Amity 5 CataclysmChapter 27 Prophecy
- 4 years ago
- 28
- 0
Once we were packed, we headed down the passageway.
The man-made features lasted longer in this tunnel. Initially, it was rectangular. After about 20m, it changed abruptly. When I investigated, I pointed out to Mica that I believed it had once ended with a spelled door. When we had flashed our lights down this tunnel, it had appeared as a dead end.
It was only as we got to the end did we realise it joined a cross passageway. The new path had a lower more rounded roof and was narrower. We marked the passages, East, West and Home. I put a light on the back wall to make the intersection stand out better.
“Which way, my Lady?” I asked Mica with a little bow.
“East,” she decided. So we turned east. I had a habit of placing a lamp about every thirty or so steps unless we hit an impasse or change in direction. We both noticed that this passage had a northern twist in it and it was going down.
I placed the lamps on the outer wall as soon as the last one wasn’t visible. “That’s twenty,” I said to Mica sometime later.
She looked back and then at me with a frown. “It’s an odd tunnel. It’s very deceptive in just how far we have come and how deep.”
“Yes. Have you noticed it had switched back more easterly about three lamps back?” I replied.
“I did,” she answered.
We had placed four more lights before we came to a dead end in a small 4m square by the 3m high chamber. I marked the entrance and put a lamp just inside it and one on the chamber wall on the other side. With it and our headlamps, we could see quite well.
“Okay mister mage, find the door,” Mica said grinning at me. She pulled a water bottle from her pack and leant back against the wall not far from where we entered, to watch me.
I trailed my fingers along the wall as I walked around the room. I got back to Mica and trailed my hand up to her body. She stiffened a little but didn’t move. I grinned lecherously and her and slipped my hand just behind her. I leant in as if I was going to kiss her and her eyes widened but she didn’t move.
I could smell her excitement. It and the pulse in my groin damn near reefed my ability to concentrate out of my head. I grabbed her just as I broke the spell. As she felt herself falling backwards, she reached for me and pulled me through the doorway as she stepped back and tried to gain her balance.
We hit the back of the new passage, and I was plastered against her with her holding me tightly. She looked up at me, and I did kiss her. I softly pressed my lips to hers and gently sucked on them. I have no idea how long we stood in that embrace with my hard cock pressed against her, as we explored each other’s mouths.
Her wiggling against my cock and my groan brought me back to my senses. “Bad girl,” I mumbled and released her. I stepped back and turned to the doorway we had entered.
“Shit,” I said. I placed my hands where it should be and felt around for a hot spot as I had done the first time. I went up, and I went down. I went 2m to either side. I stopped in front of where I believed the door was and placed both hands on the wall I saw.
Closing my eyes, I concentrated. After several minutes, I swore again and turned to Mica, “It had a trap spell on it, and I triggered it. I can’t seem to unravel the new spells. They seem to keep reinventing themselves as fast I try to break them. We many need to find another way out of here.”
I moved down the wall several metres and investigated the material the wall was made from. I frowned again, “Mica, the spell affects the whole wall. I can’t break through it either.”
“So we will have to find a wall that isn’t spelled or some other exit,” she replied.
She didn’t seem perturbed. I guess she trusted me to find a way out of here. I placed a lamp either side of where the door was hidden. The passage to the left of the door was short and a dead end. The passage to the right was also short, but it ended at another intersection. We went that way.
I marked the intersection and noted it was set up like the last, but the long passage went further. When we reached the end, it was blocked by an invisible door. This time I took longer looking at the spell. It didn’t appear to be a trap.
It was a very simple spell and more like the spells I’d found on doors in Horn City when I went to find the androids. The door opened, and we found ourselves in a cavernous room. “Wow, a Transportation Ring room,” I said. “This one is much larger than the one at home.”
The room was a 50m dome. The ceiling was smothered in crystals down to about 2m from the floor. In the centre was a round, raised dais. It had one step and then embedded in the top platform was a dark metal ring. It was 15cm wide and had an internal diameter of 3m. Another metre of tiles was placed outside the ring.
10m from the dais were six curved pits that were a metre wide with 50cm high bung walls. Each pit was evenly spaced with a gap as wide as the pit between them. Three other doorways gave access to this room. The room was very warm and had a sulphurous smell, but it wasn’t overpowering.
“Can we get out of here using this transportation ring thing?” Mica asked.
“I’ve never tried to use one. The problem is if we did get it to work, we could end up anywhere. Rose said magicians used them to get from one continent to another. If we used it, the others wouldn’t know where we went, and then we would have to find our way back here the hard way.”
“That’s a shame; we will have to look for another way out then. We have two days to find one before we are missed,” Mica pointed out.
