Covid Wasteland
Chapter Five
Pomp and Strange Circumstances
Katherine and Dorothy got to the door to the Chief’s private quarters before John, and they prostrated themselves on either side of the doorway, as if they had practiced this move, which, of course, they hadn’t. John walked through the doorway, expecting to see some sumptuous apartment, but instead, it was a roughly-circular room made up to look like the inside of a Tipi. There was a fire-pit, which John guessed used to have gas flames, but now had only five jar-candles and a box of matches next to them. Dorothy struck a match and lit the candles, then she went to a stack of folded blankets and got several down. She laid down a thick blanket, folded in quarters, then stood by with another opened up. She pointed at the folded blanket and spoke softly.
“My Chief, your wives welcome you to your first home. Your First Wife will see to your comfort, and I will prepare a warm drink for you.” John was still standing, so Katherine came up to him and began to slowly strip him. When she got his coat, outer shirt and undershirt off, she unbuckled his belt and pulled down his jeans, then got on the ground and helped him remove those. After she took them off, and gently sat him down, she removed the belt and handed it to him. He looked up at her, but now she draped the open blanket over him, pulled out a hair-pick and a small piece of latigo and fastened the blanket around his shoulders. He asked her now:
“My wife, why did you give me this belt? Do I put it around the blanket now?”
“No, my husband. Remember the Prime Rule you wrote for all of us? You may need to whip us, so you should always have an instrument of punishment near you.”
“My Wife, do you think you will need punishment soon?”
“I can almost promise that I will anger you, my Husband. As the Chief probably told you privately, I am not very good at accepting authority without question. I have been beaten before for this. Now, had Nenamook not sealed her own fate just now, you would have had to develop a strong whipping-arm to handle both of us. I think your Second Wife will be very compliant, even if I am not.” Just then, John heard a soft roaring noise coming from the next room.
“What is that noise, my wife?”
“That is an ancient military all-fuel heating stove. Dorothy is using it to boil water for tea. You will need this tea. It is our Love-Tea. It will give you great endurance, also make our wombs stay open for a few days more during out baby-moons. I might be with child, I might not be, but I will act as if I’m not until I miss my monthly flow, not for another eight days, then I have to miss next-moon’s flow also to be sure.”
“What is in this tea, what herb?”
“It doesn’t grow here, it grows in Asia. The Herb is called Muira Puama. Some know it by it’s China name, Ginseng. Now that world trade has stopped, it will become very valuable. I do not know how much of it our Tribe owns now. All I know is that it works. I took it before my last two pregnancies. Your Second Wife has not been pregnant before that I know of. She had taken a religious vow on that. Ah, here she comes with our tea.” Dorothy came out of the little kitchen and she was stark naked! Stark, as in she had removed all her pubic hair also! She carried her little tray steadily, with great grace, and she knelt before her Husband and handed him his cup of tea, then handed one to Katherine, then took hers to John’s left (inferior) side and knelt, raised it to her lips and began to drink it. John turned his head and gawked at her. Finally, Katherine spoke.
“It’s the hair removal, isn’t it, my Chief?”
“Yes. Dorothy, why did you do that? It looks not-natural. Did you cut yourself doing that? I have to know, so you can be treated if you did.”
“My Husband, I had no way of looking, so I might have. It feels like a scrape down there.”
“Katherine, take her where the light is best, have her spread her legs and look to see if she is hurt.”
“No, my husband, I will love with you now. I am not too hurt to love.”
“Katherine, did she just refuse my order?”
“Maybe, my husband, but maybe she didn’t see that as an order. Second Wife Dorothy, our husband did give you an order to let me look at your love-parts. I need to look.”
“No, I am sorry, my religious training tells me not to do that.” John just shook his head.
“I don’t believe this. Dorothy, I was told you were very smart. Of course, you have to know that making love is a messy business and involves a lot of activity that will make any wound down there much worse, very fast. If you get infected from this skin damage, you could either become sterile and not be able to have children, or you could even die from it and go to your Next Life. I will give you the Order again, my wife. Go with Katherine and left her look at you.” Dorothy shakes her head “no”. John addresses Katherine.
“My first Wife, make her a Book of Bad, I will make the entries later. For now, the Tea is working, isn’t it?” John stands up and they both can see the tented-out blanket. Katherine turns to Dorothy.
