Portals of Infinity: Book Four: The Sea of Grass (5 page)

He smiled, "Greetings to you all, come in and join me for a meal, then we will discuss your role here in our village."

"Thank you," I said and gave a small bow, Henry and Steve doing the same and we followed him into his teepee. Rees joined us, but the other two left to go elsewhere.

The inside of the Teepee was interesting. The floor was covered with heavy rugs made from what I guess were plant fibers. There were beds made of furs that sat on finer rugs that were set a bit higher off the ground. I couldn't tell what they were set on however.

There was a small fire pit in the center, and the opening at the top of the teepee allowed light in and smoke to exit. I could see that the size of the opening appeared to be adjustable, so more or less light could be let in as necessary I guessed. Also it could probably be closed fully against the cold at night.

We were led to small table that half circled the fire pit, with Chief Rain Walker sitting at the middle, Steve and Henry being directed to one side by one of the women inside, Rees and myself being directed to the other.

We sat on very small stools made of hide, with three legs. The legs were arranged that the entire affair could be folded up rather small, which I found interesting as an engineer. Looking around I realized almost everything in the teepee was made to fold up or be broken down. For a people that traveled often, I could see why that would be necessary.

"I welcome you to our village and my tent," Chief Rain Walker said after we were all seated. This is my wife, Serene Rider, and my youngest daughter, Smoke Dancer."

We all gave small nods as Chief Rain Walker introduced us to his wife and daughter. Both were rather attractive, and both were dressed in the same manner as the chief, a loincloth and leather wrist bands, which appeared to have designs of some sort inscribed or painted on them. Serene Rider, his wife, was wearing a rather nice necklace that called attention to her other assets, and had her hair tied back with a dark blue silk ribbon.

Smoke Dancer, their daughter wasn't wearing a necklace, but was wearing two armbands and two leg bands, that had tassels hanging down from them. She also wore her hair loose and I had to admit she had away of moving that was quite interesting from the male perspective. When she smiled at us I had a suspicion that this was a young woman that broke a lot of hearts.

But what stood out about both women the most was their pelts, while the Chief and Rees were both a darker brown, which was the most common color among the Hilanders, Serene was a lighter tan, her daughter a little darker and they both had several darker bands on their faces and bodies, not unlike those of a tiger.

"My wife is from the Ulliet, a people far to the north of here," Chief Rain Walker said to me, I guess he had seen the puzzlement on my face.

"I must admit to not having seen markings like that before," I said looking back at him.

"Yes, quite attractive, aren't they?" He said and smiled at his wife who smiled back.

"As a happily married male I would say that while they are indeed attractive, those are pursuits for those still single," and I smiled at him while he and his wife laughed.

"The women here love nothing more than a challenge," Serene said smiling at me and I noticed their daughter was giving me the once over as she started to serve us the meal they had prepared.

I shrugged and gave a flick of my tail in obvious unconcern. "That's their problem." I nodded to the other beds that were in the teepee. "Do you have other family?"

The chief nodded and motioned to Rees, "My eldest son, Recently Hunted. My other son and daughter are out hunting today."

"So what were Seb and Tom short for?" Henry piped up from his end of the table.

"Tomahawk, because he can throw one better than anyone in the village, and started when he was just a young boy," Rees said from where he was seated at the other end of the table, "and Sebastian."

"Sebastian?" Henry said surprised. I was curious myself as all of the names we had heard so far seemed to be for a skill, or action, that I assumed you were known for.

Chief Rain Walker nodded, "His father came to the People from a land far away and across the great water. He named his son for his grandfather, a man that he tells us was much admired for his skill at arms. A name which Seb has worked very hard to be worthy of."

"Truly," Rees said, "Seb will probably be the tribe's next war leader. Possibly that of the entire Clan."

I nodded, "And I take it that you are also an accomplished warrior?" I asked Rees.

"Why would you ask that?" He said looking at me with a curious smile.

"Well, I know if I was going to investigate strangers out on the sea of grass I would surely send three of my best fighters."

"We do get slavers who come out here on occasion," Rees said nodding. "A few have tried to use trickery to take on the lone adult or child. So we check all who we see."

"A wise policy," Steve said looking up from his food, "the followers of the Barassan's god like nothing more than to enslave all those that they can. It is their religion and their strongest held belief. It is why Feliogustus and his followers oppose them so strongly. To deprive another of finding their own path through life is the greatest sin that there can be!"

I sat back and blinked surprised. That was the most impassioned thing I'd heard from him since I'd drafted him a week ago.

Both the chief and his son slapped the table and the women gave a stomp of their feet and they all nodded in agreement.

"The practices of the Barassans and their evil god affect us all," Serene Rider said.

"Yes, they have been a plague on the People for many years," Chief Rain Walker agreed. "Feliogustus's opposition to them and his champion's destruction of the Mulanders who sided with them are why we have welcomed his priests into our villages. The People are free! And all who oppose that freedom have no place here."

