The story Vulgad told was just as loaded as John’s was in the Human’s opinion, it was much more immediately pressing though.

Once the Dwarf began speaking, his tone gained the quality of a storyteller. There were no questions during the telling from John as he didn’t want to disrupt the flow of the story.

“In the deepest mountain depths, the sky’s highest clouds, ‘cross the plains an’ rivers, in the trees of every wood, the world, she spoke.

“’twas ages ago. When even the gods were but wee children. The tale ‘as been passed down through the generations.

“Cuerus herself ‘ad made a decision. She tired of watchin’ all of ‘er children fight an’ die o’er the same lands for as long as they had been walkin’, crawlin’, flyin’, an’ livin’. So, an edict was given by the mother o’ the land.

“She sought to give each people a ‘ome to call their own. She chose the wisest an’ the mightiest of each race. An’ told ‘em, ‘ye are to rule your given’ domains. The very land’ll support yer claim, so put down yer weapons, an’ pick up yer tools. Ye can build great things, provided ye don’t kill each other first.’

“Jus’ as Cuerus said, each race got their own domain. I’ll tell ye a few examples.

“The Dwarves. Me kinsfolk, were givin’ the domain of the Muldoroch Mountains. Our people ‘ad fought the other deep dwellin’ races fer control of the range fer as long as Dwarven feet ‘ave touched stone. So, with our control o’er the ancestral lands of me people, we built mighty cities. Strongholds from the bones of the earth. Very rarely ‘as an army tried to siege one o’ our cities. Rarer still was them succeedin’.

“The Humans, like yerself. Yer people were so spread across the world tha’ Cuerus was forced to choose only one group to gift land to. They were the people o’ the Tyrwood, now known these days as the kingdom o’ Tyrshal. Humans flocked to the bountiful land. With the land mother’s gift, roads nearly paved themselves, and rivers diverted to water crops. Still, the Gnolls fight to take the land. They lived in the wood jus’ as much as the Humans did ‘afore the mother’s edict. Their people have sworn to retake the Tyr an’ all its reaches.

“The Halflings. They were wanderers eternal. Because they seldom fought or killed the other races of the land, the mother gave them small pieces of land across the world. Havens to rest from their days of wandering Cuerus. It’s because of the mother’s favoritism that most races harbor some jealousy and often discriminate their folk.

“All told, war an’ conflict did not end, as ye can imagine. But it did let Cuerus’s children avoid annihilation from each other.

“The royal families of each people have ruled down through the millennia with little issue. Until recently.

“This is where Baff an’ I come in.

“Ye see, Baff’s real name is Baffengrund Mountainheart. ‘e is the true an’ sole heir to the throne of Muldoroch. Twas his father’s dyin’ wish fer me to escape with the boy so the kingdom may not fall that day.

“For if a line is extinguished, the killer of the line takes possession of the land, and the land supports ‘im in turn.”

The Dwarf seemed to age a decade in that moment. John saw his posture wilt, eyes strain with the ravages of age. The old warrior was nearing the end of his life, he could feel the truth in his gut.

John though now would be an appropriate time to ask a question.

“So, Baff is a deposed prince running from who? Who is trying to conquer your kingdom?”

“Many Humans were livin’ in lands far from the Tyrwood. Namely the men to the far north. They harbor jealousy against those of the royal lines. They ‘ave become conquerors. Ready to kill all in their way.”

“Huh, that really does sound like the Humans I know.”

Vulgad gave an appraising look to John.

“Greed an’ jealousy will always motivate those who live an’ breath.”

“I guess so… What is your goal now? Where are you off to?”

“Me an’ Baff are headin’ south to the new lands o’ the Althi. The only people who’ll support Baff without question.”

“Why’s that?”

“They are what ‘as become of the Elves given land by the mother. The conqueror struck their folk first an’ without warnin’. Now they are refugees, only givin’ land out of old alliances an’ diplomacy. Both sides in tha’ conflict paid a hefty burden in the fightin’ fer Altharic. I learned in the days after their loss jus’ ‘ow courageous the Elves can be.”

“Wow, uh, I think your story tops mine. That’s freaking crazy.”

Vulgad chuckled.

“I ‘spose its not what ye expected?”

“Honestly, I thought you just kidnapped Baff and were running from his family or something.”

“Ah, I wish tha’ were true lad. I really do.”

The two lapsed into silence, neither disturbing the other’s thoughts.

Vulgad broke it eventually.

“Lad, I ‘ave a favor to ask of ye.”

“Oh no, I’m not a warrior or anything. I wish you and Baff the best of luck, but I don’t think I’ll be of much help in reclaiming a whole freaking kingdom!”

“Tha’s not what I’m askin’ fer. I want ye to not say too much to Baff, he only knows the general circumstances. He wasn’t there fer the battle in Stonehall. He doesn’t know ‘is father is dead. I jus’ told the boy that we’re leavin’ out of precaution and fer me to train ‘im.”

“Ah. Gotcha. Sure, I’ll keep quiet about it.”

“One other thing too.”

“Yes, Vulgad?”

