CH 1
374 years after the Cataclysm
The thickly muscled human man with his black hair tied back in a ponytail and his nose bearing a hump form being broken long ago walked down the wooden sidewalk in a human town. His eyes that bore the look of someone who had fought too long and lost too much, wandered over to see the sign for the slave traders' on the other side of the dirt street. He stepped down the stairs of a general store and walked across the street, dodging the horse piles.
The rain cloak he wore was getting uncomfortably warm, but he had to deal with it to hide what he was carrying. The weapons he wore on his upper thighs by belts around hips hips, canted to make the weapons lower, he had acquired in the other world and he didn't want anyone seeing them. This world, Kyrnn, was the world of magic. If a wizard managed to get their hands on one, he was sure they could duplicate them.
That was the last thing he wanted, for then, he would loose a critical advantage.
For a decent sized town with a two other streets running along with the main road, he was surprised there wasn't more traffic. A horse and rider heading out of town, a wagon in front of the slave traders, a band of soldiers leaning on their spears by a buckboard wagon back by the constable's office, a blacksmith in front of his shop, talking to a couple farmers. He liked it this way, fewer people to see or remember him. It just seemed odd.
Going into the slave traders', the man noted four men, all armed with swords. Two stood in the back of the room by the entrance to the wooden cages where several elves sat in straw. Another stood by the desk a man was lounging behind, and the fourth approached him.
"Can we help you?" the guard asked.
He spoke in a heavy tone. "Name's Eric. Came to see Chas."
"About?" the guard prodded.
"Our business, not yours," Eric stated.
The bald man behind the desk sat up. "Eric Carvon?" he asked.
"Yeah," Eric replied.
"Follow me," the man said and got up to open a door beside the slave cage.
Eric followed him in. One of the slaves, a starvation thin female in a gray shift with mats in her light brown hair, lifted her head and eyed him, her eyes growing large as she follow him out of sight.
The man shut the door to the store room and said, "I'm Chas. I didn't think you were coming."
"Got held up," Eric replied. Looking around at the few crates beside some stacked barrels, he asked, "You got the gold here?"
Chas laughed. "You're joking, right? Did you bring 500 pounds of steel with you?" he asked in return.
Eric eyed him. "It's safe. You see the steel after I see the gold."
Wearing a smirk, Chas asked, "I still don't understand it. You will trade me steel for gold, even weight. Are you off in the head? You do realize steel is worth five times it's weight in gold?"
"You want to trade, or not?" Eric asked heavily.
"I'd be a fool not to. That is, if all this steel really exists, and not in the form of men waiting to ambush me. Hell, I'll even throw in a slave," he said with a chuckle. Chas' face then hardened, "But if you're planning a double cross, I'll be throwing you in the ground."
Eric ignored his threat. In an even tone, he said, "Bring the gold down to the stable. I look over the gold, you look over the steel. If we're happy, you take the steel, I take the gold and come back next year and we do it again."
"All right, meet you there in an hour," Chas agreed.
They walked out of the room, Eric scanning the room again out of habit.
"TANIS!" a female voice cried.
Eric turned to see one female elf gripping the wooden bars as she stared at him. Even for an elf she was thin, her long tangled light brown hair hung down, partially obscuring her face. The gray shift she wore hung loosely off her shoulders.
"Tanis, you have to get me out of here!" she cried.
"Name's not Tanis, lady," Eric told her. He walked on, heading for the door.
"Tanis, STOP! You have to help me!"
"SHUT UP, slave!" a guard barked, and smacked the bars with the flat of his sword.
Chas laughed and said, "Let her out. Hey, Eric, here's the slave I promised you."
Eric had made it to the doorway. He turned to see the guard opening the cage door. "No need, don't want one," he said.
The door opened and the scraggly elf in a gray shift raced over and ran into him hard enough to make him stumble as she hugged him. Chas laughed.
Eric pulled the elf off him and cast Chas a frown.
"A crazy bitch she is, but she should be good for something," Chas said, then mimicked holding something in his hands as she bounced them back and forth in front of his crotch, which got the guards laughing.
