"Welcome, Juku of the Mother's Mountain Tribe, to the County of North Cove. I am Amos Bicman, leader of these lands. What brings you and your people to our lands?" I said.

Arbis translated my words to Juku, his words seemed choppy and unsure. Juku said something back, and then there was some back and forth between the two before Arbis turned to me. "Forgive me, descended. Since both of our people have been away from their homelands for so long, our languages do not seem to match. Some of his words are somewhat different than what we use. He gives his greetings to the great leader of this land."

Even though I couldn't understand the language, I had listened to the Karr speak in their native tongue a few times before. I could tell that it was two distinct dialects. The best way to describe it was smooth but sharp, with the endings of some words seeming clipped.

"So, can you tell me why they are here?" I asked.

"Yes, my lord. We had plenty of time to talk on our way here. Juku and his party were scouting in the mountains when they saw the fire caused by the explosion. They came to investigate and determine there was no threat. However, when they approached, they were attacked by wolves. Normally, wolves do not attack a party like theirs, but they believe the animals had been riled up due to the fire, which had pushed them out of their territory. They had to flee, leaving their supplies. When they tried to make it back through the pass, they found it had been closed off due to a large snowstorm. They have been looking for another suitable place to travel through the mountains or find a place to stay in during the winter while they wait for the snow to melt."

I looked past Juku to the rest of his group, eight in total, a few with visible injuries. One cradled an arm bound tightly with leather wrappings. This was really fascinating a whole other group from across the sea. I turned and nodded to the men. "Tell them they are welcome to stay here for the winter, or we will give them supplies to make their journey through the mountains. I would be happy to host them in Bicman, or they may find it interesting to stay in Karr. Let them know there will be no cost for our hospitality, and they are free to leave at any time."

Arbis explained the situation and got a response, Though I could only see their eyes through their wrappings, I could not understand their words. The tone gave away his gratitude and relief at my offer.. "Your generosity is most appreciated, and they would be interested in visiting their lost brothers and sisters."

"Excellent," I said with a faint smile. "Could you ask them if their people would be interested in developing trade with North Cove?" I couldn't help myself; I was interested to see what resources they had on the other side of the mountain.

Another quiet exchange followed. Juku's tone was cautious, and Arbis gave me the answer.

"He says that the decision would have to be given by the chief of their tribe, but if you show them what we wish to trade, he will bring the information back to their chief."

I turned to gaze at the peaks in the distance. "I've heard of the desert beyond the mountains," I added. "Can you ask him what color the sand is?"

The next exchange took longer. Arbis paused often, struggling to match Juku's phrasing with words we understood. A few times, Juku frowned and made odd gestures as he tried to grasp something.

Eventually, Arbis spoke. "He said that the desert does not hold much sand. It is very rocky, and very little grows there. The southern shore does have beaches with sand as yellow as the sun, and he has heard that on the North coast near Mount Calli, there is sand so blindingly white it is difficult to look at."

I couldn't help but grin, Bingo, and even better, it is on the north shore. When this stupid battle is over, we are heading along the coast to get some sand.

"Let us go to Fort Cove," I said, pointing down the trail, "We will have a meal to celebrate our new guest's arrival."

On the way down to Fort Cove, I spoke with each member of Juku's scouting team. They were a reserved group, but that was to be expected since we were not very familiar with each other. At least I got their names, even though I knew I would forget most of them. I also asked them to explain the name of their tribe, as I found it interesting.

Juku was hesitant at first, but then began to explain: "Mother Ciltumicki is the goddess of land. The giants forced us out of our homeland, and many of our families were devoured by the whims of Yutamlas, the god of the seas. Mother Ciltumicki was the only god who answered our prayers. She gave us our lands and commanded us to cultivate them. They are harsh lands, and if we prove our devotion through our efforts to bring forth a bountiful harvest, she will give us new lands."

Juku touched a carved wooden token hanging from his belt—a woman's face etched into a curved stone.

"Then I hope for your continued success and that Mother Ciltumicki blesses your people. Since it is over the land that you found your lost brothers, maybe this is her will," I said.

After Arbis translated my words, Juku's men exchanged surprised glances, their eyes searching me for mockery that wasn't there. Juku expressed his surprise that I was not critical of their beliefs. I think they were preparing to defend their beliefs rather than have me respect them.

I asked him why he was worried. After a minute of silence, Juku said something else, and Arbis tensed and glared at Juku.

"What did he say?" I asked.

"He says that he refuses to believe you are a Descended from the god of wisdom. He feels it is blasphemy." Arbis said through gritted teeth.

I had to suppress a laugh. Instead, I let out a sigh. "Tell him this. I never claimed to be a Descended of the god of wisdom. I do not believe I am."

Arbis seemed hesitant to translate this, but did as he was asked.

The response I received was quick, and one of confusion. "Why do you allow them to say that you are then?"

