Journey Across Jord

by Allan Joyal

  A Journey Across Jord

  By Allan Joyal

  Copyright 2015 Allan Joyal

  Prologue: What Occurred Before

  When Ron boarded an elevator in Daytona he was headed to the company's semi-annual sales meeting. It was a thinly veiled excuse for the son of the owner to vacation in a location where he might run into scantily clad girls, but Ron liked the owner and enjoyed the work. However, when the doors had opened he and his friends were in a meadow on a mountain in a world where the sun was the wrong color and dragons flew.

  The experienced salesman soon found that he was leading a group of refugees from the three elevators that had appeared in the clearing. They abandoned the clearing just before some primitive humanoids entered and started slaughtering anyone who failed to run.

  The fifteen people with Ron decided to follow him. He led them away from the clearing, until they found the site of a massacre and received additional confirmation that they were no longer on Earth when they found dead dwarfs lying at the site.

  With everyone scared and confused Ron had them gather up some of the possessions of the dead before they camped for the night. The next day they stumbled on a village and received hints that a wizard may have been attempting to cast a spell just before they were dragged to the world called Jord.

  The group was told of a Wizard's Academy. With the season about to turn to winter, Ron led them out of the mountains and then across the plains, trying to avoid campaigning armies and bandits. The group shrank as they travelled. One man left because the others refused to let him lead. One of the women decided that travelling was not what she wanted and found a job in a tavern. Two others died when the group passed too close to battles.

  However, just as the sky grew dark with clouds as the first winter storm began to rage, the tired group stumbled into the city where the Wizard's Academy stood. There they found the wizards hostile. At first they wondered what to do, but one of the members of the wizard's counsel insisted that the group deserved to have some shelter for the winter. As the storm grew stronger he led them from the Wizard's Academy.

  Chapter 1 – A Long Winter

  Werlyn led our group through the streets. We were heading back towards the main gate through the city walls when he turned down a hidden side street. We followed until he arrived at a rusted metal gate.

  The gate was closed, but Werlyn touched the top of the gate with his staff. There was a brief flash of blue light, and the gate slowly swung open. The rusted hinges screamed in protest as Werlyn lifted his staff from the gate and set it on the ground.

  "Sorry, we use a wizard's lock on the gate if no one is here. From now on you'll be able to come and go as you please," he told me. "Shall we go inside?

  Just then a fierce and bitingly cold wind blew through the alleyway. "Let's," I said through clenched teeth as I tried to avoid shivering.

  Werlyn shook his head and looked up at the sky. I matched his gaze to see black storm clouds racing towards the city from the southwest. I shivered again and looked back to find Werlyn was already halfway across the open yard in front of a large stone building.

  I ran to catch up as the others carefully started entering the courtyard. Werlyn said nothing. His brisk walk brought us to a closed wooden door. I paused, expecting him to touch the door with his staff, but instead he reached down and pushed a lever before pushing the door open.

  "This door does not have a lock," he told me. "The only entrance to the yard is the gate we came through, and we keep that magically locked when no one is here."

  "What about deliveries?" I asked.

  Werlyn smiled. "We summon flying demons. They carry the goods."

  We stepped inside. The main room was dark. Werlyn again lifted his staff and a large ball of blue light leapt from it to hover in the middle of the ceiling. With light now available, we spread out looking at the room.

  The room was large. One corner was devoted to a large stone pit. A tripod stood over the pit. The rim of the pit was made up of smooth flat stone. Having watched Kariy cook over fires, it was clear that this was set up for cooking. Next to the pit, a long slab of stone stood high enough to allow someone to prepare food while standing.

  A second stone firepit stood along the opposite wall. This one did not have the same flat stones, but the curve of the stones behind the pit hinted that it could be used to radiate heat into the room.

  Six closed doors could be found on the far walls. Jennifer dashed over to them, opening them and peeking inside. As soon as she finished, she turned back.

  "Four of these look like small bedrooms," she said. "The other two have stone … toilets I guess."

