Between The Crystals

Ch 45 The Log

When I lost all my pebbles, I dusted off my hands and stood up. "I'll leave my group here and go check on the ones I left behind."

A couple hunters from other villages glanced my way; they weren't surprised enough for my comment to be new information, so it was likely that I had just confirmed a rumor. They must not have completely believed the stories that said I had more than one group.

Alas, people were going to realize my porting abilities were unusually strong. There was no way around it, not if we had to start waiting an hour at the Guard Station. Thankfully, most hunters and gatherers were more tactful than the average villager, and I doubted my group would tolerate anything other than the most subtle pressures from other villages to think about joining them. The next quarterly gathering could be a headache though.

"Orange Tree Valley," I murmured just loudly enough for the guards to hear me. The name was known to all five groups who used this scanning location, and they assumed it was a safe location, unaware of the town four hours away. I didn't need someone thinking we were going to risky places.

All of the hunters had returned in my absence. Both to pretend I was resting and to keep them updated, I told them what was happening at the Guard Station. I had only ported five times today so far, but there were only a dozen porters who could have handled the number of passengers I had.

"We didn't see any Saursunes," Cruz said, "although two of our groups found fields to the south. We went around them and kept our distance, of course."

"We made sure to mark our trail so we didn't get lost," Rachelle added dryly, one of the two who had been herded back last time.

"The good news is that you'll have plenty of time to visit," I told them as they gathered around me, with three of them linking hands so they could reach the log. "Do you have a good grip on it?"

"I believe so. Also, if there are really that many people there, you would be wise to drop to your knees even if you aren't tired, then let us help you over to the hides."

"Good point. Let's see how many jaws drop when we bring this thing back. Guard Station."

Having someone else hang onto a large object caused a very different dragging sensation than when I did it, and it definitely took more energy. Porting strain spread throughout my chest as my strength drained away.

I hadn't realized how heavy the blasted log was until I tried to port it. What had I been thinking? Trying to port ten people and a huge log after a Saursune had cornered me? I should have left it for another day, or at the very least, when I wasn't porting such a large group.

The air around us finally cleared; it had taken at least an extra second for the port, something I didn't recall experiencing with a full-grown crystal before. My legs were shaky, and I didn't even have to pretend to drop to my knees, although my fall was slowed by several sets of hands.

"I need a minute," I gasped as the porting strain radiated into my arms and legs. "That log is almost as heavy as the water cart." That was a complete lie. It had to weigh at least twice as much, if not more. No wonder ten strong hunters hadn't been able to roll it closer to the crystal.

My first group came to help the hunters move their haul over to where theirs was. Four hovered around me while other groups came to gawk at the log.

Mark wandered over. "Are you sure you couldn't find something bigger?"

A weak chuckle emerged as I replied, "I tried my best, but the area around the crystal was picked completely clean, so I had to bring something back."