This was met with stunned silence! Then the cheering began. No thought was required to understand all of the things such an ax could do. Previously, the women had to struggle to find wood already of proper length for the cooking fires. When they couldn't find wood the proper length, they had a hell of a time shortening longer pieces to be usable. The men could see the uses in chopping game to a size more easily handled. And so the ideas flew around the crowd; I was definitely a hero, again.
Chapter Five
Now that they could see something useful come from the foundry and forge, there was more enthusiasm than ever before in helping me do things. The first thing I did to cash in on the new spirit of wonder was to make up some lance and spear points from bronze. The superiority of these over flint was easy to see, and everybody wanted one.
Boar was becoming an accomplished blacksmith, and was turning out spear points at a goodly rate. In fact, we were about to run out of copper and tin, but our new friends showed up with enough nodules of the two metals to pay my price for the atlatl secret and to buy one horse, with tack. One look at the bronze spear points and they wanted some of them, too. I set a price in raw metal and they left happy with their new horse. They said that they would be back soon with more nodules to trade for horses and points.
As a feeble joke, I had mentioned that we needed a name for our growing "town" and suggested Fabton. This was met with a few groans, but mostly with a gleeful sigh. Imagine! Our town was important enough to need a name! That was it, everybody started referring to our cave and environs as Fabton.
There was another very small cave right next to ours which nobody had claimed, so I suggested that Boar move the foundry and forge in there so that he could keep working during the worst weather, even when it was snowing or raining. He was less that completely sold on the idea, but I finally talked him into it. I wanted to get him set up before other people complained about the noise. This "very small cave" was still plenty big enough for Boar to work in and have Stork, his wife, join him for company. The move must have agreed with them, because Stork soon turned up pregnant.
Bear was doing well in his saddle-making efforts. I pointed out to him that he should standardize on a saddle design and keep making them, even if he didn't have immediate customers. After all, we wanted to sell more horses, and tack was needed for them. Bear's wife, Flower, was an astute businesswoman, and encouraged Bear, as well as helping him with the leather work.
My next project was to put somebody in the horse training business. If I was going to push these people into civilization, I needed to concentrate on the overall picture and not try to do everything myself. I talked to Big Foot and several other people about the job, and Lefty thought he would give it a try. His real name was Left Hand, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to call a horse wrangler "Lefty."
Lefty had gone with us on our last roundup, so he was aware of what he would need to do. Lefty's wife, Two Jugs, immediately saw the opportunities for a quick rise in status, so she encouraged Lefty and even agreed to help him with the horses. Hannah and I went along on the next roundup to act as advisors and gofers, but I had Lefty run the operation. He didn't to it exactly as I would have, but his results were the same, so I didn't complain. We returned to Fabton with 12 more horses to trade. Lefty was in business!
Now that we had some businesses going successfully that did not need my constant supervision, I felt that it was time to visit more of the neighborhood. Hannah and I could take three horses and make the rounds of the nearby inhabited caves to meet folks and advertise Fabton's wares. I wanted to boost the whole area, if I could. Also, I was interested in setting up a gunpowder plant, since there was some heavy construction I wanted to start and there would be some earthmoving involved.
Furthermore, we would eventually run into some people that I couldn't charm, so we needed an ultimate weapon. I had hand grenades and bazookas (RPGs) in mind. We could grow to bigger weapons if we needed them.
Hannah and I set out one bright and sunshiny morning, each riding a horse and leading a packhorse. We both had lances and atlatls with points of bronze and a couple of axes, one large and one small. I didn't expect any trouble, but we were prepared for it. I was more than adequate with the atlatl, but Hannah's robot abilities made her as deadly with the atlatl as any 20th century human would have been with a gun up to a range of about 250 yards.
We didn't fool around, but headed for the nearest inhabited cave which we had not previously visited. It took us about half a day to get there on horse back. This was a small group of 12 people, 7 of them were adult. We made quite an impression as we rode in. The people knew about horses, but only as a potential food source. At first, they thought that human and horse were one magical animal and were very frightened, but they relaxed somewhat when I dismounted. Just in case of trouble, Hannah had her atlatl loaded and ready.
I explained that I was a shaman particularly favored by the gods. I demonstrated by lighting up a cigarette. The smoke was a big hit with the kids, but the adults were still a little anxious. We had brought along a freshly killed elk, so we were invited to stay for lunch and supper when I offered to share the elk.
We had pulled the elk on a travois attached to the pack horse. The people were amazed at all of the uses for the horse and wanted their own right away. I refused to trade away the ones we had, but told them about Fabton and the wonders available for barter there. I suggested that they send a representative to talk to Chief Big Foot to see what could be worked out. Before I left, I had explained to Big Foot the advantages of selling on a time payment plan; he was fascinated by the prospects.
These people had a large supply of leather which Bear could use for tack, so they already had something that would be wanted in Fabton. One of their women was adept at bead work, so I pointed out that was also something that might be traded. I told them that Fabton could use all of the copper, tin, sulfur, and bat guano that they could find, so their prospects were good for working out a deal. The chief promised to send a trade negotiator to Fabton in the next few days.
