Leaving was more difficult than it probably should be. Ms. Diana would miss me, and I would miss her, but I have to get out there some more. See the world, fully live this new life of mine. I don’t think that I could do that in the small village of Haran. So, when I awoke that morning, I packed my stuff rather quickly and got underway. Though at a bit of a slower pace than I would have liked, the extra gear weighed a good bit more than I anticipated.

The road I traveled upon was one that was just used mostly by hunters and the few people that actually travel through these villages. Sigmund had said that it would take about a week until I would get to the next village. That is if I were to actually go at a good speed. I decided to take my time on this trip. I had learned how to make some basic snares from when I was a child, and I decided to test my luck. I found a few pliable saplings and set up ten of them on some of the animal paths off of the main path by about a quarter mile. I found a good place to bed down for the night as it was nearing sunset, and I set up camp. I had probably traveled a good eight miles or so during the day.

I built a small fire pit towards the edge of a small clearing and ranged out into the woods a bit to collect some of the fallen branches. I ate some of the dried meat I had left while I sat up against a tree. I would be needing some more to fully make it to the next village, so now would probably be the best time to stock up. I had been here for about a week now, but I haven’t taken the time to fully come to terms with possibly never seeing anything of my previous world again.

I had just up and left, and I couldn’t help but wonder how much of an impact I had made with my departure. I know that it is rather selfish to be hoping that my parents would just give up everything to start over here. Their reassurances put my mind at ease a whole lot, but I still couldn’t help but worry. I did know that I would have to get ready for them, but…

Something. Not exactly like me to just completely lose my train of thought like that. Probably nothing to worry about. I need to get ready for them to join me, not like we can go anywhere else once we get here.

With this new goal in mind, I spread my cloak on the ground, before wrapping it over myself like a blanket, and I drift away into the temporary oblivion.

I wake up to the warm sunshine on my left side and the remains of the fire near my right. I stretch when I get up and think about my plans for the day. I had to check on those snares first and foremost, probably get to drying and smoking any meat that I can get before I leave this campsite. When I went to check all my snares, about a third of them had just fallen over due to the lack of skill or practice on my part, but mainly the poor construction. Five others seem to have been set off, but have nothing in them, and the last two have rabbits in them. I put a quick end to their suffering, before bleeding them for a few minutes. I take the bled rabbits back to my campsite and reset all the snares.

When I get back to camp, I go to the opposite side of the clearing and get to work. It has been a long time since I have last done this, and I had never done it by myself, as a result the first rabbit is done rather poorly. I tossed the guts and all of the useless bits off into forest so that it doesn’t go to waste and can at least feed the trees. I took most of the bigger bones and all of the usable meat and set it to the side on the rather rough looking hide. The next one goes much better and I have a decent hide and a little bit more edible meat and the bigger bones. I had drained all of the blood before I had butchered them so that most of the mess was contained and I wasn’t covered in blood. I take everything with me to a stream back in the woods near the clearing and wash everything off.

Once everything is clean, I take it back to the camp and restart the fire. Mrs. Diana had given me a small, almost empty spool of yarn back in the village, and I used it to string up the meat. I had cut it into strips and put it over the fire between two sticks that were on either side of it. With the fire going and the meat being smoked I looked up at the sun. It was making its journey down towards the horizon.

I didn’t have much time left today, so I gathered up the hides and scraped off all of the extra fat I had missed into the fire and laid them over a tree branch. I really didn’t know what else to do with them, so I suppose that I shall just carry them with me and hope someone could get more use out of them than I could.

When I was in college, I had studied biology, so I didn’t know how to make a basic house without it falling onto my head. I definitely didn’t know how to do anything with only wood and stone. In the weeks before I was to come here, I had memorized some basic stuff like how to make a lean to, and even memorized how wells used to be dug without heavy machinery. Since I wasn’t planning on staying here for any appreciable amount of time, it wasn’t exactly helpful right now.

None of the bugs were bothering me as they had the previous night when I had just started the fire. The sun was nearing the mountains in the distance and I settled in for the night with the saxe knife in its sheath in my right hand, and the axe on the ground next to me.

