Chapter 2

Just when I thought it was all over, it all starts again.

From the start of the hold I began to think one of the most important things to do would be a school. Not just for the Hold, but for all the children of the village. I asked our learned Doctor to help children and he gladly agreed since I was also helping him to create better and varied potions. The kids were a little glum about it, but the mothers knew this would give all the children a great boost to their futures.

Speaking of mothers, it seemed that these women had somehow decided that until new men moved in that were worth settling in with, they were somehow my wives. Yes I said wives, as in plural marriage. It seemed that if you could support a large family, plural marriages were up to the people and not the law. Now usually a ceremony was needed for an official marriage, but a tradition much like old European “hand fastening” was accepted by rural areas to create a bond between women and men. It was recognized by the community but not legally binding as a marriage would be. Well that aside, it seemed all the women living in the Hold saw themselves as wives, and the children of the orphanage as our children. Something tells me because of my appeal to them, to look at all the kids as their children, after all a family needs a husband and father figure to work well.

When I talked to the stone mage Alfreed and the Doc during one of our evenings in the lab neither one could see anything wrong with it. I asked them what would happen if any of the women decided to take this relationship to a sexual level and they just looked at me before smiling. “Son, let me see if I have your thinking straight. You are surrounded by young women who look at you as their husband, may want to sample your maleness, and you are backing away? I have to wonder just how cooked your brain really got.” The Doc just nodded in agreement. “What happens if there is a pregnancy?” The Doc cleared his throat and then sighed. “Just so you know, all the women who live with you have each come to me of their own accord to get a charm that keeps them from getting with a child. So I would say that if one decided not to wear it, then the onus is upon them and not you.” That was a new one. “A charm can do that?” With yet another sigh he nodded. “It can be worn in many forms and I have even heard of women who get one placed in an intentional wound. Observe them and look for new rings, necklaces, anklets and other such trinkets. It has to be worn at all times to keep the flow of magic strong.” Well shit, there goes that objection.

The Doc looked at me with a mindful stare. “In fact even of a few of the girls have come to me for the very same charm despite having yet to become a natural woman.” That one caused me to rock back on my heels. “What are you saying? Isn’t that wrong?” There was a chuckle from the old man. “To think even some of those little ones already seem to want a taste of this mage. Truly a credit to all men if so many see his worth.” The Doc simply nodded again. “Let me ask, at what point is it considered bad for a man to take a wife?” They both seemed to think about this hard. “I guess it depends on many things. Is he a good man? Is it by force? What nation you are in? Is it from an arranged marriage? Those kinds of things are what make the rules and laws.” I gave him the dead pan look. “Here, now, and with me.” That thoughtful look came back. “Well I guess it would be up to the parents, but as long as she is willing I would say around nine summers is the lowest without looking at your equipment to see if damage would be caused.”

Alfreed began to chuckle. “Can you see that Hold turning into his house for him and all his wives?” he said and even the Doc laughed. The Doc caught his breath and gave a little sigh. “Well considering the level of his skills, the way he is benefitting this village, and his very good nature, I wouldn’t be surprised if more than a few of the villagers start throwing their daughters at him as well.” Alfreed nodded along with that. “It sure makes one feel safer knowing their child is in the care of such a man Like Mikael rather than being traded off at a gathering.” This gave me pause. “What is a gathering?” The doc leaned forwards and spread his hands out. “So there are many villages in the area and we all raise crops and animals. This also means a varied crops for each area, varied animals, and varied goods. So after harvest people come to a central place and have what is known as a gathering of villages. There we trade what we have for what we don’t, some places loose daughters and others gain sons, and we also get to see relatives who have moved away.” Alfreed took a long draw on his pipe. “There is a lot of fun and festivities as well. People exchange news as well as goods there. When it comes to light you are a stone mage I have no doubt you will be asked to take on jobs from everyone. It could mean a great deal of stores and coin will be offered to one as good as you.”

