by Allan Joyal
“Why should that matter?” Sofilt demanded. “You ban all humans from crossing the river and now you tell me that this one group of indigent wanderers is allowed to cross and even collect wood from your forest?”
I noticed that Corwar had returned from the forest. He had a huge armful of small logs. He carried the wood to a spot next to the fire pit and then began carefully creating a pyramid of wood in the pit. Sofilt saw the same thing and growled, but Rowena moved her arm slightly and blood appeared on the man’s neck.
“They agreed to only take wood that had fallen to the forest floor, and to always have control of the fire so it could not spread,” the elven woman said coldly. “You are not impressing me, and your actions only confirm the reasons we have banned the men of Saraloncto from crossing the river. Return to your side of the river, and bother these people no more.”
Sofilt opened his mouth. I thought he was about to say more, but Nordalt roused himself and reached out to grab his companion and drag him away from the angry elven woman. “It will take a moment,” he said. “The boat that brought us returned to the other side of the river. We’ll have to summon it back.”
“Go and do so,” Rowena said. “And tell the others that you are to remain on your side of the river.”
Nordalt continued to drag Sofilt back down to the riverbank. I could see Aine keeping the duo in sight as they left our campground. I turned back to look at Rowena. “From what Sofilt said, we aren’t supposed to be on this side of the river.”
“That is for the men of Saraloncto,” Rowena said. “Don’t cut down the trees of the forest or enter any forest other than the grove here, and you will not disturb us.”
“Thank you, but any forest?” I asked. “Even the ones out on the plains many days travel from here?”
“We claim only the forest that grows along the banks of the river,” Rowena said. “But you’ll find that other beings have moved into many of the forests and groves we have abandoned. Now, your children have heard the rules and found a couple of deadfalls that will provide enough wood to keep the fire burning for many days. See that you don’t harvest more unless you absolutely need it.”
The elf sheathed her sword and then turned toward the forest. As she did she looked over at the carts. She visibly started at something by the carts. “You!” she shouted. “How is it one of your kind comes to the surface world!”
I looked over to see Cimbra trying to hide behind one of the carts. I jumped between Rowena and the dark elven girl. “She joined us earlier today,” I said attempting to placate the woman. “Her own people sold her into slavery and I rescued her.”
“Why?” Rowena asked me. “Why rescue one of them? They know only war and malice.”
“As a people, perhaps,” I said. “But after talking to Cimbra, I don’t believe she agrees with the philosophy you hate. And it is unfair to condemn her for who her parents are. She did not get to choose them.”
Cimbra giggled. “I don’t even know them. My people raise children in a crèche, and you never know who your parents are. But Ron is correct that they try to teach us to hate all other races as we grow up.”
“Why didn’t you learn that?” Rowena asked. Her tone indicated complete disbelief.
“Because I hated conflict,” Cimbra admitted. “The lessons our teachers tried to beat into us were all about avoiding the pain and suffering we were supposed to be forcing on others. I just wanted to avoid the conflict. It appeared to me that once the conflict was gone, there seemed to be less suffering.”
“You were a small child and often picked on, I’m guessing,” Victoria said calmly.
“Explain that!” Rowena demanded.
“It’s something we see in our home world in the schools we have. Some students are bullies and will try to intimidate and hurt others. They usually are larger, but less intelligent. Many of the smaller kids in the school learn to hate conflict because it represents negative consequences to them,” Victoria said. “It sounds like Cimbra was one of those smaller kids who learned to simply hate the bullies.”
Rowena looked around the campsite. I noticed that all of the members of our group who came from Earth were nodding silently. “You all agree?” Rowena asked.
“Well, some of those victims grow up seeking a way to gain retribution on the bullies. Often they become worse bullies, although they usually won’t use might on others,” I said.
Rowena turned around looking at each of the members of our group. “You trust this one?” she asked.
“Her story sounds reasonable,” Heather said. “And she could have tried to lie to us, but I haven’t seen that.”
