by Allan Joyal
"I'm all for that," Steve said. "It's been nice to walk behind the sled for the past two weeks."
"I agree," Heather said as she turned and pressed her breasts into my chest. "I have been able to hold my sweetie while we traveled with the dwarves. I don't want him in that nasty harness again."
Everyone laughed. I spent a moment exchanging kisses with Heather. The kiss was interrupted by Gertilla calling out. "Nat!"
I broke off kissing Heather and turned to look at the snowbank. Natalie was lying on her back in the snow as a crowd started to gather around her. I could see Natalie's feet twitching and wondered what had happened. As we watched Esme bent down to check on her lover.
Natalie's right arm shot out and over Esme's neck. She pulled the French girl down and brought their lips together. Esme's arms flailed spastically for a moment and then sank into the snow on either side of Natalie.
"Go get her Natalie!" Victoria shouted from near me. "Show her you love her."
Esme's arms stiffened and she broke the kiss. She turned her head and glared at Victoria. "I'm showing her how much I love her," Esme said.
"Do you want us to throw down a bedroll?" I asked. "Perhaps we should pitch the tent so you'd have privacy."
Natalie gave a screech of outrage and rolled out of Esme's arms. The two lovers both stood up and started walking towards me.
Heather jumped out of my lap. "I'm not getting in the way," she cried as Natalie and Esme reached me and dumped handfuls of snow over my head. It felt surprisingly refreshing after weeks of marching, but I rolled over to my hands and knees and moaned.
Natalie dropped to her knees by my head. "Ron?" she asked. I watched for Esme, but Heather grabbed her around the waist. With one of the two under control, I reached out for Natalie's right arm and pulled her towards me as I sat back up. She fell across my legs.
"Ron!" Esme protested.
"What?" I asked. I looked over at the young woman. She was still held around the waist by Heather, but now had her hands covering her mouth. She used her right hand to point at my lap.
I looked down and realized that my tug on Natalie's arm had caused her to stumble so that her ass was directly under my left arm. I smiled up at Esme. "Oh, did you mean to tell me I have Natalie in a perfect position to punish her for covering me in snow?"
"Ron!" Heather snapped.
I playfully brought my left hand down on Natalie's ass. The slap was lighter than I used to high five someone, but even through the thick skirt Natalie wore the hit echoed. Natalie squeaked in surprise.
"Maybe next time I'll get hugs instead of ice," I mused as I quickly slapped Natalie four more times. Each slap was as soft as I could manage, but the young woman squirmed in my lap. Finally I lifted her torso.
"Did I hurt you?" I whispered in her ear.
"No," she whispered back. "But ... ."
"Grab your wife and a bedroll and sneak around behind a bush," I suggested. "Just take a knife or two just in case."
Natalie gigged. She offered me a hug and then leapt to her feet and ran over to grab Esme's hands. "Come, Love," she said while looking into Esme's eyes. "That brute doesn't need us for the afternoon and I'm hungry for a little sugar."
Esme gave me one last glare and then allowed Natalie to drag her off to the sleds. Steve and Lydia laughed as Heather stomped her way over to me. I grabbed her around her waist and pulled her into my lap before she spoke. "No," I said.
But," Heather began. I halted her from speaking with a kiss.
Heather returned the kiss for a moment and then pushed me away. "Ron," she said, trying to look me in the eyes.
I pressed my lips to hers again. This time I felt her fists beating lightly against my chest as I kissed her.
When I released her, there was anger in her eyes. "You can't."
I pulled her in a third time, kissing her again.
"You aren't winning this one," Lydia said. "So your choice is to punch him for real or keep kissing him."
Heather's arms went around my torso. Her tongue slipped between her lips and ran over my lips, seeking to enter my mouth.
I broke the kiss. "Right," I said. "Steve, watch the camp. I think Heather and I need ... ."
"To undertake some energetic negotiations," Steve finished with a laugh. "Don't give away the farm."
