by Noah Layton
The trade was four days away, and I had a lot to do.
Chapter Four
I was usually the last one to fall asleep out of myself and my wives every night, and that night was no different. It had been a long day, and they snuggled up to me beneath the covers as the final drips of sunlight crawled in through the canopy overhead.
Elera nuzzled against me to my right, one of her blue hands resting on my defined chest as she slumbered. Behind her was Ariadne, who rested against her back – my two more exotic wives had grown closer through their differences.
Santana was to my left, one of her slender arms resting over my abs as she snuggled beneath my arm, her long red hair tied back in a ponytail as she slept. Lara was by her side, her purple hair framing her pretty, pale face, exposing her large breasts and slender navel as she pushed the covers down around her waist.
Sleep would come for me too, but I had too much on my mind right now.
The western tribe that wanted the bluestone were a group that we knew nothing about. Evidently Werger trusted them enough to make a deal with them, and he was confident that they wouldn’t betray him, but there was one problem; I wasn’t Werger.
18,000GP rested on the notion of whether or not this foreign, unknown tribe master would care about the identity of who he was trading with.
I dwelled on the matter for silent, stretching hours as the sun disappeared from sight and I laid in the dark, surrounded by my wonderful wives.
No matter what train of thought I followed, though, it always led me back to the same conclusion; I was going to attempt to make this trade either way.
I just had to come up with a sensible way to do it.
And, just like that, several plans began to form, ones that were just stupid enough that they might actually work.
I managed to get a few hours sleep that night, and my restless mind awoke me at sunrise. The cogs in my head started working immediately, and I was out and ready to go.
I readied the horses, Arabelle and Myranthia, and loaded the carts with the goods that needed selling at the trading post, as well as the stacks of wood panels that I had taken from the deconstructed houses the day before.
Pulling on my gear, stowing my weapons and prepping enough provisions for the day, I headed over to Cass’s home, which she shared with her brothers, Aden and Oden.
They had worked in the mines for years and as a result their capacities as early risers had become a habit rather than a necessity. When I headed through their open door that morning they were all awake, eating breakfast in the kitchen.
‘Do you guys ever get tired of eating corn for breakfast?’ I asked, knocking on the door. ‘Mind if I come in?’
‘Of course not, Master Jack,’ Cass said, ushering me in. ‘And corn is much better than nothing, as we had to deal with on several occasions back at Grayholde.’
‘You’ll never have empty stomachs here, that I can promise you,’ I replied. ‘And I told you to stop calling me master. It’s Jack from now on.’
‘What made you have the change of heart, if you don’t mind me asking?’
‘Just something that happened recently. Anyway, I confess that I’m not here for just a casual visit. I need your help. Or, rather, I need the help of your brothers.’
‘I’m sure they would be more than happy to oblige,’ Cass smiled heartily, looking between them.
Aden turned to look at me, the only one of the two who spoke, and even then he only spoke the fewest words possible.
‘What is the job?’ He asked, deeply and simply.
‘A few things, actually. We’re building defenses at our new land.’
‘I knew joining you was the smart thing to do,’ Cass said. ‘Ambition and care. What more could we ask for?’
‘Whatever you need, I’d hope, but I need something else in return, too.’
‘Oh?’
‘Do you mind if I sit?’
‘Please.’
I took a seat at the dining table with the three of them.
‘We’re about to make a deal with another tribe, but everything is telling me that it’s going to be dangerous. We don’t know much about them. We don’t know how large a fighting force they are, or their nature. But if it goes well it’s going to make the tribe rich.’
‘Rich?’ Cass’s eyes lit up, but I couldn’t blame her. ‘How rich, if you don’t mind me asking?’
‘Enough for us to become a force to be reckoned with in the area. Enough that we can tone down labour on the land and live comfortably for a while. I’ll leave it at that.’
‘My… And what do you need my brothers for?’
Cass always spoke on behalf of her brothers, except for when Oden would offer the occasional word. They were almost mutes, but they were damn good workers.
I just never wanted to get on the wrong side of them.
‘Let me be real with you for a moment,’ I continued, looking between the twins. ‘You two scare the shit out of me. Together you’re stronger than a herd of taurems, and you can get heavy lifting done quickly. But it’s that strength of yours that I need when we make this deal.
‘When we come face to face with this foreign tribe I need to provide a show of force. Our tribe may only number 18 citizens with the fox-people now here, but they don’t know that. All we need to do is look like we’re a strong fighting force. And, with that considered, I need you two with me, front and centre, to provide a sense of… Quiet intimidation, if that makes sense.
‘What we’re about to do is going to provide a better life for us, and for any future members that we choose to bring here, and I want you two to help me do it.’
The twins both stared at me silently for a moment. Their faces weren’t blank, only considerate and stern. In unison they turned to look at each other, then back to me.
‘We will help you, Mr Jack,’ Aden said. ‘For the good of the tribe.’
