John and Argent by cmsix

Chapter 50

Nothing disturbed my sleep except a few dreams of my mates naked and teasing me. I woke at sunrise, rolled up my sleeping furs and dug around for the last of the food that they had packed for me. Now I would get acquainted with the others or go hungry.

After eating I dressed again. I had slept in my mail but without my tunic. I put it back on now and made sure to fasten the ties that pulled it up around my neck so it would completely cover the mail. I tied my new necklace back on then and laughed to myself about it. Geera and Dieta had done a good job but to me it seemed to be just a way of bragging. There were an awful lot of lion and bear claws and teeth tied around my neck now.

My mates had also done well at making my tunic look fairly normal even though it was cinched at my waist with the web belt that held my Glock in a ready position. I pulled on my pack, slung the M1 over my shoulder and started walking down the canyon toward the Neanderthal's camp.

Not long after I'd turned up into their cul-de-sac I saw some women about three hundred yards farther in. They noticed me at once too. They quit their gathering and turned quietly back to their camp. They didn't run away screaming as Gema and Merita had when they first saw me but they did leave, not seeming to run but even so they got away rapidly.

I was within two hundred yards of the edge of their camp when six men approached me; led by the one I'd seen scolding the mother and her twins. I assumed he must in fact be the leader. All the men carried their heavy spears but none were holding them in a threatening manner. I walked right up to within five feet of the leader, who was standing a little ahead of the others and I held my hands up, palms forward toward him.

"I am John, I live at a camp not too far from here and I have come to trade." I said.

"I am Grotondo, the leader of this camp. I will talk of trade with you. Come, we are about to eat." He said, turning and walking back toward his camp, the others now leading the way.

He led me back near the entrance to their cave where there were large rocks and some pieces of logs arranged for sitting. He had a particular log that he was used to sitting on and he went right to it. It was big enough for three or four to sit on where it was lying and he motioned for me to sit near him.

"Gratata, we have a stranger visiting, bring food for him also when it is ready." He said, raising his voice and speaking toward the mouth of the cave.

All the men that had been with him found seats and a few other men from the camp came to join us. Grotondo told them my name and that I had come to trade. That was the extent of the conversation for now. Apparently Grotondo was going to do most or all of the talking and he didn't seem like he intended to start until after we'd eaten.

I suppose it was Gratata that brought a large bone plate of something to Grotondo and then another one to me in a few minutes. She didn't speak though and Grotondo didn't speak to her. No introductions were made and she was given no more explanation of my presence.

More women came out then bringing food to the remaining men with us. I saw no others outside the cave. They were eating inside if they were eating. No youngsters were in sight even though I had seen several yesterday. We ate in silence. I didn't know exactly what I was eating though I could tell it was some type of roasted meat and some, unknown to me, vegetables.

After we were finished Gratata appeared and took away the plates she had brought. Then the other women came and fetched the plates they'd brought to the other men.

"I will talk to John about trading now." Grotondo said, facing the other men.

They didn't reply, they all just got up and walked into the cave. It was a little surprising but I was on their turf and wanted to do things their way.

"What did you bring to trade?" Grotondo asked, cutting right to the chase.

"Salt, I brought much salt." I said.

I had set down my pack and M1 before I sat and now I opened the pack and removed the pouch, which held probably twenty to thirty pounds of salt. I put it on the ground between he and I and opened the top, showing him that it was all salt.

Without saying a word Grotondo stuck a finger into it and then into his mouth. I wondered what else he thought might look like salt and not be salt but I didn't say anything.

"That is very much salt. What do you want to trade for?" He asked and though I knew he didn't intend it his face betrayed that he wanted the salt.

"I have come to trade for a mate; if you have any unmated women that I want." I told him and managed a straight face.

"We have three women that have never been mated. We also have a woman whose mate was killed two summers ago. She has two daughters who have just become women last month. I will go and talk to the others now." He told me and then got up and went into the cave.

I was a little confused by his statement. He had said three women that had never been mated and then he mentioned the widow's daughters as unmated women too. Did this mean that he had five women who had never been mated or did they have some custom about girls not mating as soon as they became women? I figured that I'd find out sooner or later.

