“What? Other women? An army of monster babies?”

“Yes, Ken Jewell. You are the patriarch of clan Jewell, and I think that you should be king of this land and someday emperor of the world. You are smart, you are strong, and you have this power to bring monsters out into the daylight. So, why not use it to secure our future?”

“Nika, what are you talking about? Other women? Other wives? You’re my wife. I don’t want or need anyone else.”

“I want them,” she said, and I realized that she was dead serious. “Women in the underdark are treated like slaves. Almost every race treats their women terribly. You could bring them to the surface, and together we could show them a better way. Think about it. You could have as many women as you wanted, and we could build a clan so powerful that no one could ever bring it down.”

“And the idea of me sleeping with other women doesn’t make you jealous?” I asked carefully.

“You will not only sleep with them, but you must have sex with them to make them pregnant,” she informed me.

“Right, and that doesn’t make you jealous?”

“Jealous? Why would I be jealous? I am your first wife, I have your first baby inside of me. I love you, and I know that you love me. What is there to be jealous about?”

“Ohhh, I don’t know,” I said in a sing-song voice. “These things have a way of going south…”

She shook her head and grinned at me. “You worry too much, Ken Jewell. Kings don’t worry that much. You should just consider yourself a king already and stop worrying.”

“Look,” I said, “having multiple wives doesn’t seem fair to you.”

“Fair to me?” she asked with a confused look on her beautiful green face.

“Well, yeah,” I said. “You say you are okay with me making babies with other women, but I don’t want to imagine you with another man.”

She frowned at me with confusion. “Why would I be with another man? I only love you. Also, another man cannot give us babies faster, but other women can give us more babies much faster so you can build your kingdom that much quicker. The sooner we build the strongest kingdom, the sooner we can conquer all the humans and monsters that might wish to hurt us. Then we will be safe. I will do my best, but we will need more monster women whose children can offer different skills. You will like it, you will see.”

I laughed at that one and wondered if she was setting me up. What man didn’t fantasize of having a bunch of different wives?

“Alright, Nika, I’ll think about it, but what is this talk about taking over the world?”

“You are a very powerful warrior, and you are very clever. Once we have an army of monster children, we will crush those who wish us harm. It is your destiny, Ken Jewell. One day you will be known as the greatest man in all the land, and the underdark will quake at the mention of your name. You will be the greatest goblin king in history. I am confident. I am also lucky.”

“That sounds great and all, but can’t we just move? Go somewhere away from people and away from the underdark?” I asked tiredly.

“Run away?” she said with a deep frown. “No, there is nowhere on the surface that is not teeming with humans. They are everywhere, and the underdark is always beneath us. It has no beginning and no end. It is forever, and it runs deep into the heart of this world. There is nowhere to go where they will not attack us, Ken Jewell. Do you understand?”

“I do,” I said though I didn’t want to believe it.

“People will hate our love and our family,” she sighed as she shook her head. “They are afraid of you, and they are afraid of me. They will come sooner or later, and when they do, we must show them that we are powerful. We will kill them, take all their loot, and get even more powerful. Hooray!” As she spoke, Nika’s frown turned into a wide smile that was part cute-innocent and part crazy-sexy.

“Alright, I get it,” I said as I rubbed my throbbing temples. “But for now let’s just focus on our first child before we start planning to rule the world, alright?”

“Okay,” she answered with a happy nod.

“Do you remember where I put the supply list?” I asked tiredly. “I should head out soon.”

“You look very tired,” she noted. “You should get some rest before you go to the village. You’ve been up all night standing guard. Come and lay down, and I’ll rub your back.”

“That sounds great,” I sighed, and it only took a handful of minutes of Nika rubbing my tired muscles before sleep took me.

I was blessed with dreamless sleep that morning, and when I awoke shortly before the second sunrise, I found Nika happily humming and working at the table. Something looked different about her that I couldn’t quite place at first, but then I realized that she had cut about five inches off her long red hair.

