by Allan Joyal
"Wow," Steve said once the door was closed and we could all hear again. "That is a massive storm."
"We're lucky to be indoors," I agreed. "Let's get fires going to help warm this place back up and then we can do some planning. We might be stuck here for a while, but we should plan and prepare for next year."
"Heat first," Henck suggested. "And we should probably sit down if it's going to be a long conversation."
Everyone started moving. Steve and I headed to the woodpile and began pulling logs. I brought them to the kitchen fire pit and stacked them to the side. Steve had returned to the other pit and was sitting and conversing with Henck about how to get a fire started.
Kariy brought her pack over to the kitchen. She arranged several of the small logs I had delivered in the pit and then pulled a flint, tinder, and some small, dry sticks from her pack. Setting the tinder and sticks down in the pit she struck the flint against a metal plate built into the side of the pit, sending a shower of sparks onto the tinder down by the stacked wood. Several glowed brightly as she coaxed the sparks into flames, and the flames to the wood. In a few moments she had a small fire burning brightly.
"Heather, Lydia," Kariy called out. "If you can come over, we can start working on dinner."
"What about the food the wizard's are sending?" Heather asked.
"We can add that when it arrives," Kariy replied. "Until then, we can get some meat pies started. Those will take some time to cook and cool."
"What about the meeting?" Lydia asked.
"We'll listen in. It's not like we won't be near," Kariy replied as she started to search her pack. She removed several wooden bowls. These were quickly arranged on the stone near the fire pit. Packets of spices and dried food joined the bowls.
"Ron," Steve called, "let's get started."
I paused, but Heather stepped between Kariy and me. She bumped me away with her hip. "Go join the men and have your grunting contest," she said with a giggle.
I shook my head and walked away. Henck had a fire started in the other fire pit, and I could see Esme and Jennifer laying down bedrolls to sit on. Esme giggled as I walked up. "This is going to be like camp!"
"I thought you said you've never been to camp," Steve commented as he picked up a bedroll and spread it on the floor.
"I haven't," Esme chirped. "But I always pictured an evening at camp as including a bunch of people sitting around a fire and telling stories."
"No ghost stories please," I said as I sat on the corner of one of the spread bedrolls. "We have serious things to talk about."
"Yes," Victoria said as she lay down another bedroll and joined us. "Especially if Cerlonin remains as pushy as he has been."
"At least we have more mithril," I replied. "The dwarves gave us twenty nuggets. I've only turned over eight."
"How?" Jennifer blurted out.
"I split the mithril up a couple nights ago. The pouch I showed was the one that had a few small nuggets in it," I admitted. "I had a suspicion that we would not receive the best welcome when we arrived."
Steve coughed. "Not the best? If Werlyn hadn't been there, the other two might have attacked us. They were arrogant beyond belief."
"Yes," I sighed. "And that means we need to think about a few things."
"Such as?" I heard Lydia call out.
"We are going to want to leave here before the snow is done melting, and we definitely don't want the wizards knowing the exact moment ahead of time," I said. "We'll pay an orphan to take the remaining mithril. It's the only way to be sure the wizards can't try to double cross us."
Hencktor started to nod, but then paused. "But won't that anger the wizards? They could cast spells to hurt us from a distance."
"Hopefully, the mithril will calm them. Also, if we are far enough away when they receive the mithril, they may decide it's not worth it. The main reason to attack would be to take back anything they sold or gave to us."
"Ron," Lydia called out. "You are less trusting than I am."
"We don't have a nice friendly government protecting us," I reminded her.
I was going to say more, but there was a knock on the door.
Everyone froze. Conversation died. The silence allowed us to hear storm winds howl. Through this, we could again hear a loud thump as someone struck the door.
I walked over and pulled the door open. The winds tried to rip it from my hands, but I put a leg behind the door to block its progress. My view through the doorway revealed snow falling almost horizontal in the winds. No one appeared to be standing in the cold, so I began to close the door.