"Tanis, don't you know who I am?" the elf asked in a whine, casting Eric a pleading gaze.
"No clue, and stop calling me that! The name's Eric!" Eric barked.
"I'm your princess, Laurana!" the elf insisted, which brought more chuckles from the men.
"Got her sold twice, and she didn't last the day," Chas said, grinning broadly. "The men who bought her accepted only half their money in return just so I'd take her back."
Eric glowered at him. To the elf he asked, "Can you do any work?"
The elf frowned at him, casting him an indignant look and said, "Me? I'm a princess, I don't work!"
"Right. Back in the cage," Eric said, spinning her around.
"Wait, no, no! I'll work! Just don't put me back in there!" she cried as she struggled.
Eric let her go. To Chas, he said, "You get her back after I'm loaded up to go."
Grinning broadly, Chas nodded.
.
"I knew you'd save me," the elf said, fawning over Eric as they crossed the street. In a more conspiratorial tone, she said, "And I know why you can't admit to who you are. There are plenty of people who would just love to hold you for ransom too, isn't there? You want me to call you Eric in front of other people. That's OK..."
This was one of the reasons Eric hated coming back to Krynn, people here were crazy. Unfortunately, it was the only place where he could sell cheap steel for gold. The dimensional portal he had allowed him to cross between North America, and Krynn. Carrying steel here, and gold back, he was making himself very wealthy.
"...Tanis, Tanis, are you listening to me?" the elf asked in a hiss.
Eric grumbled. "OK, look," he said, stopping to glare at her. "My name really is Eric. I'm not Tanis, and you certainly are NOT Laurana. You got that?"
"All right then, who am I?" she asked, staring back at him.
"I don't know," Eric replied firmly.
"I KNOW who I am."
"You're really whacked in the head."
Drawing herself up, the elf said, "What is my name then?"
Eric didn't have time for this. "Pick one!" he spat, and headed for the stables.
Thankfully, Eric managed to get to the stables without hearing any more crazy talk from the elf. The stable master had fed and watered his horse, leaving the animal hitched to the wagon as Eric requested. Going to the back of the wagon, Eric climbed in and moved his supplies away from the compartment under and behind the seat, then climbed out.
The elf grabbed a keg, wrapping her thin arms around it as she struggled to try and pull it off the back.
"What are you doing?" Eric asked, frowning at her.
Frowning back at him, the elf said, "You want to unload this wagon, right?"
"No, leave that where it is."
"Then why are you moving stuff around?" she asked. "You wanted me to work, didn't you?"
" Just ... sit down," Eric said, not knowing what else to do with her. Going over to the railing around the stable yard, Eric propped up a foot on the lower rail and looked down the street towards the Slave Traders. He noticed a couple guards coming out to the wagon parked there.
The stable master, a middle aged man with a paunch, came over to Eric. "Staying the night?" he asked.
"If I'm lucky, no,"
"I hate to charge ya for just feeding and watering, but..." the man said hesitantly.
Eric dug into his clothes and pulled out a silver coin. "Will this do?"
"Sure. Thanks mister."
Eric continued to watch down the street as the guards and Chas mounted the wagon.
"I'm hungry, any food in this wagon of yours?" the elf called over to him.
"Got jerky in that bag hanging off the seat. Don't eat it all," Eric called back as he watched the street. Chas and his band were heading this way.
"How about something to drink?"
"Water canteen should be right there by the jerky," Eric said as he watched the wagon turn between some buildings.
"Want some?"
"No."
A couple moments later, the wagons reappeared on the street and came down to the stable yard. Eric went over behind his wagon as the elf was attacking the jerky. Sitting in the empty place by the seat he'd made, she munched it down like she hadn't eaten in days.
Chas pulled his wagon up along side Erics'. Watching the elf stuff her face, he cracked a grin. "Feeding her already? She already ate this morning," he said with a crooked grin.
"The gold?" Eric asked.
Chas got down, and so did his guards. Eric looked to see a bag in the middle of the wagon floor. Chas climbed in the back, opened the bag and produced a handful of gold coins. "Got your gold, where's the steel?"