I stopped at the next rise and turned to face them. The view behind me stretched toward the cove sparkling in the light of the sun as it set low on the horizon. A perfect place for a dramatic speech.

"Because I do not restrict belief," I said. "Everyone here knows I do not consider myself a Descended. But I will not forbid others from worshiping as they please, as long as their beliefs don't harm others or violate the laws of the land. It is the same courtesy I extend to you. What if I am, and I just don't know it?"

Rather than respond, Juku fell silent.

I also began to think about our conversation. The thing that caught my interest was the similarities and differences between the two groups of Karr. They both believed the gods abandoned them, but the mountain tribe felt they were forgiven when they landed, while my people only overcame that belief when they were freed from bondage. The other thing I thought was interesting was the belief that giants drove them out of their lands. When I'd asked both groups, neither could offer more than vague stories. Just that they'd been driven out by people who were "huge" and terrible. No real details. Just the fear that comes when people talk of their nightmares.

Thinking about it, I couldn't help but wonder. Maybe the so-called giants were just stronger warriors. Maybe the Karr were just smaller back then. Or maybe they'd run into Conan the Barbarian on a bad day. I cannot imagine the people being actual giants. If there were, I wonder if we could make peace with them. If they were real, I'd try to hire them. A squad of plate-armored berserkers charging into battle with claymores on their shoulders? Our enemies wouldn't even need to be defeated; they'd surrender mid-pants-wetting. And if we're already dreaming, why not toss in some ogres and trolls? Maybe even get a frost wyrm for added intimidation.

"So, Arbis, what's with the bruise on your face?" I said, no longer able to hold back my curiosity.

This caused the man to turn a little red. Then, he turned to the other members of our scouting team. "You all said that the swelling had gone down. You said it wasn't even noticeable."

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This caused the other members of the party to snicker a bit. I waited patiently for him to answer me.

"Forgive me, Descended. I got into a fight with your guests," he said in an embarrassed tone.

That made me stop. I blinked. "Now that I have to hear."

He inhaled slowly through his nose. "When we first met them, Juku's group, I introduced myself and explained who we were. I told them we were led by a Descended…"

His voice trailed off, and he touched his face where the bruise still lingered like a dull purple smudge under his cheekbone.

I crossed my arms, suppressing a grin. This was getting good.

"Juku told me that there is no way that you could be a Descended and must be a charlatan. So I hit him."

"And…?" I asked, narrowing my eyes slightly.

"Mostly. We agreed not to discuss it."

" Mostly, huh. I'm guessing that came after you hit him and he hit you back."

The man blushed.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Religion and politics, my friend. Those are the two things you try not to discuss with others. There is no reason to be upset about others' rejection of your beliefs. I am glad you both resolved it."

I tried to keep a straight face, but inside, I was both laughing and crying. This might become a problem. I think I will send guards with these guys when they visit the village of Karr. I don't need a diplomatic incident.

******

We arrived at Fort Cove later in the day, and Juku and his men were fascinated by the swamp. They had never seen so much wet ground. Also the amount of life that inhabited the place.

The fort looked fully complete, but one section of the wall looked to be supported by a brace. Both Captain/General Draves and Lieutenant Griff came out to meet me.

"My lord, it is good to see you," they both said.

"And you as well. Let me introduce you to our guests. These are scouts from the tribe of Mother's Mountain. They come from over the mountain and have been trapped since the pass they usually travel through was sealed in snow."

I went on to explain the situation and who they were before sending them away with some soldiers so that I could discuss the invasion preparations.

"Alright, let's get down to business. How are the preparations going?" I asked.

"We have made a few changes to the plans. First, the concrete base we were building was causing the floor to retain water. This caused the rags we were using to ignite the black powder to get wet. The wood flooring above the floor would be sealed with pitch to prevent leakage, but it isn't a perfect fix. So we broke up the concrete in some places to let it drain. Leading to the barrels and underneath them"

"This also means that the black powder wicks may fail," I said. "Have you found a solution?"

"We think so," Griff said. "One of the men here used to work in Melnon. He suggested coal tar."

"That is the stuff left as a residue from coke production, right?"

"Yes, they have a lot of barrels of it since you told them not to throw it out. Apparently, it is highly flammable and burns quickly. So we are soaking hemp fiber in it, leading to the barrels."

That sounds better than my idea to put oil in a channel leading to the barrels, kind of like that place in "National Treasure" that lit up the room with oil.

"Does it work well?"

"Let's just say it is a good thing that the tunnel we build is 100 meters long. It burns fast, and crawling through that tunnel takes a long time. We are going to spread the tar on the floor as well, just in case we have a dead spot."

"Maybe lying on a cart with wheels and rolling down the tunnel would work better. Anyways, what else do we have? Are all the buildings in order?"

