Lost Bloodline 4 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Nightfall was wrapping its velvet cloak around the village of Silverstone by the time Koda and Sienna returned. The chill bite to the air had only gotten stronger as the afternoon slowly expired and evening came to replace it. While the couple had enjoyed their brief interlude in the forest, the heat of the chase and their thick cloaks having kept them warm enough, both were ready to get some rest.

“I’ll go make sure dinner is started,” Sienna offered. “It should already be cooking, but it was Arthene’s turn tonight. Knowing our dear bear, she’ll settle for a roast haunch and dried berries simply because she doesn’t want to work too much.”

“I wish I could argue, but that is all too accurate,” Koda laughed, drawing his mate into another tight hug. “She’s good at making those dishes at least, but it would help to have some variety. Especially with the vegetables being fresh right now.”

“I’ll make sure to get some variety prepared. That is if Calandra didn’t already step in to do that. She wasn’t working with the miners today, was she?” Sienna snuggled happily into Koda’s chest again, taking a deep breath of her mate’s scent.

“Not that I know of. I think Cal was taking today off to do some gear maintenance. Everyone is still exhausted from the harvest and she gave them time off from combat training too.” Koda placed a gentle kiss on the tip of one pointed wolf ear, making Sienna shiver happily. “I should make the report to Kris. The headwoman will want to know the details. It’s good the trolls haven’t migrated this far south. It’s entirely possible that the tribe and its chief were the only ones in this section of the mountains.”

“For now,” Sienna reminded him, shifting to peer up at him.

“For now.” Koda agreed with a sigh. “Samira has been insistent that they will eventually be replaced, but I don’t want to think about that. There is far too much that can go wrong, especially if we get called away for something.”

“That’s why the other hunters having the troll-slayer blessing is good,” Sienna reminded Koda, disengaging from their snuggle to adjust her clothes one last time. “Between those four, the rest of the village, and the training that Cal has been working them on, the next threat to prey upon the village won’t find it so easily assaulted. Whether it be another Crooked raid or a group of trolls.”

“Just have to focus on the positives,” Koda agreed, repeating his mantra from the last few weeks. “Obsessing over what might go wrong won’t help anyone. Worrying won’t help, not unless it leads to constructive work on something that is useful.”

“Worrying shows you care, but don’t lose sight of the good things.” Sienna leaned in and gave Koda one more kiss before they separated. She trotted down the small side lane towards their home on the outer edge of the village, while Koda turned to head deeper into the town center.

It had only been a few months since Koda had arrived, and the village was growing happily. In the wake of the Crooked attacks it was surprising to see. The other town that he’d seen had been ravaged, with an entire district burned to the ground and more than a few buildings damaged by either the prolonged siege or the fires.

I wonder how Amberpost is doing? Koda thought as he crossed the square, nodding and smiling to those that he recognized. Which, at this point, was everyone he met. They were hit harder by the Crooked, and the ineffective response from their council nearly saw the city sacked. 

More than a handful of folk had come from Amberpost to resettle in Silverstone, and Koda had heard from each of them that the main reason for that was the struggles with reconstruction efforts. He was also aware that more than a few of the first settlers had sent word back to friends and family, which had caused a second spurt of people to move this way in hopes of restarting their lives.

From the merry sounds emerging through the open windows of Banno’s tavern that sat near his destination, the citizens of the town and members of the Silverstone tribe were content with their choices.

“Aegisclaw!”

The sudden exclamation that included his champion title—which was rapidly replacing his family name in Koda’s heart as the memories of his former family back home continued to fade—drew his attention to one side. A slim black-haired form with pointed feline ears poking out of her dark hair waved to get his attention while the speaker hurried to meet him.

“Oh, hey Hannah. I was heading to meet with your grandmother, want to tag along?” Koda called as soon as he recognized the person.

Hannah Dewclaw, granddaughter to the headwoman, gave a shrug as she got closer. The gesture tossed back her own bison-hide cloak behind her shoulders, revealing the tight muscles of a lifelong woodswoman. Muscles that, just like Sienna’s, held far more strength than they appeared to.