Eric got up on the wagon with Chas and checked the bag. It was indeed full of gold coins. "No five hundred pounds here, two and a half at the most. I'll still trade you even up," he mussed.
Eric went over on his own wagon. He got out the scales and set them on a keg, then picked up the elf and planted her on the seat to get her out of the way. Reaching down, he pulled up a couple floor boards and began taking out two by four inch steel bars a foot long. He got out ten, then motioned to the scale.
"Check that scale then we'll put steel on one side, gold on the other," he told Chas.
Chas' eyes were riveted on the steel. "You really got five hundred pounds there, huh?"
The greedy look in Chas' eye told Eric this deal was about to go bad. Two of his guards were holding crossbows in his general direction.
"I got enough to trade ya," Eric said, eyeing the guards.
Chas looked around, then waved a hand, beckoning Eric to continue. "Bring it all out," he said.
"Put some gold on that scale, first," Eric said evenly.
Chas grew an unpleasant smile. "Seems like you made a big mistake. You've got no one to cover your back, do ya?" he asked.
"You might wanna think twice about trying to cheat me," Eric warned. "Do yourself a favor, stick to the deal."
"I think we'll make a new deal," Chas said. "You hop off that wagon and walk away, and you get to live."
"It's gonna be like that, huh?" Eric asked.
"Yeah, it's gonna be like that," Chas said in a hard tone. "Get down. We don't wanna kill you unless we have to."
Eric started walking toward the back. The crossbows came up. He stopped. Glancing down the street he noticed that the soldiers and wagon was gone.
"Get off the front," Chas stated heavily as he drew a sword.
"Do you believe in a God? You're askin to meet him." Eric asked as he glanced at the guards. Only two had crossbows and they were on either side of Chas. The other two stood with their hands on the pommels of their swords, looking smug.
"Boys, if he doesn't turn around and get off that wagon, kill him," Chas growled.
"Suppose you want the gold in my purse too, huh?" Eric asked heavily as he stared Chas down.
With a sneer, Chas said, "Yeah, why not. Let's have it."
"You got it," Eric stated. He reached into his cloak. Instead of his belt purse, he pulled a .50 caliber revolver. He crouched as he shot, palming the hammer and pulling the trigger in quick succession. Chas recoiled as the back of his head blew out, then one crossbow bearing guard took a bullet to the head. The other jerked his trigger, sending a bolt flying past Eric just before Eric blew his head apart.
The blasts spooked the horses. The horse on Eric's wagon shuffled nervously in place, the one hitched to the other wagon bolted. In two running steps, Eric jumped off his wagon to land and point his pistol at the two remaining guards that stood with shocked looks on their faces.
"You might wanna try your luck with those swords, then again, ya might not," Eric told them.
The guards responded. They fled.
The yard gate was closed. The horse that bolted ran around the stable yard, looking for a way out. When the wagon tipped over from his frantic attempt at escape, the horse struggled, whinnying as it kicked at the wagon. It broke loose and got a good galloping start and jumped the fence to thunder off down the road.
Eric noted his scales had tipped over. Holstering his pistol, he pointed to the back of his wagon and told the startled elf gapping at him, "Put the steel away, and straighten things up back there."
Climbing up on the seat, Eric drove his wagon over beside the tipped wagon. He dragged what was left of the gold in the bag over to his wagon and hefted it on. Maybe two hundred pounds were in the bag. On the ground, Eric figured there was maybe another twenty. He also noticed people were coming out. Including the constable and a pack of soldiers.
"What... was that?" the elf asked in a squeak.
"Deal gone bad," Eric stated. He got back up on the seat and drove to the gate, which a perplexed Stable Master opened for him.
Jerking his thumb back at the tipped wagon, Eric said, "Sorry for the mess, whatever is left there is yours."
Leaving the stable yard, Eric made a point to drive away from the constable and his men. Someone called for him to stop. Fat chance. Eric snapped the reins. "Ya!"
Thankfully, this was the way he wanted to go anyway.
.
Eric was expecting to be chased. He wasn't disappointed. Right after he cleared the town, a pair of riders were galloping after him. He waited until they were closing on him, then stood up, pulled his pistol and aimed low on the lead horse. His shot hit it and the horse folded, pitching the rider off and sending his sword flying. The other rider reined back and decided not to follow him.