A purple-scaled hand blocked the progress of the door. I jumped away in shock, and the hand slowly pushed the door open. Once the door was fully opened, a humanoid figure with purple skin and horns hobbled into the room on twisted legs.
Jennifer screamed and ran from the room. She vanished into one of the bedrooms and slammed the door. Over the howl of the wind, a loud scraping sound echoed through the cabin.
The creature's face shifted slightly, and I saw a joyous look in its eyes as it lifted a large pack from its back and walked over to the counter.
All conversation in the room halted as the creature approached the counter. Lydia and Heather scurried away, moving to the woodpile and staring at the creature as it set the bag on the floor and opened it. It ignored their actions and started pulling out large canvas bags and setting them on the counter. Several cloth wrapped bundles followed. I was counting bundles, and it was soon clear that the bag was far larger inside than it appeared. More than twenty packages were set on the counter before the creature picked the bag back up and turned towards the door.
Nothing was said, but I pulled the door open to allow the creature to step back into the snow. It offered a final hiss and disappeared into the storm. Steve came over and together we pushed the door closed.
The fires flickered as the wind dropped back down. "What was that?" Al asked, staring at the door.
"The demon bringing the food," Kariy said over by the counter. "And it's clear the wizards don't know cooking. I could keep us going for several fortnights with what the demon brought."
"You sure?" I asked.
Kariy turned to glare at me. The action reminded me of the looks Lydia gave someone who stated the obvious. "I've cooked for you all since we joined. I think I know how much you'll eat each day."
Steve slapped me on the back. "She got you there."
Everyone else burst out into laughter. The tension in the room subsided. Heather and Lydia ran over to Kariy to look over the packages while I turned back to Steve.
"Food problem is solved for now," I said. "Now we need to put some thought into preparing to leave here. I figure if we are going to try to cross half a continent on foot, we had better find a way to obtain a wagon or two and fill it with goods."
Steve nodded. "And if we are moving that far from civilization, we'll need seeds, tools, and livestock. We won't be able to obtain them easily once we are in the wilderness."
"So, are you saying we are going to become some kind of strange band of pioneers?" Jennifer asked. "This sounds like we are going to be heading west like the people who followed the tales of gold and crossed half of America to reach the coast."
"Wrong direction," Lydia called out. "But it sounds like that would be the basic idea. I'd say it's probably the right idea."
"Why?" Hencktor asked, looking over at Lydia. "From what you are saying, you want to travel far from the cities here."
"Yes," I replied. "Based on what we have seen so far, we won't be able to fit in with the communities found in the major cities around here. If that is the case, we would be better off moving away and creating our own home."
"Can we do that?" Hencktor asked.
"It won't be easy," Lydia called out. "But we know that people have struck out on their own and created their own homes before."
"When?" Hencktor asked, turning to face Lydia.
Esme giggled. "Oh, God, talk to anyone from
Texas and you'd think they are still doing it there. Henck, the land where Lydia and Ron were born was settled by people looking to find more freedom and space."
"You aren't from there?" Kariy asked. "I thought you arrived in Jord with them."
Esme shook her head. "I did. But when I was a child I lived in a different land. Many of the people there did not care for the land Ron and Lydia are from. My mother kept me from ending up thinking the same way, but I have to admit that I've heard most of the complaints. Many had to do with the independent nature of the majority of the people."
"Except for people like Eddie, who never did anything useful," Lydia called out.
"You aren't helping," I replied with my back to Lydia and the others, who were still by the kitchen fire.
The ladies burst out into giggles. Beside me, I could see Steve shaking his head as he turned back to look at the others. "Don't ask," he told me. He then turned to Hencktor and spoke. "Henck, we know it won't be easy. In fact, it's probably one of the dumbest ideas we could have come up with. But we've now visited four cities and haven't really fit in anywhere."
"Your one friend, Dusty," Kariy interrupted as she walked over by the group. "She found someplace to stay."
