Pioneering on Jord

by Allan Joyal

  “No,” Baron Ruflin said. “I want her home safe, but that is impossible. So I want to know she’ll be happy and protected. That is why I hunted you down after she stopped by to visit this morning.”

  “I wondered what her errand was this morning,” I said.

  “She showed up shortly after dawn. While her mother and I broke our fast, she told us that she’d found a group that could take her away from here.”

  “And you wanted to learn more,” I said with a nod. “That I can completely understand. Why don’t we walk towards the docks? We have a bit of time before the others bring the raft over, but the current plan is to only take one more trip. I’d rather not miss it.”

  “Lead on,” Baron Ruflin said. “My daughter said something about having to be back at the docks by midday. Why are you in a hurry?”

  “In the two days we’ve been camped, there have been multiple attempts to either attack us or to force us to move to a location where we can be controlled,” I replied as I began walking. Baron Ruflin kicked his horse into a slow walk that kept pace with me. “And the day we arrived we had a fight in the morning that left three members of our group dead. We’d like to avoid the fights and leaving should prevent any more attacks.”

  “Where did the deaths occur?” the Baron asked.

  “Near Crayolyn Falls,” I said. “We ran into a couple groups of slavers who wanted to capture the women in our group. At least that was the impression we got.”

  “Slavers,” the Baron said. He turned away from me and spat on the ground. “We shouldn’t have any dealings with them, but several of the barons rely on slave labor to keep their estates running.”

  “I promise we won’t use slave labor where we are going,” I replied.

  “You’ll need the people working in the fields,” the Baron protested. “Otherwise you’ll never have enough food.”

  “In our homeland we had advanced our knowledge of agriculture. We won’t have all the needed tools available here, but we should be able to cut down on the number of people required. I’m hoping to get it so that six people can feed ten at first,” I replied.

  “Six? It takes nine right now,” the Baron replied. “Do you honestly believe you can make that work?”

  “We are hoping we can make it work. The problem will be making some of the tools we need. There is nothing like them currently, so our first winter will be spent making what we’ll need,” I said. “But we are hopeful. Where we come from it takes even fewer people.”

  “I can’t imagine that,” the Baron said softly. “Anyways, I would like to know more about your group. I understand that you are the leader.”

  “When we first arrived on Jord, I was the one person to recommend that we act,” I replied. “That resulted in the people around me looking to me for guidance. As we have met others who have asked to join, they seem to pick up on the fact that the others defer to my leadership.”

  “So you are not the leader?” Baron Ruflin asked.

  “I lead the group,” I replied with a sigh. “I did not seek the leadership, but I am the one person who seems to have an idea of how we might survive the current situation. Why is this important?”

  Baron Ruflin laughed. I could see the docks ahead and stopped. At the moment Corwar and Piemal were on the shore next to the docks. They had tied the mule so that it could nibble on some of the grass on the riverbank. There was one merchant who was helping several porters unload a cart and place the barrels and cartons on the dock.

  The Baron stopped and watched the action for a moment. “I worry about my daughter,” he said wistfully. “And I had to wonder what kind of group she joined. There hasn’t been a serious expedition onto the plains since before my grandfather was born.”

  “I understood that the elves have demanded that no one cross the river,” I replied.

  “That happened when my father was twelve,” Baron Ruflin said sharply. “Some merchants moved up here from Port Regal and were demanding more wood. They wanted to send it to the shipyards in Port Regal. Several of them hired men to cross the river and cut down the grove you can see from here.”

  I nodded. “I can imagine that the elves were less than happy about that,” I said.

  The Baron seemed prepared to say more when someone shouting “Ron” interrupted us!

  We turned to look and found Borlan racing towards us. He was accompanied by a young woman and a young man about Corwar’s age. The woman was clutching her skirts to keep the hem out of the dirt as she ran. Borlan was waving frantically.

  “I think I need to talk to him,” I said to Baron Ruflin as Borlan raced ahead of his friends.