Eric then noticed the elf was staring at him.
"You ... are a wizard?" she asked in disbelief.
Eric eyed her. "Nope." He looked back to see the gold still where he'd put it. The steel bars were now scattered in the back of the wagon. "Put that steel away and drag that gold up under the seat, would ya?" he asked.
"But, you have magic, you MUST be a wizard." she stated.
"Do what I ask or I toss you off," Eric replied.
With a grumble, the elf climbed in the back. "You could at least stop and make this easier!" she complained. Then after a moment, "This stuff it heavy!"
Eric ignored her.
.
Eric drove the wagon for the rest of the day. Coming upon a village, he drove straight through. When he got to an intersection, he took the most traveled path. A while later he came upon a stream. The sun was getting low in the sky, it was time to stop. He drove the wagon into a field, just off the road and parked behind some bushes.
Eric tethered the horse near the stream and made camp. As the elf helped him make a fire circle, he began to notice the smell wafting off her.
"Haven't bathed much, huh?" he asked.
"Slaves don't get to bathe," she replied, eyeing him.
"Stream's right over there," he said, nodding his head towards it.
The elf banged a rock down in place. Eyeing him with tears in her eyes, she said, "You're not really Tanis, are you? You're just another ... HUMAN who wants to have his fun with me, right?"
Eric let out a huff. No wonder no one wanted her. "Look lady, I already told you my name is Eric. And I hate to tell you, but you're filthy, skinny, and too nuts for me to even think about getting in the sack. You DO smell, so either you can go wash up, or I can drag you over there and wash you up!"
The elf backed off and balled her fists at her side as she yelled, "I don't like you either! I'm leaving!"
Eric waved his fingers at her. "Bye."
The elf stomped off for the road.
Eric let out a sigh of relief. He really hadn't planned on having an escort. It was bad enough that deal went sour. He was hoping for more trading partners. Getting up, he thought as he collected some firewood. A week or so down the road, he could still get that Black Knight to buy some steel. Although Eric didn't care about how he was 'helping the cause', he did like that the knight dealt squarely with him.
Getting an armload of sticks, Eric returned to his camp. The elf was sitting against one of the wagon wheels hugging herself.
"I thought you left?" Eric asked as he dropped his load by the ring of stones.
"IF you apologize, I'll stay," the elf said haughtily.
Eric started breaking sticks down to start a fire. He got a fire built and a pot of water over it to boil. Getting into the back of the wagon, he found the empty jerky bag. She'd scarfed it all down. Figured. He opened a barrel of salt pork and grabbed a chunk or meat.
Eric put the meat in the water, then went over and grabbed the elf by an arm and led her to the stream.
"What are you doing?" the elf asked as she stumbled along, resisting is pull.
Eric answer her by scooping her up in a bride's carry, walking into the stream, and dropping her in the water. She hit the water with a look of shock on her face. For some reason the look on her face just as the water parted in a splash, then covered her up, was hilarious. Eric leaned back and let out a roar of laughter.
Arms and legs flailing, the elf got her feet under her and stood up, sputtering water and curses. "You... you... BARBARIAN!" she screamed.
Eric quieted his laughter. "Need help washing?" he asked.
The elf rammed into him, trying to push him down. Eric barely moved from the attempt. She tried again, giving him her hardest shove. He twisted and pushed her arm aside, causing her to dive in again. In a swim/crawl she scrambled for the bank, hacking out coughs.
"Oh no," Eric said and grabbed the back of her shift. Pulling her back to him he said, "Wash first, that shift too. I'll get you a blanket." He pulled her backwards to fall on her butt and waded out.
The elf started crying as she sat in the water up to her shoulders. "You hate me, don't you! You're going to torture me next, right?" she wailed in sobs.
"Yeah, it's called making you sit and eat after you wash," Eric called back. "Hurry up before you freeze."
.
Eric kept his back to the steam as the elf spit curses at him. He did listen for splashing that indicated she was at least moving water around to get somewhat clean. "Your clothes too," he told the fire loudly. "Dunk it and wring it out a few times."
