Lost on Jord

by Allan Joyal

  Elizabeth nodded. "I like the idea... if we can find land that isn't already claimed. From what little I understand, most land belongs to the rulers. I found out that the villagers here rent the land from one of the dwarven clans. The clan owns most of the range. Well, they claim it. I guess they don't do much with the surface."

  Lydia looked at the woman. "How do you know that?"

  Elizabeth smiled. "The same way I discovered the laws about indenture to help force Galmin to give up Kariy. The women of the village. They can't work in the mine, so they are working in the village, cleaning, cooking and such. I just wandered the village and asked a few questions while I was out earlier. The men might believe they have all the power, and it is true that no woman holds a position of authority, but they do listen and know things."

  "The power behind the throne as it were," I whispered. Elizabeth nodded as Martha and Lydia giggled.

  Kariy was looking around. "Can you tell me who you are?" she asked. Immediately her gaze dropped to the floor. This time Al jumped up and ran around the table. He put a comforting arm around her.

  "We are travelers from a land far away," he said. "Now as for names. The talkative one with the brown hair there is Ron," he said pointing at me. "His sidekick is Steve. I'm Al, as I tried to tell you before. The ladies here are Elizabeth," he continued by pointing at the lawyer, "Lydia, Victoria and Martha. Victoria has been the quiet one."

  He had pointed to each of the ladies as he continued talking. Victoria smiled.

  "I didn't need to talk. Besides there isn't much I could really say. I was a shopgirl from London on holiday when that lift brought me here. I probably have the least education of the group."

  Lydia waved dismissively. "Who cares? Right now all the education we have doesn't teach us how to light a fire or to cook over an open flame. And it seems that we are all far too used to the trappings of technology. Kariy is probably going to have to teach us all how to cook."

  Steve grunted. "Open flame, meat. Men burn meat good."

  Martha glared at my former coworker. "And how much real experience do you have with that kind of cooking?"

  Steve looked like he was about to speak, but Lydia jumped in. "Oh, I think last night was the first time. Steve's apartment doesn't allow grills of any kind."

  Kariy simply looked more confused. At that time I felt a yawn originating deep in my throat and stretched out my arms. Once the yawn was over, I looked at Steve. "I think I should nap for a while. The pressure of the last day has tired me a bit, and I expect that tonight will be stressful once the miners come in."

  Steve nodded. "I can imagine just how crowded this place will be. We are going to be the one-day wonder and attract everyone. I imagine the only reason we don't have a crowd already is that there are things that must be done."

  I nodded. "Take the spear. For that matter, where are the other weapons?"

  Lydia pulled the axe out from under the table. "We gave the crossbow to the girls. They have it up in their room and are keeping the door secured. If someone tried to attack them, they could load the bow before anyone manages to break in."

  "Good idea," I said. I passed the spear over to Steve, who smiled. Placing my hands on the table, I levered myself to my feet. I walked over to the steps and climbed to the rooms, the girls offering me cheerful farewells and wishes for a pleasant sleep.

  The area above was not much more than a balcony with two doors. I could hear some tired chatter behind one. I opened the other door to find a room of shadows. The back wall was stone, and the only light filtered in through holes in the straw covering the roof. There were no formal beds like a hotel on Earth would have had. Instead there were piles of fairly clean straw and a number of stained and holey blankets. I choose two of the blankets and found a corner in the room where no sunbeams penetrated. I took a few moments to pile the straw and threw one blanket over the pile. Then after removing my shoes and placing them against the wall I lay on the blanket, dragging the other blanket to cover my body and closing my eyes.

  Chapter 5 – A Night with Strangers

  The straw seemed to form little needles that poked through the blankets. Worse, the coarse fibers of the blankets were scratchy, making sleep difficult. I found that I tossed and turned at first, crushing the straw. This did serve to produce an area where I could actually get comfortable and eventually I fell into a troubled sleep.

  I had not asked anyone to wake me, but sometime later I heard a knocking on the door. Throwing back the blanket covering me, I sat up. "Come in," I shouted.

