by Allan Joyal
We broke the kiss as Aine’s crossbow let out a twang. “Shit!” the young Irish woman screamed. “How could I miss that shot.”
There was a loud cry of pain from the water. Heather released me. I broke into a run as I raced to get to the shore before the canoe could arrive. Several others ran behind me as the group raced to prepare a defense.
I reached the beach and looked at the canoe. It was drifting a bit downstream, but I could still see five men sitting up. The sixth was slumped to his left, the shadows made it clear an arrow was stuck in his side.
“Aine, your arrow hit!” I called out.
“I wanted to hit the lead guy since he had a paddle,” Aine said.
“Don’t be afraid to shoot again,” I said.
“The glare from the sun is spoiling my aim,” Aine said. “Anyone got some sunglasses?”
“Sunglasses?” I heard Borlan say from my left.
I took a moment to look left and right. Borlan was to my immediate left; he was holding a rather large knife and had a grim expression on his young face. To his left was Al. The young man was holding an axe.
To my right Jeff and Verval stood. Jeff had one of the new wood-chopping axes. Verval was holding the dwarven axe. They shared Borlan’s grim expression as we watched the canoe continue to try to cross the river.
One of the men in the canoe looked up and saw us. “Fuck! Gershom, you said they didn’t have any weapons.”
“They don’t!” the man sitting in the back did. “When they walked by me I didn’t even see a knife.”
“Then the group on the beach is a different group,” the man who had noticed us shouted. “They are carrying weapon…”
The man never finished his sentence as an arrow hit him high in the chest. He sat for a moment with a perplexed look on his face before slumping forward. The man behind him swore and dove out of the canoe. He started swimming for the city as the lead rower began paddling backwards.
“What are you doing?” the man in the back shouted.
“They have bows! We are going to die if we don’t retreat.”
“Row for the dock!”
“We’d be in their sight! Head downriver, we can land at the Mid-city Sandbank.”
“You’re right, let’s get this canoe turned around!”
The canoe turned around, and once it was moving with the river’s current, quickly vanished from sight. Everyone on the beach maintained their vigilance until it the dying light made it difficult to see the city walls. A few torches burned fitfully in the distance as we relaxed.
“Let’s eat,” I suggested.
“Nice shot Krys,” I heard Lydia call out. “And great timing. I think hitting the man then is what got the lead rower to panic.”
“I can’t believe they’d try,” Krysbain said. “How could they imagine no one would have a weapon?”
“Weapons cost money,” I said as we walked up the hill. Kariy, Mary, and Victoria met us at the edge of the fire’s light. They had fresh bowls of stew they handed to each of us.
“This is the antelope, Lydia shot earlier today,” Kariy said. “We’re also smoking some of the meat so we can eat it over the next few days. Lawus is even going to try to tan the hide.”
“Can we do that?” I asked.
“It won’t be easy,” Lawus said. “You don’t have the right frame. I’m going to be stretching them over the one cart’s frame to dry. At least I can ask Thom to help with preparing the skin.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“No,” Lawus said quietly. “Thank you.”
I had sat down to eat. As I nibbled on the surprisingly hearty stew Lawus’ three year old daughter climbed into my lap. The girl seemed fascinated by the spear I was still leaning on as I ate.
I allowed the young girl to look at the shaft of the spear, but gently rebuffed her attempts to stand and look at the blade. Soon I was poking her with my free hand between bites causing the child to giggle.
“You like children?” Borlan asked.
“He likes people,” Lydia said. “Ron was always good at dealing with others, which was why he succeeded back on Earth.”
Lawus smiled. “Thank you again for accepting all of us. I was surprised since I’m a single man raising three children.”
“We’ll help,” I promised. “On that note, do you know any others who would fit?”
Lawus frowned. “No. I do know some others who would welcome escaping Saraloncto, but none would be willing to work as hard as I see you all do. They would not fit in.”
