Lost on Jord

by Allan Joyal

There was silence at the table. I looked over and saw that Victoria and Lisa were done eating and now dozing in their chairs.

  "That's something we're not sure of," I admitted. "We could have a long conversation about it, but right now I see that some of us need to sleep."

  Elmori looked around. "Ah, I should have remembered that. If you want to sleep, you can just walk through the door there," she said pointing to a spot opposite the door we came in. "Once through that door, you'll find a common sleeping area to the left, with multiple beds. If you want privacy, turn right and climb the stairs. All the rooms on the second floor are bedrooms. Use any you want."

  "What about you?" Steve asked.

  The sorceress giggled, her right hand twirling a strand of her long black hair. "Oh, don't worry, I'm not giving up my bed," she said.

  She turned away. As she did, I heard her faintly whisper. "And I'm hoping I won't be in it alone tonight."

  After Elmori told about the available sleeping space, Al rose to his feet. He was immediately joined by Jennifer, Martha, Lisa, and Victoria as they stood up from the table. Lisa took a moment to reach down for the plate and utensils she had been using.

  Elmori negligently waved her hand and the plate jumped into the air, sailing to a waiting basin of water along one wall of the room. "Don't worry," she said. "I am the host tonight. Please, be at ease and sleep."

  Lisa had gasped when the plate rose. She turned to Elmori and fumbled as she attempted to curtsey. She leaned a bit too far forward and stumbled while standing up. With her cheeks bright red, she then dashed from the room.

  The others followed, closing the door behind them. Lydia watched them go and then sighed. "I feel sorry for her."

  "We all do," Steve said. "She was always the least confident of us, and with the death of Elizabeth, she's even more frightened. I'm not sure what we can do."

  "Hopefully, in two days we can return her home," I said.

  "I guess I'll have to stay at the Academy for the winter," Hencktor said. "After that I'm not sure what I'm going to do."

  Lydia slapped the back of the man's head. "You'll be married to me and helping me build a new life here," she snapped. "I have nothing to return to back on Earth. Now just for doubting me, why don't we go find one of Mistress Elmori's private rooms, and you can show me how much you want to be with me."

  My friend stood up. Her eyes blazed with anger and lust as a startled Hencktor struggled to his feet. As he stepped away from the table, Lydia grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down. Her lips fastened to his, and for the next several minutes she tried to suck the breath from his lungs with a long and passionate kiss. When she finally released the weakly struggling Hencktor, the man's face was blank.

  Lydia looked at him and giggled. "I've still got it," she whispered before dragging him to the door. They swept out of the chamber, Hencktor passively following Lydia's instructions as the door closed.

  Heather giggled. "Well, I see Lydia wasn't going to take no for an answer."

  "Ron, can we allow Lydia to stay if we all return to Earth?" Steve asked me.

  Suddenly, Elmori's body stiffened. In a hoarse monotone she proclaimed. "You will not return to Earth for the way has crumbled. It will be a generation before the path you trod to arrive at Jord can open again, allowing passage between your worlds. And yet, you still may have an impact. Look not on the old cities and their ways, for you are not from the cities, and your spirit would be crushed by the cruelty found there. Seek a new home as your ancestors once did, for there are new lands to explore. The way is long, and you will encounter treachery. But you can all find love and happiness."

  The room became silent as Elmori stared sightlessly at the far wall of the chamber. "God," I heard Steve whisper. "Was that a prophecy?"

  Esme just stared at Elmori. "I have never heard someone speak like that. It could be, but what if it's true. What should we do?"

  Just then Elmori unfroze. She shook her head for a moment and then looked at us. Seeing that we were staring at her, she frowned. "Don't tell me I spoke in that monotone again."

  "So it wasn't important?" I asked.

  Elmori sighed. "I can't pretend that. The spirits can, if they desire, see some potential paths a person might tread. But they have no voice to speak of what they see, so they will borrow my body. I cannot control what they say, or even if they decide to look into the future. What did I say?"

