Lost Bloodline 5 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After Pippin’s surprising visit, the calm of winter settled in once more over the village of Silverstone. With the warning delivered by the tiny spymaster, Koda redoubled his plans for how to fortify and protect his home from potential threats, while talking with the headwoman and other elders of the Ivory Spear tribe to get their opinions as well.

With the ground around the village frozen from winter’s chill, Koda couldn’t really begin construction as he knew it. But the frozen earth was no barrier to Sienna, and Koda’s first mate happily went to work setting foundations for walls to protect Silverstone as well as defenses for the entrance to the valley. When she wasn’t working on those two, Sienna was using her earth magic to slowly excavate larger storerooms under the village or check the mines over for potential hazards while the miners worked through the winter, insulated from the cold and the storms by many layers of rock.

Calandra continued to work with the villagers to train them to fight. Those that reached an acceptable level of skill were quickly tasked with teaching others. This helped by spreading the knowledge out and would work to cement the basics in their mind the best way possible: by teaching another.

Samira met with the occasional envoy from the plains tribes that would brave the storms to visit. Most times it was a small party that would stay in the village for a week, either to trade or as pilgrims to confirm the stories circulating the hearth-fires of the plains about renewed hope. Mostly, though, Samira helped Calandra with her training.

Arthene and Finna alternated between escorting Sienna when she set to work on the defenses of the valley, or going with Koda on his patrols. None of the wives spent much time alone, and each took every opportunity that they could to enjoy the time that they had with their husband and each other. When not with Koda, the two incarnate spirits worked to help Samira master her magic as she was the least experienced with it.

Since she was the only one not fully inducted into the family, Finna spent most of the time that she was able to with Koda, both to learn more about him and to share her wealth of knowledge about the worlds. Much of her information about the workings of political structures or borders was out of date, but it was enough that she could fill in some of the holes to help with his plans.

For his part, Koda bounced between planning sessions and wandering the valley when the winter storms didn’t bind everyone in place. Even during the times when the storms came in hard and fast, Koda rarely spent more than half a day inside, making the rounds to check on the people in the village.

When Koda went on his patrols, that was usually when he had either Finna or Arthene escorting him as the three of them were the most unaffected by the cold or the snow.

Koda found himself often climbing to high places where he could look out over the village, the valley, or the plains beyond as he performed his patrols.

Sometimes, he would climb up the mountain to the Windwalker’s Retreat, where his only companion was the wendigo spirit that clung to the mountain to guard that site of power under Thera’s command and whichever of the incarnate spirits that came with him on that given day.

Other times, Koda would head to the pass and take up a post scanning the plains, watching for the herds of bison that still moved across the snow-cloaked land. The distant curls of smoke told him that Amberpost was doing it’s best in the winter, but no word or traveling merchants had chosen to brave the mountains and the snow to come out to Silverstone.

There was something peaceful about just studying the land around him, surveying all that lay before him and confirming that no threats approached his home and his mates. Arthene learned quickly to simply let Koda take his time, enjoying the introspective moment and the chance to cuddle with her smaller but no less fierce mate. Finna would spend more of the time studying Koda than their surroundings, but the lapine woman had long ago mastered the skill of studying her surroundings at a glance.

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“Koda, why is it that you haven’t asked Sienna to simply raise walls around the town as defenses?” Finna asked one day, two months after Longnight and Pippin’s warning.

“Sienna is preparing the defenses,” Koda answered, shifting slightly against the large stone that he was leaning into, his eyes not leaving the horizon.

At peace as he was right now, focused on his surroundings, Koda was able to discern the faint sounds of Finna’s steps as the lapine woman trod closer to him. He didn’t move, even as she settled against the stone behind him and he felt the heat of her breath on his hair.

Finna had been spending more and more time with him as the weeks and months trickled by, slowly testing the waters as she got to know him better. It was interesting to see the lapine woman’s approach and comparing it to Arthene’s. While Arthene had bowled her way into his life and all but demanded to hop into his bed as quickly as possible, Finna liked to tease and hint at things, make lewd jokes and play games, but never pushed him too hard. If it wasn’t for her open declaration of intent, Koda would have wondered if she was really interested in joining his rapidly growing family.

But now, as he felt Finna edging closer to him until the soft sensation of her breasts pressed into his shoulders, Koda was just comfortable. The rabbit-eared woman had remained respectful this entire time, always ensuring that Koda’s existing relationships had priority while she worked her way into his heart. He’d felt the affection growing for her just like it had for his other mates, and Koda had no intention to fight it.

