Lost on Jord

by Allan Joyal

  "Yes Ron, those would work," he called back. I noticed that he had moved over to wrestle Eddie to the ground.

  I reached into my pockets. Earlier in the day I had pulled a couple of the silver coins out and transferred them to a front pocket. It was into this pocket I reached and pulled out a single coin. The soldier took it from my hand and looked at it carefully before nodding.

  "That will be all," he said. "One warning, the token allows you to journey between the towns to trade goods only. There are certain services some traders get into that are not covered by the token. Should you get involved in that form of trading, you will be seen as bandits."

  "What does he mean?" I heard Lisa call out.

  "The kind that Eddie was going to propose," I muttered quietly.

  The man spun around and walked briskly back to his horse, vaulting into the saddle with practiced ease. Their business apparently concluded, the trio kicked their horses into a canter and set off down the road, heading away from Linktrum. We stood and watched silently until they disappeared from sight.

  "You can let Eddie up now," I said.

  Eddie bounced to his feet and stormed over to me. "What the fuck was that, Ron? I'm your boss! You should have let me speak! The girls are our only item to trade, and you know it!"

  I groaned as Lydia spun Eddie around and slapped him in the face. While he was recovering from that Lisa walked up and kneed him in the groin. Eddie slumped to the ground with a groan.

  "And that's why I don't even think of suggesting that," I told Eddie pitilessly. "Now if you are done acting normal and proving that your hometown is missing its idiot, I think it's time for us to start moving again. We have a long way to go."

  Eddie rolled around, but the others all dashed back to the rocks. Packs were tied back up and thrown on backs. Eddie vomited once and then slowly got to his feet. The girls pointedly ignored him as he bent over and coughed.

  I waited until he was standing up and finally turned to start down the road. I took one last look at the token and then slipped it into a pocket as we began walking down a true road.

  Chapter 9 – The Guards are Hostile

  The road was clearly used much more often than the trail we had been following. While the trail did show some wheel marks, the road had ruts several inches deep. The surface was beaten dirt in most areas, with a few areas near streams covered over with ill-fitting stone that was mostly flat.

  We quickly discovered that failure to take strong steps would kick up billows of dust. Eddie was sent to the back of the group because he rarely raised his feet, and a cloud of dry dust floated behind him as we made our way down the road.

  I tried to keep up a steady pace, but watched the ladies. We had now spent four days on Jord, and the ladies had been walking barefoot for all of it. The caravan road might not have many rocks, but the packed dirt was uneven and treacherous. My ankles quickly became sore after I tripped over the ruts too many times. I finally resorted to walking on the edge of the road.

  Everyone else soon followed my example. With no one walking in the road to kick up dust, the air cleared up. Conversation had lagged in the heat. The road was now travelling over some slowly rolling hills, and we had slowed to go up a slight incline. We were nearing the top when I noticed two oxen rising up before me.

  The oxen were in the middle of the road, so I moved a bit more off the road and slowed more. Steve caught up to me and we watched as the first pair of oxen was followed by another. The four were pulling a wagon. A huge cloud of dust followed the wagon as it began descending the hill towards us.

  We continued to move towards the oxen. I could hear some concern voiced by the coeds. They had sped up and were now walking close behind me. All of us remained on the edge of the road, but we were no longer strung out on the road.

  A second oxen-pulled wagon became visible through the dust cloud. At this point I stepped completely off the road and stopped, watching the wagons approach.

  I took the time to take a closer look at the wagon. To my surprise, it vaguely resembled a wagon you might find in some movie about the Western United States in the days before automobiles. The wheels were wood. The bed of the wagon was also wood, and appeared to be about two feet deep. The only surprise was that the wagon had no bench to sit on. Instead a man walked next to the lead pair of oxen, encouraging them along with words and taps.

