by Allan Joyal
I reached out to hold Heather in my arms. “Well, we don’t have a bed, but I believe that there is a pile of warm furs that would keep two lovers snug and comfortable for a night of….”
“Not sleep?” Victoria replied cheekily. “Bonding? Perhaps just a little pitching woo?”
“Hush!” Heather snapped. “He’s finally admitting that he wants me in his arms every night. Don’t scare him away.”
“We still need to watch for anyone trying to sneak in. I know Cimbra already agreed, but we should make sure that Lydia, Aine, and Lenoir are somewhere that it’s easy to wake them. They are our best at fighting at range, and my hope is that a well-aimed rock or arrow will turn back an attack at night,” I said.
“Al said he’d take over assigning guard duties,” Victoria replied. “We all agreed you and Hencktor still need to recover, so it will be Verval, Al, Jeff, and Gerit watching with the ladies. Cimbra said she only needs a short sleep, and that she’s happy sleeping in the early morning for now, so she’ll probably be up all night.”
“In that case, I bid you all good night,” I said with a bow. “It’s time I took this wench and showed her…”
“That you love me?” Heather said as she placed a finger on my lips. “I can guess what you are about to say, but I want you to never say it in front of others.”
My lover had a stern look on her face as we turned away from the others. I could hear Victoria and Mary giggling as we walked to the stack of bedrolls that had been unloaded from the carts. Heather held my arm and refused to allow me to turn back.
When I bent down to pickup a bundle of furs, Heather surprised me by squatting next to me. “Ron, you are my lord and master, but I didn’t want the others to hear that yet. I think Lydia understands, and I’m sure that Amalya and Kariy would, but Victoria hasn’t fully adjusted to the fact that having a man to be a partner and protector helps quite a bit here on Jord.”
“Esme and Natalie do fine,” I pointed out as we stood back up.
Heather giggled. “They have always had you. They had Steve as well until he died. You protect them and offer them more support than they ever imagined getting. I expect they’ll ask me to allow you to father at least one baby with them.”
“You’ll get my first,” I promised.
“I’ll probably end up barefoot and pregnant,” Heather said. “But here, I can understand that. Everything we want to do requires people, and we never seem to have enough. My only worry is that it will ruin my figure.”
“I’ll love you forever,” I promised. “And with the exercise we are all going to get, I imagine your figure will hold up over the years.”
Heather grabbed me and kissed me. “Thank you, I love you too. Now let’s get into the furs so I can express my love the best way.”
Chapter 10: Negotiations towards a Settlement
I woke up the next morning with my arms wrapped around Heather. My lover was snoring quietly as we cuddled under the furs we used as a bedroll. I could feel a deep chill in the air and groaned as I realized I’d have to stand up to get dressed.
There were signs others were starting to wake up, so I carefully slipped from Heather’s arms. She murmured a protest as I pulled out from under the furs, but calmed down when I pushed them tight around her. One outside the furs, the cold of the morning had me jumping to get the blood flowing. I ran to my carefully piled clothing and pulled on my pants and shirt. Then I moved over by the fire to warm up while I pulled my boots on.
Verval was sitting by the fire. The young man was stoking the flames as I pulled my boots on. He nodded and smiled at me.
“I don’t say this often enough, but you are doing a great job,” he said.
“You are happy?” I asked. “I remember you being very upset when you first joined.”
“Wouldn’t you be?” Verval asked. “I was leaving my home behind. Now I admit it sucked. The people had no respect for me after my fiancée was stolen from me, but my grandfather had been born and died in that village. My parents taught me to farm and left me the house when they died. For me to just leave was unthinkable.”
“At least it was until you visited,” Verval admitted. “I knew I needed to leave after my fiancée was stolen from me, but I couldn’t think of where to go. Your caravan offered me an opportunity. I’ll never regret coming with you.”
“How is your brother doing?” I asked.
Verval laughed. “He’s got a crush on you. He thinks he impresses Gertrilla and Shaylin. He’s allowed and encouraged to scout. The boy is living a dream right now.”
