Pioneering on Jord

by Allan Joyal

  Krysbain nodded again. “That makes sense, and I’m sorry I’m so shocked. You have been very patient considering.”

  “If we had not shocked you I’d be worried,” I admitted. “All I can ask is that you be patient. If you are really worried, talk to Verval or Gerit. Both of them joined us once we started our long walk across Jord.”

  “Hencktor would work as well,” Heather offered. “But he might confuse you, he’s rather devoted to Lydia.”

  Krysbain returned to his horse and mule. He led them near the wagons and proceeded to carefully unload everything, placing it on the ground. Corwal must have been watching because the boy ran up and offered to lead the horse and mule to our herd. I could see Krysbain asking to accompany him, and the duo was soon making their way towards the grove.

  “We need food,” Heather said. “And then you should relax. I bet no one shows up until at least tomorrow.”

  I nodded and turned toward the fire. “I hate trusting Victoria and Al to help new members fit in.”

  “I know you miss Steve and Jennifer,” Heather said. “But you did all you could. Now come. I have been watching Kariy and she’s got a stew bubbling. Let’s eat.”

  Chapter 9: Dividing up the Duties

  The night again passed peacefully. Krysbain seemed a bit uncomfortable around the others, but even without a reminder, everyone was welcoming to the young man. As we sat near the fire Verval regaled him with stories of our journey through the tunnels with the dwarves. At one point Krysbain started throwing surprised and nearly worshipful looks in my direction.

  I guessed that Verval was talking about my rescue of Jeff, because when Krysbain shook his head in negation, Verval waved the young American over. The conversation got quite animated, but by the end I could see Krysbain smiling.

  Oleiana was the other new member. The shy orphan had won the hearts of all of the women in camp. Esme and Natalie immediately started working on getting the girl cleaned up. We didn’t have any clothing available, but Victoria and Aine worked out her measurements and then used some of the new roll of cloth to start fashioning a simple dress. For now the tiny girl huddled in front of Heather. She was wearing a white blouse that I recognized as belonging to Lydia. On the girl it fit like a dress.

  Heather was carefully using a brush on Oleiana’s hair. She had to use short strokes to avoid pulling too hard on the many tangles. Oleiana ignored the tugs.

  “Can I really learn to be a shepherdess?” she was asking Gertrilla. “I always dreamed of doing that.”

  Gertrilla looked over at me. When I nodded the young woman who was our chief shepherdess smiled. “Of course you can,” she said. “Yveney and I would welcome the help. We’ve tried to get Piemal and Corwar to help, but they are needed for other things too often.”

  “Is that fair?” Lydia asked me sweetly. “You make the young girls go out and watch the sheep. Poor, defenseless girls.”

  Heather started laughing. I just shook my head and smiled at my friend. “Gertrilla and Yveney both have slings and are taking lessons from Lenoir. We also have the two dogs, and I’ll try to find a few more. I’ve also seen Shaylin with them, and I remember her telling me she knew a combat spell.”

  “She does?” Lydia asked.

  Shaylin was sitting next to Heather and leaned forward so she could see me. “You remembered?” she asked.

  “Of course,” I said. “That was the only reason I did not suggest that Lenoir teach you to use a sling. I expect your magic is far more effective.”

  “I can only cast that spell a couple times,” Shaylin said. “It tires me out.”

  “I’m sure once will scare off any predator,” I said serenely.

  “Cimbra is teaching me a better one,” Shaylin said. “I’m learning to throw a fireball.”

  There was a huge hiss as several people inhaled. I could see Cimbra shaking her head. The dark elf was sitting on the bed of one of the carts just outside our circle. “That’s not exactly true. In the underworld, throwing fire can be extremely dangerous, and unnecessary. The spell I’m teaching Shaylin throws a ball of light. However, when it strikes an object, it becomes massively brighter for a moment before dissipating.”

  “It what?” Al asked.

  “Think of it as a flash grenade without the bang,” I said. “For a creature that is used to darkness it would be disorienting.”

