by Noah Layton
Tribe Master 4
A Fantasy Harem Adventure
Noah Layton
Copyright 2020 Noah Layton
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter One
I stirred the last of the moonseed into the taurem milk that rested in my canteen, spinning it with the light movement of my wrist, then drank back the cool, sweet liquid with a few slow, pleasurable gulps.
‘Are you sure this is going to help the healing?’ I asked Ariadne, turning to her as she snuggled into my side on the bed.
‘Absolutely, husband,’ she replied, tracing one of her sharp fingernails on my chest. ‘Having an unsettled mind can delay the healing process. Everyone knows that. This will calm you. You are always so busy with so many things. You need to rest.’
‘And the fucking my brains out part? Does that count as rest?’
‘It counts as the release of tension,’ Lara said from the soft, luxurious carpet at the bedside where she was reading a book. She glanced up from it, her large breasts bouncing as she brushed a strand of her purple hair from her pretty face. ‘Of course, sex has healing factors.’
‘Hey, I’m not complaining,’ I replied. ‘Besides, I think we need a rest after the last few days.’
‘Definitely,’ Santana called over from the bathtub, where she and Elera were bathing together.
‘I would be perfectly content to stay in here forever,’ Elera added, rubbing the water into her blue skin.
‘In the treehouse?’ I asked.
‘No, in this bathtub.’
‘Well, we know that,’ Lara laughed from the floor, not looking up from her book. ‘It’s difficult enough getting you out of it.’
Elera raised her hand and expertly flicked a pocket of water in Lara’s direction. It missed the book and hit her in the face. She squinted and shook her head sharply, setting the book down and sitting up to look at Elera.
‘You are so dead, nymph.’
In a second she hurried across to the bathtub and started grappling with Elera, but my nymph had the upper hand – she pulled her straight into the water, sending buckets of it splashing over the edges and onto the hardwood floor.
‘I’m taking no part in this,’ Santana said, slipping deftly out of the water and exposing her slender, naked body as she brushed her red hair behind her head. Her wet pale skin glimmered in the early morning light that leaked in through the canopy as she towelled herself off and wrapped up her hair.
She sauntered over to Ariadne and me, where she collapsed onto the bed at my other side and rested her head on my chest.
The three of us laughed while Lara and Elera shrieked before finally exhausting themselves and losing interest in fighting, resting in the bathtub together as we all got back to relaxing.
I had spent the best part of the night pumping my seed into my beautiful wives, and they had well and truly exhausted me, returning the favours with pleasured moans and pants of ecstasy.
It had been several days since we had returned from the land of the sun-elves; several days since I had saved Santana from a nightmarish tribe of wood-elves and accidentally unleashed a vengeful demi-god in the process, who was now missing somewhere in Agraria.
Right now, though, I didn’t care about that. I had gotten my lost wife back from the feral bastards who had kidnapped her, and the tribe in question had been vanquished. They had behaved like wild animals, and they had almost sacrificed her and my new ally, Mariana, to the very same demi-god.
Now things on the land were peaceful, and not just because of the fall of a nearby enemy tribe – now we had the support of the sun-elves.
After saving Mariana, the head of the sun-elf tribe, Master Artrix, had provided me with a stack of sun-elf flags to place outside of my tribal lands. It was a show of strength and alliance amongst our tribes, one that gave a clear message to any outsiders who wanted to take what was mine; fuck with us, and you’ll have a tribe of pissed-off sun-elves coming your way.
In the days since I had returned from the land of the sun-elves I had spent most of my time relaxing with my beautiful wives, their tight, firm bodies doing a damn fine job of healing my wounds, but I had also had time to tend to a few other odd jobs.
I had cleaned up the various junk that filled up our storage building and continued with the transportation of our farming exports to the local trading post. By now I had resigned myself to the fact that more than a few of the regulars who travelled there knew not just who we were but where we were
I wasn’t worried, though. Anybody who came into view of our land would see the flags displayed by the entrances. They would know who we had on our side.
With the sale of our produce, as well as dispatching the various spoils that I had acquired in our travels, I now also had over 25,000GP sitting in my inventory.
That was on top of the plentiful resources that my tribe now possessed, including food, water, lookout posts, livestock and weapons to defend ourselves.
One thing that I hadn’t sold was the stack of 35 Infernal Fire Explosives that Artrix had left in my possession. They were worth a small fortune in their own right simply because of the sheer amount of destruction that they could cause, but I had no intention of using them just yet.
Sitting on a pile of gold and explosives wasn’t my style though. All of it meant nothing if things weren’t constantly improving and expanding, and now that my wives were safe and an alliance had been built, I was intent on turning my attention back to the improvement of my tribal lands.
