Journey Across Jord

by Allan Joyal

  "They'll be back," Heather told the boy.

  The boy just turned away and walked toward the kitchen. His head was down, and he shuffled his feet. This time he did not look back at the hallway.

  The girls arrived back just as the boy vanished into the kitchen. They had fourteen bowls that they set on the table. Gertrilla immediately started using the ladle to scoop out stew from the cauldron. She gave the first bowl to Shaylin before she claimed the next and held the ladle out to Heather.

  Heather started to serve the stew. She ended up serving everyone as the rest of the group trickled out and claimed seats at the table. We did get a chance to eat bread, brought out by a new boy we had not seen before. This boy ignored the girls as he left a tray of rolls on the table and then left the inn by the front door.

  I concentrated on eating. We were alone in the common room. Roldophic did come out to see if we needed more to drink and personally brought out four pitchers for us. No one seemed too interested in conversation.

  Once breakfast was over I got with Steve, Hencktor, and Al. We went out to visit the sleds. I assisted Hencktor and Steve as we unloaded the sled we had received from the wizards. The sled contained mostly food or fur. Once we had emptied the sled, we unloaded the other two and began reloading them with the seed casks and woodworking tools placed on the sleds first.

  Hencktor also suggested that we refill everyone's packs. He wanted to take the firewood out of the packs that still had some, and replace the wood with furs. The wood was stacked on the sleds, to help stabilize the load. We also finally distributed knives to everyone. Jennifer and Lydia were reluctant to take the knives. Once Hencktor pointed out that the villagers would be more likely to respect the women if they had a knife on their hip, both women wore one proudly.

  Several young men and women of the village came out to watch us as we organized the sleds. They asked about the casks of seeds, but otherwise seemed to recognize the items we pulled from the sled. Lydia and Heather kept the children distracted with games of tag.

  We had finished the repack on the sleds and were resting near the village well, when Lydia and Aine walked over carrying the group's two crossbows. Aine smiled wickedly. "I'm finally going to get a lesson on how to use this!" she shouted enthusiastically.

  We said nothing, but watched as Lydia carefully demonstrated how to string and load the crossbow. She forced Aine to perform this action more than three dozen times before they looked around for a target. In the end they chose an old leafless tree that stood alone near the path back to the road.

  The villagers had paid little attention to the lesson on loading the crossbow, but once Aine and Lydia started actually firing the bows, they turned out to watch the display. Lydia clearly was now comfortable with the weapon. She took careful aim and placed her shots within inches of any declared target. Aine struggled with her aim, often firing low and to the left. She improved over the dozen shots they took.

  Finally a smiling Lydia led Aine over to the tree so they could retrieve the bolts. Lydia had to use her knife to dig a couple of bolts out of the wood, but they soon walked back to the wall carrying the bolts they had fired. Aine was beaming. "I love this," she said enthusiastically.

  "She's good," Lydia said as she smiled at the young woman. "She needs to relax and not jerk her left hand when she fires, but otherwise she's definitely got the idea. I'll have to take her hunting in the future."

  The villagers began to wander away from the green. I looked around, realized that the sun was already nearing the end of its time in the sky, and looked at Steve. "Have you seen the former headman around?" I asked. "I forgot to watch for him."

  Steve laughed. "No, but I did hear the villagers talk about him and his family. He was already being held in his house. After the incident early this morning, they searched the village and found his son and nephew. They were the two you caught in the hallway this morning, and I guess they had the village's warning bell in a small bag. They are also being held until we leave tomorrow morning."

  "Did anyone get an idea of what we can expect?" I asked. "What villages will we encounter?"

  "News about other villages comes from wandering traders," Hencktor said. "I asked, and they haven't seen any traders for the last few seasons."

  "I saw an old map," Heather said. "The road turns here and starts to travel to the east. We'll be several days on the road before we encounter another village."

  Al smiled. "I don't know if I mind that. I like the fact that we've had a day of rest, but the villagers here aren't exactly welcoming."