  “You have no problem with that?” Krysbain asked.

  “In the time Shaylin has been with us, I have found her to be a quiet, respectful, and honest young woman. She always tries to help others. I have no fear that she will misuse her abilities,” I said firmly.

  I could see Cimbra’s eyes widen. The woman stared at me as I reached out with my right arm to hug and kiss Heather.

  “Next question,” Al said. “What do we do tomorrow?”

  “I expect that we won’t have any merchants arriving in the morning, but we might see some about midday,” I replied. “Until then, we need to start deciding how we’ll load the carts and wagons. I suggest that make sure that tools and seeds are spread out. That way if we do lose a cart, we won’t see something completely lost.”

  “I was going to recommend that,” Gerit said. “And I checked the new wagons. They need a bit of repair. Tomorrow if there are people available I’d like to flip each one on its side and fix the axles. Right now a few bumps will probably break an axle.”

  “And with them empty it will be easier,” I said with a nod. “Jeff, Al we’ll be doing that in the morning. Krysbain, you can help if you want. Otherwise you can go hunting with Lydia, we need some fresh meat.”

  “What is there to hunt?” Lydia asked.

  “Yveney and I saw some antelope out in the grasslands to the East. Ezker and Unrun wanted to try to add them to the flock,” Gertrilla said.

  “Could you point them out in the morning to Lydia?” I asked. “Oh, and take Hencktor. I know he’s got the broken ribs and if we leave him here he’ll try to help with the wagon.”

  “Like you decided to go for a walk in town?” Esme commented. “I wasn’t happy when I found out you had gone without allowing me to check the bandage on your leg. All we need is for you to have an infected wound!”

  “I hadn’t noticed it,” I said as I shifted uncomfortably. “And the trip needed to be made.”

  “I agree,” Esme said. “Even if you didn’t bring back any medicines. That’s one thing I regret. Rowena probably is quite knowledgeable about what herbal remedies we could find nearby and we didn’t think to ask her.”

  I noticed that Esme turned to look at Cimbra. The dark elf had been watching me, but she turned to look at the former medical student. “Most of what I know will be useless up here. Dark elves use mostly fungi and mosses, but none grow up here where there is sunlight. And too much of what I know are poisons to be put onto weapons or into glass balls that are thrown at an enemy.”

  “That’s,” Aine snapped.

  “Sadly understandable,” I supplied, interrupting Aine. “I won’t say it’s right, but we’ve already seen that for many of the inhabitants, this is a world where might definitely makes right. If we want to change that at all, we better be prepared to defend our position and prove that it doesn’t.”

  “We what?” Al asked.

  Heather put her left arm around me. “I think I finally get it,” she whispered. “I’ll explain.”

  My lover continued to lean against me. She was using her right hand to brush Oleiana’s hair. Meanwhile she looked over at Al. “Al, think about the situation here. We know that food is in short supply for these people. Most areas probably have eight people farming for every two that don’t work on the farms and ranches. Any surplus someone else has might mean more of your people survive. There is going to be little kindness between rulers. I’m sure the peasants who form the armies don’t want to be there, but the rulers need the land and the food they can capture in battle. That’s why we can’t just set up a new town after walking a few days.”

&
nbsp; Al frowned. You could almost see steam wafting out of his ears as he considered Heather’s words. I thought he would explode, but he suddenly seemed to deflate. “Damn,” he muttered. “You’re right. I’m still thinking back to my old home and how if I needed anything I could walk to the store and just pluck it from a shelf. When you start to think about how scarce food is here, I can understand some of the issues.”

  “And that’s what Ron will want me to fix,” Natalie said with a sigh. “I have to work out how we can create some kind of tractor to do the plowing and planting. And later I’m sure he’ll want a reaping machine too.”

  “Can you do it?” I asked.

