They understood him, he could tell. The younger chief seemed like he wanted to just hang the boys, but the older chief that they had been dealing with said a few words to him and then shrugged, and it seemed to change his mind. The young judge said a few more words, then turned to leave. Melina came up to his side. “He say they for you. Give tokens,” she pointed to a middle-aged man sitting by a small table. “Boys brought to wagon”.
John took a deep breath and let it out. Damn, they were going to kill these kids over a fucking knife. Oh, he was going to rightly and justly put the fear of everything holy into them, but to kill them, that’s just crazy. “Thank you, Melina.” He went up on his tiptoes and gave her a brief peck on the cheek. He couldn’t help it. He always enjoyed it when she flushed like that.
What a party
Date Night Reflections
Georgia had been having a great time, and at the same time she wanted to just plain strangle Marcus. He was an incorrigible flirt. It wasn’t like he didn’t make her feel special because he did, but that didn’t stop him from laying the charm on thick all around. She hadn’t really noticed it before they got here. Maybe it was because all the women there were Davidson’s, or maybe he just hadn’t let loose but since he decided this was a party he was charming everyone from girls who didn’t know what that little tingle they felt was, to little old ladies who had forgotten what that tingle was.
She knew she shouldn’t let it bother her. He wasn’t acting on any of the many invitations he was getting; he was just collecting them and enjoying them. Then he would wander off to the next attraction with her. If this were Earth, she would never accept behavior like this. She didn’t know if it was the bad influence of Davidson and his menagerie or just the lack of English-speaking options, but she found that while it bothered her even here, it wasn’t intolerable. More like an irritating personal quirk or annoying bad habit. Was she slipping? Was she giving up her self respect? Or was she just deciding not to become a bitter old crone again, like Evita seemed determined to be. She had spent the entire festival alone on the beach with a bottle of cheap wine. The second village court magician or astrologer or whatever had tried to approach her several times, but she was haughty and rude to him each time. Georgia giggled. She had to give the boy an A for effort. Speaking of effort, she had better put a little into moving Romeo here along or this fish wife will be plying him with a third bowl of soup and trying for a side dish of a little more.
Free Food Usually Works
Dr. Anju Gupta had constructed his simple smokeless cook stove and with the help of Davidson’s girls working on a commission program as translators he was giving away tiny lamb kabob samples and showing off how clean burning and fast cooking his cook stove was and how little firewood it used. From housewives to fishing boat captains trying to keep warm a cup of tea to keep themselves warm, the crowd was packed. Two small lamb bites on a little wooden skewer were enough to entice the crowd to gather, and the stove did the rest. Of course in the finest infomercial tradition, if you place your reservation for the build and put down even a small deposit during the Festival, he even would throw in the specialty drying rack for free.
The stove really was a genuine improvement over anything they currently had. The prices he was quoting while high by local standards weren’t beyond the reach of a family as an investment for the home for a year, and the marketing techniques were new and fresh and had over twenty centuries of tweaking and fine tuning. Anju really only had one challenge left. After describing to Phoebe what he needed, and offering her two Festival tokens per qualified applicant, Anju sat back and focused on selling the stoves.
As the sunset, and the crowds turned from business more toward entertainment, Anju put the last of the cooked lamb on his plate and settled in to have his meal. Barely had he began when Phoebe arrived, four respectable men, their young sons and their marriageable age but as yet unmarried daughters in tow. He was a bit surprised; he had not expected to conduct this as a group interview, but she held out her hand expectantly with a smile and with an exasperated chuckle he gave her eight festival tokens and invited his guests to have a seat. He took a deep breath. Tonight was going to prove to be an interesting night.
Scouting
Sam rolled his eyes. He really wished Josh would quit complaining. This really was quite interesting. Yeah, the Festival was fun for a minute and trying to guess which of the Sapphira was finding for which one of them was no shortage of entertainment. Especially the one with the face like a frog that he kept teasing Josh was certainly “For Josh”. None of that could compare to the importance of this, though. John was right, this was something big. Here on the flat end of the island, the area around the tar pit was completely undeveloped by either village. It was right in the middle of the two and had the easiest path down from their place up towards the peak. Sure, the beach area was way too shallow for use as a proper harbor but light pleasure craft and for swimming it would be great. Put in a couple of little vacation homes where they could get away once in a while when all being cooped up together got to be too much.
John, who was scrambling up ahead, called back to them. Seems he’d found something more. Sam fought his way through the overgrowth and squinted to see if he could make out what John was so excited about. Sure enough, some small part of that segment out there was flowing liquid. How they would get to it was anyone’s guess. Josh must have come to the same realization because Sam heard him start to sing, “When up from the ground came a bubbling crude, oil that is. Black gold, Texas tea.”
Sam laughed, “Yeah, next thing you know ol’ John’s a millionaire.”
Josh piped up, “Hey we saw it too!”
John chuckled. “How do you think I’m going to get it out of there without you two eggheads on the job?” There were grins all around, but then his face sobered, “Seriously though, don’t say nothin’ just yet. We gotta talk to the boss and figure a lot of shit out before we’re ready to do anything.” Seeing reluctant nods of agreement all around, they finished up their scout and headed back to the Festival before they were missed.