  The door opened and to my surprise Esme entered. She looked rather nervous and her left hand kept brushing invisible strands of hair from her face. "Ron, do you have a moment?"

  "Sure," I replied, bringing my hands up to wipe the sleep from my eyes. "How can I help you?"

  Esme smiled wanly. "I'm a bit worried about Natalie."

  "I thought she was healing fine," I replied. "At least that's what Steve told me before I came up here to nap."

  Esme nodded. "He told me he had talked to you. And it does look like she'll recover in a week or so. I don't think she should try to walk on her leg though. That's not the issue. She's awake, and it's about time for dinner. I thought she'd feel better if she came down with us and ate at the tables downstairs."

  "A capital idea," I said smiling. "So how is that a problem?"

  "Can we really take her down?" she whispered.

  I reached over to grab my shoes. Esme was waiting patiently by the door as I stuffed my feet into the shoes and stood up. "One way to find out," I said. "Let's go downstairs and see."

  Esme stepped aside, allowing me to leave the room and head to the stairs. The main room was now cloaked in shadows, as no sunbeams pierced the windows, and only a half dozen flickering and smoky torches offered any light. The stairs proved to be a bit treacherous due to the dim light, but I descended safely to find that our group was still the only ones in the tavern. Eddie and William were still missing, but other than Natalie all of the others had gathered around the table.

  Steve waved as I walked up. He was at one end of the table with Kariy sitting next to him. Heather was across from him and immediately nudged everyone down so that I could take over the end of the bench. "Kariy tells me that the miners will probably arrive soon with their families. Galmin said dinner might be a bit slow, but we should get another round of those bread bowls shortly," he said as he handed the spear across the table to me. "It's been quiet."

  I looked over at Kariy and then at the bench where Natalie had lain when we first arrived. It was still pulled away from the other table. I pointed to it. "Kariy, will anyone complain if we move this table away from the wall and then move that bench between the table and the wall? Esme thinks Natalie might enjoy being down here, and that way she will have support for her injured leg and can lean on the wall while sitting at the table."

  Kariy smiled and looked me in the eye. "No problem bossman. The tavern was built when there were three times as many men working in the mine. Even if every villager comes, this place won't get more than half full. No one will care."

  "Bossman?" I looked over at Lydia. There were three people between Kariy and her on the bench, but the smirk on my coworker's face made it clear where that cheeky comment came from. I shook my head. "Al, Steve, think you can bring Natalie down? I think the ladies and I can get the table set up."

  The duo jumped up to head up the stairs. Meanwhile I coaxed the girls to stand up so we could move the table. It proved to be more difficult than I expected. The table looked unstable, but it was built from solid wood and had extra layers to reinforce the inept carpentry. I needed the help of five of the girls to lift it enough to move it the few feet away from the wall. Hencktor followed up by grabbing Martha and Dusty and moving the bench into position. We were straightening out the benches and distributing mugs and utensils when Al and Steve arrived, carrying Natalie between them.

  "Hello all," Natalie sang out. "So, what's for dinner?"r />
  "Stew," Elizabeth said with a snort. "We get some kind of stew."

  "Oh, but I like stew," Natalie said. "Especially if it's eaten with friends. And I'd like to think you are all my friends. Even the big lug I don't recognize." She pointed to Hencktor.

  "That would be Hencktor," Al said as he and Steve carefully set Natalie on the bench. There was a bit of maneuvering involved as Al produced a bundle of cloth and placed it between Natalie and the wall as a cushion. The brunette struggled a bit and then settled against the wall with a sigh. "How did we get here? And where is here?" she asked. "I remember that thing attacking and thought I was going to die."

  "And you should have died," William snorted from the center of the room. As a group we turned to find the man scowling at us. He marched over and stood next to me. I could see his eyes drop to the spear, and I placed my right hand on it. Rather than challenge the move, he shook his head.

