Chapter 54: Chapter 34: Bound by Duty
Aiyen is the most youthful hunting head of the Balak. She leads the young men of Balak fearlessly through the wilderness.
However, she has encountered an adversary that has surprised her. His name is Vikir, a slave who was recently captured in a raid on Supreme territory.
Aiyen gazed at Vikir with a puzzled expression. Vikir moved swiftly with his clumsy body, constructing a tent for himself as if he didn't need anyone's help.
Twelve wooden sticks, each a little over two meters in length, were arranged in a row, and a mixture of inky black, stone dust, lime powder, and water was applied to the sides. The construction was a combination of dry and wet, with the walls fixed with leaves and covered with animal skins. The tents were quickly fitted with doors and windows, and the floors were lined with sawdust and fallen leaves. The few building materials given to the slaves were sufficient. In less than 30 minutes, the tent was ready for Vikir to sleep in alone.
"Request fulfilled," Vikir said, glancing back at Aiyen with a firm voice.
The first order Aiyen had given to Vikir was to make himself his own home. Aiyen looked into Vikir's tent in astonishment.
There was a small opening in the roof and a flap that could be closed in case of rain. There was even a small fire pit on the floor inside, with an opening for the smoke to escape that extended outward across the floor of the tent. When the fire was extinguished for a meal, the smoke would pass under the floor and vent to the lower part of the tent. The smoke would escape, the heat from the remaining fire would be retained, and the ventilation and light would be excellent.
Aiyen was puzzled. "...How did you build tents so well?" She was expecting Vikir to scoff in defiance. Aiyen quickly hid the construction materials that Vikir had been trying to use to make his life more comfortable: sturdy wooden sticks and oil for baking bricks. But Vikir didn't need any of that; he found calcareous soil, scooped it up, and solidified it with water. He also built a shelter of large leaves to shield against rain and wind.
"It's been a while," Vikir remarked. Fighters from the Time of Annihilation were not only skilled with blades but also had to be proficient in various survival skills to camp and survive in harsh environments. Vikir was also a master of many domestic tasks.
After building the tent, Vikir attended to the piles of leather near Aiyen's tent and hung up the torn fabrics. He also dug a drainage ditch near the tent and laid out some firewood for the night.
"A slave who thinks and acts on his own before his master orders him to do anything, and takes care of all those bothersome tasks. Literally a class A slave," Aiyen thought to herself.
"The bricks under the clan leader's tent look unstable," Vikir observed.
"My mother's home?" Aiyen asked.
"Yes. The ground underneath the central post of the tent could shake and release water during the next rainy season. If you give me the order, I will mix the limestone soil down there with stone dust from the hill across the road, make bricks, oil them, bake them, and reinforce them," Vikir suggested.
"Indeed, do that. I was just thinking about that myself," Aiyen scratched her head, impressed with Vikir's foresight.
Continuing on his limp legs, Vikir gathered white soil from the hills behind him and brought in stones from the hill opposite, breaking and crushing them to mix into the soil. Then, he added water to make a paste, shaped it into rectangular bricks, baked it over a fire, and dried the bricks with hyena oil. The bricks were then used to reinforce the foundation of the tent, making it much stronger. Even Aquila, who was initially annoyed at the extra work, was pleased with the results.
"The roof won't leak anymore. It was annoying that no matter how many leaves or covers I put on the roof, it would still leak, but it must have been the foundation," Aquila remarked.
Aiyen was amazed at Vikir's skills and dedication to his work. She had initially been sad that her slave should spend most of his time maintaining the clan leader's quarters, but she didn't object. She simply watched as Vikir dug drainage ditches around Aquila's quarters and set up gutters to prevent leaves and soil from piling on top.
"Hey, man. Are you okay working alone?" Aiyen asked Vikir.
"Fine," Vikir replied, continuing his work without much fuss.
"Do you enjoy your work? You've been working non-stop," Aiyen remarked.
"It's the rainy season; you're already digging drains," Vikir replied.
"You didn't have this at home, did you? Eat it," Aiyen teased.
"...The owner is talking to you; how about you respond to him?" Aiyen said, slightly annoyed at Vikir's lack of response.
Vikir had been consistently ignoring her as a distraction from his work, but Aiyen kept hovering around him, disappearing briefly and then returning. At this point, it was hard to tell who was the master and who was the slave.
