As she started to walk away, Beth quickly made a suggestion. "Why not have Charlie lead the pronghorn-kin to Petals' forest while we rescue the others?" Beth said. "That way if she gets there before we do, then she can lead them to Arachii's world and get the ball rolling on that. Then there's the two deer-kin we left tied up down the hill. We can't be sure those two were the only ones who still might be in the area, so if Charlie is with them, she can hep protect them."
"Good idea," Amelia said. "Think you'd be up for it, Charlie?"
Charlie smiled. That sounded much better than just being the ambassador. "Sure, that sounds good," Charlie said. "Plus, I can also introduce them to Petals."
"Take care," Tim said as they then started walking away as they discussed their plans on rescuing the other pronghorn-kin.
Charlie turned back to the people waiting on her and her friends. "They're going to do what they can to rescue the others but I'll be taking you somewhere we think you'll be safer."
"Thank you, stranger, Aina's father said. "We don't know how we can repay you."
"It'll work out, I'm sure," Charlie replied. "I'm sure there'll be something in the future that will let you do something for us." Charlie then looked at the others present. "Um, if all of you will follow me, I'll lead you to a place you can settle. My friends and I won't be able to stay and help keep you safe, but we have some other friends who will be able to not only help protect you, but will also probably be able to create a village with your people."
"Lead the way, stranger," Aina's father said.
Charlie waited until the two women, the three children, Aina, Bith, and Aina's father were ready to go before starting to lead them down the hill to where she and her friends had left the deer-kin tied up.
The way downhill was uneventful, though it did, naturally, take less time than when Charlie and her friends had gone up the hill. Aina and Bith walked cheerfully next to Charlie, which Charlie couldn't help but be happy about. Though, it still took at least half an hour, but Charlie suspected that it took longer.
However, the first sign that there might be problems was the fact that when they arrived at where the deer-kin had been tied up, she found the rope her friends had used to bind them, but no deer-kin.
Charlie scanned around the area with her eyes, feeling that caution would be best at this point, but still kept them moving. She figured it took them probably at least three hours to get to where she was currently from the entrance to Petals' forest, so she suspected that it was going to be getting to be around afternoon before she could bring them there. While she didn't think that would be a big problem, her feet were starting to complain about her being on them for so much of the day already.
While she would like to just relax, she had a feeling that they were going to be like this more in the near future for her. Especially when it came to searching out gates.
"Where did you come from?" AIna's father asked.
"Uh," Charlie hesitated. She didn't think that any explanation she'd give that would contain the necessary details would be that quick to give.
"Me and my friends came from another world," Charlie answered after a minute, figuring that any detailed explanations would be better for them to see at the entrance to Petals' forest. That should be more than enough explanation on how they were able to move to other worlds.
"Do you mean you're from a city?" he pressed.
"Uh, not really," Charlie replied. "I mean, I live close to a city, but I mean a whole different world."
"I'm not sure I follow."
Charlie shook her head. "Don't worry. Where I'll be taking you, you'll be able to see firsthand."
The man nodded. Which apparently AIna and Bith took to mean that they were free to ask Charlie anything they wanted.
While Charlie wasn't exactly eager to have them do that, she found she didn't mind as much as she would have expected. Maybe it was the way Aina and Bith were, but she found it rather relaxing in a way.
As they walked, Aina and occasionally Bith talked with her. Nothing that Charlie really understood, and couldn't be sure if it was important, but it all did sound like it was important to the girls, so she tried to sound serious in her responses, but couldn't really tell how well she did. For one thing, since she considered them friends, she felt it would be rude to look at their thoughts without their consent. At the very least, the girls seemed happy with what Charlie said.
Briefly Charlie noticed the clouds floating through the sky. In this place, it almost seemed like it was a beautiful and tranquil location that nothing could go wrong here. Despite having seen what happened at the pronghorn-kin's village, Charlie deeply wanted to think that nothing could go wrong or break the tranquility in the area around her. However, she knew that danger could very well be close at hand. Especially since she didn't know what the whole situation was. She suspected that those she was leading probably didn't know everything either.
As they reached the rise that Charlie and her friends had first noticed the smoke, Charlie stopped. She didn't see anything around her that was a problem, but something inside her screamed that danger was all around them.
Charlie motioned for those following her to stop, as she interrupted Bith's question with, "Not right now. I'll answer that in a minute."
Bith looked at Charlie, surprised and a little hurt, but Charlie barely thought about her reaction. Charlie didn't know what to do, but was sure they had to do something. She couldn't say what it was that had her senses on fire, so to speak, but knew that whatever she did could determine if any of them survived what was all around her.
Charlie glanced behind the group, hoping that maybe something would tell her what there was, but couldn't see anything. However, as she turned her attention back to where Petals' forest was, she suddenly saw a three men out in the middle of the rocky area, around fifty feet from where Charlie was. Where they came from, Charlie couldn't say.
Wait, do they have magic of their own? Charlie suddenly wondered. That could explain how they were able to be there without her having noticed them before.
