by Marcus Sloss
“This little dot here is Cern. East of Cern, this area is Fernlan, we were never big enough to get noted on maps of this scale. Everything north and east of this point is wild lands. Fernlan was the least lucky and most lucky village. We got raided and lost most of our men to war, but we survived and made it within the safe zone on the peace accords. Good people, good honorable people north and west of here were abandoned. They held out, they fought, bleed and died to have a future. In the end, the Emperor conceded those settlements to save what he could. But, I didn't bring you in here to gripe of the tragic past. So we are here. Cern to the west, down south of Fernlan is the bustling river city of Lakeland. I know a lake name on a river city, blame our ancestors.
“Lakeland used to connect to every major river city to the north. Now they are the first of a few cities that connect further South. The water flows north to south as the snow melts from these mountains and travels toward this ocean.” He pointed at a mountain range north and an ocean far south. “Duke Riza rules Lakeland. Good man fought in many a battle against the Horde. He lost his left hand but kept fighting. He lost his left forearm later in the war and still fought. The Duke was one of the few who brought people home. I bet if he hears of you killing goblins he will try to recruit you for gathering in the wild lands for him. If you want help, if you want to kill some of the Horde and need assistance he is the one to ask. Not that shit of a Baron in Cern. Liffa is a coward that murders in the dark. He will be no fan of yours, and if I were you I would never step foot in Cern. Not after what Nalia is sure to report from today's visit. It will not go unnoticed that she is selling goblin parts to the mages.” He said to me.
“Alright, now follow me so we can look at carts.” We exited the town center with Donnie falling in behind us. We made our way to a closed gate with a sign that read market over it. Elan pulled out a key, undid the lock and chain and then pushed open the gates. Inside was a variety of carts. One even was a wagon with a top. This made me frown.
“Elan, sell me the covered wagon and have it delivered to Velia.” I shook my head, it was sitting here while people slept in the rain. Crammed in tight ten people could fit under it and on the deck platform. Pretty much fixing our urgent need for sleeping under cover.
“Sorry Gryff, you saw the dust on the gate and lock. I don't come back here much and when the women took over the western fields all the structures were standing. I should have put one and two together. I will have it delivered free, no charge.” Elan said.
He had a sad look on his face that matched the tone of his voice. I believed him, and more importantly, even if it was a slight, it was another improvement which was a step in the right direction.
I looked over at the remaining carts and found one that should work.
It had a six foot long by three feet wide flat bed with two large wide wheels. The wide wheels while not ideal for well cobbled roads would help with muck and mud by spreading the weight. It would take a little bit more power to move than thinner wheels but I had power to spare. I strolled over to it and shook the boards, pull handles, and wheels to make sure everything was sturdy. The pull handles had a pin that locked them in one of two positions. Out for travel, down for stationary or loading. It all checked out so I backed up to it and grabbed the pull handles and moved it a few feet. It moved smoothly with limited noise. Nothing clanged or shook loudly confirming it was in great condition.
“Donnie get on,” I ordered.
When he was firmly seated I jolted the cart around and it worked fine, like a cart should.
“Donnie get down and pull it to the gate.”
He got down, took my spot and with a heave got the cart rolling. He had to jog with it but he could move it and stop it.
“Alright Elan this one will do, a pure silver work, it is all I brought?” I asked giving a good offer to avoid a barter. I knew he gave away at least a few Cern silvers in the wagon to me so I wanted to make him feel good.
“It is a tad too much. I will owe you a favor for the fair price at some future time. I knew I liked you Gryff. Good luck hunting in the wild lands.” He said
I handed him the silver and took control of the cart. As I made my way eastward I had to wonder how surprised the ladies would be when the wagon showed up. It was technically a roof.
CHAPTER 4
“Donnie we are about to cross into the wild lands. You will feel a slight tingle sensation from the barrier. Right here is where I am going to leave the cart. I need you try to remember how to get back here, in case you are the one who has to get it. Alright, cross now.” I said to Donnie.
