Chapter 21

Breakfast was in the women's center and many of the new women sipped their soup and ate the biscuits with me, whilst my wives were having a counseling session with Celine in private back in the tower. Laudus and her sisters were noticeably missing but Grimm kept me company. I explained how she was to run the mule teams and train the new women in safety around the animals.

She took in my words but something was clearly on her mind.

Finally, Grimm said in a low voice, "The social circles around here have heaped praises on you, Von, extolling many of your virtues. These new ladies are curious so they have come out of their private haven to observe you." I shrugged.

"What can I say Grimm. I feel pretty uncomfortable about the whole harem thing. You've got to help me with them."

Grimm smiled encouragingly, her dark black eyes twinkled.

Shaking her short black hair slowly side to side, Grimm said, "There is not much an armswoman can do for her lord when other women find you attractive. Von, you have to live with the fact you're an exotic flavor, strange but pleasant tasting. A man with strange ways, new ideas, providing hope for a better life. You are our White Wizard, strong and honorable."

We spent the entire day clearing tall pine trees. Both men and women worked hard cutting and trimming trees, expanding the clearing to the west. We let everyone go for dinner and told them we would start up again the next morning. I washed up in the cold Wizard's pool and shared a quiet dinner with the tower women. Celine and Laudus were partially attentive to me but neither sought to engage me in a discussion. Palus and Swarta had spent the day with the new woman not involved in the tree clearing and they shared stories of their day whilst inserting an occasional bit of village gossip.

Tharin let me beat him in a game of stones, a game of chance more than skill, the day working on the timber crew seemed to improve his mood. After lazing around in the tower and feeling refreshed, Grimm took Tharin on a walk and I took the ladies to the coast so we could watch the waves gently break on the sand. With our meals digested, we braved the cool water and I gave more swimming lessons.

A large thin sandbar ran along the coast so we had a nice sheltered spot for teaching swimming in a rather calm pool of water. We stripped naked and each woman would rest in my arms, one at a time, learning to kick and stroke. Celine and Laudus particularly enjoyed the fleshy contact and the freedom to splash me. Luckily, it was cold in the water so their antics didn't affect my shriveled body.

We had thought ahead for once and brought lots of blankets to use when we were done with the water. Celine ran for my blanket and covered me, with no concern about covering her shaking and cold body, until it was clear everyone else had wrapped themselves in a wool blanket. The wind picked up so we didn't stay much longer on the sand dune, quickly dressing and climbing the path home. Laudus's sisters had trouble with the path since they were still unaccustomed to it, so I sent all the other ladies ahead, whilst Laudus and I slowly picked our way up the steep hill with the nearly blind women.

By the time we reached the tower, Palus had made Juniper tea for all and we warmed up quickly around the fireplace. We played a guessing game in teams of three until dark, acting out different animals or things until the other team guessed the subject or gave up. After kissing each woman good night I went to bed with Swarta and Palus. We acted out our own night time rituals and I fell asleep entangled with my lovely wives. My nightly dreams were full of weather reports and ship movements.

The rest of the week our work and play routine was stuck in a comfortable rhythm of clearing trees, eating, swimming and nightly family games in the tower. Grimm and Tharin spent more and more time together, never joining my family at the beach. Yet each night a few women from the building crew joined our activities on the beach, so I began teaching them how to swim, too. It was a very pleasant sight to see so many bouncing breasts around me, but the cold water protected me from embarrassing myself with the new women.

I found my time with Laudus' sisters more relaxing, their poor sight and suspect emotional condition made me a little wary around them because I did not want to be a cause of any discomfort or pain. Yet Hannah and Key's attitude was surprisingly positive and accepting of all of us. I found both of them very charming and more confident around me as the week passed. Each night as they thanked me for the swimming lessons and my attentiveness to their needs on the steep hill's path. By the last night of the week we found a comfortable common ground for discussions, and each twin seemed to take turns sitting by my side during our family fun. It started to occur to me there was some mutual attraction building among us.

Sparrow wandered into the tower as the dawn's mist cleared and he was surrounded by nervous laughter as three young girls trailed his movements. The girls lingered in the doorway until they saw Celine coming downstairs, still half asleep. The young sisters hugged their sister Celine, chatting about their latest adventure with Sparrow. The young man jabbed me in my ribs playfully when I didn't immediately respond to him. It was a new game we played with each other, me pretending not to see him, him asserting his status as my friend with a poke.

