This is the chapter I got stuck on, but I'm posting it since I'm satisfied with it. (At least as much as I can be without an editor to look it over.) I also want to stop giving myself excuses to avoid writing and move on. Chapter 6 is moving along nicely so expect it on time next week.

  Madog awoke sometime early the next morning. His entire body ached, and his ribs sent stabbing pains whenever he breathed or moved.

  It was still very dark, and Madog couldn’t see much around him through the forest canopy. He could also see Inura clinging to him and the body of the raptor rider lying not far away.

  As he focused on the dead man, the realization of what had happened hit him hard, and Madog’s head spun as the memories flooded back into his mind and he felt his heart rate rise as he looked around to see if there were any signs of the attackers.

  It was quiet, although he could barely make out the light of several small fires in the distance through the trees and bushes.

  Madog wondered if the attackers left after… Well… he didn’t want to think about it.

  Madog pushed back the growing nausea he felt and sat up. Or at least he tried to sit up.

  Inura held him tightly as she groaned in her sleep, and it looked like she was having a nightmare.

  Madog put an arm around her, his heart breaking as he thought about what she had gone through during the attack. Her mother burned alive. Her entire world and everyone she knew taken from her.

  “I promise I’ll take care of you from now on,” Madog said as he slowly stood up with Inara in his arms.

  Madog’s tired body protested, but he gritted his teeth and looked around again, deciding what to do.

  He saw a glint of light and found the sword he’d taken from the triceratops rider Cutting Man had killed. He also saw his M1911 near it.

  Madog tried to pick them up, but with the sleeping Inura in his arms and his legs already protesting, he couldn’t.

  Madog sighed and decided investigating the road was the next best course of action, hoping to find survivors, or at least that the attackers had finished their horrific business and gone.

  Madog moved slowly through the forest, doing his best to not make noise. Soon, however, it became apparent that he didn’t need to worry.

  There wasn’t a living soul in sight.

  It was still predawn, and Psalo’s moon wasn’t out, so it was hard to make out much aside from what little light the dying fires gave off.

  There were bodies everywhere. Most of them were of the forty or so members of the caravan, but some were of the attackers.

  Madog tried not to look at the bodies. He knew most of their faces and remembered talking to most of them. People he viewed as friends after spending the st few months with them.

  Madog felt being optimistic was best, and walked through the broken and burnt out wagons and tents looking for survivors. Hoping to find even just one person.

  As he walked, he remembered Conrad. When was the st time he’d seen the man? Right before the attack?

  Madog headed to where they’d set up camp. The tent was a smoldering mess like all the others, and it looked like the attackers had taken his bag.

  Still, there was no sign of Conrad.

  He’d gone into the forest to go relieve himself, hadn’t he?

  Madog wondered if he had gotten away. As much as he didn’t really like Conrad, he hoped he had.

  “Conrad?” Madog called out quietly.

  There wasn’t any reply.

  Madog looked around, and when he didn’t see any movement or sound, he called out louder, “Conrad? It’s me, Madog!”

  Inura stirred, but stayed asleep.

  There still wasn’t any reply, so Madog assumed he had run away or...

  Madog turned back to the caravan. If he wanted to survive, he needed supplies. He… he also wanted to do something about the bodies. He couldn’t leave them to rot under the sun.

  Madog started searching and discovered the attackers had burned most of the wagons and tents, but found that most everything that had survived the fires was still there. The attackers had taken nothing.

  Probably because there wasn’t much worth taking. Well, except his bag.

  Madog tried to put Inura down, but she only clung to him tighter, “No…” she mumbled. “Momma… Madog…”

  “Inura,” Madog whispered. “Inura.”

  He knew he should give Inura her rest, and wasn’t looking forward to dealing with how she’d react to what happened st night, but he couldn’t do anything while holding her like he was.

  Inura groaned and dug her head into his shoulder, “Momma…”

  Inura clung to his clothes. She was light, so maybe he could hold her in one arm?

  Madog shifted her to one arm. He could probably hold her for a few minutes and headed to Cutting Man’s wagon. There, he found a burned out wreck, but Madog knew for a fact that there was a metal chest hidden in the floorboards where the man kept his magic tools. They were going to need money and selling his tools could get them a fair amount.

  Madog looked at Inura. She used magic. He might have too. Inura fire and Madog… body enhancement? It would expin why he felt so tired. He recalled running faster than humanly possible, even if just for a short distance. But it was a blur, so he felt it could have been adrenaline.

  He focused on the task in front of him, deciding to experiment once he recovered.

  First, the magic tools. If he found the magic tool he could… Madog remembered the ring the dying youth from the tower had given him. The storage ring. Maybe there was something inside he could use? Madog sat on the ground, letting Inura rest in his p, and focused on the ring. He recalled reading all one had to do was focus. He wanted to double check, but the magic book was in his bag.

