Steel and Fangs

by Sami Dougish

  Still, I knew that if I stopped, they might have a chance to catch up to me. Fortunately, even though I was bone tired, hungry, and in pain, I was still able to quickly lose the mob in the woods. Roughly a half-hour later, I stopped. By now, a little bit of light was penetrating the canopy above, and I decided I needed to rest now. I had a bit of a journey ahead of me, and I needed to take some time to rest and study the map I had taken.

  I glanced around at the surrounding, and as before, found a tree that was capable of serving as a place to shelter. Still, I didn’t want anyone to know this was where I stopped, so I took some time to try and wipe away any tracks I had made in the nearby area. Once satisfied, I climbed up into the trees and found a perch for myself. I was even able to find a platform like part of the canopy that I was able to set my gear down.

  I hissed, as the pain in my chest flared again. I looked down and saw the burnt skin from where I had cauterized the wound. It seemed to pulse as I looked at it, and I gritted my teeth in irritation. I had dealt with pain before, but this was going to hinder my travel, and I wanted to get out of this forsaken kingdom.

  “Wait a minute, Raskorian, you healed my wounds before, and can you do it again?”

  “No.”

  “No? Why not?”

  The dragon sighed, and said, “You have not assimilated your soul enough with mine yet. Until then, I cannot provide you with any sort of increased regenerative abilities.”

  Well, that sucked, and the dragon seemed to use a number of words that I didn’t understand. Life as a slave wasn’t really an ideal life to gain an education, “Ok then how did you do it before, and how do our souls assimilate, whatever that means.”

  “You should really work on improving your vocabulary, it may make our conversations more tolerable. At least then it will give a slight impression that you have the capacity to carry on a coherent and engaging conversation.”

  “Well forgive me for not learning much in the way of language while a slave!” I growled angrily at him, “Besides, maybe it’s you, maybe spending hundreds of years in a crystal made it harder for you to understand normal speech.”

  “Vessel! I grow weary of your pathetic attempts at wit! Do not speak to me in such a fashion, I have lived for many thousands of years, and spoke with many beings in that time. I assure you, I have absolutely no issue with understanding speech, and in fact, I speak a total of one hundred and three different languages. I can tell you with absolute certainty, that it is you who is ignorant in this conversation and not myself!”

  I smiled to myself, though he was insulting me again, I enjoyed seeing him get all puffed up whenever I implied any fault on his part. It was worth a few more insults. From the scaled bastard. I also had to admit, one-hundred and three languages was impressive, I didn’t even know that many languages existed. Thinking this was an opportunity to take my mind off my chest, I pressed the dragon.

  “Can we get back to my initial questions?”

  Raskorian grumbled something in my mind, that was still beyond me how he managed to do, and said, “The first time was due to our initial bonding process. The unique properties of the bond allowed me to expend the remaining blood essence to heal your wounds. It cost me though, which is why you started at such a low base amount of blood essence. Originally it was intended to provide a block of points for my vessel to use, to give them a higher survival chance, but I had to use them to keep you alive, otherwise you would have most likely died after the bonding ritual.”

  “Hmm, yes that would have been a useful bonus to have, I would have like to acquire further upgrades, but I honestly would have chosen to have my thumbs restored. Now what about the assimilated part, and while you’re at it, what does assimilate mean?”

  “Assimilate can mean a number of concepts, depending on the way the word is used, but in this case, it means to integrate.”

  “What does integrate mean?”

  Raskorian paused for a moment, and said, “If I could not see the emptiness in your mind personally, I would think that you are intentionally irritating me!”

  “I’m not!”

  “GRRRRRR,” He actually growled this time, “Fine I will simplify the answer so that you can understand. Assimilate means to become one, or to match each other.”

  “That’s it?! You couldn’t have just put it that way before?!”

  “No! I have still not become accustomed to speaking at length with someone with your distinct vocabulary deficiency!”