The whole thing was a little strange to me now that I was into it. I'd seen plenty of new people and I was clearly different from them but they didn't seem at all curious. None had seemed to stare openly at me and there had been only the few questions from Grotondo. Things were a little odd.

Grotondo came back out of the cave then and I assumed the women that were following him were those he'd told me about. There were three young women leading, and then the mother I'd seen being scolded yesterday followed by her two daughters. They came out and all lined up in front of me saying nothing. It was clear from this presentation and from the body language of the women that they were on display and that it was my choice. None of them looked disturbed about it though and in fact the mother seemed to be putting her best foot forward. Standing tall and actually smiling at me when I looked her over.

All the women were attractive in their way and it wasn't very far from my way either. The mother's daughters were certainly attractive and would have been to anyone. Of course they closely resembled the women I was around all the time anyway. Their mother was no slouch either and while she was plainly a women of these other people she was still good looking. The other three young women were attractive too and the bodies of all the women were exceptional, at least they seemed that way. Unfortunately there didn't appear to be a swimsuit competition coming up later.

Surprisingly Grotondo led the women back in then without a word to me. I made sure to look at each of their asses as they left even though I could hardly tell anything about them in those clothes.

He returned a few minutes later.

"Did you see a woman that you would like to trade for?" He asked as soon as he returned.

"Yes, I would be happy to trade for any of them." I said purposely not pointing out any one in particular.

"Which one would you want?" He asked.

"Which one would you like to trade?" I said, still intending to make him show his cards first.

"I will be back shortly." He said and stumped me by going back into the cave.

I didn't know what in the hell he was doing in there but maybe he was talking it over with someone. Georgo had told me that their leaders just assigned the mates to the men; of course this didn't go for me. True to his word he came back in only a few minutes.

"I do not usually do such things John but as strange as it may seem to you, I have found that my mate often has helpful suggestions when it comes to questions about matings. I will admit that I have made mistakes before when giving a woman to a man. I know that this is not the same thing and that I am not giving you a mate as if you were a member of my camp. I did want to ask her opinion though." He said and made it sound almost like a confession of some weakness.

"I understand completely. Women often know things that men do not notice." I said.

"So you have seen that too?" He asked and actually looked astonished.

"Yes, I have."

"You did not say that you came seeking to trade for a young mate or for a woman that had never been mated. You are not a young man just coming into manhood. My mate suggests that you might consider trading for the woman that was mated before her mate was killed. Many of our people feel that she is unlucky because of the accident. She is a good worker and gatherer though and she has given birth. Two at once in fact and that is often very hard on a woman yet both of her babies lived and are healthy and she has done well since then, except for her mate getting killed." He said.

I wondered what she could have had to do with it. Probably nothing at all and now she was being pointed out as being unlucky. She looked lucky enough to me and I felt that I'd be pretty damned lucky too if I could end up with her for a bag of salt.

"Your mate is right in saying that I did not come here as a young man looking for his first mate."

"Would you consider trading for the woman who has been mated before then?" He asked.

I didn't answer right away. It was a little surprising that his mate had come to the same conclusion I had. I was stalling now to keep him from thinking I was too anxious. Dicky was screaming that I should go for the twins too and I was begining to come around to his way of thinking. None of them were any more desirable than the mates I had already but something about the mother and her twins was just as desirable. I knew that they would be different and I thought that all of them would make great additions to my band and to my bed.

"I do not know your customs Grotondo but I am going to make you an offer. If it is not allowable among you I hope that at least it doesn't offend you." I said and knew that I had at last provoked his curiosity.

"What is your offer John? I am the leader here and whatever I say is allowable. Customs or no customs, if the offer is acceptable to me it is acceptable to all." He told me rather bluntly.

"I will offer all my salt and two whole bison or two whole aurochs for the mother and her two daughters." I said.

His curiosity was satisfied but I could see that he was now shocked. I didn't know if it was because the offer was too little, which I doubted, or if it was because I was now wanting more than one mate. Suddenly a slight smile crept onto his face and then he fought it off. I knew then that the deal was done and that he thought that he had bested me.

"You will understand if I asks that you kill the bison or aurochs before you leave with the women?" He asked.

"Of course, you do not know me and I wouldn't think of asking you to trust me to pay you later."

"It is acceptable then. When you have killed two bison for us or two aurochs or one of each, your debt for the three women will be paid." He told me and couldn't suppress the smile any longer.

