Chapter 35
The approach to River's Crossing had changed since Sid had last visited it. The road had been widened to support more traffic. Many of the trees had been removed giving the guards at the gate a better view of all who approached. The area next to the gate where traders were to wait until admitted had turned into a small town with fixed buildings.
The gate itself had been expanded and strengthened. Now it was a structure that could probably resist anything except an assault by a huge army. Rather than being at the water's edge, it extended out a good three dozen paces from the river bank giving enough room for a small party of mounted men to organize before riding out the gates.
Sid stopped his horse to take in the sights. Looking at all of the changes, Sid said, "Wow. When Barson said that River's Crossing had grown, I didn't realize what he meant."
Fred looked around at the crowd of people camped out in the fields across from the gate. There were at least a hundred campsites with groups as large as ten people at some of them. He commented, "There sure are a lot of people here."
"I guess it has become a major trading place," Sid said looking at all of the wagons parked along the road. He could see that they were loaded with supplies and trade goods.
"The troops are backing up behind us," Gregor said gesturing over his shoulder.
Sid nudged his horse and rode up to the gates. The gates were already open and the man stationed above the gates said, "Hello King Sid. We've got space for your men all prepared. Danny will lead them to where they can set up their tents."
"Thanks," Sid said. He was about to turn back when Albert stepped out of the gate. Looking at Albert, he said, "I thought I left you back at the citadel."
"You did, but your group is moving so slow that I beat you here," Albert said. He noticed that Sid kept looking over at the crowd in the field across from the gate. He said, "The news that you were coming preceded you. Most of the folks across the road are locals wanting to sell you some of the goods they've grown. At least, that is what they tell me. I'd say that the chance to see their king brought most of them."
"I wondered. Is it always this packed around here?" Sid asked.
"No. You are going to have to get used to this now that you are king. The locals will come out just to see you," Albert said gesturing to the crowd to people that had formed. They kept their distance, but the number of people was rather impressive.
"I guess I can live with that."
"You won't have much choice in the matter," Albert said with a smile.
"So what are you doing here?" Sid asked.
"I'm thinking this location would be the right place for your castle," Albert said. Seeing the look on Sid's face, he said, "Over in that direction is a nice little hill. We cleared it a long time ago for the troops to camp. It was nice and defensible. I am thinking of building the castle there. There are already the beginnings of a hospital here and we would expand on that. We could turn the land between this gate and the hill into a park so that this area isn't ruined."
"Why here?" Sid asked. He was rather fond of River's Crossing and didn't want to see it destroyed.
"It is the closest thing to a holding you have left," Albert said. On seeing the expression on Sid's face, he explained, "You've been giving out holdings all over the place. You have to have a holding for yourself to provide for your personal income. This place is one of the few areas that does not have a Lord."
"I already have a holding," Sid said.
"The Jones Citadel is too far from the center of the area that you control to serve your needs. Your castle needs to be on your holding," Albert explained.
"Who makes these rules?" Sid asked.
"Tradition," Albert answered with a laugh.
"I guess being king means that I'm ruled by tradition," Sid said.
"That's a fact," Albert said. He looked across the bridge and said, "There's another fact of which you should be aware."
"What?"
"There are three women over there that are very anxious to see you again," Albert said with a grin.
"Oh," Sid said. He looked in the direction that Albert had indicated and wondered how he would manage being in the presence of four Damsels from Cassandra at one time.
Not wanting to be around when Sid greeted the Damsels, Fred said, "I wonder if there are any fish left in the river."
Derek frowned at the idea of not having a chance to fish. He said, "I don't care. I'll sit there with a pole in the water regardless. As far as I'm concerned, it is just an excuse to be lazy."
Gregor laughed and said, "Don't get too comfortable. We'll be riding out tomorrow."
"So soon?" Derek asked.
"I want to get home," Gregor answered. Once they got away from the foot soldiers, they'd make much better time. From River's Crossing it was just six weeks ride before they made it to Rider country.
The three Damsels waiting for Sid were standing outside of the recreation building. It was the closest building to the gate. Sid looked over at them and then at Alice. She didn't look that happy to see what she viewed as competition. He said, "You should be happy to see them. Now that we are together, we can ride to the Jones Citadel and leave here."
"I suppose," Alice said. Her brow wrinkled while she thought about his comment.
Sid pulled his horse off to the side and dismounted. Alice quickly joined him and accepted his help in getting off the horse. He held out an arm for her to take while they walked to where the three Damsels were waiting. She took the arm feeling like it gave her a small measure of ownership through the right of possession.
The three Damsels did not bother to wait for Sid to approach them. They ran half of the distance before slowing down enough to make the meeting appear more like a social encounter. Laura Author stepped forward and welcomed Sid with a kiss. As a shiver ran through her body, she said, "It is good to see you return, my King."
"It is good to see you, Laura Author of Cassandra," Sid replied wondering if he could take another kiss like that without busting his pants. Gesturing to Alice, he said, "Laura, this is Alice of Cassandra. Alice, this is Laura Author of Cassandra."
