Chapter 12

“Yes, I have. May I speak to her when she returns?”

“As long as you do nothing that will upset her. She was much abused by Gobango before I killed him.”

The name of the ex-chief did not seem to register, but the merchant seemed to draw himself up straighter, as if much relieved at something.

“She is married to the Chief? You?”

“Yes. Is that so unusual; her getting married?”

“To a Chief, yes. Being married to a Chief is a high status position in any tribe. She is a lucky woman, a very lucky woman. Good for her!”

“She is lucky now, I agree. Her past experience was not a good one. Being abused is terrible for any young woman. I have promised her a better life.”

“Good. Thank you, Chief. I am pleased.”

John was confused by the man’s varying responses. It was almost as if he was both a stranger and familiar with the tribe at the same time; and that last response was clearly that of a relative or close friend giving thanks for good news.

The merchant now questioned, “Is that offer of a hair cut genuine, Chief?”

“Provided you wash your hair first, so it is clean for cutting. I can cut it myself, as I have an excellent sharp knife.”

“Really? You, a Chief, would cut someone’s hair for them? Isn’t that women’s work?”

“It is simply work, in my tribes; not gender-related any more. I prefer to see a good job done, rather than an amateurish attempt at what could almost be shearing the fur off an animal!”

“That cheers me. I suppose I could use some of the liquid soap for my hair,” he mused.

“You should do that; the liquid stuff works for me. Can you wait until after we get our trade negotiations done?”

“Yes. There is not a rush, I think ... by the way, I am known as ‘The Hairy Merchant’.”

“An unusual title; not exactly a name, but an accurate description,” said John.

The merchant spoke again.

“You seem to be an unusual man yourself, Chief. I was told by Chief Numa that you had seven or eight wives back there; and now you have another one here: Sistera.”

“Hmm ... we shall leave it at that for now. I see Gastro coming towards us.”

Gastro strode up, carrying a capacious and bulging leather bag, using a strap over his shoulder.

“Hello again, Chief John. Sistera said you wanted me to bring that bowl you admired. I brought a few more for you to look over.”

“I did indeed, Gastro. We have a travelling merchant visiting us, and I thought your expertise with that bowl merited showing it to the merchant, to see if he is interested in bowls like that for trading. I certainly like them!”

Gastro switched his gaze from John to the hairy visitor. He chuckled, “You are not trying to sell hair, are you, merchant?”

John chuckled as well.

“I have offered him a haircut, Gastro, so I hope he takes up that offer.”

The man looked annoyed at this hilarity, and demanded of Gastro, “Where is this bowl your Chief was bragging about?”

Gastro opened his bag, drew out the bowl, and handed it carefully to the merchant, whose eyebrows went up.

“This is beautiful! A wonderful work by a good craftsman.”

Gastro’s face lit up with a huge smile.

John interposed, “My view is that it is a work of art, merchant; if you know what I mean by art.”

“Something pretty to look at?”

“Much more than that. A tall tree in bloom, or an attractive young woman, can be pretty to look at, but a work of art is something specifically made to attract favourable attention by the eye and the heart, and sometimes the mind. This is what the bowl does for me, and probably for other people as well; that is why I thought of bowls like this for trading as valuable objects. A lot of effort went into the making of this bowl.”

His advertising was hardly necessary, as the bowl spoke for itself.

The merchant ran his fingers over the surface of the bowl, inside and out, lovingly absorbing the feel of the wood’s smooth curves.

He asked Gastro, “Do you have any more of these bowls; perhaps in different sizes?”

“Not yet, just this size, but I can make them if required. It takes time to get the shape right. I have to place the wood piece on a long stone spike forced into the ground, so I can spin it as I turn the wood for cutting. This is even more important for finishing off the piece.”

John reminded him, “Gastro, do you recall what I said about a wheel?”

“Yes, Chief.”

“Think about it. A wheel spinning on a level with the ground is easy to keep spinning with your foot pushing it along at a steady pace, and with a pole from the wheel up to where you are working the wood, it makes working the wood much easier. You should try it.”

