‘You sodding bitch!’ Jaskar was rolling on the ground. Two of his soldiers – one the long-haired Sukild – ran to him and began to pull him away.

‘You should have killed him,’ said Marcus. ‘He’s vicious and a real threat so long as he’s alive.’

‘I tried. I’m only skill one with this rifle. Want me to try again? I’ve thirty-three rounds left.’ The bolt-action rifle was at Sina’s shoulder as she spoke, her gaze following the sights.

‘I do.’

A violently loud cracking sound. A whitened knuckle on the trigger. No new scream. She had missed.

‘Again?’

‘One more so.’ This time Marcus kept his eyes on the three figures scrambling hastily away. Again the loud crack came. But again Sina missed.

On the positive side, with Jaskar being hauled away in pain, the attack on the stockade had lost momentum. Only four or five Ark Andulan warriors were at the gate, hacking at the hinges with heavy blows of their axes, the rest were standing watching; several of them appeared distinctly uneasy.

Looking into the eyes of a woman who wore a chainmail coif, Marcus shouted down. ‘Get out of here! Or we’ll shoot you too.’

‘Come on Farkin,’ groaning with the strain, Carmella took a large stone, waddled along the walkway until she was above the gate and heaved it over the top. A soft thud came from below as it just missed a soldier, who jumped back, surprised.

‘Watch out!’ he cried, a moment too late. For his companion looked up to receive Farkin’s rock on the chin and he crumpled instantly.

Crack! Just as Sina took another shot, an arrow slammed into the stockade in front of Marcus, where it remained quivering about a metre from his throat. Blinking with surprise, it took a cry of ‘get down!’ from Sina for him to appreciate his danger. Even as he crouched below the level of the defences another arrow flitted just overhead.

Beside him, squatting on her haunches, Sina was reloading. ‘I got one archer but there are still two others.’

Marcus called along the rampart to where Carmella and Farkin were each preparing to tip another rock over the wall. ‘Careful Carmella, there are archers!’

Down to his left, the sound of axes hacking against the gate resumed and, ominously, it was accompanied by creaks and groans from the wooden doors.

Pushing the basket of rocks along the narrow ledge, Marcus made his way to Carmella. While the glance she gave him was a placid one, behind her, Farkin’s cheeks were pale and his eyes were moving around like those of a frightened horse.

‘Hey Farkin, well done,’ Marcus tried to calm the lad and strove to sound matter-of-fact, though he probably hadn’t quite managed it. ‘Can you try and hit another?’

‘Hard to miss now,’ muttered Carmella, heaving out a stone and working it over to Farkin. ‘They are so tight to the gate.’

‘All the same, let’s all drop a rock at the same time, to make it difficult for them to dodge. Ready?’ Marcus got a nod from Carmella but not from the youth. At least Farkin was straining with a heavy rock in his cupped hands. ‘Three. Two. One. Now!’

Screams from below let Marcus know there had been two hits with the stones. He couldn’t lean over to check though, as the three of them ducked back quickly before the archers could strike. Two arrows flew straight past like a pair of swift cormorants. Sina was immediately up and on to her feet. She held her aim for what seemed like an age. Hurry, hurry, before the archers have drawn again. Then came her shot, louder than the howls of the wounded below and she dropped straight down into cover again.

‘Any luck?’ mouthed Marcus. And he felt a surge of bitter pleasure at her nod.

A new sound from below. Enemy axes had made a hole in the gate and the tone of the blows had gone up an octave. Peering over the walkway, Marcus saw Jasmine thrusting her sword overarm back through the narrow hole. Beside her, Arderlee and Rosemary held the two spears that Marcus and Sina had made with the metal of the spacecraft.

‘Come on!’ urged Carmella and Marcus pushed another stone along to her to pass on to Farkin. When they were ready, he counted them in again. And again the fall of the rocks ended with groans. This time no arrows came.

Having reloaded, Sina set herself as though about to jump up and fire.

‘Wait! Don’t risk it.’

Was that scorn in her striking emerald eyes? Then she shrugged but stayed low.

A mighty splintering sound, even louder than the rifle, came from below. One of the hinges on the right-hand gate door had given way and the Ark Andulan soldiers gave a cheer that caused a cold chill to run through Marcus. Once they were inside, all hope was gone. Yet the gate door hadn’t given way entirely. It was leaning inwards at the top, but the gap at the base was only just wide enough for one of their enemies to clamber through at a time. Jasmine was resolutely blocking the way, while her sister and Arderlee jabbed their spears at the man in chainmail who was attempting to climb past the obstruction. He had one foot on the slope of the leaning gate but didn’t dare jump through the gap.

