Pickers 3: The Valley Read Online Free PDF

the town has a river on one side, and the centre is on a small hill that would make it easier to defend."
    "Raiders just don't settle down. They could be gone by now." Maxine said. "They only stay somewhere long enough to bleed it of anything useful and until they've made an unholy mess of everything."
    "Sooner or later, most people want to settle down." Georges said. "Even Raiders."
    "And Pickers." Remy muttered.
    "We have been getting reports pointing to the existence of this town for over a year." Sarah said.
    "Nearly two, by the date on this one." Veronique said, holding up a sheet from the file.
    Maxine didn't like being wrong. She frowned and studied the map some more. "But why would they set up a town there? I'm sure there are better places. There are empty cities they could take over."
    "We think they want to be close to the Valley." Georges said. "They're looking for a chance to attack us and steal our resources. Pickers and traders have already stopped coming to us from the Northwest because they keep getting attacked. It's only a matter of time before they try to put us under siege."
    "This is what happens when you become a legend." Remy said. "Even though it had been sealed off for over a decade when we left- or maybe because of it- there were so many tales told to me of the treasures they hoarded up here in the Valley. Even if most of the claims are ludicrous, this is a strong, settled community that has had a lot of influence on the area around it, one way or another. Who wouldn't want to break in and steal everything, or take over a known stronghold? What does the council plan to do about the threat?"
    "So far, the council doesn't even recognise there is a threat." Sarah said with some contempt.
    Tony was across the table from Georges and Remy, studying the contours from a different angle whilst listening to their conversation. He pointed to a network of lines- red, yellow, blue and green- laid on the map as thin strips of tape and criss-crossing the hillsides of the Valley. and occasionally over ridge lines. Most of them met up with faded black lines painted onto the map years before. "What are they?" he asked Fabien.
    "Tracks and access roads to the old ski lifts and logging camps. Blue and green are passable by motor vehicles, at least, as far as they go. Yellow are bike trails and red passable on foot, maybe with animals."
    Maxine and Veronique had worked out the plan Tony was forming. Remy was giving a little nod, but breathed in through his teeth before saying, "Goat tracks."
    Tony nodded, "Well, the last one wasn't such a challenge. Perhaps one of these would really test the wagons."

* * *
    "You are going over the mountains? You cannot be serious." Julien waved his glass around as he made his pronouncement, skilfully managing not to spill a drop.
    "Not over. Well, not over the highest parts. Your Scouts have tracked all the roads and tracks that go into the next valley, and there are old maps we can work with from there." Remy was trying not to stare back at the small boy looking round Julien's legs and studying him. He didn't want to scare the child. Julien laid a reassuring hand on his son's head. Little Remy was fascinated by his namesake uncle. But, even in the newly opened Valley, he had never really met a new person, and was nervous about it.
    "But not in your wagons, surely?" Julien decided that, if he continued the conversation, little Remy might come out of cover.
    "Oh, of course in our wagons. How else will we bring back enough seed to make the trip worthwhile?"
    "And you will come back the same way? Even fully laden?"
    "Hopefully, yes. If we can make it a quick in and out without alerting the Raiders."
    "If not?"
    "The only things we'll carry over the hills are weapons. We are good at the running fight, and the wagons are fast and stable once they get going. We've out run Raiders before."
    "It's not too late for me to change my mind and tell the council that this is a crazy idea." Julien said,