In an hour or two, that is. For now, I was happy to lounge around with my beautiful, exotic wives for a little while longer.
I laid back in my bed and looked up to the shelf hanging over it where my so-called souvenirs resided from each of my adventures so far; a fang from the mother wolf, Werger’s mangled Brutal Limb Breaker, and a feather from the head-dress of the wood-elf tribe master that I had only noticed on my person during the return journey.
I had been more of a mess after that final fight than I had been in my entire life, but with the help of my wives, I was back to full health in no time.
***
I dressed and headed out of my treehouse home a little before midday, surveying my land. We had slowed duties to the regular jobs since I had returned from my last adventure, namely lookout and farming shifts – other than that I had given my people a little time to relax, but now it was time to get back to work on improving the land.
I crossed to the totems that surrounded my home, circling the large tree at the centre of my land as I surveyed them.
To my surprise, a new one had popped up on the
southern side looking out towards the pasture.
Upon this one a small statue of a welder’s hammer was propped. I tapped the hammer and a menu popped up.
Ironmonger Totem
Only one option was presented for selection.
Construct Furnace Building – 750GP
Allow for the smelting of ores into bars.
This would make life a lot easier; any ores that we came into possession of from the mine at the new land could now be smelted and prepared for sale or used to create armour and weapons.
And with the amount of gold pieces I currently had in my possession 750GP was nothing.
I moved to accept the construction terms but hesitated, my finger hovering just above the window.
I closed the window and looked around at my land. Green grass with the horses grazing. Well-built stone houses occupied by my people. Crops growing plentifully.
This place was a natural paradise, and one thing I knew about Agraria was that the more the land was mined, the more the greenery above it began to die. I had seen it first-hand at the new land.
Once a totem and its respective capabilities were unlocked at one tribal land that I owned, any other tribal lands would possess the same totems and unlockable features.
The greenery on the new land was almost completely gone, reduced to dried dirt; I might as well have made the most of it. The Furnace Building could be established there instead.
Saving it for later, I headed to the Building Totem and examined what I had unlocked so far. Everything was available for the running of a tribe, but there was a new option at the very bottom of the list.
Barracks
Building a real fighting force was starting to become a priority of mine. It was fine to have citizens who could man the lookout posts and maintain a plentiful and varied supply of food, but we needed warriors if we were going to keep my tribe properly defended.
Creating a barracks here didn’t seem right, though, just like the mining operation. This land was peaceful, and the training of my future warriors, whoever they were, could be done at the new land past the homestead.
I moved around to the Water Totem. The well that stood just behind it provided a plentiful supply of drinking and bath water to all of my tribe, but it meant constant travel to it in order to acquire more.
I activated the totem and brought up its interface, then set about upgrading it beyond our present needs. The upgrades cost 200GP, but eventually I unlocked a new option.
Construct water pump – Requires iron bar x8
Allows a constant supply of water from a designated location upon tribal lands.
I purchased one as a pilot test. A small red square appeared before me upon the ground, turning blue as I moved to a more appropriate place for it to be set down.
Heading out of the shade of the tree, I set off for Tormus and Eri’s house, greeting them as I arrived.
‘Good morning, Jack,’ Eri said. My farmers were both seated outside of their house, enjoying the sunshine after Tormus had finished off the daily labour and Eri rested with her steadily growing belly.
‘Good morning,’ I replied. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Heavy,’ she laughed. ‘I have a feeling that it shouldn’t be long now.’
‘Shouldn’t be long?’ I said in confusion. ‘I thought you said that it took months for your kind to grow before being born?’
‘That is the average time, but it can vary depending on the mother and father.’
‘That it can,’ Tormus said with a subtly smug satisfaction.
‘What’s the deal with him?’ I laughed to Eri.
‘He’s just enjoying his ego. Amongst our kind, a young one that grows faster is said to come from a strong father.’
‘It is not just said,’ Tormus opined, ‘but known. I am the happiest man alive.’
‘What about me?’ Eri asked with mock-displeasure. ‘Do I not contribute to your happiness?’
‘You are as wonderful and beautiful as ever,’ Tormus said before turning to me. ‘What are you up to today?’
‘Just trying something,’ I replied, finding an appropriate place next to their house and activating it.
The ground in the spot I had chosen rumbled briefly, before a readily-constructed iron water pump appeared, stamped down into the earth.
‘What bountiful gift is this?’ Tormus said, jumping up from his seat to admire it.
‘I’m not sure yet,’ I smiled, kneeling down to grab the pump’s handle and raising it before forcing it back down with some effort.
To my surprise it actually worked. Fresh clean water poured from the faucet and darkened the dried dirt below, just next to the edge of their house.
