by Xander Jade
I saw someone in my peripheral and looked over to see an absolute stunner. She was tall, sinewy, and tan. With this redhead with emerald green eyes standing there watching me, my mind stopped working for a few moments.
I didn’t hear Helen’s rebuttal and had to ask again.
“What was that ma’am? My mind was off in a different direction.”
Helen smiled and replied, “Sure thing, that price is unreasonable sir. Eight gold.”
Trying not to look at the beautiful redhead, I responded, “Six and five silver, and throw in a bag of oats.”
Helen grinned broadly and nodded. “Very well, Mr. Williams. Let’s go sign the paperwork.”
That language skill I’ve acquired must include bargaining. Awesome!
I nodded as she walked off, but turned back to the emerald-eyed woman. She was talking to someone else but looking my way in short instances. I bowed to her and walked in the direction that Helen went, wondering who she was and if she was taken. Walking up to the counter I found the paperwork was ready, signed it, and placed the payment in Helen’s hand.
“Nice doing business with you Mr. Williams. We will have you fixed up in ten minutes.” Helen put away the currency.
“Thank you. I’ll wait.”
Ten minutes later, I was leading the stallion, which I already thought of as Coal and the mule, Murry, down towards the corner store. I tried to figure out where engraving tools were sold since a jewelry store was out of the question, though they had booths selling jewelry on the street. I doubted they would be selling an engraver there, so decided to check out what looked like a hardware store.
After tying off the reins, I went inside where a few people gave me curious looks, but didn’t approach me. I walked down the aisles and picked up two of each tool: hatchet, saw, axe, hammer, vise, auger, chisel, planer, and awl. Knowing I would have to repair and build new projects, I was going to pick up some of those required items now. Putting those items on the counter, I went to try and locate the engraving tools. I found them three rows over, the display had an engraver and etcher. I wanted to see which one would be best, but couldn’t decide so picked up one of each. I made my way back to the counter, placed those items there and paid five silver, then carried out my purchases and stowed them in my saddlebags. Taking the reins, I led the animals towards the general goods store.
Coal walked us up the path and stopped in Branchet’s General Goods. Three women were out stocking the aisles with new products and filling spots that customers bought. I browsed over the selections and went to the counter.
“Good afternoon sir,” I called out.
A male looked up from the counter. “Hello, didn’t see you there. My name is Tom Branchet. What can I do for you?”
A female came up behind him, wearing an apron. She looked like a regular human and my mind didn’t spit out anything. She was a brunette, maybe 5’6” with blue eyes and a curvy figure. I wonder if she’s a mage.
Handing him the list I had made up, I said, “Good day to you, Tom. I’m Dominic. Can you fill that list?”
The woman looked over his shoulder because he was around the same size, and after a few moments, took the list from him.
“Tom, you’ve been working the counter long enough. It’s time for a break. Go and check on Lizzie for me.”
Tom nodded and said, “Yeah, my hands are starting to hurt from shifting product around this morning.” He massaged his hands. I took a closer look at him. The guy seemed to be lacking work ethic, to say the least. He reached underneath the counter to grab something, and when it came into view, I almost busted out laughing. It was a man purse.
I started thinking about the episode of Friends when Joey took advice from Rachel to wear a unisex bag to his audition. She said it was sexy and would help get him the part in a play. He didn’t get the part. It was funny then and it was funny now.
Tom left without another word, walking through a doorway to the back of the store, clutching onto his man purse.
And there it was, my first glimpse of how a male is treated in Risona. If that guy got a paper cut, it would take him out of commission for a few days.
The woman smiled at me and said, “My name is Marsha. Please, give me a minute to look over your list, Mr. Dominic.”
I nodded and waited. Marsha looked over the list for a couple of minutes before speaking.
“Yes, we can provide everything but the feed and grain. You’ll have to get those over at the feed store across the street.”
“Okay. How long will it take to get the order ready?”
“Not long, probably ten minutes or so.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Handing over the two silver, I watched while Marsha and her assistant filled the order. Others came in to purchase items. The males walked with their families, but never held anything for more than a few moments before handing it to a woman for them to hold. A few of them also had purses like Tom. I shook my head at that. Wonder what else is ass backwards here?
It wasn’t long before Marsha called over to say my order was ready. They had my items in bags for easy carrying. Sausage, cheese, spices, sugar, flour, cream, coffee, tea, and other necessities. Also, I purchased a razor and shaving cream to groom myself. I walked out and stowed them into my panniers. My next stop was at the feed store for a couple bags of feed before heading out of town.
During the journey to the cabin, which I strangely thought of as my journey ‘home’, I wondered about my real home. Was someone looking after my stuff? Perhaps they would consider me dead and sell off all my possessions. Bastards, I had some expensive equipment. Maybe someone called mom and she picked everything up. Shit, they’re probably still looking for my body. Mom must be beside herself, worried. I sighed and tried to occupy my mind with the tasks ahead.
When I got back, I unsaddled Coal and took the bridles off of both animals. I hustled them into the barn, fed them and closed the door. Hopefully, Scar wouldn’t bother them. Heading inside, I prepared my dinner then did some reading before heading off to bed. I wanted an early start the next day.