Another set of stones, with perhaps one hit. The warriors below were getting more wary. These were the last though. Marcus flung the empty basket down, as it was still on the rope. ‘Moon Jackal! If you go to the wheelbarrow the basket is nearby. Fill it up again!’ The bearded man looked vaguely in the direction of Marcus, then hurried around the fighters to where the wheelbarrow stood, wasting precious moments searching for it. And suddenly it was too late. The relentless hacking at the gate had finally caused the right-hand door to fully collapse. The attackers’ cheer had a murderous tone.

Then came a thunderous, terrifying roar that was not at all human. Bounding along the path between the huts came the Otaxel, displaying all his fangs as he leap from an astonishing distance, front claws extended. Down beneath those claws went the first of the invaders as though struck by a speeding truck. The second was bitten deep on the shoulder, rings of metal flying under the impact of savage teeth, and then shaken so violently his feet left the ground before he was thrown aside.

Another great roar; a flash from the claws of the Otaxel; blood spraying from the neck of an Ark Andulan warrior and suddenly they were fleeing. Now Sina was up again and lining up her shot. Once more she took a surprisingly long time before taking the shot, which sounded like breaking glass. Looking satisfied, she dipped into her box of ammo and reloaded without needing to remain crouched down. She must have hit the last archer.

About twenty Ark Andulan were fleeing southwards across the grass, running past Jaskar who was waving both his arms, trying to stop them perhaps? But the small man was sitting down and his hands barely appeared above the top of the grass. Where was the Otaxel? Marus had to look over the top of the wall and then he quickly looked away: the mighty creature was standing over the corpse of the soldier he’d flung to the ground and was taking bites from the chest of a body that had been torn open.

‘Let’s go after Jaskar,’ Marcus said.

‘All right.’ Sina swung the rifle behind her and picked up her box of ammo as Marcus hurried down the nearest ladder. But by the time they got to the gate – passing Jasmine, who was sat on the ground looking exhausted – six of the Ark Andulan had recovered from their panic sufficiently to be carrying their leader away at a run.

‘We could chase them?’ suggested Sina.

The sun was low, just above the hills to the north. And Marcus was feeling a sudden loss of energy and fighting spirit. ‘Too risky. If they turned on us, you’d only kill two at best.’

Sina looked around at a sudden motion. One of the bodies of the Ark Andulan had twitched. It was a young woman lying in a pool of blood with a compound fracture of her right shoulder. ‘Lord Laske,’ the injured warrior groaned. ‘Kill me now, quickly.’

Quest: Convert the Prisoner

Persuade your captive that life with the Fins is preferable to life with the Ark Andulan.

Requirements: Prison; Charisma 14.

Reward: A new member of the tribe.

‘Did you see the new quest?’ asked Sina.

‘I did,’ Marcus replied, then stood over the groaning woman. ‘Sorry, but you are going to live.’

Squatting down, Moon Jackal leaned down and bent very close to the injured enemy soldier, so he could see the broken bone. ‘There are two medic kits in the stockpile. Should I use one?’

‘I think so,’ said Marcus.

At the same time, Sina gave a nod, ‘definitely.’

‘Try not to move, I’ll be back soon.’

‘I’ll get it for you Moon Jackal,’ said Rosemary, ‘you wait here.’ And she was away, running through the huts.

Outside the walls of the stockade there were eight dead: the three archers, killed by Sina; two warriors smashed to the ground by heavy rocks; and three torn apart by the Otaxel. It was a grim business stripping the bodies but their weapons and armour were precious. One suit of chainmail got stuck as Marcus was pulling it over the head of the body and he was on the cusp of shouting to Farkin to ask for help when he realised that the youth was in no state to be messing with corpses. Farkin was keeping his head averted from the dead by examining the broken hinge of the gate, but he kept raising and lowering his right hand like a stuck robot.

‘Sina?’ his companion from Earth was nearby, working at the straps of a dead archer.

‘Marcus?’

‘I’m not as good at dealing with other people as you are. Would you mind helping Farkin there? Maybe take him away to the forest or something?’

‘Oh, the poor boy. Of course.’

With a sigh, Marcus contemplated the inside-out chainmail in front of him and decided that while it might be simplest to cut the head off the body to free the armour, that would be a rather grisly business. So he carefully rolled the chainmail part way back down the body and this time located the straps at the shoulder that allowed for the gap at the neck to be widened.

‘What should we do with the bodies?’ asked Arderlee, after throwing a shield down by the gate.

‘I don’t know. Bury them? Burn them?’

‘If we can create a bonfire hot enough, burning is best. Less chance of disease.’

‘Bonfire it is so.’ The chainmail was finally free and much heavier to carry than to wear. It was awkward too. Unless he balanced it perfectly on his shoulder, it tended to slide off.

‘I’ll start on a bonfire then? Over the other side of the stream? I might make a stretcher first and get Jasmine to help with moving the bodies?’

