The Red Lands 1

by ForestRage

  Chu stared at the idiot who had poised in a philosophical stance. The one that made him look like a sage. How the heck could three sound like seven?

  Smack, smack, smack.

  After venting with some well-deserved slaps, Chu made his way to the Trading post. This time there were some hunters haggling over prices. Chu remained in the fringes while listening to them.

  From the conversations, he understood that most hunters and adventurers scoured the forest to the north. This provided more opportunities to intercept the beast migrating from the mountains.

  Hunting south of the lumber site, had less probability of running into hunters. But it also meant that the beast would be scarce. Of course, scarce was a relative word when mentioning the Great Western Forest.

  When the customers left the shop, Chu hailed Griz.

  "Hey Mr Griz, I got a wolf to sell."

  Griz had long noticed the scrawny looking kid, that gave him a good impression.

  "Morning. What do you want today?"

  "Morning. I got a wolf to sell, hasn't turned white yet. I take it the price is six silvers from overhearing the conversation. Deal!"

  Griz just shrugged. This kid left no room for negotiation and just jumped at the price.

  "That's only for a quality carcass you know."

  "Oh, the one I got is in pristine condition. I also overheard that a white wolf sells for twelve silvers, but I won't grudge you. You won that battle. I'll just take the six silvers, but throw in a bunch of those rags clothes and two sewing kits, with four extra thread reels."

  "You got guts kid but only two thread reels."

  "Deal. Let me get the wolf."

  This time an extra kid popped up when he returned. Griz glanced at them as he inspected the wolf. Just like before, the fur was free from large holes and cuts that were normal with hunters. It looked like it was killed with a spear which was strange.

  Hunters usually carried axes or swords. These could be used for other tasks, like cutting branches and became a more versatile weapon.

  Only poor villagers used an all wooden spear. He looked at the new kid, completely covered in a rag wrapping like a mummy.

  "Hey kid, are you recruiting or something. Every time you come here, your numbers keep growing."

  "No business is slow. Need to build a foundation, before I expand again."

  Chu shrugged and slipped out a causal statement. Griz gave a sigh, and completed his inspection of the wolf. His mind was still on the boy though.

  This one was hard to read, he never encountered a kid like this.

  Understanding how to secure a solid foundation, by finding the best help was usually the first rookie mistake in any profession. Only by experience, those who had been bitten by some form of betrayal would know its importance.

  "OK, good quality. Let’s head into the shop to square off."

  "No problem, pleasure doing business. Ming, Lucy grab as much of those rag clothes you can carry. Choose out the better ones. I'll meet you at the shack."

  Chu pelted out an order and followed Griz. The bear like man didn't mind, since those clothes were freely discarded by city nobles. The shop sold it to the villagers for bedding and stuffing. Smaller pieces were used at the Trading Post as cloth rags.

  Chu collected his earnings, and bought some more supplies at the Trading Post. After some inquiries, he then left.

  When Chu returned, he found his shack running out of space. With the three of them, plus their added belongings, his living quarters became stuffed.

  "Hey, move over, I need to boil some water."

  "Quit pushing me."

  "Chu. I'm hungry and tired. Feed me!"

  Under the bickering like hungry men, they finally ate a late breakfast. Lucy then left them to sleep, staggering her drowsy self, back to her own shack. Chu told her to get her friends to wake her in the afternoon. He wanted the three of them to make a trip into the forest, to return with some large loads of firewood for their own use.

  Lucy didn't press them for money. She realized that those two had some bigger plan. As long as she gained enough to take care of herself, and friends she was happy. Seeing her friends with smiles on her return, instead of the usual worry was a comfort. Since moving to the slums, this was the first time she slept well.

  It was late evening, when the three ran to the forest to hustle firewood. For a shack to be stocked with firewood was a luxury in the slums. The day to day struggle to survive, placed this at the bottom of ones list.

  A load of firewood, was a step closer to earning money to feed themselves. Most survived on heating coal and charcoal. One extra log was enough for this when returning with their bundles to sell.

  "Hey hurry up. I want to leave with the villagers. You remember what happened last time we left late?"

  Memories of the girl being dragged away by a wolf returned to Ming. He rushed about in a frenzy, stacking the firewood while Lucy and Chu finished tying a bundle with tree bark. Without the poison and their makeshift spears, they were just like a free buffet for a hungry man.

  Any wolf could have them for a snack.

  "That’s enough for now, let’s go. Hurry, we need to make it back before the rest of the people from the slums."

  Last thing Chu wanted, was for everyone to know that they had this much firewood in their possession. With winter on their doorstep, lots of people would kill for this simple item. Villagers were even known during hard times, to gang up and forcefully break apart occupied slum houses.

  In a world where might was right, such actions were tolerated. Unfortunate souls, had to brave the element and find a new home, or wait for death. Given this thinking, it was logical that the weak children pay the price first.

  "Stack them on that side. I'm off to the trading post to take a bath. Lucy bring your friends with you before dark. We need to discuss our next step."