Charlie waited patiently, letting the girls press themselves against her in fear of the men in front of them. Though, rather than waiting to hear anything these men said, she pulled on her magic to see what she could learn from their minds.
In the time it took the men to blink, let alone take another step, Charlie had learned all that she needed to from them. They were indeed members of the deer-kin mercenaries who had attacked the pronghorn-kin's village. Not only that, but they had planned on taking the valley that the pronghorn-kin had lived for countless generations.
Charlie looked at the men levelly. "I hope you realize that you're in over your heads," she said, not caring if it sounded like a poor bluff.
The man on the left of those in front of her stopped and motioned for those with him to stop. He then looked at Charlie with thoughts that expressed curiosity about her, though he also clearly didn't take her seriously. Not that Charlie cared. The more they underestimated her, the safer those she was escorting would be. At least that's what she told herself to at least build her own confidence, since she didn't have a clue as to what she should do about the situation.
"I'd like to have our first meeting at least done in a more, uh… um… let's see, uh, oh yeah!" the man said, then suddenly stumbles in his response, which indicated to Charlie that he wasn't interested in letting the pronghorn-kin go free. "I'd like our first meeting to be one of fair treatment of each other and of mutual understanding."
What the hell was that supposed to mean? Charlie asked herself. More than a little confused at how the statement had been worded. Though, she didn't think that the men before her would have made her feel like danger was everywhere, so she quickly pulled on her magic to do a quick scrying scan of the immediate area and found there were a lot of other deer-kin hiding, ready for the signal to attack.
Charlie sighed, trying to figure out how to work this to her advantage. She could only assume that she and her friends had been spotted as they walked along here and that's how these people knew to set up an ambush here, although, she couldn't think why they'd go to the trouble. Though, considering the pronghorn-kin she was walking with, she wondered if it had something to do with that. Although, even that reason still made this whole setup feel extreme.
"If you're really interested in 'fair treatment of each other and mutual understanding,' then should you have those who are hiding leave?" Charlie asked, doing her best to not show any signs of how she knew about them. "After all, you can clearly see that we're not hiding anyone."
The man attempted to look a combination of baffled, confused, and hurt at Charlie's words. "We're the only ones you see here," the man complained, sounding deeply offended. "Why would you dare accuse us of having hiding around you? You already wrong these two men with me here earlier and now you're accusing me of such underhanded tactics?"
"Okay, so you don't mind if I eliminate those I feel are a threat to me?" Charlie asked calmly, hoping her anxiety over this whole situation doesn't show. Inside she felt like she was sweating buckets.
"Uh…" the man hesitated, clearly not sure how to respond. "Go ahead. Anyone you see before you that is hiding, do what you will."
Briefly Charlie looked into the man's mind and felt a little smug that he didn't detect any of the nervousness that she so strongly felt. In fact, he was certain that she was bluffing about knowing about the men that were hiding.
"Okay," Charlie said, turning towards the largest group, since most were scattered around her, some clearly there to keep her and any others from retreating and escaping in any direction they could run in. "I'll eliminate the largest group."
Charlie waited a minute for the man to respond, though she wasn't surprised when he didn't. At which point, she pulled hard on her magic, thinking of nothing but rolling flames in the area the ambush had been set.
As the flames erupted around that area that she estimated to be around thirty square feet, Charlie heard cries of fear from the pronghorn-kin she was helping, and she quickly turned to calm them down. Although, she was vaguely aware of the man having a similar reaction, his shocked expression moving between the firestorm Charlie created and back at Charlie. She could also hear the cries of the people inside the fire as they were being burned alive.
"That was just the first group," Charlie stated, desperately pushing down the feelings of revulsion and horror at what she was doing with her flames. All so she could be sure those she was determined to protect would stay safe. "I can tell they're all around us, so if they're not with you, I'd stay right where you are so I don't accidentally get you and the two men with you."
Charlie also hoped that they would require her to do that to every group around her. She could feel how much doing just that one spot was costing her. While it was the largest, it wasn't the only large place either.
Charlie kept an ear on the man's thoughts, making sure to know what he was doing, just in case he either decided to drop all pretenses or to give any signal to the men hiding. If he did that, then as long as it was to have them leave, even if they were supposed to leave without showing themselves.
Charlie waited a minute before turning to the next group, getting ready to do the same thing, the fire of her first spell already dying down, leaving a heavily burned area, with the bodies of several men completely burned. Though, a few were still alive, moving in stiff movements, clearly in severe pain. Charlie had to clamp down on her stomach to keep from throwing up.
She didn't think she could afford to do anything that would distraction her from the men in the open in front of her.
She was about to pull on her magic and launch another firestorm when the man quickly called out to her, "Wait! I don't know about anyone hiding around us, but would you let me address them so there isn't so much death around here? Me and the two with me are creatures of this mountain range and forest. It pains us greatly to see you burn it down so callously. Let me beg those hiding around us to leave so the forest can be spared."
