To Market, to Market
Alyssa had made quota and then some. With the cooperation of her stable of six and her four volunteers, she was able to milk not only the 700cc collection Morena needed, but to beat it by 150cc. And it was all Grade AAA or better.
Once everything was packed in the refrigeration rigs for transport, she called all the men together.
"I'm going to call my Rancher," she told them, "and arrange delivery. You men have been phenomenal. This will absolutely stun the Matriarch and I'm guessing this year's Festival will be incredibly successful. And there is no way Dosay and I could have pulled this off without your willing cooperation."
"Steven, you and your sons are obviously free to go about your lives, with my heartfelt gratitude and an 'I owe you one'. The rest of you - Gann, Roe, Hecht, Heath, Sawgrass, Lott - we're back to our original contract. You know there are limitations as far as moving around in public is concerned. But otherwise, you are as free as I can make you. And if there is any way Dosay or I can make your lives more comfortable, please let us know."
"Mistress?" Sawgrass raised his hand.
"Yes?" Alyssa asked, turning to him.
"May we make suggestions regarding the dietary regimen?" he asked. "Honestly, I think with some tweaks - which might unfortunately cost you a bit more - you could improve our health and satisfy our appetites more at the same time."
"Are you a cook?" she asked. "No, never mind that. Dosay's in charge of the kitchen. Roe has been running it for her. Take it up with him. Any of you with suggestions, take it up with him. Dosay will make the final decision. If your requests aren't outrageous, I don't see any reason we can't accommodate you. After all, you're the reason we're going to succeed and if not get wealthy, at least be well off."
"Any other questions?"
There weren't any, so Alyssa suggested the men take some time to relax and start thinking about the kinds of recreation they might be interested in. She also suggested they get off at least every couple of days to keep their supply up. They'd figure out a milking schedule later. Right now, she was going to go see if the Dale's little post office / radio-telegraphy station could get a message to Morena without having to send a rider.
One of Vern's Dale's points of interest was its post office. The same men who had figured out how to repair the hydroelectric dam had also figured out how to resurrect several old shortwave transceivers. With them, they had been able to contact other radio operators all across the continent. The Dale was probably the settlement farthest on the edge of the Wilderlands, but it did have communications with the capitol. And the capitol operators knew how to get hold of Morena.
So later that afternoon, Alyssa received a terse message with instructions to deliver the product to Morena's ranch. It was going to be a very long day's ride there, unless she camped overnight on the way. And with her precious cargo, she was a bit nervous about getting waylaid. She decided she needed a bodyguard.
She thought about taking Gann. He was experienced in the outdoors and would make a good companion on the trail. She didn't have to worry about him running off. In fact, she didn't have to worry about any of 'her men' running off. But she wondered about his ability to handle more than one assailant if they were assaulted in numbers.
Then she thought about Steven. The man was imposing all by himself. If he had any woodcraft or self-defense skills, he might make a better choice. She decided to go see him.
"Of course, Missy, I'd be honored to escort you," he'd told her with a smile. "Where are we going?"
She gave him a description of the two day ride and he thought about it for a long moment before replying.
"There's two stretches along there that are ripe for bandits," he observed. "Especially for a single traveler. But I think we can take care of that. When did you want to start out?"
"As soon as possible, Steven," she told him. "I have cargo to deliver that's on the clock. I have cold storage containers for it and it'll fit in a double saddlebag, but Morena needs it yesterday."
"Did you want to overnight at Mossy Hill?" he asked. "Or stay away from town and camp it?"
"What would you suggest?" she asked in return. "I see advantages and disadvantages for both. I have no reason to believe we're being spied on or followed, but I have to think it's a possibility."
"I'd say risk staying in town," Steven decided. "We can stable the horses at the inn, take the cargo with us to the room, I can get food for us and we can leave bright and early. We can take turns guarding the cargo while the other sleeps. And it's easier to defend a limited number of access points. Problem is, of course, people are going to be very curious. You have a rep, and why you'd be traveling with me would get tongues wagging."
"Okay, we'll plan on Mossy Hill," Alyssa agreed. "Can you meet me out front in an hour?"
"Can do, Missy," Steven smiled. "Gonna have to put up a Gone Fishin' sign on the smithy. I'll meet you here in an hour."
So they went their separate ways to prepare and an hour later, the big smith was astride a large work horse in front of Alyssa's with full saddlebags and wearing a long duster. Alyssa had said her good-byes to her sister and 'her men', packed for a light couple of days and had the cargo loaded in the saddlebags on the back of her mare. When she saw Steven riding up, she looked with surprise and suspicion at his saddle loaded with saddlebags, bedroll or tent or whatever and other stuff.
"What's with all the gear?" she asked. "It's only two days."
"Be prepared, Missy," he told her, then pointed at the saddlebags and the roll strapped behind his saddle. "Rations, shelter, clean water and defensive tools. I'll show you when we get out of town."
"Not a problem," she told him. "Let's move."
And they did. They headed out of town on the main road to Mossy Hill and rode for nearly an hour, passing farms and ranches and others on the road, until they came to a point where the road cut through a stand of woods.
"Over here, Missy," Steven said and turned his horse off the road and into the trees. Alyssa followed him and they eased their way through the trees until they were a good hundred yards from the road. Then Steven halted and Alyssa rode up next to him.
"To begin with," he told her as he opened his long coat, "I've been a collector for a long time."
What Alyssa saw was a bandolier with a double row of shot shells and crossing it, a holster for a short barreled pump action shotgun. On his hip, she saw another holster, apparently for a pistol. He reached back under his bedroll behind his saddle and pulled out another long holster, this time for a lever-action carbine.
Firearms were rare and almost all of the ones in circulation were issued to the Matriarch's armed forces or the local constabularies. It wasn't illegal for citizens to own them - they were just damned hard to come by.
Steven handed her the rifle scabbard and a belt of pouches containing extra ammunition.
"You know how to use a rifle?" he asked.
"My father taught me how to shoot," Alyssa told him. "He thought knowing how to hunt and defend myself would be a good idea. I have no idea what happened to his arsenal. I was away when he died."