  "Never mind that," he growled. "I'm not crazy enough to get in a fight with you. Letting the natives see that we don't really know how to use our weapons would be a stupid idea. Besides, this village doesn't have a pot to piss in. I need to find a city where there are goods to trade. And it's been made clear to me that traveling the wilderness alone is for fools. I'll keep traveling with you, even if you are worthless scum."

  "And we worthless scum are oh so happy to have you," Steve said sarcastically.

  William snorted again and then reached down to snatch a mug. He filled it with amber liquid from one of the pitchers and then walked over to the next table to sit. The man sat there drinking and glaring at the rest of us.

  "I should have died?" Natalie whispered.

  Esme jumped up and ran over to her patient. She threw her arms around Natalie and hugged her. "No! Never think that. You will walk again. You will have a wonderful life. One full of fun. I promise you that from today onward you will never regret today. I'm not a doctor, but I will make sure that you are happy and healthy again."

  Natalie was stiff and unmoving for several heartbeats. Then her arms rose up to return the hug. "You don't have to do that for me. You barely know me."

  Esme shook her head against Natalie's shoulder. "I don't care. You are my first real patient. You will always be the one I saved. I won't let you regret that someone with my limited medical training saved your life."

  "You realize that it's probably more training than anyone in this village has?" Martha asked.

  Esme opened her eyes and glared at Martha, who proceeded to examine her fingernails. Still the interlude made it clear that William's comment was not going to bother Natalie, so Esme returned to the bench, sitting next to Natalie.

  Galmin then came out leading a pair of teenage boys. The boys were struggling to carry trays filled with the large bread bowls. Galmin himself carried a tray filled with pitchers. He went around the table replacing the empty pitchers while the boys distributed the bowls.

  Galmin was glaring at us as the boys worked. I took a moment to pull the pouch of coins out and set it on the table. For the first time I opened it completely and carefully poured the contents on the table.

  Inside I found one more of the red gold coins that had so impressed Galmin and Versil. After that, the coins were all silver of various thickness and size, most the same size as the one I had handed Kariy earlier. In total we had only fourteen coins left. Still I picked up two of the smaller silver coins and tossed them to Galmin. He caught them and then turned away, stalking off to the kitchen without a word.

  "Ron?" Elizabeth and Lydia asked at the same time.

  "He's upset," I said, nodding toward the kitchen. "If giving him a couple more coins makes him less inclined to cause trouble, I'm a lot happier."

  Both ladies snorted in disgust but I saw Hencktor nod. "It's a good idea. He's probably too much of a coward to try anything, but it's possible that Versil could have convinced him to back an attack. Now I don't think he'd try."

  Everyone at the table relaxed a bit at that. The boys were heading back to the kitchen, so everyone started eating the food. As before, the stew was spicy. After eating a large mouthful, the eater usually had to take a gulp of liquid. I tried to use the bread to reduce the spiciness. Every drink we had been offered contained some level of alcohol and I was a bit worried about becoming drunk. Steve seemed to have a similar worry as I noticed him also taking very small sips, but Al and the coeds were drinking deeply.

  Steve noticed this and shook his head. "In a bar they'd be using pretzels to keep the drinkers thirsty, here they just make the food too spicy to go without and then offer no non-alcoholic drinks."

  Heather swayed a bit and playfully waved at him from her seat next to me. She was only on her third tankard that I was aware of. "Oh, don't be like my daddy. I'm not a total lightweight. I went to a few frat mixers during football season and never got smashed."

  Jennifer then giggled. "Yeah, she's not as think as I drunk you are."

  "What?" Hencktor said looking at the coed who was now resting her elbows on the table and holding her mug in both hands. "That made no sense!"

  "Either she's not drunk and thinks she's being funny by mixing up the words, or Jennifer is already rather drunk," Steve said. He looked across the table at me. "Ron, this could be a problem. The drinks aren't as strong as we're used to, but the others have been drinking heavily and after the day we've had...."

  I nodded. "Get the axe from Lydia and we'll watch them. Hopefully we just have quiet drunks in the group. I don't need a girl from the song, "Tequila Makes her Clothes Fall Off."