  Madog shook his head and focused on the ring. Several images appeared in Madog’s mind, a book, some long spoiled mass of food that he couldn’t identify, five silver coins called ‘psalms’, and thirteen copper coins called ‘reds’. The coins were nice, but the book interested him the most.

  Madog thought about the book, and it appeared in front of him before falling onto Inura.

  Madog winced, but Inura didn’t wake up, though she definitely flinched.

  He picked up the book and studied the worn cover. It was leather with a string and glue binding. On the front was the name of the book, ‘The Science of Magi Flyers.’

  Madog smiled for the first time since before the attack, though immediately felt guilty as he looked up at the smoking remains of the caravan.

  He touched the book to his ring, and it disappeared back inside.

  Madog got back up and walked to the smoking remains of Cutting Man’s wagon. There, he looked through the remains. Everything aside from some metal surgeon’s and doctor’s tools, looked to be useless, and even then, the tools no longer had their wooden handles. He didn’t have a need for them anyway, so ignored them.

  Then Madog found the metal chest.

  The burned floorboards of the wagon he stood on broke under his weight and Madog fell through with a crash.

  He was now stuck! Madog found his legs on the ground below the wagon and his torso caught in the wood with his upper body still in the wagon itself.

  The fall also got Inura, causing her to hit the burnt wood as well, waking her up.

  Inura groaned, “Madog?”

  She nestled into Madog’s arms further and closed her eyes.

  Madog looked around. He wondered if he should take her out of sight from the burned caravan. She’d already seen her mother burned alive, she didn’t need the added imagery of her friends’ and companions’ dead bodies in her memories too.

  Madog couldn’t move. Inura still clung to him as tight as ever, which made it hard to use his arms. It appeared his hips were stuck in the wagon’s floor too…

  Madog heard a noise, like someone kicking a loose rock as they walked.

  He tried to turn around, but splinters of wood dug into his sides and pulled on his clothing.

  “Mad Dog?”

  It was Conrad’s voice!

  “Conrad, is that you?” Madog tried to look behind him.

  “Mad Dog! Y’all’re alive!”

  Madog heard Conrad run up to the wagon.

  Madog looked at Inura, “Inura, too. She… her magic abilities awakened and exhausted herself using them to… stop a raider from killing us.”

  Conrad stopped, “Inura?” There was a pause, and he looked at Madog stuck in the wagon, “So that ruckus was you takin’ a tumble through the wagon?”

  Madog looked down, “Yeah… Can you help me out?”

  Madog heard Conrad clearing his throat, “Never fear, my dearest ally, Mad Dog! For thine savior is here!”

  Conrad moved closer to the wagon, and soon, Madog heard him crawling on the ground, “If you could just break the pieces of wood digging into my sides, I think I can get out.”

  Conrad moved to Madog’s legs and Madog could feel the man pulling on the broken pieces of wood, “Soon ye shall be freed, for mine strength is more than enough to remove the accursed wood stopping thine movement!”

  Gradually, Conrad pulled the burned wood from around Madag, “Thanks. Inura won’t let go, so it’s hard to move.”

  Conrad called up from under the wagon, “Handle thine fair maiden, I will help thee in the stead of thine hands.”

  Madog felt a broken board pull away, freeing him, “That’s it. Thanks, Conrad.”

  Madog shifted Inura to his left arm, using his right to pull himself out of the hole.

  Conrad crawled out from under the wagon, “You are most welcome, dearest Mad Dog!”

  The burnt floorboards of the wagon gave out again under Madog’s weight, causing him to fall forward. He felt broken wood scrape his arm, and he groaned in pain.

  Inura startled awake as she too groaned in pain.

  Madog cursed as Inura finally woke up. He then looked at Inura, “Sorry.”

  Inura looked confused as she blinked the tiredness from her eyes. “Madog? My back hurts…”

  Madog rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, “Sorry, I fell over.”

  Inura’s eyes widened as she finally took in the scene of the devastated and burned caravan. “Momma! Where’s momma!”

  Her outburst caused her to start a fit of coughing.

  Madog held her to his shoulder, trying to comfort her, “They’re all gone, Inura…”

  Inura tried to scream, but her coughing stopped her.

  Madog turned to Conrad, “I’m gonna go until I can calm her down some. Mind looking for Cutting Man’s hidden compartment in the wagon? There’s some magic tools in there we can use or sell ter.”

  Conrad looked at the coughing Inura with a bit of apprehension, ever scared of contracting her disease, “I will search hither while ye take care of thine fair maiden.”

  Madog gave Conrad a nod, then turned to see how he could get out of the burned out wagon and sighed.

