Chapter 167

As I was leaving, Danlo, who had already finished, came to me and asked if he was needed, saying he wanted to get back to Big Mother and her training as soon as he could.

"You are needed maybe more so than any of them Danlo, because no one has my trust more than you do. You are needed as a father needs his son during times of difficulty. I'm sorry, but Big Mother will have to wait today."

This took some of the wind out of his sails, but he promised to be there. I hadn't even realized it until I said it, but it was the truth. If there was anyone in this camp that had my complete trust it was Danlo. I had never had children in my old life and it made me wonder how much I might have missed. Danlo wasn't really my son by blood of course, but I didn't see how I could love and trust him anymore if he was. Even better was the fact that he was one of the things I had gained here that Argent and his people couldn't take away from me.

I went back into my office where Raalto and Racaato waited. We sat and talked for the few minutes it took for everyone to come in. It was the biggest crowd I'd had in my office so far, but strangely I didn't feel the slightest bit ill at ease addressing them.

I took my time and told them everything we knew so far. I even pointed out why I had waited to speak to them. Most of them were shocked a plot was going on in our camp and as Racaato and Raalto had wanted to do, they all were ready to go round up the three and do away with them before lunch.

It took a little more time to settle everyone back down and get them in on the plan. I asked them all to make themselves scarce as far as the residence cave was concerned.

"If you really need to go there don't hesitate, do try to get whatever needs doing there done and leave as soon as you can though. The women will not be noticed nearly so much as you would be and they will find out more in a few minutes than any of us could by staying there for hours."

They finally agreed and they all, except Daaggo of course, offered to have their mates help in the spying. I told them I would be talking with the women in about an hour and asked them to send their mates to the meeting if they wanted to help. I started to tell them to make sure no word of what was happening should leak out, but I realized they knew it already and it might be an insult to even mention it.

They all filed out of the office and dispersed, no doubt heading to find their women. I went out to get more coffee. I had been so engaged in talking to everyone I hadn't even been able to drink the mug I had before it got cold. Yaroola rinsed it out and refilled it for me and I went back into my office to wait and think.

I replayed some of the things that had been said already. One suggestion, first made by Raalto and later enthusiastically brought up by both Barago and Colonto, beating the truth out of the ones we knew of so far, was gaining favor in my mind.

Of course in my old life torture had been the method of choice for the cruelest of despots. Maybe I was becoming a cruel despot, but the thought of torturing the men was not repugnant to me. Perhaps it was because I realized the thought of plunging a spear into my naked back as I was fucking was not repugnant to Kartogo.

I rationalized it was easier to be just and humane when you were far removed from a situation, with laws, courts, judges, and police to push such matters off onto. I had no such luxuries of civilization to delegate responsibility to.

Here and now, the decisions I made and information I gathered could very well mean the difference between whether I lived or died. It had a way of putting humane justice on the back burner, for me at least. The thought of a spear in my back had a way of making the whole affair very personal.

When it came down to it I wasn't trying to build a society based on the rule of law and respect for every human life. I was trying to discover a way to keep living, eating, and fucking without having to worry about a knife in the back every time I took my pants down. I already knew if we didn't think we could get to the bottom of things, Kartogo and his partners in intrigue were going to get a dose of real life torture.

I had another gift from the spirits I knew would help me too. Electricity was an asset none of them knew anything about, and even though I'm sure Argent and company hadn't thought of me using it to gain information in this way, I knew it could be a powerful tool to help me.

With a few lengths of wire and a tub full of slightly salty water I could give the perpetrators a very new and unwelcome experience. I wouldn't need to beat anything out of them since I could shock it out.

I didn't even think it would take much of it to get the job done. It would be so unexpected and so terrifying it would probably get results at once. Now I thought of it I could get Georgo to help me by telling the suspects it was pain directly from the spirits. In a way I guess, it would be.

My little flight of torture fancy was brought to an end by the women as they entered the office. This was an even bigger crowd than the men had been, but there was still plenty of room for all of them. I had an easier time explaining things to them since they weren't foaming at the mouth to go out and kill the plotters at once. In fact, when I got around to telling them what I wanted them to do they seemed enthusiastic about it.

After I had finished, Geera commandeered the floor and began organizing things at once. I could see right away they didn't need any input from me and so I left. When I was back out in the cave I spied Deimeta looking around in amazement.

"Daddy, where has everyone gone?" she asked, running to me.

"Many of the women are having a talk in my office. Have you eaten breakfast?"

"Yes, I ate much earlier, while you were talking with Racaato and Raalto in your office. There has been a lot of talking this morning. Is something wrong?" she asked.

"There is something happening I do not like and it is what we have been talking about. You should not mention it though, since there are people I don't want to know we have been talking."

"Very well, I will not mention it again. Can we go and see Darta then?" she asked.

"I don't see why we shouldn't. I am tired of all the talking anyway."

We went into the bedroom and put on our warm clothes and then headed for the mammoths. It was not snowing any longer but there was plenty of snow on the ground. Somehow it was firmer today and we didn't really need the snowshoes we had put on so we took them off once in the horse cave.

Deimeta took a minute to just look at her buckboard when we got there.

"Daddy, will it roll on the snow?" she asked me.

"It probably will, but it won't have to. Let me show you what is in the wagon box."

She watched when I opened the back, but I could tell she didn't realize what all the junk was.

"What is it Daddy?" she asked.

"Those are runners to use instead of wheels when there is so much snow on the ground. If Sahto and Talvo are not feeling too badly from the celebration maybe they will help me put them on."

"There they are getting hay out for the horses. Can we go and ask them?" she asked.

"Yes and I'm sure they will be glad to help us."

I was surprised Sahto and Talvo were as well off this morning as they seemed to be. I asked them about it and they told me Eileiea had given them all some type of tea this morning and it had helped get rid of the pounding in their heads. So I told them they could come and earn their medicine by helping Deimeta and I. They were happy to do it and when Danlo, Nadlo, and Jonoco saw us working on the little buckboard they came over to see what we were doing.

With all of them helping it only took about thirty minutes to get the running gear changed. Deimeta went to get Darta and put the harness on her. When Darta was hitched up Deimeta got aboard and told her to pull. Darta hadn't forgotten her lessons and she started off right away.