“This’ll be the person watching over the farm for the week sir.” The teen said to the older man.

“This lil bean sprout? He don’t even have any chest hairs yet, fresh off the tit and he’s how I’m supposed to feel safe?” The older man said, before giving a quick glance to Asher. “You’re not playing some type of prank or anything? Did I do something the Syndicate may have found offensive?”

“No sir, I assure you that you’re still in good standing…no offenses were given or taken.” The teen said and he gestured for Asher to come forward as if he were presenting him. Asher, who had heard the man’s concerns, found himself pinching his shirt and looking down at his chest. ‘Damn he’s right.’ Asher thought to himself. He looked up to the older man who stared back at him with a concerned look on his face. Asher let out a sheepish grin and a slight thumbs up, which did not relieve this man’s concerns in the slightest.

“Don’t worry sir, this boy was sent here under the Guild Master’s orders. He’s actually here to learn about the operation from you and showed no concerns over the boy’s abilities to carry out his security duties. He’s actually meant to replace all of us as your security detail for this rotation.” The teen said as he gestured at the group of teens, five in total, not including Asher. Some nodded as if agreeing with what their leader said while some shrugged their shoulders, just as confused as the old man, but orders were orders.

“Well alright then.” The man finally relented with his line of questioning and looked at Asher again. “You ready to get some work done?”

Asher nodded his head. “Yes sir, it’d be my pleasure.”

“Alright then, you all get on with your business since you’ve said I’d be in capable hands. We got work to do.” He waved the teens off and the two groups began to start making their way back to Benetia, play fighting with each other and getting on one another’s nerves in ways that only a close group of friends could.

The teen leader that Asher had been traveling with looked back and waved at the both of them. “You two be careful, we’ll see you in a week!”

“Travel safe!” The man shouted. Asher simply waved back at the group.

The older man looked at Asher and extended a hand. “The name’s Tom Jim.” The more Asher heard the man speak, the more he couldn’t help but hear something akin to a country twang in the man’s voice. He grabbed the man’s hand and shook. “My name is Asher, I’ll be learning from you for the next few days.”

“Just learnin’?” Tom Jim teased.

“And providing security.” Asher made sure to emphasize the ‘and’.

Asher had been considering Tom Jim to be an old man, but upon closer inspection, he was a man that was comfortably in his forties. ‘The life of a farmer must really put some miles on a person.’ Asher thought to himself as he walked next to the man. Asher had never put much thought into the climate of Benetia, but he couldn’t help but feel hot and muggy as they walked. The city and the land surrounding it was squarely in an area that Asher would consider a jungle, a lot of the heat and humidity in the city was offset by the fact that Benetia was also coastal. The constant sea breeze acted as the perfect form of air conditioning for the city, but outside of its walls, the effect wasn’t as strong. Asher even had the suspicion that Benetia’s signature teardrop shape was designed to funnel this seabreeze effect so that the wealthier areas of the town felt noticeably more comfortable.

“So where are all your crops?” Asher asked. “I noticed the fields back there didn’t have anything planted.”

“We’re in the middle of crop rotatin’.” Tom Jim casually replied.

“Crop rotatin’?” Asher parroted back.

“Physically and crop wise to be specific.” Tom Jim nodded in agreement with his own statement and kept walking.

“What’s crop rotation?”

“You’ll see.” The man jutted his chin out in the direction they were going. They had been walking for a few minutes past their meeting point at the farmhouse when Asher noticed a shimmer on the horizon and black smoke. The air began to look wavy, the temperature increased in the short distance they’d traveled, and Asher recognized that he was just seeing refraction occurring in the distance. Wherever they were going was hot. They crested over a small hill and it was there that Asher saw it, the black smoke was actually a large cloud of smoke sitting above a field of fire.

“What kind of farm is this?” Asher said as he looked back and forth between the man and the field.

“Welcome to the Ember Fields!” Tom Jim said with a proud smile on his face. His teeth were surprisingly white and he seemed to have a full mouth of them. Sweat dripped down his forehead as the heat from the massive fire washed over the both of them.

Asher found himself sitting across the table from Tom Jim, who was bouncing a baby on his knee and patting it’s back. The little bundle of destruction burped up some milk, which Tom Jim promptly wiped up with a rag that was on the table nearby. A woman, who Asher learned was Tom’s wife, was preparing a hearty breakfast for the both of them. Her name was Mary-Sue Jim and while her hair was mostly dark brown - it had a streak or two of gray in it, her face and body seemed to be ageless. She had a cute button nose and a smile that just came naturally. She also had the same seemingly perfect teeth as Tom. Asher found himself thinking how lucky of a man Tom is to be married to such a beautiful woman.