“In return fer me helpin’ you find yer way; you owe the boy a favor some years from now.”

“What sort of help are you offering?”

“In Lumis, I ‘ave an old friend to visit. ‘e’s a damn good wizard, even fer an’ Elf. I’ll leave ye wit’ ‘im. Maybe the two of ye can figure out ‘ow to use yer magical gifts. I swear ‘e is as honorable as any. Someone ye can trust.”

John contemplated the offer. On the one hand, he desperately wanted to get a solid footing in his new world. On the other side of things, owing a favor to a prince destined to go and reclaim a kingdom sounded like an excellent way to die.

‘Baff and Vulgad are the few friends I’ve made in this world. They helped me thus far… heh, new world, new me. Right?’

“I accept your offer Vulgad. Let’s hope I don’t regret it.”

“Oh, ye very well might.”

***

“C’mon ye two, tell me what ye were talkin’ about. I’m always left outta everythin’!”

“Now Baff, you’ll know in due time lad.”

Baff only pouted. John still found it weird that such childlike person had a beard so magnificent.

‘This is the same Baff that’s supposed to fight off an invading army and retake his homeland. Let’s hope he grows up a bit in the next few years…’

The shock of Vulgad’s story still hadn’t left him. There was a feeling John just couldn’t shake. In a word.

Disbelief.

One may think that having gone through his own incredible circumstances; he would be more resistant to shocking news. Nope.

John felt like he was in a novel. The soul released from hell early ends up meeting the deposed Dwarven prince. For all he knew, it might have been sitting on some bookshelf somewhere.

Putting his imagination to the side, he knew that this situation was real. He may not love it, but he had to deal with it.

Its not like anything would happen to him in the next few years anyway. Baff’s favor may never even come, the two could very well never meet again.

‘No, fate wouldn’t be so kind to me.’

What should be more pressing to John was the fact that a conquering army has designs on the land of other kingdoms. More than Altharic and Muldoroch by the sounds of things.

‘Let’s hope I don’t get pulled into some draft or something in the future. I wouldn’t put it past a place ruled by monarchies.’

As it always was though, the present was always most pressing, if somewhat mundane.

The trio had been traveling together for four days now. The time since John and Vulgad traded stories had been much less tense, relaxing even.

Vulgad’s magic tent made everything easier. John pulled his weight, sure, but there just wasn’t all that much weight to pull. Helping with meals and Baff’s training was about the extent of his duties.

Baff himself did the most. He packed around all his own stuff aside from food, which came from Vulgad’s storage. Vulgad’s methods of training Baff included him learning to be self sufficient.

John applauded the idea, all while he shamelessly abused all the neat magic appliances he was allowed to use in the tent.

It was evening in their campsite, and Baff’s training had been concluded. Baff and John sat and stretched out their stiff muscles. Helping the young Dwarf with his training was a workout by itself. Throwing stones, holding targets, being Vulgad’s demonstration dummy, it was exercise to be sure.

Once they had cooled down, they were to wash themselves off. Vulgad told them that they ‘smelled like a Troll’s rottin’ arse’.

Baff was allowed a large bucket of cold water to wash his sweat soaked body off.

John got to use what was by far the greatest of Vulgad’s magical toys.

In yet another room of the not-tent, John and Vulgad now relaxed in the heated bath. It was a wonderful way to rest after a day of walking, and to escape Baff’s constant exuberance.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you, but how does all this neat stuff work? Like this bath, or the fire pit that burns by itself.”

“I’m surprised it took ye this long tah ask. There all treasure in their own rights, ‘cept the bath, those are just heat stones. The rest are the work of master enchanters, I don’t really know ‘ow they do it. I think they just press the idea of what they want into it with magic an’ poof, enchanted.”

“Kinda anti-climactic. Just think about what they want it to do? Where’s the artistry? You think I can take a closer look at one when you use it?”

“Eh? Sure, maybe it’ll help ye understand yer own magic.”

That is precisely what John hoped.

“I got me own question fer ye. What’s in tha’ excuse fer a sack ye lug around? I never see ye take anythin’ out.”

“They’re just some fruits I found out in the woods when I was wandering around. They still don’t look like they’ve gone bad.”

“Fruits? If ye ‘avan’t noticed, the ‘aflin’s don’t grown nothin’ but trees ‘round ‘ere.”

“Well maybe they planted a couple bushes, cause I found some. Jinga fruits I think they’re called.”

The Dwarf’s jaw dropped.

“John, ye damn bastard. Ye are the luckiest man I think I’ve ever met!”

“What are you talking about? Because I found some weird ass fruits in the woods? They rare or something?”

Vulgad gave a strangled cry.

“Rare!? Those damn things ‘ave ‘ad battles fought o’er ‘em. Large ones too!”

John was starting to feel hyped up now.

“Really! Why are they so sought after?”

“Those’re one of the few things tha’ can raise an attribute rank outside o’ ‘ard work!”

“None of my attributes have risen, at least, I don’t think.”

‘System, show my attributes.’

