Smitten Ch. 04

My first anvil was a crude piece of work: we used a large, sturdy tree stump, cut and smoothed so that it was flat and even. Coopah cut out a section so that we could fit in an iron ingot, and I turned another ingot into a makeshift hammer.

Neither hammer nor anvil would last long. The iron would dent, and lose its smooth shape, while the wood could not stand up for long under repeated hammer blows. It was hardly an ideal solution, but I had to start somewhere.

A real hammer was my first goal. After that, I needed a steel plate, which would become the surface of my next anvil. Only after those were done would I attempt to make an axe - not a war-axe, but a tool for cutting down trees, so that we could make more charcoal, and thus produce more wrought iron.

At first, every member of the band came to see the bloomery, just as they had watched the first charcoal mound. Many wanted to see me pounding the bloom - the mixture of iron and slag - with my hammer, and thrusting it back into the glowing coals.

Obviously, there was nothing particularly exciting for spectators - it was something I'd seen all day, almost every day, back in Portoa. But the last generation of the Red Knee orcs hadn't seen anything like it - ever. For them, it was new, and it was odd. We had an audience for the first ten days.

Ditgurat was remarkably patient. I'd explained what I intended, and Coopah had backed me up. She knew that it would take time before we could produce any tangible results, in terms of tools or weapons that her folk could use.

Her younger daughter was also surprisingly patient. Ogash began loitering about, watching us work - or, rather, watching me work. She didn't offer to help, and only rarely asked a question. I could feel her eyes upon me, though.

After a few days of that, I began noticing that Ogash was often about at night, around the time I went down to the stream to bathe. It wouldn't have been all that difficult for her to figure out my routines, or my regular schedule: Ditgurat, Umog, Shaghar, Ushug, Ghorza, and Lagakh (with Shaghar), rest, Shaghar, rest, Shaghar ... rinse and repeat.

Ogash was a little stealthier than I'd expected, too. I'd had a long day at the forge. While I would argue that sex is wonderful for the spirit, and can be a remarkable restorative, there was no question that working hard all day and fucking all night were beginning to take their toll.

Shaghar was very understanding. She encouraged me to rest as often as I could, even if it meant passing up a night with her. This particular evening was one of those occasions when I took her advice.

I was just about to stretch out on the ground, inside my forge cave, when I sensed a change in the light (or the darkness, if you prefer). Someone had entered the cave, briefly blocking the moonlight.

- "Not going to bathe, Smit?" said a voice. Ogash.

- "Too tired, tonight." I said. "Just going to sleep."

- "So early? A quick dip in the stream would wake you up ... don't you think?"

- "I'm too tired."

She came closer. "I could help you ... find the energy." she said.

- "I really just want to sleep."

That was probably the wrong answer. Ogash just chuckled, and came closer.

Now, if I'd been alone with her on a deserted island, I would've had no compunction about bending her over and fucking her - hard. And there was a part of my brain that was saying 'Why not? You're already having sex with six females - what's one more?'.

But Coopah was almost certainly right: the longer I could keep Ogash at bay, the better it would go for me in future. Besides, Ogash couldn't compare to her mother or her sister, nor to Ushug or Ghorza, and definitely not to Shaghar. The fact that I disliked Ogash less than I did Umog was not a particularly glowing endorsement.

The difficult part, this night, was summoning up the energy to avoid her. I managed to get to my feet just before she reached the spot where I'd been preparing to lie down.

That didn't stop her. Ogash came close, and pushed her boobies into my chest. She also thrust her pelvis forward, looking for more contact. Fortunately, I wasn't hard.

I stepped back a pace, extending my arm to keep her at a distance.

That was when I heard Snak's voice, from the entrance to my cave.

- "Smit? Are you here?"

- "I'm here." Ogash stopped pushing against my hand.

- "Ditgurat wants to see you." said my little friend.

- "On my way." I said.

Ogash said a bad word.

Snak waited for me. She took my hand, and led the way to the chieftain's cave.

- "Shaghar sent me." she whispered. "To make sure that Ogash didn't hurt you."

- "Thank you, Snak. But I don't think she was going to hurt me."

- "She wanted to make you have sex, though."

I shouldn't have been surprised. Snak - and many others - knew all about Umog's attempts to rape me. Nor were my 'bath' sessions in the stream particularly private.