Gastro’s mind was working overtime as he thought about this suggestion, and the hairy merchant asked, “Is a wheel the sort of object that I saw at Chief Numa’s tribe? The woman Maker was working with this circular thing; it was spinning, I remember, but I was not sure why.”

Gastro admitted, “Same idea, merchant. Do we only call you Hairy? No other name?”

“I am happy with Hairy Merchant for now. It gets me recognised, and that helps business.”

Gastro frowned as he asked, “Have we met before, merchant? Your voice seems slightly familiar, but distantly so.”

Sistero had been standing to one side, near her new husband, and she commented, “It seems that way to me as well, Gastro. Has this merchant been here before? Have you, merchant?”

Hairy was quick to say, “Yes. I have been here two times, but just short visits: I didn’t do much business either time. That would probably explain it.”

Gastro declared, “Then either I missed you or you didn’t have so much hair then. I would have noticed you!”

John reminded him, “You told me you didn’t notice things around you, Gastro. This may be one of them.”

Sistera also said, “I haven’t met such a hairy merchant before, either. I still think I know you from somewhere.”

John intervened, “Enough of this banter. He is here now and wants to trade his soaps. Are they all samples to try, Hairy, or do you have a batch to sell?”

“I have both, derived from a clever tribe that I dealt with. John is from that tribe, so he knows the quality of their soap. This batch is a basic soap without any strong scent to it, so it can be used by any member of a family for any cleaning purpose, but is specially good for body washing. The small single samples are scented soaps that are preferred mainly by women and children. I can take orders for these, for delivery next visit, if we can sort out the trade terms.”

Sistera had been listening attentively to the merchant’s voice all the time he spoke. She turned to John and asked quietly, “May I speak softly, my husband?”

John took her arm and steered her away a little before responding.

“Of course, Sistera. What is your wish?”

She whispered in his ear, “The merchant sounds to me very much like the way my father used to speak, though it was many summers ago. Can you ask him if he knows him, or if he IS him? That would be wonderful if it is him.

Please? I am afraid to ask directly, in case I am wrong.”

John turned his head to face her, and kissed her lightly on the lips. “Leave it with me,” he said softly. Gastro had been about to demand his bowl back as he reckoned the merchant was enjoying touching it too much. John jumped in with the demand.

“Merchant? Give the bowl back to Gastro, until you have arranged a trade. I have another question for you.”

The merchant reluctantly handed back the bowl, and while Gastro returned it to his sack, pulling out another one for John to view, the other looked to John.

“What question, Chief?”

“Who are you, Hairy Merchant? You have a familiarity with this tribe that suggests a link of some kind. Your voice caused a spark of recognition by Gastro and Sistera. Either you have a close association with Sistera’s father ... or,” and her he paused for a moment, “Or perhaps you ARE her father! Which is it to be? Let me tell you this: as far as I am concerned, her father is no longer banished from this tribe; just so you know that he is a free man, even if he is hidden by hair.”

The man sighed loudly and looked over at Sistera.

“Sistera, my daughter!”

He eyes lit up and she exclaimed, “Daddy! Is it you under all that hair?”

She went to step forward to him, but halted. She looked at the hair-covered man, and declared, “You need to be shaved and cleaned up before Mum gets to see you. Then I will introduce you properly to your son-in-law once you are fit to be my Daddy again.”

She turned to face John again.

“Can we get him prepared, John? You said something about a haircut?”

“First things first, my love. A bath, hair washed, and then a savage cut to his locks, I think. We can use it as an example of the effectiveness of the soap. Is that not so, Hairy?”

The man drooped as he admitted, “My true name is Harro. That name gave me the idea of becoming hairy, so I would not be recognised by anyone while I was under banishment. That image developed into the Hairy Merchant I became in recent years. Being a travelling merchant is an interesting life, but a lonely one.”

“You didn’t find another woman to keep you company during your banishment?”

“I did, actually, but she remains in my adopted tribe while I travel, though I still missed my family here. She is native to that tribe, so she stays with her parents while I am travelling. They help with the family responsibilities.”