I had my right arm around Heather's waist. Using my left arm to balance her, I threw her over my shoulder and stood up. I could hear someone applauding as I carried Heather towards the sleds.
"Ron!" Heather said with a giggle.
I spanked her bottom with my left hand and then set her down on her feet next to the sleds. "Grab a bedroll, wife. I think we need some afternoon delight."
Heather giggled as she pulled a bundle of furs from the sled. She then turned and ran for a small cluster of bushes on the far side of the clearing. I gave chase as laughter erupted from the rest of the group.
A couple of hours later, Heather and I made sure our clothing was hanging on our bodies properly and then returned to the sleds. I slipped the bundle of furs into one of the sleds and then looked over at the group. The snowball fights had finished and I could see several of my friends lying on furs and dozing in the late afternoon.
Heather had her hand on my shoulder as we walked up. I found Kariy and Aine sitting next to each other. Aine had found the old squeezebox we had picked up long before and was experimenting with it. She had figured out how to use the various push buttons, but none of us had any idea how to turn the notes into a song. Kariy was quietly singing a lullaby while Shaylin and Gertrilla slept next to them.
Aine noticed our approach first and slowly pushed the squeezebox until it was closed. She used the attached cord to hold it secure and then held it out to me. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
I shook my head. "It was beautiful. We haven't had much music in our lives since we arrived here on Jord."
"But this doesn't belong to me," Aine protested.
I sat down so I could look at both ladies. Kariy had a smirk on her face. She had turned her head so that Aine could not see her expression.
"The items in the sleds belong to everyone," Heather said as she moved to sit on my lap. At first she wanted to sit facing me, but she quickly noticed that it meant having her back to Aine and Kariy. She shifted around until her butt was lying on my right thigh and draped her legs over my left leg. "We have no requirement that only Ron use that instrument. Only that you take care of it."
"I'm leading a commune," I said with a snort. "Just call me Commissar Ron."
Heather used her right hand to punch me. "No, you are leading a family. I'm sure once we have been settled for a year or two, the farm will break into sections and we'll have a lively little economy going."
"With no money?" I asked.
"We'll come up with something," she assured me. "Kariy, before I forget, the song was beautiful."
Kariy blushed. "My mother sang it to me when I was a girl. I thought it would help Shay and Ger sleep."
"Where is Corwar?" I asked.
"He and Steve took the puppies for a short jog. I think Steve promised to show Corwar some knife attacks."
"And the others?" I asked.
Kariy pointed into one of the darker shadows. I could see someone lying on the ground asleep. "Jeff is out. He claimed he's tired from the walking."
"He's sulking," Aine offered. "The others decided to follow the example that you two set and wandered off to look for flowers."
"In the snow?" Heather asked.
"If you consider a couple of lily petals a flower, I guess so," I said.
Aine giggled. "Ron has it right. They just wanted some time to be alone with a partner."
I was going to say more, but a pair of hands reached around and covered my eyes. "Guess who?" a female voice called out from a few steps to my right.
"Two women means that it has to be one of two ladies. I'm going to guess Esme," I said.
There was a pause and then the hands moved away, allowi
ng me to see. "We didn't think about that," Esme said. She and Natalie moved into my field of vision and sat down.
Natalie looked around. "I see the dwarves are cooking dinner. I hope the others come back soon."
Natalie was pointing over my shoulder and back towards the cave entrance. I twisted around and could see a sizable fire had been laid on the ground. The dwarves had a large cauldron over part of the fire that still burned. The remainder of the fire was glowing coals. A metal framework held several metal plates over the coals and I could see a dwarf distributing a liquid over the plates.
"I wonder what they are going to fry?" Aine mused. "I never thought you could fry something over an open flame that way."
I was about to say more, but Mertiln was walking up accompanied by another dwarf. The second dwarf appeared to be a bit nervous as they approached. The ladies around me all sat quietly as they walked up.
Mertiln nodded at me. "As you can see, dinner has been cooking for some time. We'll be putting the cave fisher meat on the plate soon."
I looked at Heather. "I'll make sure we summon the others," she muttered.
