by Noah Layton
‘This way, Jack.’
I made a brief check of the surrounding forest for threats. Thanks to my huntress’s perfect sense of direction, we arrived at the exact spot to the sounds of squeaking and shuffling.
Our makeshift covering was undisturbed, even by the elements. I pulled it back and saw them all safe and sound.
‘All right, you win,’ Lara smiled. ‘But, Master Jack, we still have to get them back.’
In two trips we brought the squirming piglets back to the cart and placed them in the alcove, away from the wolf carcasses. They were a little agitated but settled in quickly, and with the carts now filled to the brim and the convoys secure, we set off again.
It was before midday when we arrived back at my land. Relief washed over me as we emerged onto the land to find it, and my few citizens, safe.
Tormus and Eri were taking a break in between their work and waved over to us from their house. Ariadne and Alorion came hurrying across the field in between shouts of where were you? and we thought you were dead!
Ariadne hurried up to me
‘I’ll explain everything in a little while,’ I said, waving my bandaged hand at them. ‘In the meantime, Santana, Jeremiah, this is Alorion, my advisor, and Ariadne, my…’
Jeremiah just nodded in acknowledgement, while Santana maintained the most oblivious poker face that I had ever seen. Everybody shook hands and greeted each other warmly, much to my relief.
We led the convoy to the tree and unhooked the carts from the horses before leading both horses and both taurems into the pasture of grass on the southern side of the land. The animals began to graze happily and showed no sign of taking off. Already they were growing accustomed to their new home.
After giving Jeremiah and Santana a tour of the land, I conferred with Alorion about the newest tasks that we had to complete. While every new citizen would bring prosperity in the future, each of them brought their own responsibilities.
‘We’ve got our hands full.’
‘Indeed,’ Alorion replied. ‘Where do we start?’
‘We need to create an enclosure for the piglets. Somewhere where they’ll be safe. The stables will also need upgrading so that we can house the livestock.’
‘I would suggest that the stables can wait. In this heat there is no need to protect the animals from the elements. But the piglets will need somewhere.’
‘Fair enough. After that we need to build somewhere for Jeremiah and Santana to stay. Preferably close to the animals.’
‘We can relocate the stable soon.’
‘Relocate it?’
‘It is one of your privileges as tribe master. You can uproot buildings on the land that you control. It costs but a few gold to do so, but becomes more expensive the larger the building.’
‘That’s useful,’ I remarked, considering the possibilities. ‘We need a lot of supplies if we’re going to get all of this finished by the end of the day.’
‘Another trip to Ichabod’s Cove for stone, master?’
‘It’s too far. We’ll pay the excess for the supply of stone available at the trading post. Right now I want to make sure everybody’s safe. Tomorrow we can finally get started on constructing the defences at the outer perimeter.’
‘Very well. Let’s get to work.’
My first order of business was the pig pen. On the surface it seemed like a low priority, but considering how young they were it was important to get them fed and protected quickly.
The project was available at my Building totem.
Small livestock pen – Requires Wood Block x50
We had had wood when building Tormus and Eri’s house, but there were only 15 units remaining in storage.
But I had iron. And that meant I had the resources to acquire some more.
After crafting an axe at the Defence Totem, I met Alorion outside.
‘Do trees go down as easily as corn does with a sickle?’
‘Perhaps not quite as easily, but for a man of your strength it should not be too taxing.’
‘Seriously?’
‘Of course. Any resource can be gathered as long as the correct tool is used. For example, your sword may be sharp, and while it may succeed at slaying your enemies it will do nothing to bring down a tree. Speaking of which, what happened out there?’
‘We got into a fight with some wolves, rescued a father and daughter and brought them back here with their resources.’
‘So a normal day’s work, then?’
‘Pretty much.’
I headed to the forest with my tool and moved fifty yards into the wilderness, where the trunks stood squat and thick.
I picked my tree, one that looked a little less sturdy than the others, and measured my axe against the wood.
Aside from chopping wooden blocks for the fire with my dad years ago I had never done anything like this. He had done the cutting. Tree surgeons existed for a reason; they could bring the trunk down in the most precise direction.
Me? I didn’t have a clue. All I could do was start chopping.
I dug my blade into the trunk, brought the axe back over my shoulder with both hands clasped tightly around the handle, and slammed it against the wood.
The vibrations resonated up both of my arms and sent a twinge of pain through my recovering arm and hand, but I could deal with it. After a few more strikes the pain became an afterthought lost in the back of my head, and the trunk started to give.
I was slicing through it ridiculously quickly; the progress could be compared to how everything seemed to work in this world; whether it was the growth and collection of crops or the reparation of wounds, things moved fast.
By the time I was halfway through the trunk sweat was pouring down my face. Despite the exertion required I still had a big, stupid smile on my face.
CREEAAAKKK.
I yanked my axe from the wood and stopped, then looked up.
Shit.
The tree was collapsing right in my direction.
Sprinting to the right and moving clear, I watched as the tree came tumbling down to earth, landing horizontal in the undergrowth with a vibrating boom.
