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

take an arrow in the head for any of that. Let’s just focus on getting some sleep.”
They curled up around the fire.
“It’s Surudu’s turn to guard.” Visam told them. He nodded. The green lizard got up and stood at the edge of the water. Soon everybody else was sound asleep.

“Visam…” Surudu’s voice slowly pulled the Mozori to. She glanced up, her eyes clouded with sleep. The air was charged with the scent of rain. “I need you to come see something.”
The noon day sun reflected his green scales with a shine. “What is it? Is it my turn to stand guard?”
“No. I really need you to see this though.”
“Alright, alright; I’m getting up.” She heaved herself up with a grunt, sore from days of pulling and travel. Her shoulders were especially killing her. But the guide followed her friend to the water’s edge.
“There; through those weeds.” He pointed to the other shore line. Suddenly the flicker of fire alerted her. Visam looked closer. When she saw a very familiar boat she gasped.
“It’s our boat! The humans are ahead of us and using our boat!”
“They must have troops following us too, though. Or they wouldn’t know where we were. They seem to be communicating through some kind of tool. It’s a machine of theirs.”
“Damn!”
“So what do we do now? How do we get it back?”
“Are you insane?!” She demanded. “They’re armed to the teeth! We’d die trying and they’d still get their prey. We’d be out in the god-damned open. Look, this means that they’re a step ahead of us. We need to disable their system – not take a boat.”
“So what the hell do we do?”
The lizard woman thought for a time, watching the enemy from their little hidey hole.
“There’s a way we can bring the battle to them. But I need you and the girls to trust me. Wake them up. I’ll survey the land while you’re explaining that we’re attacking. Don’t let them know about the boat.”
“Why not?”
“Because we’re not taking it back; we’re only taking them back a step. Let them wonder around in their damn boat aimlessly for a while.”
“Do you think they may have the map too? And our food supplies?”
“If they have the map I didn’t mark anything on it. I never do, in case the other tribes somehow took it from us. There are only channels and paths marked. Not even our village is on it.”
“Still…they have the advantage right now. They have the map and the boat.”
She looked him in the eyes. “I’ll find a way for us to cross, Surudu, without forcing you to swim. You just have to trust me.”
He nodded. “I do trust you. I just don’t trust the water.”
“Wake them now.” Visam told him quietly. “Leave me to scouting.”
“Be careful.”
“Of course.”

An hour later the fire roared with nobody around it. Shells were scattered beside the logs they’d used for seats. There were scales everywhere, and the spick lay to the side. The camp was an absolute mess when the humans found it.
“God, they’re pigs.” One of them commented. “How has it been so damn hard to track them this far if they’re so barbaric to leave a fire roaring?”
“The cats were probably the ones who suggested leading us over the sinking sand!” A female laughed. “These lizard-people can’t even put out a flame!”
“Well, the sand took Commander Ro. So what’s our new leader got to say? Do you think they’ll be back?”
“Why?”
“Maybe they left the fire because they went to scout for new trails. I mean, how else are they so sure about where we are and which way? Haven’t you guys noticed they’ve not turned around once in this god-forsaken place? They seem to know where they’re going.”
“One of them must have memorized the map.” The first male to speak contested. “I really wish it hadn’t have been dropped into the water! Then maybe we would have found more than pieces of it.”
“Who cares? If they scout they’ll be found by the others.”
As they spoke the group sat around the fire unconsciously. They were bitten up by insects, bleeding from thorns and covered in mud, sweat and mucky water. One had sand all over his boots and wrists; he’d probably tried to pull out the Commander Ro before the human had choked in the quick sand.
There are only three? I saw ten. One here died in the quicksand. They sent four. So that means there are nine left – and hopefully after this only six.