“Get out the Bed Skins. Quickly!” She does, and spreads them out on the light mattress-pad in the middle of the floor. Katherine lays down and puts her legs up around her ears, and John dives right in. they couple, and John has amazing staying power, but Katherine doesn’t, has her orgasm, then rolls off of John, putting her feet up on the wall, but he hadn’t let his seed go! He is VERY relaxed, and after his long day, falls asleep quickly, but he still has his erect baby-maker! Dorothy now moves in, and impales herself on John’s proud tool. She is a virgin for a brief second, but breaks her own hymen on him and keeps going, doing full-stroke up and down, and a twisting motion as well. NOW John wakes back up, has his climax and sprays her many times. Dorothy now copies Katherine’s position, and puts her feet up on the wall in the “hold-seed” position. Some time later, both women come off the wall, and look at John, who is asleep again. They cover him up, and Katherine pulls Dorothy to her feet and leads her out of the room. Katherine gets a pair of candles and brings them close and looks at her labia and peritoneal areas. They aren’t cut, just puffy and red. Katherine gets wet towels and cleans Dorothy up and then herself, then they go back into the bedroom and clean their husband up. This, plus the Love tea in him, gives him another stiffy, so Katherine mounts it and begins her moves, fifteen minutes later drawing his seed. He cuddles with his two wives and he couldn’t be happier. He gets ready to love again, and this time he chooses Dorothy, but when he reaches for her to pull her to him, she cries out. He recoils from her.
“You DID hurt yourself, and you knew you were hurt, but you loved with me anyway? That is not right? Are you trying to fool me to get out of your troubles?”
“No, my husband, your first wife disciplined me and my sitting-part is very sore now.” John was aghast. He stands, Katherine prostrates herself now. He speaks down to her abased form.
“I gave no orders for this discipline, my wife. As I told you before, you may never presume to think for me. You have violated the Code, badly violated it. Get me a strap!” She does, takes her punishment position and he gives her twenty strokes. She takes them stoically, but now he is angry at both of them.
“Tonight, in what was supposed to be a happy celebration of my marriage to both of you, I have to face my people and admit I have two out-of-control wives. I will say nothing, but both of you get to wear the about-to-be-slave clothing. Put it on NOW!”
In the Longhouse, used to seeing wall-to-wall crowds of Tribal members for these big wedding celebrations or caste-elevations, it was a small and somber bunch of about twenty-five or thirty stalwarts. Usually, there would have been five expert drummers on the big drum, but now they had two, and they were a mite off their timing. All the leaders WERE there, though: the Ruling Council, formerly twelve, now only seven, but Shaman Elizabeth was there, and Chief Mak’aa. The Chief had been informed about the unsettled status of the two wives of Chief-in-Waiting John of the Forest and River Chinook. The Chief had set the agenda:
First, he would read a long-ish statement about the joining of the two peoples, starting with Shaman’s observations of the good fishing that John brought to his people.
Then he would spin a saga about the Battle of Longview Bridge. He felt most folks were already up to speed on these two agenda items, but for continuity of the entire Longhouse presentation, he needed to start at the start.
Then he would speak to cementing relations with the new West Shore part of the Tribe by a traditional marriage, THEN Shaman would cover the new Disciplinary Code, necessary to the Tribe’s survival.
John and his two wives would be introduced next, and that would likely surprise the guests, because the wives would be presented in their “bad-girl” clothing. The Shaman would marry them, and both during and after the actual wedding ceremony, the women would show the utmost debasement to EVERYONE.
Next would come the Elevations: John’s elevation to Chief of the Western side clan, then Dorothy Wapiti’s elevation to be Shaman of that clan. Shaman Elizabeth would herself place the ornate Shaman’s robe on Dorothy, but OVER her disciplinary clothing, NOT replacing it. This was a tricky thing to do, because Shamanic Authority was supposed to be absolute, but in Dorothy’s case, it was limited, and she herself could be easily degraded out of her position if she built up any more Disciplinary Code violations.
The Shaman would next lead prayers, assisted by Dorothy, then they would feast.
The Chief thought all this would take three to four hours, and he was correct. New-Chief John’s wives, still suffering from thrashed backsides, were just about in tears from the hurt of sitting down, getting up, repeating that dozens of times. It became obvious, and finally, Chief Mak’aa’s First Medicine-woman, Ruth, came to the Chief and asked him about the women. The Chief had to explain, and did.
