You oversee construction and personally see to moving large, heavy objects.
There isn't as much excitement about you being here today, but work progresses at a nominal rate. Ruby Star does come to take you to lunch. She escorts you to a small, quiet, Italian pizzeria where the woman who owns the place prepares the pies to order while giving you the opportunity to watch.
The phrase "old-world charm" comes to mind.
I will say to Dawn: "I simply can't understand the resentment Lord Orpheus has towards these people. You have any thoughts on this?"
She nods to you, "I would guess that he's jealous and he sent us here to capture the woman we saw yesterday with Lord Orlouge."
"I don't think I'm inclined to take her. I say leave her where she is. I'll consider the horses and tents payment for Lord Orpheus' rudeness. I wish to stay here for a bit and observe these people. I figure I can work the smith for a while, and see what happens."
"I'm with you," Dawn tells you. "They seem much more accepting here; also, it seems like they practically worship you," she says as a woman walks up and tries to get you to sample her tomatoes.
I will sample her tomatoes, and comment on how delicious they are. I will resume working on the forge and smithy.
Candy Celestia takes you for dinner later in the evening, to a steakhouse. She overindulges in the wine and invites you to her place to stay the night.
"I have a guest room your daughter can stay in," she offers, "If you like."
"We'll be fine in our tent, but thank you for your kind offer."
We are of course including lodgings in the construction of the smithy.
You return and do a few last minute construction tasks before turning in for the night.
The next morning, there are over a dozen women wanting to take you to breakfast.
Tensions seem high among them; apparently you're quite an eligible man here.
Dawn asks you why you don't just tell them she's your woman.
I think it's time they do know that. I will thank them all very kindly and explain that I an not eligible. Although Dawn looks much younger than she is, she and I are together.
There's a short silence, broken by one of the women asking, "Is she some kind of midget?"
I will laugh. "Not at all. Her people just age differently."
Well, she is kind of a midget.
An albino midget bodybuilder, almost, even.
Now you just need to get her to be a vegan and put the luchador mask on her. =P
§
"Then, you aren't single?"
You can sense the disappointment; something about it seems tense.
"Ok. Which of you wants to REALLY tell me what's going on here?"
"It's been a long time since an eligible man came to town. Our lord, bless him, only has daughters. We were all hoping you would procreate with someone or ones and give us many sons."
I will discuss this matter with Dawn at night in the tent.
"Should I help them? I'm really at a loss here Dawn."
"How can you help them? You can't have kids, can you?"
"No, I cannot. But I could maybe help them by "rounding" up a few males?"
"You want to go back to Lord Orpheus and try to steal men?" She seems shocked.
"Maybe. Or maybe try to persuade some to come. It'll be tricky, but maybe we can pull it off."
"It's up to you, Pharaoh; either way, it doesn't seem like there are enough men to go around from what we've seen, and things seem pretty tense between their people."
I'll discuss the idea of procuring men for the village with the lord and see what he thinks.
"When do you want to go?"
"Well, first we should see if there are any other places we could get men from. If there are none, then we should leave as soon as possible."
"Alright," she answers you, "How are we going to find other places to get men? Do you want to ask Lord Orlouge?"
"Well yes, that would be the plan."
Hmm, looks like I missed that post.
The two of you proceed to Lord Orlouge's; he's presenty smoking a hand-rolled, filterless cigarette, and offers you one when you come in.
I'll accept one gratefully.
"Lord Orlouge, it's come to our attention that there is a severe male deficit in your village. Dawn and I thought we might help out with that. We cannot have children, so the obvious solution is to bring men here. Outside of Lord Orpheus' realm, are there any other places we can maybe find males willing to relocate here?"
Lord Orlouge responds, "There aren't a lot of men here, no. Isn't it great? The women practically fall over each other trying to get to what few men we have. We have strict laws governing what men are allowed to live here; you, however, clearly are in the green in that regard.
"There are many places in Kingsland with men; there just aren't many men who make the cut."
"Have you thought about recruiting suitable candidates?"
"Not really," he responds. "I love the society I rule over. Why do you ask? Is there a problem?"
"Well, it seems to me that several of the women have expressed interest in having children. It just makes sense to find them suitable candidates to procreate with."
"They're free to procreate with as many men in the village as they'd like, myself included," he smiles.
"Very well then. I suppose if it isn't broken, no need to fix it."
Back to work on the forge then.
Dawn asks you on the way back to the forge, "So, that's it, then?
"Do you think they'll try to get violent?"
Who?"
"The women; is there even such a thing as monogamy here?"
"Somehow, I don't think so. And if they get violent, we'll deal with it as it comes."
The two of you return to the forge and continue work on it; the basic structures are up, and it is clear now on sight what you are making. More work is being done inside; some of the women seem to have heard about your situation, but most either haven't heard or don't care that you're with someone as evidenced by their flirtatious attitudes.
I will politely answer any questions and not play into their conversations too much. My next situation to deal with will be finding raw materials to work with in the forge. I will go to his highness and see if he may know of how to obtain any materials I'll need. Coal, metals, Tools, etc.