  After finishing their job, Chu dragged Ming to the Trading Post to take a bath. He went into the village and deposited the two coppers, before returning to the shack. Ming was kindling the fire from the coals, when Lucy returned. She banged on the door and waited outside. Only when Chu told her to enter did she do so.

  "These are my friends, Dyna and Sakura."

  The two girls Lucy brought, were probably barely seven. Cast away by their family, because of poverty or new born boy child. Chu slowly started to understand the social workings of these rural villages. Ming closed the door, as the five of them sat around the fire.

  This was beginning to be the classic case, of creating something from nearly nothing. According to his literary knowledge it would lead to them soaring the skies, or an epic crash and burn.

  Chu felt he was going to have an endless headache.

  Chapter 8

  Navigating the Slums

  When the children seated themselves around the fire, Chu uncovered a fresh rock bread. Cutting it into thin slices, he dabbed a thin helping of butter and then placed then placed them over the fire to melt.

  The rich aroma of the yellow salted butter wafted out, causing the onlookers to unconsciously drool in anticipation. Hungry eyes followed his every move, up until he placed a slice into trembling hands.

  His heart skipped a beat, on gazing at the pitiful faces, wanting to eat, but hesitating. Chu sighed, at the miserable life of a slum dweller. Luckily the shacks in the slums were spaced out, with some distance between them, otherwise this meal might have incited a riot.

  "Eat up and then we'll talk. Ming don't stuff yourself. Our body has to gradually become accustomed to solid meals."

  Chu knocked Ming guzzling down the bread, as if no tomorrow. He planned to wean them, all out slowly from the accustomed liquid diet back onto solid food. To avoid complications from bellyache and diarrhea, he used a light spread of butter.

  His experience of using the outdoors in the middle of the night, proved unforgettable. Lack of water, soap and toilet paper had him soaking his hands in boiling water. Dry leafs, simply did not live up to
his expectations.

  He carefully wrapped the parchment containing the butter, and then placed it inside a small wooden kit. This kit of butter, cost forty coppers at the Trading Post. When his companions had finished their meal and sipped some hot water, Chu started the meeting.

  "How bad is winter in the slums?"

  All eyes fell on Ming, since he had first-hand experience.

  "Winter... the only way to describe it is terrible. No, the word terror comes to mind."

  Ming shared his experience of winter with them.

  Trouble began when the snow started to fall. The cold invaded the flimsy built shacks, causing some to freeze to death. Even with a fire, keeping warm proved difficult, during the cold nights.

  As if that burden was insufficient, the lack of security created a nightmare. After begging for scraps or foraging for food, one might return home to find their bedding and small pittance of firewood stolen. Living alone in winter led to a host of problems.

  "But the real horrors had yet to come."

  When the snow blocked the roads, the woodsmen stopped working for the winter. Firewood became scarce, since nobody risked venturing into the forest. Shacks turned to fuel as residents shared their homes to survive.

  Then the wolves came…

  The white wolf packs that hunted within the forest, trotted out in the plains seeking easy prey. Raids on the slums occurred frequently, as the wolves baited and stalked the inhabitants. Twice he had to escape to the village gates, to avoid being caught and dragged away.

  The walls of the village proved a suitable defense, so the wolves turned their attention to the roads and the outlying farms. The garrison usually patrolled the nearby roads during the day, but the wolves claimed the night. Wreaking havoc on unsecured livestock, proved the norm.

  As if living in such a nightmare could not break a person’s will, an unseen danger stalked within the falling snow. Humans began disappearing, dragged away without a trace. Ming spoke on how they trembled and prayed every night, hoping to be among the fortunate.

  After the winter, an entire farm had been found abandoned, the family and the livestock spirited away.

  "I heard about that. People were saying they only saw blood trails on the snow. Even the hunters refused to track it because of sheer fright."

  Chu glanced at Lucy, as Ming continued.

  "Old man Rob saw it. The sight turned him mad, and into a blubbering fool. Said it was a demon beast that walked on two feet. He died the following week from a high fever."

  Chu shook his head. Maybe the old guy was simply delirious from the fever, and spouted nonsense. Village people as a rule, believed in myths and fairytales. His old memories were a prime example, filled with stories about fearsome beast and goblins.

  Chu wanted facts to work on, not folklore to frighten unruly children.

  "What about food?"

  "We stored up food, and begged in the village when it ran out. Sometimes we scavenged the shacks of those who died, to find firewood and food. With strength and willpower, you starve out the winter.”

  Chu listened until Ming finished his tale.

  It was the case of survival of the fittest. This place functioned as a brutal zone, for snuffing out the weak. He himself succumbed to death, only a second chance and by risking his life did he survive. The divide between classes, were separated by a visible Great Wall.

  The ladder rungs of society were too far apart for the lower standing peasantry. The quotes of 'living to survive' and 'survive to live' seems tailor made for them. It was a one-way slow spiral down. Only in death was salvation.

  The next level, was the one where the scales balance and you are making just enough to feed yourself. Imagine that to reach this level from the bottom meant risking one's life. You either sell yourself or engage in a high-risk venture to escape. Hunting, robbing, becoming a lady of the night all these represented viable paths.

