His men found her unsettling. For a mere child, to know so much was beyond their experience. For a girl, well, any woman to bring down more animals than experienced, full grown hunters was also embarrassing to them. Bren had to admit, it injured his pride a bit too, but he knew the secret lie in that bow of hers, and instead of sulking like the others, he chose to be proud of her, and he had to be honest, hope one day that she would help him get a bow of his own.

He was just starting to understand what Dag’s people meant when they spoke about thinking further ahead. As he stretched his time horizon, more and more things became not just possible, but inevitable. Not all of them good, but knowing that the bad was coming meant that you could prepare for it. Much like knowing in the spring that you needed to go to the Gathering to be above the rising waters. It was all still new to him, but he was starting to see.

Resources

Arrival

The trip back to camp was uneventful, but Jill was excited to be so warmly greeted. She found herself nearly knocked over by the excited little ones. She learned that they didn’t ever want him to go away again, because Oona was a mean teacher. Jill found that amusing. She knew Oona would be working with them more on traditional skills than letters and numbers, but it kept up the discipline of getting an education, and would be useful knowledge for all of them.

Dag was also suitably impressed with Bren’s offering. To find that there was a whole ridge of limestone just a week’s travel away had him grinning from ear to ear. When Bren pressed him as to what was so important about the rock, Dag took some of the smaller stones and roasted out the water, turning the resulting rock into a type of Roman concrete. With the resulting mixture, he constructed a few extra planters for the tiny fig trees that Jill had brought back.

Bren was fascinated by the concrete, and Dag was quick to let him know about many of its uses. That it had been found in the presence of a small spring as well, meant that even with the difficulties of transportation, the find was still ultra valuable as it meant they could sustain crews there while working to break more stone loose.

Bren finally asked to be able to stay. Dag let out a long sigh, “I think I knew it was going to come to this, but now that we have to man another outpost, I think it really the only thing that makes sense. Will all of your clan stay too? We are going to the Gathering in a matter of weeks, and anyone who would rather return to a life they understand...”

As Dag trailed off, Bren just nodded, “I know one who will probably try to join one of the other clans, and he will take his woman and children as well. The rest are confused, but happy to live the life you’re providing.”

Dag scratched his chin, “Yeah, well, make sure that the one who leaves doesn’t do anything to cause problems, and bid him a fond farewell. I have a feeling that as the old chiefs die out, you won’t be the only clan seeking a better option.”

Bren looked down and frowned, “Are you going to move us all out to the limestone?”

Dag shook his head, “Nah, after we get back from the Gathering, I will mix up the work assignments and just include it in the rotation. At first we’ll have to send plenty of people there to make it more livable, but after that, two or three men should be able to protect it, and cut loose all the rock I can use, considering other ingredients that are still in short supply.”

Bren eyed him openly now, “What other ingredients?”

Dag smiled and shook his head, “Not yet. Once you’ve been with us a while, and I don’t think you will change your mind and run off with the secret, I’ll teach you exactly how to make all of this stuff, but let’s give it a year or two.”

Bren didn’t like it. The statement felt like distrust, but in Dag’s place, he wouldn’t do anything different. Had their roles been reversed, he wasn’t sure he would have let Bren’s clan in, so he just pushed the concerns out of his mind. Time enough to learn these secrets as time went on.

◆◆◆

Gathering Time

Leaving for the Gathering this year was chaotic. Dag had decided to make the move in stages. Using only the boats, he would take a group up river starting weeks early, and come back down carrying charcoal. Ajax had volunteered to stay and watch the castle with a contingent of folks to look after the animals and see to it that the gardens got watered. Lavern was well into her second pregnancy, and miserable on the trip. Even in the boats, it wasn’t an easy trip for her and the six others in a similar condition. Still, they wanted to go to see people that they had missed over the year.

Dag had a lot fewer warm fuzzy feelings about the people there, remembering all too well how they had been turned on by those same people. He recognized that it was the greed of a few, but he wasn’t nearly as forgiving as his wife. He knew that if the majority had refused to take part, the greed of the few would have been stymied. Either way, he was the last one to go, and spent the time he had while the others were moving to cook up more concrete.

He had plans for extending the fort this year, and when he was done, he would see it coated in a concrete plaster so that he need not worry as much about fire. It was the one weapon the clans had that could actually hurt them, and he wasn’t about to sit by until they figured that out.