  After a few minutes of careful movement, Madog finally stepped off the wagon and headed back to the forest to get his M1911 and the sword from the fight the night before.

  Madog held the crying Inura to his chest as he walked, “I’m so sorry Inura. I could only save you.”

  Inura was in shock now and just cried between fits of coughing asking for her mother.

  Madog honestly felt like finding a dark hole and crying with her. He knew if he didn’t need to protect Inura, he would have been a mess right now. Every time his thoughts wandered, he remembered the attack. People burning, getting cut down, getting trampled. Inura being choked. Inura burning the raider’s face to the bone…

  Madog felt himself get sick again, but looked at Inura’s face to tell him what he needed to do. But was it worth it? She was going to die soon, anyway. Would it have been more merciful to have let her die during the attack?

  Madog spped himself. How could he think about hoping Inura had died?

  There was still hope for her. If the Heam couldn’t or he couldn’t find any that could, then he could try the city of Others. Maybe they had medicine from Earth?

  Madog found his gun, the sword, and the dead raider after following his tracks back.

  Now that he’d had some time to move around, he felt better and picked up his gun after shifting Inura to one arm. He then scooped up the sword. Finally, he tried putting them into his magic storage ring, and they disappeared inside.

  Madog took one st look at the dead raider, before deciding the man had nothing worth looting, and headed back to the road.

  “Mad Dog!” Came Conrad’s voice. “I have found the medicine man’s valuables!”

  Madog looked to his left to see Conrad walking over, holding a primitive looking medical tool and a bag of what looked to be coins.

  Madog turned to Conrad, “Thanks. Inura’s… well… Go easy on her. She just lost everyone she knew but us.”

  Conrad pursed his lips into thin lines, sympathy showing on his face as he looked over the caravan, “Yup. I reckon I got it.” He shifted uncomfortably. “So whatcha wanna do now, partner?”

  “Look for stuff we can sell or use. Why don’t you see if any food survived? I’m gonna look to see if Ina’s map survived.” Madog looked around, “We should also burn the bodies. I don’t want to leave them to rot in the sun.”

  Conrad looked at the remains of the caravan, “Well, partner, looks like they’re already burnt up. I reckon we ain’t gonna gotta move too many.”

  Conrad was right. The raiders had burned everything, including the people, “Yeah, but… Let’s dig a pit and put…”

  Inura’s wailing interrupted Madog as she suddenly burst into another fit of grief, “Momma!” She struggled free from his arms, falling to the ground, “Momma!”

  Inura ran to the remains of her mother’s wagon, finding only burned wood and scraps of metal.

  Madog walked up to the despairing Inura as she began digging through the burnt wood and ash, “Inura…” He pulled her away from the burnt wreckage and held the still screaming girl, tears pouring from his eyes as the events of the previous night repy in his mind.

  He knew he would never forget the fires. The screams. The burning bodies. The smell. And neither would she.

  Madog wanted to cry and scream, too. He wanted to wake up from this, and it being just a terrible nightmare, but he knew it wasn’t. He looked at the girl struggling to get free. It was his job to protect her now.

  At that moment, he felt deeply unprepared. He didn’t think he could. He was just a stranger that could barely speak the nguage. Did he even have any skills he could use for a job? It was doubtful the nearby vilges and towns had a need for an electrician, and he doubted he would earn much as a storyteller.

  They would need to go to the Other vilge. It was still far, but if they sold the Cutting Man’s tools and found the caravan’s gold, they might make it. They were pnning to go there anyway, so that didn’t change. He just wished he could have continued traveling with the people he now considered friends.

  Madog held Inura to him, patting her back as she continued to scream and struggle, “Inura… I’m so sorry… I… I could only save you.”

  Inura ignored Madog and continued to struggle. Madog wondered if he’d see the same energetic and pyful girl he loved as a surrogate little sister again. For now, all he could do was hold her and comfort her.

  Conrad, for once, stayed quiet and went off somewhere.

  Eventually, Inura stopped struggling and clung to Madog’s clothes as she sobbed. Madog finally broke down. Everyone in this new world he knew except for Inura and Conrad were now dead. He had come to love the people of the caravan and it hurt seeing the remains of what was once them.

  ***

  The man watched through the vision of the bird as he borrowed the Witch’s power, “Good, they lived and I see the spark of magic in them now.”

  The Witch merely watched, her inky bck eyes expressionless.

  The man was used to this. The Witch only spoke when needed or found someone or something interesting. Or for business. And this was not the first time he had hired her for something like this, nor would it be the st, “Now we wait. Let them recover a bit, then we will break them again.”

  Other websites to recommend posting on? I used to post on Royal Road concurrently, but people kept review bombing me and another thing I won't get into here.