by Noah Layton
By then we had moved the bodies of Werger and his four guards just beyond the perimeter fence, stacking their remains in a pile. We didn’t have time to bury them, but neither of us had qualms about that. They didn’t deserve a burial, and the beasts of the forest would likely make sure that their remains disappeared once they caught the scent.
After cleaning our hands at the well, we retrieved some meat and cheese left in storage at the guardhouse. It was waiting for the fox-people the moment they left the basement and emerged onto the land.
I didn’t know what to do with the body of the fox-man in the basement. On the one hand he deserved a decent burial, but on the other I didn’t want to bring him back out in front of his kin. They had been through enough already.
Eventually I headed down with the blankets we had used to sleep upon and wrapped up his body, covering him properly before I decided what to do.
The fox-people were torn between diving for the food and checking for any sign of danger around them. I couldn’t imagine what they had been through as slaves to warrant such a constant fear.
Once we assured them that there was no more danger, they devoured the food. It went down so fast that Lara had to run back to the guardhouse for more.
I told them my name and who I was, about my tribe and the safety that it could offer. Negotiations took longer than I expected, but only because they didn’t believe me. Most of the task was convincing them that my offer was genuine.
But they were liberated now. They were a strange people – they made decisions democratically, as a group, but just like foxes they were lone beings who did not huddle together. They remained separate from each other even as they ate, sitting in a semi-circle before us.
They exchanged few words with us, but upon finishing their food all nodded in agreement that they would join us.
By then the sun had come up. With the land void of life beyond the seven of us, we took the remaining provisions that we had stolen and returned to the horses.
I ordered Lara to set off with the group, taking Myranthia with her, while I held back for a few minutes. I found a cart by the stables near the treehouse and hooked Arabelle up to it. Once it was secured, I returned to the basement and retrieved the body of the young man, then loaded him into the cart.
Taking one last look about the quiet land, I led Arabelle past the perimeter fence and trailed after the group.
We stayed in the forest even after reaching the flattened land that surrounded Grayholde, guarded by the treeline until we arrived at the rocky patches. After that it was a straight-shot through the forest with the fox-people at our side until, by mid-morning, the border of my land came into view.
We crossed to the northern gate and, after drumming on the door, Alorion came running along the fence. He saw us from a distance, then hopped off to get help with opening it.
A few minutes later running footsteps sounded on the other side of the gate, and after the bar had been removed they lumbered open on their huge hinges.
It wasn’t just Tormus who had arrived to greet me; my entire tribe was present. Tormus threw the bar as he nodded at me; in the backdrop, by his house, I could see Eri waiting, running a hand over her stomach.
Cass was leading Aden and Oden past the crop field towards us, and to their left I could see Santana rushing to us - and Ariadne just by her side.
She had already been reunited with Lola, and in that moment I had attained a glimpse into the sensitivity that lurked within her.
This, though, was too much for her stoic mind to sit on.
We entered through the gate, and her kin came into view. She slowed fifty yards from us and scanned the scene before her, the scene of us, in complete disbelief.
I looked around at her kin and found them doing the same. The morning silence was resounding; there was nothing but a light breeze moving through the grass and the leaves of the crops.
Their furred feet and tough soles suddenly began bounding into the ground as Ariadne and the group hurried towards each other. They collectively embraced, and any semblance of independence was cast off; they were a group again, and they had been reunited.
Chapter Sixteen
‘150 primary cuts, 300 servings of ground meat… What do you think?’
‘I think I don’t have to buy dinner for at least a few weeks.’
Jeremiah smiled back at me as he, Lola and I surveyed the carefully organised meat laid out on the gigantic chipped table. We were standing in the yard behind the Rourke house, surveying several hours work in the form of the taurem that we had slaughtered earlier that day.
‘We’re going to use every part,’ Lola said. ‘The bones can be ground down for the plants, the hide can be used for clothes or furniture… All of it.’
‘Does it say something that I respect the deaths of animals more than I respect the deaths of my enemies?’ I said.
‘No,’ Jeremiah said. ‘Animals do not judge or cause harm beyond the confines of their closed minds. Most beings that stand can reflect upon their behaviour, but many choose not to regardless and go about their lives hurting and enslaving. It sounds like the case back at this other tribe.’
‘It was. That’s why I didn’t feel bad about killing them. I felt like I… Needed to.’
‘Perhaps you did.’
‘You don’t agree?’
‘I am busy… Reflecting.’
He gave me a smile, then wrapped an arm around Lola.
‘I never thanked you,’ Lola said. ‘For saving my people.’
‘You don’t have to thank me. There’s no way that I would have done anything else than what I did. Are you ready to go and see them again?’
‘What, now?’
‘Of course. Did you really think I was just going to sell all this meat at market and have us all living off of potatoes, carrots and milk for the next few weeks? Let’s package this up before it goes bad and get back to the land.’
I had purchased packaging parchment from the trading post on my way to the Rourke Homestead, which we now used to wrap up the hundreds of cuts from the taurem.