  Lydia giggled. "You would think of that."

  Steve and I both sighed. My worry about the others was mirrored in his eyes. I took only two more sips of the weak wine while finishing the stew. My mouth burned, but generous bites of bread calmed the fires. Fortunately one bowl was enough to fill me, and I leaned back to relax and watch the others. Most were quietly finishing the food, but Martha, Lisa Little and Jennifer all had a glazed look that suggested they were well on the way to being drunk.

  Just then there was a disturbance at the entrance. I glanced over to look and Eddie stumbled through the doorway. The light outside had gone down enough that he was immediately recognizable despite the flickering torches. He saw the filled table and half ran over to us. "God, I hate this place," he muttered.

  "You eaten?" I asked. "I think we can get another bowl of stew from Galmin if you want it."

  "I did," Eddie replied with a hiss. "But this place is horrible. It's dirty and smelly. I can't believe people live like this. They are like pigs in a wallow."

  "You'd know," Lydia whispered. "You always liked wallowing in filth. Especially if it involved naked women."

  Eddie glared at Lydia. "I could get my father to fire you."

  Lydia laughed. "Fine, call your father and tell him to fire me. I'm so worried about that right now."

  Eddie hissed in frustration and, after grabbing a mug and one of the full pitchers, staggered over to the table where William sat. Neither man said a word as he lowered his bulky body to one of the benches.

  Eddie had just sat when there was a rush of people entering the tavern. At first it was all men dressed in leather clothing. The clothing was covered in brown and reddish stains. Some outfits had multiple rips. Each of the men had massive muscles, but walked with stooped shoulders. I guessed they were the ones who worked the iron mines we had been told about earlier. Following these men were a few other men, mostly dressed in lighter outfits. All of the men wore knives on their belts. Several fingered the knives while looking at us, but would carefully remove their hands when I reached for the spear leaning against the table.

  Following these men came a series of women and children. They were dressed in a motley assortment of patched outfits. Several of the women glanced speculatively over at us but, as Madam Wessera had completed skirts for every woman in the party, none spoke out. This group was still entering when I recognized Madam Wessera, who walked in with another matronly woman.
r />   Madam Wessera grabbed the other woman and led her directly up to the table. "Velonia, you should meet Ron. He's the leader of this band. Ron, can you assure Velonia here that your women won't try to seduce her husband?"

  The girls all raised their heads, and I could see a couple open their mouths, but I quickly raised my hand. They froze and I looked at Velonia. "Madam, I can assure you that we are only planning on being here for the one night, and that all of the women in my group are far too tired to attempt to seduce anyone. Tomorrow we will be leaving your village and seeking the Wizard's Academy."

  "The Academy?" I noticed that Velonia paled slightly. "Why would you take any self-respecting woman to that evil place?"

  "Because if we understand everything correctly, we are here because of the wizard who attempted to solve the mosquito problem for you. We suspect that he attempted some spell and the failure brought us to this world. If that's true, the Wizard's Academy might be able to send us home," I replied.

  The woman looked completely surprised. "You mean that tale I heard from Harrien earlier today is true?"

  Steve and I looked at each other and then over at the table containing Eddie and William. Eddie was staring intently at the bottom of his mug. "I'd have to hear the story," Steve told the lady. "If Harrien heard it from the source we are thinking of, the basics might be correct. I hope she doesn't believe the one who told her is some kind of noble though."

  Velonia snorted. "Serves her right then. She always was an uppity bitch after Lorvis engineered a better mine support."

  The lady turned and walked away. Her path led to a table near the door. She found one of the young boys and pulled him into her lap as she sat down. From the reactions of the other ladies, it was pretty clear she was telling them about us.

  "Think we'll be in trouble?" Steve asked.

  "No," I replied. "It sounds like they aren't going to condemn us for whatever Eddie and William did."

  Heather was looking around. "I don't see Smolyth? Shouldn't he be here with everyone else?" her voice was slightly slurred, and her gaze a bit owlish. I was thinking about my response when Kariy put a hand on her arm.