“Thinks he impresses Gertrilla and Shaylin?” I asked.
“I found out first from Shaylin. She asked me for some help building a target so she could practice the new spell Cimbra taught her. You know, that girl is scary at times,” Verval said.
“I’ve always thought she was a sweet and loving young lady,” I said.
“Thank you father,” I heard Shaylin say from behind me. “But I can be mean if I need to be.”
“Oh?” I asked as Shaylin hugged me from behind. “Are you telling me you’ve done something you don’t want to talk about.”
Shaylin giggled. She released me and walked around to sit by the fire. I noticed that she was wearing a skirt and blouse, but her feet were bare, and her brown hair was uncovered. She noticed my look and smiled at me. “Natalie told me she’d brush it out later. I was going to take some time today to work with Esme on some of the potion recipes in my books. Cimbra indicated that the moss needed for one potion should be available in the forest. Dafalia and Piemal will look later.”
Verval looked confused. He said what I was thinking. “How does work on the potions mean Natalie will brush your hair?”
Shaylin gave Verval a condescending look. I was amazed that the young girl was capable of using that glare. Verval just smirked and looked back at Shaylin. She shook her head and looked at me. “Anyways, that was my plan for today. Sit and talk with Esme and Cimbra. Natalie’s offer to brush my hair will be nice. Although Natalie had another idea which I guess I get to tell you.”
“Do I want to hear this one?” I asked looking at Verval. The man shrugged and then looked back at Shaylin with interest.
Shaylin giggled. “Well, we know that right now we only have a few fighters. Add the fact that Lydia will be out hunting and will take Krysbain and Hencktor and we really can’t stop an attack from a large group of slavers.”
“Don’t remind me,” I said. “I want to keep Lydia here, but we need the fresh meat.”
Shaylin giggled again. “Well, we already know that the people in Saraloncto don’t know much about these lands, so Natalie suggested that you have Cimbra with you as an ‘advisor’. She’ll keep the hood of her cloak up at first, but drop it to intimidate anyone visiting.”
“Not a bad idea,” I admitted. “Krysbain’s reaction made it clear that the people here don’t know much about dark elves. It just might slow them down.”
Verval laughed. “I can’t believe you are going to do that!”
“Why?” I asked.
“No man from Purahomp or my home village would even think of that,” Verval pointed out.
“Ah, but I believe it was a woman who thought of it,” I said.
Verval looked at me in surprise. Shaylin giggled more and then hugged me again. I hugged her back absently. “What’s that for?” I asked.
“For believing in all of us,” Shaylin said. “I’ve worked out two spells since I met you. I only knew four when I joined you and learning those took years. You are the one who makes all this work.”
“I hope so,” I said. “Because the next part will be harder, and there will be no villages we can visit if something breaks or we run out of something.”
Verval smiled serenely. “You’ll come up with a way to get through. I’ve already seen that you make things happen for all of us.”
My stomach grumbled. “On that note,” I said. “Perhaps we should be nice and prepare food for everyone.
”
Shaylin giggled again. “Lydia warned us to keep you away from cooking unless it was grilling meat. I’ll get some cheese and biscuits. Kariy prepared everything.”
The young woman stood up and headed over to the stack of barrels and crates that contained the food we had accumulated. Meanwhile, Verval picked up a canteen that had been sitting at his feet and held it out to me. “Watered ale,” he said.
“Thanks,” I said as I accepted the canteen. “I should ask how the current supplies look. You and Gerit did a great job getting the carts unloaded and everything organized.”
“We definitely need a lot more seed,” Verval said. “I know Natalie claims she knows a bit, but in my village we’d use three times the seeds you have to feed a village of about fifty people. The fruit trees won’t provide anything for years, so that’s another concern.”
“I’m hoping we’ll get some trades today,” I said. I paused. Someone was standing at the edge of the bluff and waving. I took a quick gulp from the canteen, trying not to gag at the bitter taste of the ale and then absently held the canteen out for Verval to reclaim.