  The bed of the wagon appeared to be full. It was hard to tell as the contents were covered by a battered tarp. It was impossible to guess the original color of the tarp. Years of sun and dust had left the tarp gray. Several large bulges pressed against the tarp, but there was no way to identify the cargos.

  "Hey! That man wasn't joking!" I heard from near the back of the second wagon. "There is a group of doxies. Good looking ones. I say we take one."

  I spun to look at the voice. Behind the second wagon, there was a group of men. One was pointing to something behind me, a lustful leer on his face.

  I stepped back and lowered my spear, putting the blade forward. Beside me Steve jumped to my right and brought the axe up. The men of the caravan saw the motion and spread out. Steve and I found ourselves facing four men. One was at the edge of the road, but the other three had left the road, forcing Steve to step away from me to prevent them from circling around us.

  "There's no need to fight," one of the men shouted. "We just want one of the doxies. You can't need eleven of them. There are only five men."

  "The women aren't for taking," I hissed. "Now why don't you walk to the other side of your caravan and leave us alone?"

  The first wagon was just starting to pass me. I glanced past the oxen, but the drover over there studiously ignored the situation. Grimly I stepped toward the man nearest the road and made a clumsy feint with the spear."

  The man jumped back, but his partner tried to rush in. I was forced to backpedal while jabbing with the spear as he drove forward swinging a sword. The girls started to scream as I retreated.

  The situation appeared grim, but none of the man's friends had moved. As I was forced back, he passed in front of Steve. Steve saw the opening and swung the axe in a side motion like he was swinging a bat. The man gave a shocked scream of pain and fury and then collapsed as Steve pulled the axe from the gaping wound.

  Shouts of anger and rage came from the remaining three men. I rushed forward to stand next to Steve again. "Thanks," I commented as Steve tried to shake the blood off of the axe.

  "Don't mention it," Steve said. "I can't believe I just killed a man."

  "It wasn't in cold blood," I replied. "He was clearly intent on killing us. I'm sure no authority would try to convict. Clear case of self-defense."

  "Is that so?" a raspy voice called out.

  Steve and I looked up. Behind the three men was an obese man. He was dressed in crimson robes covered with what appeared to be gold thread. In the sunlight every one of his fingers glittered. It took a moment for me to realize he was wearing a fortune in gems on his hands in the form of rings. The robe was fit tight to his neck, but bulged around his shoulders, hinting that additional jewelry could be found underneath.

  The robed man had walked up to stand next to the road and the first of the trio of men who had accosted us. I felt a bit underdressed as he scanned us slowly. The other two men slunk back to the road. They did not join their friend, but stood nearby, scowling at Steve.

  The robed man looked at me. "Do you want to explain why my guard is lying dead over there?"

  "Your... guards..." I said slowly, "thought it might be fun to force one of the ladies with us to be their playmate. Steve and I made a promise to protect the ladies and were only carrying out that promise."

  "Is that so?" the robed man asked the man next to him.

  "That strange man we encountered at the camp told us about them girls," the other insisted. "Said that a group of doxies was coming down out of the mountains because they couldn't make any money up there. He described several of them quite well."

  "An
d you see them over there?"

  "Definitely!" the man said, pointing. "That one with the light hair, the color that normally only elves have. The one girl near the back with the huge tits. And the one woman in that strange white blouse scowling at us. He even said that one had been hurt a couple of weeks back. One of the girls was limping when we first saw them."

  I turned back. "Natalie? Are you having trouble?"

  "Not really trouble," she replied. "The muscles are just tired. I can't just step forward anymore. He must have noticed how I walk."

  The robed man was rubbing his chin and looking back and forth. I was wondering if he was going to come to a decision when he nodded to himself. "You," he said staring at his guard. "Stay right here."

  The startled guard nearly saluted. His actions were ignored as the robed man turned and slowly walked towards Steve and me.

  At first I was too surprised to move, but then I frantically waved Steve back while raising the point of my spear slightly. Steve offered a worried nod, but dropped back, leaving me standing alone to meet the stranger.