  “You know damn well if I didn’t know what assimilate or integrate meant, then I would have no idea what deficiency means either, but if it means something like lacking, then I would say it better suits you, as you are the one that lacks a body!”

  We went back and forth like that for several more minutes, until both of us dismissed the other from consideration. Plus, I was tired, and really just wanted to lay back and get some sleep before I had to get up and travel some more. Sleep would also be a welcome release from my painful injuries and the gnawing hunger in my belly.

  Still, before I slept, I thought about the night’s events. I had enjoyed killing those bandits, they had been scum, and the fact they were humans had made it all the more satisfying to kill them all. Easily the best part of it had been throwing that axe at the old man. The expressions on his people's face when that axe flew across the distance between us and crushed his chest had been priceless. I actually chuckled out loud at the memory of it. It had felt good, so good to finally be able to properly retaliate to someone calling me a lizard and mentioning skinning me. I was no longer a slave, and I did not intend to let such insults go lightly anymore. The reactions the villagers had after I had saved them all was a perfect example of why I had grown to hate other races, especially humans. I had saved them all from the mercy of the bandits, and the only acknowledgments I had received were insults and threats.

  “Fucking humans!” I growled out loud, as the memory of their demands made me want to go back and try to kill more of them.

  It wasn’t worth the effort though, no I needed to get out of Thuum, and wasting time to go back and kill some of those villagers wouldn’t be a good idea. For now, needed to get some sleep, and prepare for the journey tomorrow. That being said, I leaned back and closed my eyes. I didn’t know how long it took, but eventually, I drifted off into a fitful sleep.

  Chapter 6

  This time when I woke up, I felt a great deal more rested than the last time. I could see the light trying to push through the upper canopy of the tree and could just barely see a piece of the sun sticking out from between the leaves. I listened carefully but could hear no sounds that indicated I was in any danger. Seeing as there was none, I stretched out in the branches of the trees and yawned gratefully.

  My peace was interrupted, by a rumbling growl that came from my own stomach. Damn, I was hungry. The long fight also seemed to have made me thirsty as well, as I now found my throat parched as well. I guess I should try and hunt something before I head off. There should be plenty of game in a dense forest like this. I pushed myself up into a crouching position in the branches and decided to wait and see if any animal walked near the tree. After about a half-hour, I started to get tired of waiting, and instead decided to go and stalk some sort of prey instead. I debated putting on one of my new shirts, but decided against it for now, as I was still covered in dried sweat and grime. If I found a stream or creek while hunting, I could take the chance to wash quickly. Oddly enough, no blood. It seemed that problem was nonexistent now that I had a blood-loving dragon greedily drinking it all up.

  I climbed down from the tree and picked a random direction and started moving as quietly as possible, while still making decent time. It had been years since I had hunted, and even when I had, it had always been with my grandfather or one of the other village foragers. Still, I remembered the basics of what I had to do. I kept my ears peeled for any sound, and let my tongue flick out, tasting the scents on the air.

  While I tried to discer
n any wildlife by tracks and smell, and so far, nothing. As I moved further and further from the tree, I scratched indentations into trees, so I could find my way back to my gear. Now that I could see a bit better in the forest, I realized just how impressive the surroundings were. The trees created a canopy in all directions, and the temperature was cooler for it. The trees all with the same gnarled but healthy appearance gave the place a strange sort of beauty.

  Though different, the scenery reminded me of the beauty that could be found in the mountains. While most would just see the steep cliffs and rocky terrain, my people saw the natural artwork in the different rock formations, and the few trees to be found. It was a testament to the ability of nature to thrive no matter where one went. The scents of the forest were relatively new to me as well. I could smell a variety of new scents that I had no experience with, and I drank them all in eagerly.

  I was having trouble walking silently through the forest, however. I would step on branches, brush aside rocks or dirt, and leave a trail easily followed through the forest. I would need to work on that. The less of a trail I left, the easier it would be to keep myself hidden while I traveled.

