Chapter 16: It Takes a Village

As I headed for the house, the wind blew briskly upon my back, announcing that winter was not far away. The past four months had been controlled chaos. Houses had to be built to accommodate those who came from Bagor. A much larger area of land had to be planted and cultivated to ensure that enough food would be available for the people and the animals during the coming winter. In what spare time that was available, outbuildings were erected to store the crops, provide a place to store hay and straw, and provide shelter for the animals.

The prince’s men were also a factor; they were warriors, who knew nothing about farming and were essentially of no use in the fields. That is not to say the prince was not aware of the seriousness of the situation, but there was little he could do to change it either. After many talks, he agreed to send his men out in force, with a few of the village farmers, to try and acquire more livestock. The two forays of this group were very successful. They had been able to find over fifty head of cattle, thirty-two hogs, and even a group of chickens they had found roosting in the forest. The acquired livestock would help the village to feed themselves and the prince’s men over the winter.

I was reasonably comfortable with the ability of the village farmers to produce enough grain. The water-driven mill was more than capable of producing enough flour to sustain both groups.

A new bakery was being constructed, and this would ensure that Celle and a few of the village women would be able to produce more than enough bread for the population.

A number of women took over the task of establishing and caring for a much-needed garden. The new residents of the valley had brought some new varieties of vegetables with them. Already, a bumper crop of dried beans and peas filled the communal larder. Root crops were also being harvested in abundance. Beets, rutabagas, turnips, and potatoes were being dug and stored. Cabbage had also grown well, and the village women were beginning to make sauerkraut. We also had squash and pumpkins. Children also did their part. Wild berries, nuts, and other native fruits had been gathered and dried. It indeed had been a busy but productive four months.

I was quite worried about the security of the village. I drafted two young men to help in the smithy and spent most days with them, forging parts for crossbows, making short swords, and long knives. One youth showed promise working with the forge and was particularly good at producing arrowheads and making bolts. By summer’s end, he had made several thousand of them.

When enough weapons were produced for all the adult men and women, I insisted that all adults in the village not only know how to use the weapons but also conducted random drills for protecting the village. Each person had an assigned position to defend and an area of coverage they were responsible for. It was a hard task to teach them that keeping their fire in a certain zone would be of benefit to all.

When I first implemented the defense plan, several of the villagers, mostly men, complained that women should not have to participate. I held fast, and eventually, the villagers put these concerns aside and became adroit in responding to the alarm bell that hung in the center of the village square.

After four months of intensive building, there was enough housing constructed to adequately protect all the villagers through the coming winter. They would be cramped, but it would suffice until the following spring, when additional housing could be built.

The prince tried to maintain a grasp of what was going on in the kingdom, but it was a difficult thing. Communication was impossible. The mountain valley was in the extreme western portion of the realm, and the prince was forced to continually send out scouting parties. Usually, at least half of his sixty or so men were on such missions, sometimes more.

Currently, I was concerned because less than twenty of the prince’s troops were available to protect the valley.

“Damn, it’s getting cold!” I thought as I neared the house. “Winter cannot be far off.”

As I stepped onto the porch of the house, I happened to glance across the valley to the prince’s fort. I noticed a large group of men breaking from the forest cover on foot, moving rapidly toward the fort. I immediately understood the implication; the fort was under attack. I sprinted thirty yards to the alarm bell and rang it rigorously; then looked out over the village and fields beyond to make sure all had heard the alarm. The people had heard the alarm, and I could see men, women, and children sprinting for the village.