Professionalism
Eli let out a long satisfied groan as Melina helped him unbuckle the heavy breastplate, and Phoebe and Sapphira lowered it to the ground. Sapphira gave him a quirky little smile, then made a little sniff and wrinkled up her nose. Eli laughed at seeing her face. “That has been a common opinion of my appeal after a day in armor. Fresh water is a little scarce around here, but” he said unbuckling the belt that held his leg harnesses in place, “there is a great big ocean over there and I wager I’ll smell better after a dip.”
The other girls came filing in to the tent at this point, each taking a portion of the armor, wiping it with a rag soaked in olive oil and carefully packing it away for the evening. Despite Elena’s suggestion, he would not attend their dinner invitation from the chiefs in armor. He knew metal conferred status, but they knew he had it, and it was heavy and it was hot, and he really hoped he could actually enjoy this dinner.
Elena came in just as he was finally finished getting out of the armor. She leaned in for a kiss, got a whiff of his smell, and wrinkled her nose. He laughed again. “Ok, ok. Point made. Let’s get a swim!” With a giggle, they all headed off to the beach. Eli was too tired to join the girls in the light-hearted sprint for the water, though it was fun to watch them. Elena had hung back with him. She, too, gave a tired sigh. “That bad?” he asked with a smile.
She sighed again. “Festival different from before. Happy. I important now. I tired now.”
Eli smiled. She had come so far from the frightened girl he had met just a couple of short months ago. Her English was amazing, basic, but impressive considering. The first wave that hit him in the face wasn’t the first cold splash he got. He thought back to his conversation with Phoebe. Soon. Echoed in his mind. He came back to the present in time to hear Elena saying, “Many people. Much remembering. Make hurt head.”
They were amid the other girls now a
nd the others wanted attention as well but he couldn’t help asking, “Elena, didn’t you write any of it down?” but at her hesitant look he realized what he was saying. “Elena, can you read and write?” She hung her head in shame. Eli’s heart nearly broke that he had caused her so much pain. He took her face in his and he lifted her face up so she had to meet his eyes. “I am sorry. This is my fault. I didn’t get you the help you needed. Not your fault.” She dove in for the hug, and the others just swarmed in not to be left out. Eli could think of worse things to happen to you when you screwed up.
Unfortunately, the swim couldn’t last for long. He needed to get dressed in the flight suit. At least it had been washed before they left and hadn’t been worn under the armor. So while it might be worn and torn in places it smelled mostly ok. He looked at himself when he was done. They had been in survival mode since they got here. Eventually he was going to need to get a little more professionalism back in his life, he thought with a sigh.
For all the buildup, dinner was mostly uneventful. In general, anything on the island that didn’t have something built on it, or currently farmed, was considered unclaimed and fair game for whichever group that could develop it. They considered the actual Festival grounds off limits as they were for a common meeting, but neither chief seemed to think that was a big issue anyway since there wasn’t water here. It was the one ongoing challenge of the Festival. Every year both sides hauled in water for a week beforehand to support two-and-a-half days of the event and then it was over and everyone went back to where the water was.
The one interesting event during the meal was Magus Ries’ demonstration of “magic”. Davidson didn’t believe it for a minute, but he also couldn’t figure out how it was done. He saw what he thought looked like energy flow, but then he also saw a light glow from the man’s hand when he called for a light. All common sense says that it is impossible, but yet he saw it with his own eyes. Rather than call the man a fraud, Davidson countered by casually tossing a small pinch of the black powder he had borrowed from St. Claire earlier into the flame of the olive oil lamp on the table. The sudden flash and puff of smoke drew a gasp from everyone in the room. Including Magus Ries, who professed to being impressed and also at a loss. He openly stated that it was not magic, yet instead of denouncing it he proclaimed his admiration for Davidson’s skill. That confused Davidson somewhat. That isn’t the normal action of the typical confidence man running a scam that he was familiar with. He begged time to complete his hall, but invited Magus Ries out for Mid Winter as his guest.
Soon the evening broke up. Everyone was exhausted, as the day had been exceptionally long and eventful.
Babysitting
John St. Claire had just had a long day. Ups and downs, people trying to mug him and dump him in a tar pit. Having to save his would be attackers from a hanging. He rolled his eyes at that irony. He saw the two of them bound by heavy rope to the wheel of the wagon. They had been branded. He wouldn’t have wanted that, but he supposed it was better than being hanged. At least their cuts were stitched up. Someone also smeared them with pitch to seal the wound and hopefully prevent infection. These boys were going to have a very hard six weeks ahead of them, John determined. When they got the chance to be treated good again, he wanted them to appreciate it. He really hoped that this ended the problems. He wouldn’t spare them again.
He went along the small camp, ‘counting noses’. Godfreed and Stone were missing. John wasn’t worried, only a bit jealous. However, when he couldn’t find Dr. Young and no one had heard from her since she went to the beach this morning, he decided to play it safe and check up on her.
