by Noah Layton
‘Alorion?’ I yelled, approaching the forest. ‘Are you up there?’
For a few moments there was no response, then-
‘Ugghhhhh…’
‘You okay, buddy?’
Clunk.
‘Ow…’
I saw my imp staggering against branches of his tree before dropping down from the lowest branch and struggling to his feet.
‘You all right?’
‘I am fine, Jack… I think. It seems that moonseed does not agree with me.’
‘How much did you have?’
‘I may have spent some time in the evening dancing with Tormus and Eri in their home after taking a little more. The heat made it difficult to sleep.’
‘I know the feeling,’ I said.
‘You can forgive me, master. Hard servitude does require some respite to balance it out.’
‘Work hard, play hard, you mean?’
‘Actually, that is a better way of putting it. A little water and I shall be well again, I’ve no doubt.’
After filling the bucket from the well, Alorion dunked his head into it and drank deeply. He was in there for so long that I thought the bubbles were about to stop.
Suddenly he reappeared, swinging his head back and gasping for air.
‘Water is so good…’
‘I know, buddy. Come on, we’ve got work to do.’
‘As always. Where do we start?’
‘If we’re building a perimeter fence then I need to figure out how much wood we’re going to need. Seeing as I don’t have any way to measure the perimeter of our lands I’m going to need to figure out a way to do it practically.’
I activated the Defence Totem and examined the options available, checking the required materials in the process
Wooden post – Requires wood x2, shovel x1
Wooden fence – Requires wood x10
I could acquire an abundance of it from the trees pretty easily.
The problem was that the patch of land my tribe occupied was bigger than it looked. It would take maybe ten or fifteen minutes to walk around its edge at a casual pace.
This was a huge task, but I had to start somewhere.
With Alorion by my side I selected to construct a wooden post, took up my axe and a shovel, and headed to the treeline with my remaining stack of wood.
The moment I had selected the wooden post, a small blue square had appeared on the ground a yard before me. It moved in time with me as I walked forwards, remaining exactly the same distance from my feet with every slight movement I made.
Hovering before me were two options: select and cancel.
I had renovated a fence once when I had been helping paint houses over a summer when I was 19. For an extra $100 myself and a buddy had rebuilt a small fence for a neighbour’s front yard, but that was the only experience I had.
At the treeline close to Tormus and Eri’s house I hit select and the blue square remained in place. Above it, the shovel symbol flashed.
I took my shovel and pressed it into the dirt, shoving it down with my foot and removing the dirt from the ground. There was hardly any struggling or toughness. It pulled away easily, and wouldn’t allow me to dig beyond the confines of the blue square.
Just above the hole a percentage counter quickly filled up with each shovelful of dirt that I removed, until it hit 100% and the hole was completed.
Construct wooden post?
I tapped accept and the post appeared in my inventory. Retrieving it, the post materialised from nowhere in my outstretched palms, depleting my wood store in the process.
‘That’s way too convenient,’ I said.
‘Totems can refine most raw materials with no effort,’ Alorion said. ‘It’s acquiring them in the first place that’s the tricky part.’
I dropped the spiked end of the post into the hole and hammered it down with the shovel’s flat edge until it was stable, then returned the dirt into the hole and scattered the rest that remained.
Grabbing the post and shifting my weight against it, it hardly gave it all.
‘A fine job.’
‘Yep. Now we just have to do it another thousand times. And then put the fences in place.’
‘We?’
‘Don’t worry, you can supervise.’
‘Oh, thank the gods, I was beginning to worry that I would need to exert myself.’
‘There’s one thing you can do for me in the meantime. Get Jeremiah over here to give me a hand.’
‘Right away.’
‘And grab an axe from the stable inventory.’
I took off and returned a few minutes later with the cleric by his side, axe already in hand.
‘What can I do for you on this fine morning, master?’
‘Take that axe and start cutting. Take the closest trees so that we don’t eat into the forest too much. We’re going to need a lot.’
Jeremiah nodded and picked up the axe immediately. I had been a little cautious about what his response would be, but he got straight to it and made to a nearby tree.
He measured the blade expertly and began cutting.
‘Impressive,’ Alorion muttered.
‘You’re telling me,’ I remarked, moving to the next post.
One thing I had learned about work over the years was that talking was secondary when men were completing a task. Whether it was configuring a TV or building a wall to defend your land, men knew how to work together to get something done, only speaking when it related to the task at hand.
I sent Alorion on a recon mission to examine the treeline carefully in case there were any obstructions that would interfere with the construction of the fence while Jeremiah and I persisted on.
For an hour we cut through soil and wood in the shade of the trees, only stopping occasionally to drink from our canteens and wiping the sweat from our brows before continuing.
After we had completed around a tenth, we turned back on our progressive route and, after a brief trip to the Building Totem, we began the creation of the fence itself.
The placement of each fence required both of us, which slowed our progress a little, and even then the talking remained at a minimum.
