by Allan Joyal
Chapter 11 – Entering Linktrum
I woke up with two sets of arms around me. The first set was around my neck and shoulders. The tanned color and muscles allowed me to quickly identify them as Kariy's. I twisted in their grasp enough to confirm that the young lady was still fast asleep behind me.
The other pair belonged to Heather. She had them wrapped around my waist and clinching her groin to mine. It was difficult to get her to release me. I struggled free only to have her giggle and pull her hands away when I finally extracted my ass from her clutches.
"Curses, foiled again," she muttered as I stood up.
"You're playing with fire," I hissed, trying to avoid waking the group.
Heather giggled again softly as I looked around. The camp was bathed in a pre-dawn gloom. The trees cast long shadows, and a light fog drifted in from the road.
"It will be like this until the sunlight hits the third branch," I heard a voice thunder.
Turning, I found a man standing near the fire. He looked very similar to the one from the night before, but the hair was longer, and he was missing his left ear. He noticed my gaze and smiled. "Bandit. We were chasing them away from the camp six years ago, and he got me with his blade before I could run him through."
I winced, thinking of how much the injury must have hurt. I noticed the man had moved the cauldron back over the fire and was stirring the contents slowly.
"Just warming it a little," the man boomed out again. "Mother always says a warm breakfast is the best way to start the day."
His booming pronouncements had disturbed the rest of the group, and I could hear them groaning as they began rolling out of their beds. I walked over to the man, who held out a bread bowl. "How far are we from Linktrum?" I asked as I held the bowl for him to fill from the cauldron.
"You can make it there before midday," the man replied. "Just have to pass through the forest. You'll see Linktrum once you leave the trees."
"Is it right on the other side of the trees?" I asked.
"Are you daft? No city would be that close to a forest. You need clear fields of fire for your archers. And you want to see any armies from a distance. The forest ends, and you'll have a couple hills to traverse before you reach the gates," the man said.
The others were gathering in a line behind me so I took the bowl back to the stone to sit and eat. A night in the cauldron had thickened the stew. It tasted slightly sour, but it was filling. I finished it before everyone had been given a bowl and started rolling up bedrolls. I had finished the three where I had slept and was carrying them back to the packs where Natalie was working, putting everything away.
Natalie ignored me as she worked. Once, I saw her look over at Esme and then turn away, tears in her eyes. She took the bedrolls without comment and resumed packing.
The rest of the group was eating and packing up the camp. Experimentally I picked up the spear. I held it parallel to the ground with the blade in front of me and stepped forward, thrusting my arms forward at the same time. The motion felt a bit awkward. I brought my forward foot back and tried again, this time shortening the step and starting the thrust a bit later. I found that it felt more natural when I used my hips to power the final thrust.
I tried repeating the process several times, silently thrusting the spear forward into an invisible opponent. Sometimes it felt right, and sometimes I'd have to stumble forward after the thrust.
"Move your hands forward," the man boomed.
"What?" I said, pulling my feet together and standing upright.
"Your hands are too far from the blade and when you thrust you lose your balance. Move them up about four finger widths and you'll have more control. Also make sure you step straight forward. When you let your leg open up you lose power," the man instructed.
I nodded and turned to test his advice, but Steve called out. "We're ready to go, Ron."
A chorus of donkey brays rang out as I moved to join the group. Each of the coeds had a pack. Eddie had his own smaller pack. Silently, I passed through the group and took the front, leading everyone to the road.
Eddie caught up to me on the road. "What was that last night?" he hissed.
"Eddie, this isn't the office. We can't just play your little political games. I need a bit more information."
"The coed," he snapped. "She walked off with Al. And by how they looked when they got back, they weren't just enjoying the moonlight."
"There was no moon last night," I observed. "Eddie, Esme walked up to Al. She chose him. Neither forced the other to take that walk. Why don't we worry about more important things, like getting to this town Linktrum?"
"And from there?"
"The Wizard's Academy if we can get there. If we can't, we'll make a new decision. We have a bit of time."
Eddie frowned, but said no more and dropped in behind me. The road through the trees was easy to follow as the passage of many feet and wagons had scoured any plants from the trail. Fallen leaves lined the packed dirt.
The morning air was still, and the fog I noted in the clearing wafted through the trees. The cool air and my full belly invigorated me, and I jokingly broke into song, belting out a chorus of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home."
My off-key singing had the coeds giggling when I finished a second chorus. I paused to catch my breath and think of a new song. Victoria was walking beside me, a wry smile on her face. "We haven't talked much," I acknowledged as we walked together.
Victoria shrugged. "I haven't sought you out to talk to. You tend to be rather busy. You lead us or guard our rear when we are moving. You have taken the lead in negotiating with the groups we meet. You even try to comfort the members of the group who are hurting."
I glanced back. Natalie was walking near us, but just out of earshot. Esme was near the rear of the group, a scowl on her face. "I don't always succeed at that," I said. "I seem to have made one situation worse."
Victoria laughed. "They will do fine. It might take them a while, but they will work it all out. And whatever you said to Esme last night was exactly what she needed to hear."
