by Allan Joyal
Heather gasped, and started to pull away. I grabbed her arm with my right arm, ignoring the pain and held her until she looked me in the eyes. She struggled for a moment until I winked.
Heather gasped again and then started giggling. “Oh, you got me good. And I should have realized you probably hurt too much right now anyway.”
I nodded. “How about I finish dinner and sleep? I’ll trust everyone to take care of things.”
Heather turned and picked up the bowl of soup. She started humming as she spooned out the rest of the meal. Once she had finished, I lay down on the ground and closed my eyes. The rest of the group was finally returning from butchering the dead wolf, but my injuries seemed to increase my fatigue and moments later I drifted off while listening to my friends eat dinner.
Chapter 19: Into the Wilderness
I woke up to the sound of something moving through the grass outside the ruin. My chest was sore, but nothing lay on top of me so I was able to sit up slowly. I looked down to see that only my boots and vest were not still on my body. I tried to reach down and pull up my shirt, but my right arm and side protested.
I groaned and stopped trying to lift my shirt. The sky was still dark, but I could detect a slight glow coming from the east. Since it had to be close to dawn, I struggled to my feet and looked around.
The campsite was quiet. I could see Heather lying just a couple feet away. She was curled up on her right side. At first I thought she was praying because her hands were together in front of her face, but someone poked the fire, and as it flared up I realized she was clutching my vest in her hands and holding it close to her face. She looked peaceful so I choose to stagger the few steps over by the fire.
I got there and found Hencktor sitting up and carefully adding a couple of small pieces of wood to the fire. He looked at me and shrugged. “It’s our last two logs, but it should be enough to cook some breakfast. I was going to see if Natalie or Lydia remembers how to cook. Kariy didn’t fall asleep until late.”
“Was there a problem during the night?” I asked.
Hencktor barked out a single laugh and then halted. He looked around the camp to see if anyone else had woke and then turned to me and whispered. “The wolves came back as you suspected. Cimbra proved her worth. She and Shaylin managed to get two wolves surrounded by that weird glow Shaylin can summon. One wolf took arrows from Krys, Aine and Lydia to go down. The other ran into a hail of stones from Gertrilla and the other girls.”
“Did it escape?” I asked.
“Oleiana got it in the eye and it dropped,” Hencktor said. “We were going to wake Lawus early and have him skin both. The one hide he already claimed looks like it will be great for a cloak or a rug once it’s tanned.”
“We don’t have the means to properly tan a hide,” I pointed out.
“True, but Lawus says he can show his son how to make it last for a few years,” Hencktor said. “I just hope we don’t run into those wolves again. Esme and Heather were sure that first one killed you.”
“I felt the same way when it jumped at me like that. A normal wolf from our world would have run away,” I said.
“How are you feeling?” Hencktor asked.
I looked around to see if anyone else was awake. Everyone appeared to be slumbering peacefully. “Sore,” I admitted. “Very sore. I’m not going to be doing any lifting or fighting for at least a couple days. I just hope I heal.”
“Well, Esme said if you wake and aren’t spitting blood you’ll probably heal,” Hencktor said. “She was worried though; said that you might not realize how badly you were hurt.”
“I’m worried about Lydia and Lenoir. I know Lenoir was hurting, but she seemed to be stubborn about getting help, and I never talked to Lydia after she was hurt.”
“My wife,” Hencktor said fondly. “She’s going to be fine. She’ll have a great scar to show off to the children someday. Lenoir managed to walk here. She’s got a huge bruise on her hip, but Esme looked at it after you fell asleep. She says it looks like the arrow just hit the outside of her thighbone. There might be a chip, but it is not broken and Lenoir should be able to walk on it. She’s been told to take it easy and accept help as much as possible until we find something she can use as a crutch.”
“We’ll have to go slowly,” I complained.