“Wait,” I said. I riffled in my bag and pulled out my organiser. I called Rose. I was delighted that she could pick up. “Rose, I’ve found a ring room,” I said excitedly.
“That could explain why that wall is heated if it has active lava pits,” she replied.
I checked, “Yes they are active, Rose. You should see the crystals in here, they are massive formations. I was getting worried by my stock dwindling, so now I will be able to collect some new ones. The only problem is that I triggered a locking spell on a door and Mica and I will have to find a new way out.”
“That’s fine Bron. I’m sure you will. Most of those rooms have several entrances. I’ll let the others know. How much food did you take in with you?” Rose asked me.
“I restocked my satchel this morning. I probably have enough to feed us for four or five days easy. Since I’ve got all of these crystals to use I won’t eat as much,” I replied.
“If the crystals and spells in that area are working, find the kitchen. They always used to leave them very well stocked. Take your time Bron. We are in no hurry. We still have two weeks before we should head back,” Rose reassured me.
“I’ll call you later, Rose,” I said and signed off. I felt more relieved knowing that I could contact Rose. I looked up when Mica called out, “Over here Bron. You have got to see this.”
I followed her, and I walked into what I guessed was the Lord’s Retreat. “Bloody hell!” I exclaimed in wonderment. It was very opulent. Soft, green toned silks lined the walls. Large chandeliers hung down from the 4m high ceilings lighting up the area.
Dwarf inner walls and a couple of full ones divided the space into several rooms. To my right was a spacious seating area large enough for a dozen people. Comfortable looking couches and small tables were spread around the room. A huge fireplace was placed in the full wall I faced.
When I walked passed it, a dwarf wall partitioned off a huge bed. The other side of the fireplace opened into this room too. I could see that cupboards lined the other wall and a doorway was on the back wall that the huge bed sat up against.
This door led to a big bathing room with a 4m square tub towards one end. Two flushers and two shower heads were on the other wall, and several racks held large soft cloths to use as towels. Several seats were placed so you could sit to remove your boots.
Thick plush rugs covered the floors in all of the rooms bar the kitchen and bathing room, which had low pile mats. The walls that weren’t silk covered had smooth pastel coloured coverings that helped brighten the rooms.
Opposite the bedroom was a dining table for twelve. A row of lavishly designed cupboards lined the wall displaying ornate crockery and silverware to use on the table. The chairs were high backed and covered in intricate scroll work with soft cushions on the seats.
The Kitchen had devices in it, but I had no idea what many of them were used for. There was a lot of working space with a central island that had a built-in butcher’s block. A double sink and several types of food heating devices were on the side benches or built in the cupboards that were as high as 2m from the floor.
The cold food storage room was humongous. It held enough meat, fish, fruits, vegetables and dairy products to feed us for a year and possibly longer. The dry storage room was twice as big. Shelves held sacks of flour, meal and grains. I’m not even sure I knew what plant some of the grains we found had come from.
Sliding drawers held different sorts of root vegetables and herbs. Jars held pickles, fruits, jams, candies and a lot of condiments. Other drawers were filled with packets designed to seal dried fruits and vegetables. Still, others held bread and rolls that were as fresh as the day they were baked.
Mica stood beside me and said in wonderment, “What is this place?”
“A Lord’s Retreat. I guess he used it as a lovers’ nest,” I replied.
“Did you trap me in her deliberately?” she asked. She sounded sad rather than angry.
“No, I had no more idea than you that this place was even here. Mica, nothing will happen that you don’t want to,” I tried to reassure her.
She sighed and looked at me resignedly, “It will happen.”
“Why? I can control myself you know,” I said peeved that she didn’t trust me.
She shook her head, “You may try, but unless you find me a room I can lock myself in, it will happen.”
“Oh crap!” I said as my brain caught up with my nose. I walked out of the storeroom and into the seating area. I flicked my fingers at the fireplace, and it roared into life. I plopped down onto the plush lounge to sulk.
Mica sat in front of me on a low table. “Why are you pissed off? You told me I’d be your wife?” she said crankily.
“I will not take you by force,” I said mulishly.
“I’ll probably not stop you know,” she said. I guessed by her look that she wasn’t sure if I wanted to be here with her or not and it confused her. She knew I desired her but the fact I’d not touched her until I kissed her half an hour before, made her uncertain of my intentions.
I sighed. “Mica, I have loved every minute of the time we have spent together since I’ve known you. The number of times I have wished to kiss you and make love to you I’ve lost count of. I find you funny and charming, and your intelligence and compassion astound me.”
“But, I will not force myself on you. Never, I can’t Mica, I just can’t,” I told her. I then told her about my grandfather, Sable and Honey. Somewhere in the explanations, I had ended up in her arms, and she was hugging me and petting me. I wasn’t even aware I was crying until I rubbed my face against the wet patch on her coat that covered her lovely udders.