The Doc gave a small chuckle before looking a little sad. “I was going to say that the probability of gaining more women as a joke, but once news is spread of the orphanage, it probably will. So many died and left children behind.” Alfreed pursed his lips together. “The young boys are needed for work, but the young girls ... some villages place a much lower price on them.” The Doc rubbed his temples. “I had forgotten the skin traders may be coming around soon.” I leaned forwards now. “Skin traders?” They both nodded. “You have to understand that in villages hit by tragedy the margin between eating and hunger grows thin. If selling a girl to a slaver will widen that margin it can’t be helped.” Slavery?!?!? “Since we are the closest to the capital we would probably see them first, but I have no doubt a few will be coming through eventually.” Crap what kind of world was this that still has slavery? Oh right the kind that has always existed. It takes a high level of technology to move away from keeping slaves, and even then there are always the monsters in the shadows that feed on suffering.

Alfreed sat up and looked at me. “Hey boy, how about you and I see if we can find some work. Maybe stretch these legs and see how these other areas are doing after the sickness?” I suddenly felt like doing just that. As we broke up our evening the Doc asked me if maybe we ought to use an animal cart to have a few things to trade, say goods like the potions we had been busy making. I agreed and headed home. As I walked into the kitchen I found a familiar face to raise my spirits. “Good evening young master, are you hungry? I still have some stew that is warm.” Bethany’s smile could always lift my spirits. As I sat down with a large bowl of food, a small loaf of bread, and some tea I began to let her know what was going on. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at me. “Off to see what is out there before the skin traders are you? Why am I not surprised to hear that?” She looked around and stroked her chin. “We may have to add on to the main building, but that only means more hands to spread the work.” She said cheerfully. The next day as the children were assembled for school the women asked me to sit with them. As we sat I noticed more than a few had new pendants, and even bracelets.

Lynda, the next oldest there at my age of twenty five and mother of three turned to me first. “Mikael, as you know we are very happy with you in this home. Bethany told us that you will be off to see about other children left orphaned.” I nodded. “While there are already eight of us here, maybe you could find it in your heart to take in other widows and not just the children?” I smiled at Lynda and nodded. “Well if we take in more children, we will of course need more help watching them. I will need to talk to the elders though to see what they have to say about this as well.” In fact I was going to talk to them anyway since they really did have final say on anything that affected the village. It wouldn’t be right to strain the village with more mouths than we could feed right?

When I went to see the village elder I found Alfreed already there and laughing with the elderman. “Ah young Mikael, our resident stone mage says you are off to find more children in need. That is a good and righteous thing to do.” I shook hands with him and took the offered seat with them both. “It may be a good thing for them, but what of the village? Will we be able to deal with so many new people?” The man nodded. “Honestly I can say that more hands will help gather the harvest. From what I have heard we lost more men than any other village, and that means more fields to work and fewer hands to do that. The way you and your women guide those children in the fields is nothing short of amazing. Thanks to their work going after the weeds and such our Amaranth crop will be even better than past seasons.” I nodded and looked to Alfreed. “With that new idea of turning the hills into crop land that only expands how much food we can raise. The idea of starting fruit trees, and other such crops, I swear we will be the wealthiest of all the villages in another year God’s willing.” It looks like all the improvements I had been working to implement were making it easier for me to bring in more people in need. Funny how that works.

After many promises to be careful Alfreed and I hopped into one of the village wagons. In the back were carefully packed boxes of various potions for trade goods to the other villages. Along the way Alfreed asked me to see if my skills would allow me to turn rusted old metal implements into something useable by other villages. I took an old hoe that was worn and rusted, added it to another in the same state, and produced a gleaming hoe with a slightly long blade. At my feet was a pile of rust and dirt to show what it once was. Alfreed took one look and whistled. “Would you look at that? Rarely have I seen a blacksmith who could equal this kind of work, even in the capital.” He looked over at me. “Can you simulate hammer marks and maybe a few gouges? Make it look less like an heirloom and more like a farming implement?” I nodded and handed him back something less polished looking. “Now that looks far more acceptable, though still of high quality.”

