“Think nothing of it your highness, it’s what you would do if the situation were reversed. Now let’s rest and get on with business. It’s very nice to have you here. Although I wish a cloud wasn’t hanging over your head.”
After an evening meal and a chance to rest, Randall, Simane, Abel, Petor and Brandt all rode out to see the great bison herds the next morning. They were accompanied by six royal guards, six of the duchess guards and two experienced hunters. As they pulled up on a rise ten miles from town, they could see a large herd of bison grazing peacefully. The two hunters acted as guides for the party. The senior one spoke. “You see your highness there’s one of the bigger herds. There are tens of thousands of them in the duchy. Have to hunt them, can’t do anything else. Meats good and the hide makes good winter clothing.”
“How do you hunt them, surely not with muskets?” asked Brandt
“No, you’d use musket only if you wanted to get killed you highness. We use rifles, each of us carries two of them. They take so long to load, that if you’re in trouble you’ll need another one already loaded. We can shoot them at two hundred, three hundred yards. About twenty of us come out at one time with wagons to haul them back. We really only get to shoot one or at most two each. Then they take off. Once they’re clear, we gut them and load them on the wagons. Most of the hunting is done early in the winter, when the cold naturally preserves the meat. We’ll do some hunting at other times to provide meat for the city. But the winter meat, half stays here the rest is shipped to Centralia.”
“You’re careful not to over hunt, I assume.” Said Randall.
“Yes, the duchess is quite strict about that and rightfully so. The herds seem so big that it appears that you can’t hurt them. Don’t think that’s the case, especially as how Dr. Jorgenson told us how they almost wiped them out on the home world by over hunting. That was stupid. God gives you something you don’t abuse it. At least that’s how I see it.”
“Barat” asked Simane addressing the senior hunter. “You don’t see anyway cattle can survive out here?”
“No, your grace, I don’t. They’d have to be able to get to the grass under all the snow and be able to fend off the wolves and big cats that hunt the bison. I don’t see a cow doing that. They’d have to be really mean and that would sort of be the same as the bison.”
Simane laughed. “Yes, go to all the trouble of breeding a cow that could survive out here and probably wind up with one just as mean as the bison we already have. I see your point. I just wanted to make it clear to his highness.”
“Are there any mammoth’s around?” asked an excited Brandt.
“Yes, your highness there are some about an hour away from here.” Barat looked at Randall. “Should we go take a look at them?”
“Yes, thank you Barat, that would be good. I haven’t seen one in years and I’m sure Prince Brandt would like to see them as well. Lead the way if you please.” Said Randall.
A bit over an hour later they could see the huge creatures about a half mile away. “I think this is close enough.” Cautioned Barat. “There normally pretty peaceful as long as you don’t get them riled.”
“They are so big. James says that his grandfather told him that humans may have hunted all of these animals to extinction on the home world. I’m glad that we didn’t do that here.” Remarked Brandt.
Randall looked at his son. “I agree with you Brandt, I’m glad that they’re still here. As to why they weren’t hunted to extinction here as they were on the home world, I’m not sure that we’ll ever know. I don’t think that our ancestors here on Cornu, thought anymore about it than did the ancient people on the home world.”
On the way back to the palace they discussed the mines. Simane explained. “There deposits of iron and other metals readily available in the mountains. We’re lucky that there is also coal nearby, so we’ve got a source of fuel to set up blast furnaces to process the iron. I think we’re putting out almost as much pig iron as they are putting out from the mines in the Sud. I’m sure that if we explored more, we’d find more. But we just don’t have the people to exploit it and also probably not the need. We did discover deposits of gold and silver which we are starting to mine.”
“What about safety your grace?” Asked Randall.
“We take safety very seriously. Mining is a very dangerous occupation and we have neither the desire nor the people to waste on serious accidents. We had a freak accident five years ago that killed a miner. We haven’t lost anyone since and hope not to.”
