Snatched by cmsix

Chapter 19

Leaving them to it was fine with me. The gloves were mostly for them anyway, now at least, and I'd never been much at sewing. I went to find Denac and his charges.

The girl's idea about poles for my hut wasn't a bad one, but there was something else I wanted first. I'd brought my Boy Scout compass and entrenching tool; Denac, Chalti, the prisoners, and I were about to start searching for iron.

"Do you think they will be more cooperative this morning Denac?" I asked, when I reached them.

"Yes, they seem to have had a change in attitude. If they backslide we may have to find out which one is causing it and get rid of him too. Sooner or later all those that are left will have good manners," Denac said.

"I think we should take them to the burned out section and let them look for parts of the star that fell," I said, and we headed that way.

Our work crew was amazed when they found out what we wanted to do, and after I explained that there was something useful buried from the impact they seemed nearly thrilled to be looking for it.

"No matter how small or trivial any rock you find near the crater seems, bring it to me. The compass will let us know whether or not it is valuable," I said.

Right away we had to make half of them back off so there would be room to work. I handed one of them the entrenching tool and set him to digging. The others we let work were to take away the refuse he developed and then those that weren't working would go through it, looking for rocks to test.

It was nearly twenty minutes before they came to me with a rock that was from the meteorite. I was almost positive from the way it looked, but sure enough, when I held it against the compass the needle swung directly to it. We called for a break and I let every one of them see the demonstration.

It was barely the size of my fist and was obviously iron, or so I thought. Of course I'd never seen an iron meteorite, or any other type for that matter. I at least knew that many meteorites contained iron of some sort. I was working on a hunch that I might be able to make something useful out of whatever we found.

Within two hours I knew that a fix of some sort was in. The others didn't realize it, but when they found a large specimen after digging down about eight feet, and reported that it was too heavy to lift, I went to take a look. It was a plant.

There was no doubt it had fallen from the sky, but it hadn't come from outer space, or at least it hadn't come via the normal route of a meteor. It was a damned anvil. It wasn't what you'd normally think of as an anvil but that's what it was for. It had the general size of a normal anvil but had been disguised to make it appear more natural looking.

It was basically a big glob with a suspiciously flat top and bottom, and an almost perfect horn. These were the main features of any anvil and the rest of it was just a big blob that got wider toward the flat bottom to form a suitable base. I figured it was as close to normal looking as it could be made and still function.

It suited me fine. It would work and it beat the hell out of trying to make one, or make do with something else. Now if we could just find the handy dandy supply of metal I needed. I hated the thought of trying to actually cobble up the method for making steel.

More digging found several oddly convenient samples of what I needed. I even thought about continuing to search and dig to see if we were going to run into a coal seam, but I decided that it wasn't necessary. I hadn't figured out a way to make bricks yet, and especially a way to make firebrick that would be able to withstand the type of heat I'd need to do any serious blacksmith work.

After they knew the anvil had to come out they finished digging around it and did the deed. It probably weighed a hundred pounds more than it needed to, but that wouldn't hurt anything, except where moving it from place to place was involved.

The anvil and the smaller iron pieces we kept finding were going to be useful, someday, but other things needed to be made first. A bellows came to mind, but I thought it would be easy. A way to carry the damned anvil, and the iron stock they were finding seemed a more immediate need.

Even though we'd just settled in here, there was nothing to say we wouldn't be moving on soon. This camp was in a good location, but it was temporary. I had a feeling that the nomadic nature of their lives would have to end for any real progress toward civilization to get started.

Think about it. Nothing of real lasting value could be accumulated if the Calak was going to continue to move around. Their current lifestyle involved moving to a new place, setting up shop, and then staying until they had fouled their nest sufficiently to make moving on necessary.

They didn't even build privies. Like wild bears, they shit in the woods. Sooner or later they would be walking around stepping in shit. That was not a healthy way to conduct life, even though it was natural, to a certain extent.