"She had some experience working in that kind of environment," Jennifer replied. "And she was terrified of the travel. I remember how shook up she was after Natalie was attacked by the one beast. Her fears were worse after we ran into that caravan and the guards attempted to capture us. The tavern offered her some stability that we don't have."
"I couldn't accept the tavern," Esme said. "That place didn't seem too bad, but even there I could see that the treatment of the barmaids left a lot to be desired. Having men look at me and find me attractive isn't a problem, but the amount of touching the barmaids have to submit to, I could never tolerate."
Kariy was blushing and looking at the floor. Esme suddenly blushed herself and threw her arms around our young friend. "Oh god! I didn't even think. You must have nightmares about how men might treat you after your experiences," Esme wailed.
Kariy returned the hug. "It's fine. I know you aren't like that. Ron and Steve really care. You did help me understand. Back home, there was a scandal about eight years ago."
"Kariy! We don't talk about her!" Hencktor spat.
"No," Kariy replied. "The villagers don't talk about her, but I think I know why now."
"What?" Natalie asked. "Something happened at that little village Henck and Kariy came from? What could have happened in a sleepy town like that?"
Henck scowled, but nodded toward Kariy, who gave a shy smile. Kariy looked at Natalie. "A trade caravan showed up. There were seven wagons in the caravan. Five belonged to the caravan master, but the other two were operated by other traders. One of those traders was a woman. Well, the caravan finished trading with the village, and everyone decided that it was safer to stay the night at the tavern. This was shortly after my parents had died, so I was staying in the tavern. The miners had returned to town and were all relaxing in the room when Madam Curiela came storming in. She had her right hand on Aylie's ear and dragged the poor girl into the room."
"Aylie?" Jennifer asked.
"She was the daughter of the head miner," Hencktor said. "Everyone expected her to marry the mayor. But Madam Curiela was screaming that she'd caught the girl getting out of the living section of the female trader's wagon."
"Ouch," Al said. "I'm guessing that she was saying that Aylie was doing more than talking to the woman."
"Yes," Kariy said. "If I understand the comments, it was no different than what Esme and Natalie do. As you can imagine, the rest of the village turned on Aylie. Supposedly her father took her back to their cottage, but after the caravan left, we never saw her again. Most people think she snuck out and left with the caravan."
"That must have destroyed her father," Steve mused.
"I don't know, but the man left about a year later," Hencktor said. "One of the ore wagons visiting the village passed a package to him, and less than a fortnight later he had settled all his debts in the village and left."
Kariy smiled and then dashed back to the kitchen corner to help the others with their cooking. I looked over at Hencktor, who shrugged.
"I forgot about that, but I guess it proves your point. Starting our own village will probably be far better for you. But with so few of us, can it work?" he asked.
"We need to consider a few things," I admitted. "If we are going to survive, we'd need shelter, food, and clothing. Most likely, we are going to need the ability to make most of the items we need. The truth is that while our ancestors were hardy folk and made their homes in the wilderness, none of us have any real experience doing many of the things we'll need to do."
"If it's sheep or goats, I can probably herd them," Victoria called out. "Especially if we can obtain a good dog before we set out."
"Do they have those here?" Natalie asked. "I haven't really looked."
"I guess we have to ask around," Victoria said. "But they would definitely be good to have. Sheep can provide wool for clothing as well as meat. Goats can provide meat and milk and tend to be able to thrive where cattle struggle. I know we'll miss beef and steak, but I don't think we have the skills to herd cattle across an entire continent."
"And you know how to herd these others?" Jennifer asked.
"Not really. I did grow up in a small village, and there were a couple of farms nearby. One of my best friends worked at one of the farms. When I visited her, I watched some of the farmhands work with the small flock of sheep the farm had. Sheep like to stay in a group, so if you have a good dog, you can usually move them. And with the number of people we have, we should be able to move a small herd. Maybe thirty at most though," Victoria said.
