Every Man's Fantasy Ch. 07

Disaster for the Woodlanders came from a fight during the monthly trade-meeting with the Mariners.

On the day before the monthly trade, Mirselene renewed her attempt to persuade her daughter, Dagma, to be Ezra's bedmate. She had been refusing for more than two weeks and, by her mother's calculation, she should now be ovulating. Mirselene began with kind words, appealing to her daughter's loyalty to the tribe, but was unsuccessful again and, losing her temper, drove her defiant daughter away.

Dagma spent the night in the forest and returned the next morning before her mother woke. She hitched up her basket of goods and waited for the trading party on the route to the trading-place. Unfortunately, she took her anger and resentment with her.

The Woodlander party made good time and by mid-morning had concluded the normal preliminaries of sharing food and gossip. The pre-ordered goods had been exchanged and bargaining for additional items was advancing peaceably when Dagma got into a dispute about the price of a wooden tool.

The argument turned into angry pushing when Dagma grabbed back the haft and appeared to threaten the Mariner woman with it. She was a tall strong woman called Kalyndra. The women grappled together and Kalyndra grabbed hold of a stone knife from a nearby basket. Urulla moved in to try to separate the brawling women but there was confusion. Arms flailed and curses were shouted. Then a cry was heard. The women backed off and there was Urulla, lying on her back, with a bloody wound in her chest.

Kalyndra was still holding the knife. She screamed, threw it down and ran away. Someone shouted "She's dead!" and the other Mariners ran after Kalyndra, leaving their baskets of goods behind.

The Woodlanders thought Urulla was dead. Dagma was closest to the ailing girl but she was in shock, unable to move. Casti acted first and knelt by her daughter, staunching the blood with her hand. Blood bubbled out of the corner of Urulla's mouth and the girl went pale and silent.

"Get help!" Casti shouted. "Dagma! Don't just stand there, run for help!"

Dagma woke from her daze and, taking off her cloak, ran into the forest toward the Woodlander camp. A weeping Dipti knelt beside Casti and they took turns to put pressure on the wound and staunch the blood flow. The other women stood around uselessly.

The Mariner settlement was closest and it was only an hour or so before Belena, chief of the Mariners and a dozen of her tribeswomen arrived. They brought water, bandages and assorted medicines. Their nurse, Calliope, accompanied by her teenage daughter, went to offer what help she could. Other Mariners carried a large tent roof on poles that they set up over the injured woman to shield her and her nurses from the sun.

Belena herself sat on a chair under another tent and set her women to put the baskets of goods back in order and sort out who owned what while they waited for Mirselene to turn up, as she surely would.

Dagma arrived back in the Woodlander camp, exhausted and sweating, barely able to talk. Tears in her eyes, she gasped out the story to the disbelieving tribe. It was clearly too great a disaster for Mirselene to apportion blame. What mattered now was saving Urulla's life. Her orders were swift and concise:

"Parvinder, pack your medicines. Annela, help her. Dagma, you need some water. Ezra, can you make a stretcher?"

Then she retired to her hut to think through her strategy. Soon Parvinder was ready with a bag of medicines. Annela was ready as well. Ezra and Dagma had folded the strong tarpaulin sheet and tied it to two long poles.

Mirselene emerged from her hut, prepared to lead the rescue party.

"Annela, Ezra, you can't come."

"Madam, I can help Parvinder," Annela protested at the same time that Ezra asked "Why on Earth not?"

Mirselene replied:

"Annela, you are clearly pregnant. Ezra, do I really need to explain? No time to argue. Stay and make up Parvinder's hut to receive Urulla. Help Lenta make us some dinner because we'll be famished when we return. Dagma, can you make the journey twice in a day?"

"Yes, mother," she said in a meek voice.

"Good. Let's go."

Mirselene led Parvinder and Dagma out of the camp, carrying the stretcher, water bladders and the medicine bag.

Even with a light load and not stopping, it was more than a two-hour walk to the meeting-place. They found the Mariners waiting for them. Calliope and her daughter were helping nurse Urulla. The other Mariners sat or stood around their chief under her tent. There was an empty seat next to Belena.

Parvinder went to look at Urulla while Mirselene took her place on the vacant chair.

"Sister," she said, "this is an awful business."

"Indeed, Sister," Belena said, "we are very grieved and sorry."

"Who is the culprit?"

"This is Kalyndra." Belena motioned forward a contrite woman.