The young man showed no fear as he traversed the invisible wall with a slight shiver.
The eastern border was much different from the western. The west side went village, down a slope to fields for a long distance, then a bit of trees, then wild lands. The east went village, a bit of trees then wild lands. Much closer to the homes. It made sense to me. Why grant humans more trees or space than needed. Give them the bare minimum to stay safe and produce.
I pulled out my short sword and walked the boundary line. I chopped a quick notch in about a dozen trees inside the wild land as a visual marker. Satisfied that the border line was indicated we advanced deeper into the woods.
“Alright Donnie, you are more of a farmer than me. Keep an eye out for wild edibles, maybe we get lucky and get some decent food close by without a fight. Oh... and see this.” I waved him over and pointed at a game trail. Something heavy with hooves had been through here often. Maybe it used the boundary wall as a safety side for its travels.
“This is a game trail. See how no grass or bushes grow here. Because it keeps getting trampled before it can flourish. So next I look for foot type, see the indent here and the v shape behind it. That is a hoof mark, definitely not a paw with claws, or a foot with toes. Now I look to see how deep it is, this is fairly deep so it is heavy. Check the branches and bushes on the left and right side of the trail. See here and here how nothing grows over the trail. And here branches go over. If I had to guess this is a hog, and a massive one. Maybe seven... eight feet high... four or five feet thick... fuck it’s a monster...” I said lost in thought as I pictured the beast these tracks belonged to.
“The war boar,” Donnie said. I gave him a questioning look and he continued. “My pa before he passed used to tell stories of the battles he survived to frighten me. He told me them in hopes I would stop asking to fight the Horde with him. In one story he mentioned an enemy cavalry charge. He said most of the enemy rode on a wolf of some sort, but one chieftain rode upon a boar twice as tall as the wolves. Its tusks gored and threw men with ease. When he told the story he did so in fright. The rumor was they bred these war boars and then let them loose, to maintain their fighting spirit. When a chieftain was ready he would try to tame the beast by beating it into submission for him to ride only. At least that is what dad said. I believe it now though, based on how you described the beast that left these tracks.”
I had a decision to make, follow the recent trail of this beast or stay well clear of it.
“Okay, Donnie we are going to follow this trail for a little bit, and take it nice and slow. If we bump into the boar wait until it charges me before you run to safety. No more questions until I say so from here.” I told him.
We followed the well worn path the boar had made. We stalked vigilantly down th e trail. After five minutes of walking, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Donnie pointed to a large tangled tree with fruit hanging from it about forty feet off the trail.
“Good find kid,” I said quietly. “Let’s go load up.”
We walked over to the tree I would best describe as an orange tree. The difference was the oranges were larger and blue, not orange at all.
“These will take a few days to ripen with sunlight but very good to eat. Momma will be very proud. They are called smelon fruit. We should start with the recent, not rotten falls and then pick the tree clean.” Donnie told me.
He got to wor
k right away while I stood there thinking.
“Everything okay Gryff?”
“I am deciding if we should get the cart... Yes let’s do that, we are not too far from it. The extra travel will help us get used to the area and we won’t have to devise a special plan on how to carry the fruit back. That was what I was stuck pondering on, if no cart, no bag, how do we carry the fruit? Let’s just get the cart, the boar path is wide enough for it. Oh and Donnie, add buying bags to the list.” I said.
“Yes, sir.”
We left the tree and headed for Fernlan. On the walk back I asked Donnie who his mother was. He said Micka was his mom, and she had born him at a very young age of fifteen. I got to hear his tragic back story. His dad died in year four of the war. Shortly after his sister became ill with an unknown fever that an antibody potion could never fix. With no healing magic, she died. Donnie wanted to fight in the war and was never allowed. He survived while his dad and three uncles marched off to battle to never return. It was a sad, brutal reality of what Vin was. We fell into silence for the rest of the walk back.