"Killing them will be much easier than bringing them here. I am not sure about your customs but among my people the price for the mate is paid once the hunter has killed the animals. Is your way similar?" I asked, hoping I wasn't going to have to cut up and carry two bison or aurochs.

"We have the same custom; after the kill you may help or not, as you like. Once you have killed them your debt will be paid." He said.

"I will be glad to help but the meat would no doubt be carried off by predators if I had to carry it all by myself." I said.

"We will take care of the meat when you kill it. I have to ask how you will hunt though since you do not even have a spear?" He asked.

"I can hunt. Are there bison or aurochs on the plateau?"

"Yes, usually there are some and we have a good trail up to it. Were you planning to hunt soon?" Grotondo asked me.

"I would like to go now if you will show me the way to your trail." I told him and handed him the pouch of salt while I was at it.

"I will put the salt inside and then show you the trail." He said.

When he came back out of his cave he picked up his spear from the place he'd set it before breakfast.

"It is allowable for a young hunter or two to go with you John. You must make the kills but it might be easier with some help. I have two young hunters that are good runners and you might be able to drive some game off the cliff." He said.

"I appreciate your offer and that is a good way to hunt sometimes. It often spoils some of the meat though. I will not have trouble getting two kills if I see bison on the plateau. If you hear sounds like thunder, three times very close together, it will mean that I need help." I said and he was curious again.

"But how do you know it will thunder if you need help?" He asked.

"It will not be thunder but it will sound loud like thunder and it will be three sharp loud noises close together." I explained.

"I don't understand but it will be as you say. I will have Brundolo wait at the bottom of the trail to be sure that he hears it if you need help." He said and called into the cave for Brundolo.

When the young man, probably twelve or thirteen I guessed, came out we left. It was only a little more than a quarter of a mile to the trail he'd talked of. It was well worn and though not nearly wide enough for one of my wagons it was easily wide enough for a horse with a travois. Of course I didn't have a horse and travois with me.

Grotondo left me at the bottom of the trail and headed back. I explained about the loud noises to Brundolo. He said that he would come if he heard them and I headed up the trail.

When I got onto the plateau I froze and then lowered myself slowly to the ground. Apparently I was extremely lucky or Argent didn't want to waste a lot of time on this part. There was a small group of aurochs grazing not more than three hundred yards from me.

I extended the bipod on the M1, settled into a prone position and looked thru the scope. There was a big aurochs bull with six cows. Four of the cows had young ones nearby and there were three younger bulls close by also. The young bulls weren't yearlings; they were all at least three or four years old and were large in their own right. It was clear that the big bull was forcing them to keep at least a little distance from his harem but otherwise everything was peaceful.

I decided to give Grotondo a little bonus if it was possible. I shot the young bulls as rapidly as I could. The second one hadn't even looked up after the first one fell. When I got to the third one he was looking up, as were all the others but none of them had moved yet. I shot him before he took a step and decided that if I didn't fire again Brundolo would probably think that the three shots were close enough together to count as the signal.

I stood, shouldered the M1 and walked to my kills. The remaining aurochs saw me at once and headed off. I had just reached the dead game when Brundolo topped the trail. I yelled to him and he came to me at once.

"How did you kill them so fast? You had barely gone from me when I heard the thunder. How did you kill them? You don't even have a spear." Brundolo asked.

"I only need kill them to pay for my mates Brundolo, it isn't necessary for me to tell how I did it." I said.

"You are right but I do not understand how you did it." He admitted.

"You should probably go and get some of the others to help clean and carry. I'll stay with my kills to make sure that predators don't come and steal any of them." I said and he left then to get the others.

Brundolo must have told a good tale because when he came back it seemed like the whole camp was with him. My new mates were in the group also and they came up near me when Grotondo came to me.

"I can't understand how you did this John but I can plainly see the two aurochs that satisfy your payment. These women are your mates now." He said waving a hand toward them.

"There are three aurochs Grotondo. They were standing together and there was no reason to let one just walk off. They are all for your camp." I said.

"You are going to give us the other one too?" He asked.

"Yes, if you want it. I do not want to leave it for the predators and I surely don't want to have to carry it anywhere." I said.

"I am grateful to have it then." He said and moved toward the others that had already begun cleaning the kills.