Johnathan Cribb

Human

Level:

1

Strength:

Rank 1

Agility:

Rank 1

Intelligence:

Rank 3

Endurance:

Rank 1

Charisma:

Rank 1

Wisdom:

Rank 1

Luck:

Rank 2

“Yup, none have changed.”

“Ye need to level up past one by naturally increasin’ yer stats an’ ye’ll be given the option to allocate the fruit. At any time”

“Ok, but isn’t that a little bit of a cheat?”

“Definitely, seein’ as you found ‘em ON YER FIRST DAMN DAY ‘ERE! Those fruits take centuries to grow an’ ripen. Usually there’s a big commotion when someone finds a bush, if they make it common knowledge at least.”

‘Is this what Eliza did when she said she’d pull some strings. Damn, I owe that girl big time.’

“John, ‘ow many of ‘em do ye ‘ave!?”

“I grabbed ten but ate three. So, there’s seven left in the sack.”

“ Ack- seven! Those things could pay a king’s ransom lad. Either eat ‘em, sell ‘em, or ‘ide ‘em. Jus’ ‘avin those things wit’ ye can get ye killed.”

“Holy crap… I guess I should, but who would I sell them to? They’re way too valuable to just go advertise on the street. I’d need a fence, or a private auction.”

“I fer one would buy a few o’ ‘em off ye. They can go tah Baff. But I won’t take more tha’ three. Ye don’t know jus’ ‘ow hard raisin’ ranks’ll be. Specially in the later ones. I suggest ye eat the things soon as ye next see tha’ sack. Wait until ye get tah rank 3 or 4 in an attribute before allocatin’ the ranks.”

John didn’t think about what could be gained from eating one. The first place his mind went was monetary profits.

‘Vulgad, says he’ll buy some of them. Should I really sell to him? If what he said about ranks is true then… no, I need capital to spend now. I have seven. If I sell Vulgad two, then I shouldn’t have money problems for awhile, and I still have five free ranks.’

He had decided, he would give the Dwarf two in exchange for what he could pay.

John only had one issue; he didn’t know how their currency worked here.

“Alright Vulgad, I’ll sell you two of the fruits. You seem like one of those honorable types, so I’ll trust you won’t cheat me, but I need to have some money to set myself up well when we part ways.”

“Ahh, thank ye lad! Anythin’ I can do to ‘elp Baff I’ll pay richly for, ye ‘ave me word.

“I trust you; I really do. You’ve done more for me than I could have expected of anyone after meeting a weird guy in the woods. Especially considering you’re on the run. But before we talk prices, how do you guys do money here?”

“I ‘ppreciate yer trust. Money is easy to understand. We go as high as a platinum piece, an’ then gold, silver, an’ copper. Each coin is worth ten of the one below it. So, 1 platinum is 10 gold, 100 silver, or 1000 copper.”

“How much is a copper worth? Like what’s something basic you can buy with copper?”

“Hmm, a loaf o’ bread sell fer about a copper or two.”

“What about less than a copper?”

“There also be copper tenths, but usually only traders use ‘em when they sell a lot o’ somethin’ cheap.”

“Mmkay, What about a horse, a house, a beer, and the wage of a laborer?”

“Well, a horse’d be anywhere from 1-2 gold, maybe a bit more. A cheap, poorly built, ‘ouse in a town or city would be a few platinum dependin’ on where ye are. Yer getting’ ripped off on yer ale if its more tha’ a couple copper, unless its Dwarven of course. The lowest of Dwarven miners’ll make 25 or 26 copper coins a day.”

“I think I get the gist of it. So what will you pay me for two of the Jinga fruits?”

“It ain’t nearly a fair price, but I can only offer up tah say, 300 platinum fer the both of ‘em. Most o’ me riches were in me Stonehall villa. I need the rest fer Baff an’ I tah get to the Althi in the south. There be another kingdom o’ the Elves down there, Nirumar, so they traveled a long way when they did move from Altharic.”

“I understand, and I accept that you can’t pay all that much for them, but that amount should be a good amount of money to set me up well and get me started making my own money. Maybe I’ll give investing a try, who knows?

“I assume my favor to Baff is paid off with this though?”

“Aye, aye, it is. I can only ask that ye aid Baff if he needs it anyway. I won’t beg, but it is as close as I will ever get tah doin’ so.”

“You can tell Baff when you make it down south that I’ll be a friend, nothing more, nothing less”

Vulgad studied John’s face. As if he was looking for something.

“That is the best I could ask fer. Thank ye John. I won’t live fer too much longer. I’m an old Dwarf, I’ve lived a long an’ full life, an’ I’ll die with few regrets. ‘elpin’ a man like ye won’t be among those regrets.”

“From what I’ve gathered of you, you’re one of the good ones out there. You remind me of the man who raised me. He wasn’t my father, my neighbor actually. He had no obligation to help me. He just did it because it was the right thing to do. I trust and respect you like I trusted and respected that man. This is me paying some of his kindness forward.”

In the lavish, steam filled bath, the Dwarf gave a small almost unnoticeable smile. To John though, it looked like the one on the face of Mr. Romanovich at his high school graduation.

It was a smile that spoke volumes.