  As he got closer I was able to take a closer look. The robes he wore were elaborately decorated and appeared to be far too fragile to survive for days on the road. He was easily three hundred pounds, but shorter than me. The bulk did not appear to slow him down as he advanced, easily avoiding the ruts and the still moving wagons.

  The man's face was brown and weathered, and his hair was sun-bleached where it wasn't already gray. He appeared to be in his early forties. I finally looked him in his brown eyes and waited.

  "Killing a caravan guard can get you labeled as a bandit," the man said. "Why don't we start with the simple question, do you have a right to be on the road?"

  I reached into my pocket and pulled out the wooden token. The ink was still clear as I held it up and showed the markings.

  The man's hand reached up, but he did not take the token. Instead he held my hand in place as he examined the side of the token. Then he spun the token without removing it from my hand and again studied it.

  "Daytona Trade?" he asked. "And issued earlier today. Where did you get it?"

  "We met a trio of road guards while we were stopped for a meal. They interrogated us for a few minutes and then gave us the token," I said.

  "Free traders?" the man asked.

  "More like impoverished wanderers looking for something to trade while we try to get home," I admitted.

  The man nodded, a slight frown on his face. "And why did my men think the ladies were available? They claim that they were told this."

  "They probably were," I admitted. "We had another member in our party until yesterday about this time. We had stopped early to rest and camp, but he stormed off. I suspect he talked to your men."

  "We encountered no one on the road today. We haven't seen anyone other than the road guard since this morning when we left the traveler's camp," he said.

  "Ron, William ran marathons for fun. If he wanted to run ahead after leaving us yesterday he could have easily covered everything we have marched today in only a couple hours. He'd have been hungry and tired at the end, but he could do it," Elizabeth shouted.

  "Without water?" I called back.

  "He took two canteens with him," Heather replied. "And a package of cheese and meat. We found it missing this morning, but figured there was no reason to talk about it. Kariy is sure we can make the food last until we get to Linktrum tomorrow."

  "Those some of the so called doxies?" the man asked. I nodded and he smiled. "How about I talk to one of them with you?"

  There was a faint smile on the man's face. "Heather, come up here," I called out.

  Elizabeth gave a brief cry of outrage. Moments later Heather was standing next to me. I noticed she was holding one of the group's larger knives in her hands. "How can I help?" she asked.

  "Our gentleman acquaintance here wanted to meet one of the ladies in our group," I replied.

  Heather giggled. "Why not one of the others?"

  "Elizabeth can be a bit too argumentative for a first meeting, and Lydia does not handle strangers very well. You have been one of the organizers of the group, so I figured you would represent them well," I replied.

  "You are right about Lydia," Heather said. "She's wrapped her arms around Hencktor and is hugging him close."

  The merchant was watching the interplay between Heather and me. "You don't appear to be under any coercion," he observed. "Why would the other man say you were doxies when he met my men?"

  "Because he wanted to cause trouble for Ron and Steve," Heather replied instantly. "And he's upset because he couldn't get any of us to..."

  Heather paused. I could see confusion on her face and turned to the merchant. "If we are correct as to who told your men the story. William wanted to be in charge of our group. His early actions failed to impress anyone, and he couldn't gain control. Yesterday we stopped at a clearing. We were setting up camp when he walked away. It appears he has been telling tales to all he encounters."

  "Ah, now that is a story I can find credible. I remember the man you speak of and he wore pants very similar to yours. I did not know he was passing tales to my guards though. Well, I'll have to deal with my man's death later. I agree you were only defending yourselves." He slapped me on the back. The blow caused me to take a step forward to avoid falling.

  My antics raised a laugh from the merchant, but a chorus of protest from his guards. "He killed Kenjin!"