The following day had much the same. Stoking the fire, smoking the meat. I hadn’t caught anything in the snares, and by about the middle of the day, I had all of my stuff packed up and secured away. I got back on the trail and kept walking til it had gotten dark and found a suitable spot near a stream. I emptied out the gross still water from my water skin and rinsed it out. I laid it out on a tree branch and made myself comfortable under a tree with my new usual arrangement of the knife in one hand and my axe lying next to me. As night fell, I slipped right into sleep.

I woke up to a high-pitched whine coming from right behind me. I slowly reach for the axe right next to me after I switched my knife to my left hand. I hadn’t made a fire, so the only light was from the moon, which was very little after filtering through all of the branches above me. Something was softly walking through the trees just behind the one I was sleeping beneath.

I slowly raise the axe into a position where I could swing it without trouble. The footsteps freeze behind me. A few moments later the footsteps resume, but this time they sound to be coming from my left and not from behind me. I raise myself from a sitting position to a crouch. As I do, I stepped on a branch, and with that small crack, my movements freeze. The footsteps stop as the animal turns around in one of the beams of moonlight that pierce through the branches above. The pale blue eyes of a mountain lion like animal reflect them as they look straight at me. Even with washing everything off, I probably still smelled like blood. That was probably how it found me.

A low growl rises up from it and seeing it right in front of me makes me feel like my blood is freezing in my veins. It crouches down like it was going to pounce. I wrestle with myself to get my body moving and ungracefully throw myself to the left. It sails through the air and lands just where I had been standing a moment before. I had dropped the axe when I threw myself, but I still had the knife, and thankfully I hadn’t cut myself with it. That would have been the least of my problems, but I was thankful, nonetheless.

It looks to be about to jump at me again so as I regain my footing, I jump at it instead! This brought about surprise in the animal. It must be used to all its prey trying to only get away from it before. My body tackles the animal, which is much bigger up close, to the forest floor. Before it can slice me to ribbons with its most likely sharp claws, I bring the knife up to its throat and make as deep a slash as I can. With that done I try to get away, but not before I take a good clawing to the left arm.

It writhes around until it eventually dies. My eyes never left it until it stilled, and just to be sure that it was dead, I picked up my axe and poked it. No reaction. Just to be sure I waited about five minutes and make a bandage with some of the scrap cloth I still had in my bag. It didn’t look to be that deep, a half inch at the very most, about a quarter of an inch at the least. Not that I could see it all that well with the current light conditions. Poking it was probably stupid in retrospect, but I suppose it is human nature to poke things with other objects or sticks.

I set about to making a fire and within ten minutes I had one going. I gathered some of the deadfall from the surroundings and dragged the cat over next to it. At the very least I was going to gain something from the beast that tried to kill me. It was about three feet tall and seven feet long. Humongous beast. From what I could tell it seemed to be about two hundred pounds. I tried to hoist it up over a tree branch, but with my left arm cut, doing so was basically impossible. I did manage to get it into a position where it could drain properly, but it took a good bit of doing. It probably had a while ago as I was making the fire and stuff, but it never hurts to try and at least do have some semblance of correctness when doing this.

After about five more minutes I brought it down and gutted and skinned it. I piled all of the meat I could get from it on top of the pelt with the fur facing towards the ground. I made some spits and tried to get as much meat over the fire as I could. The air has a slight chill to it so I won’t have to worry about bugs for the moment, but I would come morning. I wanted to preserve as much of this meat as I could, and there was lots of it. I wasn’t going to sleep much after this.

That night I just gathered as much wood as I could and kept the fire going. The mountain lion had woken me up as the moon was going towards the horizon so, I wasn’t that worse for wear. I filled all of the pouches with the smoked and dried meat and soon they were all full. I wrapped the rest up in the pelt after I washed it off in the nearby stream. I was getting burdened down more, but it was manageable. I did make sure to wash everything off as thoroughly as I could, my clothes, myself, everything in my pack that I thought could stand a bit of water. Hopefully that would prevent a repeat of the incident.

The next day of travel was more taxing than they had been in the past. My arm definitely had some trouble being used to its full extent, and I had much more stuff to carry. I settled on making a sled, to help carry some of my stuff, and it took more than a bit of trial and error. I managed to find enough sticks and procured a few of the larger ones straight from the source. There were plenty of vines about to use as lashing, though it would likely not last all that long on the terrain that I was traveling through. It just had to make it to the next village, though. Creating the sled did however set me back a day in traveling, though it gave my left arm a break, and a chance to heal.