"She grabbed Al..." I hissed.
"And dragged him into the trees for some sex that didn't really satisfy either of them," Victoria finished for me. "I know. Al and I talked about it later that night. He didn't want to refuse, but Esme clearly wasn't into it and it affected him."
I nodded. Victoria was looking at me, but I tried to ignore it while watching the road. Rustles of leaves indicated that there were some animals in the trees, but I felt no alarm. "Let me guess," Victoria said. "You are trying to figure out what I used to do."
"The thought had crossed my mind," I muttered.
"I was a shopgirl. Nothing special really. But you work in a small boutique for fashionable young women and listen, you do learn about relationships. Don't worry too much about that though. The bigger issue is going to be staying alive," Victoria said. She patted my shoulder and then drifted back to the rest of the group, leaving me alone at the front.
The close trees and morning shadows bothered me. I could find no reason for alarm, but I was jumpy as I led the group. More than once I left the road and walked several yards into the woods to scan the ground and trees. The others did not appear to share my unease and left me alone in front. Their conversations were cheerful but quiet, as we continued to follow the road.
We had journeyed for perhaps two hours when the forest started visibly thinning. I started to relax, and Lydia strode up to me. "You done worrying, Ron?"
"I worry so you won't have to," I quipped. "Besides, it will be the time that none of us are worrying that we get ambushed."
Lydia shook her head. "And if you burn out, we'll have no one to watch. Ron, it's fine to ask the others to help."
I looked back. The group was close behind me. I noticed smiles on several faces and looked back at Lydia. "I didn't want to ask anyone who was tired to help."
"And you did what? Figured everyone was tired?"
"Why wouldn't t
hey be? We've only been on Jord for four days, and we've walked for miles. And you ladies have all been barefoot for most of it. I'm surprised that we haven't had more injuries and issues."
"The water soothed our feet quite a bit," Lydia said. "And you haven't participated in the mutual foot massages each night. As for the distance we've walked, we have understood that we have no choice, and if you consider the size of our meals, you'd realize that none of us is on a low calorie diet at the moment."
"Eddie could use one."
"Not anymore. He's had to pull his belt a notch already and probably will have to take it in another notch in two days."
"Losing weight too fast isn't healthy," I said worriedly. I glanced back to see Eddie walking with Elizabeth. Both were intent on their own conversation and did not notice my appraisal.
"On a crash diet that would be true, but he's also exercising. Honestly, the only question was if he could keep up, but he's deathly afraid of being left behind and has refused to give up. He's not just a spoiled playboy anymore."
I shrugged. The road was now bordered on both sides by some brambles. They blocked the view into the forest, but from what I could see few trees grew in this area. We followed the brambles as the road climbed a small rise and turned to the left.
The bramble walls stopped as if they were trimmed back. Ahead were fields of grain. The plants grew waist high and spread out ahead and to both sides of the road. In the distance sat a large cluster of buildings. They were far enough away to appear misty in the morning fog. A massive gray edifice ran around the city.
The road we were on appeared to run straight towards a brownish spot in the wall. Before reaching the wall, it crossed another road. The crossroad disappeared to the left through a gully in the rolling hills. To the right, it crossed over a small river at a stone bridge. On the other side of the bridge I could see another fork in the path. Meanwhile the river flowed until it connected with a second river. The city itself sat against the point where the two rivers combined.
"Not too big a surprise," Elizabeth mused. "You did point out that most ancient civilizations on Earth founded their cities near large rivers or lakes. We should have expected the citizens of Jord to look to do the same."
"Well, we have a few more miles to go, but it appears our friend at the camp was right, we can get there by midday," I said.
The coeds immediately started talking about what they wanted.
"A hot bath."
"Shoes."
"Not shoes, boots for hiking, my ankles are sore."
"A bed to sleep in, with a real mattress."
"A new blouse."
"More clothes, I hate wearing the same clothes more than one day."
The comments kept coming, as we started moving again. Everyone seemed hopeful for an opportunity to rest in town. The wide fields and low grain made it impossible for anyone to ambush us. I relaxed and allowed Natalie to catch up to me as we walked.
"Is the leg better today?" I asked.
"How should I know?" Natalie snapped. "That slut hasn't checked it since yesterday morning. She was mooning over Al last night after you turned in and was in a hurry to pack this morning."
"Have you talked to her?"
"I don't want to talk to that slut right now."
I glanced over at Natalie. She had a grim expression on her face. "Do you need to talk about it?"
"Not here," Natalie hissed. "Not where that slut might hear." She pushed the pace, actually getting about ten yards ahead of me. I jogged to catch up. There was a slight hitch in her step, but she was walking confidently.
"The leg seems to be a lot better." I commented. "You aren't limping like yesterday."
"The massage from Heather helped," Natalie said with a shrug. "It's still stiff. I have to concentrate if I want to walk fast."
We kept up the increased pace for some time. I watched Natalie's face and noticed occasional twinges cross her forehead as she brought her injured leg forward. A light sheen of sweat began to build on her brow. We were still some distance from the city when she stopped and put her hands high on her thighs. She looked at me with tears dropping from her eyes.