It wasn't natural in another way. This was a large Calak and therefore they developed a lot of shit. No doubt that was a vote in favor of having smaller Calaks. With fewer members they would create less of a mess where they made their camps. They would also be less of a strain on their local environment. Building shitters wouldn't cure the pressure on the local wildlife, but it would make things more pleasant and it was mandatory for more permanent settlements.

Leaving the compass to Denac, I walked back toward camp, wondering if the technology of outhouses would be my next otherworldly revelation to my Calak. Even if it was going to be it would have to wait.

As I got to camp, Caltort was spreading the word that he'd seen Matatu and the others approaching. The welcoming committee was just starting to gather, and it included almost everyone. What the hell, I joined in.

Zakat couldn't be kept on his pallet for it either. No matter how Caloe and Darita scolded, he was determined to meet Matatu on his feet. He even seemed much healthier than he had any right to be, but I thought the excitement was doing a good bit of it, and his male posturing was helping with the rest.

At any rate, when the new women walked into camp behind Matatu, Zakat and his condition was basically forgotten. Caloe, Shata, and all the rest of the Calak's women descended on their new sisters and the party was on.

For probably an hour there was nothing but old home week going on among the women. They greeted and exchanged names and then they moved over toward the back side of camp and had a conference where no men were welcome, or even permitted.

For my part, I was thankful. At last Shata and Caloe would get the details they wanted and I wouldn't have to provide them. It wasn't that I didn't want to explain the details to them; I didn't know the details. That hadn't spared me the third degree, but now I wouldn't be needed for enlightenment and it made me happy.

Our noon meal was only about an hour and a half late. With the first blush of the news over, all the women, even the new arrivals, went to work and had the food ready in nearly no time. When my mates brought me my share it was evident that they were very happy about the new arrivals.

"You have risen even higher in the women's estimation," Shaeta said, as she and Katia came to join me.

"Oh. What have I done now?" I asked.

"You saved those women, and you rid this world of Kaglao. The women told us that your estimation of him was correct. He was charismatic toward the young men he gathered and he had no interest in teaching them how to live correctly," Katia said.

That statement was slightly repugnant to me at face value but I changed my mind almost at once. Living correctly had an odd and ominous ring to someone from twenty-first century America where personal freedom was the mantra. It took me only a minute or two to realize that we had personal freedom here too, but that we couldn't be nearly as tolerant toward the ones who's personal freedom didn't include working for a living.

There was no room for a welfare state in this time and place. Not so fast though, there was some room. Men or women who were injured or sick were taken care of, our Zakat being a recent example. He could not fend for himself at the moment, and he was being tended to by the Calak, even though he was not producing.

Of course there was the expectation that he would return to productivity, or at least the hope, but that wasn't the whole of it. There weren't examples in this Calak at this time, but I had observed other Calaks who tended to members who were very old and even some who were obviously injured beyond returning to work. Of course the best medical care they had was also available to all. So it was a sort of welfare state, or more correctly, a type of socialism or communism.

At least I hadn't been dropped into some olden days farce of democracy, which was a badly flawed system from its inception. For a second I wondered how things would have turned out if Kaglao and his group had entered a mythical democratic Calak and hung around for the next election. Then I flashed on a runt like W running for Zakat and nearly spit out my food when I burst out laughing.

"What is funny," Katia asked.

"Nothing from this world my mate. It was a thought from my last one," I said, admitting it.

"Was it a wonderful place?" Shaeta asked.

"Some things were wonderful, but mostly it had been completely ruined by the time I was born. There were so many people that even the air was fouled. We had wonderful inventions, but more people than the world could support," I said.

"How many people?" Katia asked.

Somehow they knew about what I thought of as Arabic numbers, a little at least. They could all count to a hundred, and even though I was sure they could go farther if they needed to, they didn't need to. I tried to think of a way I could explain it to them, and couldn't. Then I gave it a shot.

"If you started counting them, you would not finish before more were born and had reached four or five years old," I said, not knowing if I was correct in my figures but understanding that it would at least give them some idea. It did, but they couldn't believe it.