With the easy part down, I got to work slicing the weaker sections of the trunk into moveable sections which I hoisted back to the base of the trunk, using it as a chopping block.
The first units were tough, but I quickly got into the rhythm of it and formed a small pile of ten.
I opened my inventory and stored the wood within. It formed into stacks of three, not surprising considering its weight; if anything I was happy with it.
I continued with my work until I had more than enough for the construction of the pig pen, before heading back to the land with my new resources ready.
Returning to the Building Totem, I activated the pig pen construction and headed to the grass pasture in a spot close to the tree. The process was much shorter than the construction of the stone house, going up in minutes with the help of a few tools.
‘Is it ready?’ Ariadne called across, ‘Because these little guys won’t stop squirming.’
‘Ready!’ I shouted across. A moment later Ariadne and Lara crossed with a pig under each arm, while Santana appeared with the last.
‘This one is by far the heaviest,’ Santana laughed, ‘We have to be careful he doesn’t hog the food.’
I opened the gate and the girls carried their piglets inside and lowered them gently to the ground before exiting.
‘They’re adorable,’ Santana said. ‘This should provide ample protection for the moment.’
‘We need to see about feeding them,’ I said. ‘Water will suffice for a little while, but with their mother gone they need milk.’
‘The taurems.’ Santana nodded over to them in the field nearby, where they were grazing. ‘Piglets actually prefer taurem’s milk over their own mothers.’
‘Can you get some?’
‘I’ve been doing it my whole life. I can serve some up in no time. We have a trough in the supplies
that we brought, too.’
‘Great. Things are really moving forward, girls. And I never thought I’d say this, but thanks for remembering to bring a trough of all things.’
‘It is my pleasure, master. Many people do not realise how crucial an item is to their survival until it is no longer in their possession.’
‘Things are certainly progressing,’ Ariadne added, ‘but we don’t have time to rest. We need many more supplies; gold to upgrade our water resources. And…’ She paused briefly.
‘What is it?’
‘Well… I don’t mean to be rude, master, but… It would be beneficial if we could improve the hygiene situation within the tribe. We are all natural beings, but if we live together then we must also look towards looking after ourselves.’
Even if the girls spoke about sex pretty freely – I would never forget my night in Ichabod’s Cove with them – speaking about hygiene in a formal way was still one thing that they apparently had in common with the people back on Earth.
They had a point. More than a point – it was a big freaking deal.
‘Right…’ I said slowly. ‘I don’t know if I want to ask this question, but I kind of need to… How do you usually keep clean in your world?’
‘Our water supplies once sufficiently upgraded will offer enough bathing water for all, but without anything to bathe in we will struggle.’
‘So that’s all we need? Bathtubs?’
‘Essentially,’ Ariadne said. ‘Is that a possibility?’
‘Of course,’ I said, taken aback. ‘I’m sorry it’s taken so long for me to think about that. I know we’ve been trying to stay alive, but there’s no excuse for… Anyway, I’ll get right on it. We need to make a big supply trip to the trading post before night arrives. Once we’re back we’ll be on top of things, but we need to get some gold together.’
For the next hour we consolidated our crop supplies and began a round of harvesting. While Santana milked one of the taurems for the piglets on the Southern side of the land, Eri collected her tomatoes on the North into one of her baskets. They had ripened beautifully and were ready to be traded off.
‘Keep a batch for us tonight,’ I asked her, kneeling by her side as she picked. ‘We’re going to eat well tonight. After the last few days everybody deserves a long rest.’
‘Yes, master. Are you planning on taking some corn to the post?’
‘The price will still be low but I want to take as much as the horses can carry, so probably, yes.’
‘I have some additional sickles if they would be of use to you. With more than one person harvesting you could get the task accomplished much faster.’
It was music to my ears. The tools were a little worn, but Ariadne, Lara and I got to work bringing the corn down in quick droves. In between chugging back water from our canteens and sweating in the midday heat, I realised how necessary it was that we stay clean.
While we completed our work in the fields, Santana finished milking the taurems and Jeremiah tended to the horses. We stocked one of the carts to the brim with crops before I returned to the pen just in time to see Jeremiah heading inside with the bucket, and Santana watching from the fence.
He set the trough down and poured the milk. The piglets seemed wary of his presence at first, but after backing away and exiting the pen they quickly scurried over to investigate the trough.
Their snouts sniffed for a few moments before they began to drink down the milk.
‘Perfect,’ I said. ‘How long will that last?’
‘They will need to be fed again tomorrow,’ Santana replied. ‘This should easily last the night.’
‘Great. Can the taurems supply any more milk?’
‘Plenty.’
‘Get enough for a serving for everybody. We’re going to eat well tonight.’
I returned to the tree and met up with Ariadne and Lara, who were checking the last of the supplies in the carts.
‘That’s everything,’ Ariadne said, taking a deep breath and placing her hands on her slender hips. She was still wearing the new clothing that we had bought a while back, and it was drenched with moisture – coupled with her breasts pushed up by her tight top knotted at the front and her toned, exposed stomach, I had a hard time focusing on anything, especially in this heat.
