Encounters

by A O Storm

  Randy and his brother chuckled at Kano's antics and then one after another, took turns relieving themselves. Randy was particularly grateful to stand and go, as his bladder was full from drinking too deeply from his waterskin earlier.

  "Be careful," Luke called, just as his younger brother reached the tree line. Randy gave him a thumb up sign over his shoulder and continued walking until he reached the nearest tree that could hide him while he did his business. Eventually, Randy walked back and asked his brother a simple question.

  "Don't you need to go too?" Randy asked and Luke nodded before wandering off.

  "Just make sure the boat is secure, I'll be back soon," Luke called over his shoulder, walking briskly away. Randy went to pull the boat up further onshore and Kano came back in time to help haul the large wooden vessel. Ensuring the boat wouldn't drift away into the river without them, the two men relaxed in the cool afternoon air.

  Kano studied the forest, the thick trees making it hard to see far away. Listening intently, he didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. Still, he reminded himself that after seeing the flying draki there were dangers he could not imagine. After slaying the humongous lizard in the mine, he should not have been surprised to see other creatures unfamiliar to him. That reminded him of a question he wanted to ask.

  "Randy, that bird dinosaur thing, are there other crazy creatures we should worry about on our trip? I'd hate to get eaten." Kano's attempt at humor made himself chuckle, but Randy could not find the humor in the comment.

  "The draki?” Randy shrugged. “As long as you have a bow, and aren’t a bad shot, they aren’t a big deal,” he said. “They aren’t large enough to eat humans.”

  A moment passed and then another, and Luke did not return from the forest.

  "Game while we wait?"

  "What kind of game?" Randy looked suspiciously at the other man, wrinkling his nose.

  "Nothing serious or crazy, just a guessing game," Kano said, then asked, "Do you know," he paused, letting the moment build, "Roshambo?"

  "Roshambo?" Randy repeated the word oddly, as if it was his first time saying the word. In truth, the man had never heard of this game and was curious, as long as the game did not end up with his head in the horse’s trough again. His older brother had played a few “games” over the years, none of which were fun or entertaining.

  "Roshambo," Kano agreed, giving the other man an encouraging smile and starting to explain the game. "Rock, paper and scissors," he said, and then raised an eyebrow when Randy looked confused at the last word. "Maybe you can think of it as a knife," he continued, thinking that would be easier. He didn't know, yet, if the village had regular scissors.

  "Each of us throws a gesture," Kano demonstrated, "And then they form one of the three cardinal shapes." He formed a rock in his hand, making a fist. "Rock."

  "Rock," Randy repeated, copying the gesture.

  "Good!" Kano said, smiling.

  "Paper," Kano said, making a palm flat gesture with his right hand over his left hand, held at the mid point of his chest, arms extended slightly with his elbows bent.

  "Paper," Randy said, copying the move with less grace, but adequately enough as not to be confused with the other two moves in the game.

  "Scissors," Kano said, making the cutting motion and holding his two fingers extended, then slamming his hand down onto his still open left palm.

  "Scissors," Randy copied, making the same gesture. He looked up at Kano after studying his hands, making each gesture in turn while muttering to himself. "I think I'm ready to play, Kano."

  "Game on," Kano replied with a smile.

  Twenty-Six - Luke has a BBQ

  Kano demonstrated the standard game start technique, where he would slap down his fist twice and then on the final third, morph it into his desired shape of rock, paper, or scissors. Randy followed with gusto and copied the gestures perfectly.

  The shorter man grinned at Kano and then gave him a narrow eyed look, saying, "Let's do this."

  The two men faced off, each using the shape of the rock for the initial throws. Then, on the third throw, Kano switched to paper, believing Randy would do the easy throw and choose rock. However, when he looked up with a smile of victory, it turned to ashes. Randy had won, since he had switched to scissors. Earlier, he had professed ignorance of the device, just to see if Kano bought the story.

  Kano had, and Randy could barely keep from laughing. “How else would fabric get cut if you didn’t have scissors?” He asked, grinning widely. If Kano was ignorant, Randy had no qualms taking advantage, even if it was just a silly game.

