Lost on Jord

by Allan Joyal

  Two members of the crew were using the poles to turn the ship. Once the ship was no longer facing the shore, three others went to the mast and a small sail was unfurled. In moments the ship was gliding across the water.

  Kariy was assigned to watch a couple of ropes, but the rest of the crew was soon directed to the stern, where we were directed to start throwing a net over the side. The leading edge had a large gourd attached. As the ropes of the net sank, this gourd stayed on the surface of the water.

  "We'll be back to collect it in a moment," the captain observed.

  The ship circled to the right as we continued to feed the net into the water. I noticed that the bundle of cables quickly spread out in the water. One heavy cable remained near the surface, but the rest quickly sank out of sight once they were in the water.

  We had fed about half of the net into the water when I heard a bump against the hull. The captain immediately called for us to stop feeding the net into the water.

  I sat back and looked towards the sound. Two crewmen were using a boathook to snatch the gourd from the front of the net out the water. They dragged it aboard and secured it to a capstan.

  "Haul it in boys!" the captain shouted.

  One crewman remained near the mast, adjusting the sails. The remaining men came back to the net, pushing Natalie and me out of the way. Three men grabbed each side of the net and with powerful heaves started to pull it aboard.

  "Sort the fish once they come up," the captain called to me.

  I nodded and watched. Initially the men had pulled in the net evenly. But then having reached some point on the cable, they sped up the retrieval of the small cables that had sunk into the water. It was clear that my assistance would be unwelcome, so I watched over the side as the net emerged from the water.

  "Does this really work?" Esme asked me. The net was now in an irregular circle of about fifteen yards diameter. Flashes of silver in the encircled area suggested that some fish had been trapped.

  "Since we see fish in the net, it obviously works," I said. "Now it might be a tactic no longer used on Earth, but I couldn't say. What I can say is that it appears to work fine for these men, so let's not cause any trouble over it."

  Esme nodded. "I just wondered. The only fishing I've ever really watched was some documentary about factory ships near Alaska. They looked nothing like this."

  "The wonders of technology," I said. The men had resumed pulling in the main cable and the net was now a steadily shrinking circle in the water. Inside the circle, the water grew first silver as sunlight reflected off fish scales and then white, as thrashing fish turned water to foam.

  From the happy cries from the crew as they saw the catch, it looked like this was a fine haul. The net was heaved from the water and hung from the side for a moment. A quick inspection was made.

  "Great catch," the captain said. "Men, grab two barrels and let's fill them."

  A crewman dashed towards us and pushed Kariy from a barrel she was perched on. He knelt down and carefully wrapped his arms around it, straining to lift it from the deck.

  I jumped up to help him and was surprised to hear a faint sloshing sound as we maneuvered the barrel to the railing by the net. He guided us to a point near the stern where two other crewmen waited.

  The crew helped us set the barrel down, and quickly pulled the lid away. A briny smell wafted from the open barrel and I looked down to see a thick liquid in the bottom half of the barrel. The crew ignored my pause, as they were pulling fish from the net. Some were tossed overboard and back into the water, while others were deposited into the barrel, where they slowly sank to the bottom.

  I stepped towards the net, but the crew waved me away. Dismayed, I looked over at the captain, but he merely waved for me to join him.

  "It's a good catch," he said. "They want to get the best fish for the barrels. You don't know what the village is looking for."

  I nodded. "But you asked us for help in exchange for the ride to your village. We haven't really helped much."

  The man pointed to the net. "That's the best catch we've had in a moon cycle. You brought us luck, so that's more than enough for now."

  He turned away. The men had finished filling one barrel and were working on the second. I could see Kariy, Esme, and Natalie all leaning against the far railing, gazing at the other boats.

  I walked over and joined them. "The captain appears happy with the catch," I said.

  The girls were quiet for a moment. Finally Kariy pointed to the next boat in the small fishing flotilla. "I don't think they got a very good catch. The captain is shouting at his men."

