Worst Case Scenario

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When they met up with Pairdra a few days later, the news from that side was good. “The t’kth-vaali just skirted the border and turned around,” Pairdra reported. “We followed them right up to the edge of the region, but they never crossed over.”

Saelen looked relieved. “At least this didn’t amount to a whole lot after all, since we need to get back to Ieccra.”

Xander looked at Saelen curiously. “Why the rush? They just sent us out here.”

Pairdra sighed. After all this time, there was still so much they had to teach Xander. “The rainy season is about to start.”

“And that means what?” Xander asked him.

“It means that the freehold is going to be abandoned soon,” Pairdra replied.

“Why?” Xander questioned.

Saelen picked up the explanation. “The storms that come in off the sea are brutal; both the canopy and the forest floor are at great risk. Ieccra itself could be torn apart by winds, while the floor may flood.”

“Where to we go?” Xander asked nervously. He didn’t like the sound of this.

“Traditionally, we go to the northern ridges. They’re not unlike where you started out, but they’re in siv territory. This late in the season, Ieccra is already moving there,” Saelen continued. “We’re best off heading directly for the ridges.”

Xander followed closely as Saelen and Pairdra led him through the trees toward Ieccra’s rainy season encampment. The pace of this trek was at least as hurried as the last one, although for very different reasons. Each morning and evening, Pairdra climbed to the very top of the canopy, looking out over the horizon toward the Clhom Sea. Each time he came down, the news was worrisome. He could see the storms nearing. Within a day or two, they would reach the coast. It would only take three more days to reach Ieccra.

···•••·•••·•••·•••···

“You can relax, Xander. We’ll be at the encampment tomorrow,” Pairdra said lightly. The strain of constant travel was beginning to show. Xander was irritable and uncomfortable. Dried fruit, supplemented with whatever they could find in the trees, wasn’t enough to satisfy him, and he felt dehydrated all the time. Even his fur was beginning to dull. No one was in much better shape, though.

“How long does the rainy season last, anyway?” Xander asked, glad to have a few minutes to rest.

Pairdra squinted. “About a third of the year, more or less. We only have to come out here for the first half of it, though. The rest of the time the winds aren’t so bad—just at the beginning.”

Xander smiled and leaned back to get some rest. That meant only about two months of exile in the mountains while Mother Nature railed and raged. It didn’t seem like too long.

Saelen had just joined him in the tree, curling up for some rest, when a newcomer leapt into the canopy. Everyone jumped up in alarm at the new siv’s arrival.

The siv looked around frantically. “Saelen?”

Saelen stepped forward. “Hiya, Yran’gre. Y’re not looking well.”

She shook her head fiercely. “Not good at all. Y’ve got to come, right now! They’re killing everyone!”

“What? Who?” Saelen asked quickly.

Yran’gre gasped for air. “T’kth-vaali, maith. They were waiting, caught us out of the trees.”

Xander heard Pairdra wail softly. This sounded very, very bad. Saelen gave sharp orders and the tired but worried siv gathered up to leave. “I’m afraid to ask, but…”

“Not now,” Pairdra said, moving out. Xander followed, worry speeding him along.

···•••·•••·•••·•••···

A great number of Xander’s questions were answered about halfway to the ridge encampments. The Avrel mak ran into what was left of Ieccra, moving in their direction. What they found was horrific.

At most, only a third of Ieccra’s population had survived. According to one elder, the t’kth-vaali, fortified by an army of maith, were laying in wait for the siv to arrive at their rainy season hideout. The siv were taken unawares and were subsequently massacred. Most of the survivors were children, since the adults had gone ahead to prepare the encampment, leaving the young in the care of their older siblings. Xander could hear the plaintive cries of infants seeking their mothers.

“How did this happen?” He whispered. A shaken Pairdra sank down beside him.

“T’kth-vaali are clever. They drew us away from Ieccra just before the rainy season, so that it would be unprotected. Then they struck at the only time they could—when we come down from the trees. They had maith to help them, so Ieccra didn’t stand a chance,” Pairdra said sadly.

Saelen was busy surveying the damage. Only two elders, younger ones at that, had made it through the attack. The vast majority of the survivors were young, leaving the Avrel mak as the only adults left in Ieccra. He called for a few fast runners, sending them to check on some of the smaller hold’s encampments. The other trees that had been sent out on sentry duty like the Avrel mak may have chosen to go to those encampments, and he hoped they hadn’t been similarly decimated.