Much to my relief they lost interest after that. There was no point in giving them the rundown on my old home, since the information was mostly useless to them. I did have knowledge we could use now but going over gee-whiz population numbers and details wasn't part of the useful stuff. We finished our meal without much more talking and they left to join the women again.

Denac, Chalti, and the prisoners were ready to head back to our worksite and I let them go ahead while I fetched my modern type axe and a handsaw.

Most of our guest were searching the diggings for more of the magic rocks that made the needle swing while Denac and Chalti stood around. There was quite a pile of them waiting for me to examine and I figured my first task was to teach Chalti and Denac how to operate the compass. Of course it was easy.

With that done Denac and I took two of the guests with us to find the makings for a heavy-duty travois. It wasn't going to be possible to move that anvil with a travois that used a skin for holding up its freight. My cart would carry it, but I didn't want to get that started, since I would need my cart for other things the next time we moved. Besides, we had the glorified ladder built in less than an hour.

As soon as we got back to the dig site with our new heavy-hauler I discovered we'd need another one. The men were still digging and scratching for the magic rocks and they already had a bunch. I estimated that the weight of discovered iron now doubled the weight of the anvil. Shit, this was going to cause problems, especially if it turned out that the meteor iron was truly useful, and I had no doubt that it was.

We needed a wagon of course. Hell, we needed an everything. No help for it though, I'd just have to start building and hope I could teach others to do part of it. Then I had a brainstorm, but thankfully nothing was damaged.

Building a wagon was going to be a bitch. First because there was no lumber available and secondly there were no wheels. Of course the idea of the wheel is simple, but just think about the execution. We could saw tree trunks crosswise and get disk of wood to try using as wheels, but even if they worked they would be piss poor.

Tree trunks only look round if you aren't paying close attention, up close and personal they aren't round, they are roundish. Every deviation from round would be apparent while you were trying to pull your wagon, especially when you were trying to pull it by hand. Nearly round wheels added to kinda flat ground would end up being mostly impossible with human power.

There was no doubt we'd start out that way, probably with two wheel carts. I'd need to show the others the advantages of the wheel and the cart to get them interested in building a wagon and better wheels. To make decent wheels we were going to have to make the outer rims of iron. To make the rims we'd need to build a useable forge and to build a forge we had to make firebrick. No doubt about it, we were going to be working our way toward wagon wheels.

I already knew what humans used before they had wheels and these humans were using it, the travois. What I needed now was the logical next step, and I knew what that was too - a tame animal that could pull a travois. Buttercup was a good step but it would take much too long for him to grow into usefulness. I might as well concentrate on finding a way to catch some of the horses and start trying to train them. At least that was something I knew how to do and had done before. Meanwhile it was more of the industrial strength travois and moving the iron rocks the hard way.

Denac, the two helpers, and I went back to work and built two more. We made these wider and used much smaller cross pieces, to keep the rocks from falling through. By the time we were finished with them it was time to pack up what we had already and head back to camp.

Loading the travois didn't end up taking much effort; then again, we didn't get even half of the iron loaded. It seems they'd had much better luck as they spread out a few feet from the original hole the anvil had made after it stuck. My blacksmithing supplies were in very good shape, so far.

When we got to camp Caloe wondered what in the hell I'd been up to and I explained as best I could.

"If I heat these rocks very hot, and pound them with one of my hammers, I can make useful things from them. For instance, I can make knives like the one I have," I said.

She didn't need any further explanation about my knife, or the ones I'd given Katia and Shaeta. She helped me pick out a place to pile my new treasures and then we had the travois unloaded and stored in plenty of time to eat with everyone else.

Apparently Caloe had decided that I would have mentioned it if our guest hadn't been on their best behavior. When their food was delivered it was obvious that they'd received plenty. Even the women they'd held captive seemed to bear them no ill will, and I thought that was remarkable. This was also the first time since his injury that Zakat ate sitting up, with the rest of us. I hoped he was truly on his way to being well.