I turned toward my new mates and could tell already that they weren't sorry for their fate.

"I am John." I said.

"I am Margeeta and these are my daughters, Yareela and Yaroola. We are your mates now." She told me the obvious.

"I hope you will not be sad to leave your camp and go to mine." I said.

Margeeta was caught off guard by that, as if she wondered why I would care about how they felt.

"You are our mate now. We must go where you go. I have been mated before but my daughters never have been. I feared that I would never have another mate after Grendolto was killed. I can hardly believe that my daughters and I are now mated to the same man. I am happy about it though." She said.

She wasn't the only one that was happy about it. Dicky was swelling at the thought and I could tell that he was ecstatic.

"Should we help the others with the game?" I asked.

"We will do what you tell us but since everyone came I think that we will have a hard time getting near it." Margeeta said, pointing to the crowd.

She was right. Everyone from the camp was here and there were already people standing around that couldn't find a place to get in and help. They probably all had wanted to see if I had really killed three aurochs so quickly.

"You're right, we would only be in the way. I understand that it isn't my duty to help since I have paid my debt already and I don't think you three need to help because this isn't your camp any longer." I said.

"That's right mother. We won't be living here any more. I am so happy that we're leaving." Yareela or Yaroola said and the other one promptly agreed.

I headed off a little farther from the crowd and they came with me and stopped when I did. I felt that we were far enough away so that none of the others could hear us.

"I must tell you that I saw you three yesterday from up here. I was on the plateau but it was nearly across from the main fire. It seemed that you and Grotondo were arguing." I said to Margeeta.

"I would never argue with a man but I was complaining about someone even though I knew it would do no good." Margeeta told me, looking at the ground the whole time.

"Who were you complaining about and why?" I asked.

"About Daldo, he keeps bothering Yareela and Yaroola and trying to sneak them off at night. If I had a mate Daldo would have been beaten for such behavior but since my mate is dead Grotondo does nothing even though he knows it isn't right." She told me.

"Do not worry about him any longer. If he does or says anything else, let me know about it at once. He will get the beating he deserves then and I won't be waiting for Grotondo's permission. I do not let anyone pester my mates, ever." I said.

They were all smiles when they heard that but I was wondering who Daldo was.

"Who is Daldo, which one is he?" I asked.

"He is the healer's mate and he is practically worthless. Grotondo knows now that he should never have given the healer to him. He just ignores Daldo now mostly. If he weren't the healers mate Grotondo would probably make him go away." Margeeta said.

"Well I don't care who his mate is, if he bothers any mate of mine he will wish he was already away." I said.

"But what if he wants to fight you with a spear, you don't even have one?" Yareela asked.

"I have more powerful magic than a spear but you must not mention it to anyone." I told them hoping they would mind me.

We headed back toward the camp then. Several men had already passed us carrying big pieces of the aurochs. To me it seemed that they would be done with all three of them in less than an hour. I saw that they were leaving the entrails and this was speeding up the process.

When we got back near the cave I noticed that the men were walking directly into it with the meat.

"Do you have a frozen cave?" I asked my new mates.

"Yes, it is the main reason we stay here. How did you know?" Margeeta asked.

"There is one in my camp too and when I saw the men taking the meat directly into the cave without cutting it up or drying it I thought that you must have one also."

"Yes, it is very helpful. You say that there is one at your camp too?" Margeeta asked.

"Yes, we have one also."

I asked Margeeta if it would take them long to pack and she didn't think it would. I told them that they should only bring personal things since they would not need sleeping furs or extra clothes. I had to explain that I already had plenty of furs and that I would have new clothes for all of them soon. She quizzed me about it a little but not very much, she seemed as if she was happy to do whatever I told her to.

"It only makes sense now that I think about it. A man wearing lion skin clothes and a necklace with so many lion and bear claws and teeth probably doesn't have to worry about getting skins or food, especially since he has just killed three aurochs in nearly no time and without a spear." She said and smiled widely.

They did have a few things to pack though and I left them at it. More meat was passing by now and I saw one of the bigger men go by carrying a rolled up skin.

