The Guide, Wulfshard [management books to read txt] 📗

leave it alone and take the outsiders with her.
A specific path seemed to glow brightly. Opening her eyes, she spotted it; it was a trail left by the elk, small but sufficient.
“The swamp has spoken.” She whispered to Surudu in their language. “It will let us pass.”
“What?” Kukka asked, looking confused.
“There. I’ve found the way…just stay close and keep very quiet. Don’t even snap a twig if you can help it. Keep slightly behind me, Tuphanu.”
Stepping attentively, the Mozori guide led them into the undergrowth. The only question was…would the swamp let them all live? Or would it choice who survived?
5

“Don't turn away
(Don't give in to the pain)
Don't try to hide
(Though they're screaming your name)
Don't close your eyes
(God knows what lies behind them)
Don't turn out the light
(Never sleep never die)”
~Evanescence, Whisper

The darkness didn’t seem to affect Visam as much as she thought it would. Actually, it made it easier to pathfind. The cats behind her were as quiet as they could be; they hadn’t the problem of being blind to anything but the way forward. Thankfully though she was vigilant, Tuphanu wasn’t spotting traps.
I don’t think the humans have been here yet. They’re following us now, instead of surrounding us. That tactic can be very useful until I find a way to mislead them or if we ourselves get lost.

Except for the rustle of undergrowth from the demons and animals around them, the song of insects and the occasional curse from thorns or stepping in muck there was silence. It made Visam and Surudu both very tense; there should be more noise around them. There should be birdsong, wolf song, singing frogs – splashing from lizards or deer; something other than this eerie silence.
She stopped dead. The ground didn’t feel quite right.
“Why’d you stop, Visam?” Tuphanu whispered. “Did you loose your way?”
“No.” She whispered. “Give me a second.”
The spikes on her tail tip unfolded. Attentively, the silver Mozori edged closer to the unfaithful ground. Slowly, the lizard pressed her tail to the ground and swept it along gently. It seemed like normal mud, but when she pressed down a strange sucking sound followed by her tail sinking into the mud swiftly.
“It’s quicksand.” She warned them as she back up slowly, easing her tail out. “Let me find a way over.”
“Can’t we just go around?” Kukka asked quietly, stepping out of the formation to glance into the thick, dark canopy beyond their elk path.
Surudu hissed and pulled her back into place. “No! Stay on the path!”
Her blue eyes wide, the demi returned to him without another word. Visam carefully looked around a way to get over it. There was raised earth slightly to the left. Hoof marks were imprinted in the soil thickly; they were fresh. Only the hoof marks radiated the path-energy she was following.
“There’s the way.” She responded quietly. “Match my steps.”
Very diligently, the guide put her clawed feet directly over each hoof print. Then she helped each cat and her guard over as well – growling or hissing in time for them to correct a misplaced step. They made it around the quicksand. The path seemed to be freshly made. It seemed they were following it.
This may lead to open water. We’d best be very careful; other things may be following it.

The sound of boot steps thudded on the earth, and she heard a splash. Shivers traveled down her spine. Looking back, she saw the sway of a torch burning not far from where they’d paused to decide a direction.
“They’re still tracking us, Visam.” Surudu told her. “That’s how they know the way.”
“So the swamp thinks we’re leading them as well…” Visam muttered. An idea hit her. “That is fine. Let us show the swamp who the real enemy is. Surudu…erase the footsteps we made on the hill there. I will make it look like we went over the quicksand.”
“How will you do that?”
“Just shut up and let me think, mouse-breath.” The lizard snarled. She gazed very carefully around. There were boulders close to the path. They were large enough for a foot.
“Those – get three of them. Yes, thank you Surudu.”
She took them and tossed each one so that they built a stepping stone bridge. Then she leapt carefully from stone to stone.
“Quick!” She urged the other three across. Kukka came next and Surudu was last. The cats handled it with neatness, grace and ease where the male stumbled and nearly fell in over each stone.
“I hate quick sand.” He grumbled. “And I hate jumping.”
The Demi laughed at his grumpy complaint until a torch glowed from the distant path they’d traveled only hours ago.
“They’re still following us.”
“The quicksand will slow them down. They won’t see it until it’s too late.”
“Are you sure?”
“I almost didn’t notice it, and I’m a native. I know what I’m doing; they don’t.” She glanced around. “It’s getting really late. We’ll need to get moving; if we stay still too long the spirits won’t be pleased. This place isn’t friendly to those who linger.”
“When do we camp?” Tuphanu asked in shock.
Visam looked her in the eyes. “We will rest when the swamp permits it.”
Without saying another word, the guide turned and led onward. The other three were forced to shadow her in silence. The swamp closed in on them as they followed the trails left by the deer, wolves and elk of the swamp.