I pulled back from her and looked into her eyes. Her compassion damn near overrode my good senses. “Mica, I didn’t tell you so that you would feel better about having me here with you while you were in season. I told you so you’d understand I can’t take you if you are not sure in your heart that you wish to be mine.”
“I know this is a different situation in that I do love you. But I won’t do to you what Honey did to me. I know she had strong feelings, but she didn’t really love me. She did want me, but she wasn’t able to give herself to me in love.”
“And you don’t think I love you,” Mica said.
“I’m not sure Mica. Sometimes I think you do, but other times I feel a barrier. It’s why I haven’t pushed you. Why I tried to be your friend first as you seemed to need this from me,” I told her.
“You are a very complex young man, Bron Horn,” Mica replied.
“You not without your complexities, Mica. I think it’s one of the things that I love about you the most. All my spouses have something that is unique about them. I can’t even describe what it is or why it attracts me. It is just them.”
“Greta is my dame. She will always hold a very special place in my heart and not just because she found Sable for me. If you get to meet her, you will find you can’t help but love her. She doesn’t bully or ride over Bea and Cora. She loves them as deeply as I do.”
“Cora has a soft nature and is a nurturer. Getting a hug from Cora just makes your day. Bea is fiercely independent and loyal. She is tough on the outside but jelly on the inside. If you were to hurt Greta or the calves, you don’t want Bea or Cora on your arse, as they will rip you shreds.”
“Greta can be just as damn scary if you get on her bad side and mistreat anyone she believes is under her or my care. Trixi is a master at wheedling just about anything out of you. She listens and doesn’t judge. She gives very sound advice.”
“She also has this knack of just sitting with you and saying nothing but also says everything you need to hear. Sable has loved having her with us, and I have no complaints either. She is a lovely and loving person.”
“You already know that Trixi had no qualms about accepting you in our family and neither does Sable. They are both excellent judges of character. They can see in you what I do. You have a loving and generous nature. You are loyal and protective, what’s not to love.”
She sat quietly beside for a minute and then she said unexpectedly, “I did love Mick you know. I thought he was my father. I tried and tried to do what he asked of me. I even hated my mother. I discovered that she loved my grandfather and not Mick. I didn’t understand how she could do that to him.”
“Then one day I was in her room. I liked to play in her huge cupboard full of dresses and shoes. I heard Mick and her come into the bedroom, and they were arguing about her pregnancy. He knew the child she carried wasn’t his. He and I didn’t know that none of us children were his, just that one.”
“I got frightened and sat quietly in the cupboard. They didn’t fight often, but when they did, they always ended up in the bedroom. I got very worried when my mother screamed. He had hit her, and it must have been hard. He then muffled her cry as it was cut off before it was finished.”
“I could hear ripping noises, and Mick screamed at her, ‘I’ll fuck and cut that bastard out of you.’ I could hear my mother struggling with him and crying. Then the bed rocked into the wall hard, and my mother grunted. I guessed that he had thrown her onto it.”
“It kept banging the wall, and I could hear them both grunting. Then mother started screaming again. I think he must have gagged her as it sounded muted. I didn’t know at the time that he was cutting her. It was his weird little giggles and then the bed banging again that scared me the most.”
“I was terrified. If this was how babies were made, I didn’t want to know about it. It was my mother’s final scream, which truly chilled me. Even muffled it was a torturous scream. I could hear Mick laughing manically, and that was even scarier. He said, ‘He won’t get any more little bastards on you now bitch.’ Then he laughed again.”
“It was a little while before I heard him finally leave the room. I worked out many years later he was removing the gag and the ties from my mother’s wrists. He even put a nightdress on her and tucked her in under the blankets. He ignored her sobs of pain.”
“I waited a bit longer, but my mother’s sobs forced me from the cupboard. When she saw me, she was horrified and started crying. She sent me to get Nan. I ran as fast as I could. She died that night,” Mica finished in a small voice.
“Bloody hell, I thought it was bad enough being raped. How old were you, eleven, twelve?” I asked shocked and appalled she had to suffer through such horror.
“I’d just turned twelve,” she replied with a sigh. “That time I only heard him. I saw Smithy the day he stopped Mick from raping the girl he had in his room. I was fifteen. Later when I helped Nan release her, Nan muttered and said that they had stopped him before he disembowelling this one.”
“I also recognised the marks as the same as on my mother’s wrists. And the red marks on her mouth. I knew then for sure that Mick had killed my mother. I cried for weeks when I remembered how poorly I had treated her.”
“I think that was why Tare couldn’t sway Smithy and me. Neither of us trusted either of them after my mother died. Smithy had hated Mick even longer than I had. I don’t know what else he knew about their relationship or what Mick had been doing.”
