by Allan Joyal
Homesteading on Jord
By Allen Joyal
Copyright 2015 Allen Joyal
Chapter 1: No Rest for the Weary
I agreed with the idea to rest for a day. Oleiana and Heather quickly joined me. Heather sat next to me and leaned against my left shoulder while Oleiana climbed into my lap and curled up before closing her eyes. I stroked the orphan’s hair as we relaxed.
“We need this don’t we?” Lydia asked as she sat down against another boulder near the fire.
“We are definitely tired,” I said. “But I’d rather we stopped in a better location. That sheltered valley our kobold friend revealed to us would have been much better.”
“Yes,” Lydia said softly. “That would have been a good choice, but we were still a bit too close to the home of the kobolds. I don’t think any of us would have relaxed.”
I was about to ask if we were relaxing there when a female voice screamed in fear.
“What IS that!” I heard Corwar shout. We could hear the whirr of several slings.
I pushed on Oleiana. “Sorry, we need to look at this.”
Oleiana jumped out of my lap. She stood and looked towards the shouts. I scrambled to my feet and looked around for my spear.
“I don’t see what caused the shout,” Heather told me. “But Thom and the dogs are moving the herds towards us.”
Oleiana grabbed my arm. I looked at her, and she put the spear into my hands. I smiled and took off towards the shouts.
“It’s circling towards us,” I heard Gertrilla shout.
“All I can see is that fin!” Piemal shouted. “What do I do?”
“Someone attack it!” Gertrilla shouted. “It’s coming directly towards me.”
Two slings snapped in quick succession as I ran across the path the herd was taking. I looked towards the field the herd had been in. Our herders were spread out and looking at something in the ground. I slowed down watching for what might be approaching and noticed what looked like a shark fin moving through the ground.
“What’s that?” I shouted as I ran towards the group. I noticed that Al and Jeff had also arrived. Al was holding one of our hammers while Jeff had the battleaxe.
The fin turned away from the group. It now looked even more like a shark’s fin.
“Is that a land shark?” Al asked.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Krysbain told me as he caught up. He had his bow out, but had not nocked an arrow. “I’m not sure I could hit it with an arrow.”
Another sling snapped. I glanced over to see Haydee’s arm thrust forward. The rock glanced off the fin.
The creature turned away from Haydee and started to move away. I thought we were going to be safe, but it made a tight turn to the right and charged directly at Gertrilla.
I started to race towards the young lady, but I knew I was too far to help. “Gertrilla, move!” I shouted.
Gertrilla’s body leaned to the left and I could see her gathering energy to dive. The landshark was swifter than I could imagine and burst out of the ground when it was fifteen feet away from Gertrilla.
The creature had a large hammerhead on its forehead. Even at a distance I could feel waves of pressure emanating from it. Below that a massive jaw that would have fit in a Great White Shark gaped as the creature lunged towards Gertrilla.
The mouth passed over the diving young lady, but the two lower fins slashed downward as the head of the shark struck the ground. Gertrilla let out a primal scream of pain as the shark vanished back under the earth. The fin remained visible for just a moment and then slid beneath the soil.
“Where is it?” Corwar shouted as I ran over to Gertrilla.
The young lady had been hit on her right side just below her ribs. The blouse had been torn, and the slash looked to be halfway to her spine. I immediately put pressure on both sides of the wound.
“Esme!” I shouted. “Bring the healing potion!”
“But we might need it later,” Esme shouted back.
“Gertrilla will die if you don’t!” I replied. “Al can you see that monster, it might come back!”
“The fin hasn’t come back!” Al shouted. “What should we do?”
“Ron,” Haydee shouted. “There are more fins.”
“What?” I asked. “Krysbain, Jeff, I can’t let go of Gertrilla until Esme gets here with the potion. Can you see what Haydee sees?”
“I don’t, wait!” Jeff said. “One, two, Ron, I see at least six more fins. They are on the far side of the ruins in the canyon, but one is starting to circle the ruins.”