"I guess it's not as good as I thought," she moaned. "Keep moving, I'll let the others pass and join the rear of the group. Maybe Henck or Steve can carry me."
The rest of the group was catching up to us, so I started back down the road. Esme was the first to reach Natalie. She sprinted forward and bent down to ask Natalie a question.
Natalie said nothing, but her angry wave was unmistakable. She stood up and pointedly looked down the road, ignoring Esme as the rest of the group came. When Steve approached, she grabbed his arm and whispered something to him.
Steve nodded and turned to hand the axe to Heather. He swept Natalie onto his back and held her up. He started walking forward again. Esme was left standing alone for a moment until Victoria pulled her aside and began whispering to her.
The situation behind me appeared under control, so I turned back towards the city. The fog was now rapidly clearing, and single wagons could be seen on the roads approaching the city. There was some activity just past the crossroads. From where we were, it appeared that people were lining up in front of some kind of wooden barrier.
We remained the only people on the one road. I could see no farmers in the nearby fields. The wagons in the distance continued to move towards the city as we advanced.
We were still at least a mile from the city when a morning breeze from the city brought a nasty, foul stench to my nose. Behind me, several of the coeds gagged as our senses were assaulted.
"My god!" Lydia moaned. "What is that smell?"
I fought the bile rising in my throat. I gave a tepid sniff of the foul air. "Unwashed human, garbage, and shit," I said after another wave of nausea ripped through me.
"How can anyone live with that?" Lisa asked.
The smell seemed to grow a little less with each breath. I was holding a hand over my nose to reduce it further. Al noticed and deliberately lowered his hand before taking a sniff. "I'm guessing that they don't notice it after a while. Not if they are around it all the time."
"I don't want to live in a place that's so dirty," Heather muttered. Most of the others mumbled their own agreement to the sentiment.
"Right," I said. "We weren't planning on staying long anyways. But we do need supplies and a few days of rest, so that city is what we get. I'll see if we can find an inn that's upwind from the smell."
We returned to marching towards the city. The smell became a bit more bearable as time passed. We now could see swarms of flies next to the road. The smell tended to get worse near each cloud of flies, and it was clear they were breeding in the garbage by the road. The lack of sanitation worried me as we reached the crossroads and found that a checkpoint had been setup.
The checkpoint was not elaborate. The spur of the road leading to the city was blocked by a series of upright barrels. There were paths between the barrels, but large armored men guarded the openings. To the right a line of men had formed.
"What if someone wants to bring in a wagon?" Steve asked as we made the short walk to the end of the line.
"They can move some of the barrels," Hencktor replied. He lifted Natalie from Steve's back and set her on the ground, handing her the pole she had used to assist her walking two days before. "You should use this to walk now," he told her. "The guards might get the wrong impression if you rode a man's back like that."
Natalie slid down to the ground, taking the staff. A huge grimace of pain crossed her face. She caught herself with the staff.
"Esme!" I shouted. "Come over here and check Natalie's leg."
Natalie looked up at me a mixture of pain and anger on her face. "Not her!" she hissed.
I knelt down to look Natalie in the eye. "Natalie, she has training in medicine. If anyone can tell what the problem is, she will. Be mad at her, but don't deny that she can help."
Esme had run over. She knelt down and put her
hands under Natalie's skirt as we stood in the line. "Um..." she said, looking around. "I have to lift the skirt to see the leg."
Al, Steve and Eddie stepped around the two, blocking the rest of the line from seeing what was going on. I turned to join them in blocking the view.
The pause gave me time to look over the line and the people. Most of the men appeared to be middle-aged farmers and hunters. The pants they wore appeared to be made from thick wool. Most showed signs of considerable wear, with frayed threads showing in the hips and knees. Their torsos were covered by light leather vests. They ignored us as the line inched forward.
We had advanced two thirds of the way to the barrels when Esme finally stood up. She had been backing up on her knees as we advanced. Eddie was standing next to me, watching over his shoulder and informed me that Esme was looking at me.
I offered my hand and pulled her forward to stand next to me when she took it. "Talk to me," I said.
Esme frowned. "Her leg is tired, strained and hasn't finished healing. If I was back on Earth, I'm sure a doctor would recommend a couple days of bed rest followed by surgery after the swelling goes down. Here, I can't even promise the bed rest."
"Is it serious?" Eddie asked.
"Of course it's serious," Esme snapped. "Those cuts should have killed her. I did what I could to stop the bleeding, but on Earth she would never have survived to reach a hospital. Only that strange potion saved her life. But she can recover, with a bit more rest."
"Should she be walking?" I asked.
"No," Esme said. "But the best we can do for now is have Al or Steve support her. Find us an inn quickly, so she can sit or lie down and give that leg some rest."
The last man in front of us moved past the barrels, and one of the guards stepped forward. "Next group," he demanded boredly.
I moved in front of him and held up the token handed us by the road guard the day before. "I believe we are supposed to show this token," I stated.