by Allan Joyal
"What kind of work?" Jeff asked.
"Farming," Heather said. "Your friend would have been right at home. We're going to try to get by with eighteenth century farming."
"Eighteenth century?" Kariy asked. "What's that?"
Heather looked at our young friend. "We explained how back where we come from we have tools that don't exist here on Jord. Well there was a time we didn't have those tools and our farming methods were probably similar to what is used here. That however started to change during a period we call the eighteenth century."
"That's not exactly right," Jeff said with a moan.
"You can take the time to explain it to Kariy while we travel then," I said. "Hopefully you know a lot, because right now Verval is the only experienced farmer in our group."
"Who is he?" Jeff asked.
"We have been joined by a few people native to Jord," I said. "Kariy is one. She was forced to be Galmin's cook, but we took her from him. With her enthusiastic participation, I should add."
"My daddy takes great care of me," Kariy said. "I mean, this is the first time we've talked all day."
Heather fell backwards as she started laughing. Kariy was giggling as Jeff looked at me. Confusion was written all over the young man's face as Heather's hysterical laughter filled the chamber.
I looked down at Heather. "Is it too late to trade her in for a new model? She seems to be a bit defective."
Heather paused her laughing long enough to pretend to glare at me. "You'll die without my guidance," she said with a smirk.
I shook my head and looked at Jeff. "Kariy is just playing with you a bit. When we invited her to join us she was afraid that she'd be forced to lose her virginity and all that. To calm her, we told her to consider me her father."
Jeff shook his head for a moment. "What about the blond losing her mind over there?"
I shrugged. "I'm not sure she ever had one. She's just being herself. Don't worry about it."
Jeff just smiled. "Ah, one of those. My fiancée could be the same way. So I guess for now I just travel with you? Will we see the sun again?"
Heather managed to sit up. She had her right hand on the ground, but was holding her stomach with her left. "The dwarves are heading to a town called Purahomp in order to trade ore for food and other items. We are traveling with them until we reach there. Once we part, we'll be back on the surface."
"Do we have a destination?" Jeff asked.
"Yes ... and no," I began. "The information we have says that the eastern half of this continent has no humans living there, so our plan is to travel far to the east and found a farm in a sheltered valley."
"Found one?" Jeff asked. "How? We have nothing."
I pointed over where our three sleds sat. "Three of the carts in this caravan belong to us. They carry the food we need, but they also already hold several barrels of seeds and a number of tools we plan on using once we decide where the farm goes. We also have two puppies who are descended from a top herding dog. Our hope is that they can help herd animals for the trip out."
"Do you think we can succeed?" Jeff asked.
"We have to," Heather said. "Jeff, you already learned how dangerous this land can be and how little human rights mean to some of the people we encounter. We have seen more than you and there is no place for us right now. Women are second class citizens at best and, on this part of the plains, armies fight over the lands."
"Why?" Jeff asked.
"Because few farms produce much of a surplus," the voice of Verval interjected. "Villages can't afford to hire men just to defend them, so we give our surplus to a local baron in exchange for his promise to protect us. The barons fight over the villages, trying to get the villagers to pay them."
Jeff looked shocked. "You mean there are no standing armies? No central government?"
"Communication is by horse," I pointed out. "It's pretty impossible for a government to plan when it could take weeks to get information on events. And most of the farmers don't have the knowledge for a democracy to be successful."
"The Greeks had a democracy," Jeff pointed out.
"Of wealthy landholders," Heather replied. "We studied that in one of my classes last semester. The Greek democracy wasn't one where everyone got to vote. Only men could and then only men who were citizens and were willing to pay the poll tax. It was nothing like what you think of when you use the term."
Jeff shrugged. "It makes sense, but wow. It will take a while for me to truly believe it. I guess I'm with you, but ... ."
"We'll have Kariy and a couple of others watch over you. I expect you'll spend a lot of time riding on the runners of the sled," I replied. "For now, rest, the dwarves are worried about an ambush so we'll be moving early and fast once the night is over."
Jeff nodded. Heather decided the conversation was over because she jumped to her feet and started dragging me away from the young man. "You're mine for the rest of the night," she hissed as she pulled me toward a bedroll.
Chapter 23: Detours and Distractions
Mertiln woke us the next morning and had us moving before we had finished wiping the sleep dust from our eyes. We were all a bit worried as we left the camp, but the morning passed quietly. Mertiln did point out a few abandoned weapons, but the expected ambush failed to materialize.
The lack of the one ambush did not mean the journey was safe. Three times over the next twelve days we heard metal ring out as creatures crept out of the shadows and fought with the dwarf guards. Each time the creatures vanished back into the darkness before anyone in our band could get involved. The battles were brief and sharp, and the dwarves appeared to be winning. Esme was asked to help bandage wounds.
The constant darkness was a strain, as was the fact that occasionally we could hear movement in the darkness. Everyone was a bit jumpy. Still the size of our group appeared to keep predators away and with about two more days to go, I was beginning to think we would emerge from the tunnels with no casualties.