  "Silence!" the merchant roared. "I never hired you to go out and find pretty playthings. You're paid to guard the caravan, something you weren't doing when Kenjin got killed. These people have a legitimate road pass. If the road guard investigates, I'm the one who'd be punished because I couldn't keep my guards from molesting other legitimate travelers."

  "But he said they weren't legitimate," one of the guards moaned.

  "They've got a token," the merchant continued. "Now, let's prevent any more unpleasantness. You three cross over to the other side of the caravan and send Philburn's squad back to this side. Make sure that he understands that there are to be no more issues."

  The guards frowned unhappily, but stepped between two of the wagons and disappeared. The merchant watched them go and then turned to me.

  "You should get going. They shouldn't try to follow you, but it's happened before. Don't worry about the body, we'll collect it, and I will deal with the guild," the merchant said, pressing something into my free hand, next to the road token I was still holding. "Show that in Linktrum at Montferlyn's Outfitters. He'll understand what it means."

  With that the merchant resumed walking next to the caravan. I could hear him shouting instructions to unseen people. Immediately I pocketed the two tokens and waved to everyone.

  "Let's get moving," I shouted. "The issue is resolved, and we don't want to stick around."

  The ladies all rushed past me. They were watching over their left shoulders as they ran. Esme was holding up Natalie, who appeared to be in far more pain than she had admitted. I watched and waited as everyone darted by and then began sidestepping along the road, keeping my eyes on the caravan as I climbed the hill, following the rest of the group.

  Chapter 10 – Shared Camping

  The caravan guards did not reappear as we passed the caravan and began descending the hill. I was now walking at the back of the group, watching the road for signs of pursuit. I was so intent on the road that I failed to notice Elizabeth approaching until she was standing next to me.

  "Worried about something?" she asked needlessly when I jumped upon noticing her.

  "Wouldn't you be?" I asked. "We knew after the first village that women were not treated all that well in this world, but I didn't think we'd run into anything quite that blatant."

  Elizabeth shrugged. "We survived unharmed."

  "Thanks to Steve and his axe."

  "No! Thanks to all the planning you've done," Elizabeth said. "You think about what to do. You see the opportunities and don't let them go
by. And most important, you are always willing to jump in front to protect us. Steve might have got the kill, but it was your driving the first guard back that inspired that one to charge into range."

  I shrugged and returned to scanning the road. At the front of the group, Hencktor now walked next to Steve as they strode down the center of the road. The ruts continued to make careful placement of our steps important, but in silent agreement we were trying to walk closer together.

  "Why didn't you call me to talk to the merchant?" Elizabeth asked quietly. "I'm a professional negotiator. Wouldn't that have helped?"

  "Probably," I admitted. "But the merchant didn't appear to need convincing, and I wanted to avoid an argument with him if I could. You tend to come on a bit strong, and that isn't always the best approach here."

  "And you realized that having a pretty face near you wouldn't hurt," Elizabeth said with a smirk.

  I nodded quietly. "Think you can watch the backtrail and alert everyone if those guards decide to follow? I want to check on everyone."

  "Go!" Elizabeth said, stepping behind me and pushing me forward. "Your ladies want a chance to admire and flirt!"

  I staggered forward. Elizabeth's laughter followed as I bumped into Lisa. The girl turned, an angry expression appearing on her face, only to grab me and kiss me on the lips.

  She released the kiss quickly and dropped her right hand into my left before dragging me forward. She hauled me in front of Dusty and Martha. "Look what followed me home! Can I keep him?" she caroled.

  "No!" Heather called out. "He's not housebroken."

  "What? I'm perfectly housebroken," I replied.

  "Of course you are," Dusty purred. "You probably broke it yourself."

  I sputtered in surprise as Dusty and Martha both gave me kisses on the cheek. The girls were smiling, but I noticed a haunted expression hiding in their eyes. It was clear that the situation bothered them.

  "Are we ever going to be safe?" Martha asked. "Since we first arrived we've been attacked by some cat, and had four times where you held that spear and looked ready to fight."