After all, Hannah had been part of the hunting group that had helped Koda deal with the troll problem for the Silent Plains tribe. All three of the hunters that had gone along on that trip had benefited from the effects of the blessing due to the assistance of the group and their own skills. The signs were subtle, but one sat in Hannah’s fist as she came to a stop next to him. Their much-improved strength required specialized bows for the hunters to put even a portion of their newfound power to use.

“Sure. I needed to report to her anyway. The southern pass is good, and I spotted a few fire-lights out in the plains when I was scouting it. Looks like we might have some of those trading groups that Samira’s people promised us coming to visit. Surprised they risked it before the snows fall.”

“I mean, wouldn’t it be worse if they waited until after the snowfall?” Koda asked, turning and continuing his path across the plaza with Hannah in tow. “I can’t imagine camping on the plains in the winter is comfortable.”

“No, but there are enough sheltered places in the little nooks and valleys that it is possible. The village actually has a couple of sleighs for the winter if we have to travel down to Amberpost. Those don’t normally get much use, but we might see them get more this year.” Hannah gave a noncommittal shrug of her own at that statement. “Who knows, we might use one to visit Samira’s people and check on them once the first snows fall. Once winter settles in, it doesn’t vacate easily.”

“I remember hearing that a lot of people use the winter to relax, mend things, and do handcrafts. Is that not true?” Koda asked, relating what his girls had described to him when he’d asked about the winter industry.

“People do, but there is only so much you can stay cooped up inside. The mines still operate, though we don’t move as much ore until spring. The hunters will still be active, since the cold will drive animals down out of the mountains. But the farmers and others will be taking the season off. It’s all part of the cycle of the seasons.”

“Fair, I suppose. It’ll be my first like this,” Koda said with a shrug.

He’d told Hannah and the other hunters in the ‘close group’ that he considered to be friends about his past—at least beyond the fact that he’d been drawn there by Thera. So Hannah gave him an understanding nod at that statement and elbowed him in the chest with a playful smile.

“I’m sure your mates will be happy to have more time to spend with you. Cal was talking about holding training in one of the large galleries in the mines, since it doesn’t get nearly as cold down there as on the surface. But she can’t train folks all the time. Plus with it getting cold, there’s more of a reason to cuddle up by the fire.”

They’d reached Kris’ door and Hannah just pressed the latch and pushed her way through the entrance without knocking while she teased Koda.

“You are awful focused on my home life. Sure you aren’t projecting?” Koda fired back at the black-haired feline beastfolk and Hannah rolled her eyes.

“Projecting what? My own desires onto you? While I can admit that Sienna’s got a tight butt or Arthene’s tits are just ridiculous, I don’t swing that way,” Hannah snorted. “I’ve got my eye on a man in town, but with the tribe’s champion having multiple wives, it’s got most of the guys in town thinking they can manage the same.”

“It’s every man’s dream to be surrounded by beautiful women. It’s just my fortune that my girls love each other as much as they love me,” Koda countered, stopping to use the brush by the door to get the worst of the dirt and mud off of his boots before they went further.

“I’d be happy if my granddaughter settled down at all, whether that be with one man or a half-dozen of them,” called an older voice from the kitchen. “If you want to chase our champion’s example, then go right ahead my dear. Just make sure you have plenty of kittens for me to spoil before I die.”

“Grandma!” Hannah protested, blushing deeply while peeling her cloak off and hanging the heavy garment by the door. This freed the lithe, black tail that protruded from the back of her pants. The animated appendage thrashed in annoyance as she hurried through the doorway, leaving Koda to hang his own cloak up and follow.

“What? I’m only speaking the truth. Pack Lady only knows when our champion is going to finally have children. You’d think with three mates, one of them would have caught a child by now. You do know what you are doing, right? I don’t need to find someone to give you tips?”

The teasing words from the older woman made Koda blush as he entered the kitchen to find Hannah glaring at the grinning, wrinkled features of her grandmother.

Kris Dewclaw was old, her tanned skin wrinkled like a walnut where it wasn’t creased by smile and laugh lines. The older feline beastfolk had her knob-headed staff in one hand, leaning on it like a third leg while she waited for a kettle that steamed on a hook over the hearth in the corner of her little kitchen.