Once the runners were gone, Saelen set about caring for the crying children. He instructed all his warriors to take up at least one child. Between them and the adolescents that had made it though, all the children would be taken care of.

Xander picked his way through the survivors. Most of the warriors quickly found children they knew; some were their own offspring or those of their siblings. Xander didn’t know many children in Ieccra, though. After a few minutes, he saw a tiny siv, no more than three years old, cradling an infant. “Hey, there,” he called out softly. The little kid jumped but kept its place on the branch.

“What?” It replied, peering nervously.

“Want some help?” Xander asked cautiously.

The little siv stared at him for a moment before awkwardly launching at him. Xander caught the flying furball before it could tumble to the ground. “Oomph,” he coughed as the two children hit his chest.

Xander settled back against the trunk and looked down at the kids. The older one was a little girl, who was holding an infant boy. “Who’re y’?” He asked slowly.

The girl’s lip trembled a little before she answered. “I’m Mai’zi and this is my brother Hainien.”

“I’m Xander,” He replied. “Are y’hungry?” Mai’zi nodded vigorously. “Yeah, and Hainien can have fruit, if y’mush it up really small.”

Xander waited until Mai’zi had affixed herself firmly to him, also making sure Hainien was secure. Then he took off toward a nearby tree that still bore fruits. Mai’zi wolfed down all Xander could peel for her while he mashed up some for the infant. Hainien wrinkled his nose up at the stuff, until finally hunger won over and he began to eat it.

When Saelen found Xander again, the kids were asleep, bellies full. The older siv chuckled silently at Xander, who was covered in children. “Y’didn’t have to, y’know.”

Xander shook his head. “Yeah, I did. Y’ and Pairdra were too busy figuring out what’s going on. By the way, what are we gonna do?”

Saelen sat down heavily. We’re waiting to hear from the sentries I sent to the other holds. We can’t go back to Ieccra proper; it’s too dangerous, and they’ll be waiting for us if we go lower in the forest, or back to the ridge.”

“Aren’t there any other regions we could go to?” Xander asked. He remembered Saelen talking about the surrounding regions, some of which were friendly.

Saelen thought about it for a moment. “There’s a lot of regions that wouldn’t attack us; orth, pakra, dalhari…but from here we’d have to cross the ridge, and we can’t.”

“Isn’t there a siv region to the west?” Xander asked.

“Yeah, Shaen. It’s a long way off, though. I’m not sure we’d be able to reach it without going down the trees,” Saelen replied.

“But aren’t they expecting that?” Xander questioned, shifting Hainien to the other arm.

Saelen nodded. “They’re waiting on the forest floor for us to drop down.”

Xander thought about the logistics of the situation. “Y’said the forest floor floods, right?”

“Always. That’s what brings in new topsoil for the trees,” Saelen answered.

“But the canopy usually suffers as well,” Xander recalled. “What if we stuck to the canopy, but didn’t go back south to Ieccra? We could skirt over toward Shaen, stay as far north as we can. Maybe they’ll follow us.”

“Why would we want that, so that they can attack another region?” Saelen said before the implications of the plan struck. “Or, so that a lot of them get washed away. It’s a good plan, but it won’t get the region back, if the t’kth-vaali and maith are determined to take it.”

“Why are they, anyway? I thought they had regions of their own,” Xander said.

“They do, but there were a series of small wars in some maith regions nearly a century ago. They’ve been displaced and scattered ever since. The t’kth-vaali would be more than willing to help them invade another region, particularly Ieccra.

“Why us, specifically?” Xander inquired.

Saelen sighed mournfully. “We aren’t the best-fortified region. Our defenses tend to be weak, and our population is fairly scattered and thin, unlike Shaen or other siv regions.” He stopped for a few minutes, staring up at the branches above him. “The t’kth-vaali of Cajniv, the region that attacked us, aren’t fond of us anyway. We’re a bit aggressive about humans, more so than other regions around them. Maith would make better neighbors, in their minds.”

Saelen fell silent again. After a little while, he got up and went over to study the children sleeping on Xander. “They’re cute. How long are y’going to take care of them?”

Xander shrugged. “I dunno. I didn’t get a chance to ask if you or Pairdra minded, but then again, why would I? I mean…”

“We’ll help, don’t worry. Pairdra may fuss, but he loves kids,” Saelen whispered, picking up Hainien and cradling him gently. Saelen settled down next to Xander and laid back for some much needed rest. Once Xander was sure Saelen wouldn’t let anything happen to the infant, he too fell asleep.