I could see Krysbain nodding. The former guard noticed me and shrugged. “He’s right. I can think of two others who left the guard recently. Either would say they would be happy to join, but Aliz would throw a fit about the number of unmarried women and Prowe would end up trying to take over.”
“We have been lucky,” I said quietly.
“Not really,” Victoria said. “It’s been more about your instincts. You seem to know who is safe to talk to. Ron, trust your instincts.”
“I allowed Trexco to join,” I pointed out.
“No,” Hencktor said. “You were busy trading. I was the one who talked to him, and I never realized he had a plan to take over.”
“And he was my best friend,” Borlan snapped. “How could he do that?! And was he thinking about Xemina or Soldrin.”
“Who?” I asked.
“His younger brother and sister. I thought the idea was that by leaving we’d leave more food for our families, but if Trexco was working for any of the merchants in town, they will likely demand payment from his family,” Borlan said.
“How old?” I asked.
Borlan blushed; it was surprising to see in the dying light of the evening. “Xemina is seventeen,” he murmured. “Soldrin is twelve.”
“Is Xemina pretty?” Heather asked.
“Heather,” I hissed.
Borlan seemed to miss my comment. “She’s sweet. We used to sit and talk after I finished all my chores. But now, she’ll…”
I sighed. “Say no more! Tomorrow we’ll have an early morning run with the raft. You can go and retrieve them, but make sure they understand that they have to work.”
“Ron?” Lydia asked.
“I have one gold coin left,” I said. “And talking to Krysbain yesterday I realized that we need some arrowheads. We might be able to save some, but the three we shot today are all lost. If we don’t have replacements eventually we’ll run out.”
“Still might,” Al said. “I’m not sure how long it will be before I figure out how to smith things, and we will need a source of ore. But that’s a good idea.”
“More food,” Lydia noted.
“Citrus,” Esme said. “We need a source of vitamin C.”
I nodded.
Joel slipped into sit next to me. “Can we talk?” she asked.
“Of course,” I replied as I finished my bowl of stew. Jesame was falling asleep in my lap. I coaxed the three year old to totter over to her father. He gathered her in, and I stood up and moved to rinse my bowl with water from a bucket near the fire. Once the bowl was clean, I stacked it with others already cleaned.
“Not right here,” Joel whispered. “Can we talk in private?”
I pointed to the top of the trailhead. “That way I can respond quickly to a problem,” I said.
We walked over there. Joel was fidgeting and looking back at the camp regularly. It was only when everyone appeared as shadows in front of the fire that Joel relaxed and looked me in the eye. I noted that her green eyes were clear and unyielding as she spoke.
“Ron, I’m scared.”
“We all are,” I said. “This isn’t a safe situation.”
“It’s more than that,” Joel said. “What if someone realizes…”
“That you are a woman?” I asked.
Joel gasped. Her arms wrapped around her waist. This pulled her shirt tight and only made her breasts more visible. “How? Did Esme tell you?”
“I figured it
out,” I said. “I’m afraid your breasts do stand out.”
“But you allowed me to join?” Joel asked.
“I’m not sure you noticed, but we have more women than men already. Lydia, Victoria, and Heather have pulled their weight since we arrived on Jord. Esme is the best we have at medicine. Natalie has proven to be another who has helped the rest of the group. I would be a fool to think a woman can’t do as much as a man,” I pointed out.
“But I could have lied,” Joel protested.
“Did you?”
“No,” Joel said with a long slow sigh. “I didn’t necessarily do the work, but my family does that kind of work, and I watched it being performed.”
“Then just work hard,” I said. “I’ll probably have you guiding one of the carts tomorrow. It will give you a chance to help and to get to know everyone. We usually allow people to switch to different positions on the march, so they don’t get bored.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?” Joel asked.
“It has worked for us so far,” I said. “Is that your only worry.”
Joel sighed. “Can I return to the city with you tomorrow? I should probably talk to my father.”
