World of Ranicke 03

Thomas gave him a sympathetic look. "Maybe where you came from you didn't do anything special but here you did. We would have stood back and used arrows till it was weak enough to use a spear. Not many people would attack a bear by themselves." When Jim mentioned Master Eldon Thomas took his wrist and his eyes widened. "Try apprentice period. Not part time but full time. I understand you have other requirements but he has accepted you as his trainee."

He thumped his head on the table. "God, what next? So what does that necklace with the bear teeth and amber mean?" He felt like he was being stretched to far at the moment.

Thomas grinned. "It has several meanings. First the bear is going to be your totem spirit." He pulled his out and showed it to him. "Mine is a badgor. To get your totem spirit normally you have to go into the forest and hunt the animal by yourself. Even though we were there you fought the bear and were both wounded and killed it."

"It also means that you are a warrior and have earned your place in the clan as a warrior to protect the tribe." He finally released Jim's hand. "It is actually very rare for someone to have more than one specialty unless they are related such as say a warrior and hunter. They are similar enough that one can be both. To be a warrior and a songsmith is very rare." Thomas winked at him. "You might want to get a sign that says you are taken."

Jim growled at him for the teasing and threatened him with his fork thing. "I might be a friend short if you keep teasing me." He started snickering. "Well if they try to give me anything else I am going to be so thin you can see through me." He had to shake his head. "All I was trying to do with the children was relax and enjoy some time with them. There wasn't anything else. Now when I started working out with you that was being serious."

They talked a while longer before they finished eating. Thomas walked with him to Sorrel's tent and glanced inside and whistled at the stack of instruments. "Jim you realize he is trying to make you a Journeyman don't you?"

Jim rolled his eyes. "Yes I know that as well as I am going to teach him some of what I know from my world." He settled down in a chair. "Come on in and have a seat. Sorrel has given me permission to invite some people into her tent."

Thomas couldn't help but grin at him. "So do I get to listen to something? The kids have, Master Eldon has but do I?" He was teasing but was surprised when Jim stood up.

He grabbed the instrument that had been Master Eldon's and opened the case and checked the tuning. "This is a very private song and this one I wrote." His face showed some grief as he spoke. He kept it as quiet as possible so that it wasn't heard much outside the tent. This time he didn't cry but he was close. "My little sister died when she was 15 to a disease that couldn't be cured. I wrote that for her." He stroked the instrument. "You are the second person to have heard it."

Thomas was shocked when Jim told him that he was only the second. From next door he could hear faint crying and assumed that it was Sorrel but chose not to say anything. "Thank you Jim, that means a great deal to me that you would play it for me."