We were walking along a section of the path that sloped upward just a bit. The floor was a bit slick from a faint layer of slime that took advantage of the damp in the cave. Everyone was concentrating on placing their steps carefully when we heard a cry from the front. It lacked the alarm we heard when the guard was attacked, but I looked up and then looked for Mertiln. "What's that?" I asked rhetorically.
"Sunlight," Heather moaned. "Let it be that we are finally about to enter sunlight. I'm sick of constant darkness."
I looked forward, straining to see what had caused the dwarf to call out. Movement to my left caught my eye and I watched in shock as a white tendril identical to the ones I had to dodge to rescue Jeff swung into view and struck one of the dwarves guiding the sled in front of us.
Before I could shout in warning, the dwarf was pulled from his feet. The tendril retracted toward the ceiling rapidly as I tried to dash forward. I had taken maybe three steps when additional movement to my left got my attention.
"Duck!" I shouted as I threw my body down onto the slimy path. I could feel the air pushed away by the passage of a tentacle as I fell, behind me I could hear the cries of alarm from my friends as they joined me on the floor.
"Shay! We need light, but stay down!" I commanded.
I looked up at the ceiling near where the dwarf had been picked up. Behind me, the path and ceiling was lit up as Shaylin held her Everlight stone over her head.
It took a moment, but I found the dwarf and his captor. The creature looked like some strange melding of a lobster with a two proboscis mosquito. The dwarf was currently held by some strange white tongue coming from the lower proboscis. The dwarf was futilely waving his axe, trying to strike the tongue, but seemed unable to reach the back of his neck where it was attached. The creature used a claw to take control of the dwarf's arm. The dwarf's axe fell to the floor as his hand was forced open.
"Lydia? Aine? Can you shoot that thing?" I called out. "And watch for others."
"I've got one just above me," Lydia call
ed back. "I'm trying to aim while lying on my back."
"Aine, get the one above Lydia, or at least force it to move," I said.
I had taken my eyes off the dwarf while issuing the commands. I looked back to see the monster lift the dwarf towards its upper proboscis. A needle-like object came out and stabbed the dwarf through the leather covering his shoulder. The dwarf screamed.
A crossbow fired just a moment later. The monster jerked to the side. Its claw opened, but the tongue held the dwarf up. Lydia was grunting as she tried to reload quickly, but the monster skittered backwards on its multiple legs and vanished into a small tube in the ceiling. It could barely fit and we watched it use its claws to arrange the dwarf's body so it could drag it into the opening.
Another twang sang out behind me. There was a loud hiss from the ceiling and then Lydia shrieked. "What the fuck!"
I could hear movement and risked turning to look. One of the strange monsters was lying on the floor of the cavern. Hencktor rushed over and pushed it. As it rolled onto its feet, Lydia scrambled up and moved away.
Everyone was standing up and I quickly started scanning the ceiling. The bright light had ruined my sight a little and the shadows prevented me from identifying any other monsters.
"Don't worry," Mertiln said. "The fact that one died will get the others to retreat to hide. They aren't interested in a fight."
"Your man?" I asked.
"He's already dead," Mertiln said fatalistically. "You saw him stabbed with the eating needle."
"Eating needle?" I asked.
"That's the simple name for it. It injects several poisons. Those things have no teeth, but ... ."
"God," I said. "They suck you up through that."
"Exactly," Mertiln said firmly as three dwarves ran up. Mertiln pointed to the fallen monster and said something in Dwarvish. "However, the creatures are very good eating. We'll bring the body along and eat well tonight."
"The circle of life," I mused.
Another dwarf was running from the front of the caravan. He exchanged words with Mertiln and then dashed back into the darkness. Mertiln looked at me. "We're going to have to detour. It seems that the slavers who captured your friend have been gathering. They are three or four days ahead of us, but they must be driving a couple hundred slaves. They have been leaving dead bodies and it attracted a tribe of scavengers."
"How big of a detour will we be taking?" I asked. "And will it affect your food supply? We're willing to try to help fight through them."
"It's a number of creatures. Some of those things," he said, pointing at the body of the creature Aine had killed. "Some might be related to the mushroom people we talked about some time ago. It's dangerous to fight them if you have the right equipment and your people don't have good armor."
I nodded at that. "We have just the few leather vests and that's about it. We should probably look into getting helmets and arm coverings at least."
"It would definitely help you," Mertiln said. "I do have some news your people might like. The detour will take us out of the cave before the sun goes down. We'll have to spend the night at the entrance, so my men's sight can adjust."
"Ours too," I replied. "After so long underground, our eyes won't be ready for full sunlight immediately."
"We'll be there soon," Mertiln said. "Warn your people to be watchful until we reach the surface. There are many creatures stalking the caverns."
I nodded and then held my hand up. My friends started to head over to me. Lydia and Aine both held their crossbows against their chests, watching the ceiling.
"What?" Steve asked once everyone was gathered. We continued to walk with the sleds, but now in a tight bunch rather than spread out between the two sleds.
"Mertiln tells me that the route he planned on using is too dangerous at the moment. I guess the slavers dumped some bodies and scavengers have gathered to feast. We are going to take a detour which will bring us to the surface before we camp for the night."