  "They might not have a lot of spare food," I said. "We represent a lot of additional mouths."

  "I just hope they feed us tonight," Lydia said as her stomach rumbled. "Tomorrow we can eat cheese and biscuits while we march."

  "Dinner will be ready at sundown," Roldophic said. "Tonight will be more goose stew."

  I nodded. "Thanks."

  We headed back to the inn. Gertrilla, Shaylin, and Kariy had spent the day in the room. Shaylin had been studying one of the books she brought while Gertrilla and Kariy had been locked in an extended discussion. They were surprised to find that the day had passed.

  Once again we assembled for dinner in the common room. The villagers streamed in to watch and gossip. We ate in peace until the old man who had approached me when I arrived at the village walked over to the table and looked at me.

  "You are leaving in the morning?" He said. It was phrased as a question, but came across as a near command.

  "We plan on leaving once we wake," I affirmed. "We thank you for your hospitality, but do not want to be the source of any additional bickering in the village."

  "No bickering," the old man said. "Everyone agreed some time ago that we needed to make the changes. But it will go smoother if you are not here to help focus any future discontent."

  "We'll be gone before the sun is above the trees," I promised.

  "That would be best," the man said before turning away and heading to a table near the kitchen.

  His visit appeared to be a signal to the others. About half of the villagers departed after the visit. A few others took up positions by the doors. Conversation at our table died as the others noticed the actions of the villagers.

  The rest of the meal passed in oppressive silence. Between bites, most of the rest of the group sent sidelong glances at the villagers guarding the doors. The setup caused us to hurry to finish our meals. No one left the table until everyone was finished. Hencktor was the last to empty his bowl of stew. As soon as he was done, Kariy gathered up the bowls and ran from the table. Jennifer and Victoria organized the tankards and followed. The trio dashed down the hallway and out of sight.

  "Let's get to our room," Steve said firmly. "I don't feel very welcome in this town anymore."

  I nodded as we stood up and headed to the hallway. Lydia and Hencktor led the way as we rushed to our room. No one spoke as we made our way to our bedrolls.

  Kariy, Jennifer, and Victoria were not in the room. I was pulling the bedroll over my body when they entered. Kariy saw everyone and smiled. "We washed the bowls and tankards and then packed them on one of the sleds."

  "Good idea," I said. "Everyone, if you have anything you can pack away, do it now."

  Shaylin took a few moments to pack away her books. The rest of the group just checked that their clothing for the morning was laid out and then lay back down. "I'll watch first," Steve said in a low rumble. "Get some sleep everyone."

  I lay my head down on the edge of the bedroll. Heather was behind me, and she squeezed her breasts into my back as she held me. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my mind and sleep.

  Once again it was sometime later when I awakened as someone put a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Heather kneeling over me. "It's time to wake," she said. "I heard people moving in the common room."

  "How close are we to the sun coming up?" I asked as I found my pants and pulled them under the bedroll. I lay on my back and tried to
pull the pants on quietly.

  "I could see the early light," Heather said. "I'm going to wake the others. We need to get going."

  I had finally pulled the pants on. I sat up and grabbed my boots. Heather was already dressed, and she moved to wake Al as I wiggled my feet into the boots. Once that was done, I threw on the rest of my outfit, hurriedly tying the fur leg coverings before grabbing the spear and heading for the stable.

  As I left the room, I could hear men arguing in the common room. The voices were not clear, but the anger in them worried me so I increased my pace as I made my way outside. There I found the sleds had been moved to the edge of the snow.

  I was now near panic as I rushed over to look at the sleds. The cargo had not been disturbed, but someone had picked them up and placed them at the edge of the snow. I was checking the harnesses when Al exited the inn and noticed me.

  "What happened?" he asked.

  "They moved the sleds," I said. "I don't see anything missing, but they put them on the snow for us. I get a feeling that they want us out."