"What have you to say for yourself, girl?" Mirselene demanded.

"I am to blame, Madam. I am very sorry. Please forgive me? Please tell me Urulla will live?"

"It is not my place to forgive you, girl, but your remorse does you credit. Our nurse will tell us how Urulla is."

"To be fair to Kalyndra," Belena added, "it was half-and-half who was to blame for starting the fight."

"So my daughter has admitted; yet your woman was entirely to blame for using a weapon. This is utterly forbidden, as you know."

"Yes, I know. We are prepared to make restitution, if you agree."

"I agree but first I will learn if it's safe to bring Urulla back to camp today."

Parvinder was summoned and, when she was satisfied she could safely leave her patient, she attended on the chiefs.

"Urulla is unconscious but stable," Parvinder reported. "She's breathing freely now and the wound has stopped bleeding; but she's lost a lot of blood and I don't know if the journey home will re-open her wound. I'm going to strap her up now. We tried to give her water but she coughed it up."

"My settlement is nearer," Belena offered. "We have an excellent nurse in Calliope and we will give Parvinder lodging, of course."

"Your offer is kind, Sister, but I think Urulla would be happier in her own tribe and under the care of our two nurses."

"As you wish, Sister, my offer remains open, should you change your mind."

"What do you say, Parvinder?"

"If you want us to take her home, Mirselene, then so long as we go slowly and are prepared to stop if she's in danger, I think it's safe."

With that, Parvinder returned to her patient. The bustle around the tent indicated they were removing her shirt and binding her wound with bandages. This done, Urulla was left to rest, watched over by Parvinder, while Casti and Dipti went to rinse the blood off their hands and Calliope and her daughter returned to their tribe.

There was silence between the two chiefs for a few minutes. The Mariner women handed out small baskets of dried fish and cups of water and, though no one was hungry, the Woodlanders knew they had a long journey home and tried to eat. Even so, neither Casti, Dipti nor Dagma ate even a mouthful.

"Sister," Belena began, "your baskets of goods are over there. How will you take them as well as your girl?"

"We'll manage."

"If you say so. I am prepared to give you two women as compensation until Urulla is healed. They can help bear the stretcher."

It was customary on Samothea to provide compensation for an injured tribeswoman in the form either of Cloner Tokens, trade goods or workers. One worker would replace the injured woman until she is healed and the other would either nurse her or work in place of her nurse. The Woodlanders were the best at medicine and did not need a nurse.

Mirselene pondered the offer. She had a difficult decision to make.

The problem was that any Mariner in the camp would soon learn the existence of Ezra and would surely transmit that knowledge to her tribe when she returned. The Mariners had to learn some time, of course, especially if Ezra was ever going to salvage his ship, but Mirselene wanted to choose the time for that herself. But it would be suspicious for her to reject the offer of workers. Belena did not know that Ezra did the work of two younger women (and ate the food of three). She thought the Woodlanders were too small a tribe to lose the labour of two women.

"Belena, I accept the offer of two women."

"Very good. Kalyndra! Step forward."

The girl did so.

"You will go with the Woodlanders to work in place of Urulla until she recovers."

Kalyndra silently nodded but Mirselene was angry. Belena was up to her tricks, putting a sting in the tail of the just compensation.

"Kalyndra is Urulla's assailant!" she protested.

"Yes, and Dagma was the principal cause of the fight," Belena retorted.

"Besides, the girl has apologised and asked forgiveness. She is a strong worker and therefore generous reparations."

Mirselene swallowed hard. She knew she would be forced to accept Kalyndra if she wanted compensation at all. She was bound to relent but not without protest. She calmed herself down.

"Kalyndra is acceptable to us only if we shackle her wrists and ankles. She'll also be gagged at night."

"Do as you wish to her. Just leave no permanent marks or injuries."

Still Kalyndra had not spoken.

"And whom will you give us to replace our nurse?"

Before Belena answered, Calliope, who was standing behind Belena's chair, pushed her daughter forward. Mirselene saw the movement and the naked plea on Calliope's face.

"I will work in compensation for your nurse," the girl said.

"No!" Belena objected. "Not you, Thalassa! Calliope, she is not appropriate."

Mirselene was careful not to let Belena see her glance again at the girl's mother. She saw the same imploring look and made up her mind.

"I do not know if she's appropriate or not, Belena, but she's seems very scrawny."

