Homesteading on Jord

by Allan Joyal

“Ron,” Heather shouted down from the bluff. “We aren’t going to allow you to win this time. Get to the meadow. Start composing a picture of how you want to lay everything out.”

  “Right now I want to lay everyone here out,” I muttered. “You aren’t allowing me to help.”

  Cimbra laughed as she snatched the canteen from my hands. “Oh stop complaining. We need to find Krysbain. If you insist on helping, let’s go look for him while we head to the meadow.”

  I nodded. “I also want to check out the mouth of the valley. I have ideas on how we can build a wall there to help protect us.”

  “Let’s go,” Cimbra said with a smile. “Lydia and Hencktor need to show more leadership and they can’t do that if you are trying to do everything yourself.”

  I nodded up to the top of the cliff. “I think they were showing leadership up there,” I noted. “I had nothing to do with the organizing of that part of this operation.”

  Cimbra laughed. “Who suggested it and walked to the area with Heather and Amalya to look at the slope? You helped them set it up and gave them the initial guidance.”

  I shrugged. “I guess I did. But shall we get wet?”

  I walked over to the ford and waded into the water. Cimbra’s musical laughter chased me across the river. She finally started to race after me as I shook the water from my boots and began to make my way past the felled trees that blocked the path I had helped carve out of the forest.

  The sounds of axes striking wood echoed through the area. I followed the trail, looking at the stumps that marked the many trees we had cut. The stumps were a mute testimony on how hard Al, Jeff, and I had worked throughout the morning cutting a path for the carts.

  As we headed west, I could see that the trees did thin out. Where Al and Jeff were currently working, the trees were separated by sixteen to twenty feet. I could see that with care a cart or wagon could be led through the trees. I turned back and shouted to Al and Jeff. “It looks like we can get a cart through this area. Work on clearing the path rather than cutting more trees. We’re going to search for Krysbain.”

  “Can do,” Al shouted as Cimbra and I continued to walk to the west. I was watching the bluff to the south. The walls appeared to be made out of granite sheets that had been scoured sometime in the past. Deep gouges were visible in the otherwise near vertical face. I watched the ground near the base and could see it slowly grow thinner as the wall grew closer to the river. In this area the river was considerably narrower than at the ford. There was one area where large rocks deflected the flow and generated a few areas of froth, but overall the river was calm as it flowed to the east.

  Cimbra noticed what I was looking at and nudged my right hip. “What are you looking for?” she asked.

  I pointed at the granite face of the cliff. “I was trying to get some understanding of how this valley formed. But honestly I’m not an expert or really even an informed amateur. Geology was never something I was all that interested in. I can see that the walls look like someone dragged something hard against them. That explains some of why they are vertical like that. But now, we should begin looking to the north. Now that we are about level with this one pool in the river, my memory from up on the ridge says we are at the narrowest point of the valley.”

  I turned and looked out to the north. The forest continued westward into the valley, but I could see that the older trees in this area were often twenty-five or more feet apart. Their branches were mostly over eight feet off the leaf covered ground. As Cimbra and I stood there, we could hear small animals rushing through the fallen foliage as they sought food.

  “What is this?” Cimbra said.

  I looked at her in surprise. It took a moment and then I remembered that Cimbra grew up underground. “It looks like this forest hasn’t seen any fires in some time,” I replied. “These trees appear to be the type that loses their leaves every winter. “

  “But the leaves are on the ground,” Cimbra complained. “I never noticed that before when we traveled through forests.”

  “Sometimes the leaves will matt or deteriorate during the winter, and by spring most are gone. The other way the leaves can vanish is if there is a fire,” I said.

  “But that would kill the trees,” Cimbra complained.

  “Not always. Most trees have some protection against fire. And fire can help a forest grow as it will kill off bushes and other ground covering plants that prevent new trees from growing,” I said.

  “But is it safe to walk through?” Cimbra asked.

