by Allan Joyal
I sighed. “We were talking about a barrel of salt. I can’t afford too much. Would you accept three silver coins?”
“Seven,” Capula countered.
“Five, I need coin for other goods.”
“What other kinds of goods?” Capula asked.
“We are planning to create a new settlement far to the east,” I said. “So we are looking for tools, seeds, and livestock.”
Capula looked interested. “I might have something. One of my regular customers downriver is a noble who controls some lush grasslands. He has rather vast herds. When I stopped on my way upriver he said one of his prize herding dogs had whelped some pups just as the winter was starting, and he needed to get rid of two of them.”
“You have two puppies?” I asked. “Of shepherd dogs?”
One of Capula’s men ran back to the barge. He had to squat down, but when he stood up he was holding a dog in each hand.
The dogs looked a bit small, and the man was holding them by the scruff of the neck. I heard one whimper slightly. They appeared to be two females, which might be useful since the other two were both male.
“They are young and on the small side,” I said carefully. “How much are you asking for them?”
Capula shrugged. “The other two barrels are salted fish. It will travel well. How about both barrels, the salt barrel and both dogs for a single gold coin.”
I heard Verval gasp and nodded. “Load them on the raft and you have a deal,” I said.
I fished a gold coin out of my pouch as Capula’s men put the three barrels on the raft. They even helped me move the crates onto the raft. The crates were used to make a small enclosure for the puppies that were set inside. The young dogs cowered in fear as I handed the coin over to Capula.
“There will be more merchants coming,” he told me. “The story that a group is camped across the Elfwall was on the lips of everyone at the taverns downriver. Everyone will be hoping to trade.”
“I thank you for the trade,” I said. “May all your trading be profitable.”
“And may you find what you seek,” Capula said. The sharp look in his eye made it clear he was thinking about a search for some fable treasure from a city of the old Empire. I ended up shaking my head as he walked back to the barge and had his men launch it into the current. They headed downstream as I moved to stand by Verval.
“Did we overpay?” I asked.
“If those puppies are good herding dogs, you got a great bargain,” Verval said. “And we know Gertrilla can train them.”
“I was more interested in the salt. If that barrel is full, we can use that to preserve any extra meat we gain from hunting. I think it can also be used to pickle some fruits and vegetables,” I said as Verval and Jeff poled the raft away from the dock and into the current.
We swiftly made our way back across the river. Jeff and Verval seemed energized as we swept through the current and then fought back upstream to the riverbank landing we were using. As we got close Verval looked up at the bluff.
“We have two puppies!” he shouted. “Get one of our shepherdesses down here.”
I could see Lenoir wave and then turn back to shout something to the camp. The raft beached on the shore, and I jumped off to help drag it up the bank a few feet. Noise from the camp made it clear that our shouting had awakened anyone still sleeping.
“Let’s get everything off quickly,” I suggested. “That way, should anyone show up at the dock, we can send the raft back. Only for now, we have the merchants come here to trade. I need to be able to talk to the others, and Kariy should be checking any food purchases.”
“I’m glad you thought of that,” Jeff said as we stepped onto the raft. We moved over to the barrels. Instead of lifting one, Jeff tilted it and rolled it towards the edge of the raft. He grunted with the effort.
I went to the barrel that was supposed to contain salt and squatted down to lift it. It proved to be far heavier than I expected, and I staggered a bit as I stood back up with the barrel resting against my chest and right shoulder. Once I had my body braced against the weight, I carefully walked to the edge of the raft and stepped off. The wound in my leg pained just a little as I began climbing the path to the camp.
“I’ll take that,” I heard Heather say. “And we need to talk about how my husband vanished from bed this morning without waking me.”
I grunted as I turned my head. “This is heavy. If anyone takes it from me it should be a man. I’d say Henck, but he’s hurt.”
“What is it?” Heather asked.
“Salt,” Verval said as he walked by me carrying a crate. “And where are the girls? We have two puppies.”
“Puppies?” Heather asked.
“One of the merchants we traded with ended up with a couple of culls from a litter of pups. Supposedly they came from a herding dog used by a ranch downriver. We probably overpaid, but if they prove good, it will help. Especially since both puppies are female and the two dogs we already have are both male,” I said. “Now, allow me to carry this up the embankment, please.”
Heather jumped to the side as I carried the heavy barrel to our encampment. I walked directly to the pile of boxes and barrels that contained our food stores and set the heavy barrel down. Kariy came over as I settled it on the ground.
“What did you purchase?” she asked.
“This barrel has salt,” I said. “We have two more barrels that are supposed to contain salted fish, and then six crates of sausages.”
“Salt?” Kariy asked.
“That’s what the merchant said. I haven’t opened it to check,” I admitted. "I probably should have, but after the offer of the puppies it slipped my mind."
Kariy pushed me out of the way and looked closely at the barrel. She used her knife to carefully work the lid off. Once the barrel was opened she reached into the barrel. I held my breath until she raised a hand filled with large white salt crystals. She frowned a little as she looked at the crystals.