“Yes, I remember that. A totally unexpected accident. The mines are very well run your Grace.” Replied Randall.
No one mentioned people who were banished for serious crimes like premediated murder. The banished men were held in Westland until the spring when they were given provisions and taken well out into the foothills and let loose. Most didn’t make it through winter. Those that survived eventually took their own lives. The women were sold to people to the south of the Sud. What happened to them nobody cared.
After arriving back, they had a working meal with the duchess and her family. “Your highness” began the duchess “what we could really use from the crown and from the agricultural research station is better cattle. The cattle we have now do well in the south. As you heard today, we don’t think we can breed them to come further north. Our cattle have a thick coat that does fairly well in the cold. We’ve got plenty of fir stands where they can go and get out of the worst of the weather. Since we’ve put those in, we lose very few to the elements. We do have to house the milk cows over the winter, they simply can’t stand the colder temperatures we get up here in the North. But we can live with that.”
Randall replied. “So, the ideal solution would be a meat cow that has the same cold tolerance as the current cattle, but better beef production. A heavy coat is not a problem and may even be of benefit. Did I understand you correctly?”
“Yes, you did, that would be perfect.”
“Good, I’ll pass that on to Baroness Joanne. That’s just the type of information she needs. I assume that she can get some selected cattle from you. She may even want to set up experiments up here in the north.”
“That would be perfect. We’d love to have some people from the station up here.”
“Good, I’ll see what can be done when I return to the capital. Say is this bison I’m eating?” as Randall cut into his steak. “It’s quite good and lean as well.”
“Yes, we had the hunters go out and pick out a young bull for us. The cows are still birthing and raising their calves and I wouldn’t want to kill a cow just yet. I’m glad you like it.”
The next night was the reception for the royal family. It went smoothly with Randall and his family graciously dealing with all of the people who just wanted to meet them and say a few words. Randall and his family noted the extra guards, both in the hall and near their quarters. The next day, they headed out for Great Falls.
Roddrick Departs.
King Arthur of Modia called his son Roddrick to his quarters. “Roddrick it’s almost three months until your wedding to Christiana you should get started on your way to Nordport to meet her. I have good news. There was gold found in the north. It looks like it’s a rich deposit. So, while, we are not going to be rolling in wealth, it will add to the kingdom’s finances. I’m thinking we should look to what is being done at that research station in Nordia. We should see if they have things that would be good to invest our money in. You should prepare to leave and your mothers and I will follow. We plan to be there two weeks before the wedding.”
“That’s great news father. I’ll prepare to leave. I admit that I’m both nervous and excited. I’ll be living in Nordport with my wife and will miss you and everyone here. I’ll tell Norbart to prepare to leave. I don’t think I’ll take a carriage, instead I’ll ride. Sitting alone in a carriage for the whole journey will just be to be boring and I’m a bit nervous. At least I’ll see the countryside and get to converse with people.”
“Good, as soon as you are ready, come say your goodbyes and I’ll send a bird to Westland and they will notify Nordport.”
A week later Roddrick rode out of Naldalia and headed east towards Westland with Norbart and ten guards. He had no idea that the six of the guards were in fact members of the assassin’s guild. He would have never even considered that anyone would want to kill anyone in Nordia’s royal family. Nor would he think that anyone in the king’s guard would betray his family.
When he left his father sent a bird to Westland to let them know that his son was on his way. Once it reached Westland, two birds were sent out. One to Centralia, which would then relay the information to Nordport and the other to Great Falls where the royal family would arrive in a couple of days.
Great Falls
As they approached Great Falls, it brought back memories for Randall and Juliana. This was where they first met. When they got to the Ro, they boarded a ferry to take them across to the City. When the ferry docked Dravid, Alania and Lorina were waiting to greet them. There were hugs all around and they traveled up to the palace.