  “There might be a snake hiding under the leaves, but it should be fine,” I said. “And hopefully it will be easy to find Krysbain’s trail. This is actually a good sign. The forest floor is largely undisturbed, so we can expect few intruding humanoids.”

  Cimbra looked back at the cliff just across the river. “We’ve reached the pond,” she told me. “You said this is the narrowest point, but I can’t see the pond or the other wall because of the trees.”

  “Another reason we’ll need to cut down a lot of these trees. We’ll need to be able to see if anyone or anything is approaching. But that isn’t going to happen today, and will likely take most of the summer to complete,” I said. “Meanwhile why don’t we walk north and see if Krysbain can be found.”

  “I hope he is fine,” Cimbra said as we started to walk away from the river. “I can’t say that I want to spend a lot of time with him, but he does try very hard to help the group.”

  “Everyone does,” I said. “Even you do. I can imagine that you struggle in the daylight.”

  “Some,” Cimbra admitted. “It was worse when the slavers first dragged me out of the underworld, but over time my eyes adjusted. But things still surprise me. I had seen leaves on the ground, but never imagined the kind of piles of leaves we have here.”

  We were heading under the trees. The piles of leaves were deep enough that I could feel leaves brush against my calves as we walked away from the river. “There must not be much wind,” I said. “And I guess the snow is not too deep.”

  “Why would that matter?” Cimbra asked as we continued to move through the trees. “And how can you tell that?”

  “Leaves are not very heavy. Normally a firm breeze will blow them around,” I said. “So the fact that there are so many piled here suggests that few breezes reach the ground. It matters because the leaves can probably be composted.”

  “Composted?” Cimbra asked.

  “Turn them into new soil for growing plants. As plants grow they draw some elements from the soil. If you mix leaves into the soil those nutrients can be returned to the soil. If you don’t do that, after a while your crops don’t grow well,” I said.

  “Oh,” Cimbra said. “Does Natalie know all of this?”

  “I’m sure she knows more than I do,” I admitted. We had reached a downed tree. It looked like it had just recently fallen. There was an opening in the canopy where the tree used to stand. I stepped up on the trunk and looked around.

  Surprisingly I could see Krysbain off to the northeast. He noticed me and waved. I waved back as I stepped off the trunk and turned to look at Cimbra.

  “You found him?” she said with a smile.

  I nodded and looked over at him. Krysbain was making his way through the trees. “Cimbra, Ron!” he shouted. “How are things going?”

  “We lost a couple of mules, and one of the wagons is too badly damaged to roll to the meadow,” I replied. “But other than that, things are going well. We do have reports that there might be a predator in the valley.”

  “I expected Soldrin to look there,” Krysbain admitted. “I went north to see if I could find anything.”

  “Did you find much?” I asked.

  “There are deer in good numbers,” Krysbain said. “I found several game trails. If you want I can probably hunt one. Would that be good for dinner?”

  “That seems like a plan,” I said. “Why don’t you do that? Cimbra and I’ll head to the meadow and see what is going on there.”<
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  “Where’s your spear?” Krysbain asked.

  “I loaned it to Aine. She was heading to the meadow to check on Soldrin’s reported predator,” I replied.

  “Go get it,” Krysbain said. “It looks like we are safe for now, but you should check Soldrin’s report. I’ll bring in a deer.”

  Cimbra and I offered one final wave and then turned west, making our way through the trees and heading towards the meadow that lay just inside the mouth of the valley.

  Chapter 13: Another Magical Monster

  As we walked towards the meadow, I noticed that the spacing between the trees shrank quite a bit. I glanced at the trunks. Most of the trees in this area had trunks that were less than a foot in diameter. Cimbra and I had to duck our heads to avoid hitting low branches as we made our way westward.

  “We’ll have to thin these out or take them all down,” I said just as we emerged from the grove. “They won’t really allow us to use the area.”