That, of course, wasn’t the only thing we had to deal with.
‘I don’t suppose you could give me a hand?’ Jeremiah said nodding to the back of the yard.
‘With what?’
‘Taurems must be fed and all that meat comes at a price. Grab a pitchfork.’
I took one from the Harvesting shed that he had kitted out and followed Jeremiah to the stable by the house. The smell hit me before I saw it; a steaming pile of taurem manure.
‘It may stink,’ he continued, ‘but it’s great for speeding up the growth of certain crops, just like bone meal.’
‘Well, the faster we put it into storage the faster the smell will go away. I tell you something; there’s no better way to bring yourself back to reality than to spend your afternoon shovelling shit.’
After our work was completed at the homestead, Jeremiah, Lola and I set off for my land. By the northern gate everything looked the same, save for one small change.
In a small clearing, hidden among the nearby trees by the entrance, was a grave. The fallen fox-man’s name was Tiran, and even though he had died on a foreign land, I considered him to be the first fallen member of my tribe. We had held the funeral that very same day that we returned to the land. A week had passed since then.
Things on the land were moving along perfectly. Eri’s bump had already started to show, and she was doing too much of a good job of telling Tormus how to run the crops. Even if she wasn’t working in the field, she was still working on the small-scale cultivation of the moonseed outside of their house.
Cass, Aden and Oden’s skills were better-suited to wielding pickaxes, and that was something that could be arranged in the near-future; in the meantime they were doing a damn fine job of collecting crops and expanding the rows of carrots and potatoes in the field. Cass supervised and assisted, keeping her brothers on track while they themselves worked like machines.
/>
And then there were my wives, my beautiful, perfect wives.
In the past week we had completed work on building the other lookout posts. Lara was standing at the peak the of the guard tower that looked west, her bow at her side as she surveyed the land below.
On the south-eastern side of the land we had built a new home for the five fox-people that we had rescued from Werger’s clutches at the Gaalus Tribe.
Despite their independence, they had been more than willing to stay together in a single home for the time being. A little crowded, maybe, but they had become so used to being crammed together for so long that they preferred it that way.
Ariadne had spent a lot of time catching up with them over the week, but was now helping out with the crops in the field.
In the last week we had purchased another horse that Santana had personally consulted on, one which my third wife had been looking after ever since.
In the distance I saw her ride into the pasture at a steady pace and hop off its back. She led led it to a trough of water and retrieved a brush from her inventory, tending to it while it drank.
As we passed the crops, Santana caught sight of us and her father, and came running over.
‘Finish up your rows for the day and put it into storage,’ I called to everybody in the field. ‘We’re taking the rest of the day off.’
‘Are you serious, master?’ Cass asked, brushing the sweat from her forehead on the back of her sleeve.
‘Deathly. So deathly that we slaughtered a taurem just for the occasion. Fresh prime cuts for everybody tonight.’
‘By the gods,’ Tormus laughed, jumping up from the ground, dropping his sickle and kissing his hands before holding them both up to the sky and throwing his head back. ‘My son will be the strongest boy in all the land!’
‘How do you know you’re having a son?’
‘We don’t,’ Eri laughed from the house. ‘But my unborn child is growing quickly. Boy or girl, it will be strong.’
‘Either way,’ Tormus continued, ‘It can take over from me in the fields.’
‘Our child is not yet born and you are already setting it to work…’
‘No more talk of work,’ I laughed. ‘Everybody wash up. Let’s eat.’
I had enough potions now to keep Elera alive out of water for weeks. For some reason she was still stretched out in the bath in the treehouse, rubbing it into her skin.
‘What are you doing?’ I asked. ‘I thought the Essence of the River kept you alive just fine. That bathwater won’t do anything for you, either. We found that out after last time.’
‘I just like the feeling of the water on my skin. Between the potion and the sensation of the water I am fine, but I still need to feel it.’
‘Fine, but we need to find something constructive for you to do soon.’
‘Constructive?’ She said. ‘What does that mean?’
‘Something… Useful. Something that contributes to the wellbeing of the tribe.’
‘I can freeze things, and I can seduce men…’
‘In the future you could give me a hand mapping out the surrounding rivers. That way you can be in the water and help me out.’
‘I would love to do that. I have spent years looking after myself in the water.’
I slumped down on the ground by the bathtub and leaned my head against the side.
‘Do you ever miss your family, Elera?’
My nymph leaned against the edge of the bathtub and rested her head on her hands. She stared into the shallow abyss of the room for several long moments.
‘What is a family, truly? Is it the ones who you grow with, who teach you how to act and what to do and how to live? Or is it the people that welcome you in, who look after you no matter what – who break into houses and risk their lives to steal things that may afford you a better life? When I was alone in that cave for so long I imagined that I would be trapped down there forever, until you arrived from above to save me.’
‘I didn’t know you were down there in the first place.’
‘No, you did not. But you still chose to help me escape, even if it meant risking your life. That is what family does. They take care of each other, even when things seem terrible. That is the only thing that matters. That is what makes you and your wives my family.’