Rees again slapped the table and both of the women stomped their foot in agreement.

I smiled and looked at Steve and Henry who slapped the table in agreement and nodded their heads. I wondered if Fel had sent his priests out here for just this very reason. Then again, nothing made a person more anti-slavery than to be among those who had once been preyed upon to be slaves.

I had a feeling I was going to like the Mowoks, and not just because of their lovely women.

Four

Glisan Tribe - Sea of Grass

A month had gone by and Henry and Steve had both settled in well, and were both still alive thankfully. They had a teepee, one that they had traded for, and had gotten one of the local craftsmen to engrave Fel's sign onto it.

Neither one of them wasted any time in ministering to Fel's followers and working to convert those who hadn't already done so. My presence apparently was rather helpful in that duty, as the chief's words about my leading the fight against the Mulanders had made clear when we had first shown up.

The women of the Mowoks had turned out to be a lot more interesting and complicated than I had suspected, but then so had their culture. What surprised me most was that while a male might kill you if he caught you in his bed with his woman, if he didn't catch you, he'd hold no ill will against you. The women were the ones who chose the fathers of their offspring, and it was not uncommon for them to choose a male other than their husband from time to time.

I discovered this when I had met Rees' brother, and noticed he didn't look very much like him.

"Oh, we have different fathers," Rees told me and his brother had nodded.

"Wait, what?" I asked.

"Mother took a fancy to one of the warriors from another tribe." Rees told me and shrugged.

"What did your father have to say about that?"

"Oh father knew him, and admired his skill at fighting for the People, so he didn't complain."

"Not that it would have mattered if he did," Rees brother Hans had laughed.

"Why not?" I asked curious.

"It is the woman's decision as to who fathers her babies," Rees told me. "Rain is our father, because he raised us, but Striker is Hans's sire. Some men will get upset if they catch another man in bed with their woman, but that's more because sleeping in another man's bed without his permission is considered quite the insult."

I thought about that. It was different from what I was used to, but I was hardly one to be judging other people's social mores.

"So, how do you get along with your sire?" I asked Hans.

"He died in battle when I was still a young child," Hans said.

"Sorry to hear that."

"He died protecting the People, which is why Father is proud to have me as his son, because my sire was not afraid to sacrifice his life when the time came."

"Yes, father is very proud," Rees said and nodded. "Striker was a good friend of his."

I filed that away to consider later. Especially as their sister was now chasing me rather earnestly. Of course she wasn't the only one, and my perceived lack of interest had made it into something of a game for all of them. Truthfully I
was
interested, but I didn't want to do anything that would cause problems for Fel's priests.

Also I was still giving some thought to my own behavior these days. It was starting to occur to me that I would probably live a very long time, and this left me feeling a bit conflicted at times. I wanted to make a lot of good memories with Rachel and Darlene, and I wasn't sure I wanted to ruin those by too much dallying with other females.

Of course those parts of me south of the border were more than willing to entertain ideas about every female to express an interest, and neither Rachel nor Darlene really seemed to care about any straying I might do. Just as long as I always came back to them.

"Deep thoughts?" Henry asked me as I considered what I had learned.

"Just a bit surprised at all the interest I'm getting," I sighed.

He shrugged, "If it were me, I'd be enjoying it while it lasts. Most guys would say you're pretty lucky."

I shook my head, "I know, right?" I smiled, "So what's with this party tonight?"

"Oh," he said smiling. "A large hunting party from one of the other tribes has come to visit. From what I've heard, this is more of a match-making expedition, this is how young men and women from other tribes meet and marry."

I nodded, it made sense.

"So there will be stories, dancing, food, and drink." Rees said.

"And smoking," I warned Henry. "Watch out for that. I hear that they have some pretty potent stuff."

Henry laughed, "I've tried it a few times already. I wanted to get an idea of how it affects people."

"And?" I asked.

"It's different than drinking, can't say I care for it much."

"And you, Steve?" I asked turning to look at where Steve was repairing some piece of his vestments.

"Not interested. Too much like drinking." He grumbled without looking up.

"Have you ever had a drink?" I asked, "Not complaining mind you, just curious."

"Once. Tried it, didn't like it."

"Okay, just remember, no making friends with wild animals or ending up in bed with married women."

Henry, Rees, and Hans laughed, and Steve just grumbled.

The party was actually quite the affair. It started off with contests of skill, and some of those were pretty impressive. Tom really was amazing with tomahawks, and proved it by riding his wolat around a rather twisting course while hitting targets tossed into the air with them.

There were archery competitions, several wrestling matches, and quite a few games that revolved around both spear throwing and spearing targets on the ground, all while riding wolats of course. Those competing weren't solely the males either; a lot of the women also hunted, and were pretty skilled at using spears and tomahawks as well.

I watched the byplay between the locals and the visitors of the opposite sex as all this went on. It was pretty interesting, and sometimes downright funny.