At mention of family responsibilities, Sistera suddenly wanted to know, “Daddy, do you have children with this other wife?”

He admitted, “Two youngsters, a boy and a girl, aged three and two summers. They hardly know me, as I am away so much.”

“Daddy, if you came back home, here, you could bring her and her children to us and let us get to know them all. You would be able to get to know all your children better. Mummy will be so glad to get you back that she will not object to your second wife. Nor will I, for I have a husband now; a husband I am happy to show off, as he is an important man with many wives and much power.”

John told him, “We would welcome you back into this tribe, and find you a task within the tribe. Your knowledge of distant places and trade patterns will be useful in deciding what we could select to trade with other tribes. You have knowledge of what sells well and what this tribe could produce as good trade items. You could perhaps be our trade manager.”

“I have never heard of such a title or position, Chief.”

“It is a new post that I have just created, Harro. Your job would be to help the tribe to grow through trading. I am sure you can do it well. But first, let’s take you to the stream and get you a good wash and have your hair thoroughly cleaned before the excess is removed. Fetch out a soap to use, and we can appoint a couple of observers to see how effective this soap is at cleaning.”

Harro did as John asked, and John quietly sent Sistera to find her mother and a close neighbour. When John and Harro got to the stream above the village huts the merchant readily stripped and washed himself, for the observers had yet to arrive. John noted the man was well muscled with all his travelling, and wore moccasins that he probably got from Chief Numa’s tribe. No-one else was around that John could see, so he paid no attention to the merchant’s nakedness. Harro asked John to pour some shampoo into his hands for his hair washing. John poured in as much as he thought would do for a first wash, expecting a second wash to be needed.

He was wrong. Harro must have been washing his hair with some regularity, for it cleaned up without much effort. His beard probably took longer to clean up. He had to keep his eyes closed while the liquid soap was in his hair, so he did not see the witnesses arrive. As the hair was completed, he went on to wash his body rapidly, for the stream water was colder than the surroundings.

The air temperature was quite mild so John told him as he completed his wash, “You will probably dry quickly in this warm weather, so this is the best opportunity to give you a haircut. Sit on this boulder, facing the stream, and I will cut your hair, starting from the back; then we can finish with the front, and finally cut your chin hair to a small set of beard and moustache, unless you want it all off your face.”

“I don’t know what I want. It is so long since I had a real shave.”

“Well, how about we reduce it to a small beard and moustache, and then you can decide if you want it left that way or go for a smooth face later? That gives you both options.”

It took most of half an hour, John reckoned, before the cutting was done to his satisfaction. The observers remained silent, enjoying the show.

Naturally, there was no mirror to show Harro what he looked like, but John suggested finding a calm pool and try for a reflection in the water. Harro did so, and grinned at how he looked. He swung round to tell the Chief how good he looked. John was right in front of him, obscuring the background. Harro pronounced himself happy with his small beard and moustache. John told him, “You look quite distinguished, Harro. How old are you at the moment?”

“I am unsure; probably about four times two hands.”

“Forty, eh? Your looks seem to agree with that estimate. All you need now is clean clothing. Did you bring a change with you?”

“Dammit, I did, but my pack is still down in the village!”

“Put on your moccasins, and we can walk down there. You are clean and presentable, with your hair turned into a fine display of facial manhood. Thank the Earth Mother the hair around your mating rod didn’t need to be cut.”

“You want me to walk down there, exposed this way?”

“Why not? You are not ashamed of your body, are you?”

“But my daughter is there!”

“And your wife is here, Harro: observe!” He stepped to one side, revealing Sistera’s mother plus her neighbour. “They are here to verify the effectiveness of the soap. My wife Sistera has seen me naked many times, so nakedness is not a problem with me. What makes you any different, father-in-law?”

Harro giggled to himself at the thought, and drew himself erect. His penis also drew itself to attention as he faced his first wife. He gazed at his long-lost wife, and opened his arms in invitation. She rushed to get to him and be wrapped in his arms for the first time in years.

“Harro!” she exclaimed. “Welcome home!”

“Helena! My love!”

