by Noah Layton
All the members of our tribe crowding in the small house smiled with bated breath.
The peaceful quiet lasted seconds, though, when a resounding shout suddenly burst across the land. I moved to the doorway and looked out to the south in the cold night air.
It was the sound of grief. That was all it could have been. The scream wasn’t high enough to be from Cass, though – it was the scream of a brother in blood and in arms, as Aden’s pain echoed across the land.
For as one member of the tribe had left us, a new one had come into the world.
Chapter Sixteen
Beyond the northern gate in a small clearing among the trees was a single grave. It belonged to a young fox-man named Tiran who I had been too late to rescue back when I had first found Ariadne’s tribe being held captive in a basement.
When I had first found them it had sent me into a rage more frenzied than any I had felt in my life prior. Even though I had never officially inducted the fallen fox-man into my tribe with a handshake, he was Ariadne’s kin, and that was enough to make him a member, even in death.
That being said, I considered him to be the first member of my tribe to pass, and now we were burying a second.
Every member of our tribe gathered to lay Oden to rest, including Tobias and his warriors, and the sun-elves that had joined us in the battle.
Cass and Aden were shaken, but they held it together and delivered a short eulogy for the fallen brother.
I lowered my head in respect trying to set aside my anger. I had nowhere to direct it but the mercenaries. They were the ones who had invaded my land.
They could have had families somewhere. This could have just been a job. But I didn’t care. This was the path that they had chosen, and the consequence that they had to deal with was a brutal, painful death at the hands of me and my people.
I handed out mercy when it was deserved. Maybe I had handed out a little too much on some occasions.
But when my people were put at risk? When one of my own was killed?
All that the attackers would get in return was their bodies thrown into Ark Point with the festering corpse of a mother wolf, or into the undergrowth where the creatures of the forest would remove all trace that they had ever existed within days.
And oh, how the animals worked fast.
Eri was the only one who didn’t attend; she was still resting after giving birth to her and Tormus’s new baby. After laying Oden to rest I and my wives visited her, as well as Talia, Alorion, Cass and Aden.
‘Have you thought of a name yet?’ Ariadne asked as Tormus and Eri cradled him on the seat outside of their home.
They shared a smile.
‘Well…’ Eri started. ‘He came into this world silent, and my husband seems to think he will grow up to be a great warrior. With that in mind, with him being such a silent and strong force… We would like to call him Oden.’
Cass and Aden both smiled warmly. It was the first time I had seen real and true sensitivity since I had met them.
‘A fine name,’ Aden grinned. ‘And a fine young man to carry on my brother’s memory.’
Even if Cass and Aden were tough as nails, the loss of a brother, especially for Aden, was going to hit harder than anything. It would take time for them to heal, and I was all too willing to give it to them.
‘Well, then,’ Eri said. ‘We would like to introduce Oden, the newest member of the Arakin Tribe.’
‘So how does this work?’ I said. ‘Do I have to shake his hand too?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Talia laughed. ‘He is the kin of an existing tribe member. That automatically makes him one of us. Did you not know that?’
‘What can I say? I learn new things about this place every day. But right now my main priority is making sure this kid is well-fed and that this place is safe, so it’s time for me to get the defences finished.’
We dispersed for the day, most of us to get some rest, but not me. My wives returned to the treehouse for some sleep, while Talia hung back.
‘So… I suppose I should explain what happened last night.’
‘You don’t have to explain it to me. It was simultaneously one of the most impressive and most terrifying things I’ve ever seen. I shiver to think what the hell you might have done to me back at The Bastion if you’d managed to really sink your teeth into me.’
‘A feral side is within my blood, one that I would prefer not to use.’
‘I didn’t think you’d have anything like that in you.’
‘My people still become vicious when we are cornered. But ripping out the throats of my enemies while slicing their skin to pieces has never been particularly attractive to me. I don’t like getting blood in my mouth. It is not a side of me that I enjoy.’
‘That’s a pity. I could really use somebody like you to have my back when a fight starts.’
‘I’m sure,’ she smiled.
‘How about being my wife instead?’
Talia crossed her arms beneath her breasts and turned to look at me.
‘You’re asking me to marry you?’