The next day we arrived at the nearest village and the heavy atmosphere felt bad. There was still a lot of sorrow over the losses of the sickness, and hope seemed in short supply. We found the village elderman’s house and a tired looking man of about fifty came walking out. “Hail, and well met. What is the reason for such as you in our small town?” From the looks he was giving us he figured we wanted something. Alfreed hopped down from the wagon and walked up to the man. “Hail and well met. We are from the village of Oden and we have come to see how you fare. The physician there made potions to help the survivors and those still ill. We also are looking to help those left abandoned during the sickness.” That perked the man up and he looked at us both. “I’m sorry but I did not recognize you as being from Oden.” Alfreed nodded and smiled. “Well we are both recent residents with time to spare from the crops. We are both Stone mages and could be spared to see how other villages fared.”

The old man’s eye seemed to light up. “Stone mages? Really? God’s be praised we are saved.” I looked at Alfreed wondering what was up. The man clasped Alfreed’s hand. “Our main well dried up just before the sickness and we need help badly. Some of our crops and most families have been surviving on rationed water despite everything else.” Alfreed looked at me and asked if I was ready to get wet. I smiled and headed for the large stone well. Looking at the stone around it the thing was probably hand dug and rocked in. I looked down and all I saw was pitch black. “Can someone help lower me down?” I asked and the Elderman called a few stout men over. I hit the bottom and stood in a few inches of muddy water.

I raised my hands up and sealed the lower stones into a solid mass. Then I repeated my last performance in moving the soil out from under my feet and to the sides to create a solid wall. Soon enough water was up to my shoulders so I lifted myself up on a ledge, deepened the pit, and then creates holes for the water to permeate the solid walls and fill the well. As I began the long climb up I sealed the rocks as I went to make it all seamless and strong. As I raised myself out of the well people were stunned by my appearance. “Don’t worry, he created a ladder in the side of the well making it easier to get in and out without risk.” Alfreed told everyone gathered. I tossed in the bucket and rope and then quickly pulled up the filled bucket. I set it down, walked over and raised up a stone trough about three feet high and one foot deep, before pouring the water in. People ran forwards and drank the still slightly silty water. “So my son, how deep is the water?” I shrugged “Around three fathoms like you said to do. I also strengthened the walls top to bottom.” Alfreed nodded as if he planned the whole thing. “Is this really your son Stone mage?” the Elderman asked. “No, no. He is a student of mine, but most importantly he has built an orphanage in Oden for those who lost their families in the sickness.”

After that, while people filled the trough with water for the others, the Elderman and other leaders asked me what was going on. I told them Oden had built a Hold for the orphans and widows. To help with that they had given me control of a few of the neighboring fields to feed everyone there. I spoke at length about what we were doing and it seemed they were feeling each other out on this subject. “So why did you all come here?” They asked. Alfreed told them that we felt it better to see if there were children to take in before the skin traders came. “Will you only take in the children?” was asked and Alfreed told them mothers and widows were just as welcome.

As they spoke together I offered to trade two ruined farm tools for one new one and before I could blink I had bags of old parts to work on during the ride. That night we were given the small house for visitors and settled to move on the next day. In the morning, as we were getting ready, the Elderman came to talk. He asked if there was room for three widows and five children. We told them to get their things together and use their wagon to take them to Oden as we still had other villages to visit.

After two weeks of trading, building new wells, and other tasks in six other villages, we were headed back to Oden. In the back of our wagon were five young widows and six young girls from the last two villages. Others were headed there on their own power and something told me our little village was going to be turning into a small town very soon. In fact as we pulled into town I saw work crews stripping another hill of its trees and I wondered what we were in for. People waved and smiled as we rode past the fields and once I saw the hold I felt like this had to be a joke.