  "Who's on the boat?" I asked.

  "Hencktor," Esme said. "He's made sure that Lydia and Martha are at the bow and not in the way."

  "Is there going to be a problem?" I asked, looking around for a weapon.

  "There won't be," I heard the captain growl next to me. "The fleet had good fishing today; one empty net is no cause to bother you and your people. You've played straight with us."

  I shrugged as we watched the crew of the other boat pull the net aboard. "We don't have a reason to do anything else. Our goal is to get to the Wizard's Academy before snow and winter end travel."

  "Don't know why you are in such a hurry, but as I said, it's just a couple days from Lakverd," the captain said. He turned away and shouted loudly. "Got the barrels filled? Then get the net aboard and let's make for home. We'll have a big feast tonight."

  The crew cheered. The net was dumped onto the deck as three members of the crew dashed to the mast. They unfurled the sail as the remaining crew cleared the few remaining fish from the net, throwing them overboard in a silvery rain.

  The ship turned again. Moving parallel to the shore, we opened up a long lead from the other ships. Cries of annoyance and surprise rang out as the other ships turned and gave chase.

  The girls and I were pushed to the stern. We leaned against the railing, watching the other ships spread out, each seeking more wind. On our ship, the crew almost danced through their duties as they shifted the ropes and spars, squeezing every bit of speed they could from the afternoon breeze.

  With someone else in charge of the journey, I started looking around. When we first saw the lake, I had realized it must be big, but this was the first time I looked for the far shore and realized that it was not visible. I scanned the horizon and realized only the shore we arrived from and the village rose from the water. I was taking this in when I heard Natalie.

  "It's huge," she whispered. "It might not be as big as Lake Superior on Earth, but it definitely qualifies as a Great Lake."

  "I'm not saying anything," I whispered back. "I get a feeling these fishermen are rather proud of the village they have. I'm only surprised there are no more."

  "Dragon wiped out three kingdoms near here a generation ago," the captain said from just behind us, causing us both to jump. "Wyrmwierd, they called him. Black as night and meaner than the maddest monarch. Came down from the mountains to the South, and found a cave on the far shore. Jealous though. Wanted all the fish in the lake for himself, so he burned boats. And when that failed to get people to leave, he started burning the fishing villages. Soon there were no villages on the shore, but he kept pushing people away from his lake."

  "But you're here," I said needlessly.

  "Seven years ago, Wyrmwierd flew off to the south. No one has seen the dragon since. Last year, eight families decided to try a village at the north end of the lake. We're up to eighteen families now," the captain said.

  "Are you the mayor?" Natalie asked.

  "Mayor? I'd never want to waste my time with that job. Dealing with some lord and making nice with merchants and such. No, I just lead the fishing fleet," the man said with a snort.

  "What kind of welcome can we expect at the village?" I asked.

  "Well, we don't have a big traveler's inn. There are three merchant groups that know we exist, and they come in once a year. But we'll find a place for you. We recently ship
ped out the fall catch, so you can stay in the warehouse. It won't be luxury, but no one will bother you," the man said.

  Natalie shivered, and her nose wrinkled at this comment. I just stayed quiet as a crewman's shout dragged the captain away to help solve a problem.

  The journey back to the village of Lakverd took nearly three hours. The afternoon breeze pushing the ships to the north died, forcing everyone to break out oars to row the last four miles back to the village. The boat I was on was the first to touch the peer, but Hencktor had put his back into rowing, and his boat slid to a halt beside us before the first crewman had finished tying the ship down. Al and Steve's rides were still some distance away as the crew helped Esme and Natalie onto the pier.

  One of the crew had dashed off the moment the ship was tied down. I remained to help the crew unload a total of six barrels of fish. Every barrel gave the same sloshing sound when moved.

  "Must be a popular way to store fish," I observed in an aside to Kariy as I helped set one barrel on the pier. The sloshing sound was quite loud and Kariy giggled.