“She hasn’t,” Shaylin said quietly. “I used my magic to check.”
Cimbra and Rowena both spun to look at the young magic user. “You know magic?” Rowena said with a gasp.
“That’s why she is with us,” Lydia replied. “We met her father when we visited the Wizard’s Academy to see if they could send us home. Her father told us that her future likely would involve a forced marriage to a wizard and a life of chattel slavery devoid of magic. We were willing to take her with us and allow her to learn magic.”
“There hasn’t been a human female using wizard’s magic since the fall of the empire,” Cimbra whispered. “The survivors of the Final War made sure that the remaining city states hated and feared women with power.”
“Another reason for us to found a new home,” I said. “To allow Shaylin to grow and become the first female to use wizard’s magic in two thousand years.”
“And she knows the magic to detect lies?” Rowena asked.
Shaylin reached into a pouch at her waist and pulled her crystal. “You just need a proper crystal that has previously been enchanted to tune itself to you. I use this one for light and detecting lies.”
“And you used it on Cimbra?” Rowena asked.
“That was the magic I noticed on the raft,” Cimbra said. “I wondered because Ron and the others clearly know nothing of magic. But you said nothing.”
“You said nothing that was a lie,” Shaylin said confidently. “Why say something and perhaps make you think we didn’t trust you? It was pretty clear that you were surprised and pleased that Ron trusted you so quickly.”
“None of those that Rowena would call my people would have trusted so easily,” Cimbra admitted. “And he trusted me when I’m not even human. That was a surprise to me.”
“It is to me as well,” Rowena said as she looked at me. “Why?”
“Let’s just say that the land we come from has had some experience dealing with people who are different. And I’ve learned to look at a person’s actions and words, rather than their looks,” I said.
Lydia giggled. “And listening to Cimbra, she’ll fit in just fine with the rest of us. We are all misfits at some level, or we wouldn’t be travelling across Jord. We could have tried to make a home in any town we passed.”
“How?” Aine asked.
“After we helped the dwarves we had the funds,” I said. “If we had tried hard we could have probably established a solid trading post somewhere.”
“In a city like that one?” Natalie asked pointing across the river. “I’m just happy the wind is blowing away from us, so I don’t have to smell it. That is a foul stench coming from the city.”
I could see Rowena frown. “It is unpleasant,” the woman said serenely. “Meanwhile, the council has already discussed your plans to cross the wilderness.”
“They have?” Mary said. “When did we ask them?”
Rowena laughed. It was a bright and musical sound that had everyone in the group smiling. “Do you think we would not be aware of what happens out on the plains? We might not be as paranoid as the idiots in the Wizard’s Academy, but we have ways of learning of people who might interest us. This group came to our attention before the snow fell.”
“Why didn’t you do something for us then?” Jeff asked.
“What could we do?” Rowena asked. “Few elves
care to leave our forests and visit the lands to the west. We are rarely welcomed.”
“In other words, they weren’t in a position to help us,” Victoria said. “And Rowena is here now. She has already helped us simply by chasing away that annoying man. The fact that an elf has appeared and said we have permission to cross the river and enter the wilderness won’t hurt.”
“And will spread rapidly in town once that man gets back,” Jeff said with a nod. “I bet he doesn’t pay for a single drink tonight as he wanders from pub to pub telling everyone about what happened.”
“That is for you to decide,” Rowena said regally. She turned to face me. “Ron, we cannot interfere more than we have. The most my people are willing to do to help is to watch the shores at night. No one will sneak across to attack your camp.”
“That will be nice, we can rest easier,” Lydia said.
“We still have to watch the flocks,” I pointed out.
“Oh Ezker and Unrun will do that,” Gertrilla said.
“Who?” Heather asked.
“Our dogs,” Gertrilla said. “We decided to name them. They enjoy keeping the animals together, and at night they won’t wander much. We just have to watch for predators.”