Hencktor laughed. “We have to anyways. The kids are trying hard, but we have a pretty sizable herd for them to control. The sheep have at least formed three separate clusters, each one around a dominant ram and ewe, but the cattle like to wander through and break the clusters up. The good thing has been that the sheep appear to calm the cattle, so we can keep them in one cluster without horses.”
“I wondered about that,” I said. “I just wish we could offer more help.”
“Once Lenoir, Lydia and I are healthy we’ll be able to have Lenoir and Mary help. They show interest. And Soldrin was interested, but Gertrilla wanted to see him work when the herd wasn’t moving first. I think she’s going to have him help get the herd out of the other chamber,” Hencktor said.
I nodded and looked at the fire. The two logs Hencktor had added were now burning, bringing some warmth and light. I could hear several people stirring. One was Heather who sleepily complained about the chill. I glanced over at her to see Krysbain walking in through the shattered doorway of the ruin. He waved and immediately started walking toward me.
“I don’t know how you survived,” he started.
“Pure luck,” I admitted. It was a strain to keep from shrugging, but my sore chest warned me that I would not enjoy the experience. Instead, I patted the ground next to me. “Want to sit for a moment.”
Krysbain nodded. “I was doing a bit of scouting.”
“In the dark?” Hencktor asked incredulously.
“I knew it was dangerous, but I was verifying something. Ron killed the one dire wolf before the sun went down. We later heard howls from three different locations and it sounded like multiple voices. I was checking near our shelter to see if I could get a count,” Krysbain said.
“Cimbra didn’t give us a count?” I asked. “I thought she had helped turn the wolves back when they did approach.”
“She said she only saw four. I thought there were at least two more based on the howls,” Krysbain said.
“So there might have been four wolves out there still watching? And you went out in the dark?” I asked.
Krysbain smiled. “Hey, I need to do something if I’m going to impress Joelia.”
“Joelia would be more impressed if you showed some compassion and caring,” a tired female voice said.
I looked over at the voice to see Joelia sitting up. She was wiping the sleep from her eyes and yawning.
“Coffee, I miss coffee,” Lydia moaned as she crawled over to Hencktor. She put her arms around his shoulders and leaned against him.
Hencktor put one of his arms protectively around Lydia and looked up. “Should I warm up some soup?” he asked.
“I can handle it,” Heather said as she sat up. “And we can fry up a sausage and give everyone a piece. At least I think we can.”
Lydia giggled. “That sounds like a plan, but did we bring a grill or pan in to do the frying? And did we bring any sausages in?”
“We did,” I heard Natalie say. “I can bring them over. Give me a moment to throw on my blouse and skirt.”
“Natalie slept naked,” Al chanted merrily.
“Oh, hush you,” Natalie responded playfully. “You’re just jealous.”
“He has nothing to be jealous about,” Aine said. “And now that you woke everyone up, can I ask what the plan is for today?”
“More walking,” I said. “We need to get more distance from Saraloncto today. After that we can consider resting for one day. But we probably will be travelling for ninety days or more, so we don’t want to stop too often or for more than one day.”
“We can do that,” Aine said. “But what about the herds? They were pretty distressed last night.”
&
nbsp; “Oh?” I exclaimed. “I didn’t notice anything.”
“You slept through it all,” Heather said. “Esme worried at first, but then noticed that you were breathing easy and figured that your body was trying to save energy and heal as quickly as it could.”
My lover walked over and sat down facing me. She reached for the bottom of my shirt and pulled it up. The fabric bunched around my armpits for a moment; then she released everything allowing it to fall back down to my waist.
“Your chest is one big bruise,” Heather told me. “But I don’t see any bruising below your ribs which is what Esme worried about. It looks like there are no internal injuries, just a huge bruise from where that monster landed on you.”
“Yup,” I affirmed as Kariy finally moved over by the fire. She immediately started cooking while Heather sat and gazed on me. I waited a moment and then pointed over to the fire. “Kariy is ahead of you on the cooking.”
