The night passed with anticipation, idea-making, and overall freaking out on Keshel’s part. Which was to be expected since he didn’t know much of what was happening down in Karbion.

  I find that most people tend to do this, so even though he felt alone with his troubles; in the end Keshel was just a person. However, it’s amazing how fast his gloom dissipated once he had a purpose. At the moment, he wasn’t useless, but it remained to be seen if he could be considered useful.

  The next evening he woke and checked the smallest deck to see the status of everything, it seemed mostly the same to his amateurish eyes. Fires everywhere. It wasn’t until then that he realized that they might be trying to burn out the suiki. That would probably only work if they’d found a section of tunnel though. They hadn’t done that last time, Keshel remembered cowering in the burrow with Abbil and his uncle, just wishing it would end.

  Keshel clamped down on his anger and retreated to the safe room before anyone spotted him, silently seething with hatred for those Raiders. His family was down there. His friends and neighbors, everyone Keshel had ever known. As far as he could tell, they were burning them out. Destroying their homes.

  Keshel wondered how many of the captured suiki had had to live under the sun for hours on end. They should be fine if that was the case, but they weren’t used to so much light. At first Keshel took solace in Yumaar’s earlier claim that all the captured people had been knocked out, before he remembered that that could just mean they were going to be killed all together, lined up like birds at a slaughter, unable to protect each other let alone themselves.

  He clamped down on that thought, exhaling slowly in an effort to calm himself. The poor sap eventually returned to the safe room for yet another round filled with cycles of fear. Keshel was very good at worrying. Despite not having much practice, his anxiety was practically professional.

  --

  After three days straight of fires and no knowledge of what was happening below, Keshel peeked out of the deck on that fourth evening and finally relaxed somewhat. Which is good, since freaking out for long periods of time is a terrible idea—unless you’re me, obviously I’m the exception, but Keshel is decidedly not me.

  It was strange to see buildings below him. Even if they were the odd temporary ones that larborak had a penchant for—I never understood why they like tents so much, I used to think being around fabric might be better for their magic… for some reason. Or maybe it’s because they didn’t have any large trees where these particular ones were from. Or… maybe it was the giant rock monsters that could burrow through stone that were prevalent on their homeworld.

  The lizard people milled about; there were still fires, but now they were the type that the larborak tended to bring around with them to penetrate the night. Torches and lanterns, burning through the night like little stars. Keshel always thought fire was unnatural, ‘only use it for cooking’ was the suiki view. These smaller ones seemed so innocent though, even in the hands of these monstrous larborak.

  It was then that Keshel realized that he had no chance of being spotted up there in his tower with how weak the flames were. It took several heartbeats for that to hit home, but once he figured out what that meant his eyes immediately raced around the camps below, absorbing as many details as he could. After a tense several seconds Keshel gradually relaxed, his body catching up with his mind. He had time to observe now.

  There were three groups of the Raiders, one right above the main cluster of burrows, one off to the side just aways, in an area that was littered with random paths that had been designed to confuse people such as these after the last raid ten years ago. The last group was between the two, a bit closer to the first, as if they’d figured out there weren’t really any useful tunnels near those winding paths of beaten down dirt.

  Keshel focused on that last area because it seemed like it was meant to keep people inside. Larborak with fires stood at regular intervals around that camp, and the largest temporary building on the premises was completely dark. A part of him relaxed at that; though Keshel was still worried about what the Raiders planned with those they captured, Yumaar said that most of those who’d been caught had been knocked out and unresponsive to mental probes. But they were still there in the hive. Their minds could be sensed so they weren’t dead. Yet.

  I don’t know if they intended to kill the suiki in the end—they had a lot of potential—but after my own encounters with these particular larborak, I don’t think it would be wise to discount any possibility. They were thirsty for a recovery of their reputation back home, and removing a bunch of suiki from the niortak’s grasp was precisely the kind of thing that would fix that in their eyes.

  As Keshel’s gaze traversed the area, he saw all sorts of lizard people covered with weapons and with a posture that made it seem like they had rocks for brains. Their strange scaled bodies and tails couldn’t be any more different from the suiki, but most of the difference was in their eyes, terrifying in their intensity. Keshel found himself cringing back whenever one would look upward, and even with the distance he could tell there was something different about that gaze. It wasn’t violent, but Keshel felt that it would be better if he didn’t know what it was.

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  He saw no other peoples, but he knew from stories that where larborak came, the niortak wouldn’t be far behind; seeking to chase them back to their own world. At least, that’s how it had been for the last several years. Arendi and Arithren might be twin worlds and their peoples twin races, but they were constantly at each other’s throats, kind of like siblings.