“In some ways, I couldn’t understand why people made love at all. I knew how silly Smithy was about Polly before he left. When Casey started sleeping around, I feared she was being abused, but she didn’t act like it.”
“Nan even had a talk to me about the difference between abusive sex and love when I told her I was worried about Casey. I guess I didn’t really get it until this week. I’d listen to you all, and it wasn’t the same.”
“It was kisses, hugs and sighs and groans of pleasure. You were all encouraging your partners to do whatever you were doing to each other. You all talked quietly afterwards. The smiles and looks of love the next morning were incomprehensible to me.”
“Foxi bailed me up a couple of mornings ago. She asked me if I’d ever made love before. When I blushed, she told me that I didn’t know what I was missing. When I chided her about not loving Albi, she giggled and said they may not be in love but they did enjoy making love.”
She looked at me. “Is it really that good?” she asked me perplexed.
Summer was nearly at an end for us in Federation. We were worried about the two missing boxes, but considering the size of Amity and past experiences, I knew they could be hard to find. In my case, I had no link to the boxes. They were not my type of magical boxes. Raina and her mob had linked together, but they couldn’t feel the boxes either. We decided that it would take a Queen Wizard to find them and we didn’t have one on this planet. We could only hope that they weren’t claimed or that...
We spent three full days packing, two days shopping in Brisbane, one in Sydney, two in New York and three in Paris. We also visited about thirty other places in the two weeks as we did a worldwide tour of Earth. The longer stay in Paris was just because Crystal and Pearl wanted to go there at least once and they wanted to hit the fashion shops. Us blokes were outvoted. Apparently, Crystal and Pearl had three votes each to our one. I have a feeling they were trying to hoodwink us, but Mike...
Storm, had his head buried between two very long lovely legs. While he was happily supping on the meal on offer, a very active tongue and a wicked set of lips were doing divine things to his family jewels. He had slept in her room and had woken to her cunnie in his face and her mouth on junior. He pulled her hips down to his wet face again and sucked hard as his hips flexed up. She shuddered and he blew, and she sucked him harder. He grunted into her twitching cunnie and then sucked her...
-- Earth time: 2078-- “Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck!” I cussed. As soon as I felt that weird feeling, I knew the damn book had sent me home. Daniel looked at me in surprise. He frowned at me. I sighed and sat up. I then picked him up, and balanced my son on my hip I walked over the Lectern. “Send me back immediately,” I demanded. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. I’ve lost contact with the portal you originated from. You look familiar. Let me see. Oh! This is very strange. According to my records,...
-- Crystal -- I awoke depressed. Another day to get through. I rolled out of Kegan’s arms and moved over so I could flop back onto my back. I thought about Vaughn and Harmony. It has been nearly three months since my portal book said he had connected to a portal on another planet. He has tried to send me there, but for some reason, the portal on the other side refuses to let him send me. ‘I didn’t meet protocols’, were the replies that Vaughn got. He even connected to the portal on...
I was speechless when Crystal walked in to say that Raina and the babies were fine. She was the woman in the crystal ball. I guess Zara had known that she was to be my paramour. But I think something did change. I don’t believe Zara saw me as an Empress in the other version of our future. I drank in Crystal’s beauty and felt myself harden at the sight of her. I knew she was still to be mine in this version of reality. I had no problem with that at all. I glanced at Storm’s other three...
I looked at the camera. Seven months old, Devin stood on my right thigh, and his brother Quin stood on my left with my arms supporting them. Sky sat cross-legged across on my lap and leant against me. Kim was at my right shoulder with his right arm around Sarah. Beside him was Lindell her arm around him and Bonny. Raina fussed and finally said she had a lovely picture. Sky scrambled down to run to her big sister and see the results. Sarah bent and kissed me and claimed Devin while Bonny...
I’ve decided the last few chapters of this book should be Mikal’s summary. Of all of us, he has probably had the most interesting year. While a lot has happened to me too, I think the others have summed up my major achievements in their way. I know that I’m a very content man. Being surrounded by the huge loving family that I have managed to gather just makes me an even happier one. I find plenty to keep me occupied and having my kids has also been a major distraction, towards which I’ve...
Tom was correct, and we did arrive in Weston just after lunch. He followed Reilly’s directions and ended up pulled up on a nice wide dock over to the southern side of the long bay. It was a little removed from the other docks, but as he explained, they were considered a higher end market area these days. The area had once been a big meat works, which was why they had the separate dock and sale pens for livestock. With the changes in population, the meatworks moved further north as it seemed...
A runner turned at the homestead. My spouses were coming home. I immediately started tossing out orders, to get the carts on the road and get the herders assembled. I was running around like a clucker with its head cut off. Greta and Edith calmly took over and told me to go. I was on Opal so fast it wasn’t funny. I was pacing the wharf waiting for Captain Hail to tie up his ship so he could drop the planks and I could board. I raced up the plank and stopped dead at the sight of Bea and...
