The Rivening

Nerds Meet

"Go mountain, Zatch place one tick," Vossey held up a finger. "Strong now, grandfather?" she teased. "Big climb."

"Very strong. Thanks to you." Peter patted her head. "And I'm not that old!"

Not far from Lina and Tori's, the two began a steady uphill climb on a well worn, serpentine trail that wound its way over the mostly tree-covered, low-lying mountain. Vossey turned around frequently to check on Peter. The restorative drinks Vossey snuck in while he was stuck in the Squares and the last few days of living in Misgy, had brought him back to the vigor he'd felt when he and Connie were touring around Ireland.

As he walked, Peter chided himself that he could feel so, well, serene, despite the terrible shooting of Brome and the troubles spiralling out of Ladore. He was thoroughly taken by the idea of starting a new life in Dahria and would do whatever he could to stop the Earthside incursion and earn acceptance among the Dahrians.

They paused twice to drink before reaching the ridge. On top, they took a moment to take in the green undulating, largely forested land stretching out before them. Halfway down the mountain, as the slope flattened out, lay a large piece of cleared land with several buildings. At the bottom, it looked like a sporting field of some sort, and a little farther beyond, was a small village.

Vossey pointed to the cluster of buildings, "Zatch place. Look. Echo station."

"It looks like they tried to burn it. But the rest of his place looks untouched. They knew where to go and were in a hurry. Who all lives here?"

"Zatch tribe," Vossey smirked. "Lina call Zatch, little king. She like Zatch, but he..." She shrugged.

"Kind of full of himself. I caught that. Who is here do you think?"

"Many go Brodurne. Many go Zatch hunting circle. Someone bring old Olan and Jeggie from Lina's."

"Right. The elderly couple that came with Zatch. The man who couldn't walk well. And she seemed blind. Those two? They weren't afraid of the people with guns coming back?"

"Misgy never afraid."

"And we need to make sure it stays that way, Vossey."

As they got close to Zatch's compound, Vossey called out and an elderly couple appeared in the doorway of a small house. The man, leaning on a type of walker, looked grim, but the woman beamed a large smile.

"Vossey," and she continued in dialect.

"Earthside man," Jeggie sounded wary. "Why are you here?"

Vossey said, "Peter nice man, Jeggie. Help fix echo station."

Olan also switched to travel English, "Come here, child. Let me touch you. Tell us about Brome. Will he be all right?" Vossey ran to Olan who hugged her tight. "Sweet girl. I'm afraid your nice man won't be able to help. They smashed everything and we're getting messages from Zatch that all the Misgy echo stations are ruined. Maybe even in all of Herlie. They moved quickly."

Peter spoke, "Was anyone else hurt?"

"They found Old Mur tied up, but I think she's okay. They came in the night when almost everyone was at Brodurne or asleep." She raised her hands and shrugged. "Nothing like this ever happens here. It would be easy to smash up the stations before anyone would realize what was going on. Mur probably heard a noise. She's a light sleeper. Brome came here in the night because after seeing your Earthside friend, he knew something was happening."

Peter nodded. "Tessa told me she and Brome were getting more and more worried about what was going on in the Squares in Ladore. Olan, Connie and I are not with those gun people. The last thing we want is Earthside taking over Dahria."