Castus
Castus gazed down upon the Moot, the gathering of the various troops of humans that he had freed and gathered. He had begun to call them clans or tribes, never really sticking with one, for no reason other then it was what came to mind when he thought on his groups of humans.
There were at least twelve different clans, with total populations ranging between 75 at the lowest and nearly 250 at the highest. Each clan spread out across the wide territory they had 'claimed' so to speak. The total number of freed humans was not high in the three years since he had started them all down a road he still did not know would end at, but it was a start. And the numbers were increasing, both by breeding and raid.
'But there has to be an easier way.' He thought, knowing that the total human population was not limited to Equestria alone, but the entire world. It could be decades before he found them all, if he ever could.
Castus sighed, and refocused his attentions to the activity below him. He sat the edge of a small ledge at the top of the mountain that overlooked the gathering. Below, he watched as people went about the day, the children running and playing. The mothers and fathers doing essential works such as reworking bone to make into needles or new tents. The making of new spear tips and arrows and bows.
Castus rubbed his hands with a wince, remembering the months it took in teaching how to make stone head tips for spears. He was really glad he had taken that course on Levallois technology back at his college before ended up here. Though using something he learned in a class was a lot different then putting it to practice in real life. At least the hundreds of cuts his hands ended up with had been worth it.
'Now all I have to do is figure out how to teach smithing.' He thought with slight dismay.
He had a lot of work ahead of him. Well, he could cross that bridge when it came. Till then, his people were fed, housed and safe.
Castus could not help but smile, knowing that nothing could ruin this peace his people had gained.
Castus frowned, "Are you sure of this?" he asked to Marcus, one of the many Huntmasters and leaders of the clans.
Marcus and the other Huntmasters had gathered in the large central tent at the center of the combined camps to discuss a matter that had Castus worried.
"Yes Fire Man. My clan had spotted the flying pony as we made our way to the Moot. We continued on a different path until we were sure it was gone before we continued on our way here." Marcus said.
Castus frowned and sighed, "A wise move. We can at least be sure that the Moot is not compromised. Though I may have to take steps in either case."
"But what does this mean Fire Man?" Another Huntmaster, Rorik asked.
Castus was silent, as he rubbed his chin.
'I don't...but I don't think I'll like it.' Castus thought. He was sure that the scout, as he was sure it was a scout, had no doubt reported the sighting of Marcus' clan. But what would come from it?
"For now, we will lay low," He said, addressing the Huntmasters, "I want all of you to form small groups of your most skilled hunters. Even if no pony followed you, we can at least set up some sentry posts to keep an eye out just in case."
Marcus and the other Huntmasters nodded, and started leaving the tent to do as instructed; all but Marcus.
"Yes Marcus?" Castus asked, looking to the Huntmaster.
"What will happen?" Marcus asked, and Castus could hear the worry in his voice.
Castus sighed, "I don't know. But we will be ready...for whatever it is."
Marcus stared at him a moment, before nodding and leaving the tent. Castus watched him go, then sighed.
'What is going to happen?' He thought, and found that he could not say for sure. But he knew he would not like it.
In the following weeks, as the snows began to pile up upon the ground, the Huntmasters had created a total of seventeen sentry groups, each with three to four hunters. Marcus had added the number bit, and Castus found the initiative impressive. With these groups, Castus now had to decided upon the extent of their posts, and he didn't have a map.
But he did have birds. And so, as he spotted a flock of migrating birds, he wove a strand of Wind to brush their minds and gently stirred them around to fly off in a sort of semi circle from the Moot. When the birds returned, he wove another weave to get an understanding of what the birds saw. When he had all that he needed he let them go to continue their southern journey.
"Alright," Castus began as he addressed the sentry groups, "All of you gather up supplies to last you a week. Then I will take you to your positions."
The groups nodded, and all began to gather supplies. Once the sentry groups were ready, he wove Waygates to take each team to their positions.
The Moot was situated near a mountain, and had a natural barrier of mountains incircling the area save for a wide pathway. A river flowed down from the mountain and down the path; so even if a siege occurred they would always have access to fresh water.