“Nika, you cut your hair,” I said as I got to my feet.

“I know, silly,” she said with a pleasant giggle.

“But why?”

“I needed it for part of your disguise. Look, I’ve made you a wig.” She turned and held it up to me, and I burst out laughing. Her smile slowly faded, and she regarded her work skeptically. “You don’t like it?”

“No, I do. I just thought about how I would look with it on that’s all.”

Her smile returned, and she walked over to me and put the wig on my head. It fit perfectly, and Nika nodded at me. “You look great!”

I retrieved the signaling mirror out of my molle pack and looked at my reflection. Another laugh escaped me. Nika’s hair was wavy, and she had woven it into a vine cap in a way that made the length of the hair uniform. The result was a candy red mop on top of my head that gave me long bangs.

I looked like one of the Beatles, only ginger flavored.

“No one’s going to recognize me now. Great job, Nika. I think this disguise and my poncho will work well enough.”

Nika beamed at me. “Now you will go into the village and get more food?”

“I hate to leave you here alone, but I guess there is no other choice. Are you sure you will be alright?”

“Of course, silly, goblins are great at hiding. I will be fine. You worry about getting food, okay?”

“If you say so,” I said, and then we kissed each other for a few minutes. Then the kisses turned into frantic lovemaking that did a great job of waking me up.

An hour later the second sun rose, and I set out toward the road that would bring me to Buckshire. The clouds that had plagued the sky the night before had dissipated in early morning, and now the sky was clear blue. Familiar bird songs played in the forest, and the river babbled to my right. When I reached the road, I made sure no one was coming before I emerged from the forest. Then I hung a right and started on my way toward Buckshire.

I hadn’t brought my molle pack, but I still wore my utility belt under my brown poncho. My army boots wouldn’t look too unusual, and my camo pants and t-shirt remained hidden, so I didn’t expect anyone to recognize me. The getup was hot, and the red wig on my head didn’t really help matters.

I had used Johan’s quill to make a small grocery list and recited it over and over again as I walked. As far as tools went, I figured I would need a few different axes for felling trees and carpentry duty, a pick axe, another shovel, a hammer, spikes, nails, and more rope. I also intended on picking up a cooking pan, some cloth for Nika, and seeds for the future garden.

If Buckshire’s markets were anything like Hamstead’s, I would have a wide variety of vegetables and meat to choose from, but I could only carry so much, so I decided on vegetables and any fruit if they had it. I could get meat easily enough on my own, but my body was craving carbs and other nutrients, and until I learned what I could forage or the garden started to produce, I would be dependent on the town. Cheese and bread was at the top of my list as well, and maybe even a bottle of wine. It was going to be a bitch hauling all of my goods back to camp, but I doubted I could buy a mule or a horse with my limited funds.

The river that flowed past our homestead emerged from the forest and followed the road to my right, and soon Buckshire became visible off in the distance. I passed a couple of young boys fishing off the riverbank by the road, and they waved at me as I passed. The urge to glance back was strong, but I kept my eyes forward and marched toward the village like I had business to attend to.

Farms began to crop up on both sides of the road, and the forest thinned out to make way for hay fields and apple orchards. I didn’t know what the punishment was for stealing apples, but they were just too damn good looking to resist. I made sure that no one was looking, walked off the road, quickly plucked one of the bright red beauties off a branch, and bit off a big chunk. The juicy apple was delicious, and I reminded myself to grab a few for Nika on the way back.

Buckshire turned out to be very similar to Hamstead, only a bit larger. To my relief, there were no guards waiting by the wooden wall that surrounded the village. One and two story cottages were packed in tightly on both sides of the main street, and many more were clumped by the river. The abodes soon gave way to the business district, and the smell of food found my nose.