The day after went a bit smoother, though I did stop occasionally to make minor improvements to the sled, such as new lashings, or replacing one of the runner legs with a better piece of wood. It was holding up fairly well, better than I had hoped. Still, it took me longer to cover the same distance, thus I was a bit behind my previous pace.

The days after came in quicker, smoother. They didn’t drag on nearly as much. Nearly a week after I had been attacked, I saw it. The trees were cut back to the crest of the hill, and it gave a great vantage point to see the whole village. Maybe a hundred buildings total, though certainly spread much wider than Haran had been. The outermost buildings looked to be farmhouses, situated in their fields, with crops growing for a good mile around.

The main part of the village sat upon a crossroads, the road I was on, heading roughly east-west, with an almost perpendicular road heading north-south. Most buildings faced onto those two roads, and it had even had a rough layer of gravel laid down once you got to the town limits. Though, I think my shoes would have a fine time with it, as for the first time my thoughts drew me into actually thinking about them. Solid wood soled boots with hide outer coverings. Truly a good pair of shoes. Wrenching my mind back about, I saw that there were what looked to be a few inns, so it would probably be time for me to sleep in a real bed. It has been far too long since I had.

With thoughts of going back into civilization, I had the clarity of mind as to actually take a sniff of myself, and while it was absolutely terrible, it would probably be for the best if I find some water source to foul. This particular sidetrack took me a good hour to find, a natural little waterfall, only a couple feet tall, into what looked to be a peaceful pond. The water was tinged a light blue, though more than clear enough that I could see that there probably was no dangers lurking in the depths.

A thorough wash later, and I was reminded of the fact that soap helps quite a bit in this process, and it would probably be a good idea to buy some. Though it was likely to be a harsh lye soap. Better than nothing, though I would have to be careful with it, because I faintly remember something about people getting chemical burns from it. Refreshed, and in a bit of a fresher change of clothes, I head back towards the village. On my way in, there was a little sign where the gravel road started, telling me that I had arrived in Atl’s Stead, though I would say that it has grown a bit larger than a homestead.

Not many paid much attention to my passing, but some did with curious eyes. I definitely got some attention from a few thuggish looking people, but a glance towards my gear was seemingly enough to stave them off. Hopefully not going to have a problem with them, seeing as how it was luck that has coasted me thus far, and not any actual ability to fight. I knew for a fact that when faced with life or death that I would choose life, if not for myself and this opportunity, then for my parents. They would be joining me, and nothing would stop me from seeing that happen. Most only get one life to live, I was given another, and I was not going to lose it to anyone. Many did glance towards the sled, which handled a bit better on the gravel. Not to mention the looks the golden-brown animal hide received. As I was making my way down the road, I saw a sign that had a few coins crudely engraved in it, which was probably a store, and not a bank, as far as the size of the place was concerned.

Making my way inside, I found the door unlocked, and let myself in with a light knock. No one else seemed to be in here and seeing as there were no other customers to disturb, I pulled the sled in with me. There was however the mystery of where the proprietor of shop was, and I could see a door behind the counter, so that would probably be the best place to start. I made my way up to the counter and knocked pretty hard on it. Nothing.

“Hello?” I called out in a relatively loud voice. It cut through the silence of the room fairly well, and I could tell that I had been successful at rousing someone, owing to the fact that there was a rather large crash coming from behind the door. A muffled “oomph” brought me to the conclusion that either the person running the shop was asleep or being lazy. Who is to say that it isn’t both?

“Coming!” A person said. Probably a man from the voice. He hurried into view with a quite disheveled appearance. He was certainly no stranger to wrinkles, and the bedhead really made it obvious as to his prior activity. “Hello, and welcome to my humble shop. Sorry to keep you waiting, I was uh, retrieving something from the back. The name’s Jack, what can I help you with today?” With that question, he stuck out his hand for a handshake.

“The name’s Davin” I reply and give a firm handshake. Most important part of interacting with someone, or so old people say. “What can you give me for these pelts, and I don’t suppose that you would deal in some dried meat?”

