by Noah Layton
There had been a few deviations, of course. The monster may have been dead, but there was no way the traders would be returning to the post anytime soon if they thought that the monster was still out there somewhere.
I couldn’t exactly send a group-text either, but word of mouth was much more powerful, and the fastest way to send a message like this was to make a statement that couldn’t be taken in more than one way.
After discussing the matter with my people, myself, Ariadne, Mara and Tormus returned to the cliff’s edge at Ark Point and made our way to the bottom via several steep paths and drops. Mara did the necessary work on the wolf’s carcass and we returned to the trading post which had been completely abandoned.
Travellers would come and go along the route during the day, and they would speak of what they had seen – the mother wolf’s head suspended on several logs grafted into the ground.
There was no ignoring a symbol like that. It was anonymous, and its statement clear. I had no interest in claiming responsibility for bringing it down. It had been a mix of luck and careful timing, as well as the hand of a pretty farmgirl who had saved my life.
Speaking of which-
‘There’s something I need to ask you,’ I said to Jeremiah. ‘Lara and Ariadne are my wives, but… How would you feel about me marrying Santana, too?’
I held my breath, ready for him to swing the axe straight at my head. I had been building this up in my head for almost a week, wondering about all the possible outcomes, but he didn’t even react. He just continued to stare at the fence. His demeanour didn’t shift at all.
‘What does Santana think about this? She is not an object to be traded and exchanged. She is a woman all her own.’
‘I know,’ I replied quickly. ‘She’s a strong person. I’ve already spoken about it with her. She wants to be my wife.’
‘Then what are you asking me for? You’re the tribe master.’
‘Well… I’m from a different world to you, and it’s a little old-fashioned where I come from, but… The man is supposed to ask the lady’s father for permission before he asks her to marry him.’
‘You are the tribe master. You do not have to ask me.’
‘Yes, I do. That’s not how things are here. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it.’
Jeremiah smiled.
‘Since I met you, you have exhibited nothing but a strong mind, a brave soul, a vicious work ethic and a desire to take care of your people. I am sure that Santana would be very happy, and that I would be too.’
My entire body felt like it had had a weight lifted off it.
We finished our work for the day and enjoyed the weather for the remainder, I and my people walking the land and checking our stores. We were watered and sheltered and fed, and were planning another trip to Ichabod’s Cove while the nearby trading post repopulated with traders over the coming months.
Now that we were safe and the forest around us was quiet, as well as the defences being on their way to being completed, I had more plans than I could even count. I may have accomplished a lot over the past two weeks since I had arrived in Agraria, but in the grand scheme of things there was so much more that I wanted to accomplish.
That could wait, though. With another day at its end I headed to the well and, many buckets of water later, sank into a bath of lukewarm water in the confines of my treehouse.
I wasn’t alone, though – Ariadne was stretched out on the bed in her underwear, engrossed in a book.
‘What are you reading?’
‘An adventure story,’ she replied. ‘Santana leant it to me. Books are difficult to come by, so it is a treat to read something every once in a while.’
‘We’ll build a library one day,’ I said, sinking back in the water. ‘We’ll buy every book that we come across and fill the shelves up.’
Ariadne looked up from her book and smiled. She set it aside and crossed to the bathtub, sinking down next to it and resting her head on her arms on the ledge.
‘You free people from cages, master.’
‘You’re the only person I’ve ever freed from a cage… Well, you and Tormus and Eri… And the people in the cave near the cove… But it’s not my day job.’
‘You have freed me from more than one cage. Many tribe masters do not even allow their people to read. Mine did not. I had to learn myself, in secret.’
‘Seriously?’
‘Yes. I still miss them, of course. I wonder every night if any remain out there.’
‘I told you,’ I said, raising a hand to her cheek and kissing her. ‘If we ever find any of your people in chains I’ll free them and kill whoever holds them captive. I promise.’