This was the hottest day so far and I was conscious of spending too much time in the sun, but even in the shade I was suffering.
‘I think the weather is having an effect on our master,’ Ariadne giggled to Lara, who raised her eyebrows and smiled.
‘I don’t know how the hell you’re coping in this heat,’ I breathed, taking another chug from my canteen. ‘Doesn’t it bother you?’
‘We are used to it,’ Ariadne said. ‘But I am also used to wearing very little.’
‘You don’t call this very little?’ I said, nodding up and down at her skimpy outfit.
‘It could be more… Flexible,’ Lara suggested. ‘How about you leave it to me to craft something a little more suitable for this heat, master? Would that be acceptable?’
While Ariadne’s loyal words had an earnest quality to them, Lara’s, while genuine, had a knowing tongue-in-check tone. Still, I wasn’t going to tell them what they had to wear – especially if it meant them wearing less.
‘Well, I guess I could make an exception,’ I said. ‘If you’re making an outfit for yourselves, though, please don’t offer one to Santana.’
‘She is a beautiful girl,’ Ariadne mentioned, ‘When you returned I was under the impression that you had claimed her as your own.’
‘Claimed her?’ I scoffed.
‘You are the tribe master,’ Lara reminded me.
‘She’s a person, not the last piece of meat that I’m fighting over. She’s hardly ever left her farm, never mind being… Claimed, or whatever the hell you’re calling it. I’m not like that. She’s not like that. I’m sure. And her dad is a freaking cleric. If he sees her skimping about in one of these outfits of yours he’ll lose his mind.’
A few minutes later Alorion and I were leading one of the horses and carts through the north side of the land towards the road that led to the trading post. I had a brief moment to collect my thoughts and examine how things were moving along.
Making sure the needs of my people were met was always my number one priority, but with the two new additions to our tribe things had taken a sharp turn. They needed a house, especially in this heat.
Once the work of the day was completed I could get around to constructing the outer perimeter. We would be well-supplied and safe, with nothing getting in our way.
Halfway across the field I stopped at Tormus and Eri’s house.
‘Good afternoon.’
‘Good afternoon, master,’ Tormus said. ‘I hope those tomatoes do well at the post.’
‘I’m sure they will.’
‘Care to try one?’ Eri said. I nodded and she handed some of the smaller ones to Alorion and I one from the supplies to be used for later.
The outer layer of the fruit gave a little resistance, but as my teeth cut through it an explosion of sweet and sour juice hit my tongue. The acidic sting that ran along my cheeks was more than welcome.
‘Delicious,’ I said. ‘How are the moonseeds coming along?’
‘Well, I think,’ Eri replied. ‘We cannot truly know until the full moon hits them.’
‘You can’t tell before then?’ I looked past her. ‘They look like they’re growing pretty well.’
‘Come and see for yourself.’
I kneeled by Eri’s side before the moonseed sprouts. They were planted on a patch of tilled earth only a yard in length and width, set out in rows, with 25 in total. Thin, red stems that were rigid in strength rose up from the ground. At their tips were large red bulbs comprised of four folded leaves that wrapped up their respective centres, hiding them from prying eyes.
‘We cannot know the contents of the bulbs until they bloom on the light of the full moon, which will take place to
night. They could be rotting within, or they could be producing the dust that takes one into the sky…’
The last words were said with a drifting, ethereal tone as she looked off into the distance.
‘Have you taken it before?’
‘Oh, we’ve taken it,’ Tormus said from behind me. ‘It is a pleasurable experience, master.’
‘Right… Well, I hope it goes well. Please don’t worry if things don’t work out, though. We’ll keep trying until it works.’
‘Yes, master.’
I returned to the cart and headed to the forest while Alorion sat atop the horse.
‘Great,’ I smiled. ‘A pair of stoner farmers. At least they know how to grow crops well.’
‘What is stoner, Master Jack?’
I tried to think of the most straightforward way to explain it.
‘You know the way you can eat things in this world and they make you relax? Well a stoner would be somebody who does nothing but eats that stuff and relaxes all day.’
‘So somebody lazy?’
‘Not exactly – they take this stuff to the point where they don’t want to do anything else because they’re always so relaxed.’
‘It does not look as if the farmers want to lie around all day.’
‘No, that’s not what I meant… It’s too difficult to explain.’
‘Perhaps it would be wise to be a little a tougher on them? The moonseed will likely be very valuable to our tribe, and growing it successfully would mean bringing in a hefty amount of gold pieces.’
‘No,’ I said quickly. ‘They’re doing more than enough to help keep the tribe going. Just because this stuff might not work out doesn’t mean I’m going to punish them. That would be ridiculous.’
‘You are certainly unlike any other tribe master that I can recall meeting.’
‘Did you ever meet any others? Aside from your old one?’
‘My memory fails me… Perhaps. I know that we made dealings with others on occasion.’
‘That’s something that we might have to do again in future. But trust me, when that happens, I’ll turn on my ruthlessness.’
‘You will?’
‘I have to. I don’t push my people around, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let myself be pushed around by other tribes. If we lie down and take it they’ll walk all over us. Being powerful is about having conviction.’