More love, happier life, Koda thought with a smile as he leaned back into Finna slightly. The lapine woman responded immediately, an arm snaking around his shoulders to drape over his chest and pull him closer to her, squishing her breasts into his back and neck now.

“Yes, she’s been preparing foundations and doing a lot of work to get ready for the spring. But with her power…” Finna let the question trail off, the heat of her breath tickling Koda’s ears as the two of them looked out over the plains.

Distantly, Koda saw the smear that he recognized as a herd of bison to the south-east, turn suddenly. His eyes were strong enough at this point to spot the flash of furtive movement, but he wasn’t sure if it was a predator hunting, or maybe some member of the plains tribes doing the same.

Koda watched the herd adjust, drawing in and presenting a defensive front against whatever threat they had detected, for a moment before he answered Finna’s question.

“I haven’t asked Sienna to create walls for the village yet because, while she can do it, she doesn’t have the innate construction knowledge needed to make them permanent,” Koda answered, shifting slightly so that Finna pressing into his back was more comfortable.

The hand on his chest began to rub back and forth slowly while the lapine woman considered his words, and Koda felt her adjust so the folds of her thick cloak draped over his shoulders too. While both of them could and did ignore the cold as a matter of fact, the cloaks made things more comfortable with their warmth.

“Can you elaborate?” Finna asked, and Koda felt the soft impact of one of her long ears bonking the side of his head.

“You know I worked in construction before I answered Thera’s call, right?” Koda asked, uncrossing his arms from over his chest to slip one behind him and let it rest on Finna’s thigh.

The contact made the lapine woman sigh happily and lean more into him, but she didn’t keep Koda waiting for long for a response.

“Yes, I remember hearing about it. Both that you have a surprising amount of skills from that time, and that you were taken advantage of by your superiors who did not pay you fairly,” Finna said, continuing to rub his chest affectionately while they talked.

“There is more to building a wall than just piling stones on top of each other,” Koda said slowly, watching as the bison herd shifted again. At this distance, they moved almost like a school of fish swirling away from a predator in their midst. “If we want to ensure walls are strong and will sustain a battering in the event we need them, then we need to make sure they have the proper support. Which means strong foundations, proper core structure, mortar, and all of that.”

“And you know all of this?” Finna asked, a bit of awe slipping into her tone. Koda felt her breath stir his long black hair as she leaned in closer and smiled, not looking away but enjoying the attention still.

“I know enough,” Koda answered. “Enough that I understand how much I don’t know. And while Sienna could erect those walls in a pinch, they wouldn’t last as long as I would hope. So rather than rush and risk something collapsing or going wrong, she’s doing her part preparing for the future.”

“Which is?” Finna asked curiously, and the warmth on his ear from her breath increased as she leaned further into him.

“When the weather breaks, I’m hoping that the stonemasons we have in the village can set to work preparing the walls. Sienna’s earth magic can help with that, squaring up stones and the like, but bringing in professionals who know what they are doing is most important. If I had rebar and concrete, I could come up with strong defenses, but the materials I know best aren’t as easily available here.”

“And Sienna’s magic couldn’t stand in for it?” Finna asked, but there was no judgment in her tone, just curiosity. “I’ve seen her shift earth like it was water, and she did wonderfully creating those temporary shelters for the refugees.”

“Sienna is a gem,” Koda said, the love he felt for his first mate overflowing in his words. “And I think that her knowledge and power with the earth is actually teaching her some of what she’s missing. She actually came to me a few months ago when we started talking about improving the village and valley’s defenses with her worries about not being able to measure up.”

“Then she is wiser than many in her situation,” Finna chuckled. “Though you already know that. Our Sienna is smart for someone so very young.”

“I’d argue, but I suppose in comparison to your gray-haired wisdom, all of us look young,” Koda teased back, finally tearing his eyes away from the distant herd and angling to smirk over his shoulder at the taller woman.

Finna was scowling playfully at him while the wind stirred her cloud-gray hair gently.

“I’ll have you know that this is a natural gray. I resent the implication that I am old,” Finna huffed, blowing several strands of Koda’s long, straight hair away from her face.

“Well yes, the process of going gray is a natural one,” Koda continued to tease, getting a slap on the chest from Finna in response. “But seriously, Finna. You and Arthene have seen so much of the passage of time that I and the others must look like toddlers playing in the dirt…”

“Not at all,” Finna answered without hesitation, the pretend annoyance fading from her face. “You and the girls are wise for your years, and part of that wisdom is recognizing your own limits. Sure, Arthene and I may have centuries of memories, but our minds work differently from yours. I’ve never had to build stone walls before, and would have likely settled for wooden palisades to get it done as quickly as possible or just accepted that there were risks. You, on the other hand, are looking far into the future and planning how to make something that lasts.”