“Some kind of guard?” Al asked. “But why did it attack Gertrilla.”
Esme ran up. She had a frown on her face. The potion was in her right hand, and I nodded towards Gertrilla. “Give it to her,” I said.
“We might…” Esme said as she looked down. “Oh God, is she still alive? Someone hold her head; I’ll pour. Gertrilla, you need to drink this.”
Gertrilla lay limply as Esme pulled the stopper from the potion and tossed it to the ground. Yveney ran over and put her hands on each side of Gertrilla’s head, lifting it slightly so that Esme could put the potion to the stricken girl’s lips.
At first it appeared that our efforts were too late, but Gertrilla’s lips opened, and Esme trickled the potion into her mouth. She had to manipulate Gertrilla’s throat to get her to swallow.
“Ron, the first landshark might be preparing to strike,” Al said. “I have an idea, but it’s probably dangerous.”
“Do it,” I said. I could feel the flesh under my hands start to mend rapidly. Gertrilla’s pale face gained a little color.
There was a resounding boom. “What are you doing?” Jeff called out.
“Unless that thing can see through the soil, it is attracted to vibrations,” Al replied just before another boom rang out. “I can make big vibrations with my hammer. It will either attack me or run away.”
“Make sure you jump clear,” Esme shouted as she pushed my hands away from Gertrilla’s side. “Another inch deeper and Gertrilla would have died.”
“What did she get hit with?”
“The fins,” I replied. “They are razor sharp.”
Gertrilla shifted and tried to sit up. Esme held the young girl down. “Not yet,” she said. “Your body needs to finish mending. Ron, I can hold her for now. Go and help the others.”
“But,” I protested.
Esme pushed my hands completely off of Gertrilla. “She’s healing,” my friend affirmed. “You were right, she needed that potion. Now go and do what you can to make sure no one besides Esme gets hurt.”
I nodded. Esme smiled at me as I grabbed my spear and stood up. “Don’t move!” Al shouted as he brought his hammer down on the ground again.
“Anyone see it?” I asked.
There was a moment of silence and then Piemal pointed towards Haydee. “There! It’s behind Haydee!”
I turned at the waist, trying to see. Haydee was standing frozen, tears of terror dropping from her eyes. The landshark passed behind her heading towards her left.
“It’s not after you,” I shouted reassuringly. “It’s heading towards the ruins.”
Al slammed his hammer on the ground again. The fin turned and it became clear that the landshark was about to charge my friend.
“Come here,” Al shouted defiantly as he brought the hammer down another time. “Can you take it?”
The landshark increased its speed. It was about one hundred feet from Al, and it was clear it would cover the distance quickly. Jeff started sprinting towards Al.
“Haydee, Piemal, Corwar, let’s get out of here. Run towards me. Where’s Dafalia?” I shouted.
“She was checking on the chickens,” Piemal sai
d. “It was just us four and Thom watching the herds.”
“At least you got Thom out of the way immediately,” I said. “Gerit! Verval! Get the carts hitched. We’ll be leaving.”
The shark reached a distance of about twelve feet away from Al and burst from the ground. I noticed that it seemed to lunge forward as it launched into the air.
Al had raised his hammer and was waiting for the jump. The instant the hammerhead appeared in the air he brought it downward. The hammer and the shark came together with a loud metallic crash.
The shark fell to the ground at Al’s feet. The young man danced backwards, dodging the gaping jaw of the shark. This time it did not immediately sink below the surface of the ground. The creature's head shook from side to side for a moment.
“That hit must have disrupted its ability to tunnel,” Al shouted as he stepped forward and swung the hammer sideways. He caught the landshark in the side of the hammerhead snapping it’s head to the right.
Jeff arrived and used the point on the top of the battleaxe to poke the shark in the side. The fin on that side slashed out as Jeff jumped into the air and raised the axe. He came down with his feet behind the fin and slammed the blade of the axe into the shark’s side.
