John and Argent by cmsix

Chapter 20

"I want to know about the other people that live near here. I do not know what you call them. They are like us but they are not just like us."

"That is what we call them; 'The other people'. I do not know everything about them and I do not visit their camps often. They speak similar to us but not exactly like us.

"They do not care for my advice but sometimes listen when I tell them of things that are happening or about the movements of animal herds, if I know of any. They will also listen to what I tell them about how soon the winter is coming and other things I say about the weather.

"It is strange to me that they do some things like we do and other things completely differently. They do not ask a payment for their mates. Their leaders just tell them who will mate whom. The women have no say in the matter. The women also do not often hunt, especially after they are fully women and have children. The girls seem to come to their womanhood in less time than our girls do. The men hunt much more than we do, but they must because they do not throw their spears but thrust them into the prey.

"They are also fond of running prey off a cliff or into a blind canyon when they can," Georgo told me.

"You said that you visited their camps some times?"

"Yes. I visit the camp that is south of here at least once a year. The women cook differently there but it is always good. The women do almost all of the gathering and they are very efficient about it. They always have more things than meat to eat. They are also much better at finishing skins.

"They cannot swim though. They go into the water to bathe and fish but they do not swim and they do not use any type of boats," Georgo said.

"Do they kill each other for mates?"

"That is one of the strange things about them. The leader more or less assigns the women to the men and that is all accepted. If a man kills another though, he does take the mate and all the possessions, just as we do.

"They also do not do it often, but when it does happen it is not treated as out of the ordinary. I really think that taking the mate and possessions is just an accompanying circumstance for them. If one man kills another it is for some other reason and the one that lives takes the mate and things as if it were a duty.

"It is also strange when a man is killed while hunting or in some type of accident. If the man has a mate she will usually remain unmated for a while, sometimes for a long while. The leader just doesn't give her to another man it seems. Maybe they think she is bad luck. Even while she is unmated they do not let her go hungry and if she has children they do not go without.

"I have seen them bargain for mates in a different way though. If a camp does not have enough women and another has more than they need the camp with fewer women will offer goods or food for a woman or two from the camp that has more. I even know of two men like us that have bargained for women of the other people.

"They did not live near here. They were from far off. I think that they actually made a journey just to find women of that type to trade for but they did not tell me that," Georgo said.

"What did they trade for the women?"

"Salt. That is one way I knew that they must not be from near here. I talked to them later and found out for sure. They had very much salt and seemed to know that it would be good for trading, and it was. The other people's leader was glad to trade for the salt," Georgo said.

"How much salt did they trade?"

"I don't really know how to tell you and I think that the men gave more salt than they needed to. It almost seemed that it was more trouble for them to take it back than it was to leave it. They traded all the salt they had with them. Most of it for the two women but they traded for skins and traveling food with the rest. Maybe there is much salt where they came from. I know that the leader of the other people was very happy with the trading. The women that were traded seemed happy enough to go too," Georgo said.

Going over to where my salt was stored and taking him with me I opened the container and asked him if it was more salt or less than the men had traded for the women.

"They didn't trade that much for both women, maybe about half as much, where did you get so much salt?" Georgo asked.

"I have my secrets too Georgo. Would you like some? I have plenty and can get more easily enough."

"Yes, I would like some salt. I don't have anything to give you in return though. I cannot give you women for it," he said, and I could hear the humor in his tone.

"You have given me information. It is much harder to get than salt."

Finding two of the empty bean cans that had been cleaned, I filled them with salt for him. As I showed him how to manipulate the lids he thanked me again. Shortly he left to find a place to sleep for the night.

As he was leaving I thought to myself that I had been hoarding the salt for no reason. Everyone in my camp would probably like to have some and I was just letting it sit around in its original container. My mates had seen it while we were moving but hadn't mentioned it again and I don't think that they had even used any of it. Maybe they thought I wanted to keep it for some reason. I would fix that in the morning.

We went to bed soon after that. I was expecting to thank my mates for letting me take another; but sleep took me almost as soon as I lay down. I remember thinking that it was strange that I was so sleepy after all the coffee I'd had with Georgo.

A dream started and then turned into a talk with Argent almost at once.

"John we have disappointed you and you have thrilled us again. I can't tell you how excited we are," Argent said, at once.

"I don't know how I did it and I don't suppose you can tell me can you?"

"No, I should not tell you but I can tell you that the one that should have been helping you with the bathing facility has been dealt with. He was removed from this project, with a damaging report in his performance files, for his lapse," Argent seemed almost giddy while telling me this.

"I thought that his behavior was odd. You had asked me to design the facility and had told me that I would be warned if I exceeded what was allowable, then he told me that I had vastly exceeded what was allowable and acted as if it was my fault."