···•••·•••·•••·•••···

Pairdra was waiting with news from the sentries when Saelen and Xander woke up the next morning. What he had to report wasn’t good at all. “The same thing happened everywhere, only worse,” He said grimly.

Saelen swore softly. Handing Hainien off to Xander, he went with Pairdra to consult with the elders. Xander busied himself with his two charges, as well as the other children roaming around. The warriors of the Avrel mak had taken their duties seriously, so no one was without a child or two. Some experienced parents even had three. The small consolation Xander could find was that the vast majority of the warriors hadn’t lost their own children, even if some had lost their mates.

“Xander?” Saelen called from several trees away. Xander clambered over, still carrying the kids.

“Yeah?”

“Explain again your plan,” Saelen ordered,

Xander looked around. A bunch of elders and older warriors were gathered, obviously discussing what should be done. Oh shit. He should have never opened his mouth.

“Well, what we could do is go toward Shaen,” Xander began tentatively. “Not dropping down, but making ourselves easily followed. We stay as far north as we can; then when the rains come, we try our best to stay alive and hope the waters flood out the guys on the ground.”

“What about the others? From the other holds, that is?” One elder asked.

Xander scratched his head. “They can follow, I guess, since it doesn’t sound like going home is an option.”

“It’s too dangerous. The storms could easily kill the children,” Another elder remarked.

“And going to Ieccra, the ridges, or the ground will definitely kill them all,” Xander replied.

Saelen waved Xander off, picking up his side of the argument. Xander was grateful for the reprieve. It would have been better if Saelen had just done the talking himself, but there wasn’t much Xander could do about that now.

Xander retreated back to a distant tree to wait for word from Saelen or Pairdra. It wasn’t long coming. Saelen, grim-faced, hopped down beside him. He took up Hainien, since Mai’zi was unwilling to let go of Xander. “We’re going to Shaen tomorrow.”

Xander nodded. It was probably the best thing they could do. Pairdra joined them a short time later, looking as worried and serious as Saelen. They all tried to get some rest, since the trek to Shaen was going to be fast and dangerous.

···•••·•••·•••·•••···

Xander ducked down under a few branches, heading toward the forest floor. He’d left Mai'zi and Hainien with Saelen and Pairdra, respectively, so that he could check on the progress of their shadows. A sizeable army of maith and t’kth-vaali were following them through the forest. Xander knew that the only reason they were being followed was that the enemy thought they’d drop down soon, making them easy targets.

That wasn’t going to happen, though. According to Pairdra, the first storm of the season was going to hit by morning. That would prove to be the first test. If they could survive it, then they should be able to make it at least to the border. A few runners had been sent on ahead, so Shaen would be expecting them.

The remnants of Ieccra, by now joined by a few other holds’ survivors, were making good time considering the large number of children that were being carried. They weren’t breaking speed records, but they were moving more quickly than Xander had anticipated. He hoped, though, that at least two good storms would sweep through the region before they reached Shaen. That way, at least most of the raiders below him would be washed or scared away.

When night fell, Saelen and Pairdra rounded up Xander and the kids, putting them next to a thick tree trunk. The two elder siv huddled around them, protecting the children from rising winds. The storm was coming on fast, so they had stopped a bit earlier than the night before.

Xander opened his mouth to ask Saelen how long the storm would last, but was cut off by a sharp gust of wind. Just as it was dying down, rain began to fall. At first, it was a gentle patter on the canopy; big, soft drops plopping down around them. He could hear Mai’zi giggling below him, laughing at the drip-drop sound of rain falling.

All too soon, however, the rain picked up, falling in sheets. It beat down on Xander’s back, soaking him to the skin. After just a few minutes, he felt like he was being hit with shotgun pellets. He, Saelen and Pairdra leaned closer together, trying to keep the worst off of Hainien and his sister.

The winds made it impossible to protect any part for long. As soon as Xander had positioned himself to protect his face, the wind shifted, blowing rain right back at him. Eventually he just stayed very still, enduring it when it hit him and relaxing during moments of reprieve.

Dawn rose, but no one noticed. The storm clouds were so thick, the rain so heavy, that no light permeated the forest. Xander shivered constantly, chilled to the bone despite the warm temperature. All of them sighed in relief when the rain finally let up.

Their respite wasn’t very long. As though cued, the lightening began. Hainien shrieked in fear as a bolt struck a tree not far away, splitting the trunk in two. Xander watched in fascinated horror as part of the tree toppled sideways, taking dozens of interlocking branches with it. As it fell, those branches pulled on their own trunks. In just a few short seconds, the tops of five trees had fallen to the forest floor.