“It needs to be ground,” she said. “These might work for salting food, but we need to find a way to grind it. We need that for grains already.”
“Even with the wagons, moving millstones will be difficult,” Gerit said as he carried up a crate. “Oh, I saw the new girl Oleiana leading the puppies off the raft. She was feeding them some dried meat.”
“They could use the meal,” I said. “Should we work on the wagons now?”
“We could,” Gerit said as Kariy opened the crate and examined the sausages. She lifted one to her nose and smiled.
“Good quality on the sausages,” she said. “These are well made. I’ve also checked the barrels of salted fish. I don’t recognize the type of fish, but I should be able to cook it. We need more.”
I nodded and then pointed to the wagons. “Let’s get the wagons fixed,” I suggested. “We might want to start looking at how to load them.”
Gerit turned and started walking with me toward the first wagon. I could see him waving to someone. He turned to me as we approached the wagon.
“The hitch and harness are in good condition on both wagons. The main problem is that the axles aren’t very secure and the wheels should probably be replaced as they are worn and will wobble around the axles,” he said.
“Can you make new wheels or repair these?” I asked.
“I’ll have to take them off and look at them,” Gerit said. “If they aren’t too bad, I can try pushing the slats together, but I don’t really have the right glues. As for making one, we’ll need glue.”
“What do you need to make glue?” I asked.
“I can make working glue from hooves or the hide and senew of any animal,” Gerit said. “It’s a smelly process though. I have to boil it and then allow it to thicken overnight. When applied, it will need time to cure.”
“Once Lydia comes back, if she has made a kill, see if you can get the items you need. I’ll talk to Corwal and Piemal about gathering some wood for you, and we’ll set up on the other side of the
ramp we’ve been using. It should be far enough away to keep the smell from the camp,” I replied.
“Well, let’s check the axles and wheels first,” Gerit said. “I think we should start by getting the wagon on its side, so I can examine how the axles are attached.”
I walked around so our backs were to the trail down to the river. Standing just in front of the rear wheel I put my hands under the bed of the wagon. “Think we can do this with two people?”
“Let’s be gentle,” Gerit said. “I’d rather not break an axle. Lift on my signal.”
Gerit put his right hand on the bed of the wagon just behind the front wheel. His left was on the top of the wheel itself. He gave me a nod and I could feel the wagon start to lift up.
I moved my right hand to the wheel and used my left to slowly raise the rear side of the wagon. I found that it wanted to fall back, but that my right hand on the wheel gave me control, and I was able to maintain a steady pressure upwards. Gerit was guiding the wagon as it tilted up and then came to a rest on the wheels on its right side. He immediately bent down to look at the two axles.
Gerit reached out and used his right hand to push against the front axle. He seemed to check the connection the axle had to the frame of the wagon. Then he moved to check the back. He was shaking his head when he stood up.
“I can fix it, but we need some grease of some kind. Whoever sold you these hasn’t maintained the axles very well. We also need to glue down the struts holding the axle to the frame. If I can get fat, I can render it for the grease we need. I’ll need the hide or hooves by tonight so I can have the gluing done in two days,” Gerit told me. “But it will still need as long as we can spare to set – especially since rainy season will be here soon.”
“What about the wheels?” I asked. “Can we check the left ones right now?”
Gerit nodded. “I can do that. Can you…”
The question Gerit was about to say was interrupted by a shout from the riverbank. We both stepped away from the wagon and looked in the direction of the shout. I could see Jeff standing so he could see me, but he was waving towards the far shore.
“You should deal with that,” Gerit said. “I’ll see if Corwar and Piemal can help me with the repairs. And I’ll see about getting set up to make the glue and grease we’ll need.”
“Do that,” I said. I left the wagon and walked over to the edge of the bluff and looked down at Jeff. He shook his head and pointed to the far shore.
I looked over at the docks. There were three wagons lined up on the shoreline. A small crowd had formed on the docks. Several of the men I could see were waving at us.
“Jeff, take the raft over there and set up at the end of the dock. The merchants can board and we’ll bring them over here to trade. No guards, one porter, and samples of what they have would be nice,” I shouted.
“I’ll get with Verval,” Jeff said. “You should meet them here.”
I nodded. Jeff made his way to the raft and began pushing it off the beach. I began walking away from the bluff to get to the top of the trail leading down to the river. As I went, Cimbra glided over and started walking next to me. At least I thought it might be Cimbra. The person was wearing a hooded cloak that kept her face in shadow in the midday sun.
“Can you cast a spell to detect if someone speaks truth?” I asked.
Cimbra snorted. “My people speak nothing but lies. Why would they develop such a spell? “
“Point,” I said absently as we made the turn to head back towards the river. “I never asked how much magic you knew.”
“Not much,” Cimbra admitted. “My training was for seduction and assassination. My people prefer to get close to the less intelligent tribes under the surface and then betray and assassinate their leaders. That's part of why we don't get along with the dwarves. The truth is that we could probably prosper if we just traded with the dwarves, but my people would rather try to steal from them and enslave them.”
