Farmers

I was actually aware of six boys that could be old enough to fight in the arena, from the dark expression on Hose's face he did as well. "Sister, sounds like you might want to look into collecting them. You are down ten vets and you need a few more bloodied." The woman pulled harder on the broom. I dropped my voice lower, "At least if they are there they won't be fighting each other. Might I have sometime to talk to you before you do something that leaves the 25 children here without a defence?" I had also raised a shield against sound around us for a moment, the messenger would still hear us but the eldest and the priest would not.

The woman let go of the broom and took a step back before looking at the priest. She read the confusion on the man's face. So did the messenger, and his expression became more dangerous. The woman looked over at the messenger and then back at me, "The lord's messenger and his friends are welcome, of course. Priest, I am done talking to you, stay out, and leave the children to work." The woman turned and went inside. Leaving me holding the broom.

I smiled and set the broom against the wall of the house. The messenger and the eldest of Estro dismounted and the messenger tied the reins around a rail in the porch. To keep the horses from wandering. The messenger reached out and shook his head when the eldest started to step on the bottom step of the porch. The priest frowned, "I will be back tomorrow, woman. You cannot put me off forever."

I crossed my arms in front of me and looked at the priest. He turned white and started back to the road. I watched him until he was past were I could see him, and my sense told me he continued on the road and didn't circle back. The woman came back out shortly after that. "What do you want anyway? Not enough sisters in the house of Estro?"

I turned to look at the woman standing in the doorway. She had more lines then she should have and her eyes looked hunted. She was wearing a serviceable dress and apron that had quite a few stains on it. She looked like she missed more meals then she got which was strange considering the size of the fields, but not when you consider the number of children around. Clearly some other women left their daughters with her, she might have even picked up extra sons if the women in the fields hadn't survived childbirth. "None have been raised to believe that children deserve love, and protection."

I felt surprise from the messenger but I didn't think it was written on his face. The woman looked at the eldest and the messenger before looking back at me. "Love makes a boy weak and a girl useless."

"Love makes a man when a boy would fail. Love makes a woman where a girl would die."

The woman looked me up and down, pursing her lips. "You don't look like us."

"I am not, but I have an offer for you if you will listen?" She looked back over at the eldest.

She frowned and crossed her arms lifting her chest. "What is the offer?"

"There are a few moving parts to this offer, but let's start with the most pressing. My house needs 20 women to be the wives of 10 men." The woman gave me a surprised look, "It was a term of the last fight. Effectively that means my house needs to buy women like it normally buys boys, unless the women of the house want to take up the ristritions which I feel strongly is unlikely."

The woman's eyes narrowed. I wasn't sure how much of my memories our lord had shared with his messenger but I could feel waves of confusion from the eldest of Estro while I talked. The woman took a breath and frowned, "When you say wife how close is that to the old term?"

"Personally pretty close, for the other men of my units, it will probably be closer to two partners they know only have their children but probably not the only ones they find in the night."

The woman nodded. I felt more confusion and worry coming off the eldest. She didn't understand what I was thinking and I didn't expect her too, right now she needed me more then I needed her. "You said there were more parts, what else are you thinking?"

"That daughters that fill those slots don't really have to spend all their time couped up in the house. As long as they made it home every night I wouldn't care if they went out to do what they want. I don't think my brothers would care either."

"So you are saying they can come back and see me and their other family?"

"As long as I don't have to worry about the terms being broken. Which I think you are more then capable of helping me keep them."

The woman nodded, "If true it is better then I had hoped for my girls. I will make sure they don't mess it up by having someone else's."

I felt my sisters shock that the woman had clearly agreed to the first terms. From her point of view the woman had gained nothing. She hadn't officially agreed but I also wasn't done yet and she had been in more arguments then this one. "It might not be every day, but as much as I can and they can. Next I want to talk to you about your sons."

I felt her fear but she barely showed it in her shoulders, "I am not parting with them sooner."

"Not even on similar terms?" The woman's eyes narrowed and she frowned.

"You are going to have to explain that one to me, wilder." The eldest hissed but stopped when she saw my hand move.

"Starting at ten I would like you to send your boys to me for two months the first time, after that I would like three days out of every thirty and one thirty day every winter. You will let them choose if they want to fight after they turn 14 and if they want to you will ask my house to set up the matches for them, with a scheduling fee fixed to .2. If at any point they aren't able to pay the blood price for the next month you will only sell them to my house for 5. When they join my house, they will train for two more months before they take their first house fight. The house will take 1 of their winnings, the .2 fee and 1 to their debt the rest they can do with as they wish. They can put it towards their 7 debt to the house or not. So long as they are in debt to the house, after their two months of induction, they will accept at least one fight a month. They must sleep in the house at night and cannot leave without a woman of the house with them. If they can get a woman to go with them and they are not fighting that day, they can do what they want with their time."

"That is 3.2 off the top of every fight, and if that is the only fight that month it is really 4.2"

"With the entry fee, yes, it probably is, but it will be much easier to earn, and you won't have to worry about them facing each other. Which is harder on them then the boys who are sold by their mother's at the age of 4 or 5."

"Is that it or do you have more?"

"You are so wise. Yes there is more, since all your children will be able to help around here so much more then you would get otherwise, you will only sell your harvest, or anything you make, to my house. I believe you are in the mind to keep your prices reasonable since you know that the better cared for my house is the better cared for your boys and girls are."

The woman smiled, "That is true. Are these terms good for others, with like minded craziness?"