  I was just finishing another quiet round of cursing after falling into a small pit hole when I tasted the scent of animals on the air. I flicked my tongue out and tasted the scent wafting by me. It was definitely the meat of some sort of animal. I followed the scent on the air as quietly as possible, and several minutes later after bushing past some brush, I caught sight of a creek. Standing around the creek was a small herd of what looked to be deer. Perfect.

  This was a good find, If I could take out one of these deer, I would have all three things that I needed, water, food, and a quick wash. Still, the deer were at least twenty yards away, If I just charged them, they would bolt, and even with my increased speed, I probably wouldn’t come anywhere near a deer’s top speed.

  “Damn, should have kept that bow.” Oh well, no point in dwelling on that. I could kick myself for that once I actually had some food in my belly.

  “Any suggestions?” I asked the dragon, not really expecting any useful advice. I wasn’t disappointed.

  “No, I had wings, when I hunted, I simply flew down, and took whatever animal I wanted.”

  “Figures.”

  Not really seeing anyway I would be able to sneak up on the animals, I simply resigned myself to having no food for now, and instead would have to settle for water and washing. Now less concerned with silence, I stood to my full height, and nosily marched towards the water. As expected, the deer immediately looked up, and a split second later the herd bolted off back into the trees. I sighed but kept moving forward until I was at the creek's edge.

  The water was running, and I assumed it led off to a larger stream. I got down on my knees, and without a shred of pride, stuck my head into the cool water like a dog, and eagerly took large mouthfuls of the water. The water was cold and refreshing, and I greedily took large mouthfuls of the water. I was so focused on the water that I didn’t even pay attention to the disparaging remarks made to me by the dragon about my unceremonious drinking method.

  After I had my fill, I leaned back and enjoyed the moisture returning to my lips and throat. I glanced back down at the water and noticed some fish swimming around the water in the creek. Hmm, that gave me an idea. Maybe I could spear some of the fish. I had my knives after all and sharpening a large branch shouldn’t be too difficult.

  I got back to my feet and went in search of a suitable branch. This actually proved harder than I expected as most of the trees had branches that twisted in all sorts of directions, but after a bit of time searching, I found a suitable stick. I sat back down and drew one of the daggers. I began to shave away at the tip of the wood until I had a sharp stake.

  I moved back to the water’s edge and glanced at the fish. I tried to remember the lessons of my youth, but all I remembered of spearfishing in the mountains was that it was harder than it looked. Still no harm in trying now. I picked a fish, and after a quick breath jabbed straight down. The water splashed loudly as I jabbed the stick into the water. To my irritation, I missed the fish completely as it deftly swam away from the plunging spear.

  I gritted my teeth, and tried again, and again, and again! Still nothing. Damn this was frustrating. What was I doing wrong? If people had been able to do this at regular speed, someone with my speed should have no problem doing this!

  I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. Once I had myself under control, I took a moment to think about it. It seemed that the splash I made whenever I jabbed the spear into the water was one of the main reasons all the fish bolted whenever I jabbed down. Maybe if I placed the spear in the water fist and then jabbed?

  Figuring it was worth a try, I slowly dipped the point of the spear into the water and held it there. To my delight, the fish seemed to ignore the tip of the spear and kept swimming slowly around the creek. I patiently waited for one to swim under my spear, and eventually, and medium-sized grey fish swam directly under the spear. Quickly, I jabbed down, and this time, I felt a satisfying resistance as the spear punched through the fish’s side. Eagerly, I pulled the spear out, and I saw a wriggling fish impaled on the other side. I quickly set the spear on the ground, and thumped the fishes head with the hammer, killing it instantly. It went limp, and I greedily pulled the fish off of the spear. Even though my kind preferred cooked me over raw, I was too hungry to really care about a fire, and besides that would take too long.