“There are few this close to the city,” Rowena observed. “The other thing I offer will be some seeds. Not many, and they may not grow, but before you leave you will find two barrels of wheat seeds, one of rice and one divided one with multiple fruit and herb seeds.”
“We are honored by the gift,” I said.
Rowena’s look became calculating. “If the elders are correct, years from now we will be the ones honored by the society you found. A small gift now will bring great rewards in the future.”
I laughed and then bowed. “I surrender to the wisdom of your elders. We do want to create a place where everyone is welcome.”
Rowena smiled again. “I hope to see it in a couple of years. But I must leave. Again, you may use any wood you find on the ground to fuel your fire, but do not cut down any trees.”
With that final sentence the elven woman appeared to glide from our camp. Everyone watched as she entered the grove. She had gone only a few feet into the grove when she vanished. I blinked my eyes to clear them, but saw no movement in the shadows.
Chapter 5: A Merchant from Saraloncto
As soon as it became clear that Rowena was not returning, I looked around. Kariy was kneeling next to Corwar. The two were still assembling the pyramid of wood in the planned fire pit. Yveney and Gertrilla were standing at the edge of the camp, watching our animals. The animals formed a large body as they wandered around nibbling on the few tufts of grass that peeked through the snow on the ground.
“Dafalia, Piemal, Jeff,” I called out. “Get with the girls and let’s throw some hay out for the animals. They aren’t going to find much to eat with the snow on the ground. I just wish we had a barn to offer.”
“They should be fine as long as we don’t have a storm,” Gertrilla said. “If it rains hard they might try to shelter in the trees.”
“We can look for tarps to use as a temporary shelter,” I said. “We’ll want to cover the carts we have and any others we purchase.”
“More?” Jeff asked.
I nodded. “We probably want two full wagons. We have nearly twenty people, so we will need to fill one wagon with food just to get us to our destination. We could use another for seeds as well as more food to last through the first winter.”
“Oh are we going to be sick of game,” Lydia said. “And I’m sure I’ll hate hunting by the end of that first winter.”
“I can try to learn,” Jeff offered as he and the two younger members of our group began pulling large armfuls of hay from our cart. “I should be doing more.”
“We all will,” I said. “And we’ll have to learn new skills.”
“Ron,” Kariy called out. “We have a fire going, so I’ll start a meal. But this will use up the last of the flour. We also need more chickens so we have more eggs.”
“We need more of just about every type of animal we plan on bringing with us,” I said. “But I don’t want our herders to be overwhelmed. We don’t have horses for them, so a large herd would give them trouble.”
“We can handle maybe ten more animals,” Gertrilla admitted. “A couple more dogs might allow us to handle twenty, but they’d have to be goats or sheep. The cows are too big for the dogs.”
I nodded. Lydia came over and touched my arm. “Why don’t we unload the carts and get an inventory,” she suggested. “That way we’ll know what we need once we have more carts.”
“We will sell the sled,” I said. “It will be too difficult to move across rough ground once we start travelling. I’ll see if I can find a buyer.”
“How do we handle visits to the city?” Victoria asked. “We are going to need people staying in camp at all times.”
“I’d rather not go,” Aine and Mary said simultaneously. Everyone laughed at this, but Victoria nodded.
“Honestly, I’d prefer to avoid the stench as well. I heard stories that towns were unpleasant before the invention of flush toilets and proper sewer systems, but I hadn’t imagined how bad it could be,” Victoria stated.
“Don’t eat anything while over there,” Esme suggested. “I’m sure most people try to keep the food clean and sanitary, but who knows. At least the wind is blowing toward the city from here so we don’t smell it right now.”
“Ron, the bigger problem is going to be negotiation with merchants. You obviously know how to do it, but they don’t listen to women,” Lydia pointed out.
I glanced over at Hencktor who was nodding. “I would be terrible at it, and the smith nearly threw me out when Lydia started coaching me.”
“Don’t look at me,” Al said. “I’m still trying to figure out how it works.”