Aden offered a hand to me to shake, while Oden simply nodded at me. No trade windows appeared – this was a verbal agreement between men.
‘Thank you,’ I said firmly. ‘I appreciate your help. Finish with breakfast and meet me at the stables. We’ve got a busy few days ahead of us. And bring your weapons.’
I gave them a final nod and headed back outside. The fact that they hardly ever spoke scared the hell out of me, primarily because I could never tell what they were thinking. They operated as a unit under the care of Cass, who kept the pained minds they were saddled with under her watchful command.
I thought back to what Santana had said when we had first made the deal with Cass at Grayholde – appeal to what they want most.
I was no expert on the inner workings of their heads, but I had little doubt that what they wanted most, just like their older sister and most other people, was a sense of safety and warmth and a good strong meal three times a day.
Leaving the land under the watchful eyes of Alorion and my wives, Aden, Oden and I headed out in the early-morning sunrise to the trading post, our first stop.
We unloaded the junk items that we had acquired, bringing in 1100GP in the process, before I turned my attention to the reinvestments we could make.
The livestock boom that had occurred after the death of the mother wolf weeks ago was starting to die down a little, but there were still some deals to be made, including a selection of creatures that I was totally familiar with but had yet to see in Agraria; chickens.
The stink-faced centaur that I had previously made dealings with was selling them at 50GP per unit.
I silently wondered whether or not the fact that he was part-animal made this tantamount to slavery, but in business dealings I had to hold my tongue.
Even if Aden and Oden both looked like they could probably take the guy, I didn’t want to start a fight.
I purchased 20 for a total of 1000GP, being careful to have my cart ready before the centaur started throwing them to me.
The price made sense; I hadn’t seen any in the area before, they would probab
ly be a nightmare to catch, and their food production possibilities were endless. They could be bred with a male, produce more chickens, and in turn produce more eggs.
Getting away from the thought of a field of thousands of chickens churning out eggs, I purchased some hay bales for the horses and traversed the trading post for any other potential items I would need, before finally setting eyes on a stall that I occasionally traded with.
I had purchased bombs from them weeks ago to defend the perimeter of my land, back when we didn’t have a defensive wall and there were just three of us.
It had been pricey, but it had saved our lives that very night from being slaughtered by a vicious group of bandits.
The pair of wolf-headed traders stared over at me, stood side by side like a pair of mercenaries, their arms folded and their shoulders square beneath their battered leather armor.
I headed over to them and stocked up on explosives that I planned to station around the land. The more value we had, the more important it was to protect it.
‘What about these?’ I asked after making my first purchase for 1800GP – expensive, but no price could be placed on safety, and this would securely fortify our perimeter.
I pointed down to a selection of smaller explosives that rested upon straw in a large wooden box.
‘Handheld explosives,’ one of the wolves said. ‘Activated and throw.’
Grenades. That was what they meant.
‘What’s kind of blast?’
‘Guaranteed kill within a three yards. High chance to maim within seven yards.’
‘Interesting… Do you have anything more dangerous? Just out of curiosity.’
The wolf-headed traders shared a look. One nodded to the other, then headed to their well-protected cart and pulled forward a chest hidden beneath a blanket.
After searching within, he retrieved something wrapped up in a piece of cloth.
The wolf-headed trader still with me nodded over his shoulder, ushering me closer to the cart.
Sword sheathed at my side, I approached them and observed as the cloth was pulled back over the mysterious item.
Orange light glowed upon my face and lit up my eyes as I stared down at the object.
It was unassuming in size, a sphere around the size of a tennis ball, but its surface was like glass, transparent, giving a view onto the fire that swam within, like it had a mind of its own.
‘What is it?’ I asked, entranced by the swimming flames.
‘Infernal Fire Explosive,’ one of the wolves said. ‘Incinerates everything within a twenty-yard radius thirty seconds after activation.’
‘What do you define as incinerating?’
‘Put it this way; whatever was killed you would need to identify by its bone structure.’
‘And the blast radius? Is it guaranteed within twenty yards?’
‘It stops at twenty yards.’
‘How the hell does that work?’
The wolves scoffed at each other, and the speaker continued.
‘Each Infernal Fire Explosive contains a fire demon captured from magma. The moment they are released, they explode.’
‘How much?’
‘1500GP.’
‘For how many?’
‘No, 1500GP each.’
‘Seriously?’
‘If you feel like risking your life to venture into a patch of magma and catch one of these little fuckers, be my guest. It is difficult enough to trap a fire demon, never mind create the explosive itself. We know many who have died creating them.’
I marvelled at the dancing flames. The power held within was almost impossible to imagine.
‘I think I’ll stick with the regular stuff for now,’ I replied, still intrigued by the sight of the item. ‘Let’s cut a deal.’