It was only about an hour later and the aurochs had been dealt with and most of them put into the frozen cave. One big haunch was cooking over the main fireplace outside and those that had just finished the work were gathered around near the mouth of the cave. Margeeta and the twins had their things packed and we were about to leave, I said my goodbyes to the leader. Just as I did a man came over and fondled one of Yareela's ass cheeks.

"It is bad that you leave. I always wanted to try you out. Maybe I can quickly before you go." He said as he gripped her butt more tightly.

I didn't waste any words. I stepped up to him and hit him as hard as I could right on his wide nose. It put him out at once and he fell to the ground. The leader and a few of the other men looked at me as if I was crazy and I could see that Grotondo was about to protest.

"I do not know your customs but you do not know mine either. These are my mates now. They have agreed to go with me and I have given you much salt and killed two aurochs in payment for them plus a third aurochs that I gave you as a gift. I do not let other men handle my mates. I did not kill that one because I know that he didn't understand my ways. I will kill the next man that tries it though." I finished in my sternest voice.

"That is not our way John." Grotondo said.

"It is my way though and these are my mates now. I do not live with you and I will not live by your customs. I will stay long enough to give anyone else a chance to kill me for them though; if they want the chance." I told them, pissed off now.

"I want the chance. I want to kill you and keep your new mates for myself." Said Timboko, who I recognized as their best hunter.

It seemed that I should be sorry about it or that I should be ashamed of myself, I wasn't though. I had also seen Timboko's mate and she was a treat herself. Her features were a little coarser than Margeeta's but she was still very attractive to me. She wouldn't need a bag over her head. There was something to be said for this killing for mates custom after all. I pulled the Glock and put one right in Timboko's mouth while he was getting ready for his next verbal volley. The back of his head just exploded as the round exited and he dropped to the ground.

"Does anyone else want to kill me for my mates?" I asked loudly.

They were all stunned speechless. They all knew by now that I'd made thunderous noises when I'd killed the aurochs as part of my payment for Margeeta, Yareela and Yaroola. Apparently they hadn't been able to put two and two together. They weren't having any trouble now figuring out that I shouldn't be fucked with though.

"He had not struck you yet John, he hadn't started to fight." Grotondo told me as if I didn't know it.

"He has missed his chance. I do not stand around to argue when a man says he will kill me. If he wasn't going to try it he should have kept his mouth shut. Would he argue with a bear before he killed it?"

This had them stumped again and I was ready to get moving. I didn't want any of the other men to start up with me.

"Margeeta we will have to wait for Timboko's mate to pack now. Let us go and help her." I said.

"Yes John, it will be best if we help her pack and then leave." Margeeta said.

"But you have killed our best hunter and you have hurt the healer's mate." Grotondo said.

"Timboko has killed himself; what could he have been thinking? I went alone and killed three aurochs without help. Did he think that he could not die the same way? Do none of you realize that I can kill you all if I want to? I came here peacefully and anyone that gets trouble from me has to ask me for it first. Timboko asked and did it with a strong voice.

"This rude fool on the ground got off lightly. What would you have done if he grabbed your mate's ass right in front of you and tried to carry her away to take her?" I asked, getting nothing but a blank stare for a reply.

I noticed then that a woman I hadn't seen was tending to the first man that I had hit. I supposed that it was the healer. I followed Margeeta and the twins to my next new mate's sleeping place in the cave, wondering how she would take the news. I needn't have.

When we got there she had already begun packing. She stopped and came to me when we approached.

"I am Kota, Timboko's former mate. I was there and I saw what happened. Timboko had always been a strutting fool. It never caused him any trouble before because he was always the quickest and strongest man here. It will not cause him any more trouble either. There are many furs and much food here. Since you can hunt so well we might not need the meat but I am good with my gathering also." She told me.

I was about to speak to tell her that we would have to come back tomorrow and get everyone's things. There was no way I was leaving these assholes anything now. We would all just walk home and come back in a wagon tomorrow.

"John, behind you." One of the twins yelled.

Here at last was a real threat; I saw as I turned. This one might have succeeded except for the warning I got. It was Daldo, the man I had hit earlier. Apparently he had recovered rather quickly. He'd been trying to sneak up behind me with a large club already raised. If he'd been able to conk me on the head with that fucker I would have ended up as dead as Timboko.