I walked past pubs and inns boasting rooms available for a silver a night, and horses kicked up dust as men on wagons went about their daily routines. The steady clang of a blacksmith's hammer echoed through the town, followed by the occasional hiss as his apprentice dunked hot metal into a bucket of water.

I received a few stares, but no one looked alarmed by my presence, only curious.

Then a voice rang out, and many of the people stopped to regard a man who had come out onto a balcony overlooking the busy street. “Hear ye, hear ye, gather round my friends and hear the news of the day!”

A crowd quickly formed beneath the man’s balcony, and I moved away from them and acted like I was inspecting a barrel of apples beside a fruit stand.

“Yes, gather round, gather round,” the town crier said. “I’ve much to tell on this fine day. Firstly, if anyone has seen Mildred Doogle’s prized pig Patches, she is offering a fresh apple pie as a reward for his return.”

The crowd chuckled, and men elbowed each other agreeably. They seemed to think that the pie was a fine reward indeed.

“And in a shocking turn of events,” the crier added. “King Leon has raised taxes on all hamlets, towns, villages, and cities in the kingdom of Leontanis.”

The crowd began to grumble and boo the crier, and he raised his arms defensively.

“Don’t kill the messenger, folks! The king has declared that extra security will be needed, and that means we all have to cough up a little more if we want to remain safe. But alas! It is not all bad news today. The king has also raised the bounty on the most feared men in all the land, the monster lover, Ken Jewell! The king is now offering a reward of one-hundred freshly minted gold coins for the monster lover, dead or alive!”

I scanned the crowd as the people responded to the news. Women spoke in quick, hushed tones and clutched their necklaces in a white knuckled grip. Men puffed up their chests and claimed that they just might go hunting for me.

It was time for me to get moving, but it would look suspicious if I left the crowd just then, so I waited for the crier to finish with the news and disappeared into the crowd as it dispersed.

I kept my poncho hood drawn low as I moved through the crowd. A few people took notice of me, but most of them were busy bullshitting about how they weren’t afraid, and how they should all form a search party and split the bounty.

Others were spreading ridiculous rumors about me, and if I hadn’t been so worried about getting the tools I needed, I would have laughed.

“I hear that he’s part monster himself,” one man said.

“He stole witch powers and can travel through the forest like a crow!” shouted another.

“He’s building a lair in the underdark, and he’ll raid our city when it is night again!” an elderly woman cried as she clutched her grandchild.

“He’s just a blasted story to get all you idiots afraid so the king can raise taxes again!” a crotchety old man growled after he spit on the ground.

“They say he breaks in through windows and ravishes ladies in the night!” A woman with tall blonde hair and breasts that threatened to snap her corset gasped in a way that made me think she might have actually wished for that to be true.

“I told you all, it’s a sign of the end,” another man protested to his friends as they shouldered past. “We need to pray more to the Holy Twins, so that they will save us from this monster menace!”

“I tell you, Harvey, I saw someone who looked like the man on the posters. Saw him down by the river a few nights back I did,” a man standing outside a pub added, and a few of the townsfolk turned toward him.

I wondered about the posters that he had mentioned and noticed one pegged to a pole beside a horse trough. I tore it off the peg as I passed and glanced down at it. The sketch of me wasn’t bad, but the artist had given me a menacing face, and I didn’t think anyone would be able to recognize me from it. The poster did list me as tall and muscular, so I hunched a little, drew in my arms to look smaller, and stuffed the poster in my pocket.

My first stop was a tool shop that caught my eye as I meandered down the street with the crowd. The owner was a squat man with wide spectacles, a bald head, and large jowls. He offered me a nod when I walked in and then went back to the book he was reading.

I grabbed a shovel, pickaxe, hammer, felling axe, right-sided carpenter axe, splitting maul, saw, a few different sizes of block and tackle, and a length of rope. Then I carried them over to the counter. On my way to the counter I grabbed a trio of sharpening stones, pair of hand planes, a deep pot, and a kettle. Then I realized that I was going to need something to carry everything in.