  Near the edge of that furthest camp, Keshel spotted horses near various wagons that they presumably would be hitched to. Horses were notoriously rare, almost extinct from what he’d heard. He’d certainly never seen one before, and he most definitely hadn’t expected them to be such strangely shaped creatures. Most people used a particular species of flightless bird as mounts, and they were significantly more elegant in Keshel’s opinion. He could hardly imagine putting one of these things in a cave.

  That was his ticket out of there though. Keshel’s mind raced and his eyes wandered back to that camp where the suiki presumably were. He couldn’t just leave them, but he couldn’t see any way of protecting them if he wasn’t depriving them of himself.

  He observed the camps as long as he dared, but didn’t spot any obvious weaknesses or other vital seeming information. There were just too many things to notice, water sources, a place where the Raiders tended to congregate, the main area they were digging, and half a dozen other things that seemed like they could be the most important thing. Things that part of Keshel was feverishly tucking away for his escape.

  His escape. No one else's. No one else would be able to make it. Keshel swallowed the bile that rose to his throat and turned away from the window. His breath was ragged as if he’d just been running for a very long time.

  --

  Keshel returned to the safe room with the news. He hunkered down and contacted Yumaar, telling him of the horses, and explaining how Keshel might be able to get to them so he could find help. The old suiki listened for a long time and in the end, he sent certainty.

  ~I want you to escape, get to Elesu. Tell them that the raiders are here, maybe… maybe it’s finally time to rally the suiki to fight back.~ He seemed hesitant at that, as if he didn’t actually believe that he’d said it. ~Your sister has been very vocal about fighting back.~

  Keshel closed his eyes tightly. All the people that he knew would be left behind, burned out of their homes, but… Elesu was close. Closer with a steed. And the thought that maybe they would help was almost enough to get him to leave right then.

  Yumaar had other ideas though—because he was the smartest person there at the moment, though that wasn’t a very high bar—he wanted to plan this carefully, ~If I can’t physically guide the messenger, you need to know all you can.~

  At first Keshel was unenthusiastic—which is perfectly understandable—until he realized that this was Yumaar’s way of helping. He was making sure that Keshel could get through every step of the process. He detailed how the younger suiki might go about stealing food for the journey from the Raiders, and how to get into the stables without alerting anyone.

  ~After that, you’ll ride in the direction the sun goes. With an oakay that journey would be less than a week, but with a horse, it should be faster.~ Yumaar explained.

  ~Sir, how exactly does one ride a horse?~

  Yumaar paused, ~It can’t be too different from an oakay, have you ridden one before?~

  ~Of course. Oakay are common.~ Keshel sent a mental image of a horse from his view earlier, ~But they seem larger, more wild… I think it should be fine?~

  They’re both idiots if you couldn’t tell. Horses are almost as bad as dragons I tell you, jump on one unexpectedly and you’ll soon find yourself thrust deep into the dirt and grime with a hoof through your throat and blood covering—

  Ah sorry, I’m being biased again! No, horses are just lovely creatures that gently trot through meadows with flowers in their manes and stars in their eyes. Like unicorns! Exactly like unicorns!

  Keshel blinked though, unknowing of my storytelling antics. Being able to ride was a main part of his plan, if that idea wouldn’t work then it would take over three weeks to get help. There was no way he alone could hold rations for that long of a journey, even if he had them, which… Thanks to his sloppiness, he didn’t.

  ~Yes.~ He continued, ~I’ll figure it out. If the Raiders can do it then so can I. I’ll leave tonight.~

  ~They’ll expect that.~ Yumaar warned, ~The night will give you an advantage of stealth, but the day will give you the advantage of surprise… I’m not sure which you value more, Keshel.~

  Keshel balked at the idea, ~No. No. I’ll do it at night. I wouldn’t even know where to look during the day!~ He paused and sent embarrassment to the elder, ~Besides, there is my own personal issue…~

  ~That defect of yours is ruling you, Keshel. I believe you will need something to protect it regardless, and there will be no convenient tunnels on the journey either.~ Because again, Yumaar is the smartest person here right now.

  The younger suiki winced, yet another oversight. This was going great. ~What would work?~

  ~As long as you keep the sunlight from touching them directly, you should be fine, get yourself a hood and tie some cloth around your antennae to help as well. After the first few days, you’ll adjust to the daylight and it won't be as bad. But it is important to not let your guard down under the sun, your senses will be much more hectic because of your… issue.~

  Keshel nodded hesitantly, sending confirmation, yet still unsure of what he’d even do. ~Alright. I do have a hood.~