"He was only here because of his family's connections higher up. He has always been an under performer. I never wanted him on this project anyway and was forced to take him.

"I had a discussion with my superior over the matter and when he started berating me for the failure I took your attitude and I'm afraid I almost became angry.

"I pointed out that I had resisted taking the slacker in the first place and that he was the one who insisted that I do it. I also let him know that I had connections on up the ladder myself and that the bathing facility that you had designed must be put in place or the whole project was in danger of failing.

"I pointed out that if the experiment collapsed I would be able to make it known that it was directly attributable to the actions of the one that he had made me take despite my protests.

"That got his attention at once. He agreed immediately without looking at the specifications you had made. I will admit to you that this project has gained importance due to your excellent performance. If there is anything else you would like in the bathing facility you should specify it as soon as possible in the morning," Argent told me.

This was another total shocker for me. I had already called for everything I could think of and now he was asking if I wanted anything else. I also wondered what in the hell I had done that was so excellent. Something else to ask for came to me at once though.

"I don't need anything else for my personal use. Would it be possible to have a more utilitarian facility for the other caves? Especially the toilets; with more and more people coming here it is going to get a little shitty outside unless we spend a lot of time building privies."

"That is a perfect suggestion John. We should have thought of it ourselves. Do you want to plan them?" Argent asked me.

"I'd rather not if you have someone that can design them and take into consideration that there will be more people coming."

"I have design engineers that specialize in exactly these matters. As you suggested the facilities will not be as ornate and I think that they should allow a little more privacy, since many different families will be using them," Argent said.

Dicky throbbed for my attention. I know that it was a lecherous thought, even for me, but the shower scene from one of the "Porky's" movies popped into my head and I decided to try heading off too much privacy if I could.

"I wouldn't worry much about their privacy. They are already accustomed to bathing more or less in public. I don't guess a few partitions would hurt anything but if I need to drop in and take a piss, I wouldn't want to miss out on seeing a few of the women washing themselves if they were involved in such activities."

"I see what you mean. I wouldn't want to deprive you of some harmless enjoyment. I will ask that plenty of mirrors be installed also. We will plan a facility for every cave," Argent said, happily.

This was bordering on unreality here. What was I thinking; it was completely unreal. Large community bathrooms for every cave, I was having a hard time imagining it.

"We couldn't help hear that you are asking the shaman to stay with you," Argent said, changing the subject.

"Yes, I think it would be good for him to spend more time here."

"We also think having the shaman here would be advantageous. Would it be helpful for him to have a private place for residence?" Argent asked.

"I'm sure that it would be a good inducement for him to stay longer. He will have to maintain his extensive traveling though, and I doubt he will be able to stay with us continuously while the weather is suitable for traveling."

"Would it be helpful if he had a wagon such as yours to use? Could you furnish horses if we gave him a wagon?" Argent asked.

"Of course it would be great for him whether he realized it at first or not, and I would be glad to train some horses for his wagon. I don't think it should be nearly as big as mine though. Look up 'buckboard' and you will get a better idea of what I mean. It would be good if it could be closed up like mine though, to make a safe place for him to sleep while he is traveling."

"I will let you sleep for a while but I will need to contact you again in a few hours, before sunrise, to talk further about these plans. Will that be acceptable?" he asked.

"It will be fine."

I was out as quick as that and slept soundly until Argent came back.

"We have planned the other bathing facilities John and we have made a preliminary design for the shaman's wagon and residence. Please look over the plans for anything that might need to be changed," he said.

The designs came to me as three dimensional images, similar to dreams, but they didn't wander or swirl away. In fact, when I concentrated on a portion, its view changed to show me more detail and give me a preview of how things would appear from different angles. If I imagined I was in one I seemed to be and I could walk around and look at things. It reminded me of the holodeck in StarTrek. What a trip, the holoshitter.

The huge bathrooms ran more heavily to showers than tubs. They had plenty of tubs though and all included a large one for twenty or more though. I saw that they included a mini swimming pool like I had but that it was even larger. Apparently the Aliens thought it was necessary for our normal cleanliness and that the communal units needed to be larger to accommodate more people at a time.

There were many more showers than mine though. My bathroom flashed up and I could tell the difference right away. Mine was like a palace compared to a nice hotel for theirs. There was much more gold and marble in mine than I had envisioned and it just shouted opulence from every angle.

I saw that in the large bathrooms there was a more or less clear view of everything except the inside of the crapper and bidet cubicles from the single urinal that appeared in each one. It seemed a little odd to me.

"Why is there just one urinal in the larger bathrooms Argent?" I asked.

