The Walled Cities

Chapter 34

Life was not all that bad, despite the cold. Winter was here, with snow falling everyday and the temperature never rising above freezing. Hares and the other creatures of Winter did not seem to mind, as we got one every other day or so. It was not a lot but we still had a few pounds of food in storage. Fur was in abundance now, as the animals caught were processed and their skins treated.

Kaelyn and I both wore ankle length fur robes. They had come from a bear and a good sized wolverine that we had found dead by a half eaten carcass of a elk. Both had been torn up but their hides had been salvageable, and now we wore them to stay warm. I had wanted Kaelyn to have the bear, but she had insisted it be mine, only after she had worked on it. Now it was the finest piece of clothing I owned. Teeth from the bear served as button for which loops of thin rawhide attached to. The collar was lined with a white fur of a fox, and the hood was from a beaver. This too was lined with a second white fox. It was easily worth a couple hundred dollars.

While my new coat was well crafted, Kaelyn's was left me at a loss for words. The white brown wolverine pelt had a red fox, an extremely lucky find for Winter, lining the collar. Its hood consisted of a beaver on with a white fox lining the edge of the hood. Actual buttons that she and I had carved from the claws of the bear and wolverine lined the front of it. It was truly a piece of beauty and I enjoyed seeing Kaelyn put it on whenever she got cold.

Our daily routine had slowed down, as some days the snow and wind was so bad that we spent the whole day inside. Some times it was a few days before the storm stopped and we only went out to collect snow for water or to relieve ourselves. Besides this, we spent it inside doing various things to keep ourselves busy.

Any game we caught provided temporary work as I scraped the hide clean, washed it, stretched it, and tanned it. This took time and gage Kaelyn material to turn into clothing. Both of us had gloves, the coats, and hats, to use when it got cold, or for when we had to venture out into the white landscape. Now the extra hides she turned into hats. When I had asked why she had replied, "Women love to wear hats, especially when it gets cold. Hoods hide our faces, a hat draws people to look at our face. Besides, these furs and not good for much else besides gloves maybe."

I knew she was right about them not being good for much, but the part about the hat interested me. Shaw would have been proud to know that his daughter had made such observations and was using it to turn a profit. Such an eye was what had gotten me through the early years of my trading, when I had been no more than twelve years old and trying to support a sister in law with two young kids and a husband who had broken his leg while farming. Once my brother healed the extra money had not been necessary but I enjoyed the work and it had taken us from the edge of poverty to living at least comfortably. Now I mostly did the work to try and ensure that my niece and nephew would have a better life than I had. Besides Cassie had raised me when my parents had die and I would never be able to repay her for turning the wild rebellious kid I had been i to who I was now.

Perhaps it was due to not having seen them in over two months, but I found my thoughts drifting to that of my family as I asked Kaelyn, "Did your father ever talk about me much?" I did not even realize I had said it until Kaelyn stared at me wide eyes, a look of shock on her face.

"Yes I know your father is Shaw. It was easy in those early days. You wore clothing only someone with wealth could afford. Your skill with a needle and talk about you and your mother making goods to sell to others implies a craftsman family. Besides your father is the only man I know in Notredram who would carry a pellet gun, and have the stomach to shoot small animals."

"Why wait until now to say something? You clearly have known since that night at the house." She answered soft and slow.

"My thoughts drifted to my family, it just slipped out of my mouth. But I am curious, if you are willing to talk about it."