We spent the next day with these people getting to know them and just being sociable. My ultimate plans required as many friends as I could cultivate. I didn't want to wear out our welcome, so we left for the next inhabited cave on Hannah's list. The seventh adult in that group was a young "man" who had just turned 14 years old and was looking for a wife. His name was "Solid as a Rock," and I feared that might refer to his head. To my pleased surprise, he turned out to be quite intelligent. His name referred to his strength and stamina. He joined us on our journey, since he had no marital prospects in his present home, and he hoped to find a suitable wife in one of the other caves.
Solid as a Rock found a precarious seat on the back of the pack horse. He spent several hours teetering on the edge of disaster until he finally mastered the art of riding without a saddle and stirrups. Once we were clear of his home cave, we stopped long enough for me to whittle him an atlatl, and I gave him one of my bronze-tipped spears. We practiced long enough for him to become reasonably proficient with the atlatl and resumed our journey.
Solid as a Rock was known at our next stopping place. In fact, the chief had been expecting him to stop by to consider one of the two young women who were available for marriage. This made our entry into the group easier, but they were still wary of somebody who rode a horse. However, they knew Solid as a Rock, and he had been seen on the back of a horse, so it was easier for them to accept Hannah and me. I put on my smoking demonstration and this cemented our acceptance.
Solid as a Rock was attracted to one of the available women, who was approaching "old maid" status by being 15 years old and not yet married. Luckily for her, she was built like the proverbial brick shit house. The only thing that kept her from being selected sooner was that there weren't enough men to go around. In fact, Solid as a Rock was offered both women, the other being 13 years old and in the prime age range. He thought about it for all of 30 seconds and said yes.
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br /> He was literally raped on the spot by both women while everybody else laughed so hard they hurt. I thought, "This is my kind of wedding ceremony!" When the three participants finally came up for air, they laughed, too.
Before we left, I showed their flint knapper how to shape a point for the atlatl spear. Once he had it mastered, I retrieved my bronze pointed spear from the new groom and told him that the atlatl was my wedding gift to him and his new family. I suggested that he journey to Fabton to barter for bronze points if he wanted them.
We moved on to the next inhabited cave and went through the usual getting-to-know-you routine. We had brought an elk with us, and that may have been all that kept them from attacking us. They were so hungry that the women were ready to fight for the meat represented by our horses. Their group was small, so they had only three hunters.
The hunters had run afoul of a cave bear nearly two weeks before we met them. The bear had killed two of the hunters and severely injured the third. Hannah and I did what we could for him, but he died the second night we were at the cave.
The 3 women and 4 children were sure to starve if we left them to their fate. I could see only one thing to do. We would have to take the women and children to Fabton to save their lives, and there were just not enough humans around on the planet to waste even one. Hannah and I discussed the situation and reached a solution.
Since Hannah was even less vulnerable than I was, she would go to Fabton to get help and enough horses, which she would bring back to us. Once she returned, we would get organized to move everybody to Fabton. If Big Foot objected to taking in these refugees, she and I would permanently move to this cave until we could work out another solution.
Hannah removed her clothes and left all of her things with me, including her horse. Unencumbered, Hannah could run at over 100 MPH when she tried. She used this speed to get back to Fabton in less than 2 hours, since she went in a straight line, rather the winding route our horses were forced to take. She was back the next afternoon with some items wrapped in a fur, but with no help and with no horses.
She explained that Big Foot had taken in that group who had been supplying us with copper and tin. They had been attacked by some strangers with an odd weapon which hurled small spears that were smaller than atlatl spears and had feathers attached to the end of the spear opposite the point (obviously arrows). There had been so many of them that they had been driven from their cave with the loss of two hunters.
The people were so frightened and confused that Big Foot had been forced to take them in. This was the first time in memory that humans had attacked other humans, except in spur of the moment flares of anger. Nobody knew how to deal with this sort of activity. Big Foot hoped that the gods would give me some guidance that I could relay to him. For the next two months, at least, these women and children would have to find another way to survive.
Hannah had brought from Fabton the few things that we had left there, plus 6 more bronze atlatl points. That showed that Big Foot was not abandoning us, but that he was doing all he could to aid us. I called the 3 women to me and explained that we were temporarily stuck where we were, but Hannah and I would hunt for the group. They were concerned that a woman was being pressed into service as a hunter, since that went against all tradition.
I lit a cigarette and asserted that the gods understood our special situation and would aid us to find game. In fact, I said that the gods wanted them to learn to use the atlatl, and I would teach them. I didn't tell them so, but I was afraid of what might happen while Hannah and I were out hunting if they didn't have any means of defense. A dire wolf or other carnivore could play hell if they had no way to fight it off.
That night at supper was when the three women told me that they now considered me their husband and expected me to service their sexual needs, as well as to feed and clothe them. That's when I found out that robots could laugh—Hannah nearly split her skin laughing at my expression when I heard this. She told me to go ahead, the women obviously needed me and she didn't mind sharing. In fact, Hannah said that she would help by telling my new wives what sexual experiences I particularly liked!