  "Only that the wizards will not be able to send us home, and that we should seek to create a new home in these lands," I replied.

  Elmori frowned. "Well, the fact that the wizards will not be able to send you home isn't entirely a surprise. You've already mentioned the possibility."

  "You knew it wasn't likely," Natalie said quietly.

  Elmori nodded. "I was at the academy many years ago as a student. My parents sent me there, but I was uncomfortable with their system of ritualized magic and dealings with the infernal beings. I left the school and wandered until I found an old sorcerer who took me in and showed me how to listen to the spirits. I studied with him for nearly a decade and then came here."

  "Why so close to the academy?" Heather asked.

  "Because I was not the only one who was unhappy there. Since then, I've helped several others who could never have learned to be wizards. They know I'm here, but since I don't try to entice their students away, they leave me alone," was Elmori's response.

  "It sounds like a fulfilling if lonely life," I said. "However, that doesn't answer the rest of our question. Since we know that the wizards won't be able to send us home, what should we be planning to do? Your prophecy hinted that we find our own homeland."

  "All thirteen of us?" Heather asked with a snort.

  "Why not?" I responded. "We are all young, and while we aren't perfectly knowledgeable about how to live in this land, we can learn. If the wizards say they can't help us, we'd have the winter to train and prepare."

  "If they let us stay," Steve muttered.

  Elmori laughed. "For that little pack of mithril that Ron is carrying, they'd let you stay for a year or more."

  "It's worth that much?" Heather asked with a gasp.

  "Not to me," Elmori said. "Only a wizard could find a use for mithril powder. But they use it in many powerful spells, and the dwarves never allow them to have all that much."

  "Why give it to me then?" I asked.

  "Because without your help they'd never have known about the loss of their armor. Dwarven armor is passed down for generations. The fact that the other group that came to Jord with you had looted the armor was extremely valuable information to the dwarves. They have already retrieved two of the stolen suits and will probably have the rest by midwinter," Elmori told us.

  "They bought them back?" Esme asked.

  "No," Elmori said with finality. "The dwarves considered the suits stolen. They did work with city authorities in Linktrum and Vlandevan to reclaim the suits they have recovered. Your countrymen ran away from Vlandevan after the first two suits were seized. But they'll be forced to a city soon, and then the dwarves will recover the remaining suits."

  "Winter is nasty around here?" Steve asked.

  "We'll have waist high snow within fourteen days," Elmori said. "The mountains to the south will start to block the warm air flows as the season turns to winter. Winter comes fast and hard. Usually the first storm includes driving winds from the north. The only good thing about our seasons is that the winters are short. Seventy days or so after it begins, the southern winds shift enough to blow through the mountain passes and bring warm air back to the plains."

  "And probably bury the roads in mud for a while," I muttered.

  "Yes," Elmori said. "But with the idea I have, you should be on the road as quickly as possible. You'll have a very long journey and little time to spare."

  "How long a journey and what are you thinking?' Steve asked.

  Elmori waved a hand. A gust of air lifted the remaining dishes from the table. We watched in silence
as the dishes floated peacefully to the wall and the washing basin. The remaining food was lifted away and carried out a window by the same unseen force as the dishes dropped into the basin to soak.

  We turned back to see a large rolled parchment wafting in through a different window. It settled on the table and unrolled, revealing a map of the region.

  "You are here, on what many call the war-torn plains," Elmori said pointing to a region on the west of the map. Scale was hard to determine, but we appeared to be no more than two hundred miles from the western edge of the continent. The marks for mountains formed a half circle around the open area Elmori was pointing to, with the west, north and south completely blocked by mountains.

  "You said warm breezes come from the south?" Esme asked as we bent over the map. "How?"

  "There are some passes in the mountains," Elmori said. "In the spring the breezes blow in from the warming sea, and easily clear the low passes in the southwest where the two ranges meet. However, with the angle of the sun changed, the seas grow cooler and the breezes from the south are pushed upward by the mountains. The southern mountains become blanketed with snow long before the northern storms arrive on the plains." She pointed at a trio of breaks in the northern range.