He noticed that my gaze was towards the river and turned to look. “Lenoir should be on watch,” he mused.
“Tell Shaylin I’ll be back for breakfast,” I said as Verval accepted the canteen. I jogged over to the bluff. The sun had just started to peek over the horizon and the light from the east made it difficult to see Lenoir. She moved forward as I approached.
“We have someone standing on the docks,” she said.
“Just one person?” I asked.
Lenoir pointed. I turned to look. There was one person on the dock itself, but four others stood on the pathway on the shore. Two were pulling rickshaw style carts filled with barrels and baskets. The other two appeared to be guards of some kind as they had small shields over their left hands and clubs on their hips.
“Get Aine up here with you,” I said. “I’ll grab Verval, and we’ll have to take the raft across. It looks like the merchants are more eager to talk than I expected.”
“That could be bad,” Lenoir said.
“Or good,” I countered. “If they are eager it could mean they are struggling to find customers and want to sell.”
I turned to walk back towards the fire. I could see that Verval anticipated a problem because he was holding my spear, as Jeff got dressed next to him. He held the spear out to me as I approached.
“What is up?” he asked me
“Looks like a merchant up at dawn to see us,” I said. “We’ll need to take the raft. I do recommend that we take care. He’s got two armed men with him.”
“We’ll do the poling then,” Jeff said. “You can worry about the trading.”
I nodded as we began walking the circular route to the ramp and then down to the riverside. Lenoir had waved back to the merchant. I could hear something behind shouted, but ignored it as we moved to the raft.
As I boarded the raft I tried to take a closer look at the merchant. The river was wide here so I could not make out his face, but the large feather in the puffy hat he was wearing made it clear that he was a man of some means and ego. He seemed to be pleased to see the raft in motion as Verval and Jeff used the poles to move the raft out into the current.
We were about halfway across, and I was watching the bank when we heard a shout from downstream. “Are you the group camping on the elf’s side of the river?”
I turned to look at the man shouting. There was a large barge just a short distance downstream. Four men were carefully poling it against the current. The deck of the barge was filled with barrels and boxes.
“We are,” I shouted. “We were headed to the docks to speak to the merchant there.”
A man stood up from behind a couple of the boxes. He waved to me. “I have some goods for trade,” he said needlessly.
“More?” Jeff muttered. “I thought it would be afternoon before we saw anyone. Is it that bad around here?”
“It just might be,” I said quietly as we approached the docks. The merchant there was glaring in the direction of the barge. “Capula, I should have known you’d come out of the swamp,” he called out scornfully.
“Everyone knows all about you Mantog,” the merchant from the barge shouted out. “You are infamous for dealing in poorly made goods.”
The raft was about five feet from the dock. I maneuvered so I was in the middle of the raft and waited while Verval and Jeff lined it up and brought it to a rest. Both men grunted as they used the poles to hold the raft against the dock.
“Problem?” I asked.
“This raft doesn’t want to stay against the dock,” Verval said. “The current is pushing against it. We won’t be able to leave the poles and this dock doesn’t have a post we can use to tie the raft in place.”
The merchant named Mantog rushed over to as the raft bobbed against the dock. He watched the barge continue to approach as he held his arm out. “Welcome, welcome. I hear that you are looking to purchase provisions for a long journey.”
“We have expressed interest in preserved food that will travel well,” I said carefully.
Mantog turned to the two men pulling the rickshaw carts. “Bring me a crate!” he shouted.
The men carefully set the carts down. They walked to the rear of one cart and unloaded a pair of crates. As they worked to bring the crate onto the docks the other merchant jumped onto the dock from the barge. His men were working to secure the barge to the end of the dock as he walked over to the raft.
“He’ll cheat you,” the man said to me. “Mantog won’t offer an honest trade. He never has.”
Mantog turned toward him, but I raised my hand and both men turned to look at me. “Peace,” I said firmly. “I can trade with both of you. Now Mantog has some crates to offer. Capula why don’t you unload an item you believe I’d be interested in.”