It was more than just a short walk along the beach. When this woman wanted her privacy, she wanted her privacy. He slipped into a sheltered vantage point to keep watch for a moment. Just to make sure nothing was amiss. His eyes adjusted to the light conditions more as the time went on. She was laying nearly naked by the fire. John wasn’t big on spying on women when they didn’t know he was watching, but he had to admit as cruel as fate had been to him turning back the hands of time. It had sure kissed every curve of the doc. She took another swill of the wine bottle she had in her hand. He scanned the area. He chuckled. That was the last of four. There were three empties scattered in the sand by her. Doc was hammered. Realizing that there wasn’t any danger, he couldn’t justify lingering and leering, so he stood up and began making noise as he walked her way. He wanted to give her plenty of time to notice him and cover up or hide the empty bottles or whatever.
She didn’t bother with any of it. She vented her complaints to the sky. She ranted about how unfair the world was. About her loneliness and that “it had been too long”. John really didn’t need to hear that with her luscious, sloppy, drunk body splayed lewdly over the sandy beach. He also knew that this was no condition to have her in if anyone else should come by this way. Mostly it just all pissed him off. This was the bitch’s own fault. The fucking time quake, or whatever it was that fucked his life up, just made her fucking gorgeous. Rather than find someone, she comes out here, gets drunk and complains about being horny. “Of course my dumb ass is going to sit here and babysit her all night instead of taking advantage of the situation, and just because I’m a complete moron”, he thought bitterly," I’ll leave in the morning late enough that no one else will find you and hurt you, but early enough you’ll not know I’m here so you won’t be embarrassed. Guess that makes me the chump too. Looks like both of our problems are self inflicted." Still angry with himself for not being either noble enough to not be so tempted by the vulnerable half naked form lying so near, or not being so villainous as to be able to avail himself of it guilt free. Trapped between these worlds was for chumps, he thought bitterly as he adjusted his trousers and tried not to stare. It was going to be a long night.
Everything Has Changed All Over Again
Finishing up the books
Elena was in a bit of stunned amazement. Each of the senior members of their little family, as she liked to think of it took a turn sitting in with her. She knew about writing, but she didn’t really understand its full power before that day. From the oldest to the youngest, from the most serious, to the Roth brothers, who were kind of in a class of their own when it came to such things as far as Elena could see, while each person was only with her for a short time the others could know everything that had happened before. They could know how many fleeces of wool were owed and when. Everything that made her head hurt trying to remember they could see on their pieces of paper.
Eli told her they would teach her, and all the girls, if they wanted to learn, arabic numerals, arithmetic, and double-entry book-keeping. He said it would make her more skilled than many of the merchants in the world; he thought. He said he couldn’t be certain, but when they began to explore the mainland, it might even be a service that they offered for a fee. Elena didn’t like the thought of Eli going away to the mainland. Maybe in she learned these things then she could go with him, she thought. She would work hard and learn them fast. For today, though, she just watched in awe as the marks went down on the paper and sums that would have taken her many minutes to count up were almost instantly given back to her.
Even though obviously suffering today from an excess of wine yesterday, even the one they called Dr. Young smiled at her. It seemed that Dr. Young approved of girls’ learning numbers. Elena didn’t know why being a girl would make it extra special, but if it made the woman nicer, Elena was all for it.
By the end of the day Elena had Josh count up for her a complete list of what they were to receive. She couldn’t be certain, of course, as no detailed count had ever been done, but she thought that number had to be about a third of everything that the island would produce over the next year.
When she told this to Eli, she was bursting with pride. She thought it meant she had done well getting a good price for his metalwork. It surprised her when Eli looked worried. He told her he was proud of her work, but the worried look didn’t leave hi
s face. When she kept asking, he tried to explain that he didn’t want to take too much from the others at one time because he didn’t want anyone to go hungry. She realized that he really was worried about the others, so she said she could give some back. He just smiled and said that wasn’t good for them either in the long run. She was really confused. Even as she thought back on it now, it still seems strange. She could understand the words of their English pretty well, but sometimes that wasn’t enough to understand them. He had said that we, our family shouldn’t have to take less, we need to help the others to make more. That sounds nice, but there are only so many hours in a day. Only so many fish one boat can catch. So many plots of ground one farmer can plant and harvest. If they could just “make more” wouldn’t they already be doing it? She had really fallen deeply in love with her Eli. He was such a good man, but sometimes he had just gotten so used to being so rich that she wasn’t sure he understood what the world was like for everyone else.
Time to return home
Eli was packing the wagon. This had been one crazy couple of days. Between the two chiefs, and whatever the deal was with the “magus”, all of Elena’s business dealings, not to mention each of the ladies brought their parents by to introduce him. Eli shook his head. For all intents and purposes, seven sets of in-laws all on the same day. He snorted. Fortunately, he seemed to have developed quite the reputation locally, and the ladies were all happy, so the parents seemed to think he walked on water. Thinking back to the first time he had met his Rebecca’s father, Eli couldn’t help but grin. The conservative rabbi had not been impressed with him in the least. Even though this hadn’t gone as badly as that, Eli would be happy to be back working on his home again and out of the public eye for a bit.
World Wright Incorporated (World Wright Inc. Book 1) Page 9
