The Adventurers

Chapter 9

Sax held up his hand for all to be quiet. They steadied their boats in the shade of a large tree with branches dipping right down into the river. One of the natives, listening to the sounds of the jungle and applying the skills required to survive in such a demanding environment, alerted Sax to the fact that they were being followed on the river and that who or whatever, was only a short distance behind. He strained to hear anything, failing, and wisely accepting the guide's warning.

They stayed perfectly still, barely breathing and shortly, heard the soft splash of a paddle. A moment later a small dugout appeared with two people, a woman and a young female child. Jed shocked everyone by calling out the woman's name and in the following few minutes of confusion, the small fleet was pulled together near the middle of the river around the trunk of a large fallen tree.

"This is Krena and her daughter Luna. It's the woman I helped back at the mission." Jed said excitedly.

"What are you doing way up here?" Sax asked. She pointed to Jed and made a native sign of friendship. "Yeah, we know you know him, that's not the question."

"I think we should get one of the natives to translate for us." Jed offered.

The woman's story was about Pazzo and his small band following but a day or so behind. How she had managed to pass them unnoticed and make such amazing time remained a mystery but her warning was gladly accepted. Chessery managed to make another friend by giving the litte girl a bright green scarf from her pack.

"That was thoughtful." Jed said.

"I was a little girl that size once." Her expression frosted at his smile.

The next rest stop was held right in the boats, tied up around another sunken tree trunk off a spit of beach that was home to several small caiman and a variety of daring birds. Sax leaned out and pulled Jed's boat alongside his own.

"It looks like Montcleefe has horned in on your offer, invited or not. Pazzo is from the same tribe that stays at the mission."

"Will they be a problem?" Chessery asked.

"I would say so. Pazzo and his men aren't the Gingi River social club."

He waved the other boat forward and began to scribble a map. "Anson, I want you and two of the boys to drop back a mile or so and keep an eye out for Pazzo. Try and see how many there are and what kind of fire power. We'll be here tonight," he drew a dot on the map. "And tomorrow we're taking the first branch on the left onto the Poco Gingi. Tomorrow night we'll be somewhere in this area up that river and we'll camp and wait for you. This is where we start overland to the Lake of Green Mist." He handed him the map. "Take whichever guys you want."

"Isn't that a little risky for our own fire power?" Chessery asked.

"Four men, two women and one child." Sax made a facial shrug.

"That's two guns and what else, a couple of spears and blowguns?"

"These men are fishermen, not soldiers, Chessery. You should have known that your offer would bring out the thieves and pirates."

"And of course Grant Saxon and his merry men."

Her sarcasm echoed across the water and there was a few awkward moments before Anson and two of the men untied and let their boat drift slowly back down stream. Sax ordered the other native to take the woman and her daughter into his boat and they'd tow hers with their supplies inside. He waited a second beside Jed's boat and spoke to Chessery.

"Grant Saxon and his merry men didn't ask for any of this. Keep that in mind when you're using your sarcasm as a defence."

She sat rigid and silent under his stare and then they cast off again with a parting wave to Anson's boat now a good distance behind.

* * *

Le Clerque swallowed from his water bag and set it back between his feet in the bottom of his dugout. The sun was drifting lower behind him and he wanted to cover as much ground as possible before dark. Even on the river the trail had been simple enough to follow and he even managed to separate the tracks of Pazzo's group from the woman's party after a little studying.

It wasn't difficult to tell which group were more organized or took more care when they made and broke camp. Pazzo's men were slobbish dogs, leaving the sites a filthy mess with fires still smouldering. He took his bearings once again and then steered his boat toward the shadier part of the river. His plan was to make camp for the night, depart before dawn and hope to catch sight of Pazzo's men and then just dog their tracks.

Le Clerque enjoyed the hunt. He enjoyed the thought of combat and he particularly enjoyed the prospect of a woman. The sun sank lower and he finally pulled for shore and made camp in a small cove. He lit his fire, got out his utensils and then knelt before the flame and intoned a prayer to God for a swift completion of his task.

He would let Pazzo do the bulk of the work, maybe even wipe one another out then he would move in and take command. His service to the church was legendary and made even more so by the mystery of his origin. One rumour said Le Clerque was the bastard son of a bishop, who banished the mother and sent him off to be raised and trained by Jesuits.

Later he returned to deal with his deceitful father and was absolved of his action by the ruling Cardinal in exchange for his service. The more popular version was that he was an ex priest who abandoned his faith when he was exposed to a group of fellow acolytes, who took unnatural interest in the male youth of their diocese, and proceeded to bring each to horrific justice.

Whatever the truth of his beginnings, his devotion to the church was solid in spite of the mercenary aspect he brought to its service.