"That's right, Mirselene, someone older and stronger would be better ..."

"I am stronger than I look, Madam," Thalassa said. "And I am learning nursing from my mother."

"Nursing, you say?" Mirselene asked. "How good is she at nursing, Calliope?"

"She is learning well and takes orders," Thalassa's mother said. "She is competent."

"Merely competent? I'm not sure we need another nurse. We have two."

Belena now asserted herself again. "Come back, Thalassa. The Woodlanders don't want you."

"On the other hand," Mirselene said, pretending to think it over, "most of the nursing will just be sitting with Urulla while she recovers. My women have far better things to do and an older woman would be bored but Thalassa might be suited to the task. She looks about Urulla's age. How old are you, girl?"

"I'm seventeen, Madam."

"Then you'll suit us well. Belena, I'm happy with your compensation. Say goodbye to your mother, Thalassa. And you, Kalyndra, make your preparations. We'll leave straight away."

Belena was finessed. She could say nothing without revealing to Mirselene why she wanted the girl to stay or why Calliope showed such profound relief, an emotion she hid from Belena as she tearfully kissed her daughter goodbye.

Four women carried Urulla on the stretcher, alternating when they got tired, treading as carefully as they could to avoid jolting the patient too often. Stopping every so often, it was a slow journey back to the camp.

Carried delicately into the camp in the early evening, Urulla was taken straight to Parvinder's hut so her nurses could wash and dress her wound and make her comfortable. She still hadn't woken but Parvinder was not worried, thinking that while she was unconscious, she was mending.

Kalyndra and Thalassa were left to stand next to the dais in front of Mirselene's hut, awaiting their orders. With perfect timing, Ezra appeared from one of the storage huts on the other side of the camp fire and made his way to Parvinder's hut, to ask after Urulla. The Mariner women saw him through the smoky flames but he was clearly a man. They stared, unable to speak. On all the journey back to camp, no one had thought to mention the man in the Woodlander camp.

"That is Ezra," Mirselene said, appearing behind them. "You will meet him later. Meanwhile, Thalassa is to wash and begin her nursing duties and Kalyndra is to go with Sharne and Dagma, who will find you a bed and prepare you for work. Off you go."

The Mariner women obeyed in a sort of daze.

Erin took charge of Thalassa and Sharne thought it best that she, rather than Dagma, showed Kalyndra where she would sleep. The women didn't go straight to work, of course, but were shown around the camp, including the new crapper, and given fresh water to drink.

At the feast that night, there were two topics of conversation: fear for Urulla's health from the Woodlanders and the amazement of the newcomers on learning there was a man on Samothea (indeed, it turned out, a fertile man).

Thalassa shared with Erin and Annela but, true to Mirselene's orders, Kalyndra was tied to the bed-post in the spare hut and gagged. She made no objection and the bonds were not very tight.

Next day, while Thalassa helped to nurse Urulla. Kalyndra was put to work carrying logs and poles back to camp. Her hobbles were removed but her wrists were kept tied. She was plenty strong enough for the task and even enjoyed the hard physical labour. It was not clear what she thought about working with Ezra.

Kalyndra had stared open-mouthed when she first saw him and was still fascinated by his unwomanly shape, his beard, his hairy chest and hairy arms. When she had a spare moment, she shyly observed him, modestly lowering her eyes when he caught her glances. Even if she'd had the courage to talk to him, her task kept her busy all day.

As for Ezra, the first thing he noticed was what a beautiful woman Kalyndra was.

Aged twenty-six, she was as tall as him, with long wild black hair, black eyes, a broad nose with finely sculpted nostrils, a wide mouth, good teeth and a feminine jaw. Her naturally olive skin was deeply tanned. Her neck was long and her breasts were magnificent: large and shaped to be sucked. Despite her height, she was all curves, from elegant shoulders to a thin waist and flat tummy over generous hips. Her buttocks were firm and her long, long legs were graced with powerful thighs.

She was a Mediterranean goddess, designed to give a corpse an erection, but Ezra tried to ignore her, which was odd considering it was three weeks since he'd had sex and his loins were feeling the strain of inactivity.

All day, Kalyndra worked hard, conscientiously and in silence. Strong and resourceful, she showed no disobedience and meekly accepted the rope-restraints as her punishment.

On the second day, Kalyndra felt a little bolder and tried to get Ezra to talk but he gave only curt replies to her ventures. He would say "Yes," "No," "Hello," and "Goodbye." The most he ever said to her was "Here are some more logs."