  Kariy looked at the map. Her finger was tracing a route leading away from the mountains and approaching a great forest that stood to the southeast.

  "This is much less detailed than the map the dwarves showed us," Heather said. "But now I'm confused. Where do the rivers in the plains go? The mountains appear to block any route to the sea."

  "Linktrum sits on the one that carved the first northern pass," Elmori said, her fingers now following a river headed to the north and then curving west to the ocean. "My river here enters the great lake where Lakverd stands. From there, a new river spawns and runs north to the mountains and then turns west to join the river from Linktrum. Beyond this point if you continue east, you'll find all the rivers run to the south joining a river that skirts the Fae Forest and the Southern range on its journey to the sea."

  "Wow, so even with the mountains ringing the continent, there are still rivers that flow through them to the sea," Steve said. "I can sort of picture that, but it's a bit of a surprise."

  "Well, now I understand my confusion," Heather said. "We have actually ended up off the dwarves' map. It only covered the area from Linktrum to the northern range and then over to the Wizard's Academy. And it wasn't oriented to the same north."

  Elmori giggled. "The dwarves' maps of the surface world tend to only contain the trade routes they are interested in. If you want to see a detailed dwarven map, you need to get them to show you one of their mines and tunnels. But that's not what I wanted to show you."

  She pointed to the center of the area encircled by the mountains. "The Wizard's Academy is here, almost at the center of the plains. From there, they influence all of the cities in the region, until you reach the Elfwall River." She was now pointing to a river that ran from north to south at the eastern edge of the mountains.

  "Beyond the river, few humans roam. For a while, you'll have to contend with the groves of the elves, as the Fae Forest has been expanding to the north, following the river. But they have told of the lands beyond and the spirits have shown me glimpses."

  "You aren't going to tell us that it's a land of milk and honey, are you?" I asked.

  "No," Elmori said as Kariy giggled at my comment. "Past the forest, the ground turns into rolling hills. The southern ocean is warm and without mountains to shield the plains, strong winds and warm summer rains are common."

  "Tornado country," Jennifer said.

  "Oh?" Steve asked.

  Jennifer nodded. "I'm from Oklahoma, and tornadoes are kind of important to us. I'm no expert, but I do know that the combination of warm air from the Gulf meeting cold air coming from Canada is a cause of the tornadoes. So past the forest will probably be a decent place for some farms and ranching, but houses would be in danger."

  Elmori sighed. "I was going to explain that, but I guess you already understand. Actually the best plan would be to continue past the hills. The lands have another short mountain range and then flatten out for the final few miles to the ocean. At the foot of the mountains you can find sheltered valleys with plenty of wood, and protection from predators and other races."

  "How bad will the other race issue be?" I asked.

  Elmori frowned. "The elves of the Fae Forest mostly tolerate humans, but they can be cruel to outsiders who venture too deep in their lands. The dwarves have a couple colonies in the northern part of the eastern range, but if you are in the southern half they probably won't see you. If they do, and you are successfully farming, they are likely to want to trade. It is hard to grow good grains underground. You'll almost certainly see Orcs and Goblins either on the plains or in the mountains. They could be a concern, but the spirits tell me that there are no settlements on the east side of the range."

  "If the land is fertile, there should be," I said. "There is no reason for so much land to have no one on it."

  "There was a great civilization there once. They died," Elmori said in a whisper.

  "What?" Heather said, sitting up.

  Elmori sighed. "Three hundred years ago, the whole continent was under a single ruler. The people called him many names, but Overlord was the most common. The land was peaceful, but many of the ruler's nobles wanted more power. He held most power in his fists, only offering a few scraps to those who governed the cities of his empire."

  Esme held a hand up. "So a rebellion occurred. But how would that kill off everyone?"

