by Noah Layton
Leaving the map room, I spent the 30GP required to upgrade the well and delivered the tomato seeds to my new settlers.
Tormus prepared the land while Eri got to work on examining the seeds and putting the new well to work, hurrying back and forth with watering cans from her inventory.
Once the work was finished the six of us treated ourselves to a lunch of seasoned corn and water before sitting back and relaxing for a little while.
Despite the fact that we were a little short on coin, things were starting to look up.
‘All right, everybody,’ I declared, pushing up from the ground and standing before them. ‘Time to get to work.’
‘On what?’ Eri asked.
‘Building a new home for you two.’
They both looked at me with raised eyebrows.
‘Did you really think I was going to let you live in that dingy old shack for the rest of your lives?’
‘Well, no, but…’ Tormus said. ‘But it has only been one night.’
‘You’re helping keep this tribe alive, and that deserves no less than a reward.’
What would have taken weeks or even months in my world took us only a few hours. After deconstructing their wooden shack, we all got to work utilising the materials that we had returned with from the cove, and steadily, bit by bit, the house materialised.
The mechanics of this world really were a dream come true.
It was a two-story structure with a living room, kitchen, room for torches, even a bedroom. Things were a little bare inside, but it was a hell of a start.
They both thanked us all profusely. Eri looked like she was about to cry, but it was Tormus who shed a tear.
We spent the rest of the day tending to further jobs and tidying any mess that we had left behind. Before the day came to an end Ariadne gave me another lesson on how to wield my sword correctly, as well as how to use her throwing knives.
To be frank, I sucked. It looked easy when she did it, but Ariadne had been training for years with her people, and even she missed shots. I could hardly get my blade to hit a tree, never mind keeping the thing on target in the first place.
At the close of day I headed to bed with Ariadne and Lara, who both stripped down to their underwear and crawled into the twin beds with me.
‘So what do you think?’ I asked Lara.
‘It’s a start,’ she said. ‘But considering that you only arrived in these lands a few days ago you have managed to accomplish a lot. I am impressed.’
‘Just getting started,’ I smiled.
Chapter Ten
After a few days of hard work I managed to catch up on a little sleep. The land had been quiet overnight, and after dressing and getting breakfast in the morning I called a meeting in the map room among the six of us.
‘I don’t know if this is going to work,’ I said, activating the map, ‘but I need to know. I need each of you to place your hand on this pedestal. If you have knowledge of other areas it might help us plot out the surrounding lands.’
Ariadne went first, and even though the map offered up the opportunity to upload knowledge, nothing changed.
Everyone took a turn, even Alorion, but nothing happened.
‘Damn,’ I muttered. ‘I think knowledge of the land can only be uploaded once somebody has become a member of the tribe.’
‘Can I make a suggestion?’ Tormus said, raising his hand. ‘This area here, the Rourke Homestead, may be of some use to us. We are beginning to grow a wider variety of food, with the tomatoes and potential others in the future should the ground accept it, but it would be wise to also add some meat to compliment it. Homesteads almost always have pastures, and pastures often contain animals, particularly ones that graze. If this pasture was marked off by whoever created it, it would likely be for some important reason. There must be something of value there.’
‘I haven’t had wild boar in weeks,’ Lara said.
‘Indeed,’ Ariadne agreed, ‘And that taurem meat we had a few nights ago was magnificent. Our grass pasture on the south side would be an excellent area in which to raise them.’
‘Taurems…’ Alorion groaned. ‘Oh, lord, the shit…’
‘The fact that that’s one of the main things you can remember from your previous life seriously worries me,’ I said.
‘That’s how bad it was. Waves of the stuff. Like I said before, wonderful meat, but it comes at the cost of burning off the hairs in your nostrils from a distance of twenty yards.’
I dwelled on the thought of raising and killing an animal for its meat. I had killed plenty of humans, but never an animal – not deliberately, at least.
‘I guess I’d know how to kill one,’ I said, ‘but when it comes to prepping one for consumption I have no idea. Does anybody know how to do it?’
‘I’m reasonably adept,’ Lara said. ‘Hunting comes with being able to prepare animals.’
‘It doesn’t just go for food,’ Eri said. ‘Every part of an animal can be used. Hide can be used to create clothing. Even the bones can be ground down for bone meal. It would be excellent to utilise this for the tomatoes in particular. It can increase the speed of growth. Even the manure, as Alorion says, can be used for fertilising the land. Or we can trade it all away for profit.’
‘Every part of this sounds good,’ I said, ‘Apart from the slaughtering part of course, but we can get to that later… And the heaps of shit.’
I kind of wished that I still had Coron around to do the dirty work, but I wouldn’t admit that in front of Tormus.
I looked to the map again, examining the spot where the Rourke Homestead resided. The prospect of enhancing our wealth, whatever the form, was always an important one.
‘All right,’ I said. ‘I’m going to head out there today. I’m only taking one person with me, though.’ I turned to Tormus and Eri. ‘You two may have been safe here, but there’s power in numbers.’
