by Allan Joyal
"It is a fine cart," I said. "And your husband has helped with a keeping all the carts running."
"Husband?" Amalya said. "We aren't married."
"Why not? You love each other. Do you really need some city official to wave his hands over you and say that you are now married?"
Amalya blushed. "No, I guess not."
We would have said more, but Victoria ran up to join us. "Ron," she said breathlessly, "we might have a problem."
"Go ahead," I said.
"Mary might be pregnant," Victoria said. "She lost her purse within the first three days we were in Jord. Obviously, that meant she lost her pills."
"Pills?" Amalya asked.
Victoria gasped. "Oh ... um ..." She looked up at me.
"I'm not going to rescue you on this one," I said.
Victoria nodded. "My bad." She turned back to look at Amalya. "The alchemists back in our homeland discovered a mixture that prevents a woman from getting pregnant. They would provide it in the form of a pill that you had to take daily. If you stop, you can become pregnant."
"And once Mary was captured and enslaved, I'm sure the slavers didn't worry about that," I said. "So there is a good chance she was ... ."
Victoria nodded again. "She's been raped repeatedly. Worse, she remembers her first period after we arrived, but it's been almost forty days since it ended."
I sighed as Amalya looked confused. "Period?"
Victoria laughed bitterly. "Sorry, we use that term to describe the regular bleeding a woman suffers from."
"Oh," Amalya said. It was her turn to blush and then laugh. "I should have realized that. So the new girl didn't have her moon time?"
"I didn't think any of the moons of Jord took that long to cycle," I said.
Amalya giggled. "One cycles every four days, and that's as long as a woman usually suffers. It was the perfect term."
I nodded. "Well, if she is, we'll do what we can to provide for her. Unfortunately, I get a feeling she'll either give birth while we are still moving or just after we arrive."
"We really are moving that far?" Amalya asked. "Yveney seemed to believe we were, but Gerit and Gorm thought it unlikely."
"We are from farther away than I can explain," I said. "And the lives we knew were much different than what you expect. Al, Steve and I could definitely adjust, but it would be much more difficult for the ladies. We decided our best bet was to create our own town, but if we try to set it up in this area, we'd soon find that slavers were attacking and capturing all of us. We have to be too far away for slavers to see any profit in attacking us."
Amalya looked surprised. "Why is it that I never thought of something like that? It's simple, but sounds like it will work."
"We also had a sorceress tell us that we would find a home far to the East. It was a prophecy of some kind," Victoria added.
"I don't remember you being in the room when she spoke that," I told Victoria.
She giggled. "Heather was and she was willing to tell the rest of us."
"Also she didn't say we had to go east, only that we should not seek to build a home in the cities and that the journey would be long."
"Close enough," Victoria said as she pretended to be looking at her fingernails. "Anyways, I was actually coming up here to ask if we are going to stop soon. Everyone is getting a bit tired."
I looked up to realize that the sun was past its zenith for the day and starting to descend. Immediately I looked around for Hencktor and Steve. Henck was walking with the first cart just behind us. "Henck," I called out. "Is Lenoir around to find a field for us to pause at?"
"She was going to the rear to chat with Gorm last I saw," Hencktor said.
Corwar ran up. "I can go look," he volunteered.
"Be careful," I told him. "We can't protect you if we can't see you."
Corwar nodded as he left the road and started climbing a hill. The young man scrambled up it quickly as we continued to move forward. He had climbed almost one hundred feet when he looked down the road ahead of us. "There is a stream passing through the next valley," he shouted down to the rest of us. "There is a bit of a clearing on the far side, right next to the road."
"Good eyes," I called back. "Take a quick look behind us and then come down."
"It's clear behind us," he said. "I see no one."
He started to scramble down. Ahead, I could see Gertrilla wave. She held a hand next to her ear and nodded. "Gertrilla heard it," I murmured.
"He was loud," Victoria observed. "I'll go make sure everyone knows about the break."
I nodded as we headed forward. The rest would be welcome and it was time we thought about how to approach the next villages in our path.
Chapter 33: Prophetic Moments
Eight days later saw us approaching Crayolyn Falls just an hour after dawn. The road had turned away from the stream at Dondale only to return to a new river four days later after we made it through a pass. There were no real mountains in this area, but the area past Dondale surely felt like mountains. The road we followed was narrow and hugged the mountainsides. It was not uncommon for us to travel for a mile or more with the downhill side of the road bordering a long drop. Gertrilla and Yveney worked extra hard keeping the sheep away from the cliffs we passed. It had been nerve-wracking until we finally cleared the pass and started down.
The river joined us a day after we cleared the pass. It was wider than the one passing by Purahomp and appeared to flow much more slowly. Its power was made clear by the state of the road and fields. Large boulders were pushed to the side of the road and the ground beyond the roads was largely barren. The few tufts of grass clung to high spots or sheltered behind larger rocks. There were no trees.
