Chapter 5

I popped both girls on the ass and said, “FEED ME wenches. I have been riding hard and need to get some energy back.”

“Yes, Master. Giggle.”

“Yes, Master. Giggle.”

( Sheeeeiit )

They threw shifts on and headed for the kitchen. I realized we had totally forgotten last night’s supper.

Luckily, the chicken had been in a large covered pot so it was still good.

The girls made a new dish. It was called Holly’s Hominy Grits. Evidently a Hero had brought hominy grits here from Earth. It’s supposedly great with milk and honey. Holly makes it because it’s pretty different than oatmeal or gruel. She adds bits of sausage and some shredded cheese to the white grits. It will stick to my bones. I was surprised to learn hominy is similar to flint corn. The big difference is the hominy corn is white from processing.

Redberries would be good in Holly’s grits. They are not sweet and would add a contrasting flavor. Mine grits are already dry, so they would have needed to be added before cooking. I need to plant redberries here soon.

Thank goodness for Holly’s strong black tea. I wondered what the tea would taste like with a pinch of dried stevia leaf added to the tea leaves. I had bought a big bag of tea. I promised myself I would try it at home. I realized the homestead was my home now. Well, this house, too, but mostly the homestead.

While we ate, Holly mentioned the bank manager had forgotten to mention Walter’s bank account. It’s mine now. I had more than enough gold coins to last me a lifetime here. One of my coins contained more gold than several conchs, their largest denomination. Gold is scarce here.

I proposed a joint account between Holly and I. I knew I should create another account for the Daniels women. They are now my family. Over the years any man could have taken over the homestead as his own.

Laura, in no uncertain terms, let me know I needed to produce a few male heirs. The Daniels women had lived in fear of being captured or expelled from their place by the first man who came by.

Realizing the temporary nature I have here, I needed a male heir who could protect my women after I leave.

I sat and drank my second cup of tea as I let this thought bounce around inside my head. They were both quiet and let me think. I knew they were ready to go when they both reappeared in different shifts. I call them shifts because they are simple garments made from two pieces. A front piece and a back one that are sewn together. They are easy-on, easy-off. Just the way the men here want them.

A dress is more form-fitting and made of a better fabric. The cloth here is crude at best. There’s not much cotton available. Mostly clothes are rough woolen or linen, and the linen is usually crude. Holly must have borrowed a dress I bought for Riley. The new shifts came down to just above their knees.

Their shoes are flats with linen uppers, each with a single thick leather sole. I saw that they must have wrapped Holly’s bosom, too. I had bought material for Riley for just that purpose. It was recommended for Riley since she has such a big pair on her. Holley is no slouch in the tittie department, either. She won’t need that wrap in a day or so when my spell kicks in. The spell will fully remodel her magnificent tits. They will be a similar size; she will have them re-molded to look young and perkier.

We walked into the bank and asked to see the manager.

He came out smiling and shook my hand.

He said, “I knew you would be back. We have unfinished business, but you needed to get to know Holly, and she needed to get to know you. I have great respect for her. I know that she is a damsel and not a local girl from Chaos.”

Holly asked him, “If you know so much, what exactly is my status?”

He said, “It is, as you probably suspect, you are here permanently. Does this distress you, dear?”

She took my arm and said, “Not at all. I have found my hero. He plans to give me many babies.”

The manager looked at her, and his eyes widened.

I said, “So, there is some type of relationship here to the whole Hero versus Cassandra thing. Are you at liberty to tell us about it?

He said, “I’m sorry. I have said too much already, but I feel close to Holly. She’s a friend I have admired her from afar.”

I said, “There is the question of Walter’s money in his account.”

He said, “Yes, Holly is still on the account. Walter just kept her weekly draw low. He called it Holly’s housekeeping money. Would you like to use the money in it to create another joint account?” Did you want to change the amount she can take out?”

I said, “Yes, to both of those ideas. I also need a separate account for myself, Riley, Laura, and Sarah Atorn.”

He said, “So, you do want to trade in your gold coins.”

I said, “Yes, they are sizable. The local weight standards and my home system measurement do not line up. Here are ten of them. Please weigh them and let me know what the tally is.

I pulled a different bag of ten out for him to use from null. The current bag is my ready cash, and I traded one coin yesterday to buy supplies.

He went out to the cage, retrieved a scale, and brought it to his office. He took the coins, put them on the scale, and used the metal weights to balance out the scale.

He said, “It comes to 785 conchs per coin or 7,850 for all ten coins. We take a small amount to convert it to pinches, quids, shells, and conchs. You know, it takes the average man a lifetime to earn less than half of a conch.”

( Wow. I really am a multi-millionaire here. )

I said, “Please make it so. I will have Riley and Sarah come in sometime later to sign onto the account.”

He filled out a card for each account. I watched him; his pen was not the typical Iron Age fountain pen where you constantly dunked the nib into a bottle of ink. It obviously was more advanced than other pens here. The printed card was also not locally made. The card was of decent quality, and the printing was distinct and machine-like. He comes from someplace, at least or close to as advanced as Rukac.

I had the manager, whatever his name was, to break a coin so Holly had some pocket money. I handed it to him. I know she needs clothes, and I need to get back the dress and shoes she’s wearing; they really belong to Riley.

I collected the horses and wagon, and we loaded the things we bought and got them stowed. Holly and Laura made some chicken sandwiches for the trip. We both got long kisses and crushing hugs from Holley. I made sure to stroke Holley’s sweet bum.

As I turned to leave, I grabbed a hold of Holley’s nipples for a second. I left her lying on the divan, where she crumpled from my molestation. She’s howling loudly through her climax.

Laura and I left her and we both giggled during the first part of the trip.

We left before high noon, but we had a headwind that slowed us down. It was getting to be dusk, and we were still short of the homestead. I saw a crow flying by and had an idea. I pulled out a small piece of paper and wrote a quick note. I folded it, wrapped it, and tied it with string.

I called one of the crows down. She’s a beauty. I coaxed her with pecans. She was wary, but I coaxed her closer. After a while, she was used to me petting her and hand-feeding her. As I held her, I visualized the cabin. She understood me. I tied the little message to her leg so she could fly with it. I pictured the door to the cabin and her pecking the door. She understood me.

Crows are ingenious animals, plus they like to help when they can. They also like mischief, but she’s old enough to be beyond that stage. She took off for the cabin. I pulled my three-man tent out. I started putting the rod supports together, and with Laura’s help, we soon had a tent to spend the night in. I pulled out two self inflating airbeds and got them settled and filling. We had not stopped for lunch, so we still had chicken sandwiches. I put on water to make tea. I used a tea ball and added a couple of pinches of stevia leaf.