"Lord Solon, a barge of supplies has arrived with two new mules and a few young men seeking to join the village," Sparrow said, with a half-grin.

"Send the new men to Coven to see if they are our sort of people. Gather up the women from the barracks and send them down to the water to act as porters for the supplies. I will come down shortly after sending Grimm to gather the mule team."

Staff in hand he ran out, the three girls chasing after him. I ran upstairs and to get Grimm out of bed. She enjoyed taunting me about not coming into her room often enough, so I promptly left, barely escaping her attempted naked bear hug. Hannah and Kay used their usual witty ways to collect a kiss, as I passed them whilst heading back downstairs. Swarta, Palus and Laudus were busy making breakfast in the women's center, so I left them alone and made my way quickly to the barge.

A half-dozen Marines were helping the barge men with unloading barrels when I arrived. I was startled to see our two pump boats, fishing on the water at the edge of the horizon. A grin came to my face, seeing the beginnings of our fishing fleet in action. Tharin arrived with more men and we set the new arrivals to the difficult task of hauling the empty barrels to the spring. Coven arrived with my concubines and he directed them to begin hauling the lighter food bags to our supply cabin.

Grimm and the marines loaded the mules with items, the arrows we ordered and canvas for the sailboats under construction. It took the entire day to unload the supplies and get them to the right spots in the village; even so, we left the paving stones on the beach for another day. Derwen had, once again, furnished us with items that helped expand and improve the village.

Dinner was in the women's center and most of the new women attended. They had begun to take up the center's kissing tradition, a good sign they were starting to fit in with the existing villagers. Laudus made a number of sexual advances on me, perhaps staking a visible claim on me as senior concubine, or maybe it was due to Hazel's attendance. My meal was duck and sea trout with a bit of old bread. The barge had renewed our supply of wine and after a hard day's work most of the ladies were partaking of the dry red wine.

The younger villagers who knew me played some whispering game with stones. After each round of stones a woman would come over and plant a passionate kiss on my lips and then swing her hips and walk back to the pack of whistling women. As the game continued and more winners claimed their prize the noise in the cabin got louder and louder, attracting more women from the pavilion to watch the strange event. The combination of wine and women raised my blood pressure and my white complexion turned a pulsing red.

Between the rounds of stones, Laudus had taken to nibbling on my ear and playing with my hair while sitting on the edge of my lap. As each new woman kissed me she would sneak in a squeeze of my hard shaft, which increased the throbbing ache amongst my jewels. Hannah and Key made their way behind my back to whisper encouragement to Laudus. "Conspiracy, " I thought. All day the pressure and itch in my jewels had been driving me mad and now their antics here were killing me.

My wives had migrated to the table with the stones game, laughing and whispering as women do at a man's expense. One of the new women won next and she gave me a chaste kiss and ran back to the pack with a triumphant grin. I caught Laudus's hand snaked around the contents of my open pants, which was hidden from view.

"Your time for teasing is over" I said, in a low growl, bending her back into me and pushing my tongue into her greedy mouth. We savored the feeling for a few moments before the room of women broke out in pandemonium. I released her and stood, thankfully my modesty remained intact behind a tented pair of black pants.

"Ladies, it is time for me to retire for the night in Laudus' company. See you tomorrow at the work site."

With her hand in mine I led her to the door. She had grabbed Key's hand and we worked our way out of the building with all the sisters daisy-chained behind me. Giggling followed me as all the women from the cabin spilled out to watch the spectacle of me pulling the female train behind me.

Her voice low and strong, Laudus said, "Besides me this will benefit the harem in all kinds of ways. Just imagine all the shameful conversation that is going to be said about us in the barracks tonight." She laughed, long and loud.

I groaned inwardly, my mind working overtime trying to catch up with my burning passion. We passed Celine who was exiting the tower, probably drawn to the noise at the pavilion. I dare not linger any longer than necessary lest we drop into a discussion with Celine, so we pushed up the tower stairs without any pursuit by Celine, making it into the sisters' bedroom. I didn't know what the rules were going to be and didn't care, as the building aggression and sexual desire that had built up with relentless pressure today finally spilled out.

Laudus welcomed me to her breast, her hard nipples rolling between my lips, my other hand gently tugging at her belt to completely strip my woman. Laudus wiggled with anticipation, trying to shake her pants off, so one of the twins helped her remove the offending bit of clothing, leaving her exposed with swollen outer lips flowering out to present her hard nub of pleasure to me, her curling black hair framing the choice spot of my desire.