Townsfolk put up walls, seek out privacy, and develop euphemistic terms for body parts and sexual activity. Rural children find out much earlier about stallions and mares, bulls and cows, and why those two dogs are stuck together.

Shaghar was waiting for us outside Ditgurat's cave.

- "Just a moment." she said, with a grin. "Let me tell Ditgurat that she called on you."

Fortunately for me, Ditgurat doted on Shaghar - that, and she had a sense of humour.

- "But let's not make this a habit, Smit." she said. "You mus' find ways to deal with Ogash on your own."

- "I understand."

- "Shaghar says you are tired. You can sleep here. And take a day of rest! But tomorrow night ... I wan' a bath."

- "I understand. I look forward to it."

- "Hmmph."

***

"Have you thought of running?" asked Coopah.

- "WHAT?"

- "Keep your voice down." he said. "Running. Escaping."

- "No." I said. "Not ... not since the first week I was here. Besides ... I wouldn't have the faintest idea of where to run."

- "Galtin's Port is a long way away. But the Kingdom of Varna is directly east of here."

I shook my head. "Look, Coopah - you know my story. There's nothing for me to go back to in Portoa, and I wasn't sure what to expect in Galtin's Port - but it was probably lots of hard work for little pay. I'd have been little better than a slave, and someone else would have reaped the rewards of my labour."

- "Unlike here," he said, "where it's hard work for no pay."

Coopah's face gave nothing away, but I could tell from his tone that he wasn't serious.

- "No one orders me around." I said. "Neither Ditgurat nor Lagakh make me feel like a slave. I'm doing useful work, I make my own decisions, and you and I confer ... as equals."

- "And the sex."

- "Yes. There's no question about that." I understood Coopah (and his friends) much better now than I did when I first heard their story. "When did you stop thinking about running?"

- "I'm not so clever as you." he said, with a rueful smile. "It took months before I realized that I wasn't so badly off here."

- "My biggest problems are fending off yet another female that wants to have sex with me ... and figuring out what kind of tools or weapons to make."

- "Understood." said Coopah. "It's a rough life."

I made an axe. It wasn't a weapon, but it would help them chop down trees, so that we could make more charcoal. I took Coopah's advice after that, and made three knife blades, which I presented to Ditgurat.

She was pleased. The axe was a useful tool, and considerably better than what they were using. But the knives came out well; they could be sharpened to a fine edge.

- "What would you like me to make next?" I asked.

- "Another axe." said Lagakh. "For woodcutting."

- "I can do that."

Ditgurat wasn't entirely sure what to wish for.

Axes were popular as weapons; Ushug carried one, as did Umog and big Oag, the male. Spearpoints would be considerably easier, and both Ghorza and Slagip carried spears. I wasn't sure that I was ready to attempt sword-smithing, or that I could improve on the weapons that Ditgurat and Lagakh carried.

Shaghar wielded a hatchet. I knew that I could manage more of those, if there was a demand for them. Long knives and daggers were certainly also possible.

Mother and daughter conferred, and Coopah was included in the discussion.

- "Another axe, first." said Ditgurat, finally agreeing with Lagakh. "Then a spade, or a shovel. Nails. Some iron bands, for Coopah's barrels."

I was happy to hear it - not that I had anything against crafting weapons. But tools, nails, and barrel hoops could only improve the quality of life for the band, as well as increasing our future output.

***

Late summer was beginning to give way to autumn. The stream was already noticeably cooler in the evening. Soon enough, this was going to affect my sexual affairs; I could hardly drag Shaghar (or any of the others) into freezing cold water in the middle of winter. Nor could I expect to lie with them on the grassy bank.

The forge was my workplace, but I would have to make it more habitable. Ditgurat gifted me two mats, in return for the three knife blades - which she gave away to members of the band, who promptly provided another mat and a sleeping fur for me.

I would have to introduce my overnight 'guests' to the ritual of indoor washing. Coopah was very helpful in that respect: in addition to making me a large bucket for the forge (for quenching), he crafted a second, smaller bucket for 'bathing' purposes.

Ditgurat, and Umog. Shaghar. Ushug and Ghorza. Lagakh (with Shaghar). My days and nights had a predictable rhythm, with more sex than I'd ever expected to have in my life.