~~~~~~
The next couple of days I performed my daily chores, then went to work on my to-do list, and at the end I’d try to get the grumpy panther to hunt with me. I repaired some fencing, an issue with the cold room, and a couple other minor fixes. When my normal chores were done, the next priority was to build a workbench that measured 4’ wide, 6’ long, and 5’ high. It also would have a vise on each end. I enchanted the tools I had bought with runes of strength, durability, and razor-edge. When that was completed, I cleaned out a space in the barn to store my workbench. After a couple hours of getting the cuts right and getting used to the runes, my project was complete. It was portable, obviously, so when any big projects were needed, it could be moved easily.
The next priority on the list was a garden. Cleaning up my work area and putting away the tools and equipment used, I grabbed the plow and hitched it to Murry the mule, then went to my plot. Murry was definitely a great buy, the little bugger was as stubborn as was to be expected, but relentless with his work ethic since I made the plot larger than my initial design after purchasing him. After a couple hours of cultivating, the area was ready for planting. I steered Murry back, unhooked the plow and led him out to graze within the fenced in area. I put the plow away, closed the barn door and then decided to take a break.
Grabbing a snack from the cabin, I sat down and started eating the berries and nuts, thinking that I finally had a place to call my own instead of that outrageously expensive apartment I was renting. With that thought, I wondered if it was worth it to expand the cabin or build a new home. I scanned my land. It was glowing in the afternoon sun. The trees surrounding the area were at least forty to eighty feet tall and various sizes in diameter. I measured in my mind what it would take to build a home from the ground up, and clearing out some of the unneeded trees would be a plus. I decided to build. Good thing I had bought the tools already.
I walked back to the barn to get the grain and seeds. Going row-by-row dropping the intended crop into the tilled up soil, I finished and used my hands to cover the seeds. Not knowing how often it rained, I turned my mind to irrigation. I would need to get some irrigation pipe from town.
As I took the leftover seeds back to the counter in the barn and dropped them off, I thought about other crops to plant. Since I just planted beans, peas, carrots, okra, and lettuce, I’d pick up some tomatoes, squash, cabbage, peppers, strawberries, and cucumbers in town to plant as well. I went over and used the pump to wash myself and had a thought, a bath and shower. How awesome would that be? Sighing, I went inside to fix dinner and do some more reading.
The next day, I ate some sausage and cheese before heading out to feed Coal and Murry. After brushing them down, I got out my axe and hatchet, and headed out to the forest. The first item to complete would be the platform. I started cutting down the taller trees, they were all ten-twelve inches in diameter and eighty feet long. The dimensions of the house were going to be 40’x60’ with four bedrooms to start with and space for a rune workshop. I had it all worked out in my head. I wanted the house to be easily expandable if needed. Also, I was going to figure out how to install indoor plumbing with hot water. All this going outside to the privy was irking me, so I would put in a bathroom that would be at the back of the home where the well was. I would need to figure out how to heat up the water. Maybe a fire mage was needed?
I spent the day cutting and sawing the lumber to fit my dimensions. I figured out quickly that muscle was needed to drag the trees over, so I’d have to make a trip to town very soon. The planar was hard at first for me to get used to and I messed up a couple of test subjects, but after that it was like any other skill you learn. Repetition. When I finished with the last tree for the platform, I needed something to fill in the cracks and not let air through, either clay or mortar. I went down to the stream, walked around the area for an hour or so and found an acceptable amount of clay. Cool. I also found lime and sand but I was exhausted at that point and stopped for the day.
When the next day dawned I went out to feed Coal and Murry before fixing myself some food. My agenda for the day was to get some work horses and other items on my list. Fresh eggs and milk for breakfast? Yes, that would do nicely. I grabbed my weapons and coin, then went to the barn.
After I got Coal saddled up, I rode out to Capena. We weren’t in any hurry, just ambled on down the road and watched the lush green hills go by. A few deer ran across the road into the foliage, disappearing into the forest. Guess they do that in all worlds they live in. A couple hours later, we came into the town and went straight for the livery. Again, people were watching me, probably wondering where my women were. They would think differently on Earth. I tied Coal’s reins to a post and went into Brighton’s Premium Horses.
It was busy today, a line was formed so I walked to the back of it. I was in my own little world thinking about what needed to get done when a voice brought me back.
“What can I help you with today, sir?”
I turned to look in the direction of the voice. It was the emerald-eyed redhead, Damn, she’s hot.
I cleared my throat, “Hello, I need two draft horses and the tack to go with them. Also, do you have wagons here?”
She took a moment to answer as she looked me up and down, then replied, “Yes sir, we can help with that. Our sister store has wagons. It’s just behind us. Shall we go and take a look at the horses first?”
I nodded and we walked outside to the stable and fenced in area where many horses resided. All different colors, shapes, and sizes. I looked at each one individually and a couple breed names popped into my head.
“Pardon me madam, I don’t know your name, but I would like to introduce myself. I’m Dominic.”
The lady blushed. “My apologies sir. We’ve been so busy today that I forgot to say my name as well. My name’s Felicia.”