We had managed to pick up a few bundles of hay as well as some additional seeds in Dondale. Gerit had even been able to find a good set of woodworking tools that we were able to obtain after helping one of the local farmers repair a barn that had been damaged by a storm. The old man told us that he was praying for his son to reappear and take over the farm, because otherwise would be forced to sell it in the next few years. Our work on the barn was intended to increase the value of the farm and attract a buyer.
We had heard some stories that suggested that the slavers allied with the merchant from Rockspire ranged as far as Crayolyn Falls when seeking people to waylay. Everyone walked in pairs and we had resumed our regular knife practices. Jeff struggled mightily in this, but Mary had a very vicious edge to her, often aiming for the crotch when facing a man. The other new men had considerable experience with knives. Gorm helped more once he revealed a long knife that Heather immediately called a sword.
When we cleared the last bend in the river and could finally see the town of Crayolyn Falls, everyone stopped for a moment.
The town itself sat on both sides of another river that joined the river we were following just downstream of the town. Upstream on the other river we could see sparkles of light showing a waterfall coming off a tall cliff. There was a wide wooden bridge that crossed the new river and the road continued on the other side.
The city had several pastures near us, but the most impressive sight was a large staging area next to the rivers. We could see logs being lashed together to form rafts. As we watched, one raft was launched into the current and started floating downstream.
Steve walked over to me and nodded towards the logs. "Looks like they have a lumber industry. I don't see any trees nearby though."
We started moving forward and I noticed something at the top of the falls. I pointed at it and we could just make out a log dropping from the top of the cliff. Steve laughed and slapped me on the back.
It was clear that someone in town was watching. We were still about two hundred yards away from the edge of town when a couple of men carrying bows ran out to the middle of the road.
"Move the flock off the road," I shouted to Gertrilla. "Let's see what the guards want. We shouldn't look threatening."
The flock moved to the le
ft off the road, claiming a small section of the pasture. The children in our group peeled off to make sure the sheep did not try to move too far from the road. I nodded to Steve and then we continued forward.
The two archers placed arrows on the strings of their bows, but did not draw them back. We approached to about fifty yards when one shouted. "State your business!"
"Traders on our way to Saraloncto!" I called out. "We'd like to stop and trade and then continue on our way."
"We do?" Steve asked.
"It's not even noon," I pointed out. "And I just don't trust the towns around here. Once again, this town doesn't have any walls, and with what we know of the armies that wander the plains ... ."
Steve nodded as the two archers looked at each other. We waited while they just stood there. Finally a third man emerged from a building next to the road and walked over to them. There was a quiet conversation between the three men that lasted a couple of minutes.
I took a moment to look out at the carts. Jennifer had moved to help the others herding, but the rest of our group surrounded the carts. There were no visible weapons, but I could see Lydia and Aine standing next to the rickety wagons with their hands hidden by the goods. It was easy to imagine that they had their hands on loaded crossbows and were ready to fire.
The third man looked at us. "Come forward, but we will be watching you."
The two archers backed away. Both now brought their bows up and aimed them in our direction. They were not targeting anyone and had not drawn the bows, but it was clear they were ready to shoot any of us.
The carts creaked as they started forward again. Still the third man just stood in the center of the road, watching us advance.
We were within ten yards when he nodded towards me. "You do look like a trading party. What are you planning on trading?"
"We want to purchase some more fodder for the animals," I said. "We might also see if any of your farmers have some livestock they are willing to sell. Our mission right now is to help establish a new outpost and I know the planned inhabitants are hoping to farm once they have settled the location."
The man smiled. "Livestock is something I'm sure you can find here. Cross the river and you'll find a courtyard to your left. We'll let the merchants and farmers in town know that you are here."
I nodded and led the caravan across the bridge. It proved to be surprisingly solid construction and the mules and horse had no issues with crossing. The flock did appear to give Yveney and Gertrilla a bit of problems until one of the puppies got the lead ram to start across; after that the rest of the flock followed.
We headed to the open courtyard the villager had told us about. It was larger than I expected. Al noticed as we headed to an area that had an enclosure with hay strewn about.
"You could play football in this courtyard," he said as the flock headed into the enclosure and began grazing on the available hay.
"Gertrilla, give the mules and horses some oats while we wait. It might be good to unhook them and lead them into the enclosure, that way they can't wander off, but can rest," I said.
"How long will we be here?" Kariy asked.
I thought quickly and then looked at the sky. "We should be moving before the sun is at its highest point," I replied.
Kariy nodded and then looked at Heather. "If we can start a fire, I can warm up some stew for everyone," she said.
"Go ahead," I said with a nod. "Steve, you and Lydia watch for merchants. We are looking for hay and oats for the animals, and then anything for our new home. Extra animals would be nice. With the pastures here, there will likely be animals for sale. A couple of goats or cows might be useful."
"Can do," Steve said as Lydia smiled and moved out by our carts. Gerit moved near me as I watched the people continue to set up. "Do you think I could look for another cart? With all the wood they are moving, they probably have a cart maker in town."
"Do it, but take Gorm or Al with you," I said. "Be careful."
Gerit nodded. "Amalya will stay here, protect her," he said.
Lenoir walked up as Gerit started walking across the square. "I was going to suggest that we get slings for your two shepherdesses. That would give them some ability to protect their flocks."