“This business of getting Chief John married into the Tribe didn’t go well, Ruth. First, I sent him Katherine Otter, well before any idea of making the tribe bigger came up. Initially, I was just going to merge his group’s fishing and ours. The two of them had a rocky start, but she did cleave to him, and accepted his seed. She did NOT act as a wife should though, and he had to start a Book of Bad with her. Then we had the Battle, and during the battle, she fought two male bandit-warriors and defeated them, capturing a third bandit who is now her Slave. Then they came here, to learn the Ways and Paths of our Nation. That was going well, but it occurred to me that Katherine Otter was a commoner, and he needed a higher-caste wife. I proposed Nenamook, my daughter. Nenamook was, as I’m sure you have heard by now, VERY resistant to the ideas of being a good wife. In fact, so resistant that she refused all of my and Chief John’s orders at her introduction to John. Then she physically attacked Katherine Otter, who killed her in close-combat. I reacted quickly, and Shaman Elizabeth agreed that her Assistant should be John’s additional wife. He personally reacted well to the concept of having two wives. He had some minor disciplinary problems with Dorothy on his first night, when she risked her health to shave her Woman’s Lodge, and he called her on that, ordered her to let Katherine Otter look at it to see how badly it was hurt, but Dorothy refused. Her husband refused to lay with her, laid with Katherine, then slept. While he was sleeping, Katherine, who HAD been appointed First Wife, then whipped Dorothy, a NOT inappropriate thing to do, but definitely inadvisable, since had she asked her husband, he wouldn’t have let her. Accordingly, Chief John then arose from his sleep and then whipped Katherine for presuming his authority. Both Wives have remaining whippings left on their Books of Bad, so Chief John ordered them to wear the traditional clothing for women in the process of discipline.”
“My Chief, that is an amazing saga! Or is it about ten sagas? All that aside, I need to examine both women.” Then the Chief speaks again.
“My wise Medicine Chief, I almost forgot, I left something out of the saga. The Second-wife Dorothy was able to take John’s baby maker into her while he slept, and she got his seed, after he had refused, for health reasons, to have her cleave to him.” The Medicine Chief shook her head, then spoke.
"My Chief, wife Dorothy should not have been elevated to be West Side Shaman, even though it was made clear that her authority is somewhat limited. This woman is impulsive, and allows her life to be governed by impulsive behaviors, not Piety and Wisdom as it should be. I am happy that Katherine Otter thrashed her, because Chief John probably would not have. I have a bad feeling about that marriage. Katherine is solid, strong, is just the woman Chief John should have as a wife. Unfortunately, my Chief, and I mean no slight to you, you have made two choices in a row that are not working out well for your new Chief. I believe that you must make a third selection now, my Chief.”
“My Ruth, who I myself wept over several times in years past, just who do I have to select? Other than you, there are NO high-caste women not already married.”
“My Chief, you have just made your choice, but we need to use a coyote’s cunning here. I will be that wife, but not right away. First, following your edicts of baby-bringing, I need a consort. Give me Chief John as a consort. Yes, I will be the third woman in his life, but I believe he is Chief enough for all of us. While I am consorting, and we won’t know for two moons if it worked, I will work on moving Dorothy out of his life. I will make a wager now, though: she moves herself out much sooner than two moons. Here is my plan: At Dorothy’s next disciplinary infraction, and at her rate, that will happen before dawn, you remove her as proposed-Shaman. As she builds up her Book of bad, you reluctantly tell Chief John that you have to degrade her to Slave. The Council approves, she is degraded and thereby divorced from you. You announce my new baby and my new status as Chief John’s wife at the same time. As for Dorothy, she can Gather for Constance Otter. She is bear-bait, has no forest-sense at all. You won’t even have to condemn and burn her, the bears will take care of that. How does this plan seem to YOU, my Chief?”
“My wise Ruth, there is only one danger in it: that danger is that with you at Chief John’s side, he may very well become the more powerful of we two Chiefs.” Ruth turned away, went to the eating-circle where those Tribal members attending were enjoying somewhat of a feast, well more than enough to distend all their shrunken stomachs. Wife Katherine was sitting on his right, in her disciplinary smock, and Shaman Elizabeth HAD removed the high-caste clothing from Dorothy, and she sat to Chief John’s left, the inferior place, her cedar eating-plank laid across her lap. Ruth bent down and picked up the plank, told her that she was taking that place. Dorothy got up, wincing in pain from her thrashed posterior and turned to get the plank from Ruth, but Ruth had set it on her own lap, and now she pulled her knife, cut away the chewed parts of the venison, salmon and flatbread, pushed those parts over to the edge of the plank, pointed with the knife for Dorothy to pick them up and she did. Chief John had been watching this, now he spoke.
