We finished up the meal, and everyone helped out when Breth spoke. Elves and Beast Kin wasted no time in cleaning or packing up. I was thoroughly impressed, so I decided to go talk to Alex about it. She was with Nuwari and Tescelle, sorting out where to put the few belonging they had. Most could be left behind, so the job wasn't too bad, according to Alex.
"So, What do you think we could call Breth? You see how he orders people around? Half of them don't know him from anyone else, right? But look at those fuckers go! They are all working hard, and he hasn't yelled once. He just stands on that table, rotating around like a sentry turret. If we didn't have Mesh, I'd say make him Commander, but Mesh is better suited for the job."
"Hmm, I think the position of Taskmaster may be a bit harsh, but he no doubt can pile on mountains of work to people and just look at them to get results. Taskmaster it is then."
"Thanks, this is why I keep you around!" I ran away before she could give me an ear full and headed over to the Bear-turret rotating on the table.
By this time, everything had been cleaned up, and this table was all that was left. I asked Breth to get out of turret mode and off the last table. Looking a bit embarrassed, Breth stepped down.
"I am sorry for taking control there, I…"
"No, don't sweat it. It the reason I came to talk to you, I would like to appoint you the Master of Tasks. You have a presence the will help keep everyone in line, even in hard times. Can you accept that position?" I knew the answer before asking. This was just being nice.
"Of course! It would be my honor, Great Master Hyde!"
"Great, get settled in. I would like to get around the mountain before nightfall. Maybe you could also come to the main House-Wagon and talk with Markeye and Tescelle now about the upcoming dangers since you are familiar with the area?"
"Of Course!"
I could just use fewer words and get the same effect with this guy, but something about my magic made me think it was better just talking to Breth like anyone else. We walked to the House-Wagon's back, and I brought him up to speak with my Pilot and Navigator. Walking up the stairs, I could hear my wives all laughing, and then I remember just proposing to Arrentia.
I wasn't going to let it bother me. No point. Building a kingdom, not a harem, I think, my wives were going to keep me busy for the rest of my life. I was supposed to relax after this was all said and down. Maybe when I die the second time, I get a bonus or some shit!
"What are you smiling about?" Kalita's voice pulled me out of my monologue.
"Just that I'm going to run out of fingers and toes to count wives with!" I tried to joke, but Kalita to me seriously and leaned in to whisper to me.
"If you can't count past twenty, I can teach you later, so you don't look silly using your hands to count."
Kalita's expression was so severe that I just grabbed her and pulled her into a long and gentle kiss. She was the first one I met, and almost didn't rescue, because I was a meatball, but then with Thurman, yeah, Fuck that jackass. The spider tore him apart. It was just nice to see her still be so cute and innocent after it all.
When I finally let her go, she stayed by my side, not saying too much. Nina had also come over to fill the spot on my other. Breth was still close by, so I led him over to Markeye and Tescelle, explaining his new position to them and how he could help with the map.
"We should have no problem getting around the mountain by nightfall, but after we leave the mountain, we will arrive at the town of Lockland," Breth took on a dark look as he mentioned the town's name, so I assumed this was one that had caused them trouble.
"Well, that being the case, I'll get Mesh to run the training now, and we can waste some time. This way, we can camp at the foot of the mountain, rather than getting close to the village at night."
"Training?" Breth looked at me, puzzled.
"Yeah, We have the Commander Mesh run us through various exercises to help keep everyone in shape. You should come and join us. Even my wives get in out it!"
"I will never back down from a challenge!"
I called my wives and asked the new Master of Tasks to gather everyone that wanted to join. Nina and Kyra went off to play with the Bear-Kin children, but the rest of our group that wasn't busy with other tasks also joined us. With everyone that joined us, we could hardly do this on the top of the House-Wagon, so we found a large enough open area that we could all move around comfortably.
I made the girls quickly follow me to Kara's office we had set up for her, and each of the girls was fitted with shorts and chest wraps to my great displeasure. A bra, now that was an otherworldly item that would be immensely popular with the large-chested women! Maybe that would be a future project to talk over with Kara. The girls were soon fitted into their shorts and were doing some exposing stretches that would make up, for now, flattened breast pressed into each girl's chest.
All suited up, my group made it out to the field just as everyone started. Unlike last time, everyone had joined in unless they had important work, but even then, they would be required to come at least every two days. This was a plan made by me and my councilors, Nuwari and Tescelle.
I explained to them how my magic worked as far as I knew. From what I told them, they figured that the more time I spent doing things like this and even just eating altogether would help everyone grow. The work out was another 90-minute Mesh special that left everyone with a feeling of exhaustion and aching muscles.
The girls fared better than most, but everyone made it through, and at the end, a massive cheer went up for Mesh. For his part, a quick nod and fast turn were all that we got, but I'm sure he wasn't used to a crowd like this. Everything would come with time, and soon we were ready to go. Everyone had loaded back up.
"Whats Locksland like?" I asked Alex standing next to her and Nina.
"More or less the same as all human settlements, hateful to all demi-creatures. Most human settlements will be like this. They just see us like animals, even though we can speak and share the same feeling, they hunt us as food and supplies."
"Humans are a stain, no matter what world we get to put on, eh? Well, I will be stopping to talk to them, but, honestly, until we can take the capital of Haertia, nothing will change. Maybe I can make them understand that now the Bear, Lizard, and Spider-Kin are all with me."
"Your spirit is good. Just don't let the humans of this world disappoint you too much."
"Disappoint me?"
"Mmhmm, they are not like you, I mean, they look similar, but that is where the similarities end. All of them are cruel and stupid. I know this might sound jaded from me since I haven't had many good experiences with them, but it's not just the Beastfolk they treat like this. They treat their own even worse. Slavery is terrible here; the deeper you go west, the worse it gets. Human, elves, dwarfs, and anyone else the wealthier and stronger can capture and subjugate."
"Ugh, Alex, What has happened to this place? Why is everyone like that?"
"It's the magic. It is so random, and when one receives a strong power from birth, they are raised up to become warmongers, trained to invade and subjugate anyone in their path. There are no people like you who care if anyone but them survives."
"Then we start changing things here! It won't be easy, but I have you and all my other wives with me, so at least it will be fun!"