Denac and Jekaycey ate with Shaeta, Katia, and I. He did the explaining about the rock gathering expedition. Of course that wasn't good enough since it didn't include what the rocks could be used for, so I was next in line for a grilling.

"The rocks are a special type, since they were the main part of the falling star. I hope that I can use them to make knives, spear tips, and maybe even more of the needles. They are similar to what the needles are made of," I said.

This got the women excited. Katia and Shaeta had clued Jekaycey in on the needles right away, and it turns out she'd made a pair of gloves for herself and had then helped with the rope plaiting. It made me remember that Jagbac had been interested in a rope from the start.

"How are the thongs holding up, do you have enough for another rope?" I asked.

"Not now, unless it is a short one. There are more skins though, and we could cut more thongs easily. In fact, I think Jekaycey is much better at it than we are. Why, do you think you will need another one?" Shaeta asked.

"Jagbac was interested in one at first and I'm sure he still is," I said.

"Then there is no problem. Matita, his mate, is the best at cutting thongs in the whole camp, and besides, she watched what we were doing most of the day. We will tell her tomorrow that Jagbac wants a rope too," Katia said, and when Jekaycey and Shaeta nodded in agreement I knew the matter was settled.

The women took the bowls back to clean them up and put them away while Denac and I sat on our asses. I decided to see if he would take over the prospecting for tomorrow.

"Denac, do you think you and Chalti can handle our work crew without me tomorrow?" I asked.

"Look at them." he said, waving a hand toward where they were lying around looking stuffed, "The women of this Calak are very smart. Those wild ones have never eaten this good, probably not even at the Calak they were raised in. They will do nothing to get them sent away. Didn't you notice how hard they worked today, not only at the digging but when the two helped us build those travois?"

"They did seem to get right after it. If you and Chalti can keep them busy tomorrow I think I am going exploring," I said.

"Are you going alone?" he asked.

"Yes, but I must. I will be looking for a way to capture some of the cashda. I have already seen a small herd of them across the river behind us."

"I don't see how you can. They have a way of knowing anytime we get near, no matter how slowly we move and how quiet we are," he said.

"I know that, but they can't tell about me. I can know the same way they know. They can get your scent from very far away, the same way I had the scent of the vadeesey from so far. I also know they can't get my scent because I can't get theirs. I've been within a couple of hundred yards of the small herd across the river," I said.

"So you must go alone after all. I will make sure nothing goes wrong with the new workers while you do it, but I don't see how you can possibly capture any cashda alone," he said.

"I don't plan to capture them tomorrow. I will be scouting to find a way that you and the others can help me."

"I just don't understand then. If they can get our scent from so far away how could we possibly help?" he asked.

"You will help by letting them get your scent. I will try to find a place we can drive them into that has only one way in or out. Once we have them in it we can discover a way to capture them," I told him.

"I am glad you are doing it then. Just thinking about it is making my head hurt again," Denac said, and then bellowed out his laughter.

We parted then and I joined my mates in our hut. I was surprised to see that they had several candles burning and were sewing in their light.

"Will you work all night also, now that you have candles?" I asked, after I entered.

"No, but we can work for a while. You can entertain us with your plans while we do. We are making gloves for Matita, since we have these needles that make it so much easier," Katia said.

"I can't complain about that. I should have remembered that Jagbac wanted a lariat. He had asked me about one and I just forgot," I said.

"It does not matter, we will have the gloves ready tomorrow and Matita can try using them while cutting the thongs for his. We are done with yours, by the way. All we need to do now is treat it with some fresh brain and then it will be ready," Shaeta said.

"Why do you need to treat it?" I asked.

"We always treat anything made of rawhide if we intend for it to last very long. You will see. The lariat will be better after we have treated it. Of course you will need to kill something for the fresh brain we need," Katia said.

"I will probably do it tomorrow. I am going exploring," I said.