6

“Fear is only in our minds,
Taking over all the time.
Fear is only in our minds
but it's taking over all the time.”
~Evanescence, Sweet Sacrifice

The dawn found the four of them trudging through the muck of the swamp. Visam would pause and glance backward every time they would come to a part of the swamp they’d have to wade. Then she’d carefully examine the area and find some other way to go – very, very anxiously. Surudu became more and more nervous the deeper into the swamp they got.
Finally she stopped at the edge of a very large pool. There was no other way but to swim.
“We’ve been up all night. I’ll fish; Surudu can set camp. Tuphanu is on guard. Kukka…I want you to scout through the trees around here and see if you can find fire wood. Don’t take anything alive, and stay in sight of the camp at all times. Wait until there’s a fire going.”
“We’re starting a fire this time?” Tuphanu seemed extremely happy.
“Yes. We’re cold and can’t eat fish, crayfish or turtle of any kind raw. Period. Besides…the wolves don’t like fire and there are no aggressive tribes this close to the center.”
As the others went to obey she carefully slipped into the water. The water was cool but clear. Submerged weeds and plants half hid schools of fish being chased by a small group of otters. For a moment the lizard watched them catch their own supper. Then she turned away from them, respecting their need to live, and combed the land closer to the shore. She plucked up crayfish, depositing them in the sack on her back alive. When she found the muscles and clams they joined the shellfish. The Mozori also happened upon three painted turtles and an alligator’s mounded nest – which she raided before the mother could return from hunting.
Backtracking, Visam managed to catch and kill a silver fish the size of her arm and several frogs before returning to the camp. There was a cozy fire. They were huddled close together, drying off and warming up. Surudu had set up a spick. They put on the fish. Kukka returned with more wood and even bark.
While that cooked Visam easily split the turtle’s shells with her tail. She removed the meat, careful to take every piece she could get off the shell. Using the shells to scoop water up, she cleaned the meat in the hallowed shells. Then she put it on the fire like that. Surudu added chopped cattail roots.
Visam washed the clams as Surudu removed the bark from a log so it was a curved, long plate. He used wet weeds to tie the bark to the spick just barely above the flames. Then their guide placed the clams on top of it. They killed the frogs and crayfish. After they were cleaned, she gutted the frogs and added the edible parts to the bark-pan with the clams.
The Demi watched with reserved astonishment. They seemed fascinated. Once the fish was done they removed it from the fire but not from the spick. Then the turtle soup came off. Soon afterwards the frogs and clams were done. The bark-pan was broken into smaller plates. The fish was cut into portions before being dished evenly onto the plates. The frogs and clams were distributed, as well as equal portions of turtle meat with root.
The crayfish were put onto fire in the same water and shells the turtle meat had been cooked in as they ate. Surudu and Visam ate two of the eggs raw. When the cats refused them raw, the two laughed their heads off and put them into the shells to boil.
“They’re better fried but we don’t have anything to fry them on.” Surudu told them.
“Um…thanks.” Tuphanu didn’t look like she wanted to eat them anyway.
But all four ate their meal quietly.
“Why did we stop so early?” Kukka asked suddenly around noon.
“We’re all tired and hungry. We’d been walking all night.” Visam answered with a yawn. “After we get an hour or so of sleep we’ll go on until dark.”
Surudu was starring out at the water. “I wish we’d been able to at least keep the food and boat.”
“That would have definitely kept us drier. And of course we’d go faster and not have to worry over hunting or fishing.”
“The map would have been nice to keep too.” Visam muttered. “But there was no way I’d