  Chu slowly grasped an understanding of his predicament. He didn't hesitate to curse the previous body's owner, for his total lack of foresight and ignorance.

  He rounded up the facts from the information gathered, and condensed it to the others.

  "So, what you say, is that we need security from the cold, people, wolves and so called 'demon beast'. None of which can be found in the slums."

  Ming nodded his head in affirmation.

  "Yes, but I forgot to mention another thing. The men in the village have a habit during winter, to abduct the girls living in the slums. Sometimes the girls return, but most of the times they disappeared after winter."

  The young girls shivered on the revelation of a new danger. Desperate men had no qualms in picking and choosing a girl, because of age. A girl with no power behind her in this world, lived like a lone hen tossed in a pen of roosters. Sooner or later... well, unfortunately that was how the world turned.

  Chu weighed his options. Remaining in the slums posed too much of a headache. Not only did he have zero security against the dangers mentioned, but he had no means of making money. Wasting the months of winter, while shivering and jittery would set him back to square one.

  Returning home in the village, might seem a viable option, but he harbored some doubts as if his secret might be revealed to his family. He preferred a place of independence.

  What he wanted was a place that provided safety, yet still allowed him the benefit of acting freely. Like a newborn calf in front of the tiger, Chu was ignorant of the dangers of the forest.

  Even though the beast here were bigger than on earth, his head was still swollen from attaining victory in the previous battles. He forgot the reason behind seasoned hunters who remained wary of the forest.

  Wolves were not the only beast roaming within the trees.

  "Are there abandoned farm houses?"

  "Huh? you want to start farming Chu? Pretty hard during winter."

  "No what I need is a place that we can shelter during the winter, but still close to the village and forest."

  "With what Ming just said, wouldn't that be dangerous?"

  He looked at Lucy to answer her question.

  "Very dangerous, but I prefer to deal with wild beast than people. Isolated from them means one problem gone. If we stock up on food, we can survive on our own."

  Chu was confident in this matter. After all it was like babysitting a bunch of kids. This was made easy, since they all listened to him anyway. Adults would blatantly override his leadership. Bigger kids would simply beat him into submission. In a child's body barely recovering from malnutrition, he could do without experiencing such pain.

  "First find a place and move in secretly, before the snow piles up. Buy food to stockpile. If we need any more, we can make a trip to the village."

  Griz told Chu that the Trading Post was open during the day.

  "Will we be hunting in the forest?"

  "No need to risk our lives."

  Why go into the forest, when the beasts are coming to us, Chu thought? He would make use of them if they crossed his path.

  "So that's the plan. Tomorrow we are going to look for a place beyond the south side of the village."

  Chu intended to take Ming and Lucy. He chose the south side, because he didn't want to accidentally meet up any hunters. Since most of them hunted and roamed in the north, chances of meeting a group or individual would be rare.

  "Now to deal with you guys."

  Chu looked over to Dyna and Sakura. These girls were still weak looking, and too young to handle hard work. Both were only eight and cared for by Lucy. None of the girls were related, but treated each other as sisters because of circumstance.

  Lucy broke his thoughts.

  "Chu... just help them for the winter, after that then..."

  Lucy bit her lip as she begged, but Chu cut her off while raising his hand.

  "Hold up."

  "I never said that I was going to abandon them or anything. I just think that they can instantly become useful."

  Chu took out the sewing
kits and threads, along with a small knife.

  "Tomorrow they can start sorting through these cloth bundles. Patch the good clothes, and make sheets with the others."

  Young girls were taught these kinds of skills early. Chu showed them exactly what he wanted. Padded clothes that were made by stitching three and four layers of cloth on top, and also quilts using the same method. This would be a bonus in keeping them warm for the winter.

  "Three days. We only have three days to find a place and move out. If we wait longer then with what we have, you can imagine our fate."

  Currently they were the richest residents in the slums. If word ever got out, then their fate would be like a drunken rich man ending up in a ghetto neighborhood of homosexuals. Stripped clean of his clothes and belongings, would be the least of his worries.

  After Lucy and her friends left, Chu and Ming began packing and likewise sorting out the equipment.

  "Ming how much pellets do we have left?"

  "Ah, about eight or ten."

  Chu made a list in his head of what he needed. If they managed to find a good place, it would be great. His backup plan, was to get all of them to stay with his family for the winter. This was a last resort, since it would mean exposing some of his wealth. The other reason was that he didn't want to make any mistakes, that would get his family to doubt his character.

  Being burned at the stake for suspicion as a spawn of hell, was not on his bucket list.

  He raised the fire, and started to browse through a book. It was a small notebook size that was made from rough parchment paper, bonded together with thick threads. It was commonly used by illiterate adventurers to introduce basic letters and words.

  The letters were like symbols that represented what they meant. The numbers looked something like roman numerals, and hence easy to understand.

  These aids were helpful to identify the words of frequented places by adventurers and mercenaries in this world. It was sought after by the noobs, who especially came from low status and were illiterate. It listed words like tavern, blacksmith and the ever-popular brothel.