  Chapter 16: Just Ahead of the Sheriff

  “Ron,” Borlan shouted again as he got within twenty feet.

  “You have my attention,” I replied.

  “Soldrin heard some men talking. Wrektor isn’t going to wait for nightfall. He plans on attacking while we are moving goods across the river,” Borlan said worriedly.

  “Did the people he was talking to say when?” I asked.

  “No, but they seemed confident that they could make it happen,” Borlan said.

  I looked over at the Baron. “I’m afraid we won’t be able to continue the chat. Do you know where Joel is?”

  The Baron pointed over Borlan’s shoulder. “I believe Joelia is coming right now.”

  I looked past Borlan to see the young woman running towards us. She was carrying a rather large pack and had a male companion carrying an even larger pack following her.

  “Time, time, ask me for anything except time,” I muttered. I turned to look across the river and cupped my hands around my mouth. “Lydia! The merchant is planning another attack. We need to start loading now!”

  I could see someone wave from the bluff. I looked at Borlan. His companions were carrying packs that appeared mostly empty. “The raft should be on its way,” I said. “Head down the dock and be ready to load it quickly.”

  Corwar waved to me. “We heard. We’ll stay here until the raft is ready. The mule doesn’t like the water, and I don’t want to try to hold him on the dock if we don’t have to.”

  I nodded as Joelia ran up. Her companion headed directly for the dock, but the young woman marched up to stand in front of the horse. “Father!” she said with exasperation. “Did you have to come here?”

  “He was only trying to watch out for your safety and happiness,” I said as Baron Ruflin’s horse shifted. “Fathers like to do that sometimes.”

  “I can care for myself!” Joelia snapped. “Now everyone will know I’m a girl.”

  “Woman,” I said absently looking at Joelia. She had returned wearing a flowing skirt that reached her ankles and a corset over an ivory blouse. Her hair was unbound and flowed over her shoulders as she glared at her father.

  “A kept one!” Joelia snapped at me. “None of the others will respect me now!”

  “Why?” I asked. “I haven’t asked everyone, but I know from things that have been said that Heather and Aine were both accepting the support of their parents before we ended up on Jord. The others respect them. We will consider how you act, not who your parents are.”

  Joelia turned to look at me. “You heard?” she asked.

  “That Wrektor has decided to return as soon as he can organize a small force,” I replied. “We are going to have to rush the transfer of material. But one merchant hasn’t arrived.”

  “Which one?” Joelia asked.

  “The one who we traded the sled to,” I replied. “He’s supposed to have thirty barrels of grains as well as some farming tools. We can’t leave without that.”

  “Which merchant?” Baron Ruflin asked.

  I shrugged. “I never caught his name. But he knows we plan on leaving at midday.” I looked over and could see Jeff and Verval readying the raft. I was surprised to see that all of the carts were lined up on the beach. Everyone except Yveney and Gertrilla could be seen. Aine was standing on the bluff, but the rest of the group surroun
ded the wagons.

  Hencktor, Al, and Krysbain boarded the raft. They were all holding weapons and watching the shoreline as Jeff and Verval used the poles to push the raft into the current.

  Joelia put a hand on my arm. “Ron,” she said softly. “My maid and… can she…”

  I looked up at the Baron who was gazing on his daughter. “Are you sure?” he asked.

  Joelia looked up at him. “I talked to the woman who they have watching over everyone’s health. She…” Joelia paused in her speaking.

  I sighed. “Just answer one question, are you interested in having children someday?”

  Joelia blushed. “Oh definitely, but I grew up with Konstanzia, and I trust her. I’m nothing to that Baron Gruben’s son. I heard he was found on his knees with a soldier standing behind him.”

  “Too much information!” I said waving my hands between us. “I won’t say she can’t come, but she’ll have to work as hard as the rest of us. Is she prepared to handle the trek?”

  “I’ll ask!” Joelia said merrily. She turned and dashed off toward the dock where the girl was standing.

