Chapter 223: The Blessing of the Tribe
Kellar pushed open the door of his home, leaving the freezing afternoon air behind. The warmth from the main hearth greeted him, along with the aroma of herbs and roasting meat. In the main hall, the women of the household turned as they heard him enter.
Mila, Maya, and Helga, accompanied by the other wives sharing the residence, approached to greet him with smiles.
"Welcome home, Great Shaman," said Mila, stepping forward to take his cloak.
"How has everything been around here while I was away?" asked Kellar, looking at each of them.
"Everything has been wonderful, my lord, nothing out of the ordinary has happened," answered Maya. "We’ve been assisting with the reading classes and ensuring the household provisions are organized."
"Excellent. Now, I want everyone to line up," ordered Kellar. "It’s time for your daily medical checkup."
Without hesitation, the women formed a line. Kellar went down the row, taking their wrists to check for a pulse, assessing their skin temperature, and checking their physical state to ensure there were no complications with their pregnancies.
Everything was progressing well. However, near the end of the line, Kellar noticed one of the women who hadn’t stepped forward, looking nervous as she clutched the hem of her tunic.
Kellar observed her for a second and smiled. He walked over to her, took her wrist, and placed two fingers over her pulse point. After listening, he looked into her eyes.
"Congratulations," told her Kellar with a nod. "You are pregnant as well."
Upon hearing those words, Helga couldn’t contain a cry of joy. Her eyes filled with tears of emotion and she pressed her hands to her chest, feeling that she had received what she desired most in the world. The room filled with congratulations and hugs among the women.
After the initial excitement settled, Kellar adopted a serious posture and looked at all of them.
"Tell me the truth, have you all been eating the prescribed portions of liver, red meat, and vegetable broths I ordered for you?" asked Kellar.
Several of them lowered their eyes, letting out grumbles.
"It’s too much food, my lord..." protested Maya with a pout. "We feel as though we’re going to burst if we keep eating at that rate all day long."
"There is no room for argument on this," insisted Kellar. "You must eat it. Your bodies are creating new life and require every nutrient possible so that the babies grow strong and healthy."
Kellar knew that modern medicines did not exist in this world; there was no folic acid, no absorbable iron, nor commercial multivitamin tablets. The only way he had to prevent severe anemia or developmental defects during gestation was to saturate their diets with natural foods rich in those nutrients.
Suddenly, a thought struck him like a bolt of lightning. If the system sells clothing, food, tools, and weapons... why wouldn’t it sell medicines? thought Kellar, inwardly chiding himself for not checking sooner.
Instantly, he summoned the shop interface before his eyes and navigated through the secondary tabs. He searched and filtered until, in a section dedicated to medical supplies, his eyes locked onto a product.
[Medical Supplies & Tribal Health]
[Complete Prenatal Supplement Bottle (Folic Acid, Iron, Calcium, and Essential Vitamins)] — Cost: 10 Pts
Kellar read the description with amazement. Each bottle contained the exact treatment required for a healthy pregnancy. Best of all was the price: ten points per unit. It was a low cost that felt as though the system was encouraging him to buy them en masse to secure his people’s demographic growth.
Without hesitation, Kellar selected the quantity. He needed a reserve in case he had to depart on expeditions to the cave or the borders, ensuring none of them would lack supplies in his absence.
[Purchased: Complete Prenatal Supplement Bottle x 56 (-560 Pts)]
[Remaining Tribal Evolution Points: 11,272]
Before the eyes of the women, dozens of sealed dark glass bottles appeared out of thin air, stacking onto the wooden table.
Helga and Mila took a step back, their eyes wide with astonishment.
"What... what are these bottles, my lord?" asked Mila, picking up one of the containers.
𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Kellar picked up a bottle, unsealed it, and drew out a small pressed tablet.
"This is concentrated medicine," explained Kellar, displaying the pill on the palm of his hand. "They contain what your bodies and the babies need: folic acid for the child’s nervous system development, iron to prevent the mother from suffering anemia, and calcium to strengthen your bones."
"Do we have to take that tiny stone every day?" asked Maya, examining the bottle with curiosity.
"It is called a tablet, and yes," replied Kellar. "You take one tablet a day, in the morning alongside a glass of clean water. It does not replace your food, but it will allow you not to force yourselves with so much meat and liver if you lack an appetite. This will ensure the children are born healthy, strong, and without defects."
"And it won’t harm the baby to consume something that isn’t natural food?" asked Helga, caressing her belly.
"Not at all," reassured her Kellar with a smile. "On the contrary. This medicine purifies the blood and provides the body with the exact building blocks it requires. There are enough bottles here for the next eight months for every single one of you. I will leave instructions with Mila so she can manage the daily distribution."
The women listened to every medical explanation with fascination, marveling at the wisdom of their Shaman, who not only protected them from the winter and their enemies, but guarded the life growing within their womb.
Once the use of the supplements was clarified, the atmosphere in the hall relaxed. The warmth of the central hearth seemed to banish any trace of the cold threatening from outside, as the women set the wooden table for dinner.
They served bowls of smoked meat broth seasoned with wild herbs, alongside cuts accompanied by the last rations of dried fruits.