Building harem town, p.11
Building Harem Town, page 11
“Yes, it’s not like the city where you can just buy a rope,” Penelope mused, and then she pursed her lips. “Not that I ever had any money, but it’s been a while since I’ve even seen a shop.”
“How far away was the closest camp you saw when you were coming to the convent?” I asked the priestesses.
“Maybe ten miles?” Aleia guessed. “Although, we haven’t been down the road in the other direction yet. We stopped here when Penelope said it was the right place, so maybe there’s still more to the area we don’t know about yet.”
“Okay, that’s cool,” I responded, and the fairy started to giggle.
“Jack, I don’t know what you mean by that, since the weather is so warm.” Aleia seemed particularly amused by the way I spoke, and I thought it was pretty cute.
“It means, like, awesome,” I told the strawberry-blonde. “You should try learning some of my new words sometime.”
“Yes, that would be… cool,” Penelope chimed in, and all the women started to laugh.
“Well, I’m ready to make cordage,” Aleia said in a slightly more serious tone. “As you can see, I have the fibers, so if the two of you want to sit down next to me, I’ll show you how to do it.”
“I made cordage as a child,” Nicola sighed, “but I fear I’ve lost the skill.”
“It’s so easy when you have the right materials, and I know you can do it,” the fairy encouraged her. “Here, take some of these fern strips, and we can begin.”
All three women sat in a circle, and Aleia started to twist the pliable fibers together into what appeared to be a thin but sturdy rope. Then she handed each of the other two priestesses some materials of their own, and she held her own rope up into the air so they could see it.
“Tell me exactly what you’re doing, sister,” Penelope said as she looked at the fibers in her hand. “You don’t appear to be braiding the strands together…”
“No, I’m twisting them,” the fairy explained. “I’m twisting the piece in my right hand in one direction, and then I’m circling it around the other strand in the other direction. And then, before you know it, you’ll have a nice piece of cordage.”
“I think I remember now,” Nicola said as she began to twirl the fibers together, and she immediately appeared to be doing it correctly.
Penelope observed Aleia’s hands carefully for a few moments, and then the naiad started on her own length of rope. Before I knew it, she’d completed several inches of the cordage, and I was impressed by her ability to pick up on new things.
The women sat in silence for several minutes as they worked, and soon the priestesses had crafted several feet of string, which was more than long enough for Nicola to use for her bow.
“I really enjoy this,” Penelope said with a smile, and she leaned her face back to catch the sun for a moment before she continued to create more rope.
“I have to say I do feel very relaxed,” Nicola admitted. “But I would like to get started crafting my bow, of course. The first thing I’d like to do is to begin working on the wood with our new chisel.”
“Yes, Nicola.” The naiad nodded at the brunette. “You should do what you like, sister. Personally, I would like to have a more relaxing day, although I’ll still complete my work.”
“When you’re ready to make the sling, Aleia, you should call Nicola back over,” I suggested. “I would like for all of you to learn as many skills as possible.”
“That sounds sensible, my lord,” the fairy agreed. “It won’t take long for me to have enough cordage, but I’d love to keep weaving for a while. Like my sisters said, I find this very relaxing.”
“Well, it can never hurt to have more rope around a camp,” I told the strawberry-blonde. “And I agree, a calmer day would be nice, especially after the bear attack.”
Aleia nodded in agreement, and then she focused again on her work.
“I’m going to work on the wood now,” Nicola announced. “Next time there’s a bear attack, I’m going to shoot the beast in the eye with an arrow. I have good enough aim to do that, you know.”
The dark-haired beauty smiled mischievously, but I knew she wasn’t kidding.
“Okay, Nicola,” I responded. “Let’s get you started on that eye shooting. How much do you know about making a bow and arrows, anyway?”
“It’s been many years since I’ve seen it done,” the human woman confessed. “But I can recall the way my father used to split the wood and then shape it into its correct form. I know the first thing is to ensure the wood is straight, and then it can be chiseled down until it’s tapered at the tips and has a handle in the middle.”
“That sounds exactly right to me,” I confirmed. “You’re going to need a hammer, so if you could find a sturdy piece of wood from the apple tree, that would probably work well.”
“I will do it.” The brunette took the axe over to the tree in the corner of the garden, and it only took a couple of minutes for her to obtain the piece of wood she was looking for. Then she walked back over to her original spot, grabbed the largest sapling the women had collected in the forest, and brought it over next to where the other two priestesses were still making rope.
The wood for the bow was almost as tall as Nicola, but it still seemed easy for her to hammer the chisel into the center of the slim log and split it down the middle. Once the brunette had two pieces of wood, she examined them both to see which one was straighter.
It seemed Nicola had gotten lucky because neither side of the sapling was particularly twisted, and she selected the piece that was slightly straighter and put the other one to the side. The brunette kept turning the stave around and chiseling off pieces of wood, and once the long stick was as straight as possible, she paused for a moment, brushed her long, dark hair out of her face, and sat down.
“Are you doing okay, Nicola?” I asked the dark-haired woman. “Your work so far looks perfect to me.”