The cart was easy to see and I set it from stationary to pull.
“Donnie I want you up on the cart as a lookout. The higher you are the more you can see.” I ordered.
Once he was standing on the cart and scouting we wheeled our way back to the fruit tree. The sun had hit its zenith for the day and it was easy to observe between the pines. I took a slow steady pace and kept the cart noise to a minimum.
When we arrived at the tree I shifted the cart arms so it stayed level. The tree was probably thirty feet tall with multiple layers of branches. Donnie knew exactly which smelons were good and which should be left on the ground. I left him to sorting the fallen ones. I reached the first set of fruit producing branches. I got to work, and the pile on the cart quickly grew. I had about half the ones within my reach done when Donnie walked over with a smashed smelon in his hand.
“Mr. Gryff, there are a few like this. If I had to guess some critter was eating them. Probably small because it looks to have filled up quickly. We could maybe set a trap?” Donnie asked. Add trap trainer to the list...
“No trap, for now, didn't bring the right supplies, not that I would know what I needed anyway. If you are done picking up all the good fruit off the ground I want you to pile the bad ones somewhere. Then get into the tree and start dropping smelon onto the ground from up high. Try to avoid hitting me please.” I said. I wanted Donnie to understand that I still had much to learn here. I was not all knowing or perfect, and certainly not afraid to admit when I lacked pertinent knowledge.
Donnie nodded and got to work. He quickly piled the bad fruit and scurried up the tree. After an hour of repetitive picking and sorting the tree was done. The cart was stacked high with fruit. The tree had been very... fruitful.
“Alright, Donnie, nice and slow on the way home. Limited noise. If you can climb up and keep an eye from up on the cart do so. If not stay between me and the direction to safety.” I said.
Donnie adjusted some fruit and then stood on the pile. It supported his weight without smooshing so I shifted some energy into my legs until the cart moved. Once it began rolling it was very easy to haul. We weren't too far from the village and the trip home went smoothly.
The sensation of the boundary flowed through me as we were into the village once again.
“So Donnie, not every day will be blood, guts, and battle. Some days will be nothing, and others will get to come back with a cart full of smelon. Today was a good day. Thank you for your help. You are free to go do busy work while I pull this to Velia.”
Donnie climbed down and raced off to the western fields. Out of the woods and on the village road I saw Lily skipping my way.
“Donnie said you got my all time favorite fruit today. Smelons!!! I am so excited to eat some. Awe... These aren't ripe yet. Oh well, in a few days you will be in belly Smelons. Muhahahahaha!” Lily said pulling off an evil laugh in a way only an adorable little girl could.
I went to go scruff her hair and she bolted.
“Not today Mr. Gryff. I have clean hair that has been combed. Oh... you missed the griffin lady, she was very upset. Two griffins came and only one left with her today.”
Well, that was interesting, it was probably better I let Elan or Velia tell me what happened than the ten year old.
“Thanks for the news. Want to walk with me to go see Velia?”
“Duh, what do you think I was doing?” Lily said with attitude.
Ah, the joys of children.
When I reached the ramp from the village to the western fields I paused to comprehend the sight I saw.
To start, there was a giant griffin in the spot where we had the feast and it was not Lirkon, I could tell because there were no giant balls hanging off the back end. The feather pattern was different too, it was white with green tips and the tail on this female was blue. It would make identifying them much easier if they all had unique patterns. Added to the list of stuff to learn. The griffin lifted its head and gazed at me. It took in what it saw and decided I was not a threat, putting her head back down for a nap.
The wagon sat by the tool pile and was loaded to brim with cloth, leather, medical supplies, and whatever else we had ordered that morning. There was zero room for sleeping in it. I guess you could sleep under it but the wagon was so loaded both axles were bent. If one or both collapsed during the night you would die a horrible death.