“He doesn’t know?” I asked.
“He suspects that I want to leave, but I did not tell him. I only learned about your group by accident. I was visiting the market, and some of the urchins were complaining that Oleiana was gone,” Joel said.
“She’s out with the herd,” I said. “And probably helping bring it in, since I told Yveney to bring it back for the night.”
“She always wanted to be around animals,” Joel said. “Too bad her father died.”
“Well, I was going to tell Borlan in the morning, but I’ll tell you now. Be back at the docks at midday, so we can get back to this side. The instant the wagons are loaded we’ll strike out. We might only get a couple of hours of travel, but I want to get away from the city.”
“I don’t blame you,” Joel said. “And thanks.”
Joel ran back to the fire. I followed slowly as the young woman picked up her pack and moved by the carts to find a spot to sleep. She seemed a bit wary of the others, but chatted merrily with Natalie as she laid down her bedroll.
I was most of the way back when Heather walked up carrying our bedroll. “Hold me?” she begged.
“For now and forever,” I promised. “Heather, my love, I’m proud of you.”
Heather sniffled. “I’m sorry, I just… I never expected to have to kill someone. And to stab him in the back like that.”
“You had to,” I reminded her. “And you saved Victoria. However, let’s sleep on it.”
Heather nodded and handed me the bedrolls. I found us a quiet spot next to the rickety cart. There was one rock I had to move as I lay the bedrolls down, but soon I had the spear leaning against the spear as I lay in Heather’s arms and allowed sleep to come.
Chapter 14: Don’t Attack at Dawn
A hand on my shoulder woke me. I looked up, but at first could only see darkness. Heather was wrapped around me with her head on my shoulders.
“Ron,” I heard someone whisper urgently. “Cimbra says about twenty men are gathering on the docks. They have four boats they are carrying with them.”
I sighed. “What time is it?” I began carefully slipping from Heather’s arms. The blond had cried herself to sleep the night before, and I wanted her to be able to sleep as long as necessary.
“The light of dawn should appear shortly,” the voice said. I recognized it as Corwar.
“Damn,” I said. “Who else have you woke?”
“Lenoir is awake,” Corwar answered. “Gertrilla was with the herds, but she needs sleep. I was going to wake Yveney and Lydia.”
“Wake Shaylin too,” I said as I stood up and grabbed the spear. “And see if Krysbain can be woke. We might need his sword this time.”
“Can do,” Corwar said and then disappeared into the darkness. I could hear his footsteps on the ground as he moved away.
The only light from our side of the river was a faint glow from the fire. It has been allowed to burn down to mostly coals. Beyond it I could see two shadowed heads just above the ground. Cautiously I made my way towards the heads, making sure to crouch as I dodged the still slumbering members of our party.
When I arrived at the bluff I could see Cimbra’s white hair shining in the starlight. The dark elven woman nodded as I dropped down to lie between her and Lenoir.
I looked out over the river. The first thing I noticed was that the docks were completely dark. The previous night a couple of torches had been set up in scones on the city walls; those had provided a flickering light that illuminated the docks. Now those torches were gone.
“Someone came by and took the torches away,” Cimbra supplied as she noticed me looking across the water intently. “A short time later eight men arrived. They were working in pairs and each pair carried something. From the way they acted once they set foot on the docks, it looks like they put four small boats into the water.”
“There are more now,” Lenoir said. “I heard them come after Cimbra alerted me. They are using thieve’s lanterns. I’ve caught a flash off one, but they are being very careful.”
I sighed. “Cimbra, that light spell you talked about. Will it work if it misses the docks?”
“It should explode if it hits the water,” Cimbra said. “But it won’t hurt anyone. It’s used only to stun and surprise.”
I nodded again. “Are the men getting into the boats?”
“Not yet. Three of them are standing near the end of the dock. They appear to be discussing something,” Cimbra said. “And before you ask, no I don’t recognize any of them. My night vision allows me to see that a person is there, but I can’t see faces.”