“Yes, I think I need to taper the ends next,” the brunette said as she looked at the piece of wood.
“Yes, that’s definitely what you should do,” I told the human. “If you use the chisel to make the ends narrower, you can then shape the width of the handle in the center to what feels comfortable in your hand.”
“Because it’s going to be just mine,” Nicola responded with twinkling eyes. “I’ve never had much that belongs just to me before, but the idea is very exciting. Thank you for encouraging me, Jack.”
“Hey, no problem,” I said. “You deserve to have a weapon that belongs just to you, and it looks like you’re going to make it really well.”
“That means a lot,” Nicola murmured as her golden cheeks grew pink at the compliment. “I do like you at least a little bit, you know.”
“I know you do,” I laughed. “I told you a while back I wanted to be your friend, and I meant it, no matter how weird you thought it was for me to say.”
“I know I haven’t called you my lord yet,” the brunette responded as she continued to chisel away at the stave, “and maybe there’s a reason I haven’t shared with you. When I was still at home with my father’s wife, she was very devout. She worshipped a different god than you, but she worshipped him fiercely. And yet, she was still incredibly cruel to me, and Penelope has told a similar story about the nuns at the orphanage where she was raised. I do not believe it is enough for one to be devout if they are still going to treat people poorly, so I suppose religion in itself doesn’t have the same appeal to me that it seems to for many others. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“It sounds to me like you’re talking about hypocrisy,” I told Nicola. “And I agree, that can be a problem. But I can tell you’re a good person, whether or not you ever decide to worship me. I know you would never idolize me blindly, and that’s okay.”
“Yes, I believe we are speaking about the same thing,” the brunette mused in a thoughtful tone. “I would never speak ill of Penelope, as she is my sister and my true friend, but I didn’t have the same vision she did. She convinced me to come along with her based on something she first saw in a dream, and I suppose I’d like to see some evidence. While you seem very kind, Jack, I’m not even sure what you expect of us. Tell me, what are the rules I must follow if I wish to be a devout member of your faith?”
“Um, well, hmm.” That was a good question, and it was definitely fair for Nicola to ask me that. It seemed like a god should be able to answer her, so I tried to think fast. “Uh, be kind to other people and work hard? Don’t lie? Um, don’t steal?”
While I certainly believed in all those principles, I realized I didn’t sound very convincing.
“So, there are no rituals you expect your followers to perform?” the dark-haired woman asked as she narrowed her eyes with doubt. She seemed to be done chipping away at the wood and was ready to move on to the next step, but she’d stopped working while we talked. “I don’t know, Jack. It almost seems too easy. Most religions are more… complicated than that, and most gods ask much more from their followers than this. You will forgive my confusion.”
“I guess I’m not that complex,” I responded. “I already appreciate everything you do, so don’t even worry about it.”
“I don’t know,” Nicola sighed. “Anyway, I’m sure you don’t really appreciate my bad moods, and me bothering you with questions all the time, so I apologize. In any case, I should complete my work, right? Be nice and work hard, like you said…”
The dark-haired beauty shook her head like she didn’t really believe what I’d told her, and then she cut notches at each end of the stave for the string. It seemed like she really knew what she was doing, so I just watched her work for a few minutes.
When she was done chiseling for the moment, the brunette sat back and smiled at her work.
“Looks great,” I praised. “It looks like you’re making the bow with no problem.”
“Thank you, Jack.” The brunette looked down at the ground, and it seemed like she was more closed-off to me again. “I suppose I remember more than I thought from my childhood.”
I wasn’t sure what made the human run so hot and cold, but I was more determined than ever to win her over. Being worshipped by her was one thing, but I hadn’t been lying when I’d said I wanted to be friends with her.
I wasn’t sure what being friends meant for a god, though, since I was really just a voice inside her head. I thought about what I would have done back home if a voice inside my head had started speaking to me, and I would have probably called a psychiatrist pretty quickly.
Man, my life had gotten really fucking strange.
“So, do you need some cordage now?” I asked Nicola. “It looks like you’re almost done.”
“Yes, it’s time for the bowstring,” the brunette said with a nod.
“Cordage?” Aleia asked when she heard Nicola speaking. “That is one thing we have plenty of. Look!”
I saw Penelope and Aleia had managed to make quite a few feet of rope, and the fairy had a proud expression on her face as she looked down at their creation.
“Aleia, I need about… four feet of string?” the brunette estimated. “This is going to be the difficult part…”
“Do you have your dagger?” the fairy asked Nicola. “If you give it to me, I’ll cut you off a length.”
The brunette handed the tool over, and Aleia used it to slice through the cordage before she handed a piece to the other woman.
“So, I need to be strong to do this,” Nicola muttered as she stood up and tied a loop in one end of the rope. “I need to be able to bend the stave correctly, which is difficult.”
“Would you like me to do it?” Aleia asked.
“No, thank you,” the human woman said. “It is my bow, so I want to do this step. I just need to find the correct leverage. I’ve never done it before.”
“Use your knee,” I suggested.
I watched as the dark-haired beauty slid the loop she’d made over one end of the stave, curved the bow over her knee, and then quickly tied two half hitches to the other end while the wood was still bent. She pushed the loop into the nocks she’d created, and then a big smile spread across her lips.