"Exactly for the reason you mentioned. Each urinal is located so that you can see everything in the facility from it. They are for you only and none of the other men will even consider using them. The only thing that you won't be able to see from your urinal will be the insides of the cubicles if the doors are closed and I think that you will be getting a surprise from them," Argent told me, and I could tell that he had to keep himself from laughing.

This had gone far beyond anything that I could have imagined. I began to wonder how I would explain it to my tribe. I also wondered why there had been any limitation at all in the first place if they were set to do such a massive job now. I kept my mouth shut about it though.

"We also have a potential plan for the shaman's residence." He said, and as the image came up I saw that I had probably been right about the Aliens making these caves in the first place.

Georgo's new residence was a cave that wasn't here now. It's opening was not far from the opening of my cave. Strangely it branched into two separate chambers just inside the mouth. The chamber nearest my cave encompassed about two thousand square feet of space and there was a short entrance from it into mine. The other chamber was a little smaller, about eighteen hundred square feet but it had a small opening that led to an even smaller area of about four hundred square feet of space. I couldn't get my mind around what all that space was for, so I asked Argent about it.

"I forgot to mention that we have also made a place for Danlo and his new mates. It seems that he has become the favorite son, so to speak, and we thought that it would be better if he had accommodations nearer yours. The small chamber in the shaman's quarters is for meditation and private ceremonies he may want to conduct," Argent told me.

The next and final image was of a smaller version of my wagon. It really was like a buckboard. Its box was five feet by eight feet and two feet deep. It was rigged for two horses but could probably be easily pulled by one. Hell they were cheap here, might as well give him two. It looked perfect for Georgo to get around in.

"It all looks very acceptable to me Argent, but I don't know how in the hell I'll explain new caves popping up. The bathrooms were going to require a lot of talking but new caves appearing will be a stretch."

"They will be the easiest to explain. Tomorrow or whenever you would like, there will be a small earthquake. The tremor will crack open the entrances to the caves that are already there but hidden. We can have the bathing facilities appear at the same time so the attention may be diverted to the caves for a while at least. Of course we will leave some rubble scattered around the new openings for effect but we will make sure that it will all be of a manageable size," he said.

"I guess that will work as good as anything. I doubt they will bitch much about receiving this bonus. We had better put it off for a few days though, since I seem to have brides to fetch tomorrow. I'd also like to hold off on Georgo's wagon until I have a couple of horses trained for it."

"It will be as you say. Would you like for us to go ahead and open up the entrance from your cave into the additional ones for you, so that you can examine them?" He asked.

"Can you do it after we get back tomorrow?"

"Yes, we will wait until you return. Why don't we wait until you signal us? You can send me a message," he suggested.

"That will be fine."

I was back to sleeping then and I slept soundly until sunrise. When I woke and stirred all my mates woke also and they were immediately solicitous of my condition.

"John we are sorry. We have put too much on your shoulders. You were restless all night and sometimes talked out in your sleep. I know that I must have upset you with Danlo's problems last night and I am so sorry that I did," Dalia told me.

"You haven't upset me Dalia. You and all my other wonderful mates have asked me to go and get another woman for myself and I am sure she will be wonderful too.

"Why should I be upset? I was dreaming of getting another mate and wondering what I could do for Danlo for his mating. I feel fine. My only regret is that I must get up and go somewhere. I would like to just stay in bed with all of you all day," I told them all.

Most of them giggled and blushed a little at this. Finally Delia got up her nerve.

"John, would you really stay in bed with us all day? What would we do?" she asked, teasingly.

"What do you think I like to do with a bed full of beautiful mates?"

"While it is daylight John?" Waaya asked.

"John has already shown me that he does not mind doing it in the daylight," Geera told them.

"When can we try it then?" Winna asked.

"Soon. I want to do it soon," I told them.

"But what will we do if someone walks in to see us," Gema asked me.

"If someone walks in they had better walk back out again, or at least watch quietly and not break my concentration," I said.

This got their goat a little but I could tell that a few of them wouldn't mind an audience at all. Dieta looked like it had her boiling and I thought I might have to fuck her before I could even go take a piss. She settled down though and I unassed the bed, dressed and went for what I hoped would be one of my last outdoor shits.

After my business outside was finished, I went back to my cave and as Dalia poured me a cup of coffee I wondered exactly what would happen when the bathrooms came into existence. I decided that I might as well ask Argent to put mine in first so I could test the waters with my mates. I went to the computer and sent him the message. His reply was nearly at once and he told me that those were my decisions and that they could do all or any part of it whenever I wanted.

I went back for more coffee and started on my breakfast since it was ready. Georgo came in then and he looked better than I'd expected. His appearance reminded me of the salt.