  "You won," Kano said, giving the other man a small smile. "Normally, we go two out of three," he paused, "But, since I didn't want you to think I was trying to cheat you, I'm happy to declare you victor after only one round."

  Randy heard this and didn’t want to stop playing, so he suggested an alternative. "Best three of five," he said. "That way, the first throw has less little impact on who wins overall."

  "Fine," Kano said. "Let's do this."

  The two men threw down a second time and in this case, Kano's gambit paid off. While he stayed in rock form, the other man chose scissors once more. Kano won.

  "One to one," Kano said, and then started pumping his fist for the next countdown.

  "Ro," he said, "Sham," he said, following by shouting louder, "Bo!"

  The two men threw down and Kano shifted to scissors. It was his first throw with that form and it caught Randy by surprise. He'd thrown paper, near certain Kano would retreat to rock once again.

  "Two to one," Kano intoned, giving the other man a muted smile. "Let's throw," he said, starting the ritual arm movement again.

  Each of them mimicked the movement of the other and this time, Randy was certain he had outsmarted the other man. Kano had never tried to throw paper, and, between scissors and rock, he had thrown rock the most. Naturally, Randy threw paper, believing completely that Kano would throw rock and lose.

  "Ro," Kano said, echoed by the other man.

  "Sham," Randy said, copied by Kano.

  "Bo!" They shouted together.

  Randy threw as he concluded, confident and staring at his hand as it made the paper gesture above his left palm. He stared at it a moment longer than necessary, sighing. If he lost this throw, he lost the three out of five and he'd been an idiot.

  "I'm sorry," Kano said, and Randy finally looked up, his smile still plastered in place.

  The smaller man looked at his palm flexed in the paper symbol, then looked at Kano's for the first time, expecting to see what his imagination had said would be true. Kano was going to throw rock, he knew. When he looked, for the first time, the other man had his two fingers out, in the classic scissors pose.

  "What," Randy gasped, seeing the hand sign, surprised he had lost.

  "Good game, Randy," Kano said, surprised. He had expected to lose, after that first round, and felt bad Randy lost, especially with the morose expression on the shorter man’s face.

  "Best four out of seven?" Randy asked, a hopeful note in his voice.

  "Later,” Kano replied and glanced back at the direction Luke had went. “Isn’t it getting late?”

  “That’s a terrible excuse not to give me my rematch,” Randy complained.

  “You and I both know, if your brother hasn't returned by now, it could only mean one of two things."

  Confused, Randy looked at his palm a moment and then asked, "If it’s taken this long, one thing could be he tripped and fell, maybe even hurt himself." He looked at Kano, “The other thing would be if he was taking a massive poop right?”

  Kano did not want to share his thoughts and worry the other man, so he changed tact.

  “Let me get my bow, maybe you can grab Luke’s?” Randy grabbed the bow and quiver, looping the leather strap over his head and settling it around his chest. While he did, Kano was silent a moment, taking a deep breath to ready himself for possible conflict.

  "We don't know, and
can't predict, what's happened to him," Kano said softly, readying his own quiver and bow. “But I’m sure we can find him and figure it out.”

  Kano peered in the direction where he'd gone to relieve himself earlier, where eventually both Randy and Luke had followed. Unless Luke was still wrestling Elvis, he was inclined to believe something had gone wrong.

  "What do you want?" Randy finally said, scanning the tree line. "You know, for winning the game?" He muttered, "Should have been listening for Luke."

  "How about we rescue your brother and talk about it later?" Kano was keen to maybe take more time off of rowing, and if he could get Randy to trade spots because he won at Roshambo, he would not complain.

  Thinking about Luke, Kano mused, if the man met his end that would be rough. However, he did not allow himself to consider such a negative outcome and instead focused on the possibility Randy’s brother was alive.

  "Usually, this stretch of the river has only one potential problem, well, aside from the rapids, and the flying draki," Randy said. “There are rumors some unfriendly natives live around here.” He had buckled on a scabbard along with carrying the bow. Kano could see the man had at two daggers on his belt, one in his boot and perhaps elsewhere.