I saw that I was hoist on my own petard, so to speak, so I agreed to their wishes. However, I did point out that I was only human, so I could only service one wife a night, and I did need some time off to recuperate. They were so relieved that I agreed that they were quite willing to grant my wishes. However, they had been without sex for nearly 4 weeks, so they wanted to get started on their new routine tonight. I said OK, but it was up to them to set the order they used me.
They agreed among themselves that Hannah had the seniority, so she was senior wife, and the others would rank according to age. Green Leaf was the eldest of the three, so she ranked right behind Hannah and would share my bed that night. Moon Glow was next and Gentle Rain was last in order, as she was only 13 years old and had not borne any children, though she was looking forward to doing so.
Green Leaf was 17 and considered herself worldly and sophisticated. Well, I'd find out about that soon enough. Hannah was very helpful; she insisted that Green Leaf take a bath, since she had not bathed in nearly 6 months. I figured that I could use one, too, so I suggested that we bathe together.
Sometime, probably while I was sleeping, Hannah had cooked up some soap. It was liquid, instead of solid soap, but it sure as hell worked! We warmed up some water and everybody, including the children, gathered around to see this mysterious stuff called soap in action. Hannah kept the soap in an elk's bladder, so all we had to do was squeeze the bladder to dispense some soap.
Green Leaf and I stood in a cleared place in the cave, and Hannah gently poured some water over her head. I squirted some soap into my hand and began massaging Green Leaf's scalp, gently but firmly. I didn't want to frighten my new wife with rough handling. Rubbing her head with the soap obviously felt good, and it was easy to do because she followed the current fashion of keeping her hair cut short. There was a lot of dirt, oil, and animal fat in her dark, almost black, hair, but the soap was so strong that it had no trouble in cutting through the mess. A couple of rinses and we ready to continue with the rest of her body.
Washing Green Leaf's face was simple, since the hair washing had already done most of the work as the soap and water ran down. Fortunately, she had believed us when we warned her to keep her eyes and mouth closed, so we had no painful episodes there. I used my finger tips to wash behind her ears and over her earlobes. She actually started to moan a little in pleasure with this treatment. I progressed down her neck to her shoulders and out each arm until they were both clean. I put a little effort into her armpits, which needed some help! She had no hair there, so the smell wasn't nearly as bad as it might have been. That's when I found out that Green Leaf was ticklish.
I turned her around and washed her back, ass, and legs, eliciting more moans as I progressed, but, when I washed her crotch from behind, I made a point of not touching her pussy.
I turned her again so that she was facing me and began to wash her breasts, starting at the top and working slowly down, kneading the flesh as I moved down toward her nipples. I avoided touching her nipples as I washed her breasts, and washed the sides and between them before lifting each one and carefully washing under it. She had very full breasts, but virtually no sag, I guess because her muscles were so well toned.
Green Leaf's nipples were as large as the end of my little finger and placed in the center of very pink areolas about two inches in diameter. I resisted the urge to suck and kiss them right now. Instead, I placed my soapy palms over her nipples and began to rub them hard but slowly. Green Leaf's moans suddenly turned to a scream, and she fainted. She might well have been injured if Hannah had not jumped in and caught her before she fell.
I wrapped my arms around Green Leaf and held her against me for the nearly 3 minutes it took her to recover. During that time, I enjoyed the feeling of her breasts and hard nipples pushing into my chest and my hard cock rubbing against her belly
. She woke with a panicked look in her eyes and asked, "What happened? I have never felt anything like that before. What magic did you use on me?"
"That wasn't magic, my dear. That was your own body reacting to some loving attention. I hope that you will feel that several more times before we are finished tonight. Didn't your like it?"
"Oh, yes, I certainly did. Please make me feel like that again."
"I promise that I will try, but a lot depends on you. Now, let's finish your bath. Stand by yourself as soon as you can, and I will continue."
Green Leaf was able to stand on her own, but she was still a little shaky. Hannah remained alert to catch her if she started to fall, again. I figured that was enough stimulation of her breasts and moved down her abdomen. I found that she also had a ticklish bellybutton, so I didn't dwell there.
I slipped my hand down to her pubic mound and felt the smoothness where she had removed all of her hair. (I admit it—I prefer naked pussies.) I was getting toward my limit on being able to hold myself in check, so I pushed ahead to wash her pussy and get her to bed. As it turned out, Green Leaf had a very prominent clitoris, and I couldn't help rubbing over it as I ran my hand down her pussy. She screamed and fainted again, but Hannah caught her, so no harm was done.
This time, Hannah held her while I hurriedly washed myself and rinsed us both before she woke up, again. Hannah dried us with some furs and I carried Green Leaf to our bed. She woke up as I was carrying her and said, "It happened again. What a wonderful feeling that was!"
As I laid her on our sleeping furs, I said, "I hope you feel that at least one more time, tonight." I lay down beside Green Leaf, and Hannah shooed the spectators away. Obviously, neither one of us needed any foreplay, so I asked, "Are you ready for me to penetrate you?"
The Hole Page 5