The hold had been a large central building with a large wing to one side for the school and dorms. Now a second wing had been staked out and for some reason it seemed even bigger than the other side. We were met by the good Doctor and the Elderman. “Hail and well met Mikael. It looks like you have brought even more survivors.” I nodded and began to fill them in on what we had seen and done. It seemed survivors had already begun streaming in and many of the old farms were acting as temporary housing until more room could be added to the main structure. It also seemed even more land was to be given to the hold in order to have them tended to and improved. We walked to the Hold and when I got there the women and children were waiting for me. In one voice they called “Welcome home father” and my heart did a flip in my chest. So much love and so many smiles were beyond my ability to be calm over.

They all came running over to me and I knelt down to return their hugs. When I left this wasn’t a thing, but somehow in my absence there people had formed a family in need of me. The women all were restrained and simply held my hand for a moment, kind of a long handshake, before releasing me for the next. Last in line was Bethany who smiled at me and said. “So did you like your welcome?” and suddenly I figured out she was behind it all. She guided me over to where the new foundations needed to be and outlined how she needed a larger kitchen and possibly a pantry to store food. As I looked at the new floor plan I had an idea. Now cured and smoked meat was a well-established practice in the world. There were also spell stones that helped to keep food safe to eat while stored. However the idea of a root cellar was something that would make good sense for everyone. So, before laying down the foundations I decided to make a full floor as a cold cellar.

Everyone, including Alfreed stood by as I excavated almost the entire area of the new wing down a little over nine feet deep. I hardened the entire thing and then back filled the last four feet so it was all below the frost line. That would keep the whole thing at a near constant temp year round. That would mean we would be able to store everything needed food wise all winter with little problems. Add in preservation stones and we were good to go. I led stairs above ground level with an access that lead into the existing pantry. Bethany walked over and asked if I was building a dungeon and I told her it was what I called a root cellar for storing food. It was also a nice bolt hole if needed for the children’s safety. Then I laid out the new foundations and stepped back so the rest of the village could get started. As I did people came over to me and asked if it was possible for me to do the same things for their homes so that that their food supply would stay safe as well.

Over the next few weeks I was very busy building not only root cellars, but shoring up defenses for the village and people’s homes. While my attention was elsewhere the hold expansion was finished, and the flood of survivors began to trickle in. The women, I still had a hard time thinking of them as my women, brought in the new people, helped them adjust to the new home, and helped them even cope with their losses and the fact they were in a new family. Now that things were relatively quiet I began to sharpen my skills in magic. Since I had to keep both metal working and wood working hidden, I began to make toys and such for the kids to play with. I made slates for them to use in school as well. The women in my life began to make small and timid attempts to gain my attentions and for some reason I didn’t have the heart to refuse them. As I let them get closer, and not showing any kind of favoritism, they all started to let their hair down around me more and more. I was sitting and relaxing on one of the many large couches in the main hall when a small group of the wives came in to sit with me. I relaxed as they chatted away and felt quite comfortable in this bit of domestic bliss. Then I felt a hand gently take mine and when I saw Jinny looking at me with a combination of worry and hope I simply gave her hand a squeeze and held on. Another hurdle conquered for all of us.

The next day Alfreed came over to me and asked if I would go with him exploring for the day. I thought it was an odd request, but he told me he had an itch that needed scratching about the area. As a stone mage he was very attuned to the area and the longer he stayed in one place, the more he was aware of the ground beneath his feet. He said he didn’t know what it was, but he felt irregularities in the area and thought we ought to have a look around. Once outside of the village proper we began to walk the hills and valleys of the surrounding area. As we walked along he would stop, touch the soil and concentrate. He told me to do the same and reach out to the soil and feel around. I didn’t grasp what he meant so I tried it. After sending my energy into the soil I understood. It was like ground penetrating radar as the magic painted a picture of what was below the surface.