  “Why are they so much smaller?” Cimbra asked. “And why haven’t they spread to cover this meadow.”

  I looked around as someone shouted to me. Yveney was standing with our cattle and goats. She said something to Lenoir and then jogged towards us. As she approached, I pointed out a couple of saplings sprouting at the edge of the meadow. “The trees are trying to spread, but I’m guessing that the wind blows the seeds eastward. They are smaller because they are not as old. Trees keep growing as they get older.”

  Cimbra just stood there and stared at me as Yveney ran up. “Ron!” the young woman shouted. “Something is disturbing the herd.”

  I looked over at the herd. They did seem to be staying far away from the trees at the west end of the large meadow. It was clear that they refused to move past the middle of the valley as they moved out and grazed on the lush grass.

  “Are the sheep behaving the same way?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” Yveney said. “I’ve been here with the cattle. Soldrin said he saw some tracks at the edge of the trees to the west though.”

  “Did he describe them?” I asked. “And how bad is the situation for the cattle?”

  Yveney shrugged. “He just said there were marks in the ground that clearly came from some kind of footprint. I haven’t gone over to check. And the cattle still have a lot of area they are willing to roam in. Aine said that she could get six games of football going on the section of the meadow they are willing to walk in. They don’t like these trees much either though.”

  I sighed. “Fine, note to self, when we set up the palisade we take out all trees on the eastern side of the valley. I was hoping to leave a few to provide shade for the chickens.”

  Yveney frowned. “Dafalia carried one of the chicken cages with her when she came out to help. The chickens were loud while she was near the river, but got very quiet once she headed to the valley wall.”

  “Where is she?” I asked.

  Yveney pointed to the north. “She was looking for a good spot near the cliff. She said it would be better to use the stone as a border for the chickens.”

  “We’ll use less wood to build a coop,” I noted. “And the cliff will discourage hawks from trying to attack them.”

  Yveney just stared at me. “You always seem to understand things. How?”

  I sighed. “My job was one where I had to travel from city to city to meet with people who might want to purchase my company’s machines.”

  “Company? You worked for a war band?” Yveney asked.

  “No, where I come from we use the term ‘company’ for a business,” I said with a laugh. “Anyway, I had to travel most of the time. The way we travel there is different, and there is a lot of time spent sitting down and waiting. While I had to wait I would read.”

  “And you read about how things work,” Yveney said with a nod. “That makes sense. But what will you do now?”

  I pointed towards the trees to the west. “I’m going to go look at the tracks. Is Soldrin around to show me them?”

  “He went into the trees to see if he could find out what made the tracks,” Yveney said.

  “Damn,” I muttered. “I’d rather he not get that far ahead of everyone. I better start looking for him.”

  I started running across the meadow. Lenoir noticed me and waved her arms. She was about eighty yards away, so I could not quite understand her, but I could see she was holding my spear in her right hand. I changed direction to head towards her as I continued across the plain.

  Lenoir held the spear out when I arrived in front of her. “I’m guessing you are off after Soldrin,” she said. “Bring him back safe.”

  “Ron!” Aine shouted. “There is something big in the trees!”

  I looked up and saw Soldrin burst from the trees. He was running directly at me as fast as he could move.

  “Try to get up on top of a rock or something,” I shouted to Aine. “See if you can get a better angle for using your crossbow.”

  Aine scrambled away toward the north wall bordering the valley. I kept moving forward, scanning the trees for any sign of what might be chasing Soldrin.

  The young man had covered less than a quarter of the distance between the herd and the western edge of the meadow, when a monstrous creature smashed down some trees and burst onto the plains. It paused there and began inhaling air in spurts. Each breath was announced by a deep bass rumble.

  I stopped running forward as Soldrin sped up and tried to reach me. The massive creature appeared to ignore us as it continued to huff and snort. It was the size of an elephant, but the shape of the head was feline. A massive grey mane covered its neck, and at the distance we were standing, I could not see the body, but the two front legs looked like they belonged on an ostrich. They had massive thighs, but appeared to be fleshless from the knee to the clawed feet that the monster scraped along the earth.