Jeff raised a hand. Victoria giggled. “You aren’t in class,” she told him.
“I know,” Jeff said with a sigh. “I just wanted to say I did work in marketing, so I have some knowledge of negotiation, and I watched Ron one time. But I have no idea what anything is worth. Also, I need better clothing or no merchant would respect me.”
“They won’t respect you even with nice clothing,” Gerit said. “Unless you have been known to them for years they won’t respect you. Add in the fact that they will be able to tell you don’t have a clue what something is worth, and they will try to ruin you with every trade.”
“Watched Piotr a few times?” I asked.
“Many times,” Gerit said. “He was a sharp trader and few people won against him. My father probably paid twice what my apprenticeship was really worth to get me a position with him.”
“I thought Ron did well,” Heather said. “At least that has been the impression I get.”
“He does,” Amalya said. “The vest helps. Merchants recognize it as dwarven made. Few humans would be given a vest as a gift, and the merchants end up uncertain about what to expect from him. I see Al and Henck have vests as well.”
“We wear them for the protection rather than as status symbols,” I said. “I guess Jeff can come with me for the first day, and we’ll see how it works. We need more clothing for everyone. Or at least leather and cloth we can use to make more.”
“I vote for making our own,” Victoria said. “It will take time, but it’s something we can do while we remain in camp.”
I looked over at Gerit. “Gerit, you seem to be the cart and wagon expert. If we can find two wagons, do you think any of the carts would be capable of hauling a set of millstones?”
“Why millstones?” Esme asked.
“Ron is thinking ahead,” Natalie responded. “We’ll need a way to grind any grain we grow. We can do it by hand on a small scale, but the best way would be to have a mill.”
Gerit was shaking his head. “The stones would be heavy. We could probably load them on a cart, but if we run into any obstacles we would struggle to move the cart containing them.”
“Stone working tools,” Al said. “We can probably chisel out our own millstones during the first winter. It would be something to work on.”
“We’ll have to be careful when we do it,” I said. “Stonework is something that usually takes years of practice.”
“Most of what we are going to try to do takes years of practice,” Esme pointed out. “We will make it work.”
There was a pause. Kariy called out. “I have a warming stew ready. And with the sun down, we might want to set guards for the night.”
“Shay?” I called out. “Can we use your light stone? If we mount it on one of the cart uprights we’ll have light for the camp.”
“It will be a beacon to anyone in the city,” Jeff complained. “And how will we sleep with that light shining?”
“We’ll cover it when everyone is ready for sleep.” Lydia said.
“I guess,” Jeff said. “It just doesn’t sound right to me.”
“Food is ready!” Kariy shouted.
“Go eat,” Gertrilla called out. “I’ll watch the flock until you are done and can cover for me.”
Heather ran over to me and dragged me over to the fire. I could see that my lover had already grabbed bowls and tankards for both of us. She noticed my look and laughed. “I knew you’d forget, and you need to favor that leg anyway.”
“I have you to remember for me wench!” I said haughtily as I slapped the young blond woman on the ass. Heather jumped into my arms and kissed my cheek.
“I love you,” she said confidently. “And I promise to go into Saraloncto when you do your provisioning runs.”
“Thank you,” I said as we joined the line that had formed in front of the fire. I could see Dafalia helping spoon stew from the cauldron into bowls as Kariy cut up one of our last wheels of cheese.
Heather and I said nothing as we waited our turn. Ahead of us Jeff and Verval struck up a lively conversation about possible tools we might want to acquire in order to make building our planned farm easier.
I could also see Lydia, Aine, and Lenoir get their food and wander over to the edge of the plateau. They appeared to be scouting for a place to set up and watch the river. Meanwhile, Shaylin had gotten with Corwar, and they were using a piece of leather to create a small woven sack to hold her light stone. The strips of leather were thin allowing light to shine out over our campsite once Corwar had attached it to the tallest cart.