"Let me guess: you figure you'll have to talk to the shepherds here," I said.
"Yes," Lenoir said firmly.
I pulled a drachma from a pouch and tossed it to her. "Will this be enough?" I asked.
"For two slings?" Lenoir replied. "It should be enough. I'll be back quickly though."
Lenoir turned and headed off. She moved so smoothly that she seemed to vanish from sight as she turned to cross the bridge and move in the direction of the fields we had passed when we entered the town.
By that time, I noticed several children gathering to look at us. Most kept their distance but one boy of about ten years walked around, carefully looking at the women in the group.
"Which two are the ones who don't need a man?" he asked. "I'm sure my brother can change their minds. I do have to say you have a lot of women with hair in colors only the elves have."
I whirled to look at the boy as Lydia dashed over to him. "Who told you that?" she asked.
"There was a man here eight days ago. He described a group much like yours. It was a smaller group though and none of the descriptions included carts," the boy answered honestly.
"Tuttle. I can't believe that worm is still ahead of us and talking about our group. You'd think he'd tire of telling lies," I snapped. "Only he knew about Esme and Natalie and would be ahead of us. And if he mentioned us with enough detail for this boy to remember ... ."
"We are in trouble," Lydia said with a nod. "At least until we get out of the slaver's territory."
"Perhaps we can grab rafts," I mused.
"None left," the boy said knowingly. "The one we just launched was the last one for the winter."
"We need an alternate route then," I said.
"There is an old tunnel," a raspy feminine voice said from behind me. I turned to look back and found a wizened woman wearing the scraps of a dress and leaning on a staff. She looked at me and cackled.
"So," she rasped out. "You just now discovered you have fallen into the pot."
"Not exactly just now," I said. "We knew that slavers were in the area, and that our party would be of interest to them. But we had hoped that we had outrun them. To find that Tuttle got this far ahead of us ... ."
"I just wish the slavers had killed him when they first found him," Lydia snapped. "The man is a worm."
I turned back to the old lady. "You mentioned a tunnel?"
She nodded. "The road will head south when you leave town, following the river. But the river turns back after about a half day's travel. When I was a girl, some merchants had the idea of shortening the trip by carving a hole through the hillside and meeting the river again. It would have saved a day's travel."
"But why doesn't everyone use it then?" I asked.
"The merchants tried to dig the tunnel fast. It's not much wider than those carts you have and its low enough at the entrance that horses tend to balk. The roof isn't all that stable either," the woman said.
I looked at Lydia, who nodded. "I'll make sure Hencktor will enter."
"Wouldn't the slavers know about it?" I asked.
"They probably do," the woman cackled. "But would they expect you to know about it?"
The boy was watching and listening to all of this. He noticed that I was paying attention to him and ran off. Lydia noticed his departure and looked over at me. "Do you think ... ?"
"I'm sure someone sent him to look us over," I said. "Get Henck and make sure everyone sticks close for now. Make sure Aine is near her crossbow. As soon as the others are back, we'll be heading out."
"I hate that we keep rushing out of every town," Steve said. "We seem to fit the old song about show business where the sheriff escorts the singers out of every town."
"We're more like one jump ahead of the sheriff,
or what seems to be the equivalent. Might makes right and all that," I complained.
I was still shaking my head when Kariy brought over a bowl of stew. "You're last," she told me. "Amalya is going to pack the cauldron away."
"Ron, we have merchants approaching," Steve said. "It looks like they brought a wagon full of merchandise."
I took the bowl from Kariy and then walked over next to Steve. A pair of men was leading a large wooden wagon towards us. It was more than twice the size of either of our wagons and had four oxen pulling it. The merchants got close to us and then had the oxen turn so that the wagon halted directly in front of our group.
"I hear you are looking to do some trading," one of the men said laconically.
"We are looking for some goods," I replied. "Mostly foodstuffs and seeds. Perhaps some livestock."
"We have a plow and a couple good shearing knives for the sheep you brought in," One man said. "I also see that you could use a number of watertight barrels."
"We don't have the ability to carry too much," I said doubtfully. "But I'll admit the plow and shearing knives are definitely interesting. Can I see the plow?"
The two men walked over to the wagon. One climbed into the wagon and began sifting through the goods. I watched them for a moment and then Steve nudged me. "I see another wagon approaching. It appears to have a lot of hay in it."
I reached into the dwarven money pouch and pulled out three coins. I looked closely at them and found that all three were silver and a bit thicker than the standard drachma coins. "Use these, but consider these worth two silvers each," I said. "I'm sure they are more than that, but we can't stick around to verify that."
"On it," Steve confirmed as he moved to intercept the wagon and the merchants.
The first set of merchants had produced a small plow. It looked like it could be easily pulled by a single horse or mule. I looked around for Natalie and waved her over. She approached warily, keeping a hand on her knife.
"This place gives me the creeps," she informed me.
"I think the village is actually rather nice, but we've heard enough to know that the slavers are near," I said. "Anyways, I was wondering if this plow will work."