After the fun of entering the Palace compound, we arrived at a courtyard and dismounted. We were then shown through umpteen dozen hallways and rooms, each gaudier than the last, to get to a waiting room. As we walked, I wondered if the King was related to Higgins. He had the same horrible taste in decorations. John and Tony left us in a little alcove to wait. We settled in, as I didn’t expect to be received in any hurry. I was glad we’d had something to eat before we were interrupted. I did...
“Fuck!” I said aloud. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I was still standing in a Ring. However, it wasn’t the same ring that I had been standing inside of, only moments before. I was in another cavern. This cavern also had a disused look similar to the one I had been in, but it was cleaner and better sealed. I looked up and noticed the crystals were a lot dimmer and there was not as many, as in the other cavern. I had a feeling if I wanted to go home, they would need to be a lot brighter and recharged....
David was checking out the information Carline had given him. With JJ’s help and the new satellites, they had built a comprehensive map of Federation. From what he could determine, the people had spread out around the coasts, radiating out from where the sections of the original starship had landed. Federation was the largest content on the planet. It linked into the Southern pole and then stretched up to the equator. It crossed it in a large, wide chunk of land. Several short, broader...
-- Earth time: 2095-- Where was I? Yes, my first trip to my Island. If I wasn’t nuts before I got here, I was by the time I left. My arrival... -- Earth time: 1100-- I coughed and then vomited again. I dry retched several times and finally sat up as the dizzy sensation abated. I looked around me and found that I was sitting inside a Ring. I knew that it wasn’t the same Ring as the room was also different. This room had curved walls and had a high domed ceiling that was covered in...
-- Storm - Earth time 2102-- Kim and Lindell had decided to come on the trip with Sarah and me. Sarah dropped her shuttle down onto an open paddock near the section of Torus in the old crater. As we disembarked, a man dressed in what I’d call cut down buckskins approached. He was taller than the average here, lean and fit with sable hair tied back off his face. He looked at most as if he was twenty years old. With him was a very shapely woman. She had paler, more honey coloured hair but...
-- Daniel -- I’m surprised by how well Pip and I have learnt to work together. It’s not been an easy task, and we both realise that we still have a lot of work to do and a lot to learn about running a city and a community. The people we rescued have been settling into the city and taking over a lot of the work of rebuilding their lives and new homes. I think the fact that they could spread out a bit sorted out a lot of the animosity between the different factions. Captain Dale has been of...
-- Storm - Amity - Earth time: 2102 -- We were in a right pickle. Daniel and Pip stayed a couple of extra days to help with the clean-up and burying of the dead. Even my other wizards turned up in Nickel City and then teleported to us to help. Ulu even brought Carline and Sharon with him. Carline was Leslie’s only living daughter, and Sharon was Anne’s daughter to a different shifter, called Trip. They were both pretty upset about their mothers dying like they had, as one would expect....
I woke early and crawled out of the bodies piled onto my bed. I still liked about four hours sleep, and I think I had slept so solidly due to utter exhaustion. It had been a very fulfilling night, and my loved ones had worked hard to please me. I showered and dressed and then popped down to the café and grabbed some food and a large pot of tea to get me going. I asked JJ where the ships were, near Saran and Green Island. She pointed out that the ships near Saran were just off the coast. I...
We were sad to leave Bron and his people. Sable was delighted that his dad had become a Lord Wizard. We had a good laugh about the fact that he truly was Lord Bull Bron Horn now. Silver and Rose thought it very fitting, as far as they were concerned he had always acted like a Lord Wizard anyway. I suspected that little would change on Green Island following the upgrades as, the Bulls were an exceptional group of people and led their people by example as it was. Bron said he had no plans to...
We spent two more weeks in town. When I’d asked Rose where she found the extra organisers that I had requested I had learnt some things that I didn’t know. Rose admitted to me that Garnet and Iren had fixed a little replicator that was designed to be portable. It only made items that could fit into a 40cm square by 50cm long area. It was designed to go to new mining sites to provide basics for the miners like toiletries, bedding, small tools, work clothes and safety items like boots,...
-- Philip - 2052 -- My name is Philip Carpenter, and I was born in the year 2036 to Eca Johana. My mother lived in Malaysia when she met my biological father whom she called Storm. She liked to tell me that he had the most compelling eyes and that I had inherited them. When we were happy or excited, they shone green. When we were upset or angry, they darkened to grey, and you could see the storm in them. I guess she liked my eyes. I learned later in life that many other women did as well,...