  Al shook his head. "But we did nothing."

  "They have problems that need to be solved," I reminded him. "And I'm sure some of the villagers blame us for the problems."

  "Damn," Al said. "So who is going to pull as we leave?"

  "We should keep our best fighters free to move," Heather said as she stepped out of the inn. "Al, you'll have to take the solo sled. I'll pair with Jennifer, Kariy can pair with Esme."

  "Leaving Aine and Lydia with their crossbows, Steve with his hammer and Hencktor with the axe," I said with a nod. "Good thinking."

  Heather smiled. "Kariy will want to pass out food before we start. Did you set any aside?"

  "Brought it into the room last night," Al said. "It should be in her pack."

  Kariy took that moment to exit the inn. She dashed up to me and handed me a wedge of cheese along with several sticks of dried meat. I took the food and began eating as we waited for the rest of the group.

  We did not have long to wait. I still had most of the wedge of cheese left to eat when Shaylin and Gertrilla dashed out with the puppies. The dogs jumped onto one of the sleds and lay down as the girls moved to the back of the sled and grabbed the running bar. Their appearance signaled the arrival of the rest of the group, who streamed out. Heather immediately took charge of organizing the sled pulling teams and had everyone in their harnesses just as I finished the last of my breakfast.

  "Time to set out," I said as I moved to the front of the group.

  "Just ahead of the sheriff," Lydia muttered, causing Steve to laugh as Heather and Jennifer lunged forward and started pulling their sled out of the village.

  Chapter 15: A Snowy Road

  The snow in the village common was packed down. Heather guided the sled into a trail leading toward the road. I was ahead of the sled and watching the doors of the buildings we passed. Several times I saw a man standing in the doorway and frowning at us as the sleds made their way out of the village. No villager offered a smile or a nod as we exited.

  The watchful silence concentrated the efforts of our group. Heather and Jennifer were almost jogging as we passed the snow bank just outside the village. I signaled that they should slow down a bit, and we settled back to the pace we had used to travel to the village. As we reached the road and made the turn to the East, I stepped off the path for a moment and let them pass.

  "I'm going to make sure we aren't being followed," I said.

  Heather waved her arm weakly. The two girls were stepping in unison as the sled left the packed trails and started to cut through some low drifts that blocked the road. Behind them, Kariy and Esme struggled slightly as they tried to get into a rhythm and pull the sled forward.

  Steve was trailing all of the sleds. He noticed me standing to the side and started waving his hand toward me and down. I flashed an upraised thumb in his direction and turned to catch up with the lead sled.

  The snow here had an icy crust. Each step someone took resulted in a crunching sound as the ice layer broke. The sleds seemed to have much less trouble pushing the top layer of snow downward and packing it down. Heather and Jennifer were smiling when I passed them and began blazing the trail.

  I kept a watch on the trail ahead. Occasionally, I'd glance behind to see how everyone was doing. Esme and Kariy continued to struggle slightly, but otherwise the group was having no trouble. In the distance the village faded from sight behind the various snowdrifts. I could just barely make out the watchtower for the village, when I noticed someone ahead of us waving his arms.

  I jogged ahead of the group, stumbling slightly in the snow. The figure remained standing with his hands over his head. I was just close enough to see that it was a man, when a second shorter figure stood up. This one was dressed in heavy furs, and I could not tell if it was a boy or girl. They said nothing, but waited until I came to a halt about fifteen feet away from where they were standing.

  "I want to go with you," the man said.

  "What?" I asked. "You have no idea where we are going. You have never talked to any of us."

  "I could not talk in the village," the man said. "They would have stopped me from going."

  "So you just ambush us on the road and say we should take you along?" I asked sarcastically.

  The man ignored the sarcasm. "You need me. And I didn't come empty handed. Corwar, show this man the sleds we packed."

  The boy stepped behind a drift. I could hear him grunting, and then the boy reappeared pulling two small sleds. They were a bit bigger than the sleds kids on Earth would use to slide down hills. Each sled was packed with casks and bags.