Hiding behind the cart crouched a young man. He had sharp eyes and a tight jawline. He was dressed in fine clothing, even nicer than what Nalia had worn. Probably a merchant’s son around twenty years old. This had to be the healer I asked for and he was scared of griffins.
I took it slow going down the ramp to avoid the heavy load building momentum. I parked the hand cart by the wagon and then ensured the fruit pile was stable. With that done I sought out Velia. The young man tried to intercept me but I said “be right back” and jogged into the fields.
“Ah, there you are, you missed a fun afternoon. Maybe next time take me into the Horde infested wild lands instead of leaving me here to deal with Nalia. Do you know what kind of a festering fecal sensation you have caused? Nalia is pissed, I have never seen someone lose their temper so completely. It got so bad her griffin snatched her in his talons and flew off. Thank god we got everything unloaded when she realized that lady griffin over there wasn't going back to Cern. You...” I paused her by closing the distance and rested my hands on her shoulders.
“Pretty lady needs to slow down please,” I told her, and she folded into my chest and sighed. I enclosed her in a gentle hug.
“I needed that, rough afternoon.”
“So the trade went smooth, we got what we needed. The village now has a healer, and I got you a wagon.” I said in a calm soothing voice.
“Thanks for that, I never thought of where we would store all the supplies you bought. Did anything try to kill you in the eastern wild lands?” Velia asked, but didn't give me a chance to respond. “Oh and great work on the smelons. We can adjust when they ripen based on sun exposure. With that many, they should last us a week or more. I will make sure the seeds are planted where you took down all those pines.”
“There were tracks of a war boar out there, but we never saw it or any Horde. It was quiet and peaceful actually, the opposite of here. And I got the wagon to sleep in, but now that I think about it I would rather sleep in the rain then have all those supplies spoil. Ugh so much on my to do list. Okay let me talk to the healer, then the griffin, and then I am building a shitty lean to. We have enough felled trees to make a half barn… or is the term manger? Anyway, I will have Donnie and the healer help me. I need you to relax, I got this from here.” I kissed the top of her head and walked away. I felt a sting on my left ass check followed by a loud slap.
“Ladies Rule!” Was shouted from behind me as I broke into a giant grin.
The healer was leaning against the wagon impatiently waiting for me.<
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“Hello, I am Gryff of the Redland. Welcome to Fernlan.”
“Jak of Cern. Son of Trade Master Bart of Cern. Master healer Drifa informed me I would be doing a year of my apprenticeship in this village. I am surprised you could afford me.” he said politely.
I was astonished he wasn't being a pompous ass. It seemed that Fernlan was looked down upon by most of Cern. I could tell by his tone he believed this assignment beneath him but he was not saying it directly at least.
“Well met Jak. I adventure into the wild lands and it is only a matter of time before I become hurt. Hence why I hired you. You will be working for the village. If anyone approaches you for help please aid them. Hmmm..... I don't have a place for you to stay or set up a shop... You can make potions also correct?”
“I have been taught potions, remedies, and healing magic. All could use some improvement with practice. I will need a small building to be able to sleep and do my work in...” He gazed around the clearing. “Which you seem to be lacking. Is there an inn in this village I can use?”
I saw Lyna loitering not far from our conversation. The redhead was eavesdropping, but I ignored the transgression and waved her over.
“Jak, this is Lyna, Lyna Jak.” She curtsied to him, while he nodded his head. “Careful around here, lots of single women looking for a man, some bite some don't. Lyna, why do we not sleep at the Inn? I feel dumb for not thinking about it. It would be tight but we could all fit since it is not in use by travelers, visitors, or villagers.” I asked Lyna.
“There is a history of the Inn and it is good you asked me about it and not Velia. The war was starting to claim more and more men. The number of widows grew and their abilities to separately maintain households alone became too tough. A deal was struck between the Inn owner lady Melina and Velia. Trade routes were still open, men still marched into the village on the way to war with coin in hand. Times were bad but hope still prevailed.