"Dalia, are any of you using the salt for our cooking?" I asked her.

"No. We have not bothered the salt," she said at once.

"It is my fault isn't it? You all think that I am keeping the salt for some reason don't you?"

"That is what we thought. None of us has ever had very much salt anyway and we know how to season foods without it," she said.

"Feel free to use it anytime that you want to. In fact I want you to give every woman in this camp a couple of the bean containers full of salt. It is for using in our cooking and I am ashamed that I haven't made that clear before now," I told her and the others.

"But it is very hard to get John. We thought that you must have been saving it for years," Merita said.

"It is not hard for me to get. I could get ten times what I have now in just a few days. Give some to every woman that cooks, make a show of it if you want, but make sure every woman that want some has at least two containers of it and tell them not to be shy about asking for more if they need it for cooking," I said.

"Even the new women that are joining us?" Waaya asked.

"Yes. They are part of our camp now and if they stay here they can have salt for cooking."

"What if someone takes it and uses it for trading?" Dieta asked.

"I had not considered that. If you suspect that they are asking for more than they can use in cooking then you should still give it to them but you must tell me as soon as you can. I am not sure that I will even be angry if they trade for things with it. It will depend on what they are trading for and whom they are trading with.

"I can get plenty of salt but if it is just given away to any who happen to come by and want some it will not retain its value. I don't want to hoard it but I am not generous enough to supply it to everyone that hears that I have some," I said.

"I do not think that you will have any worries of that from the new people that are joining you now. You might want to be watchful if you invite the others I mentioned though. Most of them would not consider doing such a thing but as I told you some of them are not desirable," Georgo said.

"We can wait until later to worry about that. Did you have trouble sleeping last night Georgo?"

"I did not sleep at all and I was not sleepy this morning. I would like more of the coffee if you have some," he told me.

"We have plenty and you are welcome to it. Sit down and eat something too while you are here," I offered, and he accepted.

"I was thinking that I might go with you today. I will speak to Barbo, the leader of Dalia's former camp, for you. More importantly I will speak to Jara, his mate. Jara and the other women will be the ones to decide about the price for Shallea and Shaala. Barbo is a good leader but a little hard headed sometimes. Jara is very much more practical," he told me.

"Do you know how far they are from a place to hunt bison?"

"They are much closer than it was for your hunt from Gigo's camp. I have been thinking though that you might not need to pay for Danlo's mates.

"If you mate their mother they will obviously leave with her. She has already been mated and does not require a payment. If they all leave with you taking her as a mate it will be perfectly acceptable, even though they will know what has happened. They will grumble but things like this have been done before," Georgo told me.

"I would rather give them bison and avoid risking ill will. It is no trouble for me to kill bison and I understand now that it is their place to skin, carry and clean them. I will be happy to pay a high price for Danlo's mates. In fact I think that I should pay them for Dalia and Shelalliea also," I said.

Everyone that heard this looked at me then, as if they couldn't believe that I had said it.

"That is never done John. I am sure that they would be happy about it but it is not your responsibility to do it. They would not even think to ask it of you," Georgo told me.

"Do you think that it would make them angry?" I asked.

"I have never heard of anyone that became angry at a hunter for giving them meat," Georgo said.

"If they will carry and clean the bison I will do it. It is not much trouble for me, they will be doing all the work," I said.

"But you will be taking the risk John. That is how the men from the other camp were killed, they were hunting bison," Winna said, and she seemed near tears.

"Do not worry about John and bison Winna. He has told me that he doesn't even get close to them when he hunts. Though we didn't know him at the time, Geera and I saw him kill a large megaceros from more than three spear cast away," Dieta told her.

"But how can you kill the bison from that far away and what will keep them from running, from running over you," Waaya asked.

"I will take you all and show you how I do it when I go to kill some bison for our camp. You will see then that there is no danger for me. We must make sure that we do not tell anyone else though. It will seem like I have magic to them," I said.

"We will try not to worry so much then, but I don't know if I can keep from it." Winna told me.

I didn't mention it to them and tried not to think it myself but couldn't keep from it. I felt confident that Argent would make sure there wasn't any chance that I would be run over by stampeding buffalo. I figured he had way too much invested in me to let that happen.

Breakfast was eaten and I went outside and to the horse cave. Bigglieo was hitching the team while Jonoco, Nadlo, and Danlo were getting the travois horses ready. I had Danlo take Bonehead and I got Ben from the cave and gave him to Danlo also. This left Bigglieo Dolly, Nelda, and Jolly for travois horses.

"Can you bring everything with this trip Bigglieo?" I asked.