My work was productive, and I was, to a degree, my own master. The sea would be growing cooler, too: I chose to do more diving and salvage, while I could. Also, charcoal burning would be easier and more effective over the winter.

Some things, however, are not at all predictable.

- "You're sure?"

- "Of course I am." said Ditgurat. "Would I tell you I was pregnant if I was not?" She didn't seem too unhappy about it.

- "Congratulations?" I guessed.

- "Yes." She did smile, then. It would give her additional standing with members of the band, reminding them that she was still fruitful, and perhaps not so old as they might be thinking.

Of course, I would never have dared to ask her age, but Coopah was not above trusting me with such sensitive information.

- "Forty-one. I think."

Well, that was an eye-opener for me. The chieftain was pregnant, and I was the father. I didn't quite know what to make of it - especially when Shaghar congratulated me.

- "You're not ..."

- "Unhappy? No - far from it! This is a good thing, Smit. Good for Ditgurat, good for all of us. And you are going to have children."

I should've known that she wouldn't be jealous. "Well, just one child, for now." I said.

- "No. More than one. Ushug is also pregnant. She is too shy to tell you herself. Let us go see her."

Ushug was quite pleased: it was going to be her first child. I was happy for her. I just didn't know whether to be happy for myself. Ushug saw my confusion, and then Shaghar caught on as well.

- "What is wrong, Smit?"

- "I don't know the first thing about being a father." I admitted. There was more to it than that, of course. Did this mean that I was now more committed to Ditgurat and Ushug? Was Shaghar disappointed that she wasn't pregnant, or was she relieved?

Ditgurat wasn't about to move, obviously - but would Ushug ... expect to share my cave? After all, she was the most tireless worker at the bellows, as well as accompanying me to the beach whenever I went to dive. We worked together, virtually every day, and now she was carrying my child ...

- "Have no fear, Smit." said Shaghar. "We will all be here to help. The whole band. We all teach the little ones. If they grow up and want to be warriors, then Ushug - and others - will train them. A child is the responsibility of all the Red Knees."

It was only a day later that I was able to talk to Shaghar in private, to ask her about some of my other ... concerns.

- "What does this mean for Ushug and me? For you and me?"

- "Ushug is happy. I am, as well. But ... you are not?"

- "Will this change things between us, Shaghar? Will Ushug expect to live with me, to share my cave?"

- "Is this what you fear, my love?" she said.

She'd only said that once before: my love. I looked into her beautiful purple eyes, and realized that it was true. Shaghar did love me - and probably in very much the same way that I loved her.

"Let us sit down here." she said. By good fortune, it was eight days after I'd last slept with Ditgurat. This was a night of rest for me - or a night with Shaghar.

We sat down in my forge, on the mats Ditgurat had provided me. There was no fire, because I'd spent the day at the beach. Shaghar settled herself, and then reached out to take my hand.

"Tell me what you feel." she suggested. "I often forget that you had a family, and that you lived in Portoa. Everything must have been so different there."

- "It was different." I admitted. "But not necessarily better."

- "Did you have a mate? Children?"

- "No. I ..."

Shaghar might have been completely uneducated - but she was no fool. She was also patient, and kind. With a few more questions, and some encouragement, she got me talking. I told her of my family, my apprenticeship, the blacksmith's daughter ... and Nara.

- "Do you miss her?"

- "No. Honestly - no. I am much happier here - with you."

Shaghar smiled, and squeezed my hand. "If I met your Nara, though, I would thank her." she said. "For teaching you to use your mouth so well."

But she continued asking me questions, until it all just poured out of me: my lack of preparation for fatherhood, my fear of losing her, my difficulties with precedence and ranking among the Red Knee females.

Shaghar let me run on.

- "I do not know how it was, in Zhowak - when we had a kingdom." she said. "But there are so few of us, now ... it is different. The males have dwindled, over these past years. In numbers, and in ... potency."

She sighed. "No one knows why, but male orcs have not sired enough children. That is why our females began to lie with Coopah and his human friends. That has been a blessing; not only did our numbers increase, but ... I am here, Smit. A half-orc. And no less a Red Knee for that."

- "I'm very glad that you are."

She squeezed my hand again. "Perhaps, if we lived in Portoa, I would keep you all to myself, and make you kiss me all over every day - and every night."

That was an enticing possibility ... that could never happen. My family would never accept it. But I let Shaghar continue.