  "Actually we only use it early in the season," one of the crewmen said as we stepped back onto the boat to grab the last barrel. "It's great for fish you are going to eat immediately or the next day, but more than that and you need to salt or smoke the fish to preserve it."

  Kariy giggled. She looked over at the other boat where Hencktor was helping unload more barrels. "Can I help prepare the food?" she asked.

  The men on the dock shouted this idea down. It was made clear that the village would be dishonored if any of us helped in the food preparation. We stood around looking for something to do when one of the crew pointed between two of the buildings.

  "Town square and fountain are up that way. The feast will be there. Go there and wait," the man said.

  Impulsively I snatched Kariy's hand. "Come, let's go!" I cried as I jumped forward. Kariy followed me, laughing as we dashed past Esme and Natalie. They quickly took up the chase as we ran up the lane.

  Chapter 19: A Feast

  The fountain in the village square was ancient. The center where the water bubbled out was new marble, but the basin's weathered marble looked to have been in the sun for centuries.

  The rim was clean, if bleached by years in the sun, and I sat down, pulling a giggling Kariy into my lap. Esme and Natalie joined me on the bench, as we looked back down the lane.

  Kariy gave me a kiss on the forehead and then jumped out of my arms. She ran around the fountain with her arms out. Hencktor was just entering the square as she finished her circuit. She wrapped him up in a huge hug and held on as he finished the walk up to the fountain. He had a pack on his back and four more in his hands.

  "You forgot your packs," he said with a smile.

  "Oops," Esme said. "Well, that's Ron's fault. He decided to run off without them."

  I opened my mouth, but Hencktor laughed as Lydia ran up and put a finger to my lips. "Don't say a word!" she told me sternly. "The crew was happy to hand the packs over. They seemed to admire our brunette with the limp and said she had done more than her share on the ship."

  "Yeah," Natalie replied with a chirp. "I got pushed out of the way by everybody."

  "I never!" I began.

  "Made love by moonlight?" Heather said as she approached the fountain. The rest of the group was convulsed with laughter as I sat there trying to look innocent.

  Heather sat down next to me, laying the spear on the ground in front of me. She put an arm around my shoulder as the rest of the group found spots to rest.

  "I talked a bit with Jalipo," Steve said. "He said we have two ways to get to the Wizard's Academy."

  "That I can believe," I said. "Did he have a recommendation?"

  Steve frowned. "I guess the fastest way is to take the north-west road when we leave. Only he warned that if we do that, we might have problems tomorrow night."

  Heather giggled. "He also told you that the lake was filled with magical fish. You spent half the trip looking for a fish with golden scales."

  Steve looked slightly upset, but shook himself and smiled. He leaned back as several villagers appeared, carrying tables. The tables were lined up in the courtyard and then the villagers headed off, leaving a few young children in the courtyard.

  The children were dirty. Boys and girls were dressed in simple loin cloths. They frolicked barefoot, playing tag around the tables as we watched in amusement.

  "It's nice to see happy children," Lydia said with a sigh. "I've always wondered what might happen if we stay. I know I'll want to have Hencktor's children."

  "Wha?" Hencktor stammered out. He was blushing furiously as he stood up next to Lydia. Tears fell from his eyes as he looked at her. "But Miss Lydia, you're too..."

  I was about to jump in, but Lydia jumped up and threw her hands over Henck's mouth. "Don't say it," she hissed. "Don't you dare even think it! I know what kind of man you are, and you are perfect for me."

  Henck pushed Lydia's hands down and looked over at me. "Ron?" he began.

  "You won't get any support from him," Steve said. "You've been good for Lydia. If she wants you, she just has to ask and I'm sure Ron could be convinced to tie you down for her."

  I blushed. "Steve, I'm not touching that one," I muttered.

  Just then Victoria scrambled to her feet. "Wow, nice cooking setup." she blurted out.