  "Right," Kano said, preparing himself just the same as the other man, buckling on his sword too. "We stop to pee in the most dangerous situation possible, just because I had to go, and neither one of you felt like telling me?" Kano paused, taking a deep breath, "You realize that’s a really stupid move?"

  "Yeah," Randy said, nodding. "Maybe we should have discussed, I mean, we could have stopped further down river."

  "You think? Listen, I don't know what you understand about myself or the whole druid thing," Kano said, "But know this. I can heal, which means if Luke is cut up, chopped up, stabbed, sliced or impaled, I can probably fix it."

  "Probably?" Randy's voice rose an octave and his trust started to wane.

  Kano nodded, "Probably. My healing skill is pretty basic still," he said. Then he smiled. "If things really get crazy, who knows? Maybe my spell will level up and then I'll be able to fix even greater damage." He gave Randy a wide smile, which in turn made the other man feel sickly.

  "Don't try to get me stabbed just to improve your healing spell," Randy said, following as Kano started to walk toward the trees. "If I even think you got me stabbed, just so you could learn how to fix up a rent in my skin, so help me, you'll never hear the end of it." The man stomped behind headless of the noise he was creating. Not truly believing they were in any danger, the short man continued stomping past Kano, into the forest in a huff.

  While Randy had talked and complained, Kano scanned the trees. Despite his baseless opinion whoever took Luke might have left, he also knew Luke might not have been taken by anyone. He walked slower than Randy marched, holding his bow and an arrow set, not yet knocked. Kano knew pulling on the string and setting up the shot to loose in an instant would drain his energy points quickly, potentially for no gain.

  When Randy said Kano would never hear the end of it, he smirked to himself, satisfied for the moment there were no enemies in bow range. However, just as soon as he opened his mouth to say something, a raggedly dressed human sprung out behind a tree, also armed with a bow.

  Kano cocked his arrow quickly. Randy was oblivious but Kano had been waiting for just such an opportunity.

  The moment the dirty archer let loose, Kano returned with fire of his own. Initially, he had assumed the archer was firing at him and stood firm, believing it to be an elaborate game of chicken. When he saw the arrow stray toward Randy he attempted to give the other man a warning.

  It was too late.

  "Ow!" Randy cried out, just as the arrow hit him in the left deltoid. Kano heard him and felt remorse but refused to alter his focus. The hit to Randy's shoulder was painful but not debilitating as the shaft had barely penetrated the tough muscle.

  Kano had been half expecting something to pop out of the trees, intent on murder. Every time Kano had left town, something or someone tried to murder him. When the archer let loose, while he had tried to warn Randy, most of his focus had been on the combatant. Just after he had tried to warn his companion about the incoming missile he had drawn down, knocked and loosed.

  When Randy cried out, Kano's arrow had nearly struck home. Those hours spent practicing proved fortuitous and Kano's arrow flew true. The steel tipped arrow stuck the forest colored loincloth-wearing assailant high in the chest. As the shaft penetrated the man's chest and disappeared, the bandit was knocked back and went down, his life ended.

  After Randy watched the wild man go down in a single arrow strike, he nodded at Kano with a friendly smile. “Nice shot,” he complimented.

  Kano walked over and after scanning for other threats he relaxed the tension in the bow and unnocked the arrow. He set the bow down and used his Fix Injury spell to heal Randy.

  Spell Cast: Fix Injury II

  Target: Randy

  Result: +20 Health Points

  The bleeding stopped once the spell finished. Randy looked surprised when the wound disappeared completely. He swung his arm and felt only a residual stiffness in his skin. "Wow, that spell really works!"

  “You’re welcome,” Kano said, taking a brief moment to check the notification he received after taking out the archer.

  Skill Improved: Archery +50 skill points gained

  "Let's go," Kano said and started walking toward the trees. Randy followed and soon the two men had disappeared into the woods far beyond the spot where they relieved themselves minutes before. They did not pause to loot the body but Kano did make a mental note to do so on the way back after finding Luke. It was clear the missing man had relieved himself in the same area.