  I glanced at Werlyn. "If they are for shitting, how do we keep the smell from those down?"

  Werlyn laughed. "Do you really think that wizards won't use magic to keep the smell away? Don't worry about the smell."

  "What about bathing?" Victoria asked.

  Werlyn looked scandalized. "You'll catch your death," he muttered. "But if you insist, I can have one of our demons bring a bathing vessel. They don't like to supply hot water though."

  "We can probably heat water over the fires," I said. "But where do we get water from?"

  Werlyn walked over to a spot on the wall near the second fireplace. He pointed at a chain hanging from the ceiling. "There is a cistern on the roof that holds enough water for your needs. Once the storms come, it will refill quickly. We have it set up to collect the runoff from melting snow."

  Steve smiled and walked over. He was admiring the setup. "And I'm guessing that you have it set up so a fire here will heat the roof and melt more snow."

  "We strive to take advantage of natural forces when we can," Werlyn responded. "Now I should be going. We'll be sending apprentices and servants to care for your needs. And I'm sure that Cerlonin and Sespa will want to stop by and formally negotiate for your mithril."

  "That's fair," I said. "Thank you."

  Werlyn turned and almost ran out the door. He left it open in his haste. Victoria moved to close it as I looked at everyone.

  "Well," I began, "we're going to be here for at least two months."

  "Months?" Henck interrupted me.

  "Sixty days," I replied. "Anyways, we're going to be here for a while. So we should probably put some thought into how we are going to handle this."

  Steve pointed to the bedrooms. "You and Heather take one; Lydia and Henck get one; Esme and Natalie can have a private one as well. The rest of us can share the bedroom and out here."

  "That's not really fair," I replied. "You aren't going to have much privacy."

  Al chuckled. "No, it's fine. Although I hope the ladies understand that we're probably going to see them naked at some point."

  Victoria rolled her eyes. "Oh please. Like we haven't been sleeping close together since we arrived on Jord. And I know you snuck a few peeks while we bathed in that pool our first night out from Henck's village.

  There was a gasp. We turned to look and Kariy had a hand over her mouth. The young woman was blushing furiously.

  Lydia glided over to her and wrapped her up in a hug. "Don't worry," she cooed at our young friend. "Al's just being a pervert. He forgets that the women outnumber the men. We'll make sure he doesn't cause anyone any harm."

  Victoria giggled. It was a surprisingly girlish sound from the normally reserved woman. "I say we force him to walk around without pants for a few days. That should quiet him up."

  Al groaned and dashed off to one of the bedrooms to hide. Laughter from the coeds rang out as he scampered away.

  "Well, it won't be a problem tonight, but it might become one," I admitted. "However, for now we should probably think about what we want in the way of food items and other winter gear. Also
we should consider how we'll pass the time while we are stuck here."

  "I don't know about everyone else, but I want to learn to cook," Heather said. "It's not fair that Kariy does all the cooking."

  Kariy blushed. "Thank you," she whispered. She hesitated for a moment and then ran forward to hug Heather.

  "I'll join in the cooking," Victoria said.

  Esme and Natalie smiled. "If it meets everyone's approval," Esme said. "I'd like to train Natalie. Right now I'm all we have for healing and such.

  "Natalie?" I asked, looking at her. "Are you up for that?"

  Natalie smiled. She turned and gave Esme a kiss on the cheek before turning back to the group. "I'll do it. By the time we leave, Esme won't be the only one who knows how to heal others."

  "Ron?" Lisa said slowly. We all turned to her to see a worried look crossing her face. She fidgeted for several moments before taking a deep breath and continuing. "I don't want to try to cross the continent with all of you."

  "What?" Lydia asked with a gasp.

  Lisa sighed. "I've thought about it since Elizabeth died. In some ways I guess I'm a lot like the other Lisa. Traveling randomly isn't something I'm comfortable with. I've tried not complaining, but I'm sick of being scared, hungry, and tired."

  "What will you do?" Victoria asked.

