by Allan Joyal
I ended up asking Oleiana and Yveney to go retrieve vines to help tie the raft together. While they were rushing off to find vines Al, and I got a mule to help pull a cart carrying the millstones to the riverside. The large stones took three men to lift from the bed of the cart.
"Will a raft carry these?" Al asked.
"If we build it strong enough it should," I said. "Remember the raft we rode to Saraloncto. But we'll take two trips I think. One would be risky. As more insurance, let’s tie a rope through the center hole and put a float on the other end. Then if the stone falls off, we can find it easier. "
"I'll stay in the water if it will help," Jeff said. "I can swim. It wasn't too cold two days ago, and it looks like a nice day."
"Can do. And after we get this done we should get the rest of the trees out of the grove so that the others can build the barns," I said.
"And we still need the wall completed," Al said mournfully. "We'll never be done."
"Probably not this year, but don't you want a safe home for Aine and your children?" I asked.
"How did you know?" Al said as he and Jeff turned to look at me.
I turned to look at Jeff, but he shrugged. "You heard Konstanzia admit that I got her pregnant. I'll be honest; I had not thought much about it so far. We work until we can barely stand and then collapse into our bedrolls. And my leg hurts every night."
"I'm still amazed you can walk," Al said.
"T'was just a flesh wound," I said in a mock English accent. I could see Yveney and Oleiana running across the field towards us. Both carried huge bundles of vines.
"Ron!" Oleiana shouted. "There were footprints near where we get the vines."
"We've been taking vines quite a bit in the last seven days," I said. Al and I claimed the vines from the girls and began weaving them through the logs.
"Prints like the ones you saw shortly before those strange men," Yveney said. "But these have another claw in the back and are a lot wider."
"And fresh?" I asked.
Both girls nodded at my comment. “Just rained, remember?” I turned to look at Al and Jeff. "Get the millstones moved. I need to look at this. We might be making a major change in our plans."
"What?" Jeff asked.
"Humanoids with clawed feet might have come near the valley in the last few days," I said. "The wall just became extremely important. We have to be sure that they can't sneak in while we are farming."
"They might be friendly," Al said.
"Do you want to be Aine's life and the life of your unborn child on that?" I asked sharply. "Now make sure the millstones get moved today. We will probably be working hard on building the wall starting tomorrow."
Jeff waved. "Go and check it, but be careful. What if the creature is still around?"
I said nothing as I ran for our encampment. Yveney ran with me. I grabbed the spear and turned to the young woman. "Lead me to where you saw the print, but be careful. Let's see if there is anything moving in the forest."
Yveney said nothing as she turned to follow the valley wall. I was able to jog behind her. I scanned the woods ahead of our path as we headed for the mouth of the valley.
Yveney slowed once we entered the trees. I could see that she was checking the ground. When I caught up to her and looked over her shoulder she sighed. "I don't know what to look for," she said mournfully.
"I don't either and Krysbain left this morning. We just have to keep our eyes open. Let's check the logs that we cut when we were still working on the wall. If the creature got close enough, he might have disturbed them," I suggested.
Yveney giggled. "How do you remember things like that," the young woman asked. "And when will you teach me to trade? You promised my parents you would."
"Do you still want to learn?" I asked.
"Yes," Yveney said with a giggle. "I've watched you when I can, and it looks like fun. Even if you didn't take me with you in Saraloncto. I was supposed to be learning."
The last sentence was said in the half whine that children can use when they want to complain to their parents. I laughed as we weaved through a cluster of trees. Once we passed the last of the trees, we could see the edge of the wall we were building.
Yveney ran forward, checking the ground as she crossed the forty or so feet to the wall. When she got to the wall she started looking at the logs lying on the ground. "I don't see any prints here."
I pointed to the obvious marks left in the ground by her boots. "And as you can see, the ground is soft so anyone walking by would have left evidence behind. So for now, we can guess that our valley home hasn't been seen. The question is if the creature turned away before seeing the wall."
"How do we find out?" Yveney asked.
"Let's check the print you found," I said. "And then we'll be able to make a more educated guess."
"This way!" Yveney called out. She ran around the wall and started heading north. I scrambled to follow her. At the same time I watched to the west, looking for any movement in the trees. The density of the forest blocked any sight past about eighty feet, so I noticed nothing other than the wind blowing through the trees.
It took about fifteen minutes of jogging before Yveney finally slowed. I could hear water falling just out of sight to the north as she paused and knelt on the ground. I approached carefully, again scanning the forest.
"Why are you moving so slowly?" Yveney asked as I stood and turned.
"We are far from the others, and there might be something nearby," I pointed out. "I'm watching to see if there is anything moving. But it looks safe."
I squatted down while leaning on my spear. Yveney reached out and carefully traced the footprint. It was imprinted in some bare dirt that must have turned to mud during the last storm. It was a bit like a human footprint, but there was no real arch in the middle, the heel was too narrow and the toes were larger and more spread out than any human's. The impression was at least a quarter inch deep in the soil.
"This creature is big," I said. "And this footprint isn't human."
"What does that mean?" Yveney asked.
