The Portal: Doorway To Adventure: Chapter 5Home « The Portal: Doorway To

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Posted: March 12, 2005 - 03:32:01 am



Sid stood in the middle of the road waiting for the three men to arrive with the

damsel he was to rescue. It was approaching noon and that was a problem. He had

expected them to arrive by now and wondered what was holding them up. He hoped

that it was because they were lazy or the damsel was fighting her situation. It

wouldn't be good if they were late because she was holding them up because she

couldn't keep up. It would be even worse if they had changed routes.

He resumed his stretching exercises expecting that he was going to have to fight

soon. The exercises also helped pass the time. Another half-hour passed before

the party finally came around the bend of the road. As they approached his

location, he had his first chance to study his opponents. There were three of

them, each a very rough looking character. He recalled his briefing about each

of the men.

Leading the trio down the road was the man they called Harold One-Eye. He got

his name after loosing his left eye in a bar fight. Physically he was a very

short and stocky man, but very strong. Often he would earn money by bending

horseshoes with his bare hands. He looked like a hard man, but was actually a

man who became tired of working too hard for the little he earned. It was clear

by the large club he carried that he wasn't a highly trained fighter. Of course,

a man with a club didn't need to be highly trained.

Walking behind Harold was the man they called Smart Art. He was the true leader

of this little gang, primarily because he was the smartest of them all. That

wasn't saying much since the other two were challenged in the brains department.

He had a bow slung over his shoulder. The bow wasn't as much a cause for concern

since it was broken. The real threat was in the form of the beat up sword that

he carried in his hand. The fact that he carried it in his hand suggested that

the sword wasn't his normal weapon. If it were, he'd have gotten a sheath for it

and taken better care of it.

Stumbling behind Smart Art, a young woman struggled with the rope tied around

her hands. He recognized her as Jennifer Secretary of Norwalk, the damsel who he

was supposed to rescue. She appeared to be somewhat overweight by earth

standards, but he thought her attractive. At 5'7" and 150 pounds, she wasn't

exactly fat. She had the same kind of figure as one of the sex symbols of the

late fifties - an hourglass figure with soft curves.

Bringing up the rear and prodding Jennifer along was Giant Johnny. At 6'6" and

250 pounds, he was a very large man for Chaos. He tended to use his height and

weight to overcome his opponents in a fight. He could take a punch to the chin

and gut very well, to the point where it had almost no effect. His only weapon

was a club and Sid knew that he was fairly good with it. However, the big man

never turned down the chance to fight unarmed against another unarmed man. Giant

Johnny, stupid as a post and just as mean as he was stupid, enjoyed the

sensation of breaking bones with his bare hands.

The party stopped about ten paces from Sid taking in his relaxed posture with

his staff clearly in hand for use. Irritated at the delays that they had already

experienced that day, Smart Art waved Giant Johnny up to the front to take care

of the problem. As Johnny stepped forward, Art challenged, "Who are you to stand

in our way?"

"I am Sid Jones," answered the young man watching Giant Johnny move. The one

word that Sid would not use in describing Giant Johnny was graceful. The big man

had a grin on his face as if he were looking forward to a chance to fight

someone.

"Why are you here?" asked Art.

Sid looked over at Jennifer and saw that she was uninjured. He had expected as

much since that would make it easier for them to sell her. He answered, "You are

trying to sell that young woman into an indenture using forged papers. I am here

to stop you."

Jennifer reacted to his pronouncement by looking up at the young man with hope

in her eyes. Her excitement quickly fell as she compared him to the three men

guarding her. She decided that he didn't stand a chance against the giant.

Disheartened, she stared at the ground hoping that the man wouldn't get killed

on account of her. So far, her trip to Chaos had been perfectly miserable and it

promised to get worse. If they sold their forged papers of indenture to someone

else, the new papers would be legal. She faced a future of prostitution to pay

off the indenture.

The fact that the young man knew about the forged papers disturbed Smart Art,

but he didn't dwell on it. A quick beating by Giant Johnny and this guy wouldn't

be able to create any problems for them. All they had to do was get one person

to pay for her indenture and they'd get away with at least a thousand conches.