By the sounds coming from her, Eric chuckled at a thought of the expression: 'madder than a wet hen'.
The water was warming up. Eric bend and flexed the meat to crack the salt covering, picking off bits as it loosened up.
"I'm done, and I'm cold!" the elf announced.
Eric got up and retrieved a blanket. Watching the blanket as he unfolded it on his way to the stream, he couldn't help by see the elf standing on the bank, holding her soaked shift. As he saw her he stopped and gapped.
Eric knew she was thin. Now he saw how thin she really was. Not only could he see all her ribs, but her hip bones as well. Her arms were toothpicks. Her breasts were no more than nipples on flaps of skin. Her knees even stuck out. He wrapped the blanket around her and took the shift.
"Didn't feel you much, did they?" he asked without thinking.
"They wanted to keep me weak and helpless," she replied.
"Dinner's not ready yet, just ... go sit down by the fire," he told her. He wrung out the shift and laid it over a bush to dry. No wonder she had wolfed down the entire bag of jerky, the girl was starving.
The elf sat by the fire as Eric removed the salt covering on the meat. Once he had the salt removed, he pulled the meat out. The elf reached for it.
"Not yet," he said firmly, pulling it back out of her reach. "It's not done, you'll get sick if you try eating it now," he explained. To keep her from chowing down on the raw meat, he motioned to the wagon. "Got some vegetables in the box, left side, bout halfway back on the bed."
With a groan, the elf said, "Princess don't do common work," as she cast him haughty look.
"If you want to eat, you'll get to it," Eric countered.
The elf got up scowling at him. "Why are you treating me so terribly?" she asked indignantly.
"Because you're a pain in the ass. Move," Eric growled.
The elf stomped off toward the wagon. Eric dropped the meat on a stone, then dumped the salt water and refilled the pot half way from the stream.
With a knife, Eric chunked up the meat, then hacked up the vegetables and dumped them in. Eyeing the elf, he said, "You'll be doing this tomorrow."
"I never learned how to cook," she replied.
"Ain't hard. Just watch."
Eric stayed busy as the elf sat by the fire. He loaded some more wood on the fire, fed the horse, and dug a latrine pit. Looking up at the sky, he noticed more clouds were coming in. He set up the cover over the wagon and moved the supplies around so there was a place to lie down.
Steam rolling out of the pot and the aroma told Eric the stew was almost ready. In his kit, he only had one bowl and a deep dish plate. He grabbed them both and his two spoons.
Sitting down, Eric scooped a bowl of stew from the pot and handed it to the elf. The elf took a big spoon full and immediately spit it back out.
"Hot!" she cried.
"No shit," Eric grumbled. "Take smaller bites, and blow on it." He scoped up some stew with his plate. He didn't get much, but there was always more.
They ate for a while, each in their own thoughts. Eric finally said, "What do I call you? I can't just call you 'elf'."
"My name is Princess Laurana," the elf stated.
Eric rolled his eyes as he said, "It is not."
"Yes it is!" the elf insisted.
"I saw the Golden General, and you ain't her. SO, what is your name?" Eric asked in a hard tone.
Trying her best to cast him a regal stare, she asked, "What do you want to call me then?"
'Whacked in the head' was Eric's first thought. There was something wrong with this elf, she wasn't normal. That gave him an idea. Cracking a grin, he said, "Abby."
"Abby?" the elf asked, eyeing him.
Eric nodded. "Abby Normal. That's a good name for you. A proud name you should carry with dignity," he said, his eyebrow twitching from wanting to laugh.
"I've never head of anyone with the name of Abby before," she said cautiously.
Waving a hand at her, Eric said, "That makes you special then, doesn't it?"
The elf cocked her head in thought, then nodded. "OK fine, as long as I'm special," she agreed.
Looking down on her empty bowl, she held it out to Eric. "Tanis, may I have some more?"
"Name's Eric. Get it right, and you can have all the stew you want."
"Fine , Eric," she said, stressing his name. "May I have some more?"
"Sure, just dip your bowl in the pot," he told her.