  Lisa smiled. "Well, I remember our night in Kariy's tavern. The people there seemed to enjoy the songs I sang. There must be some traveling musician I can work with."

  "You'd still be traveling," Jennifer said, her tone clearly indicating confusion and disbelief.

  "Yes," Lisa said sadly. "But I'd be traveling between towns here, rather than trying to cross wilderness. We'd also probably stay on roads and in inns rather than sleeping on the ground every night. At least I hope it works out that way."

  I could see all eyes turn to me. "It's her choice," I affirmed quietly. "She has the right to walk away from us if she believes she might be more comfortable elsewhere. Lisa, until you find what you seek, you should stay with us. I hope you will be happy."

  "Thank you," she replied quietly before dashing past me and disappearing into one of the bedrooms.

  "We'll all end up sleeping out here," Steve quipped as the door swung closed behind the retreating Lisa.

  "Ron!" Victoria cried as she stomped over and stood in front of me. "You have to talk some sense into that girl."

  "Why?" I asked.

  "Because, she's going to be on her own in this world. She might not survive!" Victoria said.

  "And we are sure to survive?"

  Victoria's mouth opened, but she appeared to think about my comment. For more than a minute, she stood there silently before slowly closing her mouth and taking a breath. "No. We aren't."

  "And that is the reason I won't force her to stay," I said. "She needs to feel free to make her own choices."

  Victoria looked like she wanted to say more, but there was a fierce knocking on the main door in the building. All conversation in the room stopped, and we all looked toward the door.

  The person outside knocked again, using even more force. I dashed over and pushed the bar free, releasing the door to swing open. A strong wind pressed against the door and nearly blew it out of my hand. I grabbed it with a gasp as I saw two figures wearing fur robes and cloaks standing on the doorstep.

  "Come in!" I shouted as I stepped to the side. The wind continued to batter at the door, and I moved behind it to prevent it from blowing open as the two men rushed into the house. Once they were inside, I fought and strained to push the door closed. Henck finally came over and added his mass to mine, allowing us to get the door secured.

  Closing the door brought silence back to a now slightly chilly room. Kariy turned and dashed to the corner adjacent to the kitchen fire pit and started grabbing logs from a pile hidden in the corner. "I'll get fires going," she said.

  The two robed figures dropped their hoods. I found myself staring at Werlyn and Cerlonin as they stood shivering in the middle of the room.

  "We've come for the mithril," Cerlonin hissed. "Werlyn exceeded his authority giving you this house for the winter, but we've decided that we'll allow you to stay and provide food, fuel, and clothing for the winter. You have to leave when the roads are no longer mud in the spring."

  "Will you provide any help or goods when we leave?" I asked. "If we are impoverished when we leave, it's not much less a death sentence than forcing us out into that storm."

  Cerlonin glared at me. "Impudent! That's what you are! You dare demand anything from us?"

  Werlyn was trying to calm the man down. I reached into my shirt and removed the pouch I had revealed earlier. "This is a fortune in mithril," I stated. "I fail to see why you won't be able to supply items we could use when we leave in the spring."

  Cerlonin scowled. "Fine! We'll make sure to account for the full value of the mithril and charge fair prices for the food and goods we deliver. We'll see if you have any funds left over in the spring."

  The man snatched the pouch from me. His fingers tore at the ties, forcing the bag open. He looked intently inside and then pulled the bag closed.

  Werlyn watched it all with a smile. "How much?" he asked.

  Cerlonin glared at his fellow wizard. "Eight nuggets."

  Werlyn nodded. "So three for you, three for me and we can allow Sespa to have two. That will work out quite well I think."

  Cerlonin growled, but thrust the bag towards Werlyn. "Take your three now. And then I have to get back to the academy. You can discuss initial food shipments with these vermin."

  Werlyn took the bag and proceeded to shake three nuggets into an upturned palm. Cerlonin immediately snatched the bag back, and after stuffing it into a sleeve, stomped to the door. The howl of the wind broke up any attempt at conversation as he allowed a gust to slam the door open.

