by Allan Joyal
Esme was close enough to hear and smiled through her fatigue. "Because pulling these sleds is a lot of work, and the front sled has the most work to do," she huffed.
I could see Natalie keeping up with Esme and Victoria. I nodded to the coed as she lifted her feet to run over to me. She smiled as she jumped the last few feet and grabbed my arm. "Mine!" she said jokingly.
"Eeewww," Esme screamed out. "You don't know where he's been. Throw him back!"
I set Natalie back on her feet. "How are you feeling today?" I asked. "Is the leg giving you trouble?"
"It will be sore for the rest of my life," Natalie said with a huge smile. "But today it's the kind of soreness that helps me remember that I'm alive."
"Good," I said.
Corwar was looking at Natalie. "I don't remember seeing you," he said bluntly.
Natalie looked at the young man. She then glanced forward to see Verval pulling a sled ahead of us. I watched as she raised an eyebrow.
"Verval and Corwar asked to join us once we were about a mile out of the village," I said. "From what he said, I understand that Verval no longer felt welcomed."
"Not my problem," Natalie said with a shrug. "Who is the one who spoke to me?"
"I'm Corwar," the boy replied sharply. He turned around long enough to glare at Natalie before resuming his march through the snow.
Natalie smiled at the young man. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to insult you," she said. "Corwar, the reason you did not see me was that I was resting in our room most of the time. I was hurt by an animal attack and need to rest my leg when I can."
Corwar gasped. His older brother turned around. "Who are you?"
"My name is Natalie," the coed replied calmly. "And pulling this sled you have Esme. She's the cute one with the curly black hair. And Victoria, who kind of watches over all of us girls."
"It's a thankless job," Victoria agreed. "But someone has to do it."
Verval continued to stomp through the snow. I sped up enough to catch up to him and then slowed to walk alongside him.
"You seem troubled," I said.
"This is unnatural," the man muttered. "I've never seen such outspoken women. And none is properly covering her hair."
"We come from a land where ladies are no longer expected to always cover their hair," I replied. "You will have to accept that if you are going to stay with us."
Verval walked silently for several minutes. He seemed lost in thought so I avoided disturbing him as we continued to make our way along the edge of the forest. It felt like an hour had passed before he let out a huge sigh.
"I can accept that," he said. "It still feels a bit unnatural."
"Trust me," I said. "There are times that it seems a bit strange to all of us. We are still making our way in this world."
Verval nodded. I was about to say more when there was a shout from my right. "Ron!"
I turned to see Lydia and Aine waving from the tree line. Lydia held up her crossbow. "Henck thinks that there might be a clearing in a short distance. We thought we'd go on a quick hunt."
"It's still morning, we'd have to drag any kill you make," I shouted back. "And how will you find us?"
Lydia laughed. "It's not like you aren't leaving a trail. We'll be keeping the edge of the forest in sight. If all goes well, we'll be back before it's time to rest."
I waved towards the forest. "Go and fetch us a shrubbery!"
Victoria started giggling. "That is so wrong," she muttered.
Verval slowed slightly as Lydia and Aine faded into the forest. I could see Hencktor shadowing the two women.
Verval snorted. "Why isn't that man, Henck, doing the hunting?"
"Lydia is the best shot we have," I said. "Hencktor has admitted that he's not very good with such weapons. If we have someone who is expert with something, it makes sense to have them be the one to use it."
I could see that Verval was not impressed with the statement. His brother however, had drifted back to walk close to us. I could see that the boy's shoulders were straining as he dragged the sled.
"Natalie?" I called out. "Think we can get Shaylin and Gertrilla up here? I think Corwar needs a break from pulling his sled."
"We can let them know," Esme said. "It's time for us to pull off and let Al lead."
I watched as Esme and Victoria pulled off the path to allow the other sleds to pass. Natalie winked and walked over to give Esme a hug. I halted for a moment to wait for Al.