Once they got there Lorina brought out Wrowina, who was crawling and just starting to take tentative steps. While she was still breast feeding, she had also started on solid foods. Mashed vegetables, fruit, meat and soft cheese. Christiana and Catrina both enjoyed playing with and feeding the toddler. Her two older sisters spent their time talking to their cousins about the upcoming wedding, betrothal and other items of keen interest to young woman. While the girls were engaged with Wrowina, the adults were busy talking about policies and family matters. This left Brandt on his own. He eventually made his way to the library to sit down and read one of the many books his Uncle had.
At dinner that evening, they were interrupted by a message from Centralia. Wrowina had already fallen asleep, exhausted from playing with her new ‘friends’ and had been taken to bed. Dravid read it and then handed it to Randall. Randall read the message and passed it to his wives to read. This got the attention of the young people and they were all eager to hear what’s in the message. Finally, Randall announced. “Christiana, Roddrick has left home and is on his way to Nordport. He should be at Westland in five or six days. He’ll then go to Nordport through Centralia.”
Christiana immediately said. “Father you and I should go to Centralia, meet Roddrick and then go on to Nordport.”
Catrina immediately jumped in to help her sister. “Yes father, that’s exactly the thing to do.” Her younger cousins voiced their agreement as well.
Randall held up his hand. “I agree we need to have him met and escorted. But I can’t just abandon the Grand Tour for this.” Randall also didn’t want to be left to deal with two besotted young people all by himself for over a week.
The four young women advocated for Christiana and her father to go meet Roddrick. Brandt just hoped that he wouldn’t be included.
Dravid announced that he had a plan. “Randall, I propose that after all the necessary meetings, dinners and so forth are completed here. You go to Centralia, meet Roddrick and escort him to Midport. The rest of the family will continue on to Midport. You would meet in Midport. I’m sure Edwin would be thrilled with having the both the royal family and Roddrick there. The small towns between here and Midport would all understand. The excitement of the royal wedding is already starting to build, and they’ll be very happy with the situation.”
Christiana looked at her sister, who gave a small nod of her head. Catrina felt that this was the best that they would get. Christiana reluctantly realized that she was right. So, she gave a cheerful smile and clapped her hands. “Uncle Dravid, that’s a wonderful idea. What do you think father?”
Randall was relieved and thought that it was a very workable solution. “Dravid, once again you’ve come up with a good answer to an interesting situation. Yes, that makes sense. We can send birds to let everyone know what we’re doing. I’ll leave for Centralia and then escort Roddrick to Midport. He may travel quickly through the countryside, but he’ll be delayed by all the people who want to meet him in both Westland and Centralia. So, it’s very workable.”
Dravid was pleased that his suggestion was taken. “Good, I’ll detail twenty men to provide an escort for you to Centralia. That should be sufficient.” Secretly, Dravid was thrilled. They’d broken up the royal family on the way to Midport. That thwarted the prophecy of his wife. Then from Midport to Nordport the guards would be strengthened with Roddrick’s escort. All in all, a most auspicious break. He knew that his wife, Alania would be pleased, and he was happy as well.
Christiana was excited yet disappointed that she would have to wait to see Roddrick. Catrina understood her sisters desire to see Roddrick as soon as possible. It brought home to her, the need to find a suitable man for herself. She had a sense that it would all work out. There were a few months until her sixteenth birthday and she hopped that her birthday present would be a betrothal.
The two sisters talked on the way to their rooms. Christiana couldn’t wait to have her betrothed with her and her sister shared her excitement. While the girls were excited, their father was relieved. He didn’t have to deal with his future son-in-law and his daughter all by himself. At Midport his wives would take care of that. As to his wives, they were both pleased that their future son-in-law would soon be with their daughter. They were also both secretly relieved that the prophecy was thrown in doubt.
The next week went by quickly. There were the usual meetings, diners and receptions to attend. All of the young women crowded around Christiana to talk about the upcoming marriage. That prospect lent a certain amount of levity to the whole visit. At the end the royal family minus the crown prince headed to Midport. At the same time Randall departed for Centralia to meet Roddrick with an escort of twenty men. He rode his horse not wanting to sit in a carriage by himself. They would borrow on in Centralia to go to Midport.