'Whoa....why am I thinking of sieges?' Castus thought, placing a hand to his head. Old memories of Karsus' life and the battles he had fought during his life came to him in full and Castus had to shake his head viciously to banish them away to the back of his mind.
It was never easy having two different mens memories in one head. His own and Karsus'.
'Hopefully...it doesn't come to that.' Castus thought as he continued with his placements of the sentries.
For the first nine he had them stretched out predominatly upon the open grasslands and forests that were passed through to reach the Moot. Then he placed four near the hills and mountains should any pony forces try to flank; which while tricky was not impossible as there were a number of mountain paths that could lead to the Moot. And lastly he left a few days from Moot, so that if a pony force did manage to get past the other sentries, they would have some last minute warning.
Arriving back at the camp, he met with the Huntmasters once last time.
"With Winter setting in, I don't think we should expect anything from Equestria. But I won't lay our safety on an expectation. Armies can still move in snow, and so its better to be prepared." He said, once more in the central tent.
"But what of our hunters? With winter here, they will not have an easy time hunting or gathering. And if they must remain away from the Moot to watch for ponies how will they stay supplied?" Rorik asked.
"I will make weekly trips between the sentry groups, and bring them fresh rations. That should be enough to keep them supplied." Castus said. It wouldn't be anything too different then when he traveled between the clans.
"What if the ponies manage to find us?" Another Huntmaster, this one named Krul, asked.
"We should be able to be warned in time to react. I'll show you a number of paths I have found that lead into the mountains. If need be, we can send the clans through the paths. They won't be easily found then." Castus said. Though such an action would have its own perils in winter.
He saw Marcus, who had a troubled look on his face, so he asked, "Is there something you wish to say Marcus?"
Marcus nodded, "I think...perhaps we should start training the younglings in use of the bow as well. At least the ones of ten and twelve."
That got the other Huntmasters attention, as it went against a common practice. Most boys didn't learn to shoot a bow till at least fourteen before they went on their first hunt. Even Castus didn't like the idea, though mostly because it sounded too much like an act a desperate force commits to.
'Sadly...we are sort of desperate.' He thought with a frown.
"But they don't have the strength for a bow. Or even a spear." Huntmaster Krul said.
"No they don't." Castus said, and the Huntmasters went silent, "But they can use a sling."
"A sling?" Huntmaster Rorik asked.
Castus nodded, "I'll show you later. Its basically a leather cord that can hold a stone. You swing the cord around and let go of one of the straps to send the stone flying. It's a basic weapon, but can be deadly in the right hands. And it doesn't require a lot of work to make or strength to use."
The Huntmasters blinked, and they all looked at each other. Castus could see that they were digesting the information, and smiled as he saw some approving nods.
"We will train our younglings in the use of the sling. Both the boys and the girls. The women too." Castus said, and this caused a stir.
"The women and girls?" Krul said in shock.
Castus nodded, "I know it is strange. But we will need every able hand if needed. Besides, most of the Equestrian population is female, so you can expect to see a lot of female soldiers. And remember the tales of Auril and her golden bow. Catherine of Anuroch, greatest of the southern mages of Valhrua."
The Huntmasters were silent, and though all seemed unsure, they nodded and said, "As you say Fire Man."
Castus sighed a bit in relief. That was one bridge crossed, for now.
"Good. We will meet again to talk in a few weeks. All we can do now is wait and see what happens." He said, standing up.
The other Huntmasters stood, and all of them began to leave to set to the work. Only Marcus remained, as he always did.
"Yes Marcus."
"Are we desperate?" Marcus asked simply.
Castus had always found Marcus to be a lot more intuitive then he let on. It always made him proud in a way to see how far he had come since they had first met so long ago.
Castus nodded, "We might. Who knows, maybe this is all just for nothing."
"Maybe...I hope so." Marcus said, before giving a nod to which Castus returned, and left.
Castus stood in the tent alone and sighed.
"So do I Marcus....so do I." Castus said, and closed his eyes.
And old memories of war, slowly filtered in.