"We shouldn't get them here though," I said. "If we leave as early in spring as I'm thinking, the roads will be muddy and moving a herd of animals would be a nightmare. Also we don't want to warn the wizards."
"Well, I am not offering to herd animals, but what about shelter? I don't think we want to live in tents. That might work for some nomads, but I'd think we'd want a more permanent building to live in," Al commented.
Steve slapped the young man on the back. "You, Henck and I will work on that plan. I'm sure we can find a carpenter or two in town who won't mind teaching us a bit of woodworking. We can plan to build some small log cabins once we find a valley to settle in."
"I think we are going to end up needing a wagon just to carry all of the tools we are going to need," I commented. "But it sounds like we all agree on the basic plan. We'll leave this city early in the spring and strike out to the east. If all goes well, we'll find a good valley to settle in before next winter."
Hencktor shrugged. "It will be strange with so few people. Right now we are only twelve people, and Lisa isn't planning on staying with us. But it doesn't sound like a bad plan."
"Well, we have a lot of talking and working to do. There will be quite a bit we can do this winter. I'll see if there are any old maps that are available for copying. And look at what route we'll take to reach the Elfwall River that divides the continent. From what Elmori said, there will be cities on this side of the river, but the other side is wilderness. We need to have everything we are going to take with us before we cross the river," I said.
"And on that note," Lydia called out, "dinner is ready. I think we've had enough heavy thinking for tonight. Let's eat and then try to get some sleep. We finally have a place we know we are going to stay for some time. We should rest up some."
Lydia's comment ended the serious conversation for the night. Everyone jumped up and made their way over to the kitchen fire pit, where Heather and Kariy were setting out wooden bowls. A cauldron hanging over the pit proved to contain a warming and hearty stew. Each of us took a filled bowl back to the floor in front of the main fireplace. We soon were scattered on the floor, enjoying the meal. As we did, I noticed that Lisa was unrolling her bedroll near the fire.
"It's too cold to sleep in the other rooms," she said. "I hope you don't mind if I just sleep out here."
Heather giggled. "I get a feeling we are all going to sleep out here during the storm. I think we'll all survive the experience."
I said nothing as the rest of the group quickly agreed with Heather. Soon all of the ladies had laid their bedrolls on the ground. Heather pointedly set up mine next to hers as Lydia dragged Hencktor over to where she had set up a nest of furs. Steve and Al looked at each other and then separated with a laugh. They set up their furs so they would be lying near the fire. Steve had his feet almost in the path of the main door, while Al was across from Steve and had his feet lying under the pipes that brought water from the roof cistern.
No one seemed interested in continuing any conversation. I went back for another serving of stew and found Kariy carefully poking at the fire. "I want it to keep burning throughout the night, but very slowly. It should keep the stew from going bad and help warm the room," she told me as I helped myself.
Some of the others also went back for seconds as Kariy finished with the fire and then joined us around the main fireplace. She looked at the spread of bedrolls and quickly unrolled hers next to Jennifer. The young coed blushed in surprise, but said nothing as Kariy lay down and closed her eyes.
Kariy's action seemed to be a signal to everyone. The bowls of stew were quickly emptied and then taken back near the fire pit to be set on the stone slab that acted as a counter. Lydia quickly took the bowls and tossed them into a cauldron full of water that was sitting on the floor. "We'll soak them tonight and then wipe them down in the morning. It's the only method of cleaning them we have."
Nothing more was said as everyone made their way to the bedrolls. I lay down on mine. Heather quickly dropped in behind me and pulled her body to mine before pulling the fur over us. Even near the fire, the room was cold, but her closeness kept me warm as I quickly fell asleep.
Chapter 2 – Waiting Out the Storm
The next four days combined boredom with committee meetings. Outside our small house, storm winds blew. Every few hours, Steve, Hencktor, and I would go to the door and open it. The storm brought huge amounts of snow, and after what we figured was two days, the ground outside was covered by three feet of snow, with more falling by the hour.