The creature started thrashing around. Jeff hurriedly pulled the axe out of the creature only to get swept from his feet when the tail caught him in the back of his legs. He fell down right next to the shark’s fin.
I ran in and grabbed Jeff’s shirt. He put his left hand on my arm as I backpedaled away from the thrashing creature. Al tried hitting it again, but this time the shark managed to lunge forward, forcing the man to dive away from its snapping jaws.
“Let’s get out of here,” I ordered.
“But we can kill it,” Al insisted.
I pointed into the distance. The disturbance had definitely alerted the other landsharks, and I could see at least three fins carving through the landscape towards us. “And if it takes much longer we’ll have more here. We get nothing for killing it.”
“The skin might be valuable,” Al whined as I helped Jeff to his feet.
“We’d never have time to skin it,” I said as I turned to run back towards our camp. Ahead, Krysbain was lifting Gertrilla into his arms and preparing to run.
We took off running. Esme remained by Krysbain as Yveney dashed ahead. I could hear Corwar organizing the kids to get the herd moving immediately.
Jeff and I caught up to Esme as we left the remains of the meadow where the herd had been grazing before the shark appeared. I looked back and could see that the shark was still trying to burrow into the soil. There was a visible gash in its side and a slight dent in the hammerhead.
“I still say we could have killed it,” Al muttered.
“How is Gertrilla?” I asked Esme. Ahead, I could see the first two carts already moving. Verval was checking the harness on one of the wagons, but it was clear that everything had been loaded in record time.
“She can’t walk for at least a day,” Esme said. “What do we do?”
“Once we get going, use some bedrolls to make a pad at the back of one of the carts and lay her on it,” I suggested. “It won’t be perfectly comfortable, but the carts are probably not as bouncy as the wagons.”
“Why?” Jeff asked.
“Remember there are no springs or suspension on the wagons. They shake with every hole and bump. The carts shake too, but they only have one rigid axle while the wagons have two and a solid frame between the axles,” I pointed out.
I could see Jeff wince as he realized how bouncy the wagons would be if we were moving rapidly. “Ouch.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t fight,” Krysbain said. “I didn’t…”
“None of us knew what to do,” I said softly. “Al may have saved all of us with his foolhardy stunt. We now have a chance to get away before the rest of the landsharks arrive.”
“I hope they decide to take out the wounded one,” Al muttered. “Those things are nasty.”
I said nothing as we arrived at the carts. Esme put a hand on Krysbain’s shoulder and led him forward to the rickety cart. I slowed down and looked back at the sharks.
Al slowed down to join me. The wagons were moving briskly. We found we had to jog to catch back up after turning to look back at the meadow. The injured shark had managed to move a few feet with its thrashing, but it was still on the surface.
“Why did Esme take Gertrilla forward?” Al asked.
“The rickety cart has the most space, and many of the bedrolls were already loaded on it,” I pointed out. “But for now I’m still worried about our friends back there.”
“If those are friends, I’d hate to meet what you consider an enemy,” Al said with a snort.
Soldrin ran over as we continued to retreat to the East. “Ron,” he said. “Lydia is at the front, but she wants to know where to go. There is no road around here.”
“With those around, I’m not surprised; they probably tore it up long ago. Can anyone hear a river?” I asked.
“No,” Soldrin said. “But there is the remnant of some kind of wooden barn ahead. Should we look at that?”
“Only if we don’t stop,” I said. “I have no idea how far those things will chase us.”
Al gasped. I looked at him to find he had looked back at the meadow. “The arriving sharks just attacked the one I hurt. They killed it in two hits and are now devouring it.”
I said nothing. We kept moving forward, hoping that the single shark would be enough of a meal to delay any pursuit.
Chapter 2: Bloody Aftermath
Our band moved forward as rapidly as the mules pulling the carts were willing to trot. I could see Corwar and Piemal using sticks to prod along a couple cows that decided to lag behind the herd. I gave them a wave, but the two boys were concentrating on their task.