"I think we can. Are you keeping one of the travois horses?" he asked me.

"Yes I will need Bonehead today."

"I still think that we can bring everything else. I have been getting better at packing the wagon and I think that I can get more in it now," he said.

"If you can't get everything today we will go back tomorrow. I do not want them to have to leave anything that they want to keep."

"I will make sure that they understand that," Bigglieo said.

Georgo, Bigglieo, and the others left then. I put the bridle on Bonehead and then my saddle. She didn't even flinch. Apparently the wagon lesson had done a number on Bonehead. When I stepped into the stirrup she wasn't disturbed at all. I made the sound I usually did each time I wanted to lead one and she understood that she was to move out. She was a little confused that there was no one to guide her but she walked ahead anyway.

When I halter broke a horse I always used a clicking sound every time I wanted them to follow me and I always spoke 'whoa' when I wanted them to stop. I had found it saved a lot of time once I got on their back if they knew when I wanted to go and when I wanted to stop. It took only about thirty more minutes to get her to turn with the reins and I declared her ready for me to ride.

I strapped a practice pad onto Ben for Danlo to use. They are similar to a thick saddle pad but cut in the general shape of an English saddle. It also had rudimentary stirrups hanging from a sewn on strap that went over the horses back. The stirrups weren't stable enough to use for mounting so I lifted Danlo onto Ben's back, then I remounted Bonehead. We were off then too. I reminded myself that I would have to ask Argent for more saddles in my bonus freight.

This was Danlo's first time riding and I gave him a few pointers as we went. He was a natural at it and had no trouble even without the benefit of a real saddle. After a while I had Danlo ease Ben into a trot and when Bonehead caught on we picked up speed too. We were covering ground pretty good now and we caught Bigglieo before he passed the place to turn up the other canyon toward his old campsite. None of us were headed that way though.

We had to stop to get Georgo who had been riding with Bigglieo on the wagon. I switched the saddle from Bonehead to Ben and put the pad on Bonehead. It took a little convincing but I finally talked Georgo into riding behind Danlo on Ben and I had to give a little jump to get aboard Bonehead with only the pad.

We walked for quite a while and then I had Danlo try a trot again. I could see that it was jarring for Georgo but he seemed to be holding up all right so we kept it up. We arrived in Dalia's former camp in a little more than three hours.

After I'd helped him dismount I let Georgo go and talk to Barbo and his mate. I felt sure he would make my proposition sound much more magnanimous than I would have. Danlo and I had some proposing to do. I felt a little funny about it but was determined to go through with it.

Danlo spied the twins and I could tell that he wanted to run to them but he didn't. They were all smiles when they saw him.

"Shallea, Shaala, I am a man now. I have come to ask you to be my mates," he told them without preamble.

They smiled and then giggled a little and when they realized that I was there they blushed.

"But Danlo, how can you pay our mating price yet, and what about our mother? She is still unmated and if we both leave to be your mates she will be alone here," One of them asked him.

"John is here to help with my payment and he...

"Hang on Danlo. I think that I need to talk to Shelalliea before you tell the world. She might have a fly for the ointment," I told him.

I could see when the realization of his near foul up hit him. He turned and I knew that he was about to apologize but I cut him short.

"Don't worry about it. Take those two cuties with you and lead me to their mama. I rode a long way to see her and I'm ready."

Danlo took one of their hands each and led off, leaving me to bring the horses. I can tell you that I got the bad end of that deal. Shallea and Shaala were as cute as girls could get. They were blue-eyed blondes with tight cute little asses and more titty apparent than I had expected.

I followed the sassy swinging little asses to a well-kept hut. One of the girls stuck her head inside.

"Mother, come out and see. Danlo is here and he has someone with him that wants to talk to you."

If the girls had been cute their mother was a vision. She was also a blue-eyed blonde and it was easy to see that she had plenty of titty. Dalia probably laughed when she thought to herself of the first time I would see Shelalliea.

She saw Danlo first and went to hug his neck in greeting. She asked him if Dalia had come with him and he told her that she hadn't.

"I have come to ask Shallea and Shaala to be my mates and John has come to help me with my payment," Danlo said.

She looked at me with big question marks in her eyes. Her gaze gave me an odd feeling.

"I am John. Dalia, who I think you know, is one of my mates now." I said and would have said more but she cut me off.

"You are John that took Dalia and Danlo to live with you? You are the one that killed the two turds who killed Gigo and Dergo for their mates? You are the one that killed Gembo when he tried to kill you for your mates, and who offered twenty-five bison each for Gema, Merita and Maia?" she asked me, wide eyed.

I could see that my reputation had preceded me but I couldn't tell from her amazed tone whether that was going to be good or bad.