Hoods
Uncle Sol and Aunt June were both happy to see him, they sat down and had a good visit. Everything was going well for them. Issac and Rebecca were doing well, and they were thrilled that Issac’s wife was 8 weeks pregnant and they were hoping for their first grandchild. Mike was pleased to hear that everything seemed to be going good for them. Sol was just a few years away from retirement and was looking forward to it, he had plans to travel and do some more outdoor activities.
Mike filled them in on his plans now that he was out of the Corps. Sol understood his dilemma but pointed out that it was a good one. Mike was still in demand. Also, that if he wanted a couple of kids marrying another driven career professional was probably not the way to go. Better to find someone who wanted something similar. His aunt assured him that he would be considered a ‘good catch’. Mike wasn’t sure that he was happy about the phrasing. However, he’d come to realized that at least in his case the women he took up with were a lot more aggressive than he was when came to any kind of relationship. It wasn’t going to change, just accept and go with it was his feeling.
Aunt Mary had prepared a really good meal. Afterwards they sat around, talked about things catching up while drinking some good Pinot Noir. At around 10 o’clock Mike called it a night and went to bed. The next morning, he got up and headed down to breakfast. Pancakes, eggs and bacon with maple syrup, hit the spot. His uncle wasn’t even vaguely kosher. They all sat around drinking coffee and watching some of the morning shows. His uncle stood up. “Let’s go for a walk. I’ve got a couple of ideas.”
Once they were out of the house, his uncle opened up. “Didn’t want to scare your aunt, but we’ve had some trouble around here with hikers. There’s a bunch of young punks going around beating up hikers and taking their stuff. Some of the injuries are pretty bad. We had to medivac one guy to Albany. The problem with these punks is that they beat the people up even if they don’t resist. They beat one guy senseless and gang raped his wife. Everybody wants these guys, bad. There seems to be three of them. They’ve got baseball bats and one of
them appears to have a Saturday night special, probably a .22. You’re going to have to be careful.”
Mike considered it for a moment. “Uncle Sol I think I can handle myself. Just to be on the safe side, I’ve got my Glock 19 with me. You know my dad gave me a Glock 19 and had an under the seat gun safe installed in my old Mustang right after 9/11. I put one in my truck. Not sure why, habit, I guess. I’ve still got my North Carolina driver’s license, plates and a gun registration from there. I’ll make sure I have it handy. On the way here, I dropped by a shooting range and the guy sold me on a lightweight Kevlar vest. He felt it would provide extra protection from trigger happy hunters. He also threw in a soft ballistic insert. My hiking vest is really a plate holder with mole attachments. If they come after me, I think I can handle them. If they do, hopefully it won’t get bloody. Done enough of that in the Corps.”
That seemed to satisfy his uncle. “Sounds good, Mike. You know that vest idea isn’t half bad. See more hunting accidents in the emergency room these last couple of years. As for the hike, most of the camp sites at the start of the trails have those junky little camp stoves. I’d say you get a steak and some other stuff, put it in a Ziplock bag and have that for your first meal on the trail. There’s plenty of firewood for that. All other campsites don’t allow campfire so it’s a camp stove. I assume you bought that little one you always carry.”
Mike thought that was a good idea. He also had his Christmas gift for his uncle all picked out. One Kevlar vest coming up. He thought his aunt would think it was a good idea and would give him the size information he needed. They passed a good butcher on the way and Mike went in and picked out a 14 oz ribeye. As they were heading back, he stopped into the local computer and networking store. He asked the clerk for 24” cable ties and he bought a pack of 25,
As they were leaving his uncle asked. “Mike what’s with the cable ties.”
Through the Gate: The Chronicles of Cornu Book 1 Page 37