He laughed and replied, "It's no business of yours. Get out of our way."

"I can't do that," replied Sid bracing himself for the attack that he knew would

come. The time spend stretching had been well invested.

"Get him, Johnny."

The huge man lumbered up waving his heavy club as though it were as light as a

feather. One blow from that club and Sid would be history. The story of David

and Goliath flashed through his mind. Sid didn't waste a moment and jammed the

end of his staff into the center of the giant's forehead with as much force as

he could. The big man took another step forward as though sleepwalking and then

fell to the ground unconscious. Sid stepped back to avoid the falling giant,

hoping that he hadn't killed him.

Smart Art shouted in dismay and anger at seeing the big man fall. Without a

second thought, he raised his sword and charged forward with the intent of

skewering Sid on the point of his sword. Expecting the reaction, Sid stepped to

the side while swinging his staff to the back of his attacker's head. Art flew

past and landed on his face, not to move for the next several hours.

There was only one man left facing Sid and he looked shocked at what he had

seen. Without waiting for Harold to attack, Sid landed a blow across the top of

the squat man's head. Sid had a vision of a cartoon character crumpling like an

accordion as the man went down to the ground in a heap. Harold One-Eye would see

double for the next few days as a result of that blow.

Facing the amazed young woman, Sid bowed and said, "Greetings, Jennifer

Secretary of Norwalk."

Jennifer stared at him for a moment unable to believe that he knew her real

name. Only a hero from Earth could possibly know her real name. The smile that

broke across the young woman's face was priceless. It was motivated by more than

a mere rescue from a life of prostitution, but the realization of a dream come

true. She curtsied and, in a voice that promised pleasures untold, said, "I am

yours to do with as you please."

That was not exactly the response that Sid had expected. Smiling, he said, "That

must wait for later. For now, we must make good your rescue."

Jennifer came over to Sid and took his hand. Her eyes practically devoured his

body. She had heard rumors about how heroes performed in bed. After seeing him

in action, she started to believe that those rumors were true. She thought that

the sooner she was off this planet, the sooner she would know the truth.

Excited, she said, "Yes, let's go."

The sound of a man clearing his throat from a spot beside the road caused Sid to

spin around with his staff ready to use. Derek, leaning against a tree with his

arms crossed against his chest, was watching them with an amused smile on his

face. He wasn't amused by the skill he had seen, but the willingness of the

woman to do whatever Sid might ask. Gesturing with his head towards the men on

the ground, he said, "You may wish to collect your spoils of war before you go.

You are entitled to all that they carry."

Surprised to see the man standing there, Sid asked, "What are you doing here?"

"We were curious what you were doing and Gregor sent me to watch," answered

Derek. The strange routine of bending and stretching had puzzled him for the

first hour that he had watched Sid. It reminded him of the sparring matches, but

there was no one on the road. It was when the men showed up that he realized

that Sid had been preparing to fight. The fight in the middle of the road was an

extraordinary example of martial arts. He would remember what he had seen for

the rest of his life. He nodded in the direction of Jennifer and said, "I see

that you had a rescue to perform. I shall not speculate as to how you knew where

to be."

Sid shrugged his shoulders in a gesture that didn't convey anything. He was not

sure that he trusted Derek. The sudden appearance of the man here in the middle

of nowhere was rather disconcerting. Gregor had asked a lot of questions, most

of them dealing with his background. He waited to see what the other man would

do before moving.

Raising an eyebrow at the delay, Derek went over to Giant Johnny and retrieved

the coin purse. Opening it, he removed the contents - three quids and nine

pinches. He tossed them over to Sid and dropped the coin purse next to the large

man. A search of the body didn't reveal any other possessions or weapons other

than the club. Looking up at Sid, Derek asked, "Do you want his club?"

"No," replied Sid as he examined the quid. It was twice the size of a pinch, but

had four times the gold embedded in the glass. He added the coins to his coin

purse.