Damn, she’d actually done it.
“Look, Jack, I strung the bow!” Nicola gasped, and her dark eyes glinted with pride. “Now, I can make the arrows, and then I can shoot something!”
“I can’t wait,” I told her. “When you’re happy, I’m happy.”
“That’s nice of you,” the dark-haired woman murmured, and she looked over at the altar. “I wish I could actually see you. What do you look like, anyway?”
“Would you believe I’m just a regular dude?” I laughed. “Not too short, not too tall, not too anything, really…”
“A dude?” the brunette repeated as she wrinkled up her face. “I don’t know what that is, but I suppose I get the picture. Why would a god be so ordinary?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I honestly don’t. Anyway, do you want to watch Aleia make the string now before you craft some arrows?”
“I want to do the arrows now,” Nicola sighed. “I can’t wait any longer.”
I looked over at what Penelope and Aleia were doing, and for once they were just lounging around in the sun. I knew they needed a break, but I thought it might help if they learned how to make arrows so they could help Nicola.
“Penelope, Aleia, look over here,” I instructed the naiad and the fairy. “We’re going to make some arrows, and then, Aleia, you can show everyone how to make a sling.”
“What’s the first thing you want to hunt with your arrows, Nicola?” the strawberry-blonde asked as she turned herself around to watch the dark-haired priestess.
“Whatever I see,” the human woman laughed. “No animal in the forest is safe.”
The women all chuckled, and then Penelope and Aleia watched as Nicola cut the thinnest saplings to about two feet long and stripped the bark off the wood using the edge of the chisel. When she was done with that task, the dark-haired woman passed out a piece of slim wood to the other two priestesses, but then she hesitated for a moment.
“Is everything alright, Nicola?” I questioned.
“Yes, well, I want to teach everyone how to make these, but I’m trying to think about how best to shape the wood,” the brunette replied with a furrowed brow.
“Well, they need to be narrower at one end than the other with a nock for the string at the tapered end,” I explained. “Think about the way you tapered the wood for the bow, and then do the same thing on each thin piece of wood.”
“Of course,” Nicola said with a nod. “I just got worried for a moment I was going to do it wrong, though I’m not sure why.”
“It’s probably because it’s so important to you,” Penelope suggested. “And I’m sure it doesn’t help that we’re watching, but we’re your sisters, and we would never judge you for making a mistake. And of course, neither would our heavenly master.”
“I don’t think you’re going to make a mistake, Nicola,” I assured her. “The bow was definitely the harder part.”
“I suppose I don’t remember how to make arrows quite as well,” the dark-haired woman confessed.
“And that’s okay,” I told her. “We all believe in you.”
“I believe in myself, too,” Nicola declared, and it seemed she had her confidence back. She started to taper the wood, and it appeared she was doing it perfectly. She carved a nock into the end of the shaft, and then she smiled broadly. “I was worried for no reason. Penelope, Aleia, you try this step, and then we can move on to the feathers. And we’ll sharpen the arrows in the fire like we did the spears, correct, Jack?”
“Yep, just the same way,” I confirmed. “That’s the plan.”
Nicola first passed the chisel to Aleia, who was able to complete the tapering process quite easily. Penelope went next, and it took her a little longer, but she did it perfectly as well.
Given her high Intelligence attribute, I wasn’t surprised Penelope was learning quickly.
“I’m learning so much,” the naiad said with wide eyes. “I didn’t know I’d be able to use my hands so well.”
“Yeah, you’re doing great,” I told the blue woman. “You all are. Just keep going because I’m sure you’d like at least six arrows, right, Nicola?”
“Six would be wonderful, so that means we should each make two.” The dark-haired woman nodded, and then she turned to the other priestesses. “Okay, sisters, let’s do that one more time, and then we can fashion the feathers.”
The women repeated the previous process with three more saplings, and then they looked down with satisfied smiles.
“‘You’re almost done,” I encouraged them. “The feathers shouldn’t be difficult at all. Nicola, do you still have the pine resin you’ll need to attach them?”
“Yes, it’s right on this rock over here,” the brunette confirmed. “And here are some feathers I plucked from the pheasant. But Jack, can you tell me the best way to do this?”
“Of course,” I responded. “Give a feather to Penelope and Aleia, and then I’ll teach all of you.”
“That sounds good,” Nicola said as she passed out a feather to both of the other women, and then she awaited further instructions from me.
“So, just split them down the middle first,” I told the three priestesses. “And then, Nicola, you can cut them to the right size. You’ll want to split each one into three parts, and then you can strip the vanes off the end of the quill.”
“Yes, I can do that,” Nicola said, and she demonstrated to Penelope and Aleia how to complete the task.
“You’re so skilled, Nicola,” the naiad marveled. “I’m so proud of you, sister.”
“Don’t be proud of me yet,” the dark-haired human laughed. “We need to make sure they actually fly first!”
The pale-blue woman and the fairy repeated what Nicola had shown them, and the two women giggled when they compared their arrows and realized they’d each done a good job.