My love squeaked in surprise and then scurried over to the fire to help prepare breakfast. I leaned back in an attempt to get some relief from the soreness that permeated my back and chest. My gaze went up to the slowly brightening sky.
A light touch on my shoulder surprised me. I looked to my right and found Oleiana standing there and looking at the ground. She had used her left hand to touch me while her right held my leather vest.
“You want to put it on me?” I asked.
Oleiana nodded, but said nothing. I sat up and raised my right hand so she could slide the vest over my arm.
The shy little brunette helped me put the vest on. She even took the time to tighten the laces that held the front closed. I noticed she never looked me in the eyes. When she finished I carefully reached out and hugged the young orphan.
“We haven’t had much time to talk,” I said softly.
Oleiana had started when I put my arms around her. I felt her hands form fists as they rested against my chest, but a moment later she relaxed her hands and wrapped them around my battered torso. I gritted my teeth to avoid hissing in pain as she clutched me tightly.
“Another conquest for you,” I heard Victoria say.
“I don’t mind playing father, but is has been happening a bit quickly,” I muttered.
“That isn’t a surprise,” Victoria replied. “Ron, you openly care. Everyone here notices, and it makes it a lot easier to trust you.”
“Except when you try to play hero and nearly get yourself killed again,” Heather said sharply. “Ron, you haven’t even healed from the arrow through your, leg and you take on that monster? What were you thinking?”
I looked over at Al and winked. He started laughing. “He was thinking of a little white tank top I believe,” my friend said.
Heather glared at me as Natalie, Victoria, Aine, and Lydia all burst out laughing. I just smiled as the newer members of our group looked at the laughing women.
“What?” Joelia asked.
“I’ll explain it later,” Lydia said as she got her laughing under control. “I didn’t know Al would know that song, but Ron and Al played that perfectly.”
Heather looked at Lydia. “What song?”
“I can explain it to you as well,” Lydia said. “Ron do we want to travel today?”
“Want? I wouldn’t say we want to, but I think we need to. We aren’t moving all that quickly, and there is still a small chance that the merchant will decide to chase us. We need to be a few more days away from the city to prevent him from sending a group after us,” I replied.
“Could they?” Lydia asked.
“There are a few trackers in town, and any of them would be willing to help for the right price. The elves would protest, but if he felt the potential reward was high enough, he might still try. Since his men would ignore the trees, his advisors might point out that the elves would have no real reason to complain,” Krysbain supplied.
“Ouch,” Lydia said. “Well, Ron, you are still recovering. Gerit can get the carts ready to go. You will eat breakfast and then rest until we are ready to move.”
“Yes mother,” I said in a boyish voice.
“Ron!” Heather snapped. “You are supposed to be leading us. Can you act like a leader?”
I just shook my head. Oleiana was still in my arms, so I gave her a light squeeze and then pushed on her shoulders. “That’s enough little one. I hear you were a hero and killed one of those monster wolves last night.”
“Shaylin helped,” Oleiana said. “And Cimbra was telling all of us where the wolves were. I just tried to get my stone on target.”
“That’s what a good shepherdess does to protect her flock,” I said. “Keep practicing though. We should be safe for a few days, but there will be more wolves as we cross the plains.”
I looked over at Gerit who was sitting across the fire from me. “Gerit, normally we won’t get lucky and find a ruin with walls. Do you think we’ll be able to form a half circle with the carts that the flock won’t just push aside? We can camp on the other side and put the herd in the middle. It might keep them from straying during the night.”
“We’ll want to keep the one cart carrying extra fodder away until it’s empty,” Gerit said. “But that’s a good idea.”
“Wait? You mean that all the stories about circled wagons were so the herds could be kept together at night? It wasn’t a method to defend against Indians?” Lydia asked.
“If you tried to circle the wagons while moving you’d have your draft animals in a vulnerable spot. But the Indians liked to attack at dawn, so there were definitely times they attacked a party that had circled their wagons to camp,” I said.
“Wow, something I didn’t know,” Lydia said.