I was seeing boulders long hidden only a few feet below the surface. I could feel gravel pits, stretches of sand, clay, and nothing else. We walked around, doing this over and over in new spots when he grunted. I came over and reached out again. This time I felt something and it was a big something. It felt like a cave that had been filled in with something. As we drew closer Alfreed looked at me with a smile. “Shall we see what it is?” he asked and so we began building a path that lead down to what seemed to be the entrance of a hidden cave. As we scooped away soil and turning it into solid walls we were met with a light gray wall. Alfreed gave a little cackle and told me to take a sample. I reached out for a lump and realized exactly what we had found. It was a wall of salt. I pressed my hand to the wall and really reached out. Not only was it a wall of salt, but the harder I pushed the greater the echo. For at least half a mile there was nothing but salt and other mineral residues.

“So what does this mean for the village?” I asked him. “Well since the land is part of the lord’s holdings it legally belongs to him. After all, salt is a valuable thing and gets a good price in the capital.” He thought for a few minutes. “Then again it also belongs to the people of the village, and a lord who violates the bond between lords and the people isn’t favored by the other lords. The lord of this land is a good man, so he may be reasonable and allow the people to share in the wealth of this find.” I reached out, cut a sizable chunk of the salt, and decided to take it back home to see what was possible. It had impurities of varying density and I wondered if a stone mage may be able to separate the good from the bad. When we made it back to the village we took our find to the doc in order to discuss our find. As the two talked about the implications of it, I rested my large block in my lap and began feeling it in my soul. I passed energy through the block, back and forth, and slowly pulling out the impurities. I was so involved I didn’t know I had an audience until I was done. I looked at two astonished faces and then Alfreed summed it all up. “I don’t know why I feel shocked about this kid after everything else I have seen him do.” Doc nodded and looked at the floor. I looked down and saw a fine dust on me and the floor. The block in my lap was a pure white like fresh snow. “Did he just remove all the impurities while we were talking?” asked the Doc and Alfreed looked close and nodded. “Yep, that is about the purest salt I have ever laid eyes on.” They both walked over and Alfreed took a chip and tasted it. “Well I will be damned, not so much as a taint left over.” The Doc took a sliver and gave it his magic talent too. “The purest salt I have ever seen. With this I could do so many things.”

I took the block home and handed it to Bethany. She looked at it for a second before realizing what it actually was. “Where in the world did you get such a thing?” She asked while hefting it a few times. “This is probably at least a small gold piece, possibly even a large one.” I shrugged and told her the old man and I had found a small salt deposit just a few hills from the village. She said cautiously. “Young master, do you understand what this means to all of the village? With a large supply of salt we can cure so much meat that everyone will be able to have meat for the winter.” Leave it to Bethany to focus on the bellies of the people and not the politics. “Young master, if you could, do you think you could turn this into a fine powder like sand?” I agreed to and she took out a very large wood bowl. Before you could blink twice the bowl was filled with ground salt. She left for a minute and came back with a few smaller cloth bags. We filled them and she quickly ran to the cooler to hide them away.

I entered my room and found a woman sitting in my bed, and it seemed she had nothing on under the sheet that was pulled above her breasts. She was blushing like crazy and her eyes were filled with hope. I noticed she had a small necklace on so part of me felt a bit of relief. For a man who died a virgin it was startling how quickly I was put in this position. I walked over and reached out with my hand. I had to think hard, but I felt her name was Frantalia. “Frantalia right?” She nodded shyly. “Do you mind telling me about yourself?” She gave a little shrug. “There really isn’t much to tell. I am the daughter of a farmer, and the widow of a farmer. I was wed for two years before the sickness and now I am in your care.” I nodded as she gently placed her hand in mine. “Were you in love with your husband?” She looked away for a moment. “I don’t want to shame him or anything but really it was more of an arranged marriage, so no, I didn’t really love him much.” I nodded and stroked her hand with my thumb. “So what made you feel like coming to me tonight?” She blushed even harder. She took a few breaths to gather her courage. “When you started this holding I felt it was out of pity that I was allowed here. Since then I have seen what a caring heart you have for each of us, and it stirred something in me. I wanted to be around you, be close to you, and be a part of your adventure here.”