  Instead, I took a chunk out of the fish, my sharp teeth easily tearing the fishes flesh off. The cold juicy meat was heavenly to my starved stomach, and I devoured the fish in a flash. Nowhere near full, I repeated the process five more times, eating five fish in total. I could have eaten more, but I decided that was enough for now, better to get washed, and return to my gear, and figure out where I needed to go from here.

  I shucked my pants, and weapons, and piled them next to the creek's edge, and stepped into the cold water. I shivered as the cool water chilled my body, but I ignored it as I hastily scrubbed at the grim on my skin. The creak wasn’t deep enough for me to submerge myself, completely, but the water still came up to my hips, and I crouched down, to get as much of me as clean as possible. Once I had finished with my body, I leaned down and stuck my head under the water. The cold water once again was a shock as my head made contact with the water, but it was refreshing at the same time.

  Once I was satisfied, I was clean, I pulled myself out of the stream, and picked up my pants. Might as well walk back naked, and let my body dry on the walk back. The pants wouldn’t do anything to protect me in a fight so didn’t really make much of a difference whether I wore them or not while alone here amongst the trees.

  The journey back was quicker as I just had to follow the path, I made through the forest growth, along with the marks on the trees. Soon enough I was standing in front of the tree with my gear in it. I was dry by now, so I pulled the pants on, and then pulled myself back up the tree trunk, and into the canopy above.

  Once I was settled in the branches, I reached over to the satchel that held the map, and pulled it over to me, along with the bundled shirts. First, I slipped the shirt on, and while it was tight over my frame, it still fit, and I was satisfied with it. The rest of the shorts I threw into the sack instead of back into the satchel.

  Now for the real prize. I unfurled the map, and I was surprised at the size of it. It was easily four feet wide, and half that in height. I had never been able to purchase any as a slave, but I had heard paper was expensive, and this map had a lot of it. It was also extremely detailed, and I took in the illustrated forests, rivers, lakes, grasslands, and a variety of other landmarks.

  This map seemed to show the Thuum kingdom, and several surrounding kingdoms. I had heard of many other lands and kingdoms on this continent, so I knew this map wasn’t the whole continent, but it showed more land than I could walk in a year. I easily found the word Thuum written in large letters o
n the bottom left of the map. Cedric had said we were in the northeast forest of Thuum, so I traced my finger over that part and saw the forest he had mentioned. The size of the forest was impressive. I didn’t know what distance was represented by this map, I had no real experience with maps, but it took up a sizable portion of the drawn borders of Thuum, so I guessed that it was big. Inside the drawing of the forest, was a smattering of villages, and even two larger towns. I wasn’t sure how to figure out which I was in, but that was when I noticed that several of the villages had small X’s crossed through them.

  Cedric had said they had been raiding surrounding villages, so I assumed these were the villages in question. One of the villages had been circled, and I assumed this had been the village recently sacked. I had killed the nobleman turned bandit before he could complete his sacking, so I assumed he hadn’t had time to cross this one out.

  Now that I knew that was the village I had come from; I was able to see the mountain range that I had been taken to. The mountains ran from the southern base of the forest and stretched nearly to the farthest point of the Thuum territory. Judging from the position of the village, I had been taken to a northern part of the mountains to be executed.

  That wasn’t important though, what was important was to see if Cedric had been right about the Stenao Dukedom being where he said. Sure enough, right there, further northeast from here was the Stenao Dukedom. It looked to be quite a distance away though, I had no way of knowing how many miles that was, but Cedric had said six days on a horse. That wasn’t an option as I didn’t have one, so I would have to walk. Unfortunately, I would not be able to use the few main roads that had built through the forest. While they would make my travel easier, it would also mean that if I was pursued, I would be much easier to find and catch. No, I would have to keep off the roads. I would also have to forage for food and water as I didn’t have any rations or way to transport water. I could go days without food sure, but the water was a whole different matter.