Derek moved over to Smart Art and removed his coin purse. After untying the

purse strings, he dumped the coins into his hand and shook his hand to spread

the coins out so that he could count them. Although it wasn't a huge amount of

money, it was more than he had expected to find on such a low-life. Frowning, he

said, "Here's another ten shells."

At the statement, Jennifer's eyebrows shot up. She was aware of how much money a

shell represented. She hadn't expected that any of those men had more than one

shell ever in their lives, much less ten. That much money was two weeks worth of

wages and could keep a person at an inn for three weeks.

A pinch was named after a pinch of gold and would buy a meal in most inns. Four

pinches became known as a quid and two quid would pay for one night at an inn.

Four quids made up a shell because that amount of gold dust would fill a small

shell. A shell was the basic wage for a day of work. Fifty shells made up a

conch. Most people would never see a conch although many might have that much in

savings stashed in a jar buried somewhere.

Sid caught nine of shells while dropping one. He knelt down and picked up the

one that he had dropped. A shell was twice the size of a quid and had four times

the gold embedded in the glass. He added the coins to his coin purse. He

commented, "The guy probably robbed someone. It would explain the money and

sword."

"They grabbed me a couple of day ago. I don't think he had a chance to rob

someone."

Sid went over to where Smart Art lay on the ground and picked up the sword.

Despite the abuse that it had been given, the blade could be salvaged. As he

examined the blade, he said, "Judging by the condition of the sword, he got it a

couple of weeks ago."

Derek pointed over at Smart Art and said, "He's got a knife in his boot. That's

yours if you want it."

After slipping the sword into his belt, Sid searched the boots and came up with

a knife. It was far better than the knife fragments that he had been using up to

then. He looked at the bow strapped to the back of Smart Art and frowned when he

realized that it had broken. Bending down, he saw that the wood layers had

separated a long time before this particular fight. The bow was worthless.

Derek, bending over Harold, commented, "You noticed the bow."

"Bad glue job," said Sid while shaking his head. It was a bad glue job coupled

with poor treatment that had ruined the bow.

Derek threw a couple coins to Sid as he said, "Here's another three quid and six

pinches."

Sid added them to his purse, which now was very heavy with coins. He tied the

coin purse to his belt. He went over to where Harold One-Eye lay and kicked away

the club. A search didn't reveal any other weapons. He looked at Derek squatting

on the other side of Harold and said, "We're going back the way we came."

"Good. I'll walk with you until we reach the orchard," replied the man.

Jennifer, still afraid that her ordeal wasn't over, waited until Sid had stepped

over to her. She whispered to him, "Can we trust him?"

"We shall see, won't we," answered Sid with a wink at her before glancing over

at the man.

As they walked, Derek replayed what he had seen in his mind. One man against

three and the one had won with ease. He said, "It took you three blows to take

out three opponents. I don't feel so bad about losing to you when we sparred."

"Thank you. Of course, I knew they'd never had any training," said Sid.

"Why would you think that?" asked the man although the answer was obvious to

him.

"They didn't know how to take care of their weapons," said Sid with a snort of

disdain. The edge of the blade was nicked and it would take a major sharpening

effort to fix the problem. The bow had been ruined by mistreatment. The clubs

were basic weapons that required no maintenance.

"You're right," said Derek who had recognized their lack of training by the

amateur moves they made when attacking. It was interesting that Sid had known

before they had attacked. He walked beside Sid and Jennifer lost in thought as

he considered the pair. It was an interesting question concerning how Sid knew

that the woman needed rescuing.

As they walked down the road, Sid considered what they would do about lodging

for the night. The delay in waiting for them to arrive and then going through

their possessions had pushed the time into well after noon. The town was too far

to make by nightfall. The nearest place to stay was the orchard where he had

worked and that was a good two-hour walk. As far as he could tell, that was the

only possibility. He would have to pay for a room in the owner's house for the

night.

"Sid Jones," said Jennifer as she recalled his name. She didn't know much about

names on Earth, but the name Jones couldn't be all that common. She did not know

that her assumption was incorrect. With a real sense of hope in her voice, she

asked, "Are you related to Gerald Jones?"

"He was my uncle," answered Sid.