As Smithy had predicted the snowfall wasn’t that bad. It was a very chipper crowd that greeted Trixi and me at the fire the next morning. We did get a few head shakes after the night before, and I did blush. You see I tried something new. Trixi was exhausted after four days of helping me recharge and the magic she had used that day. My girls had indicated to me in the past that it wasn’t so much the sex but me channelling the magic through them when I came. I was going to try to be the...
We were packed up ready to go on our next adventure. It was late autumn, and we were looking forward to going and seeing how our new village was developing. Tara had sent me countless reports and thanked us for the power systems. Volt, one of the shifters from the City that had married into my family, was an electrician, so they didn’t need a crew to come set up the systems. I scratched Hornville, Barton and our homestead from the list of towns needing an electrical crew. Volt had planned...
We had not long rounded the Horn of Federation when we saw the storm. It was bearing down on us from the north-west. The air smelt funny and the sky to the west was dark as far as we could see. Dazzle, the first mated was very worried, and I didn’t blame him. He recommended that rather than turn out to sea as were planning, we go further down the coast and look for a cove that we could hide in. I had seen the results of one of these storms going over land and the mess it made to both the...
The next two days were very busy. Bea being an Earth mage made sure the house paddock was smooth to reduce tripping hazards. She also tidied up the drive and the area beside the new barn Greta, and I had built. The outer floor and walls of the barn are made of packed earth. We can’t really call them bricks because we used a spell to make the compacted floor and walls from earth. We also made the inner dividing walls, posts and second floor from earth, as well as the stairs. We did use more...
I pulled Opal up and looked at the tower. I had been surprised to learn that I owned the top of the second tower. The museum was in the fourth tower. The council chambers were in the third. The bottom floors of the second, all of the first tower and the front three wings that joined the towers together, had been rented out as offices, shops and apartments. The towers of what was called the Citadel were originally arranged in a hexagon shape. The Citadel was located on the western side of...
The next week was a lot of fun. I’d brought hard miners hats that had my crystal lamps attached to the front of them. I’d also made a heap of small crystal lamps that we used to mark intersections. Albi and I would scribe arrows and one or two words to help anyone to get to a particular feature we found, or back to the main cavern. We also marked dangerous tunnels that had sudden drops to catch the unwary. One of the cavern entrances we had climbed up to and accessed from the central tunnel...
I had never been on a long ocean voyage before. I’d travelled a couple times on ships when we had gone to visit the southern properties, but the open ocean was a whole different experience I’d not had. So far, I’d never been seasick. I think my merman genes had a lot to do with that. I had also discovered there was something new I could do with my magic. My fourth discipline was Physics. I could shape liquids and move air. I had a plan to make the voyage more pleasant. In one of the...
The trip to Ochre City was surprisingly boring. Captain Hail had set the suite aside for Sable and I. I had the master room, and Harry was bunking with Sable in his room. We even had our own little reading room between our rooms and a little bathroom. The ship was now fully lit, and they even had a better pump, so we had water for the showers. Silver had added a new water tank in the hold as part of our ballast, so we no longer carried the water barrels. She had even fitted a special...
-- Ant - 2057 -- Our team soon settled into their new lives. We didn’t get to take the first team of construction workers to the Moon. UNSEC had built a larger ship that could house thirty people. It would become the base until the construction crew got the first dome built. A lot of planning had gone into the design of these domes to reduce construction time. Once the underground bases had been constructed, the Domes would be built like giant jigsaw puzzles. They could be built with no...
We found a deserted farm about 2km down the road. The barn was barely big enough for the mothers, but it got them out of the cold. A storm was coming up from the south, and it had a decided chill to it. The herd I had collected from the mountain surrounded my young heifers to keep them warm. Big Ben took up guard duties. I had Bea and Cora touch me, and we were able to create a shield big enough to cover the small house and the barn. If anyone passing by, remembered the farm being there,...
Garson was a large city. Cora had often come here to sell their bighorns and woollies, so she knew it well. It looked like she was going to prove very useful. We had to wait for an agent to come aboard the ship before we could unload. He was a pompous arse, and I immediately took a dislike to him. The first thing he asked was what did we have on board. The Captain had docked his ship down the end of the wharf near the stock pens. The dickhead had to have heard several of our bighorns...
My people had organised activities since this was a first official day of the party. We expected everyone to be here by noon depending on where they had camped the night before. Since all of the players were here, the festivities started in earnest. I was surprised to see that several couples were already inseparable. Since my friends had arrived early, their Herds had taken to the spirit of the occasion and had been checking out who was who and who might tickle their fancy. They also...
It was a beautiful morning to set sail. With the speed of our ship, we should be in Weston late in the day on the second day. Trixi and Foxi had both been to Weston, so they were happy to be out tour guides in the city. Albi would be our guide in the mountains. I think the smoothness of the travel had them all amazed that they were on a ship at sea. We had picked up ten other passengers, a family of four, two single men and two couples. They too found our ship odd. Albi bunked in with...