  “Ron, Ron, Ron!” Soldrin shouted breathlessly. “Help!”

  “Run!” I shouted as the monster stopped its inhaling.

  The creature seemed to lean forward on all four of its legs. It bent its head toward the ground. I stopped to watch as the monster opened its mouth wide and roared.

  I felt a wall of force slam into me. My feet slipped on the grass of the meadow as the monster’s roar thundered down the valley. I leaned forward trying to stay upright.

  The roar seemed to go on forever. Then it stopped as abruptly as it had started. The valley seemed unnaturally silent for a moment, and then the monster huffed once.

  I looked up. Soldrin lay face down in the grass some hundred yards from where I stood. The monster did not seem to see him as it was looking past me towards where the herd was. I wanted to glance over my shoulder, but the monster’s pace made taking my eyes off it risky.

  The creature’s route veered to my right. I scurried trying to stay between it and whatever creature it was seeking. The monster ignored me as it continued to advance.

  It was about ten yards away and still moving briskly when I lunged forward. I aimed the point of the spear just under its jaw, hoping to get a hit on its neck. The monster ignored my stab, but the hair of the mane appeared to reach out to wrap around the blade of the spear.

  I swept the blade back and forth as I backed up. Fur from the mane rained down on the ground. Several of the strands appeared to try to grab at the blade of the spear as I retreated. The monster ignored my action as I was forced backwards.

  I tried to reset the spear for another lunge, but the monster’s advance kept me from being able to pull the blade back far enough to aim it. The hair of the mane kept reaching out for the spear, trying to grab it and pull it from my hands.

  Behind me I could hear panicked lowing from our group’s herd of cattle. I looked down at the monster’s feet. There had to be a way to slash a leg with the spear to slow the monster down, but when I looked at the feet they appeared to be made of skin over bone, with little to no muscle. The skin appeared rock-like.

  The lowing behind me was getting louder. I was going
to lunge and pray I got the spear past the monsters mane when it stopped and roared in pain. I continued backing up and could see a crossbow bolt protruding from the monster’s left ear. It shook its head trying to dislodge the projectile as I backed up a few more feet.

  “Nice shot!” I heard Lenoir shout.

  I set my feet as the monster continued to shake its head. It was too tall for me to aim for the eyes. I looked for an opening in the chest or shoulder. It looked like I would have to charge blindly when there was a flash of light to my left.

  The monster ignored the flash. I could see two bolts of purple light flying toward the creature. The first was aimed right at the creature’s right eye, but it never arrived. Hairs from the mane lashed out and swatted the bolt. It sailed off to the south.

  The second magic missile hit the monster in the right front leg. The purple light seemed to flow around the bone that made up the lower leg. The monster howled in surprise and turned to look to the south where the missiles had come from.

  The act of turning its head had opened up a tiny opening between the mane and the left shoulder of the monster. I lunged with all my might, trying to get the spear past the defending mane before the creature could react. The hair lashed out, but I was able to push the spear through the strange beast’s hide before the spear’s movement was halted.

  I was dragged from my feet as the monster whirled in response to the cut. The spear was knocked out of the wound and the hair holding it tore from the mane as I clung to the weapon. The monster snapped at the blade as I fell backwards into the grass.

  “Get it!” someone shouted. “Quick before it attacks someone.”

  “Loading,” Aine shouted back breathlessly as I scrambled up onto one knee. The monster shuffled around. It seemed to be favoring its left leg as it glared down at me from less than ten feet away.

  “Cimbra, if you can cast that light spell you taught Shaylin, hit this thing in the eyes,” I shouted. I had to dance back as the monster leapt for me. The ground shook as its jaws just missed me.

  I slashed with the spear as I moved to my right. The monster turned, following me with its body and keeping its head facing me.