Suddenly feeling so tired that he didn’t care what happened to the dead, Marcus rallied himself enough to offer Arderlee a smile. ‘Please go ahead Arderlee. Thank you.’

Marcus plodded along to the stockpile, where he sat in the dark shadow of the deepening twilight. Not long after, Carmella arrived and carefully stacked the swords and bows she carried. When she straightened up, her mouth gave a twitch as though she were suppressing a grin.

‘Cheer up Marcus. This is a victory. We are alive and we are still free.’

‘Do you know how long it has been since I fought anyone?’

‘No.’

‘Eighty years, give or take. And back then I was a kid and it was just punches.’

Sitting beside him on the pile of planks, Carmella put her arm around his shoulder. Was this really the first human touch he’d had since arriving on Grimworld?

‘You are a gift from the goddess to the world. But you are here to make art, not to kill. I understand. Yet if you are to be the saviour of the planet, you have to fight ruthlessly.’

‘Saviour?’

‘We live in hell, until someone completes the Ultima quest. Then it’s over. Then the goddess will provide all we need to live in peace. And you, Marcus, you can do it.’

‘With Sina, of course.’

‘With or without her.’

Leaning against Carmella, Marcus found himself letting go a sense of emergency that had gripped him since the attack of the Ark Andulan. Without saying so, he disagreed with Carmella. While he did believe he might be able to master the rules of this world and solve the Ultima quest, he knew he couldn’t do it alone, certainly not without Sina. Sina was very young on Earth and from an elite world that Marcus had only been vaguely aware of. But she was brave, smart and empathetic. Polite too, which mattered a lot in a small community.

‘Come on,’ Carmella gave him a squeeze and stood up. ‘We need to get everything under this roof before dark.’

By the time all the useful weapons, armour, and kit were in the stockpile the sun had set. But there was a roaring bonfire where Arderlee and Jasmine had piled the corpses and the glow from that had allowed the task of storing everything to be completed. And of course, Marcus could always call up the stockpile menu to get a more detailed report than looking around at their possessions.

Space suit 95% Not degrading.

Space suit 92% Not degrading

Parachute 90% Not degrading

Parachute 89% Not degrading

Timber, 11 units 94% Degrading very slowly (organic)

Rittle Berries, 2 units 77% Degrading very slowly (stockpile without refrigeration)

Viabrand Nuts, 3 units 96% Degrading very slowly (stockpile without refrigeration)

Metal Saw (large) 81% Not degrading

Metal Saw (medium) 58% Not degrading

Metal Saw (small) 65% Not degrading

Metal Hammer 87% Not degrading

Metal Sickle 48% Not degrading

Pully 88% Not degrading

Set of Chisels 71% Not degrading

Borer (large) 82% Not degrading

Borer (Small) 64% Not degrading

Set of Gouges 75% Not degrading

Bag of 14 Metal Nails 94% Not degrading

Bag of 12 Screws 95% Not degrading

Coil of Rope (14m) 36% Degrading very slowly (organic)

Coil of Rope (52m) 90% Degrading very slowly (organic)

Jerky, 4 units, 85% Degrading very slowly (organic)

Backpack 68% Not degrading

Bolt-action rifle 87%. Not degrading

Box 28 rounds of ammo 96% Not degrading

Compass 74% Not degrading

Army rations 12 units 88% Degrading very slowly (organic)

Army knife 74% Not degrading

Army medic kit 93% Not degrading

Longbow 69% Degrading very slowly (organic)

Recurve bow 84% Degrading very slowly (organic)

Recurve bow 83% Degrading very slowly (organic)

Quiver with 12 arrows 85% Degrading very slowly (organic)

Quiver with 4 arrows 82% Degrading very slowly (organic)

Quiver with 13 arrows 81% Degrading very slowly (organic)

Longsword 95% Not degrading

Longsword 94% Not degrading

Shortsword 90% Not degrading

War axe 84% Not degrading

War axe 68% Not degrading

War axe 55% Not degrading

Chainmail armour 84% Not degrading

Chainmail armour 73% Not degrading

Chainmail armour 72% Not degrading

Chainmail armour 69% Not degrading

Chainmail armour 51% Not degrading

Chainmail armour 43% Not degrading

Leather armour 76% Degrading very slowly (organic)

Leather armour 74% Degrading very slowly (organic)

Shield 75% Not degrading

Shield 63% Not degrading

Shield 59% Not degrading

Shield 30% Not degrading

Shield 16% Not degrading

The Ark Andulan had made a serious mistake in trying to attack the stockade and failing. Now there were arms and armour for everyone in the tribe and their fighting ability had dramatically increased. They would be able to join the Red Moon tribe for the planned raid and make a real contribution to it.