Chapter 11

I visited Imhab the next day to take a look at his stump and see if there was anything I could do for him. He was in bed, asleep, when I arrived, but there was no problem in getting in to see him. He had left standing orders that I was to be admitted whenever I showed up. Homer was with me this time, since Wogal was taking the signed contract to the city fathers of Oricantha.

We were ushered into Imhab's bedchamber as soon as we could reach the castle. The chief attending doctor said that they had dosed Imhab with enough opium to make him sleep, but he was expected to wake up any time in the next few minutes. I took a close look at his stump and had Homer do the same. There was no sign of pus or any discoloration, so I was hoping we had gotten the gangrene removed before it had a chance to spread throughout his body. I really didn't know much about the sickness, other than it was caused by a bacterial infection, and it was always fatal if not treated aggressively.

Just as I had replaced the bandage on his stump, Imhab woke up. "Ah, John Winter, how nice to see you. I must tell you that I feel better than I have felt since my stupid accident. I am eternally grateful that you knew what to do to make me feel better, even if I still die. At least, I will die without so much pain. And who is this young man?"

"Imhab, may I present Homer, my assistant and eventual successor. Homer is already familiar with a lot of what I do, and he is learning fast. It is my current plan to visit you every day until you recover, but Homer will be here in my stead if I should ever have reason to miss a day."

"Ah, Homer, I am pleased to make your acquaintance. You have chosen a worthy calling and an excellent Master to learn from. May your studies be fruitful."

"Thank you, Imhab. I hope to approach my Master's skill one day, but I despair of ever equaling him."

"Oh, come on, guys. You are going to make my head explode with all the swelling from your praise!

"Imhab, I have something to report to you. I have signed a contract with the town fathers of Oricantha to insure that you never threaten them again. They are paying me 20,000 copper pennies for the job. I just thought you should know."

"Why, those cheap bastards! Am I only worth 20,000 copper pennies? I would think that I am surely worth at least 100,000!" Imhab laughed heartily at this, then winced as the pain caught up to him. "I guess I can lay off them, since I really don't need the money, it was just the principle of the thing." This made him laugh again, though not as hard.

I said, "Well, you seem to be doing very well at the moment. Don't get your hopes too high, but Homer and I will try to help you get through this. Good bye for now."

Much to everybody's surprise, Imhab was still going strong after two months. At this point, rumor had it that I was powerful enough to raise the dead if I really wanted to. Dear God, I wish that were true! Chief Umgallah was wasting away, and there was nothing that I could do about it. I didn't even know what was wrong with him. I was afraid to call in the quacks who call themselves doctors for fear that they would do more harm than good.

I was called into Umgallah's yurt, and he asked me to sit down. "John, you have been a son to me for years, and now I would like to make it official. I have no other sons, so you will inherit everything I own, (a grin crossed his face) including my wives. Please treat them well, for they have all been a blessing to me.

"I know that I am dying, and there is nothing that can be done about it. I have had a full life, and I have especially enjoyed the time with you. When I die, I want you to take over as chief. I have already discussed this with Wogal, and he agrees completely. In fact, he will nominate you at the meeting of all the people. Please agree to take the job. Times are changing, and our people need your guidance."

How could I argue with such a request. His phrasing and the look in his eyes told me that Umgallah meant every word. "I am in no hurry to succeed you, My Chief and Father, but I will do as you ask. I will always try to follow the example you have set!" At that point, I began to cry, and so did Umgallah.

The next day, Umgallah called a meeting of the whole Olgar tribe and announced that he was adopting me as his son. One or two people were surprised, I suppose, but most of the people had been expecting this for a long time. In any case, there was a great cheer of approval at his announcement, and the deed was done. I was now, officially, Umgallah's only son.

Umgallah died the next day, and he had a smile on his lips. I suspected that he was dying of stomach cancer, based on all of the stomach pain that he had experienced for the past year. Well, we held a traditional funeral for him and even the population of Oricantha came. The most startling thing of all was that Imhab also showed up, carried in a special palanquin. Contrary to the usual practice at the time, the Olgars practiced cremation, and Umgallah's funeral pyre was truly a sight to behold. The feast following the funeral lasted almost to sunrise, and the next day was spent in trying to recover. The hangovers were monumental!

That evening, after supper, Wogal called a meeting to select a new chief, since there was no doubt that we needed one. Wogal put my name up for the job, and there were no other names proposed. He had made a short speech in which he said that Umgallah wanted me to take over after him, and I doubt that there was a dry eye in the camp at the end of his speech. I was elected by acclamation, and I made a short speech of acceptance, followed by a verse of "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah." That seemed to spark the right note, and I was solidly ensconced in my new job.

After the meeting, I called together the adult members of my new household. This included my five wives and Umgallah's six wives. There was no way I could properly service 11 wives, so something had to be done. Actually, all of Umgallah's wives were all grandmothers, and a couple were approaching senility. Those two had been much older than Umgallah when he married them, and they had been political marriages. Anyway, I asked the women to get together and work out some sort of schedule for sleeping with me. I said that I would do whatever they wanted, but they should keep in mind that I was only human!

Helgor was acting as spokeswoman for the wives, and she said that the women would work something out. However, it was necessary for me to penetrate each of the women that night for reasons of Olgar tradition. This time around would be nothing more than ritual, but it had to be done immediately. Therefore, we all stripped and went through the motions, so that the women could all feel that they truly belonged to my family.

Being chief of the Olgars was not all fun and games. I had to adjudicate some very silly disagreementsâ€"things like a complaint when some woman named her child exactly the same name as another woman had used the week before. Very rarely, there were more serious complaints, but they usually were easier to resolve.

The sex problem with the inherited wives was settled among the women, and I slept with these six women once a month. This was not an onerous chore, but I made no comment. I just did my duty as lovingly as possible and went on with my life. The women did seem to appreciate my efforts, especially since they had been deprived so long due to Umgallah's illness.

Things were going along fine until one day I got a request from Imhab to drop by his castle at my earliest convenience. I had not visited the man for three weeks, so I made a point of going by the next day. I was afraid that he was having some sort of health problem, but that turned out not to be the reason he wanted to see me.

It seemed that he was having trouble with a neighboring warlord to the far side of his holdings, and he needed help. Now that he had only one arm, he was unable to lead his men into battle, and he needed a substitute. He asked me if I would honor him by taking his place at the head of his troops. I wasn't too happy with the offer, but I felt that I was honor bound to do as he asked.