On learning the name of the other woman, Alice was impressed. Laura Author was a well known writer in Cassandra. She said, "I know of Laura Author. I have read her book. She writes books of a historical nature."
Although her books were set back in the times before the Great War devastated their world, Laura thought calling them books of a historical nature was being very generous. She laughed and said, "I fear that my stories are of a more erotic nature than historic."
"Ah, that explains why I climaxed several times while reading them," Alice said with normal Cassandra female candor about anything sexual.
Sid groaned at the thought of the expectations that a writer of erotic fiction would have concerning the performance of a man in bed. Seeing the expression on his face, Laura asked, "What's the matter?"
"I was just thinking that you would expect to have hour long orgasms when we reach Crossroads," Sid answered. The odor of four excited women filled the air.
Mary stepped forward and welcomed Sid with a kiss. She took a little more time to make sure that her hands had an adequate chance to explore the hard muscles of his back. Her legs were weak by the time she broke off the kiss and said, "It is good to see you Sid."
"Thank you, Mary. It is always a pleasure to see you again," Sid said. He wished that he knew a way to rearrange his hardening cock without it being obvious what he was doing.
Before Sid had a chance to introduce Mary to Alice, Mary said, "Hello, Alice. I'm Mary of Cassandra."
Nodding her head to acknowledge the other woman, Alice thought about the significance that Mary did not have an occupation as a second name. It meant that she had not begun her career. She said, "I take it you are a student at the university, too."
"Yes. I'm studying Literature in the hopes of becoming a teacher," Mary said. In order for a woman who was not yet successful in her career to be eligible to become a Damsel, she had to be an honors student. Mary had the highest standing among her class and held the office of Class President. Looking at the other woman, she asked, "What are you studying?"
"Civil Engineering," Alice answered.
"That is a difficult career," Mary said.
"Perhaps, but not as personally rewarding as teaching," Alice said.
Mandy Cook stepped forward nudging Mary out of the way. Like the others, she welcomed Sid with a very passionate kiss. The hard member that pressed against her almost brought her to an orgasm on the spot. Breathless, she said, "It is good to see that you've conquered your enemies and returned to us unharmed, King Sid."
"Thank you, Mandy," Sid said trying to remain upright after the scorching hot kiss he had just received. He said, "You are looking great."
"Thank you," Mandy said barely hearing a word. Her eyes were locked on the substantial bulge in Sid's pants. She wasn't the only one staring at it.
"Mandy Cook of Cassandra, this is Alice. Alice, this is Mandy Cook of Cassandra," Sid said making the introduction in the futile hope of distracting the attention of the ladies from his crotch.
"Spectacular, isn't it?" Mandy asked.
"Yes, it is," Alice said in agreement. She had to force herself from reaching over and feeling it.
"Ladies!"
Sid's protest managed to break Mandy out of her trance. Looking up at him, she asked, "Where's Fred?"
Sid looked around and spotted Fred. He gestured towards the bridge where Sid and Derek were headed with fishing poles in their hands. He said, "They are over there."
Laura asked, "Has Fred found a lady friend yet?"
"Yes," Alice answered. She looked around to see what had become of the rest of Sid's troops. Although the line of soldiers was long, the wagons with cook staff had passed while the introductions had been made. She said, "I'll introduce you to her later. She's a nice woman."
"That's good. Fred is a very special man. He deserves to have a nice woman in his life," Mandy said. Fred had been very attentive of her needs after her rescue. He had made sure that she had gotten enough to eat. He had helped find her clothes to wear.
"Yes, he does," Laura said. Turning to look at Alice, she asked, "Have they been intimate yet?"
Sid was not surprised by the rapid change of subject to sex by the women from Cassandra. He was surprised to learn that Alice knew exactly how many times Fred had visited his lady friend. She answered, "No. The man has visited her every night for the past three weeks and the closest they've come to having sex is to kiss. Can you imagine that?"
"Three weeks?" Mandy asked incredulously.
"I tell you, the only men who really know how to please a woman is an Earth Man," Mary said. She pointed to Sid's crotch and said, "He's still hard as a rock. Now that's a man. If it was allowed, I'm sure that he'd have us spread wide on a bed by now."
"Ladies!" Sid said trying to get their attention away from his crotch. "Will you ladies show Alice to her quarters? I fear that I must attend to the men."
Laura, barely bothering to look away from his crotch, said, "Of course, go take care of the men. We have all evening to talk."
"Thank you," Sid said beating a quick retreat away from the women. He paused at his horse and, speaking to the animal, said, "This is going to be a long trip."
The horse didn't answer although it did complain a little when Sid climbed into the saddle. He rode away to check on how the men were settling into camp. He met up with Gregor who was waiting for him at the base of the hill. Laughing, Gregor said, "I noticed that you had a nice little reception line waiting for you."
"Yes, I did," Sid replied.
"How are you going to handle them all?" Gregor asked with a grin. He was enjoying Sid's discomfort.
"I have no idea," Sid answered. Deciding that it was time to change the subject, Sid said, "I noticed Derek heading off to the river with a fishing pole in his hand."
"Yes. He's been looking forward to that for a week," Derek said.