I just had time to pull the Glock and put two into his chest. They stopped his progress and even though he made a last ditch effort to swing, he couldn't connect with anything but air. I already knew that he had a mate but the look at her as we'd left him lying was the only one I'd had. I doubted if I could recognize her on my own.

As always it seemed that things were mushrooming and I just didn't have any idea what to do about it. I had sought out the Neanderthals hoping to get one of the women for another mate. It wasn't that I needed more women; I'd just felt that I owed it to Argent. My dick had made me bargain for three and dumbasses had already provided two more and I wasn't even out of their cave yet.

The healer came walking up then and didn't even give her departed mate a glance as she walked up to us.

"I am Eileiea, the healer, and that was my mate. You have relieved this camp of another fool, they might miss my healing but they will not miss him. I will not miss him either and I hope that I will fit in with your camp. Do you have a healer there already?" She asked me, matter of factly.

"No we do not have a healer, there is a woman who is pretty good with wounds if they aren't too serious but we do not have a real healer. I am sure you will fit in well at my camp, I am the leader and I will make sure that you all fit in. I demand that all have respect for each other in my camp and if there were fools in it I would make them leave. We will all be glad to have a healer among us." I told her smiling.

I wondered now how I had missed this one. She was plainly a pure Neanderthal but in my opinion she was the shining star of the race. Her features clearly belonged to her ancestors but on her they didn't look coarse somehow, they looked completely natural and very attractive. Her nose was wide and her lips were thick but it all fit her so well. She was short like all the women and she seemed very muscular but it didn't look vulgar on her. I was glad now that her idiot mate had tried to brain me.

I started looking around at some of the other women speculatively then. Grotondo noticed it and seemed to get suspicious.

"Are you looking for something John?" He asked me.

"I am looking at the women here and wondering if any more will become one of my mate before I leave. Are there more men who are tired of living?" I asked.

"I do not know whether there are more or not; I would like to tell you that I am not and that I have no quarrel with you. We have had some misunderstandings but I believe most of the men now know your position. Those who have tried to molest you have paid for the pleasure and one has cost this camp a very good healer. It has also revealed to me that I have not been as good a leader as I thought. Timboko was a good hunter and generally a good man except for his tendency to bully others. The healer's mate was practically useless though and it is my fault that I gave the healer to him and I must bear the blame now that she will be leaving." Grotondo admitted.

"If you have now learned that you need not keep everyone just because they are here you have learned a valuable lesson. Your loss of the healer need not be so costly though. If she will do it I will let her teach another some of her magic so you will have a healer of your own and also, if she will agree, I will let any sick or wounded that you have come to her for treatment at my camp. If they cannot come to her I will make arrangements to bring them to her; if you will do something for me in return." I told him.

"What would you have me do?" He asked.

"We now have too many things to carry. If you will guard their things while we are gone we will give you the meat that they have. We will be back tomorrow with help to carry their other things away. If you will send your smartest unmated man with me I will teach him something that will be a great help to all of you. It might take more than one day to teach him though and he might not be able to return tomorrow." I told him.

"I see that I have no choice. If I do not do as you wish you can easily kill me, or even all of us." He said.

"I will not kill a man unless he says he is going to kill me or unless he tries to kill me. I am not a bully and I do not bother others until they bother me. I could have killed you as easily the first day as I could now and I didn't. I did not take Margeeta and her twins from you; I paid the price you asked and more. I am a fair man but I don't like to be troubled when I only want to deal fairly. If you do not want to help me that is fine; we will go and take only what we can carry and when one of you is sick or hurt you can find another healer." I said.

"We will do it John and you have spoken the truth. You did not offend us when you could have and those that troubled you deserved what they got. None of the men here would have acted any differently than you did. It is just a shock that it happened so fast. We will watch their possessions for you and I will send Brundolo with you that he might learn this skill." He told me.

"Very well. He need not bring food since we have plenty. He needs only his spear and a sleeping fur. I will help my new mates prepare for the trip now. Tell Brundolo that we will be leaving soon." I said and turned back to the women.

I told them they need not carry anything unless they would need it before tomorrow since we would come back then and get everything. They asked if they should carry part of the load today and I told them that we would not be carrying things either day and that they would see when they got to my camp how their things would be moved. They were slightly confused but did as I asked them.

Brundolo came to us shortly and we headed off.