"Yes, I am John, and I have done those things and some more," I admitted.

"Yes you have. I heard that you also killed Jenabo when he said he would kill you and that you killed the unmated one that threw a spear into your back. You are John. You say that Dalia is now your mate too?"

"Yes, Dalia is one of my mates now. She is the one that told me about you," I said.

"She told you about me? Why would she tell you about me? What did she tell you about me?" She asked, and really seemed in awe of me now.

It was a little disconcerting but I had to get on with this.

"She told me that you were a beautiful, hard working woman. She told me that when I brought Danlo to ask your daughters to be his mates that I should ask you to be one of my mates. I know that you do not know me, but I promise that I will be good to you and that you will never be hungry and will always have a nice place to live. Will you be one of my mates?"

"I cannot believe this. It is coming true. I have heard of you but did not see you when you came for Dalia and Danlo. I saw you in my dreams last night and you looked just as you do now. You asked me to be one of your mates in my dream. It is all so strange," she said.

I knew good and well that must have been Argent's doing. He was getting to be a caution in the dream department.

"Well what did you tell me in the dream then?" I asked.

"Of course I will be one of your mates. We can leave now if you want. Do I have time to pack a few things or should I leave everything."

"You should not worry about that. You should come here and let me kiss you. I am dying to."

She rushed to me and I dropped both horse's reins and wrapped her up in my arms as she pressed her lips to mine and then pushed her tongue between them. She tasted delicious and as she pulled her body to me tightly I made a mental note to kiss Dalia's feet after all. She broke the kiss after a long couple of minutes.

"You are my dream come true John. My dream come true."

I guess I should thank Argent for his part too.

"You are a dream yourself. I feel like kicking my own ass for not looking around this camp more when I was here before," I told her, and since she was still in my arms I let my hands wander down to her ass.

When she felt me grip her buns she pushed her pelvis to me and then stretched her neck up to whisper in my ear.

"I don't care if it is day, if you need me we can go into my hut right now," she told me, grinding herself against the rising dicky.

I pulled her to me harder and whispered myself.

"We can wait until we are at my cave and it will be better. All my other mates will be there to help me hold you in case you change your mind," I told her.

She shivered.

"I will not change my mind, but it will be better if we are all together. I must thank Dalia and the others too. It will be better after I have wanted you all day long," she said.

I knew then that Dalia had been right. This was going to be a demanding woman, in bed at least. I was beginning to reconsider the hut when Georgo, Barbo, and Jara came up.

"John, I can see that Shelalliea must have agreed to be one of your mates. Danlo, did Shallea and Shaala agree to mate you?" Georgo asked.

"I haven't really had time to find out if they would still agree to be my mates."

Turning to them he asked them each and they both agreed.

"That is good then. Jara has spoken to all the women and they will trust you to provide the bison as they can deal with them. They are astonished at your generosity in offering to make payment to the camp in honor of Shelalliea and they think that...

"Unless they are asking more I will pay my normal price of twenty-five bison each for Dalia and Shelalliea, and I will offer to pay the same for Shallea and Shaala on Danlo's behalf," I said, cutting Georgo off.

I had them all there. Apparently Georgo hadn't even mentioned my paying for Dalia and I'm sure he thought he was doing me a favor by negotiating a lower price for Shelalliea, Shallea, and Shaala.

I didn't want to get into a poor man contest with anyone. I could kill bison easily and I wanted everyone to know that, even if I didn't want them to know how I did it. I wanted the word to spread that I paid the highest price of all for my mates. Besides I liked shooting bison when I didn't have to skin them out.

"That is so very generous, John. We can hardly believe our luck. That will be one hundred bison. It will be enough meat to feed this camp for two winters," Jara said, before Barbo could get a word in.

"If you know where a herd is now I can go ahead and get the first part of the payment. How many bison would you like this first time?" I asked, wanting to get the show on the road.

"If you could, would you mind waiting for a few days so we can get things ready to take care of more bison at one time?" Jara, who I'd thought all along, was the brains of this camp, asked.

"If you will watch over Shelalliea, Shallea, and Shaala's things until I can come for them tomorrow, I will get the bison whenever you want me to," I told her.

"We will make sure that their possessions are not disturbed," Jara promised.

"Danlo, you should help Shallea and Shaala tie their sleeping furs onto the saddle. Shelalliea will not need any sleeping furs for now. If we go quickly we should be able to meet Bigglieo with the wagon and we will be able to ride most of the way back," I said.

Shelalliea didn't bat an eye at my statement about her sleeping furs. Danlo took Shallea and Shaala into the hut and they were back with their furs and he had them tied onto the saddle in a few minutes. We said our goodbyes to Barbo and Jara and walked off.