Xander realized then that that was why the siv abandoned Ieccra each year. A single bolt of lightening could kill hundreds of them, nearly instantly. The rain was bad and was a serious flooding threat. The lightening, though, had the potential to be truly devastating.

Soon after that first strike, the rains picked up, this time joined by a furious electrical storm. Now he, Saelen and Pairdra had to contend not only with winds, rain and lightening, but two frightened, crying children. It was nearly impossible to comfort them, since they were all preoccupied with not getting blown out of the tree.

At some point, Xander must have drifted off to sleep, lulled there by exhaustion. He certainly didn’t recall doing so. When he woke, however, the storm was gone. It seemed as though it had never been there. The sky, now easily visible through holes in the canopy, was as clear as he had ever seen it. Not a breath of wind stirred the leaves, no raindrop disturbed them. The forest was unnaturally quiet.

“Y’ok?” Saelen whispered. He was spread out next to Xander, Hainien clutching his arms. Xander nodded, noticing for the first time that Mai’zi was still wrapped around him. He repositioned her slightly, exposing wet fur to the air to dry. Pairdra was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Pairdra?” Xander asked quietly.

“Looking for something to eat,” Saelen replied. There wasn’t enough food, fresh or dried, in their travel stores to feed everyone, so gathering food had become a top priority. Xander didn’t know how anyone expected to find edible food during this season, but he held out hope.

Pairdra returned an hour later, laden with plant material. He first presented them with deeply cupped leaves filled with rainwater. For all that had fallen the night before, no one had consumed a drop. Xander gulped it down, giving some to a now-awake Mai’zi as well.

The food was a bit less satisfying. Pairdra had scrounged up a few withered chashol for the children, which Xander mashed up. The adults, however, were stuck eating the fleshy leaves of the same plant. They were adequate nutrition, but they were sharply bitter and tough. Xander gnawed his way through four of them before deciding that he’d eaten enough for one meal.

Soon thereafter, the refugees started to move again. They were more cautious now, since the storms had weakened the trees, making some places quite treacherous. Xander wondered what had happened to the t’kth-vaali below him, but Saelen had waved off the question. “It’s too soon yet,” He’d said a bit cryptically.

They’d stopped for the night and Xander had settled into a tree with Mai’zi when he felt the branch below him shake. Startled, he jumped to another tree close by, but it was quaking as well. What was going on?

Saelen appeared a minute later, holding Hainien. “Don’t worry, it’s just the flood.”

“Flood?” Xander echoed.

“It takes a while for the flood waters to build. They’re washing through the forest now. Y’ll hear them soon,” Saelen explained.

Sure enough, just a few minutes later, Xander heard a low roar, accompanied by more intense shaking. It felt like an earthquake. He didn’t look down, but could well imagine rushing water swirling among the trees below him.

The rest of the trip to Shaen, almost two weeks, was uneventful. They were spared any more severe weather, only getting rained on a couple of times. Xander was both relieved and worried; trying to survive monsoons while perched in a tree was a risky proposition, but he wondered how well the approach they’d taken had done in getting rid of their attackers.

It seemed to have done well, since when they reached Shaen, the border guards greeted them warmly, without any indication that they’d brought trouble with them. The runners had done their job so the refugees weren’t a surprise. In fact, several elders from the freehold were on hand to help distribute the Ieccra survivors to various holds, to spread out the sudden burden of a population increase.

Saelen negotiated with the Shaen elders to keep most of the Avrel mak close together. There were many different holds represented in the refugee group, so they could be scattered about the new region. The Avrel mak, however, was a large enough group that putting them in one place would be difficult. Finally, though, the elders agreed to let the tree move to a large coastal area that was currently under populated.

“Isn’t it a bit dangerous to live there, with the rainy season and all?” Xander asked Pairdra.

The dark siv shook his head. “Shaen doesn’t get hit as hard by the storms as Ieccra did. They don’t have to leave every season, it’s so mild. The place we’re going isn’t far from the freehold, and it’s got a lot of space. They won’t mind if we build there, start a new hold or something.”

Although Xander would have preferred to stay at the border for a few days, to let everyone rest up a bit, Saelen insisted that they leave at once. Sighing, Xander complied, passing Hainien off to Pairdra. He was worn out, and carrying both Mai’zi and her brother would be too much.

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