"Was? You mean he's dead?"

"Yes."

"Poor Elizabeth Caretaker. She must be crushed," said the lovely woman. For

years, women of Cassandra had sung the praises of Gerald Jones. Elizabeth

Caretaker was the envy of many women because she was able to share the bed of

Gerald for so such a long time. She sighed and said, "All of my land shall mourn

his passing."

Walking a little off to the side of the couple, Derek listened to the

conversation with considerable interest. He wasn't sure what land Jennifer was

from, but it was clearly different than any lands of which he knew. In as casual

of a tone as he could command, he asked, "Who is Elizabeth?"

"The one true love of Gerald's life," answered Sid.

"That's such a sweet thing to say about her," said Jennifer.

"He loved her more than life and I know that his only regret in dying was that

he would never feel her in his arms again," said Sid knowing in his heart that

it was true. After meeting Elizabeth Caretaker, he could see how his uncle would

love her in such a fashion. He was halfway convinced that he felt the same about

Sally.

The young woman by his side burst into tears. Sid stopped and hugged her to him

as she openly wept. She kept repeating, "That's so romantic."

Derek watched the couple trying to figure out what was going on. Although Gregor

seemed to know a little about this Gerald Jones, he knew nothing. He became

convinced that this woman and Sid came from the same place, but he didn't know

where it was. He waited patiently for the woman to calm down so that they could

return to the orchard.

It took several minutes for Jennifer to recover from the news. When she did,

they continued on their way despite the fact that she was quiet and withdrawn.

In an attempt to make conversation, Derek asked, "What are you going to do with

that sword?"

"I'm going to keep it," answered Gerald. He reached down and ran a finger over

the grip. He added, "I prefer using a sword over the staff."

"You are trained in multiple weapons?" asked Derek surprised at the information.

If his claim were true, then he would have to be one of the greatest swordsmen

in the land.

"Yes," answered Sid. He was trained in weapons that didn't even exist on this

planet, but he couldn't say that. His uncle had suggested that he learn to use a

sword, staff, bow, and sling. His worst weapon was the sling, but he could still

bring down small animals with it.

"Not many men take the time to learn multiple weapons," commented Derek. The

common philosophy among men who earned a living with weapons was to study one

weapon and master it. Taking the time to learn another weapon detracted from the

time one could spend mastering the first.

"You never know what is going to happen, so it is best to be prepared to use

whatever is on hand," replied Sid.

Derek thought about that in terms of how he had been trained. The descendants of

nomadic tribesman established the Rider Clan and their weapon of choice was a

saber since it was easy to use from atop a horse. The charges of the Rider Clan

were famous throughout the land. Since then, almost all members of the clan kept

to the use of the saber.

Derek had learned to use a sword in the training camp of the Rider Clan and it

was the only weapon that he knew. His training had included a two-sword

technique and he had specialized in it. That training had made him a very

unusual opponent and a very valuable hire. Would multiple weapon skills have the

greater value? He would have to think that over. He said, "Interesting

philosophy."

"I take it you have only studied the sword," said Sid.

"Right," answered Derek. He glanced over at Jennifer to see her reaction. She

appeared to be totally disinterested in him and totally enamored with Sid.

"Perhaps we can spar again tonight," suggested Sid.

"Swords?"

"Sure, swords," answered Sid with a smile.

They arrived at the orchard two hours before dinner was to be served. Derek left

to report to Gregor, while Sid and Jennifer went off to locate the owner. It

took them a few minutes to find the owner. He was working at a barn where the

apples were being processed. At the door of the building, the first thing that

Sid noticed were the hundred huge barrels lining the walls. A large press was

located against the back of the barn and people were pouring apples into the

press.

Based on the set up, Sid decided they were making apple juice or apple cider.

Stepping into the barn, he smelled the unmistakable odor of fermentation. He

realized the owner was making applejack. It made sense that in a world without

refrigeration, applejack was the best mechanism for getting cash out of a large

apple orchard.