  “I have an idea for a tilling device that we can connect to one of the carts,” Natalie said. “I’m still trying to figure out where I’ll get the parts, and I’m hoping Hencktor and Al learn to smith metal quickly. A seed drill might take a while. It requires some gears to ensure that the seeds are planted at the right depth and spacing. I have heard the first ones were largely made of wood, but I would say I need a year to get one I’m sure will work. And that’s a year without travel.”

  “We need paper,” Esme said. “And pencils. The inability to write down things hurts us.”

  “I’ll add it to the list,” I said. “It will be another thing we’ll have to discover once we find a home.”

  “What are we looking for?” Verval asked. “All I’ve heard is a place near the ocean.”

  I sighed slowly. “The ideal place will be a river valley near the ocean. The best one will be a valley that has a large flat valley, but steeply rising walls. If we can find that we only have to wall off the valley opening to keep our livestock. It would also be much easier to defend in most cases.”

  “Most?” Jeff asked.

  “Someone could climb to the valley rim,” I pointed out. “Once they were up there we’d be in trouble.”

  Lydia giggled. “Basically you want to find a valley like Yosemite. Although without all the trees on the bottom.”

  “Yosemite?” Verval asked.

  “A well-known valley from our homeland,” Lydia supplied. “It has a wide flat bottom and then some very steep walls. It’s famous because the walls are made of granite and are quite beautiful. Many people like to visit the place when they can.”

  “And it would have exactly what we need,” I pointed out. “We’d have water from a river and protection on three sides.”

  “Even if you head upriver?” Al asked.

  I looked at Lydia. She had visited the place as a child. She shook her head and then smiled. “It’s still pretty steep if you head upriver,” she said. “We might have to watch for predators slinking in, but a box valley like that would be perfect. If we can find one big enough. Right now we’ll need a lot of space.”

  Kariy started waving from the fire. She had been working on another stew while flat bread baked on a ring of stones she had placed around the fire.

  “On that note,” I said. “I see dinner is ready. Gertrilla has Yveney had something to eat?” I asked.

  Gertrilla nodded. “She had the last lunch,” she said. “This way I can eat, and when I’m done I’ll switch with her and she’ll eat and rest.”

  “I want you to ask others to help,” I pointed out. “Don’t try to spend all your time watching the animals.”

  Gertrilla giggled as she stood up. “Corwar and Piemal will come help. We need to bring the flock back for the night anyways.”

  I nodded and looked for the two boys. They had been sitting near Krysbain. The boys had looks of quiet awe on their faces. Heather noticed my gaze and giggled. “He has a sword which impresses them.”

  I was going to protest, but Heather leaned over and whispered in my ear. “You have a better sword, but we won’t talk about that.”

  Heather giggled as she sat back up. I glared at her, but my lover just smirked as she turned her attention back to Oleiana’s hair.

  Seeing the work on Oleiana’s hair reminded me of a couple things. “Esme,” I called out as I stood up to head to the fire and stewpot. “How is Oleiana’s health?”

  “She needs fruits to eat,” Esme said. “She’s rather malnourished. I’ve given her some dried fruit, but we really need citrus. In fact if we can get seeds for any kind of citrus tree we should take it. Vitamin C is going to be a problem.”

  I nodded. “We’ll have to ask around. Next, how is Mary doing? I never got a chance to talk to her after we returned.”

  “I’m fine,” Mary said angrily. “I just can’t understand why those men shot at the camp. They were just drifting by in a canoe.”

  “I heard Lenoir got the one who shot you,” Heather said.

  “He fell overboard,” Lenoir said. “There were five men in the canoe. Three had bows and were standing when Mary was hit. I got one. He fell into the water and the others immediately sat down. They rowed downstream as fast as they could.”

  “What about their friend?” Jeff asked.

  “His body was floating in the water, but I never saw his face again. The current took him downstream,” Lenoir said.

  “Can you make slings?” I asked. “We got the two for Gertrilla and Yveney, but I think Corwar, Piemal, Dafalia, and Oleiana should all have them and practice with them.”

  “I get a sling?” Oleiana asked.