Harro made the most of this hug and cuddle, then looked back at John.

“Right, Chief. If you are happy about it, Chief, I’ll do it; walk naked back to the village. Can I walk with you, my darling Helena?” he said to his wife. She took his hand to show her approval and stood proudly beside her fully exposed husband, while John led the way back to the village. Sistera had run ahead to tell her co-wives.

They marched down the slight slope to the village’s huts, and no-one made any comment on Harro’s nakedness, if they actually recognised him at all. In fact, the grins on a couple of women’s faces indicated admiration for his exposed body.

They arrived back where his trading pack was laid, and Harro rummaged around, pulling out his fresh tunic. He quickly dressed, and presented himself to John.

“Acceptable, Chief?”

“Acceptable,” John confirmed. He walked to the Chief’s hut and called into it, “Sistera? Come and view your father and mother together again.”

The door hanging was pulled aside, and Cramona appeared first, looking at the two men and the woman. She leaned back inside, “Sistera! You have to see this!”

She stepped aside and Sistera appeared at the door. Her eyes widened in pleasure at the now dressed man holding her mother.

“Daddy! It is really you, now that you have that mane of hair removed. You look great, standing with Mummy. She is obviously SO pleased to have you back. But, I hope you can repay her for everything she has had to do without you. She has turned away other interested men by saying you would come back to her, and you have done so, at last!”

“I have, Sistera. Your Chief says I have been forgiven for what caused my banishment. I promise I won’t say the same things to your husband.”

“Oh, was that what got you banished? You never said, Mummy.”

Harro admitted, “I said the wrong thing to the Chief of the time. Some folk cannot take criticism, as I learned to my cost, but I applied that learning to my trading. I am glad it wasn’t Gobango or I would probably be dead.”

“That’s true. Marmora and Perumba had that happen to their parents.”

“Who? What?”

“Two women like me. These two were grabbed and raped by Gobango, and the parents objected, so he killed them. No-one else tried to object too strongly to losing a daughter after these sets of parents died.”

“What happened to these women?” Harro wanted to know.

“Same as me: raped by Gobango and his enforcer, Cravallo, and kept for their use when it suited them.”

“Oh, my Earth Mother! My poor daughter. How did you escape?”

“I didn’t escape. None of us escaped, Daddy; we were rescued. Chief John rescued us by killing the two of them.”

“One killer killed two other killers?”

“That’s not how I heard it from those who were there. He defeated Grobango, then his own men finished him off as soon as they saw he was defeated. They acknowledged John as their new Chief, and led him to here.

“So he does not kill on a whim?” he asked hesitantly, in fear of his new son-in-law.

“No, Daddy. He is also a shaman, and helped us abused women to heal, including Bravura’s broken arm.”

“Bravura?”

“The most recent victim. There were a hand of women besides me. We all decided to marry John once we were restored to health. That ceremony happened yesterday; and it was fun. I hope I get pregnant soon.”

His face fell as he remembered the message he had brought. He faced Sistera and her husband to formally pass on a message which he had already mentioned to John.

“My daughter and son-in-law, the message I was asked by Chief Numa’s tribe to impart to you is this: High Chief John has just had two sons born in his other tribe, and more coming along in the months ahead. I have to inform you, my daughter, that you will just be one among many wives!”

She smiled sweetly at him.

“Yes, Daddy; I can count that far too: two hands plus four fingers. John told us all about them, and says we will be no different to them. I think that he meant that we would be well treated, but I believe it also means he will make us pregnant as well. He is a fertile man.”

“Oh. You are happy with this?”

“Very happy, Daddy. He is our rescuer, our healer, our true husband. You and Mummy will be proud of your son-in-law.”

John interrupted, “Harro, I stupidly failed to pay attention to the route while I was guided here. As you came here previously, you must know the trails. Can you draw me a plan to show me how to get back quickly to Numa’s tribe?”

“Better than that, Chief John; I can guide you there.”

“Don’t you want to spend some time with your wife that has just welcomed you back?”

“I do but ... I have so many responsibilities at present!”