Sid watched the owner as he supervised the loading of apples into the press,

waiting to address the man when he wasn't so busy. Before he had waited even two

minutes, the owner noticed him and then the woman. Both eyebrows shot up in

shock at seeing the woman. Dropping what he was working on, he headed over to

the couple. Upon reaching them, he asked, "Are you back to pick apples?"

"No sir, I was wondering if you could put my companion up for the night in your

house," answered Sid. He wasn't worried about sleeping on the ground without a

bedroll for a third night, but his sense of chivalry wouldn't allow him to put

Jennifer in that situation.

The owner frowned upon hearing the request. The one thing that he didn't want to

do was open his house to migrant workers. He looked over at Sid and noticed the

sudden accumulation of weapons. The sword, a knife, and the staff made him a

very well armed man. Still frowning, he asked, "Just for her?"

"Yes, sir," answered Sid while she answered, "No."

After a quick exchange of looks between the two of them, Sid clarified, "Just

for her. I'll be outside keeping watch in case there are problems."

The suggestion that there might be problems bothered the owner even more. He ran

a small homestead that his father had built out of the wilderness. There was

just his wife and kids with three regular workers. He asked, "What kind of

problems?"

"Sir, three men tried to sell her into indenture with falsified papers. They are

disarmed, but in the general area," answered Sid.

Worried that they would try to rob him or the workers, the owner asked, "Does

Gregor know?"

"I'm sure that he knows by now. His man, Derek, was there when I rescued

Jennifer," replied Sid with a grin. He was sure that Gregor knew everything that

had happened on the road.

"Let me talk to Gregor and see what he recommends. If he says that she's okay,

I'll put her up for one night. I don't like to host people in my house. I

usually offer the bunk in off season, but I doubt she'd want to stay in there

with my three men," answered the owner. It surprised him that Gregor had sent

Derek to watch Sid.

"That sounds fair enough, sir," replied Sid getting a surprised look from

Jennifer in the process. He knew that she had expected him to be more forceful

in trying to get a room for her and for him. She had accepted that he would stay

outside to stand watch, but not that she might end up out there with him.

The pair walked off to a place where they could be alone while the owner of the

orchard went in search of Gregor. When they a good distance from everyone else,

Sid gestured for her to have a seat on the ground. He sat down beside her and

apologized, "I'm sorry about this, but there are some things you might need to

know. This is my first rescue and I came into Chaos with nothing, not even a

weapon."

"Oh," replied Jennifer fully aware that a first time rescue usually meant

failure. The fact that he chose to go up against three opponents on his first

time out impressed her. As it was, she could hardly complain about her rescue.

The fact that he might be able to arrange a bed for the night was more than she

could expect even from an experienced hero.

He removed his coin purse and poured the coins onto the ground in front of him.

Her eyes widened at the number of coins that he had acquired in his first

rescue. For his first time in Chaos, he had managed to acquire a lot of money.

Sid stacked the coins into three piles by denomination. When he finished, he

said, "I've got ten shells, seven quid, and sixty-eight pinches."

"That's a lot of coins," commented Jennifer realizing there was a reason for the

coin purse to bulge in the manner it had. He was walking around with half a

month's wages. She did a mental calculation and then said, "I'd trade in

forty-eight of those pinches for three shells. That'll give you twenty pinches,

seven quid, and thirteen shells."

"I'll talk to Gregor about doing that," replied Sid.

"Let me carry the forty-eight pinches. You don't want to count out that much

money where others can see," suggested Jennifer. She had spent almost six months

in Chaos and knew some of the dangers of life there. Although most of that time

had been spent working as a maid in a small homestead, she had seen enough to

know what could happen.

"Good idea," agreed Sid as he handed her the appropriate number of coins. This

money system was driving him crazy. He hadn't been shopping yet so he didn't

know how much anything cost. He put the rest of his coins into his coin purse

and then stood up. Reaching down, he helped Jennifer stand.

She followed him to where Gregor was seated behind the paymaster table. As he

stepped up, he said, "Hello Gregor. Did Derek give you his report?"

"Yes, he did," replied the big man without embarrassment. He examined Jennifer,

liking what he saw, and commented, "He said that you handled yourself quite

well."