Even though I had only known the man a few days, there was no awkwardness – we had a shared interest in the goal, as people we cared about both lived on the land.
Once our first tenth was fully completed, we both stood back and examined our work. Jeremiah offered a hand, which I shook, and we observed our work for a moment.
‘Since when did you know how to cut down trees like that?’ I asked, taking a swig from my canteen.
‘As I said, I’m a farmer and a cleric. It is not just animals and medicine that I know of. Running a farm requires knowledge of all sorts of things.’
‘But you were like a machine out there. How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?’
‘52.’
‘You move like a man half your age.’
‘That’s kind of you to say, master.’
‘So what’s the deal with it?’
‘The deal?’
‘You know… I’m not being glib but you were chopping through those trees like a man possessed. Something on your mind?’
Jeremiah laughed and took a sip from his canteen.
‘Not a thought as much as a feeling. I have always strived to avoid violence in my life, but it can be difficult. I believe that all men have some violence in them, wouldn’t you agree?’
‘Not just men,’ I replied. ‘Women too. At the end of the day we’re all animals. We all have anger within us.’
‘Exactly right,’ he said. ‘My beliefs prevent me from carrying out violence against others, but sometimes my anger at my own inaction must be released in other ways. I channel it into my work. Our work.’
‘You’re serious about never hurting another being, aren’t you? Now that you’re part of my tribe you wouldn’t do it? Even if we were attacked?’
Jeremiah looked back towards the fence, then to the open patches of f
orest either side of it.
‘You probably noticed that there wasn’t much of a defence around my property when you first arrived there. After I settled there after the war I took some stock in the world. I… Hoped that things would change. That I could have faith in nature, as long as I treated it well.
‘But nature is unforgiving. The wilds are unforgiving. Not just the villains that lurk out there, but the creatures too. I still seek to avoid violence, but if a threat to my daughter cannot be avoided… I do not know what I am capable of.’
‘I’ll keep that in mind,’ I said, acknowledging his serious tone. ‘You’re a good man, Jeremiah.’
‘As are you, Master Jack.’
I left it there – I was going to ask about Santana shooting the wolf with his crossbow, but it didn’t seem right. We were exhausted and sweating and starving, and it was time for a break.
I took some time to myself over lunch, not for a second taking for granted my much more diversified diet of corn, tomatoes and milk. I circled the tree, eating as I wandered over to the pig pen to see the piglets scurrying among each other.
Their lunch of taurem’s milk had already been delivered by Santana. Scanning the land I searched for her. She wasn’t milking the taurems, which were grazing in the field, but only one horse was present.
Through the quiet of the day I heard her before I saw her. Along the treeline, Santana was on the back of Myranthia. Her horse was sprinting impossibly fast.
She hadn’t been kidding about riding hard.
She stayed low against the back of the horse as its hooves beat hard against the ground. In no time at all she had circled the whole of the land. She returned to the farthest section of the southern side before galloping back through the grass in my direction.
Santana slowed her horse in the centre of the field, intending to dismount, but after setting her eyes on me a large grin rose to her face. She pushed her horse towards me, hopping off and taking its reins.
‘What do you think, master?’ She asked. ‘Do I ride well?’
What the hell kind of question is that? Just when I’d got those thoughts about her out of my mind…
‘I think you’re doing a great job,’ I said stupidly, not knowing what else to say.
‘Would you like a refresher on how to ride?’
‘I’d love to, but it looks damn hard. Dangerous, too.’
‘It’s only dangerous if you have a bad teacher.’
‘Are you a bad teacher?’
‘No. I’m the best.’ She giggled lightly, stroking her horse’s mane. Her red hair was flowing down her back thanks to the force of the wind, exposing her pretty face and blue eyes.
‘Well, I guess I can’t turn that down. But let’s make it a short lesson, okay?’
‘Of course, master.’
A few minutes later I was facing my own horse in the field, with Santana by my side. I had retrieved the saddle from the stable inventory and now stood with it in my hand, feeling like a total moron.
‘Don’t be afraid of it, master.’
‘I’m not.’
‘Guiding a horse is one thing, but riding it is another entirely. Treat it well and it will accept you; be disrespectful and it will stop at nothing to kick you off.’
‘So how do we start?’
‘Have you still not given him a name?’
‘I didn’t even know that he was a him, never mind giving him a name. I’ve just been calling him a him.’
‘Please, you can’t tell me that you have not noticed… You know…’
She nodded towards the underside of the horse, and I clicked as to what she meant.
‘The thought hadn’t actually crossed my mind.’
‘Well, either way, he needs a name.’
I searched my mind for something remotely decent. Black with white spots…
‘Domino,’ I said.
‘A strange name.’
‘It’s the name of a game. I’ll teach you sometime as a thank you.’
‘It’s a deal. Now, address your horse and approach it.’
‘That’s seriously all I have to do?’
‘In the past it has been easy for you, but horses can sense your intentions. You have yet to take a step towards him, but Domino already knows that you are afraid.’