‘Might I volunteer myself?’ Lara said. ‘We need to find a way to bring the animals back, and my hunting skills would be put to good use. And if worst comes to worst, an arrow will do the trick from a distance.’
I agreed to the proposition, figuring she would be the best companion for a job like this. Our group dispersed for the day, and Lara and I stocked up on provisions for the journey ahead.
Before we left Ariadne came running up to me out of nowhere and wrapped her arms around me. She kissed me hard and pleasurably, and I took her in my arms and returned it.
‘What was that for?’
‘For luck,’ she smiled, ‘and in case anything happens.’
‘Uhh… Thanks…’ I responded slowly, smiling back at her and crossing to the stables. I guided the horse and cart out, setting off with Lara by my side and hitting the road once again.
‘You weren’t joking when you said that you were Ariadne’s master,’ Lara said. ‘Considering it has only been a few days she has taken a remarkable liking to you.’
‘Hey, if somebody freed me from captivity, I think I’d take something of a shine to them too.’
‘So you really did save her from slavery, just like she said?’
‘I bought her from a goblin at the local trading post. Her tribe had been disbanded and she had nobody.’
‘So you’re using her as, what, some kind of sex-slave?’
‘No,’ I said sternly. ‘That’s not how it is.’
‘Woah, woah, I’m joking,’ she laughed. ‘She’s a foxgirl, I get it. They’re very kinky.’
‘There’s more to it than that. She… Understands me.’
‘What is there to understand?’
‘Forget it.’
‘Oh, come on. Don’t be like that. I really want to know.’
I paused, thinking about it.
‘She’s… Loyal. She’s always eager to help, and she knows how to fight. You’re a pretty damn good fighter too, but I don’t know about the loyalty part. And I do love her.’
Lara scoffed loudly. ‘How have I been disloyal to you?’
‘You haven’t, but…’
‘But what?’
‘But you’re much, much more… Bad.’
‘How so?’
‘Everything’s a joke, and everything comes with that little smile at the edge of your mouth, like you’re plotting something.’
‘What could I possibly be plotting?’
‘To kill me while I sleep?’
‘With a dick like that? There’s no way.’
‘That’s good to know.’
‘No, I’m serious,’ she rounded before me and walked backwards as we headed along the trail. ‘I’ve been with men before… And some women… But the way you felt inside of me the other night at the cove was unbelievable. I never let a man finish in my mouth, but this time I was glad to… And to swallow down your seed, too.’
I was trying to casually brush off her words, but my ego was inflating like a balloon, and my pants growing a little tighter in the process.
‘So that’s what I am to you?’ I replied, matching her tone. ‘Just some object to pleasure you with?’
‘No, I just… I struggle to grow close to people, that’s all. It is rare that a man makes me feel like that, and unheard of to me that he would invite me back to live with him.’
‘You can trust me,’ I said. ‘I know that’s a stupid thing to say in a world like this, but you can. Taking care of my people is important to me, and taking care of my girls is the most important.’
This was the first sign of vulnerability I had seen from her since we had met. The walls had slipped a little.
‘So in your world people are really so prudish?’
‘Like you wouldn’t believe. Some people put their sexuality out in the open, but they aren’t looked at favourably by everybody else in society. People are mostly monogamous.’
‘Mono-gamoos… What does that mean?’
‘Only having sex with one person your entire life.’
‘What a dull world…’
‘There’s a saying in my world, though – it’s the quiet ones that you should worry about the most. A lot of people who are prudish out in the open do some crazy things behind closed doors. Things that would probably shock some of the people in this world, never mind mine.’
‘I cannot imagine having to hide yourself in such a way. Was the other night strange for you? Back at the cove?’
‘For a few seconds… Then it turned into a fucking dream. There are very few men in my world who ever experience something like that. Do people in tribes behave like that? Just going about all day like it’s ancient Rome?’
‘What is ancient Rome?’
‘I mean… Do people just go about having sex all day?’
‘Those who are outside of tribes, like myself, tend to do as they please. Within tribes, though, the master often has many women by his side, who are all loyal to him and him only.’
‘What about the citizens?’
‘Citizens tend to be more, how you say, monogamous. Like Tormus and Eri. They are families.’
I liked the sound of this more and more. Ariadne had blown my mind the first night I had spent with her, and then there was Lara too… There could even be more in the future.
‘But Ariadne asked me for permission the other night to be with you. Do all wives do that?’
‘Many wives enjoy each other’s company. It keeps them pleasured when their master is away. Is there so much wrong with that?’
‘Not if it’s with another woman who is one of my companions,’ I replied resolutely. ‘If anything I like the idea of my women growing closer to each other. But if you choose to be part of my tribe over the next few days, loyalty is what I expect. You’re with me, and no other man.’
‘You have already proven yourself to be a remarkable man,’ Lara replied. ‘And an even more remarkable lover. You may be the one to finally tame me, the one who I commit myself to.’
Tame me, I thought shaking my head and smiling as she turned away from me to look back down the trail.
If we were back on Earth and Lara had a car, she would probably have a picture of Marilyn Monroe on the back with ‘If you can’t handle me at my worst then you don’t deserve me at my best’ written beneath it.