  Lenoir smiled. “We don’t have a lot of leather, but I think I have enough to make four slings. They have to promise to practice every day though. We don’t need another incident like we had at the battle yesterday where Gertrilla nearly hit Shaylin.”

  I nodded. I could see Corwar and Piemal had transferred their adoration from Krysbain to Lenoir. It was clear they loved the idea of having slings.

  “They will practice on every tree and rock they see,” Heather mused as we watched the two boys.

  I collected my bowl of stew and one of the flat breads from Kariy. “Anything you want?” I asked her.

  Kariy just blushed and shook her head. I wondered about this as I turned to walk back to where Heather was sitting. Before I took three steps Victoria waved me over. She was sitting next to Mary and Amalya.

  “Can I help you ladies?” I asked as I approached and sat down.

  Victoria giggled. “You are doing fine,” she said. “You noticed everyone and asked them questions. We should be fine for the night. We could use some more men.”

  “Amen,” Mary said. “I mean Jeff is starting to look attractive to me.”

  “Why is that a problem? I thought you were both from New York,” I pointed out. Amalya looked confused for a moment, but Victoria whispered in her ear as Mary smirked at me.

  “I was a drone as far as he was concerned. I’m not ready to forgive him for that,” Mary said. “Besides, he worked with the group that effectively enslaved me.”

  “Only until he could leave them,” I said. “But I’ll accept that you still need time. Unless you plan on going after Krysbain.”

  “He’d never survive me,” Mary said with a giggle. “Heck, did you notice that he’s the smallest adult male in the group. And I’d bet that you and Hencktor are both faster than him. I think Gerit will prove to be a better fighter.”

  Amalya looked surprised. “You think that? Why?”

  Mary sighed. “I’m way out of practice, but my parents sent me to a special class designed to teach someone how to defend themselves when they have no weapons. I remember some of what I learned. Ron is very good. Hencktor is surprisingly quick for someone his size. Your husband isn’t as quick, but he’s precise. He just needs practice with a weapon.”

  “We’ll try to add sparing to the daily activities while we are in camp,” I said. “Amalya are you happy?”

  “Very,” the young woman said. “Gerit and I are treated as equals. You respect his knowledge in regards to carts and wagons. You even have made it clear that he’ll be in charge of the operation of the wagons once we start moving again. All we expected was to escape the hopeless trap we were in.”

  “If w
e are going to succeed, men like Gerit and women like you will be a huge help,” I said. “I might seem to know a lot, but most of that I heard in a conversation or I read about. I’ve never actually worked on a farm.”

  “You negotiate well,” Amalya pointed out. “Gerit is really impressed by that. He said the price you paid for the two carts you purchased just before we joined was the lowest he’d ever seen Piotr accept.”

  “I was lucky,” I said with a shrug. “Honestly, I have no idea what anything is worth, so I try to guess very low and allow the other merchant to make the first serious offer. In Piotr’s defense, I could see he was rather desperate to unload the carts and get some coin for them. I suspect the work of the slavers had really hurt his business.”

  “At least we are out of the slavers reach, or will be once we start moving again,” Mary said. “When will that be?”

  “I want to wait another week or two,” I said. “We should be at the start of spring, but there is still a lot of snow on the ground in some areas. Also the first rains will likely cause some floods. We are safer here than we will be out on the plains. A flash flood could wipe us out.”

  “Those happen?” Mary asked.

  “Yes, and it doesn’t take too much rain,” I said. “If the ground is dry enough, water can’t soak in quickly, and it will find gullies to roar down. Flash floods are more likely in a desert, but they could happen out on the plains, and we’d have no warning. Also as the snow melts rivers will rise. We should give them time to recede before we find ourselves trying to cross a raging torrent.”

  “And my husband is a thesaurus today,” Heather said as she came over and gave me a hip check.

  “Where is Oleiana?” I asked.

  “She’s going to watch the flock for a few hours,” Heather said. “All the kids snuck out to help bring the flock in so Yveney can take her break.”

  “Good,” I replied.

  “What’s next?” Victoria asked.