching up to almost her full height Rosa’s delicate fingers trace along a swirl within the bark until they come to a stop at the edge of a jagged two foot long and two inch deep slash cut into the solid wood.

The sight of her jagged, splintered rend sobers me in an instant. It was no axe that had cut that wound into this old oak. Stepping closer I run my fingers along the ragged cut until they hit something embedded into the wood. I pull it free to discover that it was a sharp spike of chitinous shell as long as my thumb.

“Quin.” Colly whispers. Knelt at the base of the tree she turns to reveal a broken clay vessel, some remnants of dark ruby colored wine still wet inside the base, and a pair of simple earthenware cups. “I think we found the thpot.”

Chapter 72