‘Oh, bless you, Jack!’
Tormus grabbed me in a bear hug and lifted me up.
‘Don’t mention it,’ I laughed as he put me down. ‘With you doing all the work around here it makes sense that you shouldn’t have to keep running back and forth from the well.’
‘Is carrying a child not work?’ Eri said from her seat, raising an eyebrow. Now I was in the firing line.
‘I didn’t say that,’ I said quickly.
‘I think you did.’
‘Well, let’s just pretend I didn’t, and also know how much appreciate the fact that you two feed this entire tribe. And how beautiful you are.’
‘Of course,’ she smiled. ‘In fact, there is something that we need to discuss.’
‘What’s that?’ I replied.
Tormus and Eri shared a look, their faces becoming serious.
‘It is getting colder,’ Tormus said. ‘You may not notice, but as farmers it is our job to know when the air is changing. A seasonal change is coming. We have both felt it.’
‘The sun-elf tribe master told me something similar. How do seasons even work in Agraria?’
‘Unpredictably,’ Eri answered. ‘Summer can last for years, as it has done in these recent times. Things can become equally cold just as fast, but nobody can say for how long. Could be days, could be months. Either way we must plan head. We do not know how long this cold snap may last for.’
‘I hear you,’ I nodded. ‘Okay, in that case, let’s start building up and diversifying our food stores. We’ve got plenty of gold to live off at the moment, and plenty of supplies to keep us alive. What other produce do you think we should grow aside from the carrots, tomatoes and corn?’
‘Something with sugar to maintain our energy, not to mention our spirits. When the heat begins again, starting an orchard would be a good way to maintain our sugar levels. Fruit will keep everybody happy, and it sells for a very fair price.’
‘Why didn’t I do that to begin with?’
‘It’s more complicated than growing vegetables for a variety of reasons. It takes longer, it attracts more animals, and the beings of Agraria, even those that stand on two legs, will risk more to attain it. Any that is found in the wild is often snapped up in its entirety, including the roots and seeds. It is why you have never come across it before.
‘There are some fruit trees that can be grown easily and quickly, but they are only suitable for creating ciders and ales that are sour or bitter to the taste. The sweeter and more desirable the fruit, the more difficult it is to cultivate. Keep an eye out for a wolfapple tree if you can find one from a vendor.’
‘Wolfapples? I’ve never heard of them.’
‘They’re big and red. You’ve probably seen a few in your travels but not paid them any mind. At this point, though, it would faster just to buy a small tree and plant it upon the land, especially considering that time is against us. It grows fast and we can use it to create a cider if you should so desire. You’ll be able to find the potion recipe easily enough at a trading post, too.’
‘It’s considered a potion?’ I laughed.
‘Well, it’s a liquid and it has a profound effect on the consumer. That would constitute a potion to me.’
‘That’s true. I’ll keep an eye out for it. Anyway, we’l
l have to come up with an alternative way to go about this besides getting drunk. Milk from the taurem could keep us sustained on that front, as well as the sugar from the tomatoes, but they’re too fragile. We need other sources.’
‘Sweet potato would be another option. Beetroot, onion… They are all high in sugar, presuming you can acquire seeds and we can grow our supply before things become too cold.’
‘I’ll make it a priority to acquire them.’
‘Happy hunting.’
I returned to the Water Totem with more on my mind than when I had started. I set down three more water pumps; one for the fox-people in the south-east of my land, one in the pasture to the south for the horses’ troughs, and one by the house where Aden, Oden and Cass lived.
‘I’ll need you two for a very important job in a little while,’ I said to the twins, meeting them in the house. ‘You up for it?’
They both nodded simply – as long as they knew the task was for the benefit of the tribe’s safety, they were always on board.
Loyal and a sense of duty. I couldn’t have liked them more.
I headed back to my home and activated the Defense Totem. After spending 400GP on option upgrades, I had a plethora of fortification options available to me, which I began to scroll through.
Frisian Horses
Wooden Spike
Sharpened Wooden Spike
False Ground
Much of the fortification of buildings back on Earth had declined after the creation of bunker buster bombs, which could penetrate almost any defence, but out here missiles didn’t exist so I wouldn’t be having that problem.
There were bombs, true, but they had to be correctly placed and activated in order to do damage, and nobody was going to be flying planes over my land any time soon to start dropping them on me.
The Frisian horses would keep any mounted attacks from getting too near to my land. wooden spikes could outwardly face and prevent anyone from climbing the perimeter fence.
My fence declared a boundary, but anyone with enough will would be able to get over it without too much trouble. It was time to do something about that.
The item named Sharpened Wooden Spikes was a little unclear, though.
