S'haar watched as Jack ate his "cereal," specifically one called "fruit loops." The name was misleading. It wasn't made of fruit at all. Instead, it was cooked grain with "fruit flavoring," whatever that meant. It was then submerged in the milk of some herd animal and eaten like a soup. S'haar found the whole thing repulsive. When Jack offered to give her a taste, she almost lost her appetite completely. She was eating eggs, toast, and something divine called "Bacon." Jack had said something about not making anything as good as his last meal, but obviously, he was mistaken. The taste of fat and salty meat combined in a way that was both pleasing to eat and would give her all the energy she'd need later.

The "movie" she had watched with Jack had been unlike anything she'd ever seen before, although to be fair, that was true of almost everything in Jack's strange world. Still, this was especially weird. Jack explained that what she was watching was something like a play, but it was acted out a long time ago and then recorded so it could be viewed at any time. Shortly after the movie started, S'haar lost interest in his explanations and instead watched as the story unfolded before her.

Leave it to humans to have a person, small even by human standards, be the hero. In most Argu'n plays, the hero was the largest male with the biggest muscles. They walked around the stage, swinging ridiculously oversized swords as if compensating for something. Jack explained humans had those movies too and promised to show her a film starring someone named "Arnold Schwarzenegger" sometime.

What really fascinated S'haar was the action, the magic, and the characters. Jack had explained that it was all "special effects" and that magic and two-headed dragons didn't really exist in his world. S'haar was shaken from her reverie when she realized Jack had asked a question. Her eyes fluttered open as S'haar turned her attention back to Jack. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Jack hurriedly swallowed another mouthful of the mess he was chewing before repeating himself. "I said, we can do pretty much everything that needs to be done in-house. However, there are so many tasks that jumping back and forth between everything will slow us down more than is necessary. Do you think your people would be willing to trade for any supplies we need like wood or basic smelting processes? At least until we get to the point that we can automate some of the work."

S'haar's head was tilted, and her hand was off to the side, holding the other half of the piece of bacon she'd just taken a bite out of. "You certainly have the resources to trade. The problem is it's the start of winter, everything slows to nearly a stop. The price of goods and labor are at their highest. On the other hand, you certainly have enough metal and other resourcess, you could probably tempt some craftsmen to work for you. Especially the young ones eager to make a name for themselves. Though it won't be cheap."

Jack didn't seem bothered by the possible cost, "We should probably start with something simple to establish ourselves. What if I bring a load of iron to be smelted and trade some of the iron for cut and shaped wood, then take the rest home?"

S'haar had never been much for trading, at least not beyond simple things she needed for day to day life, but it seemed reasonable. "That should be doable. The smelters will probably work for a cut of the iron they refine, and woodworkers always need more iron for their tools. Though, I'm afraid I won't be much help with the actual trading."

Jack waved away her concerns. "You'll be plenty of help. I'll do the actual negotiating, but I'll need you to translate and offer security. I'll be able to understand your people just fine, but you are the only person on this planet, other than Angela, that can understand me. Also, I have a feeling I shouldn't walk through your village with something as valuable as metal unescorted."

S'haar looked at the puny male and agreed with him. Whatever tricks he might have up his sleeve, that would be asking for the trouble he probably didn't need.

Jack looked over to Angela, who was reading something called a book. The AI had explained it was all a facade, but she'd developed the habit as a way to offer Jack social interaction during meals without making him uncomfortable. Apparently, humans didn't like being stared at as they ate. "That being said, even with a bodyguard, we should probably take some precautionary measures. Can you make me some protective clothing to wear under my outfit? Maybe an extra durable knife and maybe even a small sidearm in case of a real emergency?"

Angela pulled a ledger from out of the air above her head and started reading. "We should have enough supplies for that, but we're going to have to be careful with the polymers. It's going to take us some time before we get to the point that we have the supplies to be wasteful with that. If we keep it primarily made out of metal alloys, we should be fine since you'll be refilling our stores soon. Although, as a result, it will be a bit heavier. Also, even a good knife won't make you a match for an Argu'n, but it should buy you enough time for S'haar to pull you out of the metaphorical fire. The handgun is doable as well, but I recommend saving that for life and death situations. Not only will the ammo be something we can't afford to waste, but scaring the locals with your "magic" is an excellent way to make enemies rather than friends."

Jack nodded, finishing another mouthful of his breakfast. "I agree. While you're at it, make some weapons for S'haar as well, something in keeping with local technology but with more durable metal alloys." Jack held up a hand to stop S'haar's protests before they were voiced. "This is for me, not you. If you have better equipment, I'm more likely to make it home safely. If you chose not to keep it after we part ways, that's fine, but as long as you are my bodyguard, you're going to have the best arms and armor around."

S'haar could see the logic in his argument. "Fine, but try and make it look less flashy than what you have here. It will be more effective if it doesn't make us a target for every raider between here and the village."

Angela nodded. "That's easy enough to do. On the surface, it'll look like conventional refined iron. But it'll be sharper and more reliable than anything available to the locals. Your natural plates provide excellent protection, but we can add a little something to reinforce the weak spots around vital areas, though that'll take a little more time to design."

Jack was cleaning up the table. "That leaves our final problem, transportation. We have to get the metal to the village to trade said metal. Eventually, we'll want a cart, but with all the moving parts, that's one of the things we should probably purchase rather than craft ourselves. For now, I suppose we could make a simple sled. We won't be able to take as much with us on the first trip, but that might be for the best. That way, we can get a feel for the local trading practices before we paint too big a target on our back."