“You have any big backpacks?” I asked, and the man nodded to the far corner of the store after I set my load down on the counter.

I moved to the far corner and saw an organized pile of leather packs. Most of them were a bit smaller than my molle pack, but one of the packs was about twice the size, and it had straps on the outside for tools to be hung. It also had a thick wooden frame, and even though it weighed about ten pounds empty, I knew it would be able to carry everything I wanted.

“That’s a good one,” the store keep said. “Miner’s pack. Will carry all your tools and equipment. A bit hard on the shoulders though. That’s why it’s got the frame.”

“I’m used to having heavy weights on my shoulders,” I said as I set the pack on the counter. “How much for all this?”

He made a quick mental calculation, looked me over a little closer, and said, “That’s going to run you fifty silver, stranger.”

I didn’t like the way he called me stranger. I doubted he recognized me, but he had a cocky air about him, like he knew he could take advantage of me because I was from out of town.

“And what would all this cost a local?” I asked.

He smirked at me. “Fifty silver, and not a copper fool less.”

I shook my head. The chubby bastard was screwing me over, I knew it, but I didn’t really have any recourse other than asking him if he would like my boot up his ass, and that would just get me too much attention.

“How much for a bucket of nails?” I asked instead.

“Two silver.”

“Fifty-two silver for all of it?” I sighed. “That’s a little pricey, don’t you think?”

“That’s the price. You want to shop around? The next village is twelve miles north.” He looked to be growing tired of my haggling, and I suddenly thought of a better way of approaching the negotiations.

I glanced around, beckoned him with my finger, and then leaned in conspiratorially. His eyes suddenly grew wide, and he mirrored my movement so that our faces were only about a foot apart.

“Listen friend,” I whispered. “I’m a bounty hunter and I’m looking for that monster lover everyone has been talking about. I’ve got a good lead, but I don’t want anyone else to know about it. Get me?”

His face went white, and he regarded me with a newfound respect.

“What’s your name, stranger,” he asked.

“The name’s Boba Fett,” I said as I offered him my hand.

He shook my hand, and I could feel the sweat on his palm. “You really going after Crazy Ken?”

I smirked at the nickname and nodded. “I need this here gear to set my traps. But I don’t have the coinage you’re asking for, and I was wondering if you might do me a favor.”

He nodded eagerly. “If you’re using it to hunt that monster loving bastard, I’ll give it to you at a discount. I made the same deal with a couple of other gentlemen that came through here earlier looking to buy some gear. They said they were after Crazy Ken, too.”

“You don’t say?”

“Yep,” he said, and then he pointed out the window at two men standing across the street. They looked like roughnecks, wore thick leather armor, and had half a dozen blades between them. “Them two there. Said they was headed to Hamstead to talk to the villagers about what they saw.”

I memorized the men’s faces and glanced back at the shopkeeper. “So what’s the new price on this gear?”

“I can give it to you for twenty-five silver,” he said. “But if you catch him, you’ve got to tell everyone you did it with my equipment. Deal?”

“Throw in the fishing net behind you, and you’ve got a deal,” I told him as I took out three gold pieces from my coin purse and laid them on the counter. The man didn’t act like it was too much, instead he handed me back five silver. My hunch had been correct, and I took mental note that one gold was worth ten silver.

The shopkeeper then wrapped up all my gear with burlap and tied it secure with twine so that I could carry it over my shoulder.

“Thank you kindly,” I said as I took the bundle. “Listen, friend. I’d appreciate it if you didn't mention me being a bounty hunter, or at all for that matter. It’s hard enough finding a wanted man without the locals bragging about meeting the men who are looking for them. You know what I mean?”

“It’ll be our little secret, Mr. Fett” he told me with a wink.

I suspected he was full of shit, but I wasn’t going to threaten him to keep his mouth shut. Even if he talked about me, it probably wouldn’t matter. There were already dozens of big mouths out there talking about how they were going to hunt me down.