The next day, Kalyndra tried to tease Ezra in overtly sexual ways. She normally wore a leather jacket and skirt. The jacket covered only her shoulders and breasts. Today she took it off when she started work and left it on a tree in the forest.

Now when Ezra worked nearby, her delectable tits were exposed to his keen admiration. She turned toward him and pushed out her chest. He gazed at a drop of sweat trickling over the plateau of a tanned breast into the luscious valley between. He focussed on her large brown nipples, which grew erect when she saw him staring. She asked for some water, took a mouthful and poured the rest of the bladder over her head and tits. Licking her lips, she ran her hands sensuously through her long wavy black hair.

Sharne and Dagma arrived to witness the end of this display and were unhappy. Asked why she had left her jacket on a tree, she said that the Mariners always worked naked and, besides, her restrictive clothing made her task of carrying logs harder than it need be. No one took this explanation at face-value but there was a simple solution: After lunch, Kalyndra was given one of Urulla's smocks to wear.

It was a simple garment with a round neck and short wide sleeves. It came down to the knees on Urulla, who was one of the tallest Woodlanders. On Kalyndra, it came to the middle of her thighs. When she tied her rope hobbles around her thin waist as a belt, it was more like a cocktail dress.

She swayed her hips when Ezra could see her. Hitching the dress even higher, she wiggled her bottom at him when she bent over to pick up logs. Once she leaned her forearms on a tree and pushed out her buttocks, emphasising her voluptuous beauty. Smiling to himself, he turned his back, struggling to hide his powerful erection. He couldn't help wondering where she learned her repertoire of sexual teases, greater than any Woodlander woman had yet displayed.

Those who saw Kalyndra's posturing in front of Ezra did not seem to appreciate how hot she made him feel. Even the wise Annela, who had an almost telepathic understanding of him, was too preoccupied with her nursing duties to notice. In fact, all the Woodlander women seemed preoccupied at the moment.

Casti and Dipti spent hours at Urulla's bedside, holding her hand, waiting for her to wake up. Parvinder and Annela looked in on the girl every hour and checked her wound, her breathing (which was shallow but not alarming) and her pulse (steady but not strong).

Thalassa was happy to do all the mundane chores: washing bandages, sweeping the floor and fetching water; plus she was learning the Woodlander way of healing, making ointments and preparing drugs from mushrooms and herbs. She was delighted to make friends with all the Woodlanders but Annela was her favourite because she let the sweet Mariner girl feel her pregnant belly or press her ear to her bump, trying to hear the baby's heart-beat. Thalassa was equally delighted to learn that Dipti was also pregnant, having missed another period.

When Urulla opened her eyes on the morning of the third day, there was relief around the camp. She managed to smile and was given water one spoonful at a time. In the afternoon, her nurses raised her head and shoulders to feed her some restorative broth.

When Urulla tried to speak, however, she coughed painfully. None the less, Mirselene was pleased enough by the news to decree that her attendants had neglected their work for too long. She sent Dipti, Annela and Thalassa out foraging for the rest of the day and invited Casti to visit her chickens and help Pepi and Lenta with the calf, Jemima, leaving Parvinder in sole charge of the patient.

Deep in the forest, while the three woodcutters were splitting a large fallen tree-trunk into planks, Kalyndra held the spare wedges and waited patiently for her next orders. Ezra took surreptitious looks at her whenever he rested. She was just as gorgeous as before but today it seemed she wanted to goad and rile him rather than tease and excite him. As she passed him the next set of wedges to hammer into the trunk, she said:

"If you're really a man, why do you hide your manhood?"

This was a reference to Ezra's trousers. He generally went topless when he was working but he was never entirely naked.

When he didn't answer, she said:

"I'm as tall as you. What sort of a man is no bigger than a woman?"

Whatever its purpose, this tactic brought no response from him and only contempt from Sharne and Dagma, who quickly finished the plank they were splitting and took her to work elsewhere for the rest of the afternoon.

Today's provocations from Kalyndra - so different from yesterday's sexual teases - puzzled Ezra but he had no time to think about them. He was preoccupied with a larger problem. Mirselene was acting very oddly to him. She seemed determined to start a fight. She spoke to him only in abrupt commanding tones, demanding menial tasks and never thanking him. He let it pass, as his share in her disappointment with Dagma.