Black Axe Tribe (4)

"Keep digging, I want this section finished before dark!"

Blake began the day by gathering a large number of the tribe members, mainly made up of hunters and warriors.

During the winter many of the tribe members who were engaged in this task could do nothing but stay in their huts, consuming the stored resources, but Blake didn't want the tribe members to have too much leisure time, so he constantly had them working on the tribe's infrastructure, working in the workshop, attending seminars on specific tasks, among other things.

"Okay, lay the first layer of rocks!"

At his command, a dozen men began to throw rocks into the previously dug trench, then they threw in smaller rocks, gravel, and finally a layer of dirt.

What they were doing, then, was a road.

The tribe had grown to a fairly large size with its constant expansions, and Blake built roads that connected the 4 gates of the walls, as well as several important points within the tribe such as the workshop, the dining halls, the storehouses, and other important places.

In terms of practicality, a road was not important, as the ground inside the tribe was frozen most of the time. It sometimes caused problems by being slippery when the temperature rose a bit, but that was about it.

Blake didn't mind this, the road would bring some benefits to the tribe, and although not many, he was also doing it for a more important reason, which was to teach the tribe members how to make roads.

Blake had shown the whole process to his students by dividing them into several groups. And this wasn't the first time he had done this, he took them along when constructing a building, a warehouse, a house, a fireplace, and whatever else he taught. Blake wanted all the next generation of tribal members, to know everything they needed to know to build new settlements, as the black axe tribe was in dire need of expansion.

The old canals that brought water to the entire tribe, made of wood, had been rebuilt with bricks and cement.

The old walls surrounding the tribe, made of logs, were now made of earth, rocks, and compacted clay, with bricks and cement on the outside to make them even stronger. So as long as the tribe's walls were well-defended, it would not be easy for anyone to attack the tribe.

"That's enough for today, the cooks are already working on dinner, you can go to the mess halls."

"At last."

"Being out in this damn cold makes my joints ache."

"I hope they serve cheese today, we haven't eaten in weeks."

Blake looked at everyone as they mumbled their way to the dining rooms.

The words they were saying were not directed at him, and Blake noticed the fear in the eyes of many as they looked at him.

"Finally those damn Frozen Shore savages can follow orders, but do you think it was right to teach them that?"

Cam, who had been helping with the road construction as well, walked over to Blake after his warriors marched to the mess halls, asking him.

Blake shrugged.

"They're a troublesome people, maybe this way they'll finally mellow out."

What Cam was referring to, was the tribe's latest major construction.

It all started with a question from one of the children at school, who wanted to farm with his own hands.

Since winter was not long into the season, Blake knew he would have to postpone that request for a couple more years at least, or so he thought, until he thought about the properties of his blood and the possibility of making a greenhouse out of sheets of ice.

The greenhouses Blake had seen in his last life were made of glass or plastic, but those materials were out of the question in this place.

Blake didn't know what materials were used to make glass, and for plastic, it was the same. But the ice he made with his blood, could stay for a very long time, and if at some point it started to melt, a time he estimated in years, he just needed to make more.

After thinking about it some more, and assessing that it was a feasible idea, Blake made the frame of the greenhouse out of wood.

Most of the builders were curious about the structure they were building for the first time, but they were even more surprised when they saw Blake make the ice sheets in front of everyone.

Blake had already thought of all the possible ways to make these crystals. If he used packed snow, it would not let the sun's rays reach the crops, and nothing would grow there. If he used ordinary ice cut from a frozen lake, it might melt on a sunny day, and his greenhouse would fall apart. He even thought about making it in the form of an igloo but making an igloo on such a massive scale would be a big problem.

Blake built a large mold where they would dig at least 6 sheets of ice a meter high and wide, with only 2cm thick, according to the ratio of water and blood, Blake estimated that these sheets of ice should have a resistance equal to a concrete wall, so the hail could not break the ice sheets despite being thin.

The builders were very surprised when they saw their blue blood for the first time, and even more so when they saw how a few drops instantly froze the water in the wooden mold.

Despite the legends and rumors about Blake in the black axe tribe, which described him as a child of the forest, as a Greenseer, Skinchanger, sorcerer, or dark spirit, Blake had taught them his knowledge purely guided by logic, self-study, and scientific evidence. They could all repeat and do everything Blake did, but now, for the first time, he was teaching them something that was not possible for them.

"Also maybe fear will drive them mad, and they will stage a revolt, the Men of the Frozen Shore are still new to the tribe."

Cam responded to Blake's words, still hesitant. It was no problem for him to teach such skills to the older members of the tribe, to them Blake was considered something beyond a mere man, but he wasn't sure with the latest newcomers.

"That was only possible when they had nothing to lose, now that they have lived in the tribe, that they have homes, that they have weapons, that they have food, that they have security, they will think twice before doing anything. Tell me, Cam, do you think any of this was possible before?"

At Blake's words, as he pointed to the tribe, Cam looked at everything they had built.

The large wooden buildings, the countless houses, the imposing walls, the tall watchtowers, and all the men moving about inside the tribe despite it being the middle of winter... It certainly looked like a magical place in his eyes.

"Sigh, He couldn't take you contrary in this."

Cam finally surrendered.

"I want you to stay in charge of the tribe when I march north."

Cam's face immediately contorted at Blake's words.

"If you're going to go to the lands of the giants, you'll need the best warriors in the tribe, and very few are better than me!"

Blake shook his head at Cam's words.

"We will not go to war this time, I will only take 100 men. I need you to stay to enforce the rules of the tribe while Oswin and I are gone, and also to look after Ygritte."

"Clay can do that too."

"I need Clay to cross the forest, it's cursed lands where we're headed, a skilled hunter like Clay will be more useful to me than a warrior."

Blake had formed chains of command where little intervention was needed, so he was not necessary to the running of the tribe. Still, a leader was necessary, either to make final verdicts or in case of an enemy attack.

Cam still seemed dissatisfied with this, he had given himself the task of protecting Blake, just as Wymond was charged with Oswin's protection, he was not at all happy to stay with the tribe while the Magnar and Blake left for such a dangerous and unfamiliar place.

Blake would have liked to have Cam at his side since no warrior was as reliable, the problem was that, not counting Clay, Cam was the most apt person to be left in charge. Cam could read, write, and count, knew about farming, knew the current business with the Night's Watch, and since he had followed him everywhere, he was the tribe member with the most general knowledge, so Blake needed him in the tribe in his and Oswin's absence.

"While I'm gone, take Osha to my house, so she can take care of Ygritte."

Cam raised an eyebrow at Blake's words, but it didn't take long for him to understand the underlying message.

Cam remained hesitant for some time but finally nodded.

"Fine, I'll take your word for it, when you come back, I want a house like yours."

Blake flashed a faint smile.

"If I come back, we will leave this place, but I will build a house for you first of all in our next home, in warmer lands."