“Foods done.” Mary said as she began scooping a helping of eggs, potatoes smothered in cheese, and a few strips of what looked like bacon on all of the plates at the table. She slid a plate to Asher and Tom before keeping the final one for herself. She took the baby from Tom and gave it a piece of the maybe-bacon to gnaw on.

“Little Jim Jim started teethin’ a while ago. Being able to bite on stuff helps him calm down a bit.” Mary Sue said with a smile, Asher blushed a little. “Anyways, y’all go on about your business, don’t mind us here.”

“Jim Jim?” Asher couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes sir.” Tom said. “First name Jim, last name Jim...got a problem with that?” Tom said as he narrowed his eyes at Asher.

Ashher choked a little on some eggs then took a bite of the definitely-probably-bacon bacon, based on the taste. “No sir, I was just making sure I heard the little guy’s name right.”

“Good.” Tom grunted. “Mary-Sue is the one who picked it…want a piece of advice for when you’re older?” Tom asked, then continued before Asher could reply to the question. “Happy wife, happy life, ain’t that right Mary-Sue?”

“That’s right, hon.”

“See, that’s right.” Tom nodded in agreement with his wife.

The food was great. Asher couldn’t stop himself from eating, the eggs were scrambled, the potatoes were buttery and creamy. The melted cheese gave it the extra bit of flavor that potatoes without gravy needed and this…this..

“Is this bacon?” Asher found himself asking while holding the piece of meat.

“Technicality wise, no. Intents and purposes wise, yes.” Tom said as he wolfed down some eggs. “Yes in the sense that it’s salt-cured and from an animal’s belly. No in the fact that the animal in question ain’t a pig.”

One of Asher’s eyebrows raised up. “What kind of animal is it then?” Holding the piece that he’d been biting on near his mouth, a momentary pause in his early morning feast. Tom smiled wide, showing all of his teeth.

“Snake. Giant constrictor native to the jungle here to be specific.” The older man said.

“Hmm.” Asher said as he took a bite from his bacon, still enjoying the taste even after the revelation. “I’ve never eaten snake before, why’d you decide to use snake for your bacon? I imagine a pig is safer to get bacon from.”

“Cause, bacon’s got to be from the belly mostly right?” Tom said.

“As far as I know, I think it comes from the back too.” Asher replied, curious as to where this conversation was going.

“Okay good, the theory still stands either ways.” Tom stopped eating, the conversation clearly a serious and important one for the farmer. “This snake here easily gets past thirty feet long. What do snakes slither on?”

“Their stomachs?”

“Exactly!” Tom said, slapping the table. “That’s at least thirty feet of belly right there. Thirty feet of bacon. Where else did you say bacon comes from?”

“The back?”

“Exactly!” Tom said, slapping the table a second time. “Damn boy you’re smart. So we got thirty feet of belly, thirty feet of back…that’s a damn sixty feet of bacon in my eyes!”

Mary-Sue let out a small chuckle. The baby, Jim Jim let out a small ‘cooh’ as he gummed down his piece of snake-bacon.

“Snakes is basically bacon, AND ribs.” Tom said, putting up one finger as if he were pointing at the sky, then did the same with his other hand and brought them both together in a ‘1+1=2’ motion. The man’s tone was downright conspiratorial as he explained his thought process behind the snake-bacon.

“So in my opinion, if you eat bacon regularly like I do, then you’d be a damn fool not to make it out of Giant Constrictor. Right honey?”

“That’s right dear.” Mary-Sue said as she burped Jim Jim.

“See, that’s right.” Tom Jim nodded in agreement with his wife.

Asher was speechless as he took in the man’s theories. It sounded dumb, like a basic logic chain that you could make for anything, and be wrong. He found himself quickly thinking about everything and different questions popped up. ‘Is he wrong?’ was one ‘What is bacon?’ was the other. Tom looked at the boy, watching the gears turn in the boy’s head. Asher sat there for a couple minutes, he’d always thought bacon was just pig, but he’d heard of turkey bacon before. So with that precedent being set by his old world, bacon wasn’t just a pig’s domain. The conclusion was inevitable.

“You might be a genius Tom.”

Tom simply waved off the compliment. “I been eating bacon since I was Jim Jim’s age, it’s just the natural evolution of things. Pure common sense, ain’t that right dear?”

“That’s right, hon” said Mary-Sue who was now holding a sleeping Jim Jim.

“See, that’s right.” Tom said as he stood up from the table, his plate empty. “Finish up and meet me outside, time to tell you everything about this place and what you’re expected to do here.”