Dag’s delay pushed him to travel against the beginning of heavier currents. The water was already high by the time he reached the Gathering grounds. All the clans gave him a wide berth. It became very obvious that no one wanted to trigger another war. Jack had been seeing to the fort, and came to Dag grinning.

“Hendden has come in, and I think you’ll be happy with what he has to trade!” the young man chittered at him, the grin never faltering.

Dag rolled his eyes at the exuberance of youth, but he was anxious to find out what Hendden had found while he was out and about. “Oh, is it bigger than a breadbox?” Jack looked at him, confused. Dag shook his head, “Nevermind. Why don’t you just tell me what it is?”

Jack nodded and still grinning like an idiot asked, “You remember that black gunk you told me to be on the lookout for, well, Hendden pulled in earlier in the week with a big wad of it tied up in a gazelle skin. Nasty, smelly stuff, if you ask me.” Jack gave a little shudder that wasn’t completely a sham for their benefit.

Dag grinned broadly, “That ‘nasty, smelly stuff’ is tar. If it really is what he’s found and he can get more, it water proofs things. Meaning more boats, and special leathers that keep you dry out in the rain, and it can burn like whale oil.”

That made Jack’s interest pick up. They couldn’t move any faster toward the fort, because after having a team unload the boats, Dag was helping to carry one of them up from the river bank, but that didn’t keep Jack from excitedly running off ahead of them.

Hendden was waiting for them when they got in, and fending off a hyper-enthusiastic Jack. The man greeted Dag warmly, as he looked pointedly at Jack, “I hear someone already told you about my surprise?”

Dag laughed, “He might have mentioned it. How about we take a look to see what you actually have and find out if we need you to get more of it?”

Hendden chuckled and walked over and knelt down by a pack that Dag could already see was leaking sticky black tar. Hendden looked up to say something to Dag, but broke into a smile instead, “This is what you were looking for?”

Dag nodded, “Oh yeah... That’ll do quite nicely. How much of it was there?”

Hendden let out a snort, “More than you’ll convince me to carry away!”

Dag felt his grin widen further. “This is good. This is really good.”

Hendden looked shrewd for a moment, “How good, and what do you want to trade for it?”

Dag smirked, “A bag that size... a bag of salt half again as big?”

Hendden’s eyes boggled, “Oh, you do really want this stuff... What exactly for?”

Dag laughed, “Is that all you have with you?”

Hendden nodded, “Until I knew it was what you really wanted... this stuff is a pain to carry.”

Dag chuckled, “Yeah, I’m sure it is, but I have some ideas about that, too. Tell you what, trade me what you have, and any hides your people have to spare for what you want from the fort here, and with any luck, you’ll get to see the finished project in a week or so.”

Hendden shrugged, “Okay, I have had my people tanning every scrap of hide they could get their hands on.”

Dag grinned, “Good boy. We’re going to make you a wealthy chief yet.”

Hendden looked a bit embarrassed, “Well, don’t let my father hear you say that. Ever since I got back from that trade mission with you last year, he has been on my ass day and night about how to lead the clan and learning clan traditions.”

Dag laughed, “He just sees himself being eclipsed by the greatness you will become. Don’t worry about it. Success has a way of smoothing over such things.”

◆◆◆

More Canoes

With tar to waterproof the seams, Dag could now build canoes with smaller skins sewn together. He had enough to complete two canoes with two layers of hide and a layer of tar in between. Unlike the original canoes, these weren’t at risk of becoming waterlogged as the water soaked into the skins.

It was still too wild on the flooded river to take them out, but Hendden’s eyes went wide when he realized what had been built with his tar. “This is a game changer for you, isn’t it?”

Dag grinned at him, “Yes. More importantly, this is only one use. There are many things that the tar is useful for. Given the chance to make up a few more tools, I might even be able to get more out of it.”

Hendden frowned, “This is important, isn’t it?”

Dag nodded, “A clan could do very well supplying us with this, and eventually, as the other clans start to learn things that can be done with it...” He just captured Hendden’s eye and shrugged, leaving his own mind to work through it.

Hendden sighed, “My father will never agree to spend all of our time moving large amounts of this. It won’t matter to him who much salt or hides or even food we get for it. At best, he will treat it as an unpleasant side venture.”