I turned to nod to Mertiln, who smiled. "It's been too long since we were with humans in the sunlight."
"You appear to have full lives," I said. "They aren't for most of us, we prefer the outdoors, but I have to say I was very impressed by everything we saw. My only regret is that we will be traveling far from any dwarven outpost."
"Perhaps not," Mertiln said. "We believe some outposts in the eastern hills and mountains were able to seal their gates as the Empire fell. If they kept the evil out initially, they could survive for many years, farming and harvesting the riches hidden in the caves."
"So we might discover an isolated outpost," I said. "That would be welcome as none of our current family knows much about metalworking."
Mertiln nodded. "If we could, we'd send a small party with you. We might do that in the future, if your farm is successful and you do find a cave leading to any of our old outposts. Even if some dwarves survived, they will have struggled to feed their people and I expect they will need support to grow."
"We'll try to send a message back," I said.
"Meanwhile," Mertiln continued. He stroked his beard several times. Finally he seemed to make a decision. "Morgarn told me that you are honorable, but even he worried about how much support we could give. There are those who might try to attack a small outpost and to steal the riches we have spent many years prying from the stones. We risk much supporting you."
"It will not be a risk," Heather said. "I know Ron and he'll never tell. The rest of us follow him, so we will keep the extent of your assistance to ourselves."
Mertiln nodded. "We have a few extra gifts."
The other dwarf held out an elaborate box, it appeared to be similar to a jewelry box my mother had owned. This one was darker and appeared to be made from metal. As I looked at it, Mertiln unlatched the box. He opened it, revealing two drawers. The bottom one contained six empty glass beakers. These had narrow openings. Mertiln saw my gaze and nodded. "For any potions your people make. I expect at first it will be that young wizardess, but the one with black hair appears to have some knowledge of alchemy."
"Who?" Aine asked.
"Esme," I replied. "She said she'd try to learn how to make medicines. Unfortunately, Shay knows only a little and we have no texts we can use to help learn recipes."
Mertiln pointed at the upper drawer. "Your wizardess should hear this part," he said.
Kariy reached over and rubbed Shaylin's head. The preteen swatted at the hand a couple times before her eyes opened. "I'm sleeping," she protested.
"Your presence is requested," I intoned pompously.
Aine started giggling. This finally forced Shaylin to wake. She sat up and frowned at me. "What?" she asked.
Mertiln coughed loudly. The dwarf with him walked around Kariy and held the still open box out toward Shaylin. "I thought you'd want to see this," Mertiln said.
Shaylin carefully reached out and looked at some of the vials in the upper box. She pulled one out. I could see that there was a circle of what appeared to be wax on the side of the vial. Shaylin examined the circle and smiled. "This is that venom you told me about," she said.
"You can read the symbols?" Mertiln asked.
Shaylin returned the vial and started looking at the others. "Fisher Ichor? Fisher Lure? Dried Shrieker Spores? Powdered brimstone? Three vials?"
Shaylin paused and put the vials back into their tubes. Mertiln was smiling at her. "You deserve an opportunity to succeed," the dwarf said softly. "We have stories from the time of the empire. Prefectress Isolde was one of the strongest and most honorable wizards the land ever saw. Unfortunately, when the empire died, the surviving male wizards set out to eradicate her from the histories. They turned away from the path of honor and now consort with infernal beings. Perhaps it's time for a new female wizard to rise up."
"But I have no teacher," Shaylin protested.
"You have honorable friends. We have two more things for you," Mertiln said. He nodded to the dwarf who was still holding the box. The box was closed and re-latched before being handed to Shaylin, who took it gingerly. The same dwarf pulled a pouch off of his belt and opened it. He walked up to me and removed what appeared to be a lock of hair from the pouch.
I looked first at the lock and then at Mertiln. "Mertiln?" I asked.
"Casperia was the wife of Holmgar, the dwarf who was captured and killed by the fisher earlier today," Mertiln informed me.
"We failed to save him," I said.