With lye and a bat, Vikir finished his laundry. He had been a Pathfinder, a cultivator, a healer, a cook, an assassin, a cleaner, a laundress, and everything in between, from the youngest crawler in the field to a finely trained veteran. His experience was proving useful here.
"I know I keep using the Period of Annihilation excuse, but... it was similarly wild," Vikir thought to himself as he did his laundry.
"Phew. Well, done," Aiyen said, watching Vikir finish his laundry.
Meanwhile, Vikir, whose experience of surviving the Period of Annihilation had made him good at minding his own business, found himself somewhat embarrassed by one competitor.
"Uh, cold," Aiyen remarked as she relieved herself in the drainage ditch Vikir had dug earlier.
"I've been holding it in for a while," she explained.
Vikir was surprised and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Marking the area. This is my slave's home, so it's also mine," Aiyen replied.
"Doesn't it embarrass you?" Vikir asked.
"It's not like there's any shame in open discharge. There is nothing of the sort in my clan," Aiyen said, lifting her skirt further to demonstrate.
Vikir covered his face with his hands and turned away, feeling awkward. He remembered reading a research paper on savage clans once.
"The savage clans of the Red and Dark Mountains practice free sex among their members. They have no reservations about exposing their sexual organs to each other, as they must first be certain if the other person is capable of reproduction and does not carry a sexually transmitted disease before engaging in a relationship."
Vikir tried not to be judgmental, but it was a culture with its own customs and reasons.
"However, do have some modesty, at least around the house," Vikir said.
"Why, didn't your empire just throw dung through the window a few years back, and you wore these things called high heels because
the streets were covered in filth, and you doused yourself with perfume?" Aiyen retorted.
It was somewhat true. Vikir didn't know what else to say, so he remained silent.
As they conversed, their tasks were completed. Balak was a very casual place when not engaged in battle or hunting, and Vikir, always diligent, found life as a slave here to be much more comfortable than it would have been in Baskerville or Longshot City, where he would have had to undergo training and work.
Aiyen, however, had a peculiar look on her face.
"Hey," she said suddenly.
"What?" Vikir asked.
"Don't you want to become a member of our clan formally next?" Aiyen inquired.
Vikir frowned, and Aiyen moved closer to him and sat down.
She was still spreading her legs wide enough that he could see under her skirt, so Vikir kept his gaze fixed upward.
"Not bad for a slave, huh?" Aiyen remarked.
"Not bad," Vikir replied.
"You're getting a well-rounded education in discourse, I suppose, although I dare not say anything negative from a slave's perspective," Aiyen teased.
"...No, it really isn't bad," Vikir admitted.
"It can't be bad, for all the hard, dirty work," Aiyen waved her hand dismissively, not even wanting to think about cleaning or doing laundry.
"Come on. Come with me," Aiyen said.
"Where?" Vikir asked.
"I will help you. To help you fit in with this clan," Aiyen said, gesturing towards Vikir's chain.
"If you're good, I'll take this off too," she added.
The offer was tempting. Vikir was already annoyed by the irritating rope around his neck.
"...What can actually be done?" Vikir asked.
Aiyen's eyes sparkled with determination. "Hunting."
"Hunt?" Vikir repeated, surprised.
"The big one."
Of course, going hunting and capturing large prey was the objective. The Hagiya, or Balak, were a clan that primarily gathered food through hunting. To feed their nearly 300 members evenly, they needed to consume a beast weighing over 200 kilograms every day. That's assuming they could supplement it with mushrooms, berries, and edible roots. Recently, champions in the clan had been surviving solely on mushrooms and berries for days at a time because they hadn't been able to find enough meat.
"In times like these, if we can bring back a large piece of meat, your freedom isn't impossible," Aiyen declared, her words surprising Vikir.
Hearing "freedom" from a barbarian was unexpected, but it wasn't a bad deal.
"All you have to do is help me. Obviously, you don't have much trouble getting around or carrying light loads," Aiyen said with a gleam in her eye.
It was hard to tell if her intentions were truly to bring down the big game or if that was all she wanted.
"Alright. Let's go," Vikir decided to go along with Aiyen's offer for now.
As a slave, he had no other choice. Vikir nodded, and Aiyen spoke immediately.
"We will leave at dawn tomorrow."
"I see, but why were you laughing so hard earlier?" Vikir asked.
"What? When did I laugh?" Aiyen chuckled nervously, but when she heard Vikir's words, her expression turned serious.
...There was something about her demeanor that seemed a bit suspicious.
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