The young man looked surprisingly relaxed as he approached. Shaylin and Gertrilla were running just ahead of him while playing tag with our two puppies. They noticed me and ran forward.
"We've been pushing the sled," They said in unison.
"Good," I said. "Think you can help by pulling the sled for Corwar here?"
"Is he the one that joined?" Shaylin asked. "I noticed you talking to someone earlier."
We started walking again. Gertrilla grabbed the strap to Corwar's sled and helped him pull it over the snow.
"Actually Corwar and his older brother Verval joined," I said.
Verval was just ahead and had stopped to gaze at us. "Is that the monster that enchanted the stone?" he snapped.
I marched up to Verval and grabbed the strap to his sled. "Shaylin," I said coldly. "Please take this and lead the group. I need to have a serious talk with Verval."
The man's face turned red, but he said nothing as Shaylin ran up and claimed the strap. She waited for a moment for Gertrilla to catch up and then began to walk alongside her friend. Corwar watched as the two young ladies pulled the sleds at the front of the group.
I put my hand on Verval's shoulder and guided him behind a snow bank to the left of the trail. He watched the other sleds pass as I glared at him. Finally, he turned back to look at me.
"Verval," I snarled. "You can't keep making statements like that. I won't tolerate it. The others are likely to be even harsher if you don't stop."
"She's a monster, it was women with magic who destroyed the empire," Verval shouted out.
"I very much doubt that they were the sole cause," I said. "And I would question if they were even a major factor. From what I've seen, magic is a tool. A powerful tool, but no more than a tool. It is the character of the person using the magic that matters, not their sex."
"The wizards have sworn for generations that women with magic caused the fall of the empire!" Verval howled.
"Were they there? And do you really think they don't have an interest in blaming women? Verval, I've traveled with Shaylin for some time. She is a sweet young lady who cares deeply for others. I doubt she'd harm anyone. Why do you insist on fearing her?"
"Magic is dangerous!" the man said again.
"True, but so are weapons, many animals, and the weather," I replied. "Verval, do you want to travel with us?"
"Yes," the man said. "I heard a little bit about what you have on those sleds. Someone has prepared you very well. I think you might not have enough people, but the tools and seeds you carry will give any village you found a good chance of surviving."
I nodded. "We have strived to make sure we have the best chance of success. And we have the funds to add more items once we can increase our ability to haul items. Right now the snow limits how much cargo we can transport."
Verval nodded. "You carry more than most would attempt," he admitted.
"Fine," I said. "Now, I have to ask, do you really have a problem with anyone in the group? Has anyone insulted you?"
"I haven't gotten to know anyone," Verval admitted. "I don't know what to say. None of you are talking a lot as we march."
"Pulling one of those sleds takes a lot of energy," I said. "It's difficult to carry on a conversation while you march."
"Why do the women pull sleds?" Verval asked.
"Verval, even with you joining, we only have five adult men in our group," I said. "The women will do half day shifts pulling the sleds. We don't have enough men to do it. Actually a couple of them have volunteered to do full days
if needed."
"I can help pull," Verval said.
I nodded. "We will welcome that. And we should catch up to the group. I don't think there are any dangers at the moment, but I don't like to let the group get too far out of sight."
Verval and I turned back and walked back to the path. We could see the last sled vanishing over a small rise about two hundred yards ahead of us. "They move fast," Verval said.
"You stay a bit warmer if you keep moving," I said. "And we have been walking for days. They are practiced at moving quickly."
"Why?" Verval asked. "I've seen all that you are transporting. You clearly had the funds to stay in a city all winter."
"We have a long distance to go," I said. "At least that is the current plan." I broke into a slow jog, lifting my legs high as I moved through the snow. I tried to put my feet on the snow packed down by the runners of the sleds.
"Why not just find a place near our village?" Verval asked. "There are many unclaimed valleys on these plains."
"Too much conflict, too much snow, and the ladies wouldn't be happy," I said as we began climbing the rise the sleds had disappeared over. "We considered that, but decided we need to set up some distance from these plains."