John told him, “I suggest you get to know your Helena again, as a priority, and we can discuss tomorrow about guiding me back to Numa’s tribe in a day or two. My new wives will want to meet their co-wives back there, and I want to meet my new children. I am not sure your wife will want to lose sight of you for more than a little while, so make the best of it. You should see if she will accept your other wife and children before we leave. If she is agreeable, you could go on and collect them and bring them here.

I will also have to come back, to finish sorting out this tribe and selecting a new Chief. Do you know a man named Gomorro?”

“Hmm ... oh, the loner? Guy who lost his wife and never got over it, so the story goes.”

“That’s him. What do you think of him?”

“Haven’t seen him in years, since I left. A reliable man, I thought, if he ever got over his loss. Is he still without a new woman?”

John smiled knowingly.

“He remains unmarried, yes. He feels a responsibility for any woman who might try to bear his child. Hates the thought of her dying in childbirth, it seems.”

“It is a risk, I agree. Every woman takes that risk when she becomes pregnant. I don’t know how many die in childbirth, but many men also die while hunting, or a tree falls on them, or they get sick and die. There can’t be very much difference in the risks to men and women.”

John agreed. “That may be so, but if it is the woman you love, is any risk worth it, to you?”

“I see what you mean, Chief. I would be very saddened if Helena or my Denga were to die that way, but Denga wanted to have children, knowing there was a risk. There is a risk in walking the trails as a trader. Thieves may attack you, or a stripie pack may get you, or you may get poisoned by a thorn and die. Life is a risk, Chief.”

“That is a simple and true view of the world, Harro. I wish more people would look at it that way, and not try to take things or people from other folk out of personal greed.”

John called a meeting of the council of elders, and told them, “I have to go visit another of my tribes, so I can’t say when I will be back, but I will return soon, for I have more changes I would like to see in our tribe to make it a better and stronger community.

I leave the tribe temporarily in your hands. Make it run in the way I have shown you, and I will be happy when I get back. Fail to run it properly according to my instructions, and I will appoint a new council, perhaps a council of women. Mark my words on that.”

He was faced with a bunch of shocked men. They could see that he meant what he said, so they would have to abide by his rules if they wanted to remain the council. They gave him their word that it would be done that way, and he left them to their deliberations.

When he got back to the Chief’s hut, he was presented with six young and agitated women wanting his attention. They all looked worried, except one.

“What is it?” he asked in annoyance.

“Sistera says you are leaving. Are you going away without us, John?”

“Eh? Of course not: you are all going with me. I want to show you off. Could you doubt that?”

This changed things, as he was inundated with women trying to kiss and cuddle him, grabbing for his penis in shocked relief.

“What was all that about?” he demanded.

“Sistera said her father was going to guide you back to your other tribe, for you to see your babies.”

“True. Did she tell you the rest, that you were coming to meet my other wives?”

“No! Sistera, you bitch; making us worry about being abandoned!” Travana accused.

She was the picture of innocence as she remarked, “I was just seeing if the rest of you felt strongly about staying with him and having his babies. I am going to do that.”

Travana said to John, “Darling, you had best smack her bum for being nasty to us. Of course we will stay with you.”

John laughed, “She possibly would like that, Travana. Some women get off with a little playful smacking before sex. You should all forgive her, as you are bonded together as my wives, and she should apologise to you for her teasing.”

Bravura held up her good arm to get his attention. Her other one was still in splints that were re-bandaged every day.

“John? My arm feels good now. Is it time to do without the wood supports if we are visiting your other wives?”

“That may be the case. The amount of time varies by the person and the damage inflicted. If it feels fine now, then we can take off the splints, but you must take great care with that arm for a while yet.”

“Great! It gets in the way when we make love. Now that we know you want us with you, can we fuck now?”

Her request was echoed by the rest, so they had to move to the interior of the hut. The women wanted him to give each of them a brief fuck until they were at least partly satisfied, knowing of the others waiting. He told Sistera, “You will be last of all, when I am less likely to be able to perform. That is a punishment for your recent behaviour. Bravura will be first, as she needs some protection of her arm when we fuck.