"Sunlight!" Hencktor said enthusiastically. "No more cave ceiling."
Lydia laughed. "You made it. I told you that I'd ensure you survived."
My friend frowned. "I couldn't save the dwarf though."
"Mertiln tells me that the dwarf was already dead. The creatures inject their digestive fluids and then drink their victims. We watched the dwarf get injected just before you got your shot off," I said.
"Damn," Lydia said. "And I loaded and aimed as fast as I could."
"We know," Steve said.
I nodded. "Mertiln wasn't angry that you failed. I think he was impressed you had tried."
"What about me?" Aine asked.
"I'll see if he's willing to give you the first cut. The dwarves say the creatures are good eating," I said.
"Yuck! We're going to eat it?" Jennifer said. I noticed a twinkle in her eye.
"Think of them as cave lobsters," I said.
Heather giggled. She then looked around. "Did Mertiln say anything else?"
"Be watchful," I said. "The scavengers might wander close to the caravan and they will attack if they see an opportunity."
I could see my friends nodding in response to the statement. Steve looked directly at me. "Where do you think you should be?" he asked.
"Left front," I said pointing to the left side of the sled in front of us. Keep Lydia and Aine in the middle so they are protected and can have time to aim. Spread out the weapons on both sides and everyone else stays near the sled."
"Can do," Heather said. "I'll give Lydia close protection."
My blond friend pulled a knife from her belt and then gently led Lydia away from the group. Natalie touched Aine's shoulder and led her close to the sled Jeff rode when he grew tired. I could see that Gertrilla and Shaylin were guiding Jeff to the sled while Corwar led the puppies away from the edge of the path.
Steve, Henck, Al and Verval all spread out on the outside of the group. All of them were now carrying weapons in their hands and gazing watchfully into the surrounding darkness. Every drop of water making an unseen splash caused them to jump as we continued to journey with the caravan.
No scavengers came out of the darkness. However, none of us relaxed as the caravan took a right turn and headed down a new tunnel. This one was tight, as the ceiling lowered until Hencktor had to duck down. The low ceiling only increased everyone's unease as we watched the walls close in as well, leaving us with little room to move.
The dwarves were silent, watching the beetles and griping their own weapons. Tension seemed to flow throughout the caravan as we made our way forward.
The unending tension got to everyone. Hencktor was the first to succumb. After hitting his head for a third time, he moved to walk next to Lydia. Lydia had to take her eyes off of the walls and ceiling to comfort our friend, and finally asked Corwar to take the crossbow so she could keep her man calm. Heather filled in for him, holding her knife in front of her and waving it back and forth as we continued to walk.
One by one, the rest of the men in our group were forced by the constant tension to give up their position as guards. Natalie and Jennifer replaced Steve and Verval only a short time after Hencktor retreated. Next Al finally could no longer take the stress and Kariy stepped up to cover for him as he walked over to the sled and leaned against it as it continued. Watching Al being half dragged by the sled worried me. He was not very talkative, but had been unflagging until this hike through the tunnel. I realized that we needed a day or two of rest before we could try to hike for miles.
I was still pondering this when Victoria walked up to me. She smiled and held up a knife. "I'm supposed to take over for you," she informed me.
"I'm not that stressed," I said. "But if you want to walk with me, I'm fine with that. We haven't talked in ages."
Victoria smiled. "You've been busy with Aine, Verval and Jeff," she pointed out.
"I don't exactly spend much time with them," I rebutted. "I did talk to them when they joined the group, but after that I allow the co
eds to do most of the work. Although, I did hear you and Verval were close."
"Jennifer won that contest," Victoria said with a snort. "Verval was fascinated by her. Still is, I guess."
I nodded. "I'm sorry you haven't found the right man."
"Before you finish that thought," Victoria said, "it won't be Jeff. He seems nice, but I don't find him attractive. Anyways, I do want to say you are doing well."
"We stumble across a continent and I'm doing well?" I asked.
"We haven't lost anyone since we left the Wizard's Academy," Victoria replied. "And before you complain about the deaths of Sharice and Martha, you did what you could to prevent their deaths. Sharice was just too broken after what had happened and Martha was a terrible tragedy that occurred when we passed two armies. Meanwhile, we have a goal and have resources to allow us to work toward that goal."
"And lots of mouths to feed," I said.
"Kariy loves cooking for us. It gives her a sense of purpose. That is one girl who would die for you," Victoria said.
"She should die for her husband," I said, "and then only in extreme circumstances. I want her to die a grandmother, surrounded by her loving children."
Victoria smiled. "And thanks to you, she just might do that. Ron, the women in our group have a chance at a future because you are willing to fight for us. And the truth is that you are the man with the plan."
"I don't have a plan," I protested. "I have an idea."
"It's more than any of the others have," Victoria said. She seemed ready to say more when we heard a grunt behind us. It was immediately followed by the sound of an axe striking stone. We whirled around in time to see the dwarf herding the beetle behind us pulling his axe back to a ready position. A chuck of what might have been flesh fell to the ground as we continued to move away from whatever he had struck.
"I never saw anything," I said as Victoria gasped.