Chapter 13: Aftermath
The storm had passed, just as all storms do, and like any other storm debris was left in its wake. The first day after the battle was spent taking care of the wounded. Those in the best shape tended non stop to the most serious of the injured, while everyone with minor injuries helped when they could, but were allowed to rest as well.
The second day everyone who could help returned to the battle field to tend to the dead. In Flare's opinion that task was even worse than the battle itself or even the wait prior to the battle. While in the heat of combat the gore seemed of little concern, but seeing the grisly bodies without the buffer of adrenaline was more than unsettling.
Approximately half of the human army had been killed during the battle, and even more had died in the hours that followed. Flare learned from the cavemen that many years ago when the weather had been warm the dead were buried, but the new frozen climate made digging an undesirable chore. Thus the human tribes had become accustomed to burning the dead.
Though Ayla had wanted to stay and fight Wroff had forced both of his parents to evacuate, and put them in charge of leading the evacuation party. By the end of the second day Ayla and Kino had returned with the evacuated elderly and children. That evening the funeral pyres were lit. They burned through the night.
Flare woke early. His body still ached from the exertion of the battle, but he had come out of the fight relatively unscathed. Both he and Tai sported only minor cuts and bruises. Randall didn't seem to even have those, but Wroff had managed to obtain a very nasty claw wound to the chest. The tribe healers used a sweet smelling mixture of herbs to stop the bleeding, but it would leave a scar that would have made Refla proud.
Flare grabbed a bowl of soup that had been prepared the night before. After seeing nothing but death for a whole day he hadn't had much of an appetite for dinner, but it had apparently returned, so he made short work of the soup.
"You strong fighter."
Flare looked up to see Ayla standing in the doorway. "Oh, uh thanks," Flare stammered, caught off guard by the unexpected complement.
Ayla sat down and dipped a large bowl of the soup for herself, after casually draining its contents in a single gulp she fixed her gaze on the slightly confused Flare. Then the cavewoman broke into a large grin. "You remind me of him. Strong too."
"Remind you of who?" Flare asked, dipping himself another bowl.
"A friend," Ayla answered simply. "Strong friend. Like you he once helped Ioka fight reptites. Long time ago, before long cold." She cocked her head to the side as she considered Flare for a moment. "Maybe Flare's father?"
"Dunno," Flare said with a shrug. "I'm an orphan. I don't remember either of my parents."
With another shrug Ayla said, "Oh well. You good person, strong person." Then with a crooked grin she continued. "Ayla strong too. Wanted to fight reptites with Ioka one last time. Wroff said too dangerous." With a frown she finished, "Said Ayla too old."
Though she was in fact fairly old, Flare had the suspicious idea that she would have been able to hold her own in the battle. But he could understand Wroff not wanting his aging mother to be involved. With another casual shrug her smile returned. "Maybe Ayla is old."
Suddenly Ayla's face turned serious. "Wroff and Ayla ask people if they see wizard."
He sat up straighter. After the battle Wroff had asked him why they had come from the future and Flare told him the entire story. Afterwards Wroff had promised to ask around and see if anyone had seen Xavius's group.
"Some people say they saw strange man in black clothes go east. Three people with strange man. Two with white hair."
Flare clenched his fist and savored the small victory. The lost trail had been found again.
"Bad wizards dangerous. But sometimes bad wizards become good wizards," Ayla said.
Flare shook his head. "No. This wizard, Xavius, he has no intention of becoming good." Although Flare did have to admit that such a change of character in Xavius would make things much easier.
Ayla nodded in understanding. "Be careful then. Bad wizards dangerous."
"Yeah, I know," Flare said softly. He knew only too well how dangerous Xavius really was. "But I have to save Gina."
"Gina is Flare's woman? Yes?"
"Uh…sort of, I guess," Flare stammered in embarrassment.
"Too bad," Ayla said letting out an over exaggerated sigh. "Rasha like Flare. Say she need strong man, because she strong woman."
"So he's going east is he? Isn't that where the reptites came from?" Flare asked trying to change the subject as he flushed the color of his own hair.
Ayla chuckled in a motherly fashion before saying, "Yes. Strange man probably go east to volcanoes. Volcanoes only thing east, so Wroff go with you."
"What?" Flare asked in surprise. "But doesn't the Ioka need him right now? He's the chief. He can't just leave."
Ayla waved her hand as if to say Flare's words were nonsense. "Ioka be okay without Chief for little time. Ioka okay when Ayla go to future long time ago. Wroff should go with Flare. Flare need someone who knows volcano land."
"But what if the reptites come back? What if they send another army?" Flare asked in concern.
Ayla's smile turned deadly cold. "Reptites no come again. Reptites dead. Can no survive cold is what Azala say long ago. All reptites who want humans dead came with army. Reptite army win, or reptite army lose, no more will come."
The spring was naturally heated by the volcanic activity that surrounded the area. Riiza hadn't had such a pleasant bath in for as long as she could remember. Now that she had her health back the long journey didn't bother her. Actually she was quite enjoying the feeling of being legitimately tired without feeling ill, but it was still nice to relax and rest every now and then.
Xavius had been working on creating the next Gate for close to three full days and had said that it would be finished soon. As far as she was concerned he could take his time. Who knew the next time she'd get to bathe in a natural hot spring?
"Too bad you can't enjoy this too," Riiza said to Gina. The poor girl had been allowed to bathe in the hot springs with Riiza, but she had not been allowed out of her trance. Riiza's feelings for the girl could be described as a mix of both pity and envy. Having your free will intact was mostly a good thing, but at least Gina was free of the fear that plagued Riiza.