Not put off by my questions Jack says, “Depends on the quality, and I might trade some other goods for jerky, but I would prefer a sample of that before making a deal on it. If you would?” He motions towards the pelts, and I bring the bundles forward. The counter looks relatively clean, so I dump the jerky there before handing him the pelts. He certainly has a look of concern when I started doing that, but thankfully nothing spills.

It takes him a few minutes to inspect the pelts, basically just looking for any holes or scrapes. He sets the first rabbit pelt to the side, with a shake of his head before saying “I can give you about ten coppers for this first rabbit pelt, it is of lesser quality than the second, though for that one I can give you fifteen. I am willing to buy this cougar pelt for two silver.” I nod a bit before he reaches for a piece of meat, before pausing and giving me a questioning look, at which I nod to him again. He picks a piece, chews for a little bit, before finally nodding his head and saying, “Certainly not the most tasteful jerky, though it is by and far better than the worst that I have had. I will give you ten copper per ten pounds, and it like a good forty pounds of meat, so that would be forty copper. The total would be three silver, fifteen copper.”

He still looks a bit far away, but I couldn’t tell if that was an affectation or how he was actually feeling. He was fairly relaxed, and his body language was open, I certainly couldn’t tell if he was lying, though I was leaning towards not. I wasn’t really in the mood to bargain, so I stuck my hand out and said, “Well, you have yourself a deal. Though, if you could tell me if there was a good bowyer in this town, that would be helpful.”

“Certainly, Mr. Davin, though Jack’s does deal in all trades, there is a bowyer up the street, though he is around the bend a bit at the crossroads, about three buildings north. Is there anything else that you need today?” He certainly looked like he wanted to yawn just about now, probably dreaming of getting back to sleep.

I took a breath before saying, “Well, there are a few things that I could pick up before going there. I need about fifty feet of rope, a price on any seasonings you might have, as well as some potatoes and carrots. Dried meat and apples can only get you so far,” I say with a chuckle, Jack laughs a bit too at that.

“Indeed, Mr. Davin, indeed. Let’s see what we got.” He then bent down behind the counter, before pulling out a box that was near overflowing with coils of ropes. “Ah, the fifty feet ones should be in this box, ah!” He is more mumbling to himself than talking to me at this point, but he does manage to pull out a decent looking hempen rope, coiled up and with a neat little tag that had a fifty carefully inked onto it. “This should do for the rope, I would say for a customer such as yourself, fifteen coppers. The potatoes and carrots that I have should be in barrels by the door, and you can fill one of these,” He produces a hempen sack with a small flourish, “For fifteen coppers. As to spices, I have a bit of dried thyme, salt, and sage. The thyme and sage are ten coppers per sachet, and the salt is twenty.”

He seemed to be waiting on me to make a decision on that front, and while it would cut into my new coinage a good bit, I decided to get it all and haggle a little bit. “Well, I will be taking it all off of your hands, I think my total is seventy coppers, I don’t suppose that you could come down to fifty?” I asked with a good bit of hope.

He sighed a little before saying, “I am afraid that I can’t go lower than sixty-five for all of it.” He did look a little sad, though I suppose most shopkeepers had to become a little bit of an actor.

Well, maybe I could get it a little lower. “How about we meet closer to your number at sixty even?” I ask, though he should hopefully meet me there.

He looked a bit bereaved, but I could see from the glint in his eye he was making enough of a profit to go for it. “Well, I suppose for a valued customer, I can come down to meet you.” He once again closed the deal with a handshake, and I counted out one of the silver coins, and ten more copper ones. He looked satisfied with that, and I set about situating my new purchases about myself. The produce should keep for a few weeks, not that I won’t eat most of it before I even get to the next stop on the road.

As I am almost ready to leave, I turn to ask, “I don’t suppose you know of a good Inn around here, do ya? Could almost kill for the chance to sleep in a real bed again.”

“Sure do! Just a few buildings up the road from the bowyer. I do hope you have safe travels, Mr. Davin, maybe even come get some last-minute supplies here before you leave?” He says with a little hope and anticipation in his voice. Though he certainly looks like he is ready to head back to sleep. The look is definitely growing on me though.

I reply, “Thank you for the directions then. If I do think of anything, I will certainly think to stop here first. Have a good day, Jack.” He replies with a sleepy ‘you too’ as I pass back out into the daylight. I ended up carrying the sled under one arm, with the coil of rope tossed over the other, and holding the bag of mixed vegetables. As soon as the doors shut behind me, I knew that I had forgotten the soap. Damnit. Oh well.