After about ten minutes of walking I told Danlo that he should try riding Bonehead to go ahead so that Bigglieo didn't pass before we got there. He told his soon to be mates goodbye and left.

We just walked along at a good pace and didn't really talk much. I saw Bigglieo coming toward us about two hours later. Danlo was riding Bonehead beside the wagon. I saw that the travois horses and the others must have continued on their way.

When they reached us we tied Ben and Bonehead to the back of the wagon. There was room on the seat for Shelalliea and I. Georgo seemed glad to lie down on the cargo and Danlo, Shallea and Shaala were happy to cuddle up in it too.

I felt good when Bigglieo put the team into a trot heading home. I was anxious to get back. Shelalliea kept her arm around my waist where it had been mostly since we started walking away from her camp.

We arrived just after sunset. Bigglieo let Danlo, Shallea, Shaala, Shelalliea, and I off at my cave and drove the wagon into the big cave where most people were staying now. I reminded him about the now sleeping Georgo and asked him to help the shaman to his sleeping place if he needed help. He assured me that he would.

When Danlo, the twins, and their mother entered my cave a ruckus erupted. There were huggings, kissings, and introductions everywhere and I could just feel a nice excitement brewing.

I figured we would be up late tonight anyway so I slipped unnoticed to the computer and asked Argent how long it would take to install the bathroom and the entrance to the upcoming new caves. He told me that all was already in place and that it would only take a few seconds to open the passages. He said that there was already lighting and a few other things installed in the new caves.

I asked him to keep watch for a few minutes and then open the entrances when I got everyone out of the cave for a little walk. When he agreed I went back to the good time group.

"I don't want to stop the celebrating but I need for all of us to leave the cave for a few minutes. You will have a surprise coming soon. I will have to ask you not to tell anyone else about it until I tell you that you can."

They all gave me a look, especially Shelalliea, but generally nodded their assent. I knew that this was going to be a shock for Danlo, Shelalliea, Shallea, and Shaala. It was going to be a big surprise for all of them but those four would have no precedent.

The others at least knew that the bed could grow and move itself and also knew about the lighting. We went outside though and I led them toward the horse cave giving them a talk about how the horse herd would be growing soon. They were just getting a little restless with my blather when I got a tingle that I knew must have come from Argent. I turned the herd back toward my cave.

When we entered the change was obvious to me at once but it took the others a few minutes to catch on. I hadn't really paid that much attention to the placement of the openings during my dream tour but now it stood out. The bed's location had been moved about twenty feet around the wall of the cave. There was an entrance for Danlo's new accommodations on the side of the bed nearest the outside wall and an entrance for the bathroom on the other side.

It was easy for me to see which was which because of the gleaming marble in the bath. None of the lights were on in it yet though, so it didn't stand right out. No lights were on in Danlo's new digs either. Just looking at the entrances with a casual pass over of your eyes probably wouldn't make them noticeable at first.

That wasn't what tipped them off though. Gema, who had been the first one to notice when my bed had grown, must have taken to keeping an eye on it.

"John, the bed has moved again. Wait; there are holes beside it in the wall too. What is that white gleaming?" she asked as the others all turned to look.

"Which surprise would you like to see first? Do you want to see your new bathroom or do you want to see Danlo's new cave?" I asked, trying to make it seem like an everyday thing.

"What is a bathroom?" Winna asked.

"How did Danlo get a cave?" Delia wanted to know.

"A bathroom is where you take a bath, and other things. Don't ask about the how or why of any of this though. Most of you already know that I must keep some secrets," I told them.

"We all have seen caves before, I want to see what a bathroom is, and what is a bath?" Jaada asked.

"A bath is like washing but not in the river. I do not know what a bathroom is though," Geera said.

"Let us look at the bathroom first." Dalia said then.

I knew that Danlo and his prospective mates would probably rather see their cave but his mother had spoken. I led them to the bathroom and when I entered the light switch was where I expected it. I flicked it and heard gasps behind me as I continued inside.

"It is so bright in here." Waaya said.

Of course they were shocked when they got in. Merita was the first to mention the long mirrored wall and Maia went to one of the sinks asking what they were and what the golden things at each of them were for. It took nearly an hour and a half to explain most of it to them.

I made the toilets the first point of interest and when I told them what they were for Dieta asked if they wouldn't begin to smell bad very soon, so I tore off a wad of the butt wipe from its dispenser and taught them how to flush.

This was blatant magic to them. Gema wanted to know where it went and I told her I didn't know and didn't care as long as it left. After they all thought about that for a minute they agreed. I showed them the bidets then and had to explain their use.