“I do know what I’m doing, Kris.” Koda shot her a wry look with one raised eyebrow. “You know that one of the girls would have said something by now if I didn’t. While Sienna and Cal might be subtle enough to hint around it, Arthene doesn’t do subtle.”

This drew a cackle of laughter from the older woman, and she gestured to the scrubbed, wooden table that sat along one wall. It was far smaller than the grand affair in Kris’ meeting room—the headwoman’s house also doubled as the village meeting hall—and was obviously where the older woman ate her meals, given its proximity to the hearth.

“That is fair. Legends speak of the primal spirits having a hard time conceiving children by mortal men. I had wondered if the same was true for champions or not,” the old woman cackled meaningfully.

“No idea, since I haven’t met any other champions that I’d be willing to ask about the situation,” Koda said dryly. He hadn’t noticed the chill that had penetrated his clothing and cloak until the heat from the hearth began to seep in and replace the feeling left by the icy air.

“That is also fair,” Kris agreed with a sobering sigh. “You can’t blame an old woman for wondering though, right?”

“Only if you're ‘wondering’ is you trying to set me up for another marriage interview,” Hannah shot back with more than a little acid in her tone while her tail puffed up like a bottle-brush.

“That was only one time,” Kris protested, her smile transforming into a scowl. “I haven’t done that ever since you complained so heartily about the first one. How was I to know that the blacksmith’s son was the one you’d rebuffed so often. You never told me who it was until then.”

“You tell by asking me first, grandmother,” Hannah snapped back with the tone of a conversation they’d traveled over several times.

Thankfully, their brewing argument was defused by the kettle beginning to whistle, which set both of the women to work getting cups and brewing a dark herbal tea.

Apparently, boiling water supersedes old arguments, Koda thought with a carefully hidden smile.

Accepting a cup from Kris, Koda waited until both women were settled at the table before he finished the conversation from earlier.

“Thera believes that it is a combination of my bloodline, status as a champion, and my world of origin that is making it harder for conception to occur. She’s confident it will happen though, enough so that none of my ladies are worried either.”

“That is relieving to hear,” Kris said while smiling into her tea mug. “And with winter coming on, there won’t be much for you to do besides work on growing that family of yours. Winter is the time of rest so that new life can bloom in the coming spring, so maybe the blessing of the seasons will help press you along.”

Koda had to fight hard to not visibly wince at Kris’ words. He’d spent plenty of time reading growing up, books being an escape he could use to avoid his parent’s constant fighting, and people saying things like ‘it’ll be calm’ always tempted fate.

He debated warning her about it, but the feeling that mentioning tempting fate was, in fact, a temptation itself, was something he couldn’t shake. So he remained silent.

“Anyway,” Hannah said, her tone clearly conveying the desire to change the conversation away from children and marriage. “Our reports?”

“Oh yes, who wants to go first? Actually, Hannah you go first. I have something to discuss with our champion afterward. You can stay and join in, or head to the hunter’s hall if you want to call it a night early,” Kris said before taking a meaningful sip of her tea.

Hannah was quick to make her report, repeating what she’d told Koda of the distant campfire’s she’d spotted on the plains as well as the pass being clear of either signs of passage or snow at the moment. Kris nodded along in understanding, the graying beastfolk’s ears bobbing slightly in time with her gestures.

“Trade would be good. The Silent Plains have sent individuals so far for specific things, but not the same level of trading that we have been gearing up for. I dearly hope that Samira hasn’t overestimated her people’s needs and desires for worked metal.”

“I don’t expect so,” Koda interjected. While Samira was just a houseguest and friend, Koda had gotten to know the eccentric caracal woman well in the wake of her declaration of wanting to join his family. “If anything, I would expect she’s been downplaying it. Once they realize we aren’t going to be cheating them on the exchanges, then I expect we’ll be supplying quite a bit of metalwork to them. Especially since we have iron in the valley already, so it’s not like we need to import it.”

“True. Time will tell though, the veins of iron were considered secondary to the mithril so weren’t assayed as properly. But the iron is still valuable enough.”

Kris shrugged at that and Koda couldn’t blame her. Mithril was what had built Silverstone as a village. Two large veins had been found in the valley by the tribe that eventually became the village of Silverstone, having been guided here by Thera in their last bid to find safety.