Jim put the instrument away after detuning it and tucked it in a corner. "If you don't mind Thomas I need to rest." He walked over to the bed and lay down on it and buried his face in the pillow.

~~~

The following two or so weeks went past pretty quickly since most of the day Jim spent working with the instruments. The healer wasn't letting him exercise yet, or not heavy exercises though the sutures were out. He was working with what would be classified as a physical therapist who was helping stretch the scars and muscles out. To say he was hating it was an understatement. At one point he growled at the man. "I hate you with a passion." It got a laugh back and a 'then I am doing my job correctly.'"

Towards the end of the two weeks Sorrel pulled him off to the side and was looking very serious. "Jim we are going to be getting ready to leave in the next few days. We are to meet the Panther tribe in a week for one of our annual ceremonies. There are five ceremonies a year to celebrate the change of seasons. Each is with a different tribe. Once we have the ceremony we will move to high ground since the rainy season is going to start soon." She was really concerned about his reaction.

He moved towards her and wrapped his arms around her and tucked her head in his neck. "I knew it was coming Sorrel. I have talked to the elders and they haven't heard of anything like this. They did say that they would talk to the other elders. Master Eldon said he would also talk to the other master songsmiths for the songs only shared between masters." Jim stroked her back. "Thank you for coming and talking to me about this. I just need to find room for all the stuff that Master Eldon has piled on me." He smiled at her.

She snorted. "Most can go back to the caravan they use though keep the flute and your personal instrument as well as the manual. You won't really have time to do much else while we are traveling." It was going to be a big shock for him as they travel. They had paths they used but they changed at time and they had to scout for the caravans. "You need to get checked out to see what you can do before we leave and we will start packing in two days."

Jim rolled his eyes. "At least not in mud this time hopefully. Slogging through mud really sucks." At least he had finally acquired enough clothing for a week or more depending on the weather. One thing he was going to need to get was a rain jacket. "So where do I get a rain coat, cover, whatever you want to call it?"

She grinned. "I actually have one for you and have for a while. Oh while I am thinking about it the caravan's get shared and especially in the rainy season. Certain ones are designed for carrying tents and furniture. Others are designed for cooking. Most are designed for people and most are shared by families. We will be with father though I rather expect you will also spend time with Nasha and Nora."

He was pretty much over getting red when she teased him. "Depends on just how crowded they are. I might end up sleeping under one of the caravans." Jim was definitely teasing her when he said that. "Considering I have lived in barracks with 70 or 80 other soldiers I am not too worried. It will be different with females and children but I think I can handle it." He hoped he could or he might sleep on top of one the damn things.

Sorrel simply grinned. "You might want to get in all the nookie you want in the next day or two since once crammed in..." She bumped him and laughed. "Let's get you checked out and then go from there. I know you and you won't stand still." She hooked her arm through his and tugged him along towards the medical tent. "Hey I am here to get Jim checked out so he doesn't drive me nuts."

Jim grumbled at her. "I wouldn't drive you nuts since you already are like most sqorrels." He moved to the side so she couldn't poke him or pinch him.

The old lady laughed at the two of them. "Come young man and have a seat." She watched him hop up on the table and grinned. "Well you are moving much better now take your shirt off." Once he did she ran her fingers across his back and poked and prodded the scars. As he tensed she nodded. "Okay, the therapy is helping but you still have some work to do. The scars are healing very well but you need to work on your flexibility."

He tried to move as normal as possible but it was obvious that he was still having some issues. As she was poking and prodding he tried not to react too much but his back was still sensitive. "Fine, I keep going to that evil man. What can I do to help get ready? I have been working hard with Master Eldon but I am starting to go nuts because I can't exercise." He looked disgruntled when he said that. "Even if it is light things like fold tents and such I need something to do."

She nodded. "Keep it light and I am going to talk to your three ladies on what you can or can't do. I am not going to have you undo what I have done for you. That and you had better be ready for your warrior ceremony or I am going to do something evil to you." She knew that Jim knew about it but not when it was going to be. In this case it was going to be special since it was going to be in front of two tribes. That was very rare but he deserved it.

Jim rolled his eyes at her and sighed. "And nobody will talk to me about it other than it will happen. Sheesh, you would think it is a secret or something." He hopped off the table. "Thank you for giving me permission to actually do something." He gave her a hug and left the caravan with Sorrel. "If I ever see that place again it will be too soon."

~~~

Jim ended up helping with the light work starting with Sorrel's tent since he had no idea how to take the silly thing down. Once he had an idea of how to break everything down he helped her secure it to the back of her father's caravan. Once that was done he headed over to Nasha's and gave her as good a hand as possible. In her case her items were neatly tucked in a caravan that was used for a number of families. Each tent and set of furniture was neatly separated so everyone knew who's belonged to whom.

When he went over to Nora's hers was already mostly down but he helped her finish and pack it away. To be honest after helping with the three tents his back was aching but in a good way. It felt good with use and not aching with overuse or being used before it was time.

By the end of the day the camp was pretty much packed up and they were using some precooked food. The next morning they would be on the move. That would be interesting since the children and infirm were going to be riding in the caravans. Jim had been asked if he wouldn't mind spending a bit of time in various caravan's playing some music to occupy the people in the caravans.