Still, though, the sheer idea of taming her – what the hell did she mean by that?
I shook my head of the thought and we continued along the trail. We were heading slightly west of the bandit’s camp just a few miles off, and once we passed it our new path became just as incoherent as the rest of the forest before it vanished completely.
‘I like the forest,’ Lara said simply. ‘The trails are pleasing, but it’s good to see that they don’t go everywhere.’
‘Not exactly convenient for us, is it?’
‘It’s not, but there’s something to say for that. Oftentimes people can become too arrogant. They think that they have control of the wilds, only to find themselves lost out here.’
Snap.
We halted in our tracks.
That hadn’t come from beneath our feet.
I ran a hand up the side of my horse, calming it as best as I could, and placed my other hand on my sword.
‘That’s no good out here,’ Lara whispered over at me without even looking. ‘By the time it’s on us it will be too late for close-range combat.’
She retrieved her bow from over her shoulder and drew an arrow quickly.
We scanned the forest hurriedly for the source of the sound. It was too loud to be a bird.
SNNOO-O-O-R-R-T-T-T.
The undergrowth rustled violently ten yards ahead. In a streaking line, the cause suddenly rushed towards us.
Lara fired an arrow and hit the shape.
There was another retching snort just as the creature exploded from the undergrowth and rushed towards us.
It was a huge boar, black and angry with sharp tusks pointed right at us. The arrow was sticking out of its side firmly, but it had done little to slow it.
I dodged to the side just as the boar reached me. A brush of air swept past my leg as it slowed to a jog and rounded, moving to charge at us again.
‘I think you just pissed it off more.’
‘Choose your weapon then, Master Jack.’
Despite being under attack, she was still mocking me. But I was too stubborn for that.
I drew my sword and readied it. The boar mounted another attack and rushed back towards us.
Lara fired an arrow that twanged into its back. The boar released another guttural yelp but continued its charge.
Easy, I thought. A well-timed swipe and it’ll go down.
I calculated the shot perfectly, slicing through the boar’s side.
The boar flailed at the strike, squealing madly, but quickly screeched to a halt and turned back on me.
I only narrowly missed being speared through the leg by one of its tusks, but the force of the blow sent me off balance and plummeting to the ground.
Despite its brief success the boar had given up its attack. It staggered away to a nearby tree as Lara leaned over and held out a helping hand.
She pulled me to my feet with a swift tug before we crossed to the boar and examined it.
Wheezing breaths were escaping its maw. Its eyes were dazed and struggling to stay open.
‘You do the honors,’ Lara said.
‘You’re the hunter.’
‘And you need to know what it is to kill an animal.’
The idea seemed juvenile, but Lara was right. I may have executed one of our attackers several days ago back at the tribe, but I was actually feeling remorseful about this.
The boar had only been acting on instinct.
If there was one thing I had learned since arriving in Agraria, though, it was that survival of the fittest was a rule to live by. Hesitation over killing your prey would get you killed, either via knife or starvation, real quickly.
I turned the handle of my sword to point the blade down and closed my grasp around it. Bringing the tip to the boar’s ne
ck, I aimed carefully before raising the blade and driving it powerfully into the beast.
Its breathing seized almost instantly, and after the brief jolt from the withdrawal of my blade subsided, the forest went quiet.
No – not entirely quiet.
‘Do you hear that?’ Lara asked.
I nodded in agreement. Somewhere close by there was a sound of scraping and squeaking against the ground.
We traced the sound to a spot around twenty yards away. Beneath the thick trunk of a huge tree was a small hollow covered by leaves and twigs. We pulled it away to see the source of the squeaking.
‘Oh shit,’ I muttered.
A small sounder of five piglets were wrapped up on a bed of dry leaves and twigs in the hollow.
‘You know what this means, don’t you?’ Lara said.
‘Yeah… We just killed their mother.’
‘I mean, if we are speaking in accurate terms it was you who killed her.’
‘You fired the first shot. Anyway what the hell are we going to do with them?’
‘Put them out of their misery.’
I shot Lara a look of disdain.
‘Are you kidding me?’
‘No. They will die out here without the care of their mother. A quick death is much more merciful than one they may suffer at the hands of a wolf.’
At first I didn’t say anything. Much to my chagrin she was right again.
‘Look… We’ll cover the hollow back up with something to reinforce it, just to make sure nothing gets to them. On the way back from the pasture we’ll herd them up and bring them back to our land.’
‘And do what with them? Without sustenance they will die.’
‘We’ll find some way to feed them.’
Lara sighed deeply. ‘For a tribe master you have far too much compassion.’
‘No, I’m just not game for killing a mother and her children in a single afternoon.’
‘Fine,’ Lara reluctantly agreed. ‘But if we get back here and find them ripped to shreds by a predator, don’t blame me.’
We took some time out from our journey to reinforce the entrance to the hollow. Any heavy sticks were lodged and overlapped in the dirt to create a barrier between the piglets and the outside world, then a thick layer of uprooted shrubbery to hide them from view.