Capula frowned, but turned back to the barge. He walked away from the raft as Mantog’s two men carried the crates up and set them at Mantog’s feet.
The merchant reached down and pulled one of the crates open. The crate was about the side of a case that might be used to hold copy paper back on Earth. Inside there were several large sausages lying in a bed of straw. I knelt down leaning on my spear to take a closer look.
The sausages were perhaps twenty inches long and two inches in diameter. The box held fourteen of these sausages. I examined a couple. The sausage skins had no visible tears and I found no bubbles. From what I could see the meat was in good condition. I could smell some strong spices wafting from the sausages.
As I stood back up Mantog opened the other crate. It also contained fourteen sausages. These were a bit darker in color, but a quick check showed nothing I found objectionable. Mantog was smiling when I looked back at him.
“I have eight crates of these,” Mantog said. “They travel well. The meat has been smoked for days.”
“I need to check each crate,” I said. “But I’m interested.”
“I assure you that the meat is good,” Mantog said. “And I’ll sell you all eight for six silver coins.”
“Too high,” I said. “I need other items. “Six crates for two coins. And I choose the six.”
Mantog frowned, but Capula was approaching. He was followed by three men carrying barrels. Mantog seemed to make a decision. “Six for three silver coins,” The merchant said.
“Done,” I said. “We’ll accept these two, have your men bring the others until we agree on six.”
Mantog nodded and then turned to his men. While they talked I stabbed the spear between two of the logs of the raft and then picked up the crates and moved them onto the raft. Mantog stepped away for a moment and Capula rushed forward. He signaled one of his men to follow. The man set a barrel in front of me.
“Salt,” Capula said. “I know that it’s valuable around here. I wanted to sell this barrel in town, but I’m sure you want it.”
“And I’m sure you want a princely sum for it,” I sai
d as I opened up my coin pouch and extracted three silver coins. I shielded the pouch from Capula and counted out the remaining coins. I still had five gold coins, but my supply of silver coins was down to nineteen. If the cost of the sausages was any guide, I would need most of the silver for food, and we still needed seeds and tools.
Capula tapped his foot on the dock. “Salt is valuable, but only if I can find discerning customers. Many of the primitives in this town prefer smoking their foods. This was my first trip upriver with salt and I’m finding it doesn’t sell as well as I expected.”
“Of course it doesn’t sell well,” Mantog said with a snort as he led his men back. “It’s always too expensive for most people to purchase.”
I looked over at Capula. “Let me check the boxes,” I said as Mantog’s men placed four more crates on the dock. I moved to check the first one. This one appeared to be fine.
When I reached for another the men tried to pull it away. I put my foot on the crate and held it there until Mantog’s men backed away from it. Once they were a few steps away I reached down and removed the lid.
A foul stench wafted up from the open box. Mantog backed away as I dropped to my knees and grabbed the lid to cover the cases. “I think you can keep this one,” I told Mantog. “If I had time I’d spread the word that you attempted to sell this.”
Mantog coughed. “I swear I had no idea it was rotten! I sell only quality goods.”
“How about we check the remaining crates,” I suggested. I noticed that one of the other crates had been carried away by Mantog’s men. They were returning with the last two. As soon as they arrived they opened the crates and started lifting the sausages for me to examine. It seemed that Mantog only had six crates of good sausages.
I handed the three coins to Mantog. “Do you have anything else?” I asked.
The richly dressed merchant appeared ready to reply, but one of his men grabbed his ear and urgently whispered into it. Mantog scowled and then looked at me.
“I might need to check my warehouse to see what I might have that meets your expectations,” he said carefully.
The man turned and hurried from the dock, leaving the crate of rotten sausages sitting on the dock. Capula frowned as he left. “Of course he doesn’t bother taking care of those rotten sausages,” he said scornfully. “I swear if that man didn’t specialize in cheap foodstuff for some of the plantations he’d never sell anything.”