"First what could have brought it here?" I asked.
"There's a waterfall just out of sight that way," Yveney said pointing to the north.
I shook my head as I stood back up. "That's too easy," I said. "Why would the creature come south of the waterfall? And it looks like he was walking toward the wall, so he probably crossed the stream to get here. Is there something?"
I turned to look at the cliff face. Right there were the vines the girls had been bringing to us. The plant appeared to grow up at the top of the cliff and extended the long tendrils down the cliff face. There was a visible gap in the growth where someone had pulled the vines away.
"Was this here?" I asked.
"This is where we get the vines," Yveney said.
"No, was this huge gap in the vines here when you got vines this morning?" I asked.
Yveney looked at the gap. She turned to look back at me as she brought a finger to her lips. "I can't. Wait! Yes, I remember Oleiana complaining about it."
"This is what the creature was here for," I said. "And depending on how often they come, he might have noticed. The next question is how far did he travel? Let's get back to camp."
"Do you think?" Yveney asked fearfully.
"I don't know, but we can't risk assuming that we weren't noticed. Let's get back to camp. We have to resume work on the wall. I know we all want shelter, but it’s become the most important thing."
"Should I run and tell people?" Yveney asked. She looked ready to dart away at the first sound.
"Henck, Heather, Lydia, and Aine," I said.
I had barely finished when Yveney took off like a startled rabbit. I slowed down and kept scanning the surroundings. There was no sign the creature had moved any further south, but that proved nothing. Worse, I remembered how the poultrion had found us after we had barely entered the valley. If it was known to attack any humanoid that got too close, our killing it migh
t attract a party to investigate its absence or even the valley. It was certainly full of rich soil, and Verval was saying we could get a good harvest with just a little bit of luck.
Hencktor and Lydia met me when I reached the corner of the valley near the wall. "What is it?" Lydia asked. She sounded frantic. "Yveney came running up like an army was chasing her."
I pointed northward. "Oleiana and Yveney noticed a print in the ground near where they have been collecting vines. They told me, and I investigated. There was something humanoid there in the time since the storm."
"So?" Verval said as he joined the group. "A single print proves nothing."
"And if it does mean our little encampment has been noticed?" Lydia asked waspishly. "I want to live to give birth to Hencktor's first son. I can't do that if some monster invades."
"Ron killed the monster," Verval snapped back. "We have a farm to get in, and we desperately need shelter. I don't want Victoria sleeping out in the open when it rains."
"You'd rather she end up in chains?" Lydia snapped back. "We don't have an army around us. We have the people in this valley. Ron is right to worry!"
"We don't have time!" Verval countered. "That storm could have ruined all our supplies. We need to build shelters now!"
Lydia stepped so she was standing almost chest-to-chest with Verval. The farmer leaned away as Lydia screamed and cursed at him. While this continued, Hencktor slipped over beside me. "How bad?" he asked.
"I have no way to really judge that," I said. "There is just a single footprint and evidence that vines were collected from the same place we were using. That in itself suggests that our presence is probably no longer completely secret. If we are lucky, it was a single gatherer, and we'll have a bit of time before a scouting party investigates. Even if that is true, it just gives us more time to build this wall."
"Would it matter?" Hencktor asked as he looked out into the forest. "They will be able to sneak up to the base of the wall."
"Not if we chop down all the trees out sufficiently. We also need a way to stand behind the wall and fight anyone trying to break the wall down," I replied.
Hencktor looked over at the wall. "We need a lot more wall," he pointed out. "I'm willing to help now that the crops are in, but should we force the others to help?"
"I can't do that," I said. "I agree with Verval that we need shelter from the elements. The storm proved that. What we can do is get everyone who is willing to come here starting tomorrow and build as fast as we can. Right now I really wish the dwarves had been able to supply us with the spikes we needed."
"We do have the nails you picked up in the Wizard's City," Hencktor pointed out.
"And are those long enough to secure the logs we are using in the wall?" I asked.
Hencktor looked at the wall we had already built. He walked away from me to examine the thickness of the logs and the vines we currently had securing everything together. He had finished just as the argument between Lydia and Verval ended.
Verval put a hand on my shoulder. "You have to allow me to keep working on shelter!" he screamed at me.
I nodded at Verval. The man stepped back and looked at me. "I'm sorry. I guess I was not clear enough. I'm not going to force anyone to work on the wall."
"Ron?" Lydia called out. Her voice rose a couple of octaves in that one word.
"Never give an order you know won't be obeyed," I said firmly.
"They would obey it!" Lydia protested. "And if there really are hostile creatures nearby, we must get this wall built."
"It would be resented. We might still have time. Right now, all we can do is build as fast as possible. For today, let's get someone out here to watch for problems. Everyone is already committed to other projects. Tomorrow we can get back to clearing the nearby trees and adding to the wall. Henck, see if you can think up a way to build a platform that would allow someone sitting on it to see over the wall? It would help if it also braced the wall at the same time."
"A platform?" That's all you are going to offer?" Lydia asked.
"It would mean they are on our side of the wall and can still see," I pointed out. "We still have to clear the trees, but they would be able to provide a warning if something approaches."
