Freedom Fighters of Trelandar
A Tale of Adventure in the Second Dark Age
Book Nine of the Warlady Series
By Jerome B. Bigge
Chapter Eleven
     
"Imperial patrol!" I breathed, raising my arm, Carl halting
behind me as we came to the end of the woods here. A small force
of Warrioresses, glistening in their armor, trotting off to what-
ever destination had been given them. These being troops of the
first line, better trained and disciplined than those before now.
Perhaps sent out to scout for Trelandarian flankers, the lines of
battle here being "fluid", more now mere skirmishes than battles.
It was a cloudy day, with the sun just a bright spot in the sky.
     
"You're tougher than I'd expected," Carl grinned at me.
     
"Saddle sore?" I smiled, now easing myself a bit here.
     
"Trelandar's a big country," he grinned back at me then.
     
"State of South California in the time of Janet," I said.
     
"Back when there were `fifty two' states," he commented, his
knowledge of such things having come as a surprise to me now too.
California, Michigan, and Carolina being split into two parts. I
believe Carolina always was, but I'm not "sure" on this here now.
Sarn being North California with a bit of Oregon now added to it.
Talon is a "part" of South California, according to the old maps,
lying to the south of the Mojave desert there up in the Sierras.
The great climatic changes after The War having however changed
much, it being said that the Earth was "warmer" before all this.
     
"Once people flew over all of this like the Lorr do now," I
said, recalling drawings I'd seen of the aircraft of that time.
I knew too of people who had attempted to build such devices, al-
though the Lorr usually quickly put a stop to such activities...
The attempt by a group of young Builders in Trella to construct a
HOT AIR BALLOON having drawn a warning from them not to continue.
     
"I wonder how much of it was real and how much of it is just
the vivid imaginations of Scribes," Carl grinned as we sat watch-
ing the patrol disappearing from sight. The safety of the trees
on the other side of this cleared area half a mile further here.
     
"They wrote what they called `science fiction'," I said. I
had seen some of it, fantastic tales of flight to other worlds, a
series of tales set upon another world much like this one is now.
A "world" called "GOR", which supposedly circled on the opposite
side of the Sun from the Earth. Governed by a race of alien be-
ings called "Priest-Kings" much like gigantic "praying mantises".
The novels being reprinted in the 21st Century when there was a
certain "fascination" with barbaric pre-technical cultures then.
The author however having a certain fascination with slavery that
left little doubt in my mind that he knew something about my sex.
The cultures however were surprisingly like those of Earth here
in the 26th Century, and the Lorr did fill the needed role too...

     
"Think we've made it through to our lines?" Carl asked me as
we made camp for the night, the lack of moonlight now a handicap.
One can "feel" one's way through a forest at night, but it is not
something I enjoy doing, and I saw no reason to be doing it now.
We had found a gathering of ruins, of structures left over from a
time now just legend and myth in the minds of most Trelandarians.
Such are found over much of Trelandar, although only those made
of reinforced concrete still "stand" at all, given the centuries.
Usually, however, they are overgrown to the point that they seem
to blend into the landscape, and one hardly notices them anymore.
Structures made of other materials having "disappeared" long ago,
although sometimes Peasants find things yet plowing their fields.
     
"Where are our `lines'?" I smiled, aware that they could be
almost "anywhere" now. There was no real "line" as such, just an
area that both sides fought over, the war now mostly as I've said
here more a series of skirmishes than any actual set battles now.
Both sides had tried to "outflank" the other, although the Empire
had the better of it, as they could use their navy to land forces
behind our lines, much as I'd been doing behind Darlanis' lines.
The major difference here being that the Imperials often found it
a bit more "dangerous" than they expected, the people of southern
Trelandar being well armed now and expecting such to happen here!
We were getting a bit of "help" from Talon, not enough to really
make a decisive difference here, but Talon was obviously well now
aware of what Darlanis' plans were. The Queen of Talon was doing
what she could to help, Queen Dala obviously far wiser here than
Tulis of Dularn, who just sat back and watched us all fight! And
while Tulis might have thought that Darlanis would "spare" Dularn
because of once being a Princess of that country, her own "state-
ments" left no "doubts" that she planned to eventually attack Du-
larn once she'd gotten the rest of "California" safely secured!
     
"And telling `friend' from foe might be risky," he grinned.
     
"Something out there," I replied, seeing a movement then.
     