  The head wizard disappeared through the door as a few snowflakes were driven into the house by the wind. Henck and Steve rushed to close the door behind him.

  As silence returned to the room, Steve turned to look at Werlyn. "You probably shouldn't stay too much longer," he said. "It looks like the snow is rather heavy already."

  Werlyn smiled. "I'll be fine," he affirmed serenely.

  "But," Steve sputtered.

  "Leave it," I said to Steve. "I'm sure that a great wizard like Werlyn knows ways to stay warm and protected for the walk back to the academy. Right now we need to get some food ordered; this storm might keep us here for a while."

  "Probably four days," Werlyn said with a smile. "The first storm of the season always seems to last quite a while."

  Kariy walked over. "We have plenty of wood in the woodpile for now, but we'll need more in a week if we have to keep the place warm," she said quietly.

  I nodded. "How about food? What would you like to have to make meals for us?"

  Kariy looked around. "Flour or corn meal so I can make some bread would be nice. We need a large cauldron we can set up over the fire so I can make stew."

  Werlyn smiled. "Those I can send today."

  Kariy smiled. "How about some potatoes and carrots I can put in a stew. Dried meat would be nice as well."

  "No fresh meat?" Werlyn asked.

  Kariy shrugged. "In small amounts I can use it. If you send larger amounts, I'll need a lot of salt so I can preserve it. And if your demons can bring any fruit, it would be a nice way to vary our diet."

  Werlyn seemed surprised. "All of that we can definitely do. I can go and make the necessary summoning."

  "You seem a bit surprised," I said.

  "Werlyn looked at me. "It's just that I'm not sure what to think. The young lady appears to be from Jord, but you allowed her to decide what foods to bring in."

  Lydia laughed. "She knows how to cook over an open flame. If I tried, I'd probably poison us. Why wouldn't we allow her to make the decisions?"

  "You can't cook?" Werlyn asked. He turned to stare intently at her.

  "I didn't say that," Lydia replied as she s
tood stiffly. "I do know how to cook, but my knowledge is how to cook using tools that are not available on Jord. I've been paying attention and trying to learn how to cook here, but it's not easy."

  I could see Victoria, Heather, and Jennifer all nodding at Lydia's words. I put a hand out to get Werlyn's attention. "They speak the truth," I said. "I know a bit about cooking myself, and the idea of cooking over a firepit the way Kariy does confuses me a little. The only times I've used an open flame has been for some very specialized cooking."

  Werlyn nodded. "I guess that makes sense, but why do you not order for your servant?"

  "Servant?" Heather hissed. "She's our friend. We don't have servants."

  "You have no servants in your land?" Werlyn asked. "I find that hard to believe."

  "There are some who are wealthy enough to afford servants," I said. "But none of us had any. We've always considered Kariy a friend and companion. She's helped us immensely since we first met."

  Werlyn smiled. "Don't let Cerlonin know. He won't understand."

  "You seem to be less …" Steve started to say.

  Werlyn put a hand out, palm facing Steve. "Don't say it. I know, I'm not quite as ambitious as Cerlonin and Sespa. They believe the academy should be ruling over the area and spreading its influence across the plains."

  "And you don't?" Al asked.

  Werlyn glanced over at Al and frowned. "Not very trusting is he?" he muttered. He turned back to me. "I don't have time to try to rule the world. Besides my wife would never forgive me if I tried."

  "Isn't that the way of it?" Victoria said with a giggle. "Behind every good wizard is a woman keeping him in line."

  Werlyn glared at Victoria, but then turned towards the door. He was shaking his head as he reached for the lever that held the door closed. "I'll be having one of the infernal creatures that owes me favors bring the items you ordered. And one of my apprentices will be by after the storm to work out a more complete plan for what food and clothing you need for the winter."

  He opened the door. A massive blast of freezing air chilled the air in the room, but Werlyn stepped smoothly through the doorway. Hencktor once again threw his weight against the door to close it.