“Well yeah,” Koda replied with a chuckle. “I would almost say that I have a divine mandate to ‘be fruitful and multiply’ from Thera, so with the thought of kids on the way, I will always look to the future.”

“That is a very responsible outlook to have,” Finna said, pride welling up in both her voice and her eyes.

The two of them continued to stare into each other’s eyes for several more minutes. Koda’s light blue gaze mixing with Finna’s brighter, almost sapphire eyes. In those drawn out seconds, with only the rustle and whistle of the wind as a distraction, they took the measure of each other and were content with what they saw there.

It was Finna who finally broke their locked gaze, turning to look out over the plains thoughtfully. Koda followed her gaze and stared out over the rolling hills of white intermixed with the occasional glimmer of an unfrozen river or patch of dead prairie grass showing through.

“What do you think the spring will bring?” Finna asked quietly, settling her chin on top of Koda’s head lightly. Their heights were such that she only had to shift a bit to do so comfortably.

“Trouble,” Koda answered offhandedly. “Pippin wouldn’t have made an appearance otherwise. The question is more whether that trouble will target us specifically, or if it’s something we can keep out of.”

“Do you honestly think that’ll happen?” Finna asked, amused.

“Oh gods no,” Koda replied with a resigned chuckle as he gave her thigh a gentle squeeze under Finna’s cloak. “But regardless of who, where, or how much trouble shows up, I know I’ll be fighting like the third monkey on the ramp to survive. My girls make that an easy choice to make.”

“Third monkey?” Finna asked curiously, but Koda just shook his head, being careful to do so slowly so he didn’t dislodge Finna’s affectionate embrace.

“Something from my old world, don’t worry about it. I intend to fight hard to make sure I can both protect my wives and people, and ensure that the future is a bright one for any kids I end up having. And it goes without saying that I want to ensure Thera is able to recover.”

“That is a goal worth having,” Finna said after a moment of silence, accepting his words for the reassurance they were.

The two of them stood there for several more hours, watching the horizon from that high place as the world turned and the land slept beneath its blanket of snow. The peace enforced by the chill of winter was something that they both wanted to savor, as neither denied that more trouble was on the horizon.

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Winter continued to roll past in a slow procession. Calandra and Sienna, on a spur of the moment check, were able to locate another vein of mithril in the current mine, ensuring Silverstone would have plenty of work for the future. But the true wealth came several days later when the two of them, escorted by Hans and Arthene, went to the old mine that was further away from town.

Sienna’s earth magic revealed several things about the old mine that even the well-trained eyes of the miners had missed.

The first thing that Sienna had discovered was that, while the mithril in the old mine was played out, there was something else of value in the old mine that others had missed. Marble was not the best for defensive production, but the stone was still valuable for its decorative uses and could form another export for Silverstone to draw in money as well as more citizens if they decided to start quarrying for the marble.

But the second thing that Sienna had found was far more important than the marble. The soft, dove gray marble where it met the granite had a few small hollow spots in it that drew her attention while Sienna ran her power through the walls. Spots that they had missed while following veins of mithril, but when Sienna checked them, contained a wealth of raw gemstones in the form of deep, blood-red rubies. When Sienna opened a small passage through the stone and revealed those glittering treasures, all four of those present had gone silent in awe at the masses of dark red gemstones clinging to the insides of the pockets or forming nodules in the cloud-gray marble.

Bringing that information back to Kris overjoyed the headwoman, as the precious stones would be another resource the village could put to good use. She gave orders for a select few of the most trusted miners to begin extracting the precious stones and setting them aside. Making too much of a production about the rubies would draw even more ill intention to the village, so they would have to think hard on how best to sell them to bring in money for the village.

There was another brief bout of cautious excitement amongst Koda’s wives when Calandra missed her monthly cycle. But when it reappeared two weeks later, Samira used her water magic to check on the dwarven woman and confirmed it was just the stress of exertion that had delayed her monthlies, not a hoped-for pregnancy.

Far from discouraging his mates, the mistake added fuel to the fire as all four of his lovers affectionately competed to see who might be the first to carry a child for Koda.

All while Koda meditated and considered the questions that had been posed to him before about his ancestry. He was hoping that by drawing closer to whatever was the source of his bloodline, it might help him make that necessary connection that would allow the final ‘click’ to occur and grant what his mates wanted: children.