  The Baron nudged his horse until it was standing right next to me. “You understand that my daughter has some unnatural….”

  “Not exactly unnatural,” I said. “If she and Stanzi have grown up together, the fact that they discovered sex together is not a surprise. And with the pressures on her, it was probably safer than seeking out a stable boy.”

  The Baron snorted. “It’s still not right.”

  “She’ll find someone,” I said. “But the most important thing is that she has a chance to be happy. And I promise you, I’ll work to make that happen for her.”

  “I can’t ask for more,” the Baron said with a long sigh. “And I see several wagons approaching. I’m guessing that this should be the final item you are waiting for.”

  I looked up to see two heavily laden wagons making their way down to the docks. “I should go and help,” I said.

  The Baron waved as he carefully coaxed his horse into backing up. I turned away and raced for the dock as the wagons continued to approach. I could see the merchant who was to receive the raft leading the first wagon. He waved to me.

  “We heard you had some problems and might want to leave early,” he called out.

  “We did and do,” I replied. “But I’m surprised by how much you have. I don’t remember trading for quite this much.”

  The merchant laughed. “My wife insisted that I add a few extra barrels. She said it wasn’t right to take advantage of your generosity. We looked at the sled, and I showed it to a smith I know. He thinks he can make a better wheel after studying the ones on the sled. That will be worth a fortune down in Port Regal. My wife insisted that we pay you a bit more.”

  “We won’t complain,” I admitted. “I’m just hoping we can fit this all in one trip. It’s a lot to move.”

  “We can take two trips if you want,” the merchant said.

  I shook my head as we started to walk down the dock. The raft had passed through the current, and was being coaxed upstream so they could bring it in next to the dock to allow more space for loading. “I’m not sure that’s wise,” I admitted. “We don’t have too much time before Wrektor hears that we are preparing to leave.”

  “True,” the merchant replied. “But I think we can get everything on the raft in one trip. It’s not going to sink.”

  “I’m more worried that it might flip over,” I admitted as the merchant turned and walked back to the shore. He was instructing the men surrounding the wagons to start bringing the barrels onto the dock.

  Hencktor noticed me standing on the dock. “Ron! We have trouble coming!”

  “I heard,” I said. “It appears that the rumor mill in town is quite efficient. How did you know?”

  “The merchant with the livestock arrived just after we dropped you off,” Jeff said. “Verval and I brought the raft over and we were able to get the animals across. We were just waiting on your and the merchant with the food.”

  “It’s a lot of food,” I pointed out as the merchant’s men started bringing barrels. There were four men and each was carrying a large barrel. They ignored us as they stepped onto the raft and carefully placed the barrels in the middle of the wooden structure.

  “We’ll handle it,” Hencktor said. “Gerit has already got the wagons set up. Our biggest worry is the mill stones.”

  I pointed to the end of the dock where the millstones were resting. “We should get them aboard.”

  I walked to the end of the dock and thrust the spear into one of the anchor posts. It quivered for a moment. Once I was sure it was secure I started helping move barrels and tools onto the raft. The merchant’s men also moved to load the raft, setting the barrels as close to the center as possible.

  We had cleared the dock and were waiting for the merchant’s men to bring over the last of the farming tools when the girl with Borlan whirled to stare at him.

  “What have you got me into?” she shrieked. “That woman has her hair uncovered. Is she some hussy?”

  “Xemi!” Borlan protested. The girl slapped him and growled.

  “I only came because you said we were in danger! Now I see we are surrounded by rough men. One isn’t even wearing proper boots,” she hissed.

  Jeff moved to hide his feet as the little brunette woman berated Borlan. I stepped to the side to leave space for more barrels as I watched the woman. She was wearing a full outfit, with long skirt, white blouse and a tight corset. The corset pushed up her already ample chest making her look distinctly top-heavy. Poor Borlan was trying to reply, but the girl refused to listen.