"He thought I wouldn't?" asked Sid with a grin.

Laughing, Gregor answered, "Let's say you exceeded his expectations. That's rare

for someone to do."

Turning serious, Sid asked, "Can I exchange some pinches for shells?"

The question pleased Gregor and he answered, "You bet. I've been running low on

pinches. We pay out pinches for each basket, but run out after a while. Usually

people trade pinches for quids. How many pinches do you have?"

"I want to exchange forty-eight," answered Sid as Jennifer set the handful of

coins on the table.

Sliding coins off the table in batches of four, Gregor quickly counted them. Sid

watched thinking it would take him ages to get to the point where he could count

money that fast. When the last pinch disappeared off the table, Gregor dropped

three shells onto it. Sid picked up the three shells and added them to his coin

purse while he said, "Thanks."

"Thank you. I was getting worried about being able to pay people. This is the

last day of picking here and I had thought we'd misjudged the number of coins,"

answered Gregor with a smile.

"Glad to be of service," said Sid. He turned to Jennifer and said, "Allow me to

perform introductions. Jennifer, this is Gregor of the Rider Clan. Gregor, this

is Jennifer Secretary."

The reaction of Jennifer to the identity of the paymaster was instantaneous.

Almost everyone knew the heads of clans and Gregor was third in line for clan

leadership. She asked, "You're Gregor? The grandson of..."

Nodding his head at her honest reaction, Gregor answered, "I guess I have that

dubious distinction. I'm third in line for clan leadership."

Sid didn't react since that was not a big deal for him. He didn't think much of

an inherited title, particularly given his family background. Jennifer turned to

Sid and commented, "You don't seem impressed."

Shrugging, Sid replied, "He's Gregor. I'm Sid. We met and dealt with each other

like honest men. That impresses me more than his position in his clan."

The comment brought laughter to Gregor. The young man continually surprised him.

It was the first time that he had met someone outside the clan who judged him

for his deeds rather than his name. Even though he was third in line, he stood

an equal chance with the other four leading contenders at being chosen clan

leader by the clan council. Leadership of the clan was bestowed on the basis of

blood, competition, and politics rather than inheritance. Most people didn't

realize that. Shaking his head, he said, "I like you, Sid. I think that we can

be friends."

Sid's reply had left Jennifer speechless. She wondered if he understood fully

with whom he was dealing. It took her a minute to realize that Sid cared more

about the man than the reputation and she turned to examine him carefully.

Heroes were very different from the men of Cassandra, but knowing that and

seeing it were two different things.

"Yes, I think we can."

"I talked to Jack and she can stay in the house tonight. I recommended that he

charge three quid since he doesn't want it to become a regular thing," said

Gregor. It had seemed like a fair solution to him for both men. He had known

that Sid had the money since Derek had told him how much he had collected off

the brigands. It also sent a message to the other workers that it would cost

more than they could make in a day to stay in the house.

Sid thought about how much work it would be to earn three quid by picking

apples. It took a minute for him to realize that the cost of renting a room had

nothing to do with money, but protecting the privacy of the owner. He smiled and

said, "That's a fair deal for all concerned."

"It's highway robbery," countered Jennifer shocked at paying more for a bed here

than at a typical inn.

"Expensive yes, but robbery no. It protects the owner from having the people who

are working for him coming to him with the expectation that he'll put them up

for the night in his own home," replied Sid as he pointed to the forty or so

people that were working in the orchard.

Gregor was impressed that Sid had understood his rationale in the offer. Not

many people saw the various sides of an issue. It convinced him that Sid was in

line to take control over the Jones clan. Sid had already told him that his

weapon wasn't for hire. As much as he liked Derek, he knew that the man wouldn't

have seen the balance in this situation. He would enjoy having Sid as a partner,

despite the danger that partnering with an honest man entailed. Since he was an

honest man, it wouldn't be a danger at all.

Jennifer looked around at the migrant workers and realized the owner's problem.

She wouldn't want them in her house. Shrugging her shoulder, she replied, "I see

your point."

"Good. Let's get you settled in the house," said Sid.

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