When he was asked he frowned at Sorrel. "If this is to get me to keep from walking all day I am going to be really annoyed." He had a feeling the walk would be relatively mild and wouldn't really push him all that much.

Sorrel shook her head. "Not so Jim. It is to keep the kids occupied so they don't go nuts. There are others such as Nasha who are going to be doing much the same only to play with them." That was a small fib since they wanted to make sure that he was capable of keeping up with the caravans. They moved faster than they looked.

As she was taking to him she was thinking about the caravans and they were made of the same light yet strong wood everything else was. The axels had heavy duty shock absorbers and independent suspension so as they went over tree roots it would only impact on that wheel normally. They were powered by special stones that were similar to the ones used for the lights but far more powerful. They were controlled by specially trained handlers. The most important part was that they were relatively quiet which made hunting easier.

At times they would have to use preserved meat and other preserved items. They had dehydrated onions, garlic, a number of herbs and other items. They had the local equivalent of chickens so they had fresh eggs for breakfast and making bread and other items like that. Jim was actually very impressed with how prepared they were. It made sense but it still impressed him.

Finally the day to leave came and he rolled out of the sleeping bag he was sharing with Sorrel and carefully stretched. When he was able to stretch and his back didn't hurt much he was quite pleased. The other thing that pleased him was the axe he had used was laying next to the bag and on the leather sheath was engraved the corrected glyph that Sorrel had taken care of. "Oh man, this is so special. I can't believe they gave me this to me." There were a few small gems surrounding his name. With a casual ease he slung the blade over his back and settled for just carrying his pistol as well. His submachine gun was accessible but he didn't see any reason to carry it.

Nasha had walked up and laugh. "As if anyone would use the weapon you used to gain your totem animal." She had two babies with her and handed one to Jim. Someone is stinky and needs changing." She started nursing the other.

Jim pretended to be offended by the hint he change a diaper. "Excuse me but I am a warrior and have more important jobs to do." Both women laughed at him and he grabbed the bag and flipped out a blanket and quickly changed the little boy.

Thomas walked up and grinned. "I see that you are braver than most. I have seen strong warriors run from diaper duty. Maybe I should have a new bracelet made for you..." When Nasha tried handing the other baby to Thomas he backed away. "Sorry, single and not brave enough."

Jim laughed at him. "Maybe I should get a 'not brave enough to do diaper duty' made for you." He took the little girl and quickly changed her and handed her to Sorrel. "Time to get to work I think." Jim grabbed his instrument and with a wave headed off. As they were walking around it was obvious that they were well organized and kids and the elderly were climbing into the caravans. Males and females were both were standing next to caravans that he assumed had their families.

"We are going to patrol the boarder for a while before you start doing your singing thing. At that point we will go from caravan to caravan and spend at most an hour in each till your fingers are tired." He didn't mind since it was easy work since all warriors were paired up and Thomas was given instructions on keeping an eye on Jim to make sure he didn't overwork himself.

~~~

By the end of the day Jim had a new appreciation for the tribe and it's organization. One thing he discovered was that attached to the caravans were tent pieces that were quickly folded out. Sleeping bags were put out and he had to smile since at the Chief's tent it was only his family and they had room. One thing Jim did was make sure that all stones under the bag were removed. "I am not going to have a rock under my ass for all night."

That got him laughed at by the Chief and his family though they were doing much the same thing. As things were getting set up the team Jim was assigned to dig latrines. "Great I go from diaper duty to latrine duty. I think I am going to complain to someone." That got a laugh from most of the guys.

Noreal really laughed since he had children. "That's what you get for seeing one of the babysitters so quite your whining and get to work." That got more laughs.

Jim waved his shovel at him. "I might dig this extra deep and they will never find the body... Oh wait, I would probably end up doing diaper duty for your mate. Never mind." He started digging again. By the time they were done most of the work setting up had been done and the smell of cooking wafted by. "Oh man that smells good. Talk to you later and I will try and wake for our patrol Thomas. Not used to getting up at night anymore."