Now, though, one of the two veins of mineral was entirely played out, while the second was slowly fading in production. How to keep up with the village’s taxes, which had been previously paid in mithril ore, was something that Kris had consulted with him fairly often regarding.

“Well, the mines will keep for now. Winter will give us time to look for more ore and make our decisions. How far out were the camps? And how sure are you that they are trading groups and not hunters?” Kris turned her attention back to Hannah. Her granddaughter took a moment to think before answering simply.

“I’d say a day, maybe two at most if they are taking their time. And I’d put good odds on them being traders since there hasn’t been a sighting of any herds of prey animals nearby for the last two weeks. And before you ask: they were far too small of a camp to be raiders either.”

“Good. The plains tribes haven’t tried to raid in decades, but it is something I have always worried about,” Kris said and took another bracing sip of her tea before turning her attention to Koda with a small smile. “What about our good champion? Any news from ‘mysterious sources’ to relate?”

Given that Kris’ family had been the ones upholding the traditions of Thera in the centuries since their people’s escape from the Crooked and Thera’s near fall, Koda hadn’t hidden anything from the old woman about his abilities as they developed. She was one of the few that knew Koda could contact nature spirits and ancient ghosts, or that he could issue orders to the ghostly wendigo spirit that guarded the shrine high in the mountains now.

“Nothing moving in the high mountains. At least nothing that we aren’t already familiar with. Either the herds have come down already, or the animals are tucking themselves away into their burrows for the winter’s sleep.” Koda took a sip of the tea himself, enjoying the sharp flavor of lemongrass and other herbs. It wasn’t coffee, or even close to the tea he was used to from back on Earth, but that didn’t bother him.

“Good, good,” Kris bobbed her head while the smile that had been growing on her face doubled in size. “Sometimes, no word is best. We could do with a quiet bit of time. The longer before something else happens, the more that Thera can recover.”

“I’m hoping that the traders Hannah mentioned will have word from the Silent Plains tribe with more sites I can lay claim to for her,” Koda admitted and got a thoughtful hum from Hannah and Kris that was only off pitch by a single note, the shared habit showing their family connection.

“That would be fortunate. I should ask the new arrivals about the same thing. They may not understand the connotation or significance, but they might know of more near Amberpost that you can claim too,” Kris said after a moment of thought.

“I should go for a bit of a walkabout that way anyway. My most recent gift from Thera would make it easier to sniff out such things,” Koda reminded them. The armor that he’d been given by the goddess had the power to help guide him to those sources of energy, and he was eager to test it out more thoroughly.

“Give me some time to gather information. We’ve had another family show up and take rooms from Banno for the winter. Things in Amberpost are not going well, apparently. Many of those who survived losing their homes in the raids learned that the town council was seizing the land to rebuild under new management. Which naturally left them with the choice of starting over in Amberpost amongst the ghosts of those they lost, or trying a new start.”

Kris’ growling tone told Koda all he needed to know of her opinion regarding the council of Amberpost, and he couldn’t really argue with her. The group of men and women hadn’t impressed him in the slightest when he’d encountered them, especially after how they had treated Calandra for actually trying to get the town guard to work together and help someone besides the council.

“We just need to keep a careful eye on them,” Hannah reminded her grandmother. “The last thing we need is for someone to leak word back that the village has ‘fallen to corruption’ or even word of Thera’s return to us.”

“Of course. That would send the priests into a frenzy to stamp out an opposing faith. Golieas does not suffer the worship of others in lands he views as his, even though it was a coalition of the gods who defeated and drove out Oluk from this world,” Kris grumbled as she tread back over a conversation they’d had before. “I’m keeping close watch on folks we do not know well. It’s why we’ve been keeping ceremonies small and remote. Until we are sure that those new faces won’t betray us.”

Koda didn’t speak, just listening to the two women discuss how they might know if they could trust the newcomers to the village. While he was the champion of the Beast Queen Thera, he’d only been in the position for a handful of months and he’d gotten by so far on trusting his instincts. And those instincts told him to let the Dewclaw’s handle this for now.