"We need the wall now!" Lydia whined loudly.
"We need the shelters as well," I said. "We'll make it work."
Verval was frowning. "Ron, if it would help," he began.
I held up a hand. He stopped talking. "No, I agree we need more and better shelter. It's late spring or early summer right now, so this is probably mild. When winter comes we need shelter, and if you build it now we have time to fix any problems."
"Problems?" Lydia asked.
"You expect us to build it right the first time?" I asked her. "Most likely we'll end up with a very drafting building that has a leaky roof. That's part of why I was all for building the barns first. They would be good practice. In an emergency, they could also shelter us."
Verval's eyes widened for a moment. "I never… I mean, that is a good idea. But the first barn will take forever if only a few people work on it."
"That I can't help with," I said. "We need the security a wall will offer. Once it’s built, we can build more shelters, but until the wall is built, we are just too vulnerable. Oh, Hencktor once we start building, we need to prioritize cutting the trees down on the far side of the wall. We'll keep the ones on the inside intact to keep the livestock from wandering too close. Once the wall is up, we'll use those trees for the shelters we build."
"The village will be near the wall?" Hencktor asked.
"Actually, I think we'll move the shelter upstream. That way we won't have to worry about the animals fouling the water. I know Kariy goes through the woods to the west when she needs to get more water," I said.
"I hadn't noticed," Lydia admitted. "Well, I guess I'm fine with starting tomorrow."
I nodded as Oleiana and Yveney ran up. The two girls looked frightened. I tried to offer a reassuring smile. "You did well," I told both girls. "Now, I need one of you to remain here and watch for any movement in the trees. Tomorrow, we'll be back out here to build the wall, but for today all we can do is watch."
"Oleiana will do that," Yveney said. "We agreed on that while we came back. I also had messages to bring. Lawus was saying that they need to find some way to lift logs if they want to start building the walls to the first barn. He found some strange saw with handles at both ends and was using that to smooth a log."
"We'll probably end up using brute force," I said with a sigh. "We don't have time to build any kind of crane, even if we had a pulley. That's one item we did not purchase."
"We can talk to the dwarves," Lydia pointed out as we began to walk back towards the meadow. Oleiana crept over to the stack of logs we had left near the unfinished wall and found a way to crouch down between two logs. I felt a bit of relief that she had found a place to hide while watching for any visitors.
"They won't be back for some time," I pointed out. "I believe they said about twenty days and we'll owe them wool when they arrive."
"Which we need a barn for," Verval said. "We need a dry place to place it, and it would be best to shear the sheep in a clean place to avoid getting the wool dirty."
"Has anyone looked for a good spot for one on that side of the river?" I asked.
"I asked Haydee about it," Hencktor said quietly. "She said there is an area of bare rock up against the south wall of the valley. Would that work?"
"We'll need to bring in some dried grass for the sheep to lie in during the winter," I said. "In fact, we probably need to be growing hay for the winter. We need to ask Natalie to search to the west. The dwarves said there were additional fields. If any could be used for growing hay that would help quite a bit."
"Will Natalie have time to check?" Lydia asked as we made our way through the trees. "Won't we need her to help around here?"
"We will, but we can give her a day off to explore. Or when Krysbain comes back, w
e can ask Lenoir to go," I said. "Natalie would probably be best because she has a bit more experience with farming and would be more likely to know if a field can be used."
"We'll make it work," Hencktor promised. "I'll get with Verval today, and we'll do all we can to get the first barn built today, or at least get the walls up. I'll talk to Ximenia about weaving some kind of roof for it from the branches we get off the trees we cut down. They can even use the branches from the trees we cut to make the wall."
"Get on that," I said firmly. "I'll make sure we get the millstones moved today. We'll probably take the logs to the far side of the river so they can be used to build shelter for the sheep."
Hencktor nodded and started jogging off. Lydia reached out to put a hand on my shoulder. "Ron, be safe. You are all I have left from home."
I nodded. Lydia took off after Hencktor. I watched her catch up to him and whisper in his ear as they crossed the meadow.
"Ron!" someone shouted at me from near the river. I turned to look and could see Jeff standing by the riverside and waving at me. I took off running, carefully avoiding the plowed fields and the holes that had been dug to hold poles for the fence Verval was insisting on installing. The cattle were hanging out near the trees on the west side of the meadow. Several looked up as I ran by.
When I arrived at the river Jeff smiled. "Just in time, we have the raft in the water and it floats, but now we have to put the first millstone on it. It's a bit heavy."
"A bit?" I asked. "These things are very heavy. Ideally we'd use some kind of crane to move them, but since we don't have one, let's be very careful. I suggest that we turn the cart around and back it up until it’s as close as possible to the raft. That way we only have to move the stone a short distance."
Jeff looked at me. "I guess we can do that, but who can guide the mule? I've never been very good at that."
"What about your wife?" Al asked.
"My wife?" Jeff said. "When did I say vows and get married?"
"You are with Konstanzia now aren't you? She is pregnant with your child is she not?" Al asked. "I know that I'll never leave Aine. She means too much to me."