They had no trouble grasping the use of the tubs but were surprised when I told them that the water could be warm or even hot without a fire; they could plainly see that there was no place under the tubs for a fire. They were astounded when I opened a faucet and water came rushing out to fill the tub. The bubble jets fascinated them and when they reached in and felt the action from the massage jets they seemed ready to get naked and try it all out. I asked them to let me finish the tour first.

I did let Dieta strip off and try one of the showers, for demonstration purposes only you understand. I noticed that Danlo was attentive to this particular demonstration, very attentive. He would have probably enjoyed things even more if all the women had participated. I gave it a little thought and decided that I would probably like to get a look at his two new cuties lathered up in the shower myself.

When Dieta came out of the shower I slayed most of them again with the towels. Only a few of them had seen the towels after the wagon bath. They were amazed that there were so many now and as I handed a few around for them to examine they held them like they were treasures. I suppose that they were to them.

They were completely bewildered by the washers and dryers. The concept of something doing something for them in that manner just didn't sink in I guess. I was guessing that they would find their way to using them when the towels were all dirty.

Lastly I took the now mostly dry Dieta, wrapped a towel around her most important parts, and stood her in front of the mirror. I dried her hair as best I could with another towel and then dug out one of the many combs and began untangling and combing it. I hadn't showed her about shampoo and conditioner yet and I had to be very gentle to keep from pulling her hair. All the women were amazed at this process.

The only thing they had ever had for combing their hair before, except for after the wagon tub bath, had been small smooth sticks. I was sure that it was a tedious process and since their hair always looked fairly nice I'm sure that they spent a lot of time on it. I didn't have a clue about how they trimmed it but since none of them wore it longer than just below their shoulders I knew that they must have some way.

All the women took a turn working on Dieta's hair and it was soon combed and brushed. The brush was another marvel for them. I think that all of them had completely forgotten that we still had Danlo's new cave to examine. I got their attention and reminded them that we had other things to see.

Swearing them to secrecy again before entering I led them through the other opening. After I found a switch for the lights and flicked it, in we all went. I was surprised myself to see that there was a bed waiting for Danlo and his soon to be brides. It was a little smaller than my original bed had been. It was complete with a mirror in its canopy though and its spread was like a spotted leopard's skin. There was a much smaller bathroom for Danlo and his mates and it only contained one washer and dryer. The number and capacity of the tubs and showers was greatly reduced and his baby swimming pool, steam room and sauna were much smaller also. Well rank does have its privileges. I did notice that there was a urinal for me in it and my dick twitched at that.

I led them to Georgo's cave then but didn't say whom it was for at first. As we entered it I saw that Georgo would also have a bed and bath of his own. I guess that Argent did want him to stay here.

"Who will live here John?" Geera asked.

"I am hoping that I can convince Georgo to stay with us most of the time."

"It will be very good for us if he does. It is always a good thing to have the shaman near by," Waaya said.

"He will not be a very smart shaman if he can't see that there is no other place that will be as good as this for him," Winna added.

"He must travel much though," Dalia said.

"Yes he must travel but I will also be getting something to aid him in his travels. Georgo will soon have a small wagon similar to mine. Danlo must help me train some horses to pull it," I said.

"I will be glad to do it if you will show me how," he assured me.

It was late by now and I was ready for bed, to sleep if nothing else. I suggested that Danlo return for one of his last nights with the unmated men and that he let the twins go ahead and discover the benefits of his new bed. He said goodbye to them and left.

After he had gone Dalia asked me if they would always have to enter their cave through the entrance of ours.

"No they won't. This is something else that none of you must ever tell. Tomorrow the earth will shake and an opening to the outside will appear. Bathrooms will also come into all the other caves.

"You must act as if the shaking was a surprise to you and you must try to make it seem that the bathrooms are not so unusual. I know it will be hard but I wanted everyone to have bathrooms even if it does surprise them. You will have to explain to the other women what the things in the bathrooms are for and try to make sure that they are not afraid of them."

"When they see how the bathrooms will be so helpful and realize that they will no longer have to wash in the cold river or go outside in the winter to make their water or empty their bowels, they will not ask many questions about them. I think though that you should tell Georgo before it happens and he will be able to tell some story that will make it all seem right. He is very good at things like that. It is his work to explain the spirit world after all. He can say that the spirits have given us these things," Geera said.

She had made the perfect suggestion. Georgo could start earning his new cave by explaining it. Now that Geera had mentioned it I was sure that Georgo could do a better job than I ever could. I thought about sending for him right now but decided that he would probably show up for coffee and breakfast early in the morning anyway. I led my mates toward the bed then, anticipating the unveiling of my newest heavenly body.