‘Well, I never thought at any point in my life that I’d be asking a princess to marry me, but here I am, and yeah, I’m asking you to marry me. I’m falling in love with you, and the rest of my wives seem to like you a lot, especially after having their backs last night. My whole tribe now knows you as the one that saved a mother who was giving birth.’
‘I did what anybody would do.’
‘There are plenty of people who would have saved their own skin.’
‘Well, I know what it’s like to be forgotten about. I don’t like seeing that happen to other people, and… To be honest, the only tribe that I’ve ever been a part of was the one I grew up in, and like I said, they spent most of their time pretending I didn’t exist. To be taken in by you and your people, and to be seen as an equal… What more could I ask for?’
‘To never have to fight again?’
‘Maybe,’ she laughed. ‘And yes… I would be honoured to be your wife and share a bed with you.’
She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me with her soft, perfect lips as I felt the curve of her back in my hands, caressing her body.
Talia had become my fifth wife. If I wasn’t outnumbered before, I sure was now.
***
I took a nap into the early afternoon to make up for the lack of sleep that I had suffered after the attack, as did much of the tribe.
After waking, myself, the sun-elves and the warriors all returned to work on the trench. I had thought they would be reluctant to assist after the exhaustion of the battle, but its occurrence motivated us all to work even harder.
Building defences for a potential attack was one thing, but being reminded that it could actually happen was another prospect entirely. We worked hard for the remainder of the day, gaining a second and third wind as we made our way around the remaining half of the land’s perimeter.
By the time the late afternoon came around we had completed our work. Even with the heat of our muscles and the sweat dripping from our brows, I could feel the moisture on my skin turning colder as more and more severe breezes rushed by us, eventually turning into blustering gales.
‘Bad weather is coming,’ one of the sun-elves said. ‘I hope that this cold snap does not last too long.’
‘Damn right,’ one of the warriors agreed. ‘I think we should return back to our land before it gets too dark.’
‘Thanks for all your help,’ I said, shaking hands with all ten of the visitors individually. ‘And thank you for defending my land. My people would have been dead without you around. I hope you all know that I’d have your backs to the moment you asked for it.’
‘We are already well aware of that,’ the leader of the small squad of sun-elves assured. ‘Do not think that your efforts in defending our land during the invasion of the wood-elves went unseen. And your fearless journey to save Mariana, our master? The young of our tribe already make up stories abo
ut you.’
‘They should make up stories about Ralos instead. He’s the bravest man I’ve ever met. He’s the only reason that we managed to save her in the first place.’
I provided the sun-elves with some food for the road, and they collected their belongings and bid me goodbye, setting off on the journey south-east.
‘Battling wood-elves and saving tribe masters?’ One of the warriors said. ‘It looks like you have many stories to tell, Master Jack.’
‘I’m sure everybody has a few that are better than mine,’ I smiled.
‘I and my kin have been speaking, and we would like to thank you again.’
‘Thank me? You’re the ones who defended my land and helped me build this trench.’
‘And none of that would have even been possible if you had not freed us from the captivity of those mercenaries. Last night I fought with the same ferocity that I felt many nights ago when our kin was shot in the back like a dog by Garrisons’s man.’
‘You think that of Tobias too?’
‘Below you he remains our leader and we respect him greatly, but in many ways he is like you; he would run into battle to save his people, and if he had done such a thing on his own he would have likely been killed.’
‘Any of us would have. But that’s what he’s willing to do for his people.’
‘Which is why he is our leader – after you, of course.’
‘Right,’ I nodded.
‘Are you sure there is nothing else that we can do for you?’
‘I’ll get started on the traps for the trench myself first. That being said, if you could convince Tobias, I’d appreciate it if we had four or five of you here at the land permanently. It sure would help if we come under attack again.’
‘We shall deliver the message. Till we meet again, Master Jack.’
The warriors gathered their things and departed, heading down the northern road before turning west and disappearing among the trees.
I looked out at the dirt road and the wilderness either side. The sunset glow usually turned it purple and deep orange at this time in the early evening, but the overcast sky was looming more powerfully than ever, draining the land of color.
I returned inside and locked the gates for the night, saying goodnight to Alorion and heading across the land. Cass and Oden were seated with Tormus and Eri, doting over their new child outside of their home.