***
With the taurems in tow and the hens sitting in the back of the cart, we headed onwards to the Rourke Homestead to meet Jeremiah and Lola. Their blossoming relationship was still in full-swing, and after we bestowed the gifts of the livestock upon them I had no intention of sticking around and interrupting things. They were building a happy life as a sub-division of the tribe’s land. I planned for it eventually to be a much bigger herd of a variety of animals.
It was just one of the many things we could pull off once the bluestone trade was complete.
From the homestead we proceeded to the new land. The forest became thick the further we progressed, forcing us to take our original route of moving west to Grayholde and then tracing the tree line before heading back in.
That was another item on the to-do list – establish a more secure, safer route from the homestead to the new land so that we could reduce our travel time.
The Orakin Tribe was becoming its very own industry, after all.
Aden and Oden remained silent during the journey, until we finally arrived at the land.
They took in the sight of the place for the first time, and I swore that I could see the slightest glimpse of something resembling excitement on their faces.
This was the kind of life that they had probably dreamed of back at Grayholde before their boss had taken a slice of their earnings. Now they could be a part of something bigger, they could earn something, and I intended to let them have it.
We set up our temporary base of operations at the centre of the land, just as I did at our original land. With the horses parked, we set them up with a few bales of hay and a trough of water while we got to work on constructing the fence.
I accessed the Building Totem as I did the one back at my land, and together we began to fill in the gaps in the fence that resided along the perimeter.
In the same fashion as I had done with Jeremiah, we worked together in silence to complete everything quickly. The brothers were like machines, and the fence was completed within hours, including a gate to act as a single access point on the western point, in the same spot where Lara and I had arrived through when we had first arrived at the land.
We took a break for lunch in the shade of the tree, using the cooking equipment I had brought to prep some of the fish that Elera had caught, along with some fried tomatoes and carrots.
Still, things took place in silence. It didn’t feel awkward; I had gotten used to it by now, but as I ate my mind still wandered. I finished off my meal, more than enough for myself, while the twins helped themselves to another serving of fish to quell their large appetites. I drank deeply from my water canteen and looked about the land, eventually resting my eyes on the sight of the mine.
We hadn’t set foot near it during our production of the fence because the section behind it was already covered, but it still got me thinking.
‘I just need to check something for a few minutes, guys,’ I said, pushing up and heading to the treehouse. ‘Keep a lookout for me.’
They both nodded and carried on eating, and I hurried up the steps to the tribe master’s home.
The only things that now remained were the closet, some rolled-up rugs that were stacked against the wall – and the basement door that led down to the hoard of bluestone in the basement.
‘Hello, tribe master.’
I jumped and looked overhead to see Nyah sitting on a branch in the lower reaches of the tree.
‘At least you’ve got one thing in common with my imp,’ I said.
‘What’s that?’
‘A talent for sneaking up and scaring the crap out of me.’
‘Interesting.’
‘You don’t say a whole lot, do you?’
‘Not really. I do not have much to say, quite frankly.’
‘I can respect that.’
I pulled out the parchment that Morok had given me from my inventory and examined it again.
762 units – bluestone – 18493GP
I headed down into the basement where the chests resided.
I headed to the first and counted through the quantity. Afterwards I picked up any that were sat upon the ground and piled them in to empty spaces.
&nbs
p; I had no pen or quill to hand, so I had to do the maths in my head as I moved around the room.
And then, arriving at the last chest, I began to panic.
‘Wait…’ I said to myself quietly, looking around rapidly at the chests. ‘Wait…’
Hurriedly I returned to the first and counted the stacks again, then the second, then the third.
‘Shit.’
639 units. I was missing 123 units of the stuff.
The fox-people that had been a part of Ariadne’s tribe had been kept as slaves on the land. They were the ones working down there in the mine, bringing this stuff up for Werger so that he could eventually sell it off before they were thrown back into their basement cage.
One had died in the process, surrounded by his kin who were unable to do anything to help him.
I couldn’t imagine the pain.
They were my main source of information, but I hadn’t asked them about it and I didn’t intend to. I had considered it, but I doubted they would know anything as it was. Either way, it was a wound that was no doubt still fresh in their minds.
Besides, my only shot at getting the remaining units in place was to get to work – and I knew two guys who were pretty damn good at mining, if the stories about them were true.
Returning outside, I found Aden and Oden finishing off their meals.
‘How do you two feel about going back into a mine?’
‘For the good of the tribe?’ Aden burped, raising an eyebrow.
‘For the good of the tribe,’ I repeated.
They exchanged a nod with each other.
‘Lead the way,’ Aden said.
A few minutes later we were descending into the mine that Werger had led me through weeks ago back on the first and only occasion that we had met.
I had yet to take a proper look at the place, but after distributing a pair of torches to the twins and lighting one of my own, we moved further into the depths of the cavern.
There were plenty of naturally occurring caves in Agraria, and it looked like this was no different. From the patterns and sections that had been dug out, it seemed to have been expanded considerably from its original natural form.