  "Are there no ways to kill thousands in seconds on your world?" Elmori asked. "Wizards who cast the right spells can melt a city with the heat of the sun, or can summon a slavering monster that is mist when a weapon strikes it, but has talons two feet long. The governors used such magic and more, and the emperor and his spellcasters responded. The fighting lasted more than fifty years before both sides were simply too exhausted to continue. By then, no human city stood east of the Elfwall, and the few humans left were wiped out by the orcs and goblins coming down from the north as the empire fell."

  "These orcs and goblins worry me," Steve said. "We aren't a big party, they could catch us on the plains, or worse yet, wipe out any settlement we create."

  "Most have died or returned to the north," Elmori said. "With no humans farming the plains, there was little food for the orcs and even less fun. Also their coming south was led by a great orc. He was fierce and cunning, but at his death the orc tribes turned on each other, and on the goblins. In the end, their reduced numbers proved to be no match for the elves who choose to drive them far away from their forests."

  "So it's mostly depopulated, but there will be some dangers. And we have a trip that will take months. When did we end up on the Oregon trail?" I asked.

  Heather giggled. "Oh god, I can see wanting to be a pioneer, but do you have a clue what we'd be setting ourselves up for? We don't have a wagon."

  "We can purchase one," I said. "If Elmori is correct, the dwarven trade goods will be quite valuable at the Academy. We can use that to get started."

  Esme and Natalie were hugging. "Ron," Esme said. "Can we do it? I asked a few questions in Lakverd and found that, well... ."

  "Oh just say it," Natalie snapped. "I'm not afraid of saying that I've fallen madly in love with you, and that lesbians are condemned in every city on the plains. If we have to stay on Jord, we need to make our own home."

  "Madly?" I asked.

  Natalie blushed. "Fine! Just make fun of me trying to be romantic. It doesn't change the fact that I am happy when I can be in Esme's arms and more than anything I want her to be happy. Now if you have a problem with that, we'll quit the group. Either way, we've never had a chance to do more than cuddle. So if you were sincere about offering the private rooms, Elmori, can Esme and I use one tonight?"

  I nodded and looked at Steve. "I'd say that fits the truly, madly, deeply requirements,
wouldn't you?"

  "Definitely," he said with a wink. "They should be very happy together."

  "Steve! Ron!" Esme cried out. "We've never ... ."

  I held up a hand. "Esme, Natalie. Please, we are just teasing you. The fact that you have a chance to find happiness here is wonderful. My only hope is that fifty years from now you are still finding happiness in each other's arms."

  "We'll do our best," Natalie said as she jumped up from the table and started dragging Esme to the door.

  "Wait! Will Elmori accept this?" Esme asked, pulling her arm out of Natalie's grip.

  Everyone in the room turned to look at Elmori, who was covering her mouth. She appeared to be shaking. The silence went on until she looked up and noticed that she had the attention of everyone. With a giggle, she dropped her hand. "Oh, go!" she told Natalie and Esme. "I see nothing wrong with it."

  Natalie and Esme dashed from the room. We could hear their giggling as they turned and climbed the stairs of the tower.

  Kariy was still sitting next to me, and she gently poked me. "I don't understand. How can they?"

  Heather smiled and reached around me to pat her on the head. "Don't worry about that for now," she said. "Be happy for them."

  "Are you upset by it?" I asked cautiously.

  "Oh no!" Kariy said, sitting up abruptly. "They have been so good to me. And Natalie has such courage to walk again with those scars on her leg. But children? And it being two women?"

  I sighed and glanced over at Elmori. She was looking on with interest. "There are ways they can show their love. And as for children, they are young and can work out how to handle that issue. If the love is true, they will find a way they can be happy."

  "Neither is a virgin," Heather said. "Both have talked about old boyfriends. I'm sure if they want a baby, they can find someone to..." her rant paused.

  Steve laughed. "Let's just say they can probably find a man if they need one."

  Kariy blushed as Elmori giggled. "So polite. And I suppose you are hoping to be that man?"

  Steve shrugged. "I never really worried about it. Ron's first priority has always been to keep us all safe. We've had some problems, but I'm sure we have done much better than we could have."