Verval snorted. "Your women won't be welcome in any town I know of. They are uppity. They need to learn their place."
"If you ever want one of them to be interested in you as a man, you won't say that to their faces," I said. "That's why we have problems. They are used to being considered the equal of a man. And I'll be honest, having been with them as long as I have, I will say that they are definitely the equal of any man."
"I could wrestle one of them down anytime," Verval observed.
"And you'd finish with a knife in your chest," I replied. "None of them will allow you to force them in any way. However, if you are patient and get to know them, one of them might decide you are the right man for her."
"The women decide? I've never heard of that!" Verval said. We were now close enough that I could hear Steve shouting something, but the words were unclear.
"It goes back to how things are where we are from," I said. "We have a lot of opportunities for someone willing to think and work. Women could take advantage of those opportunities even if they weren't married. It changed the dynamic for women and marriage. A woman no longer needed to be married to survive. So they claimed the right to choose their husbands."
"That's an overly simple description, Ron," Steve said. He had jogged back to meet us as I was talking.
"The full description would take hours, and I'm sure I'd be told that I got it all wrong," I replied. "So why did you jog back to meet us?"
"Lydia, Aine and Hencktor aren't back yet," Steve said. "If they aren't back in time, we'll have to have some people pull a double shift on the sleds."
I nodded. "You on the single. I'll pair with someone and we'll have Al take the other double until Henck and Aine are back and can take a shift. Victoria and Heather would be the best for the double-shifts."
"I can pull," Verval said. "If you have someone to pull the sled I brought."
"The girls love that," Steve said. "Although I'm waiting for one of them to try out one of the puppies as a sled dog."
"I hope not," I said. "Those sleds aren't big, but Verval definitely packed all he could. If the puppy didn't keep in a straight line, we might have a mess to clean up."
Steve nodded and looked over at Verval. "Pair him with Al? I'm sure we can talk Heather into sticking around if she gets to pull with you."
"Which one is Heather?" Verval asked.
"Damn," I replied. "I forget that you haven't been introduced to everyone. Well, I can start with the man in front of us. This is Steve. He and I worked together before we ended up on this journey."
Steve shrugged. "We never really introduced Shaylin or Gertrilla to everyone either. I think Victoria might have helped Shaylin. I know Shaylin pointed out everyone to Gertrilla."
"Which two are they?" Verval asked.
I sighed. "Shaylin is the young lady you were unhappy with. Her father asked us to help her escape the Wizards City, before she was forced to undergo a procedure to steal her ability to use magic. Gertrilla is the other young lady. She joined as we were escaping the city."
"You were in the city?" Verval asked in shock as we finally caught up to the rear sled. Esme and Victoria were smiling as they pulled the sled.
"We went there to see if they could help us return home," I said. "We were summoned to Jord by a miscast spell."
Verval looked pensive. We were keeping pace with the girls, and I decided to do something. I turned around and started walking backwards in front of Verval.
"Careful," Steve whispered.
I pointed towards Victoria and Esme. "Verval, we noted that you hadn't been introduced to everyone. These two fine ladies are Victoria and Esme. Esme is the one with curly black hair."
Verval nodded. "I thought I heard those names. Wasn't it Natalie who used them?"
"She was introducing your brother to us," Victoria replied. "He seems like a nice kid."
"But you were the lead sled," Verval said.
"And you don't want to be the lead sled for long," Esme said. "On packed snow, these sleds are rather easy to pull, but the front sled is the one packing the snow down, so it takes a lot more effort to keep moving. After being in the front, we rotate to the back of the convoy."
"Convoy?" Verval asked. "I thought that was a nautical term. At least the only time I heard it was talking to one of the merchants. He was describing some valuable bauble he had and said it took a sailing convoy to bring it back from lands far over the ocean."
"Caravan would perhaps be better," I commented. "Victoria, Esme, this is Verval. Please be patient with him, it's clear that he will need some time to get used to assertive and independent women."
