Bren glared at him. “They are the rocks that I was told to look for.”
A second man trying to be a bit more diplomatic asked, “Doesn’t Dag have plenty of rocks where he is? He has that huge castle of his, after all.”
Bren sighed, honestly he was dubious about this find as well. Fortunately, Jill chose that moment to speak up. “If this were a whole mound of good spear flint, would you say the same?” All four men looked at her in surprised amusement. She had a point, and none of them had thought of it quite that way. She shook her head, “Just because you don’t know what to do with it, doesn’t make it valuable. Who among you would have used straightened horns and a bit of string to fling spears?” She snorted as she saw more questions building in their eyes, “No, before you ask, I don’t know what he plans to use it for either, but I know that I wouldn’t have known how to make falling water turn lathes, grinding wheels, and drills either. So, if Dag says that he wants something, I just find it and bring it to him. Then watch in amazement as he does things with it that I never knew could be done.”
All four men hung their heads in a bit of chagrin. Bren was the first to recover. “You heard the lady. Load up. We’ll take a few more days to look around here first before we head back with our find. Starting tomorrow, we will begin taking half-day trips out in all directions. We need to know if there is anything else in the area that we should be taking back as well.”
Jill was all smiles after that. Bren couldn’t say that his men were any more or less convinced, but they weren’t ready to question a shaman as powerful as Dag. It made Bren think again about if he was ready to give up being a chief. As he mulled it over, he thought back about how easily Jill had set them all straight. For one so young, to be that confident and be right was impressive. He looked over to see her bent over the fire, getting their stew on to cook. She was a pretty child, but still a child, and even so, he could see the woman she would one day be. He just wasn’t sure he could wait to take a mate until she was old enough to fill the position. If he were to remain chief, he needed an heir, and even if he wasn’t to remain chief, he was of an age that he should be creating a family.
◆◆◆
A Quick Look Around
Bren had taken them out from the camp by the spring a half a day’s journey in each direction, like spokes on a wheel. The trek out, and then move over a few hundred yards, and walk back. They had found very little of importance. Jill had found a few plants that she said would be useful to have.
Bren watched her in wonder as she dug down very carefully and lifted out the plant live and whole. He had seen the gardens, where Dag’s clan made plants grow exactly where it was convenient, but he hadn’t any idea that one as young as Jill would have mastered the secret of it.
She had surprised him again when she took down a couple of sea birds to add to their rations as well. Then added some of the plants that she had harvested, and the meal was even more tasty than he had expected.
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?”
