Between The Crystals

Ch 40 Cliffside Discussions

The view from the Guard Station was nice, but it never changed. My first group was already back in the village, and I had no desire to remain at the Guard Station any longer even though the porting strain hadn't completely faded.

As I stood up and stretched, a hunter asked, "Are you sure you're ready?"

"Once I get you back, I can rest all evening." My words were mostly for the guards. I was tired, but it wasn't the bone-deep exhaustion I'd encountered the day before.

"A few of us can stay behind and wait for another porter to come through."

I chuckled. "Are you trying to give Grant a panic-attack? Or scare your families into thinking something happened?"

The hunter inclined his head in concession and began gathering his three carry nets. The guard checked his scanner, which had remained green for all three groups, much to my relief.

A shimmer appeared by the crystal and solidified into eight people. Roxanne leaned on the crystal as three of her hunters kept a sharp eye on her, ready to catch her if her legs gave out.

"Are you okay?" I asked, jogging over even as the guard watched the scanner.

"Saursune showed up," she said shortly, trying to catch her breath.

I took her arm and slung it over my shoulder. Hunters might be a bit more reserved and let stubborn porters be independent if they didn't ask for help, but I had no qualms about helping her over to the hides I'd just vacated.

As she sat down, she said, "Now I see what you were talking about. Those lizards are definitely taking our energy. I feel like I ported my group a dozen times!"

"Try a power nap next time, if one of your hunters can stand guard," I suggested.

"I'll keep it in mind. But if it hadn't been for Shina"—she gestured to one of her hunters, who stood nearby—"I would have panicked when that thing appeared. She told me to stand still, and it just walked around me."

"Its friends weren't so kind to me or Wei," Shina said wryly. "I even went to my knees, but it still knocked me onto my stomach and stood on my shoulders."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Huh. Come to think of it, I only ever saw one at a time. Never a group."

"They've always come when we weren't around," one of my hunters commented. "And if each one was a similar color, you'd have no way of telling them apart."

"These were different colors," Shina clarified.

My hunter shrugged. "In that case, my theory might have just flown out the window. It still doesn't stop them from showing up."

His words eerily echoed Liam's. Even if we figured out what they were doing, it wouldn't stop it. It also reminded me that he felt a need to get some hunters together for a bigger discussion, and I doubt that would have happened last night.

I looked at the circle of hunters and gatherers around us. My current group was my older—and most experienced—hunters. Roxanne's were younger, in their prime, and numbered among some of the best in our village. A total of sixteen smart and keen individuals—the same type that saw much, but rarely gave their observations unless asked.

Perhaps they had more insight.

"A penny for your thoughts," I said, looking at each person in our semi-circle of observers.

I sat beside Roxanne and pulled up a knee, looking attentive. Those in my group who had been packing up ceased those activities and began comparing observations between themselves. From the discussion and questions, I had a feeling they hadn't really dug into this before.