Al and I continued to stay at the rear of our caravan. We were watching to see if any of the landsharks decided to chase us as we headed east away from the canyon. The appeared happy to devour the one Al and Jeff had injured.
I turned back around to scan our direction of travel. As I did I noticed that there were dark spots on the dirt as we travelled. They appeared to be falling from something or someone in the caravan as they glistened slightly in the late morning sun.
“Watch our rear,” I told Al. “I need to check something.”
“Got it,” Al said as he turned around and started walking backward. I jogged forward, watching the ground for more dark spots. At first they were separated, but I found them becoming more common as I moved past the rear wagon. I glanced forward and saw Jeff walking just ahead of the wagon. Blood covered his right pant leg. I ran forward, shifting the spear to my right hand and slipping my shoulders under Jeff’s right arm.
“What?” he complained as I lifted up against his shoulder.
“Get your right foot off the ground and keep it off the ground,” I muttered. “Esme! Get over here!”
“I’m fine,” Jeff said absently. “Why would I want to….Oh shit!”
I glanced over and could see Jeff looking down at his blood soaked leg. “Esme! Hurry!” I shouted.
Esme ran up. She glared at me. “Gertrilla is just waking up and doesn’t want to rest,” she said testily. “Why did you interrupt me?”
“My leg!” Jeff moaned. “What happened to it?”
Esme looked down and gasped. “Ron, how did you know?” she asked.
“Noticed the blood trail,” I said absently. “Can you see what caused it?”
“We need to stop,” Esme said just as Soldrin ran up. He was coming from the rear of the caravan.
“Ron,” the boy said. “Al wanted me to tell you that two of the landsharks have started to follow us. They aren’t moving quickly, but he thinks they could catch up if they tried.”
“And that eliminates stopping,” I muttered. “Soldrin, Lydia is still leading right?”
The boy nodded. “Get to her and tell her that she’s to head for any la
rge stands of trees she can see. A forest would be even better.”
“A forest?” Jeff said tiredly. He groaned as Esme knelt down and touched his bleeding leg.
“Look around, this area is grass and dirt,” I said. “I’m thinking a forest of trees might mean a forest of roots that those landsharks can’t burrow through. It would allow us to escape.”
“And we could end up trapped in a small grove,” Esme said with a giggle. “But it’s a better idea than any I have. Meanwhile, we need to get Jeff off his feet. Can you carry him forward to the rickety cart? I’ll treat him there.”
“Please,” Jeff said. “Will I lose the leg?”
“It’s not that bad. You were able to walk, so I don’t think the slash got any major ligaments or arteries, but it’s deep and needs to be bandaged. You should also stay off it so the muscle can heal,” Esme said.
I lifted my shoulders and started walking forward a bit faster. Natalie was running back to join Esme and looked at the situation. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“The landshark must have got Jeff with one of its fins,” I said. “He’s got a slash in his calf.”
Natalie ran over and put her head under Jeff’s left shoulder. “Carry him to the cart?” she asked needlessly.
Esme ran on ahead. I looked over to see that Jeff’s head was lolling as Natalie and I used our bodies to lift him from the ground. “He’s not walking.”
Natalie did not reply. We began carrying the limp body of Jeff forward. We had finished passing the first wagon when Konstanzia ran up. She gave a cry of dismay as she looked at the young man we carried.
“He’s dead,” she wailed. “I finally find a good man and he’s dead.”
“I’m not dead yet,” Jeff muttered.
“No dancing Highland flings though,” Natalie responded in a whisper. “We need to get you bandaged, and then you’ll be drinking lots of fluids and eating lots of iron-rich food.”
“Why?” Konstanzia asked.
“So his body can replace all the blood he’s left on the ground today,” Esme said as she looked up from the cart. I could see that she had been checking on Gertrilla.
“Bring him over here,” Esme said. “And seat him on the cart. I’ll need to elevate the leg.”