Rees was staked out early on by one of the females from the visiting group, and the older of his two sisters seemed to take affront to the attempts of the woman that had her sights set on him. For the entire evening she kept having her ploys foiled by Sist, Rees's older sister, and he appeared to be none the wiser for it.

Or at least I thought so until I saw him walking away from her latest attempt and he gave me a wink.

After the competitions and the demonstrations, we all sat down outside under the setting sun and ate. The food was wonderful, apparently the art of barbeque had been discovered here on Saladin by the Mowoks, and they were pretty damned good at it.

Once the food had been cleared away the drinks and the miasha, which I guess was their version of marijuana, came out and as the children were put to bed the adults started to partake.

I watched as the area around the fire was cleared and an assortment of drums came out and they all started to play and sing. As they sang several men and women stood up and started to dance. I watched them as they swayed, stomped, and twisted to the music and the beat. I was impressed, they really were rather good.

After a while they all started to gravitate towards particular individuals, and that was when I noticed the hapless female that had been trying to win Rees's attention was dancing before him, and he was paying her rapt attention. When he reached up and grabbed her hand she smiled and looked like she's just won the lottery.

Then again, maybe she had, I thought to myself as he got up and they headed off into the darkness together.

Looking around I noticed all of the dancers had paired off, and some had left, while others were being a little less private.

The beat of the music changed then, becoming slower, and a bit deeper. Looking up I saw several new dancers had started, and one of them was Rees' sister, Smoke Dancer.

The other dancers had obviously been the warm up act, and these were the true masters. Serene Rider was dancing as well, but I don't think she got more than six feet from her husband, but Smoke came over and danced for me, her eyes never leaving me.

I was beyond impressed with her dance, her movements were languid and flowing, the tassel like fringes that hung from the bands on her arms and legs added to the motions of her body and she really did seem to drift and turn like the smoke from the fire.

Somebody passed me a pipe and I took a puff and passed it on, keeping my eyes on the motions of her body, her hands, and her legs. She was amazing, I wondered just how long it had taken her to learn to dance like that, and she was focusing it all on me. I looked up into her eyes and she was smiling. I smiled back and taking her hand I pulled her down into my lap.

"I'm not looking for another wife," I told her and kissed her.

"Don't give yourself airs," She giggled back, "you're cute, but you're not that cute!"

I shook my head and laughed. "Well, will you at least protect me from the other women?"

"And ruin their fun?" She laughed, a rather delightful sound. "I thought you were supposed to be a big fierce warrior?"

"Well, I think it's fair to say you've beat me in this battle," I purred.

"Good now, let's go someplace private so I can savor my victory."

"Well, I can't say as I blame you this time, Will, she really is a lovely female."

I was sitting in Fel's bar, across from him as usual. I sighed and shook my head. "Let me guess, you were a paragon of virtue as a champion?" I said a little sarcastically.

Fel laughed, "Hardly. I wouldn't be surprised if they still tell stories about some of my bawdier exploits back in Hillshire. But you're the first I've ever know who actually feels guilty about it."

I shrugged, "Yeah, but it hasn't stopped me much, has it?"

Fel chuckled, "Don't beat yourself up over it too much. The race here is based off of felines after all, so the tendency for males to occasionally stray isn't all that shocking. Come to think of it, I do believe the same holds true for a certain world I've heard of that the main race is based off of monkeys."

"Point taken. So what's up? I'm sure you didn't invite me in just to tease me about the fem gracing my bed tonight."

"No, that was just an added bonus," Fel joked. "The real reason is I want you to take one of the priests out and visit a few of the other tribes. In another month I'm going to have Narasamman send out four more priests. They'll join up with Steve and Henry here, spend a few weeks getting acclimated to life among the Mowoks, then I'll have each of them sent out to one of the tribes I want you to visit over the next few weeks."

I nodded, "Just tell Narasamman not to pick them like she picked those last two."

"Don't worry, she's been impressed by the success of your two picks, and when I told her of Steve's little outburst on slavery and the response it garnered, she came up with four priests who feel as strongly as Steve does, and are a bit more of the 'rough and tumble' type."

"That's good. But why only four more? There must be dozens of tribes out here on the plains."

"Twenty three to be exact, but they're only a few months away from their fall migration, which would make it difficult. Plus most of the tribes aren't quite ready for me yet."

I nodded and thought about it. "What about when they're in the winter ranges?"

Fel smiled, "Which is why I'm sending four now. It will be a lot easier for the six of them to move about visiting the other tribes when they're all living much closer in their winter camps."

"And when do I get to go home?"

"After they're all settled in after the migration."

"I should have set up some sort of messenger service with Rachel before I left, I would love to know what her plans are right now for dealing with Barassa, and discuss our next steps there."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that," Fel said.

"Oh? Why?"

"Because she's going to send one with the soldiers that Narasamman asked her to provide as an escort for the new priests."

I could feel someone tugging at me.

"Looks like somebody wants you," Fel laughed and I woke up. Sure enough Smoke wanted my attentions again.