~~~

Jim could tell that he was definitely not in the shape he had been in before the fight with the bear. The worst part was he could tell that Thomas as well as the ladies was keeping an eye on him. That frustrated him as well as made him feel sort of good. They cared enough to make sure he wasn't overworking himself. He found that they were giving him more stops in the caravans to play. He didn't only play but told some stories of his world as well. By now it was understood that he was from a different world and they wanted to know about it.

At night by the time it was time to roll into bed as soon as his head hit the pillow he was asleep. He did make a habit of alternating sleeping with the three ladies he had been spending time with. How he had ended up spending nights with Nora he wasn't sure but he had a feeling that one of the other two had slipped him a micky. By the end of the meal she had offered him he was starting to get tired and ended up asleep in her bed.

Now each night he spent a different night with each lady and in a way it still sort of bothered him. He had been paying very close attention to what was going on and unless they were a promised couple or actually mated there was a great deal of bed swapping. That had been proven the day he had helped find Tonya and Sorrel was sharing a bed with a different man. That had taken a bit of time to accept but finally decided it was their culture and he wasn't going to make a big deal about it.

The trip took about five days and when they finally arrived the other tribe had obviously arrived earlier that day and was mostly setup. One thing he definitely noticed was a dividing line made of rocks that ran part way from one side of the clearing to the other. In the middle was a very large section that had stones surrounding it. Instead of a solid line of rocks there were spaces between them and a large pile of wood was in the middle.

While Jim was helping to setup the camp Thomas gave him a quick overview of how it worked. "Everything on the other side of the stone line is their territory. The large circle is neutral territory. If you cross the line you will be challenged and if you lose then the tribe will owe them something of value. If you win then the opposite." They were doing latrines again as they were talking. "Now during the ceremony and dancing the entire center space is open but don't go beyond that."

Jim listened to what he was saying and nodded. "Makes sense and would keep fights down. Now as far as weapons what about them? Wear a knife or what?" That was the important question for him. He really didn't like the idea of walking around weaponless.

Thomas nodded since that was a very good question. "If you have earned the right to carry one you can but it is considered a challenge except during the actual ceremonies and dances. At any time you can carry a knife since they are considered a tool as much as anything." He stood up for a moment. "Till you are given your Axe you can't wear it. Any other weapons you have earned you can. Tonight you will be presented as a warrior and given your weapon. For you it will be expected for you to wear it at all times."

He grinned at him as well. "It is going to be expected that you 'accidently' cross the line occasionally to show your skills. We will talk more about that later." He turned and started digging again as did Jim.

By the time they were done the camp was mostly setup and he walked over to Sorrel's tent and in. "I really hope they have bathing pools since I need a bath badly." He stretched and grinned. "You might be letting everyone known that you have company this evening."

She laughed before pulling a wrapped package out and handed it to him. "I hope you like it Jim." She lowered her ears and tilted her head in embarrassment when she handed it over. "The shirt is made of the material you had been given before we left."

He settled down and dusted his hands off and carefully opened the package and found a lovely outfit. The shirt was fancy and had some embroidery around the cuff's and collar. It was a dark green and incredibly soft. There was also a pair of pants as well. They were similar to cut as the normal pants. They were a lighter green and had embroidery down the sides that matched the shirt. The two other items were soft leather boots and a leather belt and holster that matched his as much as possible. "Oh my god these are wonderful." He turned and gave her a good hug.

"Nasha and Nora helped as well so don't forget to thank them as well." She was really pleased that they went over quite well. "We actually use showers here where there is good drainage. Most of the other places have the hot springs for bathing." She gathered up some clothing as he gathered up his new clothing and followed her over to the showers.