Charlie was sure that his words were just for show, like so many politician's speeches she'd had to listen to during social studies classes, though, in this case she was willing to let him put on his play. At the very least, she somehow could tell that if she didn't let this play out, that he would have his men attack her. Aat which point, Charlie wasn't sure that she'd be able to survive against so many people and if she did, how many of the pronghorn-kin would be killed as well.
"Anyone who is hiding out there, please, listen to me!" the man called out, his words a clear signal that hid what he was really telling them. "Don't make this person burn down the trees all around us. If the trees all burn down, what will happen to our homes in this area if there's nothing left here? We will starve and our families as well. Please leave and forget whatever it was you were thinking of doing."
Charlie couldn't help but smirk at his words. Listening to his thoughts, she could tell that he was merely telling the men that they were discovered. He couldn't tell how close Charlie was to being out of strength and would at could lay waste to the entire mountain if she wanted to. That the plan had failed and they should leave to reduce how much they'd already lost.
Charlie felt pleased that he couldn't tell that the sweat he noticed appear on her wasn't just from the heat of the fire, that she really was close to using up all of her strength. In some ways it was good that he didn't know as much about humans as Charlie did, otherwise he might be more willing to call her bluff.
As the men in hiding slowly started to leave, Charlie then felt confident that they really were closer to being on even ground, though it was clear her strength was much greater than his.
"So, what is it you wanted to talk about?" Charlie asked, partly feeling impatient to end this whole dialogue and continue on to Petals' forest.
"First, you are trespassing on deer-kin territory," the man said. "And second, you are aiding in the escape of our propety. They hid on our lands and we only discovered them earlier today."
Charlie wished she could just laugh at the absurdity of his statement, partly because she could see in his mind whose territory this single mountain really was. "Deer-kin territory?" Charlie asked in a mocking tone. "I think you mean bear-kin territory."
"We signed a treaty with them yesterday that gave us this land," the man protested.
"Alright, let's walk up the mountain and ask them then," Charlie proposed. "I mean, I'm sure if you're not lying that they'll back you up on the matter."
The man sputtered a response, which was pretty much just sounds that didn't connect to any actual words.
"Are you sure?" Aina's father whispered behind her.
Charlie merely nodded. "I'm sure."
"So, you then admit you're trespassing on bear-kin territory?" the man asked, clearly dropping his previous line about it being deer-kin territory.
"Maybe I am, but the pronghorn-kin here have a treaty with the bear-kin. Though, as I'm their escort, that would likely keep it from being trespassing," Charlie countered. Part of her wished she could already be through the first gate already. She was getting tired of using the '-kin' to whenver she referred to whatever people lived on this world.
The man didn't seem to be prepared for that statemtn, though, he did eye the burn scar Charlie's firestorm had created nervously and from his thoughts, he seemed more worried about the bear-kin. So, she wondered if maybe she should up the pressure on him.
"So, what exactly are you here for?" Charlie asked, also suddenly realizing she'd neglected the question she'd asked earlier. "Is it to annoy me? If so, it's working."
"I'm here to keep our property from escaping," the man said.
"Well, I haven't seen any of your property around, so if you'll excuse us, we'll be on our way," Charlie replied, doubting he'd let her go so easily.
"Are you trying to be funny?" the man asked after one of the two men next to him whispered something in his ear.
"Not in particular," Charlie replied, starting to walk forward casually. "Just getting bored and losing my patience with you."
"I ask because you're taking our property with you," the man said, as if that should settle the matter.
Charlie stopped walking and just looked at him. "Did you put your name on them?" Charlie asked, idly wondering how Ralph would react to her question.
The man stared at her in shocked surprise for a minute before he found his voice again. "What does that have to do with anything?" the man asked.
"Well, if your name isn't on them, how am I supposed to know that they belong to you?" Charlie asked, putting as much innocence in her voice as she could muster. "As far as I know, you're trying to either kidnap them and make a profit or you're trying to steal someone else's property."
"I already have permission from their old owners from the beaver-kin," the man retorted.
"Uh, again, I have no evidence that they belonged to anyone," Charlie reiterated, starting to walk forward again, indicating to the pronghorn-kin that they should continued with her. "Unless you can show any kind of evidence, I can't take your assertions seriously."
"Are you saying that you're not going to abide by what the facts are?" the man asked. Charlie thought he might have actually been serious if she couldn't see in his mind that he was completely bluffing, though he knew the beaver-kin would back him up if he could just get enough time to get one of them here.
Charlie sighed and shook her head. This was not what she had expected on her first day of the expedition. "Look, I'm running out of patience and you're in my way. You can either move or be roasted. Your choice," Charlie said, her patience nearly depleted with this man.
Charlie had to admire his bravery as it took him until she was about twenty feet from her before he moved out of the way, the two other men going with him as he moved. She thanked him as she continued walking towards where the entrance to Petals' forest was.
She could feel the people she was leading looking at the deer-kin who stood helplessly as she walked towards the entrance she was confident none of them knew was there.
However, as she was mere feet away, a new figure came down out from behind the trees uphill from them. Charlie glanced at the deer-kin and saw them stiffen at the sight of the newcomer. Which told her that they weren't with this person and were scared.