At that moment the door to the treehouse opened. Lara and Santana entered and closed the door behind them. Lara hardly even batted an eye at the sight of us, but Santana stopped and watched with a mix of shock and interest as her bottom lip slid out beneath her biting teeth.
‘So it is true…’ She said.
‘What is?’ I asked as Ariadne pulled away and I stood from the bath, wrapping a towel around my waist.
‘That wives share a tribe master.’
‘That doesn’t bother you, does it?’
‘Not at all master.’
After we had all bathed, the girls snuggled up to me as they fell asleep, and I looked up through the canopy overhead at the dim light through the blurred colors of the leaves. The twin beds provided a decent amount of space, but with four of us now sleeping in them I would have to think about investing in a larger bed.
Careful not to wake them, I slipped out of bed and pulled on my pants before heading out of the treehouse and into the clearing. Only a little scattered light remained as I filled my canteen with water from the well and looked out over my land.
‘Can’t sleep, Jack?’
Alorion appeared nearby, heading over to me and clambering onto the sloped roof of the well.
‘Just getting some fresh air,’ I replied. ‘How about you?’
‘Enjoying the quiet. It’s a rare commodity out here.’
‘Not anymore. I haven’t heard a sound all week except the wind and insects in the fields.’
‘Indeed. Hopefully it will last.’
‘Our defences will be finished soon. From there we just keep building and improving. We upgrade our defences and our weapons. We bring in new citizens. Create more resources. It’s all up from here.’
We embraced the silence for a few moments, looking out over the fields.
‘Can I ask you something?’ Alorion said.
‘Of course. What’s up?’
‘That chain around your neck. Not to confess to prying eyes, but it looks to be made of solid silver. We may trade in gold pieces in this land, but the pieces are far from pure, unlike that locket of yours. Why not sell it?’
I wrapped a hand around the locket and twirled it in my fingers absently.
‘It belonged to someone I loved a long time ago. Years and years ago.’
‘What happened to her?’
I gulped and closed my eyes. I had always tried to push the thought of her out of my head. It had been ten years, but she always found a way to creep back in, usually through nightmares – or gloomhunters.
‘Her name was Katie. We spent a lot of time together when I wasn’t working. I never saw the point in starting a relationship because I was always so busy working, but she was the one person that made me question that. Anyway… We were together one night after dinner, and in the middle of the night while we were sleeping she wraps her hand around my throat and starts trying to choke me… At least that’s what I thought she was doing.
‘When I finally became fully awake, I realised that she was the one was choking. She had eaten something and set off a reaction to an allergy she didn’t know she had. I didn’t know what to do… By the time help arrived she was dead.
‘This was hers. I just keep it around to remind myself to appreciate what I’ve got. I guess… I guess that’
s why I got used to the idea of loving the girls so quickly. Now that I’m settled in one place, I can be with a woman, or in this case several women, all the time. It’s tough, though. I know they’re all good fighters and can defend themselves, but the thought of losing any of them already scares the shit out of me.’
‘How come you have never mentioned this before?’
‘In all honesty I try not to think about. It’s in the past.’
‘So that’s why you care so much for your people,’ Alorion smiled. ‘Such is the nature of life, though. It is the fragile things that are the most important to us. We must look after the precious things with everything we have.’
I smirked and looked over at Alorion. ‘You come up with all of these quotes yourself or did you read them somewhere?’
‘I am a hive of wisdom, Jack, even if my memory is patchy.’
Alorion retrieved his canteen from his inventory and dunked it into the bucket of water on the ledge of the well. He went to drink it but hesitated, then held up his canteen.
‘Cheers?’
I looked over at him in surprise, then raised my canteen too.
‘Cheers, bud.’
We knocked our canteens together and both took a long drink, looking out over the lands once more. Agraria was my home now, and Alorion, my girls and my people had made me feel more than welcome. We were safe and life was good, but our next adventure was right around the corner.
TRIBE MASTER WILL CONTINUE IN BOOK 2
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