"But here, Smit, the Red Knees need you. We all need you. How could I not share you with my friends? Why would I not be happy for my aunt, and for my friend?"

- "I don't want to lose you."

- "Why would you? Soon enough, I will be pregnant as well. And then Ushug and Ditgurat - and Ghorza will be happy for me. Smit - I would be happy if you made Ogash pregnant."

- "Umm ..."

- "None of us have a special claim on you. So far, you have been very generous, and very fair. If you chose only one of us, then the rest could be jealous. We all want to be pregnant by you - well, except for Lagakh ... and you know why."

- "You want to be pregnant?"

- "Of course. But you need not fear that it will change things between us. Ushug's child will be Ushug's. You are its sire, but you will sire many more. And the whole band will raise them, and teach them - together. Have no fear on that account."

That made sense to me - and I was immensely comforted.

"Nothing need change, Smit - unless you want it to."

She was very good, and very wise, my Shaghar. But she was completely wrong when she said that.

***

Five nights later, it was Umog's turn.

I took her into the stream, and washed her. I wanted to enjoy the flowing water as long as I could. In a few weeks, it would become uncomfortably cold, and I would have to resort to Coopah's second bucket.

Umog submitted to my 'washing' - my fondling, and caresses - but she stood stiffly in the shallow stream. She didn't seem annoyed, or angry. Just ... stiff.

- "I am pregnant." she said.

***

To my surprise, Umog was quite happy to be carrying my child. It put her on an equal footing with Ditgurat, and - who knows? Perhaps she thought that it put her ahead of Shaghar, Ghorza, and especially Lagakh, who had not conceived. She might have been just that competitive, just that obsessed with her rank in the band.

Or, she could have been happy simply because she was pregnant. I couldn't be sure, really, because she didn't say - and I didn't ask. Umog and I didn't have conversations.

I washed her in the stream; she led the way back to my cave. I went down on her; she rode me with enthusiasm. That was pretty much the entirety of our interaction.

Lagakh and Ogash went scouting again, with a small party; it would be their last such excursion before the onset of winter. They would make certain that no one had approached - or crossed - the borders of their territory. On their way back, they would hunt bigger game, to help stock up for the winter.

I took my crew down to the beach again. This might be the second or third-last time that I would dive this season. It was getting colder, and I had a pretty sizeable stack of iron ingots in the forge cave - and a large pile of pig iron down by the bloomery.

The wind was strong this morning. High waves were battering the beach. It wasn't the best day for a swim, of course, but it wouldn't be so bad underwater. Also, there weren't all that many more days remaining when we could salvage more iron.

Oag, Slagip and Ushug took turns hauling on the rope. Ghorza remained on the beach, stacking the items we recovered. Snak helped her, or splashed about in the shallows, jumping up as the largest waves struck her.

She'd been assisting me in the forge, and making charcoal, or feeding wood into the bloomery furnace. I'd given her the day off when we went to the beach, but Snak seemed happier to go with us than to remain by the Blasted Tree.

After three dives, I was feeling a little fatigued, so I called a halt, and we all took a break. The waves were high, as I said, but I might also have been a little tired from my exertions with Ushug the night before. Being pregnant, apparently, had done wonders for her confidence. She'd been much more demanding after her bath. I grinned at the memory - and Ushug grinned right back at me, well aware of what I was thinking.

After two more dives, I called another break for lunch. We sat on the sand and ate.

I wish I'd been more observant.

Oag stood, and stretched. Then, in one swift motion, he raised his axe, and brought it crashing down on Slagip's neck, right at the juncture between head and shoulder. Blood sprayed everywhere. Slagip toppled over.

The rest of us leapt to our feet. Ushug drew her own axe. Ghorza raised her spear, while Snak quickly ran behind me.

Ghorza snapped her head to the left. There, a group of orcs and half-orcs burst from the cover of the tree line, and began sprinting towards us. Every single one of them carried a weapon. They only had some fifty yards to cover, and then they would be upon us.

Oag snarled as he tugged at his axe, but it was too deeply embedded in Slagip's body. The big orc gave up the attempt, and drew his second weapon, a long knife, just as Ushug reached him.

She had her own axe in hand, and she swung it at him. Oag seemed unsure of whether to dodge, or to block her attack - he tried to do both. Ushug gouged a huge chunk of flesh out of his upper arm.