"We could always have him sit between Lydia and Heather," Victoria said. "Those two will convince him to behave."
"Now that is cruel and unusual punishment," Steve said.
"I like that idea," Esme said. "But I guess we should be a bit more subtle."
I watched Verval. The first suggestions coming from Victoria and Esme had clearly upset him, but he said nothing and just listened. When Esme mentioned being subtle he turned to look at her.
"How would you be subtle?" he asked.
Esme looked at the man. "Well, I actually am probably not the best choice. I'm not desperate to have a man to cuddle with at night."
"Hey!" Victoria squawked. "I'm not desperate!"
"Then it was some other English brunette who has spent the last four hours telling me about wanting to tackle Steve and ravish him," Esme said with a snort.
Steve started laughing. "She doesn't have to tackle me. Victoria if you need someone, just talk to me."
Verval looked at me. "Are they always like this?" he asked.
"They are quite a bit more cheerful than normal," I said. "I think the day spent resting in your village helped. Why don't you talk to them a bit more? I need to check and see if our hurters have returned."
Verval nodded as I sped up and started passing the other sleds. Heather and Jennifer smiled and waved as I passed. I offered the ladies a nod as I continued forward.
Al just nodded silently as I reached the front of the sled he was pulling. Ahead of him, I could see Natalie watching over Crowar, Shaylin, and Gertrilla.
"No sign of our hunters?" I asked.
"Is that where they disappeared to?" Al asked. "I should have known he'd figure out a trick to get out of pulling for a day."
"Al?" I asked carefully.
He choked out an exhausted laugh. "Oh, I'm just grumbling. You know that pulling these fucking sleds is a pain. It would be nice if he was back, but I'm sure we can use the meat."
"Maybe Aine will come back successful, and you can give her a long kiss to congratulate her," Natalie said from in front of us.
Al blushed. "She wouldn't like that."
Natal
ie giggled. "Al, I talk to Aine. Esme talks to her even more than I do, and I talk to Esme. Aine understands that you haven't been the one to hurt her. It helps that she and Sharice did find some men who helped them once they escaped the other group."
"May we never again run into them," Al muttered. "I'd want to kill them all."
"It's not likely we will," I replied. "From what little we heard, they took the river road rather than crossing at Linktrum. I doubt they traveled this far out onto the plains before the snows flew. And now every day we will be moving further away from the area where I'd expect to find them."
"We also are far away from anyone we could help," Natalie sighed. "I think everyone from our elevator was in one of the two groups."
"We can help people like Shaylin," I said as I pointed at the young girl. One of the puppies just then jumped at her and knocked her down. Loose snow sprayed away from her as she tumbled and rolled to get out from under the eager puppy. High shrill laughter echoed through the air as she dodged another jump and stood back up.
"Point," Natalie said. "But we were talking about Aine. Al, she likes you. You're handsome."
"You don't think so," he commented with a wink.
"Just for that, I'll tell Esme that we don't try to coax you into bed the next time we visit a town," Natalie said winking back.
Al groaned as Natalie held up a hand. "You're handsome," she began. "You're patient. You have been gentle when helping her. You delight in teasing Shaylin and Gertrilla. You listen. And Victoria has said you are very giving once you tumble into bed."
"She did!" Al said with a embarrassed squeak.
I laughed. "It doesn't sound like she hurt you any."
Al just choked on some words as his face slowly turned red. I glanced around and sighed. "I think it's about time to change. I hope our hunting party shows up soon. Al, we're short people. Can you take over for Esme? The new man, Verval, is willing to pair with you."
"Noooo!" Natalie moaned playfully. "We finally get Al properly house-broken, and now you are going to throw him back in with an untamed specimen. All our hard work will be ruined."
"I don't know," Al said as he stopped walking. The sled kept moving until it bumped into his legs. He tugged the harness to loosen it and then began to pull it from his shoulders. "I'm finding that a caged male seems to find his hunt for a nightly cuddle partner much easier. It's possible I'll be able to start the taming process."