Next stop, bowyer, and after that, a hot meal. Then maybe some blissful sleep. I followed Jack’s instructions easily enough, the sign in front of the bowyer being that of a bow with a nocked arrow. I knocked, as I stepped inside, though this time, the proprietor was actually manning the shop, though he looked to be trimming down a bough of wood, probably into an actual bow.

I started the conversation with a “Hello!” Which in turn brought the man’s attention to me easily enough. I continued, “I was told that this would be where the bowyer was round these parts, and I am in need of a bow myself.” I kind of peter off towards the end, and just wait for him to take the next step.

He kind of just grunts, and motions for me to come closer, as well as to put my stuff down. He looks questioningly at me while reaching towards me, and I put out my left arm, as that was the arm I would be holding it with. It had been more than a few years since I had used a bow, I think the last time was a couple summers after I had been to a conservation camp for a summer trip. Still, with some experience, hopefully shaking the rust off of my meager skills is better than learning anew. He takes my arm and measures it with a marked piece of twine, reminiscent how Ms. Diana had when measuring me for clothes.

After remeasuring again, then measuring my right arm, as well as pulling them into a few different positions, he brings over a rather beautiful looking bow, polished smooth, and definitely high-quality work. The first time I heard him speak, I almost jumped out of my boots, just from the surprise of it. He said, “This’ll be thirty-five coppers.” A fairly thick accent, though one that I had no idea how to place.

I nodded at the price, though it was higher than I had paid for most of my things, it was quality workmanship. I asked, “Do you know the direction to the nearest fletcher? I think I shall need some arrows for this fine bow.” I could faintly see a smile come to his lips, though it was gone as soon as it came.

He said, “Yea, what you’ll want to do, is head left once you get to the corner of the building, then left again at the second corner. Once more left at the next, and then one more time. It’ll be the first door on the left.” My mind churned for a few seconds, before I gave a light chuckle. It was a perfect delivery, completely flat, though looking at him I could see the mirth in his eyes, and a very slight upturn to the corners of his mouth.

I replied, “Well, I suppose I walked into that one. Suppose I should be more perceptive.” Now that I was actually looking around, there was another workstation, full of smaller shafts, as well as what looked to be feathers, and sharpened flints. “I hope I can get about sixteen arrows, as well as a small quiver if you have it.” Most of my own delivery is with a slight laugh and lilt, mostly from the mood of the room.

He just nods, before saying, “All of it for forty-five coppers then. Five for the arrows, five for the quiver.” Though he doesn’t say much, he does slightly shift forward, hoping to seal the deal quickly. Though he might be out of luck if he hoped for no haggling.

With a grin I riposte, “How about forty for the lot?” He does seem to genuinely consider it, and to my surprise, he reaches his hand out to shake. I let a quick pout fall on my face, before reaching out to meet him. He just nods his head, and I suppose that is the only other confirmation that I am going to get. I hand him a silver, and he does break it down pretty fair, giving me ten coppers back.

With all of my stuff repositioned, I say, “Well, have a good day, sir.” I give a wave as I leave, which he returns. Now that I think about it, I don’t think I ever got his name. Oops. Well, I suppose now would be the time to head towards the Inn. Jack did say it would be just up the street.

I found the inn easily enough and just as I was about to walk in, the door flung wide open. I jumped to the side just in time as two people came tumbling out fighting. They carried it down the street a bit, and a small crowd of about ten or so people followed them out of the inn. I pretty much ignored them and walked inside. It was a rather spacious room with about ten tables spread out about the room, stairs to the upper floor in the corner and a bar right next to them. There was a woman standing behind the bar, looking to be about forty or so. I crossed the room to greet her, “Hello ma’am, I don’t suppose that I can get a room here, as well as something to eat?”

“Hello, yourself stranger.” She says with a wolfish grin. She continues “One night will be three copper, dinner is a copper and will start a little bit before sundown. Breakfast is also a copper and will be at sunrise. Though, don’t be calling me ma’am, unless you are trying to make me feel older than I already am! Name’s Mary.” She finishes with a laugh and sticks her hand out to shake. I oblige, and her hands are rougher than mine, though that isn’t that much of a surprise.