Trixi took me to see the herds nearest herds to town, which were was sick. I explained my methods of overcoming the sickness to the people she introduced me to. I healed the worst animals and informed them that feeding the mash with the extra salt should get the rest back into good health along with checking that the hay didn’t have the tell-tale mould that seemed to be partially responsible. They had the mould on all three properties, and I told them of my better storage methods for the...
Once were docked we spent the afternoon wandering the docks. We worked out many of the ships were from Weston. A few were from Federation, and several smaller ships were from Orient. They also had a large fishing fleet. There were plenty of taverns and other places dedicated to the entertainment of sailors. We checked out the markets, and I even found a bank and organised an account. I wandered in and out of several jewellery stores. I found some of their styles interesting, but from what I...
As I had predicted, Snort managed to get half his heifers pregnant in the first four days. Tally and I decided to split the herd into six lots before he did the rest. Five lots had ten cows in each. Half were pregnant, and the other half were not. The sixth lot included the other ten girls and Snort. If the owners of the first five lots wanted Snort to finish the job, they would have to pay his new owner. Else, they could put them to their own bulls. We considered this fair and the feedback...
-- Philip - 2061 -- Ant and I looked at the Rih drive. There was no way we were going to get that baby going again. She was Fucked with a capital ‘F’. I was still surprised the computer hadn’t shut it down. It must have failed catastrophically to melt as it had. We went and checked the other three drives. The second drive on this end was fine, giving us some hope. I suggested we might need to do a spacewalk. Theoretical we could drop the cones off and replace them. It was also possible the...
Since we were at the new wharf, I asked Ian and Robert where they wanted their cold rooms. They already had the main road and a road built behind where the other longer wharf would go. The boys also planned another jetty at the other end of the beach. They had a lovely big mound of dirt and rocks that they had created when levelling off the road and clearing an area to start building back from the beach. The road crew were due back in a week to build them a couple more roads. They were to...
It was five years later before I claimed my sixth spouse. Inx’s family had moved to Ochre from Weston. She had been born in a tiny village that was north of Unna, in Orient. They still had problems with slavers, so her family moved. Her family had moved around a lot before settling in Weston for a while. When they heard people could go to the protected city of Ochre, they had applied. They did very well in Ochre finding the people there much more accepting of them being shifters. She became...
-- Storm -- I was a happy man. While my sons were still a mystery to be solved, I had at least gotten my daughters back. I can’t believe my amazing Crystal. She had done everything in her power to save her spirit friend even from himself. In my mind, that made her an exception wizard, and I wished I could give her a box she truly deserved. As for Sable, I took great delight in contacting Bron and telling him what his amazing son had done for my daughter and me. If she wants to marry him,...
The next two weeks were uneventful. We had good weather all the way. The ship went even faster with the clean hull. I think all the damn crystals they had embedded in the ship helped as well. The food was awesome. We had fresh produce every day. The cook, Ben, excelled himself. The ship normally had sixteen crew members, but since the Captain had a feeling he was going to have a bored crew on a ship that would rarely break down, we had left six of the crew with the girls. Half of his crew...
My first meeting was with the rent collectors. I’d spent some time the night before going through the two sets of books I’d retrieved from Enders office. I was appalled by what I had found. When I compared the amounts, I guessed they had ripped off my grandfather over the years but their bank accounts would not show much of the money, which would have been spent or hidden. Going by the decor of the apartment, I could see where a lot of Higgins’ money went. Ender was a different story....
Greta and I left the Bulls to their own devices. I had a couple of meetings I had promised to attend, and the last town forum was being run that afternoon. It was the candidates’ last chance to convince the locals to vote for them. Things had been going well for the first half hour then a few people started asking strange questions of the clerks’ that were running for election and Anna and Nat. They wanted to know things like what spells I had put on them and how often they had to fuck...
The coronation went well. Four of the five Lords attended. The fifth was the one was who caused a lot of speculation. He had sent word that he was indisposed. They had an illness affecting his people, so they didn’t even send a representative. Ryan told me Lord Mark Metal owned a valley that was further away than many of the others. He was also very old and being indisposed wasn’t something new to them. While the Lords operated the Shires in a rough semi-circle around Weston, Mark’s Shire,...
Jay turned off his cornerstone and became visible. I noted the calculating look Casey sent his way. I wished her luck. I had a feeling Harry would soon disillusion her of her aspirations. I noted the way Jay looking over Mica and Casey. While it was a look of appreciation for two fine looking women, I knew as well he did that his heart was in Harry’s hands. He was perfectly happy that it was. I suspected my little effort the night before had affected all of those in camp. Harry and Jay...