Off to the east, the satyrs and the fox-people were turning in for the night, and up ahead resided my home, the treehouse where my four wives, now five, slept soundly each night.
This was where I belonged.
They all drifted off to sleep before me, even considering the exhausting day that I had had. Darkness encroached, but I wasn’t worth a decent ounce of sleep.
Later that night Alorion stirred in his lookout post at the sound of quiet grunting and soil turning. He crept to the edge of his platform and looked down to the torchlit trench below to see me delving spikes into the solid dirt, deep and stable enough to remain in place.
‘Jack…’ He breathed. ‘You scared me half to death.’
‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘Should’ve woken you up.’
‘What are you doing down there?’
‘Piloting the traps for the trench. I would not want to fall on these things.’
‘Indeed… Why are you out so late? It is the dead of night, not to mention very cold.’
‘I couldn’t sleep.’
‘Why not?’
‘My mind’s racing … I just have to keep working. I need to make sure the defences are finished soon.’
‘But we have the help of the sun-elves, and the warriors too. We are becoming stronger every day, and we are building our numbers and our fighting force.’
‘Doing stuff like that also brings more danger to our door, though,’ I said. ‘Making the initial climb might be easy, but the higher up we get the more that other tribes will want to take what is ours.’
‘True,’ Alorion nodded resolutely, before scoffing a little.
‘What is it?’
‘Nothing… I just like that you say our, and not mine. My old master treated me as nothing but a slave for much of my life. You share your wealth. My, it is getting colder. We must begin to think about building furnaces if this cold weather persists.’
‘There’s plenty of iron ore available at the mine,’ I said. ‘And with the warriors there to help out we should be able to acquire enough in no time.’
I took a break and climbed up to the platform, taking a seat by Alorion’s side. We looked out at the dark road ahead in silence, taking a moment of peace.
‘And what about Garrison?’ He continued. ‘We have taken both his slaves and his hired mercenaries from him. He will be seeking blood.’
‘He has no idea that it was us, though,’ I replied. ‘Bandits and thieves are everywhere along the northern passage.’
‘True, but he is a dangerous man.’
‘You’re right,’ I sighed, seeing my breath against the cold air. ‘I have a feeling we’ll be seeing him again in the future.’
After a few minutes Alorion pulled up his inventory and produced his bottle of Corinthian’s, the liquor that was his poison of choice.
‘Would you like some, Jack?’
‘Definitely.’
I emptied my canteen over the edge of the platform and took the bottle from him after he had filled his canteen, topping up my own.
‘Cheers,’ he smiled, knocking his canteen against mine and taking a long swig. I drunk from my own, tasting it for the first time.
My throat immediately wanted to cough it out but I held it down – and that was when I realized that Corinthian’s was just another name for absinthe.
‘Delicious, no?’ Alorion said.
‘Delicious,’ I half-lied, knowing that I would drink it anyway – I would take anything to warm me up right now.
Alorion being my right-hand man, I could take the time now to relax with him in the solitude of the place. We talked and drank more, the green liquid going down easier with every passing drink.
Long silences came and went, and I began to doze off by the pile of wooden spikes kicking at my feet.
It was still dark when Alorion spoke again some time later from the seat next to me.
‘Jack…’
‘Mmhmm…?’ I groaned sleepily.
‘Is something burning?’
That woke me up.
I shuddered awake properly and looked around, sniffing at the air.
‘I don’t smell any smoke, why?’
‘There is ash in the air.’
I looked ahead to the road through the large gap over the platform’s barrier.
Something was floating in the air, drifting down from above.
I stood from my seat and moved forwards, holding out my hand. Coldness bit at my hand immediately, and before long several of the pieces drifted into my palm.
I pulled my hand close and examined it in the flames of a torch. The heat made them shrink away to water almost immediately. I rubbed my fingers against my palm, feeling the sharp coldness against my skin.
‘This isn’t ash,’ I gulped, feeling a pang of dread hit me. ‘It’s snow. I thought that this cold snap was going to be Autumn, but it’s not. It’s Winter.’
TRIBE MASTER WILL CONTINUE IN BOOK 5
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