When they’d all relaxed by the fire, something moved in the undergrowth. None of them noticed; it was slight. Green eyes glared at them. Moving slowly and silently – at least for human ears – Visam took up a blow dart flute made from birch. She picked up a small dart. Taking a familiar quill from a rock beside her, she rubbed it along the outside and tip. The color slowly faded as the red oil rubbed onto the dart, giving it a scarlet color. Then she loaded the blow dart flute, put it to her lips, aimed for the neck of the ‘leader’ and blew hard.
“Ouch! Something stung me!” The man brushed it off his skin. “Damn that hurt! But I think I got the stinger out. It was a big bug!” He didn’t even look around.
Humans are ignorant fools. This gives us the advantage.
“Fucking bugs.” The woman growled. “I’m tired of this place.”
“My neck still hurts.” He complained. “Actually…I think it hurts more with the stinger out.”
Amber cat eyes gleamed from the other side of the camp. There was a gleam in the sun as something small and red zipped through the air toward the woman.
“Shit!” The woman snarled. “It got me too, the damn thing!” She brushed it off the back of her arm, where she could barely reach it. Unconsciously, the first one to get hit scratched the place he’d got stung. He flinched.
“They hurt, don’t they?”
Just then blue eyes blinked. Something flew into the last one’s knee.
“What is stinging us?” The second man snarled, rubbing it off himself. He looked furious.
“There are all sorts of stupid insects around here.”
“Are any of them this dangerous?” The woman demanded.
The leader rubbed his hand, making a face. “Damn. Even my hand hurts. And the pain isn’t getting any better in my neck!”
It wasn’t long before all three of them were scratching their stings and noticing their hands hurting. They began to complain of burning in their spines – or leg, in the case of the second male who’d been shot in the knee. All of them tried washing their hands and stings, which only made Visam smile with victory.
Within twenty minutes the leader was throwing up and foaming at the mouth a little. The terror really struck the group when he suddenly collapsed, convulsed and lay still.
“What the hell?” The human rushed over. The man quickly followed her. They then noticed the purple lacing up through his veins. “Is that poison?!”
“How?!”
“The insects! They were poisonous!”
She was red with fever and now panic. Glossy eyes now full of terror, she began to pace – and quickly met the same fate as her former leader. The man grabbed a weapon. It was a shining black. He pulled a small trigger. The echoing cracking sound made Visam sick – sick with envy at such a wonderful weapon.
Blood splattered the ground as he fell to the ground. There wasn’t much left of his head.
Visam, Surudu, Tuphanu and Kukka came from their places. They moved carefully and silently to put out the fire. The lizards retrieved the darts, burying them so nothing else would be harmed. Then their guide led them through the undergrowth along a trail the water’s edge.
“Visam…you said –“
“I tried, Surudu.” She told him, looking the green lizard man in the eyes. “I’m sorry; you’ll have to swim.”
“Please…no.” His eyes were stretched in horror.
The cats looked back and forth at one another. “What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with the water?” Kukka sounded nervous.
“No. There’s nothing wrong with this water.” Visam told them. She looked at her companion. Grabbing his hand, she met his eyes again. “I know you can, Surudu. You’re still one of us. It’s not far, either. Look; I chose the least distance we can travel and still stay out of sight of the enemy’s camp.”
“What’s wrong with Surudu?” Tuphanu actually sounded frightened. “What aren’t you telling us? Was he hurt? Can he not swim?”
Terror in his gaze, he finally admitted “No, Tuphanu…I’m afraid of the water.”
Silence.
“You’re –“
“He’s got a reason, cat!” Visam growled as loudly as she dared. “Illness killed his tribe when he was young. It had something to do with the water in their land.”
“We’ll all be right there, Surudu.” Kukka told him very kindly.
“Yeah. I’ll beat the shit out of that water for you.” Tuphanu joked. It made him smile, at least.
“It isn’t far. We’ll help you. You’re great at swimming if you’d just get in the water.”
She pulled him in slowly. Kukka joined her, taking his other hand. Tuphanu watched from behind, a look of humor in her cat eyes. Slowly the three of them brought the terrified Surudu to the other side. They quickly dried him off. The look on his face was of pure panic.
They let him calm down before Visam had them all get up and move on.
By far this wasn’t the worst, and the guide became quiet as she realized where the swamp was leading them.
And so the trials have begun.

7

“There is no escape
and that is for sure
This is the end we won't take any more
Say goodbye
to the world you live in
You have always been taking
but now you're giving”
~Metallica, Seek & Destroy

The silence continued. The only sound was swooshing from the frigid water soaking their clothing. Cold herself now, Visam knew that the cats and Surudu had to be freezing. Other than following the path in her mind she was utterly blind. The lizard moved sluggishly, shivering. She looked up to see the claw-like trees. There was no sky. There was no moon or stars. The only thing to guide the pathfinder was the swamp itself.
They trudged along with beating hearts and little hope. When one would trip the other would catch them, set them right and they’d keep moving. By now Kukka was limping heavily, favoring her left leg. From the sound of it she’d badly twisted or perhaps broken the ankle. Without light there was no reason to even pause to check.
“I can’t see the ground to help you look for traps. Should we