I was amused to be seated at the head of the table. Greta was on my left and Cavil had the other end of the table. The Bellows may have been wondering what was going on, but I wasn’t in any hurry to tell them. Dick had been seated beside Greta and his sons interspaced with Cavil’s three main spouses at my request. I had invited only one of my grandfather’s people to be at the main table. I was interested as to why my sister Jose had been part of his entourage. She had been seated on my...
Lady Di came out to meet us when we got to her homestead. She seemed in a good mood and pleased to see Cora and me. She gave Bea a couple of long looks, but she didn’t behave inappropriately towards her or Cora. She told me that the reports from her other properties were coming back that the sickness had gone and the herds were improving in health. We went to look at the herd she had purchased from me, and I introduced Snort to Bea. We all laughed when he gave her a big sloppy kiss. He...
On the trip home, we had an interesting discussion. I wanted to go to Weston. Goran had fired up my interest. Sable was adamant that he would be coming too. Harry said if Sable went then he went. Rose said where I went she went. Rose amused me because she seemed to relish the idea of going to visit Silver’s City, so she didn’t even attempt to talk me out of the trip. I also suspected she had a thing for Silver. They had become best buddies when they met in Horn City. I did occasionally...
Cavil’s spouses were confused when he announced that he was no longer married to them. They were not sure why he was now saying they weren’t married, as they all believed that they were now my spouses. We confused them a little more when we explained the status-quo. They weren’t my spouses either. I patiently explained to them that since Cavil had proclaimed that he had stepped down as Bull the marriages were considered null-and-void. They all nodded to this. I then explained that I didn’t...
The big family meeting went better than I expected. While I had shelved a few projects until we got the site for the new village surveyed, we still had plenty of work to keep people busy. I think the fact I wasn’t going to evict anyone also helped. They all understood that I expected them to earn the wages they would be paid. The only real bank we had on the island was in Horn City. Other than that, there was just the money in a Bull’s coin chest. I wanted to introduce a system as I had...
Leigh handed the floor over to me. I laid out some of my plans to the other Bulls. I also looked at Leigh and Bob as I included plans that they could get involved in as my nearest neighbours. I could see them all looking at each other as their minds filled with ideas. I suggest that we retired to the lunch tables so we could mingle. This suggestion was unanimously agreed upon, and the Bulls headed out with a lot of excited chatter. I collared Cavil and got him to wait for me. I had to stop...
“I still can’t believe my magic box opened for you?” I said, to Sable. “I’m as surprised as you are, daddy. I just told the box we needed to charge the crystals to help you, and it opened for me,” he replied. “You are probably the only person it would open for too, son,” I said. “My entity likes you for some obscure reason.” Sable chuckled, “It loves you, dad. I think you frightened it when you collapsed. So it was willing to trust me so Trixi and I could help you.” I looked around the...
Bea wasn’t shy by any means. I stopped and checked what the bathing arrangements were and the landlady said she had two buckets of hot water ready if I wished to carry them up to my room. The tub was already in place as were towels and bathing requirements. I went to the kitchen with her, and she filled the buckets for me. I carefully took them up the back stairs. We were in a large room near the back stairs. I put the buckets down and swung the door to our room open. Picking up the...
To say the wizards stole the show would be putting it politely. While they had arrived in the more acceptable manner by coming to the front door and waiting to be announced, that was about all they did that was mundane. Olivia, Warren and Lillian were amused as they watched them enter the ballroom. To start with, they were the tallest people there. Sarah, Zarka and Payton were breathtaking. There was more than one man in the room who wanted to bury his head in their tits. The fact that that...
The party after the election was massive. It may sound a bit anti-climactic, but I was happy with the outcome of the election. The clerks that I was happy to see promoted were. The candidates I felt would be voted in were and the candidates I felt would take Clerk jobs did. Most importantly, Vaughn shoed it in. I wonder how many people noticed the ring on Vaughn’s finger. Yeah, he got two promotions. I had found him after I’d dealt with Dale and his spouses. I also collected Anna, Nat,...
I went home to get my girls. I was so happy to be home. The family greeted me with a lot of enthusiasm. I spent the day sorting out problems with different projects and finally got to spend some time with my girls. Bea and Cora were bloody horny that night. It had been nearly three weeks since I was home and the girls planned for me to make up for my absence. I was more than happy to indulge them. They intended to get more involved in the running of the property, and both had decided to...
I let Greta into the room in the morning. I wasn’t really surprised to find Honey gone when I got up in the morning. Greta sat me on the bed and informed me that Bea and Cora helped her pack. Honey had appeared in their room hysterical. She explained that she had behaved very badly. My reactions and look of horror had snapped her out of whatever spell she had been under. She couldn’t believe that she had done what she had. She told them she couldn’t face me. So they helped her pack and...