  I could see that the merchant’s porters were bringing the last items down the dock, so I jumped from the raft to grab my spear. Once I had it in my hand, I walked over and put a hand on Borlan’s shoulder.

  “Borlan,” I said. “I can understand her fear and anger. Unfortunately we don’t have time to calm her down right now. The last of our goods are aboard. We need to cast off. Does… Ximenia want to come?”

  The woman glared at me. She reached up and whipped her hairnet off her head. A thick brown braid dropped to reach her waist. “I’m not some plaything!” she insisted.

  “My wife would cut me if I treated you that way,” I murmured.

  The merchant who was receiving the raft walked over and reached out a hand. “You have loaded everything I promised,” he said. “Can we get moving? I want to get the raft to the lumber mill this morning.”

  I nodded to Borlan and then jumped onto the raft. When I turned around, I could see Borlan carefully backing away from Ximenia and boarding the raft. I looked around and found the boy, Soldrin sitting on one of the barrels in the middle of the raft. He was eyeing the water with a worried expression on his face.

  Joelia was holding hands with her maid. The two were standing near Verval and Jeff and watching them intently. Jeff was watching me with a question in his eyes.

  “Are the merchant’s men aboard so they can take the raft?” I asked.

  “They are,” Al said. “They are up near the front so they can see the water. I get a feeling they are worried about the currents in the middle of the river.”

  “Let’s go then,” I commanded.

  The raft began to leave the dock. The girl Ximenia gazed at us as we began to drift away. Borlan’s shoulders dropped and then Ximenia held up a hand.

  “Wait! I want to come!” she cried out.

  Jeff and Verval stopped pushing the raft into the current. We were only a couple feet from the dock. I could see Borlan looking at me.

  “You can’t change your mind,” I said. “We won’t be returning to Saraloncto for years.”

  “Borlan told me that,” Ximenia said acerbically. “But I have nothing to stay for, and I do love him.”

  “Borlan can you help her jump?” I asked.

  Ximenia glared at me, but lifted her skirts as she backed up a couple of steps on the dock. Everyone was silent a
s she ran forward and leapt across the gap between the dock and the raft.

  Borlan reached out and caught his girlfriend. He steadied her as Jeff and Verval resumed poling the raft forward. I noticed they seemed to be struggling a bit as the raft entered the main flow of the river.

  “We’re low in the water,” Verval said with a grunt as the raft started to turn slightly.

  “Are we in danger?” I asked.

  “No,” Jeff said. “But we’ll have to work a bit harder and faster than normal in order to get out of the current. Otherwise we’ll miss the beach.”

  “I will leave you to it then,” I said. I walked over to stand near the merchant. “Thank you for coming early.”

  The man waved off my comment. “I knew Wrektor was greedy, but when I heard he was hiring for an attempt to raid your camp, I knew that I needed to arrive early. I’m just happy that he did not succeed. Although I heard who he hired and I’m surprised he did not.”

  “We were watching for problems,” I said. “And we had a secret advantage.”

  “What advanta….Oh,” the merchant said. I glanced at him and could see him staring at the beach. I glanced over to find Cimbra standing on the shoreline. She had thrown the hood of her cloak back and her white hair gleamed in the sunlight. “I don’t remember her.”

  “She was wearing a hood,” I said. “We considered having her show herself, but never found a moment.”

  “And with her eyesight she knew what was happening on shore,” the merchant said with a nod. “You are more intelligent than the usual drifters Wrektor deals with.”

  “Do you think your men can help unload?” I asked.

  “They’ll want to, but don’t expect them to carry things far. They’ll probably just put things on the ground and get another item,” the merchant said. “They actually work for the mill. They need these logs.”

  I laughed. “And I thought I was the only one who tried to get a great deal. We’ll have plenty of help unloading.”

  The raft was not past the middle of the river. We had drifted a bit further downstream than I would have liked, but it was clear we would still land on the beach. I nodded one more time and then walked over to Borlan who was comforting his girl.