“I can imagine how the dwarves view that,” I said as we walked down the ramp. I noticed that someone had moved the sled, and it was now resting on the shore. “From what I've seen they see honor as important.”
“I agree, but that was why I was sold to slavers. My people do not accept those who speak out against the policies of the leaders. Now I have an opportunity to live free of their paranoia and hate,” Cimbra said. I could not see her face, but I could hear a smile in her voice as we watched Jeff and Verval bring the raft to a halt at the end of the docks.
I looked at the long line of people standing on the docks. No less than seven merchants were standing there. I also noticed what looked like a family cowering on the shore. It was hard to see due to the distance, but it looked like a father and three children. Due to the distance I could not tell the sex of the children, but all were wearing long gray tunics that had visible rents in the fabric.
Heather surprised me by speaking up. “You were right. The merchants are definitely interested. Do we have enough?”
“Four gold coins, nineteen silver, and then whatever we can get for the sled and the raft,” I said. “I expect the salt will prove to be the most costly item we purchase though. Salt was rare in the ancient world on Earth, and I imagine it’s not all that common here.”
“Why would it be valuable then?” Heather asked.
“Because it allows food to be preserved. Pickling uses salt, drying usually requires salt. Even many recipes for smoking meat require that it be treated with salt in some way,” I said. “In a land with no refrigeration, it’s invaluable.
Heather's eyes widened. She was looking out at the group of men now boarding the raft. “Oh, that poor man and his children. Why would he be asking to cross?”
“Try to find out,” I said. “I'll be dealing with the merchants. I'd say send Lydia, but I expect she's still off hunting.”
“Actually, we just got back,” Hencktor said painfully. I turned around to see him slowly making his way down the trail to the shore. He had his right arm tight to his chest.
“Did you get hurt worse?” I asked.
“No, but I did forget Esme's instructions to avoid lifting,” Hencktor said slowly. “My chest hurts quite a bit at the moment.”
“How was the hunt?” I asked.
“Two antelope of some kind. At least that's the name Lydia used. She got both of them,” Henck said with pride. “Krysbain isn't a bad shot, but the antelope were very alert, and he couldn't get close. Lydia was shooting them from distances he said weren't possible.”
“She's one of the best I've ever seen,” I said with a smile. “I hope Kariy knows about the new meat.”
Hencktor laughed as Verval and Jeff began waving to the people still on the dock. There was a visible argument going on between Verval and some men on the dock. Once again, I could not hear what was being said, but the hand waving ended abruptly. Everyone on the raft and the dock was staring at one of the posts anchoring the end of the dock.
Henck whistled. I looked at him and noticed that he was looking up at the bluff. I followed his gaze and watched as Aine slowly and deliberately reloaded her crossbow. Once it was loaded she pointed it towards the dock and brought it up to a firing position.
The men who had been arguing with Verval backed away from the raft. Two of the men seemed ready to charge towards the people clustered on the dock, but they kept their hands visible as Jeff and Verval pushed the raft away from the dock.
Cimbra leaned towards me. “I see seven merchants on the raft. Two are looking at the sled. Four brought a manservant. All seven have at least one box or barrel with them. The one family boarded. I think three more young men are on board as well.
I nodded. “Hencktor, catch the men before they run off. Heather can deal with the family while I make the trades.”
“Krysbain should be here in a moment,” Hencktor said. “He was helping Kariy get the antelope set up for butchering and skinning.”
“What about Lydia?” I asked. Verval and Jeff had
the raft about halfway across the river. I could see the merchants all moving around, trying to ensure that they would be the first one off. It was an interesting dance as the men carefully tried to force the others to give way. Only one of the merchants refrained from pushing forward. He seemed genuinely amused by the antics of the others as they tried to establish precedence over each other.
“She’s on the bluff with Aine and Lenoir,” Hencktor said. “It’s the best place for them to be. They can watch from up there.”
I could see that the merchants had finally organized themselves. The one closest to the shore was a massive man with rich robes covering massive belly. He was one of the two that had been looking at the sled with great interest as the raft smoothly slid over the mud of the riverbank.
The instant the wood of the raft touched the ground, the massive merchant was moving forward. He looked at the members of my group scattered around the shore and then headed directly toward me.
“I’ve been told that you are in charge,” he said pompously. I noticed that he had a manservant following him. His man was carrying a massive covered box.
“I am handling the trading for the group while we are camped here,” I said carefully. “I hope you are here to trade.”
The merchant pointed at the sled. “I’ve heard you are going to trade that away.”
One of the other merchants immediately jumped forward. “I want to make an offer for the sled!”
I held up a hand. “If you want to negotiate for the sled, why don’t you move close to it? It’s not quite midday, and we have plenty of time to negotiate.”
The first merchant snorted. “I have everything you’ll need. There is no reason for you to talk to all these pretenders.”
“We are not without funding,” I responded calmly. “Now, I’m sure you need to look over the sled so you can get an idea of what it’s worth to you. Why don’t you do that while I talk to some of the other merchants?”