‘I’m not afraid.’
‘But you are anxious, master. Your body is tense. You need to loosen up a little.’
I suddenly felt the touch of Santana’s soft hands as she pressed her palms against my shoulders from behind. For the briefest of moments I felt her squeeze my defined shoulders before drawing away quickly.
‘Just… Relax yourself, master.’
I tried to do as I was told. It was easier said than done. And it wasn’t just because of the horse.
Ariadne and Lara had drained me last night and with the exhaustion of the defence construction I should have been half-asleep, but at Santana’s touch I was wide awake.
She was the forbidden fruit, and that made her all the more desirable.
Setting my hesitations aside and shaking my head to put myself back in the moment, I approached Domino with an outstretched hand.
He shifted a little and became more agitated than usual. It threw me off immediately; Santana was right. It could sense my reluctance.
I changed my demeanour and continued my approach. I stroked its mane with one hand and held the saddle with the other.
‘He’s accepted you,’ Santana said. ‘Now it’s time to ride.’
With Domino comfortable, I attached the saddle to his back.
‘One swift movement,’ she said. ‘Get your foot in the rein and settle yourself atop him. Don’t be shy about giving him your full weight. He can handle it.’
I got my foot in the rein like she said and jumped up and landed in the saddle, getting my other foot in place.
Domino hardly even flinched.
‘That’s much better,’ I smiled. ‘Just like riding a bike.’
‘A what?’
‘Nothing… So are you going to join me?’
‘You are comfortable riding already?’
‘Like I said, it’s all coming back to me. I think I can manage it.’
‘If you say so, master.’ Santana jumped atop Myranthia, and together we set off across the pasture. ‘Keep up.’
She upped the speed as we reached the border by the treeline. Santana whipped the reins a little, and Myranthia sped up to a steady gallop.
I did the same, and in no time we were making our way quickly along the edge of the land.
I couldn’t believe how quickly I had picked it up again. It hadn’t been that long, but comparing it to riding a bike wasn’t exactly right. This wasn’t a machine that would do exactly what I commanded it to. One wrong move and Domino might’ve tried to buck me off.
Fortunately that didn’t happen, and together we made several laps of the land before returning to the pasture.
‘I’m impressed,’ she said. ‘When was the last time you rode?’
‘A few years ago, but it came back to me… Somehow.’
‘We should go riding in the forest sometime, master. It is a much more dangerous endeavour because of the trees, but much more thrilling. I have not done so for months because of the wolves, but now we have a chance. Do you take risks?’
‘Do I take risks?’ I repeated, thinking it was a strange question. ‘Sometimes. If the payoff is worth it.’
‘Well, I promise that it will be more than worth it.’
Her deep blue eyes looked me up and down so sharply that I almost failed to register it.
‘Well… I’d better be getting back to work. We need to take some crops to the trading post, and I don’t want to exhaust Domino too much.’
‘Of course, master. Have a good day.’
‘You too.’
***
‘Did something else happen?’
‘I’m not telling you,’ I laughed to Alorion. ‘She’s just… Innocent. I think. She
keeps saying these things.’
‘It could just be that she is a beautiful woman, and you are obviously tempted by her. Of course you would take things a different way to how she may intend. But women have needs too.’
‘What do you mean by that?’
‘I am just saying – much of the time men pine after women, and they make it obvious. Women do it too, they are just more subtle about it.’
‘I don’t know if I would call it subtle… But maybe I would, and I’m just being dense about it. I don’t know. Maybe I just need to… What the fuck…?’
We had been travelling the route to the trading post and had only just arrived.
The trading post had been almost completely abandoned. A few stalls were still standing, but even those were packing up – including the crop merchant.
We had been making daily trips here since I had arrived, and I had already gotten into the routine of just expecting the merchants to be here.
Now there was almost nothing. A pang of dread ran through me, not just at the prospect of the reason for this but the fact that our main source of income had now been suddenly stunted.
I crossed to the bull-headed man at the crop stand. Our interactions had been minimal at best up until now, but he looked surprised to see me.
‘You again,’ he grunted, looking me up and down. ‘You’re one of the last traders out here.’
‘What the hell is going on?’
‘Haven’t you heard? There was an attack on a caravan.’
‘The Junkers? I already know about that.’
‘No. The goblins. Cobb, I think? Not a fan of their kind, but I dealt with him on a few occasions. Seemed like a reasonable man. He was trailing behind in a separate wagon, a mile or so behind his cargo. His men lost track of him and his guards and went back to find his wagon smashed to pieces. Blood everywhere.’
‘The wolves again?’
‘I don’t know about wolves, but I don’t think that it was something small. They attack for meat. These goblins were mauled and spat straight back out. Humans kill and leave the bodies, but animals take the meat, which is strange because this definitely wasn’t done by a human.’
‘What do you think did it?’
The bull-headed man sighed and looked off to the side and into the forest.
‘I don’t know. But it must have been something big. Very big.’