I nodded again. “So we have an opportunity.”
Just then Shaylin slid down and looked over the water. She was to Cimbra’s right. “What is the problem?” she asked.
“We have visitors,” I said. “Shay, you were working on a spell you said would cause something to glow. Can you cast it across the river?”
“It’s supposed to work on a person,” Shaylin said. “I’m not sure it can work on anything else. And I can’t really see a target.”
I sighed. “Are you willing to try?”
“Sure, but why?” Shaylin asked.
Lenoir sighed. “We have about twenty men over on the docks. They put out the torches to hide their arrival, and it looks like they are about to board some boats. I’m surprised they haven’t started already.”
“Unless they have good night vision, they can’t see across the river,” I noted. “And our fire has burned down to the point it isn’t throwing much light. They can’t see the beach.”
“What do we do?” Lenoir said. “I have no target.”
I sighed. “Cimbra, Shaylin, this will start with you. Cimbra, throw one of your light attacks. Aim for the boat that is closest to launching.”
Cimbar nodded and started to stand up. “Shaylin,” I ordered. “Watch carefully. When that light hits you might see someone. Try to get the glow around him immediately.”
Lenoir giggled and stood. She carefully slid to her left and raised her hand. I could hear a low hum as she got her sling moving.
“Keep your concentration,” Cimbra said absently. “I’m going to cast.”
Shaylin was getting to her feet. I crawled backwards until I was well behind the three ladies and then got to my knees. I was watching them as Oleiana crept up to me. “Corwar woke me,” she complained sharply.
I leaned over to whisper in her ear. “We have some bandits across the river. It looks like they are preparing to attack us. Get your sling and join Lenoir. If you see someone on the water, try to hit him.”
Olieana gasped. “Someone’s attacking us?” she hissed.
“Looks that way,” I said. “I’m going to get to the beach to throw back any of the attackers that make it that far.”
Oleiana stumbled off into
the darkness near the bluff. I hoped she remembered to slow down. Meanwhile, I tried to crawl my way to the trailhead and head down to the beach. The dying fire cast almost no light, and I had to go slowly to avoid stepping on the rest of the group as they continued to slumber.
I was about halfway down the path when a bright light over the water blinded me. As I was blinking my eyes to try to regain my sight, I could hear surprised curses in front of me.
Seconds later there was a loud scream of pain followed by a splash. As my eyes started to clear I could hear more voices.
“Kor!”
“He screamed and fell in the water!”
“Where is he? I don’t see his body!”
“What was that light!”
“Wer! You are glowing! Put out the light!”
There was a loud grunt. It was quickly followed by a splash of water. The voices began to grow distressed.
“Ti! Something got him in the head!”
“Damn, they are using the glow to find us!”
“Launch the boat!”
I hurried down to the beach. Ahead I could hear the faint splash of oars being thrust into the water. The darkness made it difficult to pinpoint where it was coming from. My eyes strained to spot the boat.
There was the silhouette of a man shrouded in purple, but the light he cast did not illuminate anyone else. He appeared to be running away from us, hurrying down the dock toward the shore. In the darkness it was hard to see how close he was to the shore.
As the man was retreating, I returned my attention to the water. If a boat had launched the men within were being careful with the oars because I heard nothing. I started crawling forward towards the raft when I faintly heard Cimbra hiss. “I’ll use my magic to spotlight them. Shay, we’ll need another foxfire charm. Everyone close your eyes to protect them from the flash.”
I closed my eyes and turned my head. A moment later Cimbra hissed a word I did not recognize.
“Fuck! My eyes!”
“I can’t see!”
There were more shouts, but those two were the loudest. I opened my eyes and looked back up. The river was again shrouded in darkness, but a moment later the boat lit up with purple light. The light did not seem bright, but the boat was now easily seen.