  "I have seeds," the man said. "Wheat, barley and soybean. I also brought a small anvil, so you can perform minor repairs to tack. We have enough food for two weeks as well."

  "Why?" I asked. "And who are you?"

  "I am Verval," the man said, sweeping the hood of his cloak off. He had long hair. The roots were dark brown, but the ends were much lighter. I could see several scars on his face, and he was missing his right ear. It gave him a slightly sinister appearance.

  Verval grabbed the boy and nudged him. The boy pulled off the hood of his cloak. His dark brown hair and facial features made it clear the two were related. "I'm Corwar," the boy said. "Verval is my older brother."

  "As for why I'm leaving," Verval said, "I had a promise from Estily that we would marry at the Spring Dawning festival this year, but during the Harvest Festival it was announced that she'd marry another. It wasn't even her choice; she was forced, but the villagers refused to allow her to marry me once the announcement was made."

  I sighed. "And you don't want to live with them anymore."

  "I can't," the man said as tears poured from his eyes. "Estily and I had plans. We were going to save up so we could get a new plow and an ox to pull it. There is a great valley with fertile soil only a half day south of the village, and we were going to farm it together. Now the valley is going to belong to Mescaline."

  "If you join, you will have to work with us and obey orders if we give any," I said. "And you have to understand that we expect women to be treated with great respect."

  Verval nodded. "I watched how you were in the inn. Some of the villagers were outraged when they heard that two of your women drew knives on the village headman. Even more were scandalized by the crossbow contest yesterday."

  "What did you think of it?" Heather asked as the first sled caught up to where I was standing.

  Verval frowned and looked at the snow. I waved to him and started walking again, staying a short distance ahead of Heather and Jennifer. I looked back to see a twinkle in Heather's eye as Verval grabbed the straps to one of the sleds his brother had brought out and ran through the snow to catch up to me. His brother followed, stumbling as he tried to raise his feet above the snow.

  I said nothing as Verval caught up to me. The man looked back briefly before looking at me. "You didn't seem surprised by her comment," he said. There was
a clear question in his voice.

  "Heather has always been outspoken," I said. "In all the time I've known her, she has never backed down in a conversation."

  Verval glanced back at Heather as he continued to walk. He said nothing, but did allow his path to drift to the left as his brother caught up to us and slowed down to walk alongside.

  The brother had his eyes focused on the snow ahead of him. I noticed that his face was bright red. "What is it?" I asked.

  "I've never seen hair like that one woman has," he whispered.

  I glanced back at Heather and Jennifer. They had not put hairnets over their heads this morning and their long tresses tumbled down their backs. Jennifer's brown hair looked a little worn, but Heather's blond locks shone in the morning sun.

  Verval snorted. "Good women cover their heads."

  "Why?" Heather asked. "Covering our hair actually damages it. If we want our hair to stay clean, we need to leave it uncovered."

  "We still have to spend time brushing it," Jennifer added.

  "It's improper," Verval complained.

  "I think they have pretty hair," Corwar said. "But I've never seen hair that was so light on a human. I thought only elves had hair that color."

  Heather giggled. "Why thank you," she said. "Where I come from, this color isn't common, but it is human."

  "And in her case, it doesn't affect the size of her brain," Jennifer added with her own giggle.

  Corwar stumbled as the girls giggled. I could see Verval glower, but the man said nothing as we continued on our march.

  Verval remained silent for the next hour or so. The village was now out of sight behind us. A new forest spread out to the right of the road. Lydia and Aine were carrying loaded crossbows and watching the trees as we skirted the edge of the forest.

  "Time to switch lead sleds," Heather said. Jennifer waved her left hand and the duo pulled the sled off the path. I slowed down as Victoria and Esme passed by the stopped sled. Corwar watched quietly as Verval walked ahead of us.

  "Why?" Corwar asked.