My Life Among the Barbarians

Today has been exceptionally trying. I have been working around the settlement all day, trying to make it something that resembles livable. Though the barbarians and I have a completely different view on what makes a settlement livable. The Hot Spring where the barbarians bathe, is disgusting. It doesn't seem to matter how often or how deeply I clean it, the elder pair of barbarians are more than capable of desecrating it in a matter of moments. The area around the cooking fire just seems to catch most of the detritus of our lives and gather it in ever growing drifts. The Hall where we eat seems to be holding steady at cluttered rather than disgusting. The Gathering Hall, where we spend so much of our days, is cluttered, but again not too dirty. I spent so many hours today cleaning around the cook fire and scrubbing furs. I think I spent more time today folding other people's furs than I did sleeping last night. One of the little pools where I normally clean our cooking ute...

The last few days have been trying. My partner is away on a night hunt far to the southwest. He has been gone for several days. In his absence, the barbarians have been testing the waters and fomenting rebellion. The eldest barbarian has come to the erroneous conclusion that he has no duties around the settlement and the deepest pits of the underworld will freeze over before he admits he is wrong. This evening he shouted down the walls of the Gathering Hall when I asked that he pick up after himself. As though it were perfectly acceptable to leave his furs thrown all over the settlement. The middle barbarian is still struggling at the Halls of Learning and I begin to wonder if it will ever be possible to tame his wild ways. Today, he had a good day, which is all I ask for. Perfect is not necessary. He seems to have difficulty bringing himself back to calm when his will is thwarted. The littlest barbarian is more stubborn then the elder two combined. She has recently learned to sa...

The Thaw came late this year and chilly weather persisted far past the norm. The Freeze has come early, exactly as I expected.  Truth be told, the weather has been unpleasant for most of the year and often down right hostile. Things have been hectic here in the settlement of late and I have been remiss in cataloging my observations. The Matriarch is now settled in her home near the crossroads and is becoming acclimated to the slower pace of things around here. She has mostly recovered from her injury and though she will likely use a cane for the rest of her life, at least she can still get around. Since summer's purported end, though not the true end of the often hellish season, the elder pair of barbarians have returned to the Halls of Learning. It was not a smooth transition for my beloved Middle barbarian. He struggled quite extremely in the care of his Wise Woman. Luckily we were offered the opportunity for him switch to the care of a new Wise Woman who seems much better su...

It seems as though my time is now constantly filled. This morning, during a massive rebellion staged by the middle barbarian, I was forced to allow him to win the battle. I had to help the Matriarch navigate the trails to the Halls of Medicine for an appointment with one of the Medicine Women. While I was gone the Most Honorable Elders ran herd on the barbarians of my settlement. The eldest was sick, the middle was mid revolt, and the youngest continues to attempt to scare the life out of anyone watching her. The Honorable Elders were able to convince the middle barbarian that his obligations at the Halls of Learning were indeed important and mandatory. By the time I returned from my first trip to the Halls of Medicine, the middle barbarian was at school. The littlest one went down for a nap, the eldest and I rested on the stuffed cushions for a while. The White Wolf guarded the perimeter of the settlement while we slept and alerted me when the Most Honorable Elder returned so that ...

It has been long since I have documented my observations here among the barbarians. It was nearly a hundred days ago when the Matriarch of my line required the special ritual on her shattered kneecap. In those hundred days, the Halls of Learning closed for the summer and opened again just a few days ago. My Elders in the nearby settlements now number three. The Distant Elder has moved closer, now living just next to the river down the valley from our settlement. The Behemoth has found a new home up north. I have been cleaning the Injured Elder's settlement and preparing it for new ownership. In five days, my partner and I will be leaving the barbarians behind and travelling to my Elder's old settlement to complete the last of the debridement. Then a few days later a the Smudgers will come to burn sage and remove the last traces of previous occupation so that new settlers can move in. The barbarians have been well this past hundred days, though there have been more trials an...

This evening, I returned to my settlement after a long absence. The Distant Honorable Elder tripped in her settlement yesterday and fell, damaging her face, her rib cage and her knee. Once I received word of her injury, I called upon the Honorable Elders of my partner's line. They were able to come and run herd on my wild pack of little barbarians while I rushed to join the westward caravan. I took my Elder to the Halls of Medicine near her settlement and they kept her overnight so that one of the Wisest of the Medicine Men could perform a special ritual on her broken knee. I always find it so nerve wracking to wait while someone undergoes such a ritual, but she came through it just fine and is recovering in the Halls of Medicine.  Unfortunately, her Behemoth requires care and I am forced to return to her settlement after seeing my barbarians off to sleep this evening. It is not a particularly onerous task and while I resent the separation from my partner and the little barb...