Adventure? What in the world was she talking about. “All my life has been waking up, working, and then sleeping. It was an ever repeating cycle. But since you arrived the whole of the village seems to be on an adventure in your shadow. New ideas, new ways of doing things, and most off all new and deeper emotions seem to follow you. I want to be beside you, with all the others, as you make things new and bright again. I want to be a support when you need it, and a comfort when you want it.” With that statement she let the sheet fall down and I almost fainted at the sight of her. “I hope I please you.” Dear lord what was not to absolutely desire? In a world without modern bras her large breasts were firm and bouncy. Her skin was flawless and seemed to glow like back lit alabaster. “Frantalia, you are breathtaking.” Her blush spread and her nipples grew. I stood up, took off my clothes and slid in next to her. I pulled her close and as we kissed for the first time she sighed through her nose.

I could feel her trembling hand on my chest and I felt conflicted, was this anxiety about what we were doing, or from fear of what would happen? I pulled back and looked at her still flushed face. “Can I call you Fran?” I said softly and she blinked at me wondering what was going on. She slowly nodded and looked at me. I gently stroked the stray hairs on her forehead and tucked them behind her ear. I then placed my hand on the trembling one on my chest. “You are so afraid, and I don’t want it to be because of me or what I might do.” I could see her start to panic and I gave her hand a squeeze. “Calm down Fran, please calm down.” She looked down as if ashamed of herself. “I’m sorry sir, I just...” I placed a finger over her lips and she looked at me. “No fears and no worries, not anymore. Now let me suggest something to you and see how you feel. How about we simply hold each other and fall asleep together. You are so very beautiful, and you do arouse the man in me, but honestly what I need more than a release is simply someone to hold.” The anxiety melted away and the sweetest smile filled my heart. She shifted around and rested her head on my chest while holding me. I waved my hand and the bedside candle blew out.

When I woke up Fran was laying on me and looking at my face. I leaned up and kissed her on the forehead and smiled at her. “Good morning love, did you sleep well?” Her eyes seemed to sparkle as her smile grew. “Very much my lord. I don’t think I have ever slept so deeply or with so much joy in my heart than I did last night.” This time when I stroked stray hairs over her ears her eyes closed as she absorbed my touch into her heart. “May I say something and it stay between the two of us?” I nodded. “All of the women here love you. You have done so much for us that our hearts are stolen. The thing we as women understand is that often men with great power or great ability have great hungers. We feared what it would be like to lay with you. I was simply the first of us to overcome that fear and tempt fate. It seems you are as gentle in bed as you are in public.”

She slid up my body and her face was over mine. The room disappeared behind a curtain of her long hair and all I could see was her face. “Tonight when I return I will not be afraid of you, but I will be yearning for you.” She leaned down and gave me a gentle kiss filled with promises. “I would stay here all day, but Bethany would use a lash for being late to help prepare for the children. Thank you my lord for being the man we all hoped you would be.” She gently eased over me, and when she stood up I was instantly erect. I mean there is no way I could not be. For a woman to be built like that was truly a sign the gods were artists. She slowly drew on her clothes and when she looked at me, and then the tent in the sheet, she blushed deeply and quickly left the room. Part of me was bitching for not making love to her last night, but a greater part of me was glad I held off. I knew that what I did last night was really making love to her heart.

After getting dressed for the day I stopped to grab a bite before going to see Doc. As I entered the kitchen not a single face there wasn’t blushing at the sight of me. Well there was one, though Bethany had the biggest shit eating grin I had ever seen. “Did you sleep well sir?” she asked. “Actually Bethany, I don’t think I have slept better in my life.” With that I turned and left to the excited whispering of the women there. As I walked towards the lab I saw old Alfreed going in before me. While I knew nothing really happened, I also had a feeling those two would create some story to fit the look on my face, and the joy in my step. It only took them a few moments before Alfreed chuckled at me. “So, it seems someone got tripped last night.” I left my face get warm and so Doc of course went for the goal. “Did you make sure she was wearing her charm?” I rolled my eyes and sat at the table.