I sat up a little to face her. Elera pressed a warm, blue hand to my face, her smooth skin caressing my rugged jaw. She leaned forward and kissed me lightly on the lips.
I had taken my wives hard and we had spent a lot of time since I had arrived in Agraria fucking like crazy, but that soft motion sent chills up my arms.
‘I take it that you’ll stay, then?’ I asked.
‘I cannot imagine myself being anywhere else,’ she smiled. ‘Tall-man.’
A short while later we gathered together beneath the shade of the tree around a small fire. Jeremiah and Lara cooked up prime cut taurem steaks with sides of carrots and potatoes, all prepared to perfection.
It was a feast fit for a king – and my people.
I looked around and realized that this was the first time that the latest incarnation of our tribe had come together.
There were thirteen of us now; my four wives, Alorion, Jeremiah and Lola, Tormus and Eri, and Cass, Aden and Oden, and myself.
We relaxed and chatted in the evening sun and ate together, and toasts were raised – something I had to familiarise everybody with seeing as, just like knocking glasses together, it didn’t seem to be a custom.
We toasted to the tribe’s success, to the new land, to Eri’s unborn baby, and to the upcoming expansion in the new land that we would soon return to.
All was well… Or so I thought.
Our evening of indulgence and celebration came to an end. My people left with full stomachs and retired to bed. My wives headed up together to the treehouse, a ragtag collection of beautiful women who were all fierce in their own ways.
Watching them go, I thought myself the luckiest man alive. Every night from now, after every hard day of work, I could return to the safety of my home and slide it into bed between four unbelievably sexy, beautiful women who I loved.
I could have followed them as if I was hypnotised as they moved out of sight and into our home – instead I found myself with Alorion in the shade of the tree, just as I had done at the end of our last adventure.
‘You know, I realized there’s something that you haven’t asked me yet,’ I started.
‘What would that be, Jack?’
‘You weren’t wondering whether or not there was another imp at Werger’s land?’
‘I do not need to wonder. I know. I told you, every tribe begins with an imp, just like me.’
‘Fair enough. It’s a girl, if you’re interested, but I haven’t met her yet. Werger seemed to have no interest in her.’
‘She’ll be somewhere in the trees in the surrounding area… Hopefully.’
‘Hopefully?’
‘What?’
‘You just said hopefully.’
‘No I didn’t.’
‘Yes you did. Are you looking forward to meeting her?’
‘I have no idea what you mean.’
‘Oh, come on. For a guy who was dishing out love-life wisdom like you did a few weeks back you’re sure acting uptight over meeting a girl for the first time.’
For one of the first times since I had met him, Alorion looked like he didn’t have an immediate answer. He actually had to think about what he was going to say next.
‘I just… I struggle to form relationships with the opposite sex. I have all the desire in the world to find a mate, but I find it difficult.’
‘There’s the answer I was looking for. I can’t believe you’re nervous.’
‘May I ask a question?’
I held back a smile as Alorion tried to shift the conversation in a different direction.
‘Go on.’
‘Why are you talking to me right now?’
‘Because you’re my frie
nd.’
‘Four incredibly attractive women are waiting for you in bed up there. How can you possibly restrain yourself? I have seen men kill each other just to get a glimpse at a woman’s exposed behind before.’
‘There’s something I’ve been thinking about it over the past week, but with our trip to the land of the Gaalus Tribe coming up tomorrow I need to do something first. You’re my second in command. Are you going to join me?’
We crossed to the Map room together. I hadn’t been in here for a while; after activating the table and placing my hand on the slab, it lit up with the trail through the forest towards the Gaalus,Tribe perfectly illustrated.
I zoomed in on the land of the Gaalus Tribe and analysed it carefully.
‘So this is the place you invaded,’ Alorion commented, sitting at the edge of the table and examining it, his eyes reflecting the blue light that it gave off.
‘I didn’t invade it. I… Lost it.’
‘Lost what?’
‘My mind. I’ve never felt that angry before.’
‘Well, your anger served to free a group of captive slaves and slaughter an oppressive tribe.’
‘They were a gang, not a tribe. I don’t care what the official term was for them. That’s what they were; a gang of slave-drivers. I told Jeremiah earlier; I don’t regret doing it.’
‘Nor should you. So what happens tomorrow? Are you going to ransack all the available resources and cart them back here?’
‘For a start,’ I replied. ‘But before any of that happens I need to ensure that they belong to me.’
Alorion looked at me in confusion. His face fell with realisation, then rose steadily into a smile.
‘I would say that I am impressed, Jack, but I never doubted you for a second.’
I raised an eyebrow and double-tapped the image of the Gaalus Tribe.
Create flag?
I pressed accept.
Warning:
Tribal flags can only be used on selected location. Any attempt to use flags for their non-respective areas will result in the destruction of the flag.
Any and all sentient beings within lands selected for ownership will be informed of the attempt to claim the land.