  Kano could see some of Luke's tracks on the forest floor, as the boot prints matched those near the shore. However, the booted pairs were not alone and led deeper into the forest. The extra boot prints obscured some of Luke’s markings, as it looked like at least one man had stepped through the older tracks recently. Kano surmised it was the bandit that he’d shot, having left wherever Luke went to check for others. As he obtained this epiphany, Kano saw a notification and smiled.

  Skill Improved: Tracking, +50 skill points gained

  The two men started to delve deeper into the woods without pausing to discuss what the extra boot prints could mean. Kano had initially tried to focus on moving silently in the forest, however, while he had the Stealth skill, it was clear Randy did not. Given Randy could not walk quietly, Kano preferred to move faster rather than stealthier. As a result, he moved at a speed that left Randy following behind. The sound they made collectively scared off any small predators within hundreds of yards.

  Low lying branches were few as the trees were ancient. The ferns showed clearly the path they should take through the forest, with the low lying foliage showing limited human or animal impact, outside of the tracks they followed. Kano heard a faint sound in the distance and started to walk even faster, careful to disturb the flora as little as he could.

  Smells on the air started to float to his nose including wild onions, sage and garlic. The ingredients were being cooked somehow and made his mouth water as he walked. An unfamiliar combination, those three ingredients he suddenly knew would taste great when rubbed over a nice piece of beef.

  Skill Improved: Cooking, +50 skill points gained

  Randy followed as Kano moved, having to run to keep up. The two men converged on a small open area, free from trees and stopped in surprise at the scene.

  An opening in the trees had a small meadow, with wild grasses and nearby felled, rotting old trees. Those provided a bit of shelter beyond the barbecue pit, where the grass had been cleared away or burned, with a ring of stones surrounding small embers of flame.

  Luke hung, strapped to a newly skinned tree, over the open fire. The man's gear was intact, off to the side, and Luke hung, naked, over a bed of hot coals. His body was hairy and the air had a burnt smell mixed in
with the scent of spices. Luke was sweating; occasionally a drop would fall to the flames, making a hissing sound. Kano could see spices laid down across heated stones, near the outside of the ring. The scent of sage, thyme, garlic and green onion, roasting in the flames made him salivate a little, despite the smell of burnt hair.

  Thinking quickly to ensure they weren’t spotted, Kano dove behind a felled tree. Part of him was repulsed at the smells of burning hair and evaporating sweat but another part agreed the spices smelled wonderful after eating plain meat and flatbread for a day.

  "Randy," he whispered, looking at the other man who dove behind the log next to him, "Do you see them?"

  Randy nodded and the two of them watched as two men started to turn the makeshift spit so Luke’s back was exposed to the coals. Bound tight, Luke squirmed, but could not escape the heat and started to cry out in pain. The two men ignored his pleas and poked at the bed of smoldering charcoal with a thick branch, encouraging the flames to grow.

  "I need a burger," Kano muttered, preparing his bow. He assumed the two men who were attempting to make barbequed Luke were cannibals. Once prepped, he aimed his arrow at one of the cannibals tending the spit.

  While he'd adjusted to some of the quirks of his new life what he missed most was a delicious, juicy beef burger. Shaking his head, he stopped thinking about food to focus on the rescue at hand.

  Kano shot, and the man went down. Then Randy fired, taking care of the other man attempting to barbecue his older brother. Randy quickly knocked a second arrow and fired again, ensuring the man was dead, while approaching the spit.

  Kano reached the bound Luke first and Randy helped him hoist the tree off of the wooden cradle. Then they both started untying him. Randy then kept watch while Kano cast, Fix Injury II multiple times, helping Luke regain the strength that was nearly slow-cooked out of him. As Kano cast spells, he briefly acknowledged the notification about his increasing Archery skill.

  Skill Improved: Archery, +50 skill points gained

  After Luke was feeling capable and healed, he insisted on searching the cannibals encampment. The three men did so and even searched the bodies of the slain.