Angela gave S'haar an appraising look. "You might be able to take more than you think, but I agree that it's a good place to start. While you make the sled, I'll start analyzing the mountain around us and determine the best places to dig for stability and where you'll find quality iron veins. The locals still use bog ore, limiting the amount of metal they have available. So even a single good vein should supply us with enough for our needs for the foreseeable future."

Jack nodded in agreement. "Sounds like we have a plan. S'haar, you'll come with me. I'll be able to cut down a tree easy enough, but I suspect we'll be able to get it back in the mountain to work on more easily with your help."

S'haar gave Jack a slightly dismissive look. "Are you certain you don't want me to cut the tree down for you? We don't want to spend the whole day on this, do we?"

Jack had a look in his eye that could only be described as disquieting. "Oh, I think I'll be alright. I'm going to enjoy introducing you to something called a chainsaw!"

-

S'haar shook her head in bewilderment. Jack was clearly insane. This "chainsaw" could only have been born from the fevered dream of a mad man. It probably didn't help her opinion any that as he was using it, Jack had been laughing, and his laughter had a bit of an odd maniacal edge to it. The loud roar of its "motor" was unlike anything S'haar had ever heard, and the way it chewed through the thick tree was both impressive and a little scary.

However, S'haar could not debate the effectiveness of the device. In moments the tree he'd chosen was down and the branches removed. He then attached an odd harness to the trunk and had S'haar wrap the other end around her shoulders. Although the trunk was many times heavier than S'haar, dragging it was quite simple with the harness.

As he walked alongside her, Jack shook his head. "You know, every time I start to think of you as just another tall human, you go and do something like this and prove me wrong. I'm relatively confident pulling that log would be something that would only be done in a strong man contest back home. Yet you don't even seem to be pushing your limits. I was sure I'd have to cut that thing up and make multiple trips."

S'haar looked over at him with a quizzical look. "Then, why didn't you?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I was curious. I expected you to be able to move it, I just thought the strain would be too much for a long haul, and I'd have to adjust the load. I was wondering whether we should make two or three trips. Looking at you now, I'm reasonably sure that the harness will reach its limit before you do. Still, this bodes well for hauling some ore to town. We'll be able to move a much larger load than I had anticipated."

S'haar looked back down at the small man walking beside her. "You know, if all you wanted was a beast of burden, you could probably get a trained arlack. They are larger than an argu'n and able to pull far heavier loads and move them further. Plus, they are easy to feed. Just let them graze in the nearby fields. Although you'd have to have somewhere for them to sleep at night, or something might make a meal out of it."

Jack looked interested. "That's definitely something to keep in mind. We'll need to get a few things in place and have our trading up and running before that's feasible. For the immediate future, you'll have to double up as a beast of burden and bodyguard. I hope you don't mind."

S'haar looked at him with a gleam in her eye. "You forgot translator and local guide. Too many more job titles and I might reconsider keeping those weapons when I'm done."

Jack grinned at her. "You'd be welcome to them! You're turning out to be quite the jack of all trades!"

The ridges over S'haar's eyes furrowed in confusion. "You make that sound like a title, but I thought Jack was your name..."

Jack laughed. "Sorry, it's a phrase from back home. It means you are good at a wide variety of tasks. The fact that my name is part of the phrase is entirely a coincidence. Well, maybe not entirely. I'm kind of partial to the phrase because of that."

As they neared the cave, Jack's expression grew more serious. "You caught my attention when you mentioned that something might eat the arlack. I'm guessing you are talking about local predators. So that begs the question, what sort of local wildlife should I keep a lookout for?"

S'haar was quiet for a moment, pulling the trunk along behind her before speaking up. "First is the kovaack. They are actually an herbivore but have an ornery disposition. They will charge and attack anything they feel threatens their territory. In mating season, they've even been known to attack larger predators and sometimes even succeed in driving them off. Thick-skinned with a horn on their head, they can be quite the nuisance. Their meat is quite delicious, it sells for a premium, and their hide can be used to craft a durable leather."

S'haar's expression became a bit more serious. "Second, there is the wolgen. They are large predators that usually keep their distance from villages. They are fast and have long claws capable of puncturing our plates." S'haar emphasized this point by slapping the plate on her arm. "If one sets up its territory too close to our village, a hunting party of three or more will be sent to deal with it. Even then, it's all too common for at least one hunter to be severely injured in the hunt."

Jack nodded. "Sounds like a regular alpha predator, big, scary, top of the local food chain. Not much willing to mess with it."

S'haar looked over at Jack with a grin that unsettled him and not just because of how apparent it made her sharp predator teeth. "Oh, there is something higher up this 'food chain' you speak of. The tus'ron. Pray to whatever gods the humans worship. You never run into them."

Jack was suddenly nervous. "They are bigger and scarier than the wolgen?"

S'haar's grin widened. Jack was suddenly sure there were now twice as many teeth in that mouth as had been there a mere moment before. "Scarier, yes, but not bigger. One tus'ron is hardly a threat. They're even smaller than yourself. While its bite would hurt, it probably wouldn't be a serious threat to your life on its own. The problem is, they sometimes travel in swarms."

Jack didn't like the use of the word swarms at all.

S'haar continued, seemingly enjoying the look of worry that had hold of Jack's face. "A proper tus'ron swarm could easily overpower an argu'n or even a wolgen. I've even heard stories of impossibly large swarms wiping out whole villages! Although I'm pretty sure those were just campfire tales told to scare the children..."

Jack really didn't like what he was hearing. He hoped S'haar played up the story a bit to try to scare him, but he was afraid she probably wasn't. Jack watched as S'haar dropped her load and unhooked the harness. Either way, Jack resolved to look into these threats a bit further... but first, it was time to get to work.