Heather came over and sat next to me. She looked at Oleiana who had relaxed a little but remained sitting in my lap. “Hey Oleiana, think I can hand Ron his breakfast?” my love asked.
Oleiana smiled and moved to sit next to me. The young girl leaned against my right shoulder allowing me to take the bowl of soup from Heather and begin to eat.
The soup was the same as the night before. Kariy had perhaps a bit more salt, but the overall taste was the same. I was able to appreciate it a bit more and savored each bite. When the soup was gone, Heather used her knife to drop a slice of sausage into my bowl.
I looked at her for a moment, but Heather said nothing, so I carefully began to eat the sausage. The flavor was a bit tart, but the warmth of the meat helped me finish waking up. I was thirsty when I finished, but Heather anticipated that and took the bowl from me while handing me a full tankard. I sipped and discovered she had provided some watered down wine.
“I can’t get used to drinking wine for breakfast,” Jeff complained. “It seems wrong to drink something alcoholic so early.”
“We can’t trust the water,” Esme said. “We could purify it by boiling it for some time, but that’s the only way we could guarantee that we wouldn’t end up sick after drinking. But that’s why we water down the wine. The alcohol kills the bacteria and we don’t get drunk or sick.”
“Another thing to look into once we settle. Although, I know nothing about how to make water drinkable,” I said as I stood up. “And once everyone eats, let’s get started.”
No one complained about my statement. Heather was working with Mary to gather up bowls and tankards. Each one was wiped down with a rag the ladies had obtained from somewhere. Dafalia would come by and collect the bowls once they were wiped. I could see her leaving the ruin carrying the bowls.
Gertrilla was talking to Yveney, Corwar, and Soldrin. The new boy seemed to be a bit nervous about something.
The rest of our group was getting to their feet and gathering up bedrolls. Aine and Victoria appeared to have everything organized as they collected everything that was not being carried. The two women chatted happily as they left the ruin.
Gerit and Verval approached me as I watched Aine and Victoria head out. Verval seemed a bit nervous. I looked up at him and the man smiled worriedly.
“We mi
ght have a minor problem,” Verval said.
I groaned, but nodded for Verval to continue. Gerit just shook his head.
“The problem is that Borlan and his girl Ximenia both want to work on the wagons, but we don’t have enough wagons for them to help with,” Verval said.
“Gerit, I’ve put you in charge, because you know the most about how the wagons are made and how to keep them from breaking while we travel. Now, if you trust both Borlan and Ximenia to take care of a wagon, I’d suggest putting them on the second wagon that Verval has been driving. That would free up Verval to help anyone having trouble,” I said.
Gerit sighed. “I just worried that this would cause a problem.”
“What do you think of them?” I asked.
“Borlan is wonderful,” Gerit said. “He’s probably a year older than I am, but he listens and he really wants to be helpful. Ximenia….”
I nodded. “She still isn’t convinced that it was right for her to leave Saraloncto. I don’t think she really misses the town or the probable future that was in store for her, but she does wonder about what will happen now that we are on the plains.”
“I saw Natalie talking to her,” Verval said. “I am hoping she’ll relax in the future. At least Joelia and her friend Konstanzia are very friendly.”
“Don’t let Victoria know or you might end up…” I said with a wink.
Verval laughed but that frown quickly turned into silent tears. “Jennifer would have wanted me to be happy, but sometimes it doesn’t feel right. I know that Victoria will work to make me happy, and she is a strong woman.”
“We all miss Jennifer. She was not the first we lost, but I’m praying she will be the last,” I said firmly.
With that, we all headed out. I stopped just outside the ruin to watch Gertrilla and the other kids coax the herd out of the impromptu stable. It took only a couple of minutes to realize that Soldrin was not going to be a herder for us. He either got too close to the animals and then had to dance back as an annoyed bull or ram swung it’s head toward him, or he was too tentative and others had to rush forward to prevent the animals from rushing past him.