"Yes, after we built the wooden floor and sealed it, we put a layer of dirt on top. The barracks have those new bunkbeds you designed that hold three people and straw mattresses on each. With those, we can easily fit 300 people in the fort. I can't imagine them bringing more than that if they think our military is not big. We also have a large barrel of black powder directly under the home, which is built for commanders and is comfortable for a noble. I still think it wasn't necessary that you use a goose-down pillow on the few beds in there."

But I loved that idea. What head of an army wouldn't be tempted to sleep in the building? Also, if we can make the higher alcohol content cider, it seems to be working; it will be perfect for added flammability.

"What is with the support for that wall? Was it damaged?"

"Not yet," Griff said with a grin. "We were concerned that this would look like a trap if we did not even bother defending it. One of the soldiers recommended pulling down a section of the wall. That way, they would believe that the fort was too hard for us to defend with a small group, and we fled to a more secure location."

"So you make it look like you are in the middle of repairing it and that it is undefendable, but still a good place to lodge."

"How about that new location. Is it built?"

"Partially, the road there is passable but not up to standard. We will have the road and fort completed by the end of the month," Griff said confidently. "The location of the fort is about fifteen kilometers southwest of here."

"The traps?"

"Two months. Right now, we are having the scouts mark the escape routes for the crossbow men."

"Speaking of crossbow men. How is the training going?"

"Good. We have some excellent shooters. And, although I was skeptical at first, I have to admit that some of the women are better shots than the men. They are not as fast on the reload, but I was thinking about training them on the hit-and-run teams where they only have to fire one shot.

Excellent, we will get ourselves a women's sniper team.

We continued to talk about the other operational activities and plans in motion, like the look-out posts along the cove. The cove was large enough that a fit person would take an entire day to walk around it, which was a lot of ground to cover. That meant we needed watch towers to light signal fires so that we knew exactly where they landed.

As we were discussing the plans, we made our way to the main house. Like all the newer quality homes in Bicman, it was half-timber. It was still a single story, but it looked really nice. When we went inside, I found that the place was even better. A fireplace in every room and low ceilings to trap the warmth. The floors were polished wood, and the table looked to come from one of Mikel's better works. It made me almost want to cry, knowing that this is nicer than my manor and would all be gone after spring. It was a honey pot, though meant to trap the leadership of the crazy Rabiss.

After that, we went to inspect the ground that they were clearing in this area. They had done a great job breaking down the slightly elevated land around the cove that prevented proper drainage. Even though the higher elevation required us to put in more effort, I felt that, in the end, it would be a boon to help prevent erosion.

It may just have been that less water was coming down from the mountain due to it being to cold for the snow to melt. But it did seem that the swamps were draining, and as soon as the river was redirected, we could build a proper irrigation system. The plans I had for this place were finally coming together. Now I just had to defend it.

Jewel Clairmont

"Are you ever going to set that thing down, Jewel? You act as if it is going to disappear if you let it go, and you cradle it as if it is a child," my brother Arnold said as he sat across from me in the carriage.

I could feel my face flush a little bit as I looked down at my new Abacus. "Stop it. Father wouldn't let me bring his with me. I can't believe there is a vendor in Vaspar that sells these. And the quality is so much better than Father's."

Arnold shrugged. "Why wouldn't there be a shop in Vaspar that makes them? It is the place they originated from."

"Not according to what we found out. I cannot believe that we wasted all that time in Vaspar trying to track down the inventor of the zero when he wasn't even there."

"And we shouldn't waste all our time going north to this God-forsaken land. This man is a count now. Do you think he will be willing to see you within any reasonable amount of time? Especially because we are coming uninvited."

"We didn't have time to send a letter and wait for a response. Even if we had stayed in Plimgus and sent a letter to avoid being rude, we do not know how long it would have taken to get a response back to us. Better to go there and just try."

"Maybe if you weren't engaged, he would be interested," Arnold smirked.

"You're a jerk! A man who developed a new way to do math and invented the abacus is probably more interested in things other than just sleeping with women. You also saw his paintings. A man like that-"

"Mmhuh. Just keep telling yourself that, sis. I'm a guy. I know exactly what he will be thinking when he looks at you."

"Besides, he is probably already married and has others as well," I mumbled. Then blushed furiously.

Arnold raised his eyebrows. "Don't even think about it. Father worked very hard to secure your engagement."

"I would never!" I said definitely.

He said nothing.

"Besides, you cannot tell me you are not as interested in meeting him as I am. You love mathematics as much as I do."

"I love the practical side of math. Not your theoretical stuff. What I deal with doesn't take an entire scroll to calculate."

Now, he was just trying to get under my skin. "I just want to know if he plans on using it for higher math. I have some ideas, and I want to know what he thinks."

"You want him to praise you for your creative mind. You want to prove you are just as good as him. I don't understand your obsession. You are the smartest person I know; just do what you are good at and share your discoveries with the people in the capital, not way out here where there is only one person who cares."

"And yet you're still coming."

He sighed in defeat, "And yet I am still coming."

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