Chapter 32

Philippe and Marc, two men from Robert’s tribe, showed up five days later. It was already late, so we got them warmed and fed before preparing places in the cabin for them to sleep. The rest of us moved our beds closer together to make room. “You’re trek captain, Matt,” Marc said. “Robert wanted us to ask how soon you could begin working with our people to get us ready to leave.”

“We can start tomorrow,” I said. “Philippe, how many of the tribe have weapons? Have they used them much? What about small children? How many are there, and how small are they? We’ll have to take their needs into account. Are there any pregnant women who might deliver within two or three months?”

They gave me the information I wanted. What Philippe didn’t know, Marc did. It would have been nice if everyone in the tribe already had good weapons, but no; weapons were hit-or-miss and some of the ‘spears’ still had wooden points. Most of the men at least had spears, although only a few had steel blades. Some had bows and a few arrows, but they were barely trained and the bows were not powerful enough. As for having used the weapons, few had ever done that.

Robert’s assessment of his tribe’s capabilities had been optimistic.

No one mentioned what hoops Robert had jumped through before his tribe agreed to make me trek captain, and neither Philippe nor Marc knew what the final vote had been.

Pavel had likely not approved. He was going to be trouble, sooner or later. He had a small group of followers, which made the problem worse. It meant that I would be leading a loose collection of three separate groups. Whether they would cooperate with each other remained to be seen. People would get used to working together after a couple of weeks, but I was going to be a busy man for a while!

Pavel and as many of his followers as possible would work with the scout and security crew. If we kept them busy and separated from the others, they might be too tired to cause trouble at night. Maybe give Pavel some responsibility and see how he handled it? Meantime, putting Pavel out front might just solve the problem, particularly after we began to encounter large animals. He would work with Lee or Robert, and if that wasn’t possible we’d put him with people that Robert trusted.

Lee or I would need to see what they could do, and I’d have to spend time making weapons and teaching others to make their own. I couldn’t depend on Robert’s people after we moved out, so it would come down to what we could do. I had my heavy bow, Lee and Laz had stronger ones than they’d had before as did the women in our group, but that was it.

The others not only needed better weapons, they needed to know how to use them and they needed experience. There just wasn’t time to do everything! They would have to learn during the trip, and as for experience? Gaining it was going to cost lives. If there was a consolation to the knowledge, some, perhaps all, would die if we stayed here.

There wouldn’t be a lot of time to get them equipped and trained, but we would do our best. To start with, we would make heavier bows and give Robert’s men as much time to practice as we could. Heavier bows need heavier arrows too, but someone else would have to make those. Sandra or Millie could show them how. The men’s lighter bows and arrows could at least be passed on to the women, but they would need to practice with them. Lilia, maybe?

There were no women in late pregnancy, but there were three young children. The trip would be hard on them, no question. They would have to ride on the sleds during the day and someone would have to be responsible for them at night. Were they even eating solid food yet? Sandra could check on that.

I gave Lee a private briefing before he left. “Watch out for Pavel. Put him to work if you can, but don’t take any back talk. If you have problems, get Robert involved if you have time. But you’re in charge of security, so you’re third in command. I’ll back whatever decisions you make, and if you need to act, do whatever is necessary.

“As to that work I mentioned, Pavel can make arrows or build sleds until we’re ready to leave. I intend to put him to doing something every day to keep him out of mischief and I’ll try to keep him separated from his little gang. Make the other easterners mix with the others and work for the tribe.”

The next morning Laz and Lee loaded a small sled, then joined Marc and Philippe when they left for Robert’s village.

I salvaged as many of the steel blades Robert had given me as I could, then attached them to the last of my spear blanks. Some were bent and dented, which had caused them to be sent to the scrapyard, but I was able to straighten them and pound out the worst of the dents. Sharpening them with the file and a stone did much to repair the remaining damage.

The rest of the steel went into a pack, along with spear blades I’d chipped from obsidian. Maybe Robert’s group had someone who could make spears. There wouldn’t be enough steel blades, but obsidian was better than the wooden points anyway. Eventually, we’d figure out a way to salvage the rest of the metal.

Lilia and I took the trail the following morning. Sandra, Millie, and Cindy remained behind, preparing our own gear for travel.

We needed to teach the tribe, but what? They had some skills, even if those were adapted to village life, which would be a help. We could build on those. Following the trail to Robert’s village was routine now, and traveling gave me time to think. I kept mulling over what needed to be accomplished before we left. For now, Lee, Lilia, and I would teach. If Robert or his people had the skills we needed, they could help too. What the tribespeople didn’t learn before we left, they’d learn on the trail, but that would at the least be time consuming. So our first few days after departure would progress slowly.

We would take essentials such as food, but nothing else because we couldn’t afford the extra weight. As for whatever else we found while on the trek, we simply couldn’t accept the extra weight!

Considering the lack of weapons skills among Robert’s people, I figured their camping abilities wouldn’t be much better. Everyone would have to do routine tasks and be willing to pitch in to help others get them done, whether they liked it or not. We would also have to share things.

Personal weapons, clothing, and emergency kits, those belonged to the individual. Cook-pots were a tribal asset, as was food. A sled could hold bedding for four adults, and there would doubtless be some switching among groups as people adjusted to the hardships of the trip. Even my own small group might undergo some rearranging!

How to set up a camp and get tired people fed and bedded down; how to break down the camp and pack everything on the sleds next morning, and after we abandoned the sleds, divide the goods into pack and travois loads. What to look for in assessing whether a sled needed an immediate fix or whether repairs could wait until evening; for that matter, how to do repairs without wasting scarce supplies. Add to that, how to build a shelter out of snow. Shelters later on would be made from whatever we could find, but we could figure that out when we got there. How to put up a protective barrier or organize a defense while the rest escaped; these would be essential trail skills. We couldn’t foresee every problem, but the more knowledge the tribespeople had, the better our chance of survival.

We were nomads. Living in the cabin and in Robert’s village had masked that fact, but we’d have realized it soon even without the problem caused by raiding mine guards or a harsh winter. Knowledge? We had a lot, much of it useless. It would help us build a civilization after we quit moving, but in terms of practical knowledge the nomads of my own timeline knew much more than we did.

We had no old or sick people to care for; if we had any advantage at all, that was it. As for the incompetent, lazy, or uncooperative, we might have to deal with that issue at some point.

In addition to better weapons, Robert’s people needed emergency kits. Maybe they had some of the things we’d need. Otzi the Ice Man, frozen into a Swiss glacier centuries before my time, had such a packet. Our versions, mine and the others of my group, contained a small flint knife, a length of cord, a piece of steel, and tinder. The knives had short blades and rawhide wrapping for the handle, with thicker flint exposed at the handle end. The rawhide could be unwrapped and used to make a snare, the steel could produce sparks by striking the exposed flint of the knife’s hilt, the cord could be used for another snare or fishing line. No hooks, but I’d taught the others how to make their own.

Every adult on the trek would need such a kit, all enclosed in a pouch that would be tied to their belt. Deerskin pouches were easy to sew so Robert’s people could do that, but steel strikers and flint might not be available.