"Animal?" Carl asked, cocking his crossbow, watching me.
     
"Looks like it walks on two legs," I spoke, getting my bow.
     
"One of `them'?" he asked, referring to those creatures who
Lys never made. Those who The War "changed" into something else!
     
"Let's just `hope' there is only `one'," I said, selecting a
position of vantage where I might get off a clear shot here. It
was quite dark, not yet quite night, but still yet hard to see.
Just the time of the night that such "things" came out to roam...
     
"Could have been just a Garth," Carl replied, looking out.
     
"Wasn't big enough, and walked different," I answered back.
     
"`This' ought'a stop one of them," he said, referring to the
crossbow, which could fire a bolt over three hundred yards here.
The thought going through my mind that if there were more than
just one or two we might have our hands full here with them now!
They avoided humans as much as possible, but we were but two, and
they were known to attack isolated Peasant homes, I'd heard here.
     
"Ah!" I breathed, seeing a "head" look through an opening in
the ruins, the "face" like that of a man crossed with a reptile!
The sort of a thing you see in a nightmare, the sort of nightmare
you wake up from wet with sweat! The creature was obviously now
lurking about, using the advantages of darkness to spy upon us...
     
"We need to get our backs against something," Carl snapped,
pushing me back into the ruins, into the darkness of some "room"
where the ceiling still yet stood despite the centuries passing.
Some sort of containers, badly rusted, stuck together behind me.
Perhaps cans of paint, of some "chemical" centuries old, I mused.
Parts of the roof, lengths of rusted iron, scattered before us.
     
"I can shoot three, four arrows for each bolt you fire," I
pointed out. Carl had to draw the bowstring back after each shot
with his belt hook, and then place another bolt on the track now.
One can fire such a weapon no more than three times in a minute.
The crossbow was no doubt a more "effective" weapon, but speed of
fire here would count for more, I felt, especially in a situation
like this where shots would be at close range, perhaps in only in
feet as such "horrors" came crowding in on us amidst these ruins.
     
"Damn!" he growled, a brief glimpse of it leaving no doubts
as something moved through a gap in the rubble and then hid. The
rusted crumbling remains of machines of some sort providing it a
bit of cover. I wondered if it could see in the dark. Such was
possible, I knew, it being believed that such creatures lived in
underground civilizations there beneath the surface of the Earth.
Our unicorns snorting and prancing, pulling at their halter ropes
as they got scent of the "thing" now lurking somewhere before us!
     
"Cover me!" Carl snapped, giving me the crossbow, drawing
his sword, the blade gleaming in the last glow of daylight here.
Then suddenly he put an arm around me, and gave me a quick kiss!
     
"I'm going with you," I answered, kissing him back, setting
down the crossbow. This would be a time for the sword, for steel
as the Warrioresses "say". Carl nodding, stepping out into the
open area, among the darker lumps of rusted machinery, the glow
from the sky just enough yet to see what one was doing here now.
The hilt of my sword comforting in my hand as I now followed him.
     
"Let's see..." Carl whispered, picking up a piece of rubble
with his left hand, tossing it, the "clatter" surprisingly loud.
The "thing" suddenly jumping up, raising long clawed arms, more
of an "animal" than anything human, some sort of club lifted up!!
I reflected upon the fact that I should have kept the crossbow...
Carl reaching for his dagger with his left hand, then suddenly
switching arms, his throw so sudden it was just a blurred streak!
     
"Back!" I cried, the creature giving a horrid snarl, yanking
the dagger from its body, although Carl needed no advice from me,
dragging me back with him, while the creature screamed its rage!!
     
"It's coming!" he snapped, pushing me back, standing there,
his sword at the ready, a Trelandarian Warrior defending a woman
of his people, of his race against a horror from some nightmare!!
The creature charging Carl as I grabbed the crossbow, Carl then
thrusting out with his sword, cutting it, dodging a swipe from a
club that would have knocked his head off! I yelled at the thing
to get its attention, and fired where its heart would have to be,
the "thung" of the crossbow drawing from it an angry roar in re-
ply. The mutant now turning about, chasing Carl around one of
the rusted machines from centuries ago, as I grabbed up my bow
and nocking an arrow, fired a shaft into the dark bulk of it now!
Then it seemed to stumble, and fell between the ruined machines,
Carl carefully prodding it with his sword, assuring himself that
it was truly dead. That we had killed this horror of the night!!
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