Ever since the journey had begun she trusted the sorcerer less and less each passing day. That and his power was seemingly immense. While her brother would never openly admit it she could tell that he had begun fearing Xavius as well. That more than anything scared her.
She had watched him kill half a dozen reptites in the blink of an eye. One moment they were surrounded by several of the vicious lizard creatures, then there was a blinding flash of lighting, and the reptites were dead. The elite guard of the reptite elder killed in an instant.
Xavius had used an illusion that made the four of them appear as reptites in order to gain an audience with Yazla, the reptite elder and patriarch. Once the audience was gained the sorcerer had dropped the illusion and wiped out Yazla's guard.
"Tell me of your dreams," he had commanded the reptite.
Without warning a jagged boulder had soared through the air toward Xavius. The rock stopped within inches of the sorcerer, and Riiza was quite sure that he was briefly locked in a battle of wills against Yazla. The battle was over quickly and the rock was sent flying toward the reptite elder. Then it exploded. Not into smaller pieces, but into nothing but dust.
As Yazla went into a fit of coughing Xavius repeated, "Tell me of your dreams."
"I don't know what you're talking about," the reptite had hissed.
Xavius's lip curled into a mocking grin. "Sure you do. The dreams about the future. The human future. That amazing brain of yours is good for more than tossing stones. In fact it operates on a wave length close enough to magic that it can pick up 'signals'. A very clever wizard has sent some important knowledge specifically to you. Very, very clever indeed."
"I'd die rather than help a monkey like you," Yazla spat.
Xavius laughed at that. It had made Riiza shiver. "I'm sure you would," Xavius chided. "However, I'm not giving you a choice."
All it took was a flick of his hand to slam the reptite elder into the wall. Struggling did Yazla little good against Xavius magic. With a casual air that bordered on giddiness Xavius approached him and placed a hand on the reptites head. After a long pause the sorcerer smiled. He was pleased.
"There she is…1984...Truce Dome…"
"There she is?" repeated Riiza's brother. "So you need another girl."
Xavius removed his hand from Yazla's head, and the reptite slumped to the ground unconscious. "Oh, yes. Two more in fact."
Riiza let herself sink lower into the hot water, despite the heat she felt cold as she remembered the scene. She looked over to Gina, who still wore nothing but a blank stare. "I guess we'll have company soon."
The frequent snows of the western plains had hidden any visible trail that Xavius might have left, but it wasn't long after reaching the volcanic valley that Randall found footprints on the dusty stone ground. While faint, for Randall's skill in tracking they were plenty good enough.
The landscape gave Flare and odd unwelcoming feeling. The entire area seemed alien in the frigid ice age that had encompassed the rest of the planet. It was a land that was desperately attempting to defy fate, and it was losing.
"Do you think we'll run into any reptites?" Tai asked, examining the barren landscape. As far as he could tell there hadn't been any signs of life.
Wroff shook his head. "This place colder now. When Wroff come before, volcanoes make even more heat. Reptites used to live outside of volcano caves, but now…" The big man trailed off as he waved an open hand at the empty expanse in front of them.
Flare understood his point clearly. Even though this area was much warmer than the snowy lands to the west, it could hardly be considered hot. Though there was the occasional stream of fresh lava, most appeared to have cooled and turned to stone.
"Why did you come here before?" Flare asked curiously.
"Before great reptite army attack we no see reptites in many years. Wroff not even see before. Some younger villagers say they no believe Mother that the Ioka once fought reptites. Say that she make up stories of being strong. Say all the elders make up stories. Wroff believed Mother and other elders and know them strong."
Wroff broke into a grin as he gave a big shrug. "So Wroff show everyone reptites real."
Tai gave him an incredulous look. "You mean you came here by yourself, so you could kill a reptite and bring it back?"
"Yes," Wroff said still sporting his boyish grin.
Late the next day they came upon a cliff overlooking a large valley. The valley might have been unremarkable except for the large lakes of lava contained within. "I guess it's still warm enough down there for the reptites," Tai observed.
"When Wroff came before reptites lived further out." The caveman frowned down into the valley. The memories of his recently dead friends brought fresh by the sight of living reptites.
"Soon those lakes will be cooled, and they won't be able to live outside at all. Then the insides of the volcanoes will die too…" Flare didn't like the reptites anymore than Wroff, but the thought of an entire species slowly dying off was still unpleasant.
"The trail leads into the valley," Randall said after careful examination. "But it-"
"Great," Tai interrupted. "I was really hoping for a chance to go down into reptiteville."
"As I was saying," Randall went on after silencing Tai with a sharp look. "But it doubles back. They went down into the valley, for what reason I don't know, and they returned to this point."
"Huh," Flare wondered. "Why'd they come back here?"
"I'd guess it was to make that," Randall said pointing to a small sphere of faint blue light. "I'm right in my assumption that this is an unopened Gate?"
"What is Gate? Wroff see nothing." The caveman said in bewilderment.
"That's because you've never seen an activated Gate," Flare explained as he pulled the blue stone necklace over his head. "I can open it with this…"
As soon as Flare approached the tiny sphere it reacted to the stone, roaring to life. Wroff stared in wide eyed amazement at the spectacle. "This Gate to future."
Even though it wasn't stated as a question Flare answered, "Yes, but where in the future…I don't know."
"It could take us farther back to the past." Tai said.
"True," Flare conceded. "There's only one way to find out."