I reply with a smile of my own, “Well met Mary. My name is Davin, and I think I will take the whole lot.” I swiftly retrieve five coppers and put them in a neat stack on the counter. “I don’t suppose you can tell me what dinner will be?” Her smile seems to be perpetually stuck to her face, even when faced with the brawling group that had just spilled out into the street.

She says, “Sure can! Tonight is roast lamb stew, with bread and a drink of your choice. Though more than one will cost ya extra.” She warns good naturedly. She also quickly retrieves a key from the rack behind her, engraved with a little number five on it. “This will be yours until the morrow, unless you decide to spend another night. The door has a little plate with a matching number on it, just up the stairs on the left.” She hands it to me, and I take it. “With that, I have to check up on some things in the kitchen. If you need me, just holler!” She calls back over her shoulder. I gave a quick nod before stepping back from the counter.

I don’t miss the small bearded axe strapped to her side as she walks away. Wouldn’t want to get on her bad side. I take the stairs up to my room which had a number five carved onto a small plate, just like she said. The room itself is rather sparse. A bed in one corner, a small square table and chair in front of the window. I go to the window and prop it open. The inn is one of the few two-story buildings in this place, so I have a pretty good view. I unload my belongings onto the table and take inventory.

A waterskin, a cloak, a saxe knife, a dagger, a chisel, a hammer, a felling axe, a draw knife, a copper pan, a backpack, a sack full of vegetables, a quiver with sixteen arrows, and a well-made bow. Plenty of dried meat, as well as a one sachet of rosemary, thyme, and salt each. The sled is set down in the corner of the room, not carrying anything now. One rope as well, can’t forget about that. The second set of clothes, a bone needle, and some thread as well as cloth scraps from Ms. Diana. Definitely have some leftover bones to make some more needles if need be. I had one silver and thirteen copper left after all my spending. Barely more than I had when I first got here. I don’t think the room key counts since I will have to return it upon my departure.

I strapped the saxe knife back on me, then packed everything up into the backpack. I had everything fit into it but the felling axe, bow, and the quiver. I left them and the backpack on the table and went to lie down on the bed. I propped the chair up under the door handle so that people couldn’t get into my room that easily. As I lay there, I couldn’t help but start to daydream. Mostly about my family, and how it had been so long since I last talked to them. They will join me. I know it. I could wait until then. I felt something as I had that thought, a light buzzing in my head. But it was gone as quick as it came.

I laid there in a light doze until the sun is on the horizon. I stood up and stretched before putting the key into my belt pouch, before tying it off and heading downstairs.

I saw Mary standing at the bar as before. She was still looking as cheerful, though it looks a bit more tired than before. Probably from having to deal with all those people after I had retired to my room. I started off the conversation, “Hello, Mary. I thought it would be about time for dinner.”

She gives a chuckle and says, “You would be right about that. I will have it out to you as soon as you pick a place to sit, so long as you can tell me what you want to drink.” She nods her head vaguely to some bar stools further along, and I get the hint.

I call to her and say, “I will have some apple cider if you have it, and some water if you don’t.” She just nods at that before waving towards a server, who comes from waiting on other tables before talking with Mary for a second, and then rushing back into the kitchen.

The server comes back a moment later, with what is probably the dinner, as well as a cup of golden liquid, which is probably the cider. I thank her, and she gives a brilliant smile, before going back to serving the other tables. I take that as my que to dig in.

The stew was delicious after days of eating nothing but dried meat and apples. It had sliced up carrots and potatoes in it as well. I took my time eating it, the rolls tasted great when dipped in the broth and before too long I had drained the bowl clean. I looked around the inn, as it had become rather crowded since I had started eating. People sat everywhere enjoying the great tasting food. The cider wasn’t too bad either, and with that I was full. I waved at Mary and she came and took the plate and mug away.

I say, “The food was amazing, Mary. I think I am going to turn in now, though.” My contented expression visible to probably everyone.

She replies with her ever present smile, “Thanks for the compliments.” With that, she nods and walks away. I head back up to my room, prop the door, and promptly plop down on the bed. I leave the knife at my side while I toss the belt pouch with the key onto the table. The sun finally sets with me drifting off to sleep.