John fucked Bravura carefully, making sure her arm was not subjected to pressure; then he moved to Cramona, then Travana, then tackled Marmora. He was astonished at his stamina; how he was managing to maintain an erection for so long with so many women, he did not know. He did his best not to come, in case he lost his erection, but he spurted into Marmora and thought he was spent. To his surprise, he was back to full stiffness within a couple of minutes and still able to fuck the last two; Perumba then Sistera. He didn’t manage to cum again though, but was pleased with what he had achieved. The ladies seemed pleased as well, especially Sistera who was expecting nothing but a soft prick.

He put it down to his medical nanites deciding from experience that he needed to be erect for longer periods.

Travana told him, wonderingly, “Gobango never managed to rape more than two women in a day, John, but you have made love to all six of us today, even including the bitch Sistera. That is amazing. I think we will all get enough loving to keep us satisfied in future.”

John announced brusquely, “We will be leaving tomorrow. Do any of you need to speak with relatives or friends before we go?”

Perumba declared, “We are your wives now, Chief John, so we go with you. No-one else has a say in this, so you can simply inform the tribe that we are going to visit another of your tribes.”

“Thank you, Perumba. Are the rest of you okay with that?”

He got mumbles of agreement ranging from ‘uh-huh’ to ‘sure’ to ‘yes’, but all were happy to leave it with him. They were pleased that he even asked their opinion. This consultation routine was still new in their minds, compared to past experience in the tribe.

In the morning, John was slow to get up, as his women demanded more lovemaking first. When he finally got up and was able to have a breakfast meal, he called Sistera to him.

“My dear, I am unsure as to when your mother and father will get up. Will you go to their hut and let your father know that we are ready to go as soon as your mother sets him free.”

She giggled. “I think I know what you mean, John. I will tap gently on their doorway, and wait patiently for one of them to appear. There are just the two of them, but if Daddy has as much energy as you, Mummy will be fucked out entirely.”

John grinned, “That is the idea. We don’t have to rush, so when it suits Harro, that is fine. We have to prepare our packs for the day’s trip, if we can get there in a day. On second thought, perhaps we should allow for an overnight stop, as you women will be slower than when we men hurried here last time. A bunch of folk always travels slower than one or two. Off you go, and I will speak to the others about an overnight stay on the trail. We will need a wrapping of some kind to keep the warmth in, but without being heavy. If it rains at all, the weight of our sleeping gear and our packs will increase from the dampness, so we must aim for minimal weight.”

When Harro at last appeared, he was with Helena, and both had packs on their backs.

“Sorry, Chief, but Helena says she has to go with me, in case I get away from her again.”

John grinned. “I think she made a wise decision, Harro. We are not going to rush our progress anyway.”

He slung his own pack on his back, and turned to his women.

“Ladies, it is time to go. Has everyone got your strong footwear on?”

They all admitted that they had. John had insisted on getting new shoes from the tribal shoemaker. They obeyed, despite volubly complaining that the thicker leather made the footwear heavy to wear. Hearing that comment, John said, “Soon you will not notice that extra weight, as your feet will be better protected from our trek and you will shortly enjoy the walk.”

With Harro in the lead, the column set off. John took up the rear for the first few miles in case some of his women lagged behind the rest. His fears were unfounded, as they had youth on their side. He moved to act as scout to one side then the other, to watch out for predators both animal and human. He was able to do all that and still be around for any woman that appeared to be making heavy weather of the trip. He added his encouragement and promised a good rest eventually.

It was still daylight when Harro called for John, who came up to him.

“There is a spot we can spend the night, just a little farther on. It is two large boulders with a cleft between them, making it easy to defend, and we can have a fire outside the cleft to deter animals.”

“Sounds good, Harro. Let’s use it, my friend.”

Helena approved of her husband’s choice of time and place, and asked the women to each collect a few sticks for the fire. They set to with enthusiasm, and between them, they had a good pile of firewood provided the fire was kept low. They ate the last of their day’s portion of berries and nuts, and the pieces of dried meat they had in their pouches.