I smiled. “Well met Felicia, I’d like to take a look at those two Jutland draft horses over to the side behind the Ardennes.”
I was shocked that those words came out of my mouth, knowing I had no knowledge of those breeds of horses before.
“Wow, you know your horses.”
Deciding to play it cool, I replied, “Not really, just studied up on them.”
She nodded and we walked over to the two Jutland drafts, then did our inspection. After deciding the horses seemed healthy, she had me follow her inside to discuss prices.
“Mr. Dominic, the total for your two horses and tack comes out to be ten gold,” she said in a haughty tone.
Even before thinking of a reply, words spewed from my mouth, “You must think I’m daft or something. I’m in a forgiving mood though, four gold.”
And then the bargaining began, twenty minutes later we settled on a price of six gold, but I ended up with blankets and other gear needed for taking care of the horses.
When I handed her the currency, Felicia said, “Thank you for your business, sir. May I take an hour or so to get everything situated and ready?”
“That will be fine, I need to see about a wagon and some other goods. Where can one buy some milking cows and chickens?”
“You can get the cows at the Anderson farm a mile west of here and the chickens, two miles east on the Bronson farm.”
“Thanks for your help Felicia, it was very nice to meet you.” I winked and left the stables, heading for the wainwright building.
~~~~~~
Felicia stared as the vision of manliness leaving the stables. She hoped she hadn’t let on how he had affected her. When she first laid eyes on him a couple weeks ago, she couldn’t stop staring at him. And now, she had been caught off guard when Dominic displayed his knowledge of horses and also by his bargaining prowess. Felicia hadn’t felt like this since when she first met her late Evan, and that was eighteen years ago. Even though she had been a widow for five years now, she had a teenage daughter and thought her busy life would be enough for her. But after seeing Dominic, visions of things that were thought gone, started flowing through her head.
As a life mage, she had always wanted to work with animals, hence the horses she dealt with each day, and it also paid the bills. It wasn’t a great paying job, but it kept food on the table for her and Julia, her daughter. The circumstances of Evan’s death were numbing. It had been so quick. He caught the yellow fever and passed soon after. She wasn’t exactly heartbroken after his death, since they really just passed days together. Their coupling wasn’t anything special either, no passion or enthusiasm at all, just there. She had always thought it would be special when families came together, but living with Evan’s wives and children was anything but. He was always irritated about something one of his wives did or his children. After his death, the women decided to go their separate ways, as widows did, to see if they could find another family to join. But Felicia didn’t want to just jump into some other family this time without knowing them. She wanted to make sure Julia would be okay if she somehow ended up married again.
Julia was a seventeen-year-old spitfire, a life mage like her mother, though she hadn’t gotten a grip on her magic yet. Most offspring of mages have the same magic as their mother’s. Julia didn’t take shit from anyone, just like her mother. This was one reason Felicia’s marriage with Evan didn’t matter to her. He had always tried to belittle them, but Felicia refused to take his shit even though he was a male mage. Julia was her life now and she would make sure to take precautions if somehow Dominic got in the picture. Maybe she was moving too quickly in her mind, but from the minor discussion just now, she hoped to get to know him better. She was certain he was new to the area, but where were his women? He wasn’t so young, probably in his late twenties, someone had to be with him. She vowed to try to get more information when he picked up his horses.
~~~~~~
I walked up the steps to the wainwright building, thinking about all the crap I still needed to purchase as I stepped throu
gh the doorway. Two young women, a blonde and a redhead that had to be teenagers were on the left side of the counter. Over on the right side, a gorgeous blonde, late twenties, early thirties was smiling as I walked up.
“Good afternoon, sir. How can we help you?” she spoke out.
“Hello, I’m looking for a cargo wagon to haul goods. Can you help me out?”
“Yes sir, my name’s Isabella and the ladies next to me are Abby and Julia. I’ll show you our selection if you follow me.”
I nodded and followed the blonde bombshell, watching her sway her tight, firm ass in front of me. She was wearing a short skirt, showing off her lovely legs. Wow, nice. When she turned to look at me, I saw her smiling, knowing she had caught me checking her out.
“We have a nice selection of open and covered wagons. Which would you like to see?” She bit her lower lip.
I thought this might be some kind of play on getting a sale, rather than wanting to actually hook up. Thinking about that, I didn’t much care for the teeny boppers inside, they always were finicky and annoying with their whining and complaining. I would much rather have a mature woman that knows what she wants and goes after it. Isabella seemed to be one of those.
I scanned the inventory, walking around browsing. I approached a medium-sized open wagon and circled around it. I wanted to check all the connections to make sure it was durable, mostly to look like I knew what I was doing.
I looked up and noticed she was staring, which didn’t bother me in the least.
“I’ll take this one and the connections for the draft horses I just bought.”
She perked up. “Did you happen to buy them at Brighton’s?”
I nodded and she continued, “Awesome, then we can give you a discount on this purchase.”
She smiled and gestured me towards the front entrance again. “Let’s get you checked out, handsome.”
“Oh, you weren’t checking me out already?”
She smiled brazenly. “I was. You’re different than most guys coming around town. Handsome for sure but you have this mysterious vibe about you.”