Healer was the first to break the silence as we were walking.

"John may I ask you a question?" She asked.

"Yes. Any of you are welcome to ask me questions or tell me anything, anytime you want to. You do not need my permission to speak to me. That is not our way." I said.

"That will be very different for us. It may take time to become accustomed to that." She replied.

"It probably will take time but so will many of our ways. You will find that I welcome your questions and that I want to hear what you have to say. If we are doing things in a way that you think would be better done your way I want to hear about that also." I told her.

"Then how are we going to bring all our things tomorrow? There will be just as many things to carry tomorrow as there were today." She said.

"We will not carry them. We will put them in my wagon and my horses will pull it for us. We will not even have to walk since we can ride on the wagon also." I told them all.

"What is a wagon and how will you make horses pull it?" She asked.

"You will have to wait and see what a wagon is but you will know when you see it that it can hold all of you things. I have captured some horses and trained them to do what I wish. You will see." I said.

"What skill will you teach me?" Brundolo asked then.

"I will teach you how to use a horse to carry things so you do not have to do it. You can take a horse with you when you go hunting and then it can carry back what you have killed. A horse can carry much more than you can. Instead of all the hunters having to carry back the kill, one man can do it and the others can keep hunting." I told him.

I could see at once that he didn't believe it but he didn't say anything. I didn't say anything more about it either. I supposed that the women were busy trying to imagine what a wagon was as they were quiet also. Finally Margeeta spoke up.

"Why are we going so slow John? Is this as fast as you can travel? Are you injured? Maybe Eileiea can help if you are in pain."

"It is about as fast as I can walk. How fast do you usually travel?" I asked.

"If we have a long way to go we trot at least but we usually run, not fast, just a nice easy run." She said.

"Well run then and I will see if I can keep up. You will wait for me if I get too tired won't you?" I asked her.

"Yes, if you fall behind we will wait. It will be so easy running without carrying anything though." She said and then they all fell into an easy lope.

I was able to keep up but just barely. I did have to ask them to slow to a walk a time or two though. I was actually surprised at how good I was doing and I suspected that Argent was the cause of this also."

We covered the distance, probably fifteen miles in just over three and a half hours and I'm sure that they could have all done much better if not for waiting on me. It wasn't nearly as grueling as I'd thought it would be.

Luckily I had them let me lead the way at the last, since Prince, King and Rover noticed my return first and came bounding out to meet me. Brundolo was ready to jab his spear into Prince as he approached and all the women had their knives out to fight off the wolves.

"No. Do not harm the wolves. They are mine. They will not hurt us." I shouted to them.

They were all thoroughly shocked. I should have warned them earlier but hadn't even thought about it. Prince came up to me then, I patted his head and gave King and Rover a good petting too.

"The wolves help us. I caught them when they were young ones and now they think I lead their pack. We have other younger wolves also. These watch for us at night and let us know if something is sneaking around. They have subdued men who came to spy on us more than once." I told them.

They were too shocked to even ask questions. I saw Merita and Maia coming then and assumed that the wolves quick departure had them wondering. I remembered then that I hadn't mentioned having other mates to my new ones. Is there an easy way to tell your five new wives that you forgot to mention you already had sixteen?

"Margeeta, Yareela, Yaroola, Kota and Eileiea; I should have told you before that I already have some mates. It was wrong of me not to mention it, if you do not want to stay with me you do not have to." I told them quickly.

"We do not mind if you have other mates. We already knew that you must be a great hunter to agree to take on five mates; if you already had mates you must be the best hunter ever." Margeeta said.

"How many other mates do you have?" Eileiea asked.

"I had sixteen mates before I got all of you." I told them hoping for the best.

I got more than the best then. They all smiled bigger than I thought they could.

"You must indeed be the best hunter ever. I can hardly believe how lucky we all are. I never knew one hunter could feed that many mates, it is more women than there are in many camps. We will all help as much as we can. We don't know how to hunt very well but I have heard that these women can hunt. Do they help you?" Eileiea asked, clearly excited.

"They are welcome to help if they want to and a few of them have hunted. I don't really need help hunting though. There are plenty of bison on the upper plateau and they are easy for me to kill." I told them.

They were amazed again and I think that they were skeptical also. Merita and Maia reached us then and I set about introducing them all to each other.