  We turned to look. A pit had been revealed near the assembled tables. Inside the pit, a fire roared. It heated a large cauldron that was held over the pit by the long metal legs of a tripod placed across the circular opening. As we watched, two of the village women filleted several fish, tossing the cut portions into the pot.

  Herbs and spices followed the fish into the pot as children came by and tended the fire. Other villagers brought bundles to the tables. Soon an array of breads and pies littered the tables, and the villagers were gathering in the courtyard. From the conversation, many were hungry and looking forward to the meal.

  The children had been chased away from the table. Several noticed our group sitting by the fountain. Soon we found the children peeking out from behind villagers, shyly staring at us. I glanced over at Lydia and she had a grin on her face. She slowly looked around one more time and then winked at me.

  "I am Sam," she quoted, looking at me. Then she turned to the child nearest her. "Sam I am."

  "That Sam I am, that Sam I am," I muttered. "I do not like that Sam I am."

  Heather started coughing as Lydia jumped up and dashed over to me. "Do you like..." she began. She paused and looked again at the children. Several had approached closer. "Green eggs and ham?"

  A couple of the villagers gasped as the children giggled. I puffed out my chest and in my most pompous tones chanted. "I do not like green eggs and ham! I do not like them, Sam I am!"

  Lydia was grinning wildly as she started to ask me the next line, carefully pointing directly in front of two of the village children. With the coeds collapsed against the fountain in laughter, we performed the entire book, hamming up each line. We discovered that words like car and train did not translate properly, but by the time we finished the children surrounded us, merrily laughing as I gave Lydia a one-armed hug.

  The coeds applauded, but the ship captain stormed up to me. He stood in front of me, breathing deeply for several moments. Eventually he appeared to collect his thoughts. "What was that!?"

  "A poem from our homeland," Steve called out. "It was written to help children learn to read. Lydia and Ron used to perform every year for the Christmas party."

  "Christmas?" one of the children asked.

  "For you it would be a celebration of Mid-winter's Day, I think," I responded. "We have lots of celebrations around that time. Families get together to celebrate another year, and many organizations like our trade group will have their own celebration."

  The child looked puzzled, but a woman ran up to hug him. "It sounds like one of our celebrations after a merchant leaves," she said to the boy.

>   I just smiled. The captain looked over our group and turned away. He muttered something about strange customs as he disappeared back into the crowd.

  Kariy then pushed something into my hands. I looked down to find that she had prepared an eating set. I was holding a wooden mug, a wooden bowl and a metal spoon. She passed another set to Lydia as I stood next to her.

  The captain had stomped away, but our performance proved to be an excellent icebreaker with the villagers. The children now ran around us, demanding attention and fearlessly asking questions. The coeds cheerfully answered questions and teased the kids back.

  I sat quietly. The villagers appeared to be quite happy that we had the children distracted while they completed preparations for the meal. The mounds of bread and cheese on the table were organized, and the pot over the fire was steaming when they called that dinner was ready.

  The children all dashed off, allowing us to line up with the villagers. Looking around, I found the children at the end of the line, playfully pushing each other as they waited their turn to grab some food.

  Several villagers went through the line first. I watched as they selected a few slices of cheese and some bread before bringing a bowl up to the cauldron. Some used large loaves of bread as bowls, but most had a wood or clay creation to hold the steaming fish stew.

  I led our group through the line. The cheeses were a bit more crumbly than I expected, falling apart to any firm touch. I took only a small slice along with a couple of rolls before bringing my bowl to the cauldron.

  "Is that all you're having?" the woman ladling out the fish stew asked.

  "I wanted to be sure your children have enough," I explained.

  The woman smiled and muttered something about indulgent men. She filled my bowl before turning to Victoria.

  I made my way back to the fountain. There was a man sitting on the rim of the fountain. His presence made me pause before sitting down, but he tapped the marble next to him, and I sat to eat my meal.

  "My son thinks you have traveled a long way," the man said.