"Your people did enough. The fisher dropped Holmgar's body. We could not save him, but Casperia was able to hold him as he died, and his arms and armor will be passed on to his son," Mertiln said. "Casperia can even tell their unborn child that Holmgar died a hero, fighting for his last breath."
"God," Aine said. "I'm so sorry. Lydia couldn't get the shot lined up because of the fisher directly above her. I was trying to shoot it, but I dropped my bolt while rushing to load the crossbow."
Casperia reached out with her free hand and put it on Aine's shoulder. "She bears you no ill will," Mertiln said. "You have risked your lives many times for us. Most humans only speak with dwarves in trade and they rarely trade fairly. You lived with us for two weeks and showed us respect. She knows you tried your best, and you did get the fisher to drop the body. Without that, the body would have been dragged into the upper tunnels. In those tight passages, scavengers have an advantage, so we cannot recover the bodies of those we lose. Once again, priceless heirlooms can be passed down because of the actions of your group."
I smiled. "You do us honor. We shall do our best to be worthy of the gifts you have provided. May your children grow up strong."
Casperia smiled and handed the lock of hair to Aine. Mertiln put a hand on Aine's shoulder. "It's a lock from Holmgar's beard. The ribbon around it shows that it was given to you. Show it to any dwarf and they will know you are a friend."
"A truly marvelous gift," I said as Aine took the lock and then bent forward. We could hear her quiet sobs.
"She loves it," Heather whispered.
I nodded as Mertiln turned to Casperia. She said something to him and then turned and hurried towards the entrance.
"Thank you," I said to Mertiln.
"The meal should be ready shortly," Mertiln said gruffly. "You should let all your people know so they can get ready."
Mertiln turned and headed back to the entrance of the cave. I looked at Kariy and Aine. The young Irish girl had tears in her eyes, but a huge smile on her face.
"I'll handle gathering everyone," Heather said. "Work with Kariy to get the bowls and utensils ready."
Kariy jumped to her feet as Heather climbed out of my lap. My love immediately started jogging to the edge of the clearing. Kariy offered me a hand to help me stand up and then we started walking toward the sleds.
Kariy said nothing to me, but the smile on her face was a display of
her happiness. She guided me to one of the sleds and pulled out a single pack. She handed it to me and then started pulling mugs out from between two bedrolls.
"Smart packing," I observed. "I'm guessing this is all the bowls."
"And our spoons," Kariy said. "Aine and Victoria have been washing them after each meal."
"What will we drink?" I asked.
"The dwarves usually provide ale," Kariy said. "Jennifer was going to look for running water."
I looked up to see Jennifer walking toward me. She had one arm around Verval's waist, but the other was holding several canteens. "I found water," she said. "The creek in this canyon is mostly frozen over, but there was a trickle I used to fill the canteens."
I was going to reply, but Heather stepped up and grabbed the bag I was holding. "You eat first," she said as she turned and handed the bag to Al. Al opened the bag and pulled out two bowls and two spoons. He handed them to Heather, who immediately started dragging me toward the cook fire.
As we approached, I took a moment to look at the fire. The large plates that I had watched being set up now held several thick slabs of some kind of meat. It was almost white although I could see a few blackened areas. Two dwarves were watching over the meat and using knives to move it around on the plates.
When Heather and I arrived, my blond love held up the two bowls. A third dwarf walked over and took the bowls from her hands. Initially the dwarf walked around the plates. We watched the dwarf use a ladle to draw some stew from a cauldron before moving to stand next to the dwarves dealing with the steaks.
The dwarves at the plate selected two steaks, speared them with their knives and transferred them to the bowls. Heather and I then stepped forward to take the bowls and move away to allow the rest of the group to be served.
"It doesn't feel right that we eat first," Heather said.
"We have our own cooking fire inside the cave," Mertiln said from behind us. "But it does you credit that you consider us."
We whirled around to look at him. Mertiln was holding what looked like a giant crab leg and using a knife to pick out the inside. He smiled as we stood there. "Good eating," he said. "You should start."