“Ruth, my First Medicine-woman. What great Medicine do you have for me in my new job? I’m going to need all the help I can get!”
“My Chief, your Wife Katherine will help you to be a Great Chief, and very soon, but now I have news from Senior Chief Mak’aa.”
“What news, Medicine Chief?”
“According to the renewed Old-code, I must bring a child now. I have no husband, and none is being assigned, so Chief Mak’aa assigned me a Consort to bring me baby-seed.” John smiled, spoke lightly.
“Well, Medicine Chief, that will be a very lucky man, to be allowed to consort with the most vital woman in the Tribe.”
“My Chief, you flatter me greatly, but YOU are that lucky man. The Chief assigned me to consort with YOU. I am two days past the usual end of my baby-Moon, but I’ve been drinking Love Tea, so my moon might be extended just enough. We won’t know for at least a moon and a half, maybe two and a half moons. I am sure you know that I must keep getting your seed for that time until my womb swells.” Now Katherine spoke.
“My Medicine Chief, I am delighted to have you join me. Hopefully, both of our Love Lodges will see our Chief at their door tonight. I will tell Second Wife that she can tend to both of our needs for preparations. She shouldn’t be loving now anyway, she injured herself trying for her best possible love-advantage by removing her lower hair. Perhaps you could attend to her wounds so that she can join with her husband on her next moon or moon after that?”
“My sister Katherine, the wound she probably wants treated first is her thrashed sitting-part. I hear that you have been promoted to Punisher. You deserve that promotion. Between your skills as a Punisher and your knife-skills, you might be facing the Council for elevation to Warrior soon. If your elevation does come to the Council, I can tell you that I will raise MY right hand, my Sister.” John seemed more amused by this than anything, and didn’t realize that he was somewhat intoxicated by all the extra Yarrow that had been put into his serving of the traditional fish-goulash. He got up and wandered over to speak with Chief John. As he left, Ruth attracted Dorothy’s attention and waved her back over. By the time Dorothy got back to the little Chief’s Circle she had been in, Ruth had taken the Chief’s blanket-seat, and continued with her meal. Dorothy picked up her blanket to move it to a position facing Ruth, but Ruth patted the plank floor next to her on her left, and Dorothy took the inferior seat, very gingerly sitting down. Ruth got right to the point.
“Second Wife, how badly ARE you injured on your sitting-part? Have you been seen by either of my two Medicine-Women?” Dorothy lost it then.
“No, I haven’t and that is up to me, not you. The other woman here almost killed me with her thrashing-strap, and no one seems to care. She isn’t Spirit-favored, and neither are you. I am closer to that than either of you and I should never have been thrashed. Only my Husband can make those decisions about discipline. I WAS a Shaman’s Assistant, and WAS promoted to be the temporary Shaman on the far side of the Great Water. You, Ruth, are a Healer, a vital skill, but that doesn’t elevate your piety one bit. MY Piety HAS been elevated and tested and that’s why I got my position across the water.” Dorothy had gotten so wound up, she hadn’t noticed that Katherine had left. After a quick report to her husband, he and Katherine circled around to the rear of Ruth’s and Dorothy’s position. In a glance around, Ruth saw the two, but Katherine pantomimed to her to say nothing but keep up her parley. Dorothy was really wound up now.
“So you have joined our family to get my Chief’s seed? How did THAT get arranged? What did YOU have to give the Chief to make that assignment happen?” Chief John had heard enough. He strode quickly back to his place as Ruth quickly vacated it. Katherine knew what came next, and she didn’t resume HER position, bit remained within arm’s reach of Dorothy. John stood, then ordered Dorothy to stand.
“On your feet, you miserable excuse for a wife. We have two members of the ruling Council here and I am proposing to divorce you.” Ruth came right back.
“I support your request, Chief John of the Forest and River Chinook. You may now assume that your request will be granted. Do you have anything further?” John looked at Katherine.
“My Wife, my ONLY wife, you have another Slave. I accuse my former Second Wife of violation of the Prime Rule and Rule Four. For the Prime Rule, since it’s your second offense, twenty strokes. For Rule Four, bringing embarrassment and discredit in public, twenty-five strokes because a High-Caste, Medicine Chief Ruth was the object of your rage. Where is your Book, or stroke tally-stick?”
“I didn’t bring it. Why would I bring it to my own wedding? That makes no sense!” Chief John looked at Wife Katherine.
“My loving Wife, did YOU bring yours.”