"Aren't you going to join him?"
Gregor shook his head and answered, "No. I'm going to arrange for some supplies for our trip home."
"It is rough being a leader."
"You can say that again," Gregor said. He looked over at Sid and thought about the kinds of challenges ahead of him.
Sid sat down by the fire alone for the first time since getting up that morning. The four Damsels had gone to bed, Fred was visiting his lady friend, and his troops were camped up the hill. It was nice to be alone for a change.
The fact of the matter was that Sid was tired. For two years he had been fighting and traveling across a tremendous area of Chaos without taking a break. Leading an army was a lot more work than it looked. While the other men might get a day off, he couldn't afford to do that.
Glancing in the direction of the cabin in which the ladies were staying, he chuckled a little. As much as they wanted to get to Crossroads, their desire had to take second place to his. The thought of being able to sleep late in the morning and not to have to make a decision was almost all consuming. He sighed and stared at the embers.
Albert passed by Sid's cabin on his way to the recreation building in the early morning hoping to have a chance to get in a little fishing. Spotting the young man, Sid shouted, "Albert! You're just the man I needed to see."
"What do you need?" Albert said feeling a little disappointed that his appointment with a fishing rod was going to be delayed.
"I'm planning on leaving in two days. I need you to find as many men from my army as possible who are willing to stay here to help with the construction of the castle," Sid answered.
Albert didn't know what to say. He was still in the process of performing a survey to see if the hill would make a good fortification. It would be more than a year before he could use the kind of labor force that Sid was hoping that he'd hire.
Alice saved Albert from having to answer when she said, "Don't you know that there's a lot of work to do before you start building a structure of that size? He's not going to be ready to move one shovel full of dirt until after he's performed a detailed survey of the land, drawn up plans for the castle, and arranged for material to be delivered."
"So how long would that take?" Sid asked.
Alice looked in the direction of the hill. It was out of sight because of the thick woods that surrounded them. She pursed her lips while thinking about it. Shrugging her shoulders, she said, "I imagine that it will take three months to do a full survey of the area."
Nodding his head, Albert said, "That's about right."
"Once he's satisfied that the ground will support a massive structure like a castle, he'll have to design the building. That will take almost a year," Alice said.
"It won't take me that long. I've already got a pretty good draft of it," Albert said.
"I'm sure that you'll also be looking for an appropriate rock quarry while you are working on the plans," Alice said.
"True."
"You'll also have to make arrangements for all of the equipment necessary to level the earth, cut the rock, and build the scaffolds," Alice said.
"That'll take a lot of time," Albert said nodding his head. He added, "Don't forget that we'll have to cut lumber for the scaffolds, locate masons to shape and place the rocks, and set up supply lines to provide food while we're working. There aren't that many Masons, so they'll have to spend some time training apprentices."
Sid looked down at the ground and asked, "So when will you need people to work for you?"
"In about a year and a half," Albert answered.
"I didn't want to hear that," Sid said.
"I'm aware of that," Albert said. He didn't want to disappoint Sid, but things had to progress at the proper rate.
"Of course, there are the outbuildings that have to be built. You could hire some of the men to build some housing for the workers to live in while you are preparing to build the castle. Roads have to be built that can handle the weight of the rocks that will be brought in during construction. That could keep the men busy for almost a year," Alice suggested.
Sid looked at Alice in surprise. It took him a minute to recall that she was studying civil engineering. A small smile came over his face and then he said, "Alice, why don't you work with Albert to come up with a project plan that would allow him to hire as many people as possible as soon as possible?"
"Okay," Alice answered.
Albert looked in the direction of the river and sighed. It looked like there wasn't going to be any fishing in the near future. He said, "Let's go over to the mess area and talk there."
"Sure," Alice said.
When the two had left, Fred came out of the cabin and stretched. He had slept in late that morning. While still yawning, he said, "Good morning."
"You slept late," Sid said with a smile.
"I was out late last night," Fred said. He had caught a fish and taken it to his lady friend to cook. They had shared a nice meal away from prying eyes. After the meal, they had gone for a walk in the woods where they had sat down and talked for hours. It had been a rather innocent night.
Startling the man, Laura asked, "So did you give her what she needed?"
"Pardon?"
"Did you make mad passionate love to her for hours and hours?" Laura asked with a smile.
"Uh, isn't that rather personal?" Fred asked stuttering.
"Not really," Mandy said with a giggle. Her sudden appearance behind him caused Fred to jump a second time.
"We're just interested in your welfare. A big strong man like you needs to be with a woman from time to time," Mary said appearing from behind him. She put a hand on his arm and added, "An attractive woman needs to have a big strong man like you from time to time."
"Bringing Milly a fish to cook wasn't exactly the most romantic gesture in the world," Alice said with a grin.
"How did you know I took her a fish?" Fred asked looking around desperately.
"Come with us, we have something to show you," Laura said taking Fred by an arm. Alice took his other arm. Together the four women led him off to their cabin.
Sid had watched the exchange without knowing exactly what the women
had planned for Fred, but his guess was right on the money. He chuckled
and said, "It looks like Fred is about to get laid."