“Yes, my Husband. Here it is.” John took the little stub pencil from the leather cover of the Book, opened it and wrote “expunged” as the last entry.
“My wedding gift, Katherine my love. This Slave had forty-five, then got another forty-five, then has just repeated all of her offenses for another fifty-five. That’s one hundred forty-five, so she has made Sub-Slave at one hundred. At midnight, she gets to add tomorrow’s Dailies, and that adds to one-sixty. Termination of a sub-slave is mandatory at one-fifty. Ruth, will you go find Chief Mak’aa and advise him what has happened here?”
“Yes, my Chief, I will.”
“Wife Katherine. Bind this slave. Hand and foot. I don’t know how Chief Mak’aa will have her killed.” Slave Dorothy awkwardly got up to run, but Katherine, with the same thrashed ass and 80 pounds more to move, was too fast for her. She sprang like a cougar from eight feet away, grabbing Dorothy by one ankle, upsetting her and dropping her to the Longhouse floor. She held her down and peeled the long latigo belt off of her and tied her hands and feet, then removed her own belt, almost twice as long, fifteen feet, and fastened the loop-end around Dorothy’s neck., leaving thirteen feet free, easily enough to hang her with. She stood holding that plaited rope when Chief Mak’aa and Shaman Elizabeth came in, leading a pony. Without a word, they re-bound her legs tightly together above the knees, and tied her hands at her waist, and left the excess of THAT plaited rope free. To the pony, there was no drama, it was just another burden. Chief John asked his opposite number about her fate.
“My Chief, that was a short marriage, so I have no regrets. The only time she and I mated, she stole my seed from me while I was sleeping, so I doubt if she is making my baby.” Ruth agreed, and she WAS Medicine-Chief, so her opinion counted. Now Shaman spoke.
“My Chiefs, we have a happy-Spirit to recognize and a sad duty at the same time. The happy part is marrying Bear-clan Medicine-Chief Ruth to Forest and River clan Chief John. Just leave the slave with a Warrior and we will celebrate our Happy-Spirit now. Afterwards, we can decide on our solemn duty of how this wretch must die. Warrior Two Eagles and Warrior Sea Eagle, you have her until we have our ceremonies. Make whatever use of her you want, she is a condemned Sub-Slave, so if she dies during your play, no sanctions will be on you for her death. You two have been very faithful and very pious in your duty to keep your Shaman safe, and now you are rewarded, not only with this Slave, but with new positions: you both will be the Warriors to form the Warrior House for Chief John’s new Clan. The Warriors showed deep deference, and led their hapless slave out on the pony. Chief John spoke.
“The marriage will wrap up up this strange day, and the new dawn tomorrow will bring more planning and organizing things.” Chief Mak’aa interrupts.
“Not tomorrow. I have declared a Moon of Consorting starting tomorrow. All couples and consorting-pairs will begin consorting tomorrow and continue until conception is achieved. There is something new, too. Shaman?” She smiles, takes Chief Mak’aa’s arm, and speaks.
“The previous requirement for the House of Piety to remain celibate is removed. Including me, there are seven women in the House. We will add the fruit of our wombs to the Tribe’s total. I will consort with Chief Mak’aa AND you, Chief John. Between the two of you, I am certain to have a Chief’s Child. My two Warriors will also consort, with the other six in my House of Piety. I will get reports about the Spirit of the Piety House, and the one with the best Spirit will join the Forest and River Chinook clan as Shaman. The other rule the Chief and I just changed is that members of the House of Piety may now be married, to men of the Chief’s caste or the Warrior Caste. Finally, as small as we are, we can never HAVE enough Warriors by rejecting half the tribe, so now women will be allowed to raise their Caste to Warrior. The first one will, of course, be Katherine Otter.” Katherine, on her knees with head lowered in debasement since the circle now held two Chiefs and a Shaman, rises on Chief John’s command, just as the two Sewing-women approach bearing her new War-Tunic, breeches and sandals, and a shield with two spears. Her bow would be her own responsibility to construct. The Sewing-women quickly dress her, then she looks at her shield: it has three coup-marks and two capture-marks on it already, and her spears reflect coups as well.
Now, the big drum announces “assembly”, and the Chief’s Caste doesn’t have to go far, the Tribe comes to them. When the drum sounds a War Roll, all the Warrior Caste present forms a semi-circle around the Chief’s circle. Warrior Katherine Otter has joined them, and they put her in the center of the caste-arc. The drum falls silent, and Shaman Elizabeth starts to chant a prayer, so the Piety-first Tradition lives on.
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