Next, I hit the market and picked up a five-pound bag of oats, a bundle of potatoes, salt, pepper, a brick of cheese that smelled like smoked Gouda, and three loaves of fresh baked bread that made my mouth water. To my further delight, I came across a booth featuring some inexpensive teas and bought two different varieties. I got a couple cups, ceramic plates, bowls, and a small set of silverware as well.

Then I splurged a little, and bought Nikka a small paper wrapped bar of chocolate. I doubted that she would have ever had some before, and I couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when she tasted it.

My new backpack was getting almost as heavy as the molle pack I left back with Nika, but I was like a kid in a candy store, and I still had plenty of space left inside the voluminous interior. Back on Earth it was a cardinal rule of mine not to shop for groceries on an empty stomach, but I had broken that rule, and I wanted to buy everything I saw.

I tore off a chunk of bread, chewed on it to ease my hunger, and tried to focus on necessities. My coinage was already getting low, and I would only have enough for a few more things before I was broke.

The sound of a crowing rooster caught my ears, and I instantly thought of eggs. I found a man selling the birds out of the back of his wagon and inquired about the price. He told me two silver each for the hens and four for the cock, so I handed over my last gold piece and walked away with a rooster and three hens in a small cage.

Lastly I visited the local tailor and bought two pairs of brown trousers, two brown undershirts, and two dresses for Nika. I picked one that was plain and brown which she could wear while working around the homestead, and another that was silky and pink. I also picked her out some practical brown shoes that I thought would fit. She didn’t seem to mind going around barefooted, but I thought she might like them.

Not having a horse or a mule was a pain in the ass, and I started to gain some looks as I lugged my wares across town. I was done now though, so I kept an eye out for the men that the shop keeper had fingered as bounty hunters and headed back to the main road that would lead me out of town.

I had glanced behind me to see if anyone was following me as I turned the corner, and when I looked back, I came face to face with Torrance.

We both froze.

Then he squinted at me, looked over my outfit and gear, and whispered, “Ken?”

“The name’s Boba,” I said and pulled him along with me.

“I thought you were dead or gone by now,” he whispered as I guided him into an alley.

“We shouldn’t be seen together, Torrance,” I said as I glanced up and down the street. “If someone sees you with me, you’ll probably be in a lot of trouble.”

“More than I’m already in?” he said with a solemn look.

“What do you mean?”

“I was the one who found you. Me and my family were interrogated for a day and a half about where you came from, who you were, and where you might have run off to.”

“What did you tell them?” I asked.

“We told them everything we knew, and it wasn’t much, to tell you the truth. When we got back from the damn dungeons someone had burned down my damn barn. That’s why I’m here getting supplies. We’ve been shunned by the people of Hamstead, and ain't a one person left in town who’ll do business with me, so I had to move out here.”

“Ahhh shit. Torrance, I’m sorry. Are the kids alright?”

He nodded. “A little shook up is all.”

I was pissed about what had gone down. Torrance was a good guy, and he had been the first person to help me. He deserved better than having his family shamed and his barn burned to the ground.

“What about you?” he asked. “I thought you would have gotten as far away from Hamstead as possible. What are you doing here?” He glanced curiously at my ridiculously large load.

I hated to do it, but I didn’t really know the man very well when it came right down to it, so I lied. “I’m living in the underdark. Just came out to get some supplies.”

“The underdark?” he said a little too loudly. Then he ducked down and got closer. “The holy twins forsaken underdark? Are you mad?”

“Probably,” I said with a forced laugh, and wondered if he had any intentions on cashing in on the one-hundred gold on my head. It was a small fortune, and I knew that he must have been tempted. All he had to do was cry out right then and there, and I would most likely be screwed.

We stood in silence and studied each other.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said and raised his chin proudly. “But I ain’t no snitch. You’re a friend of mine, and I don’t rat out my friends. I know you’re a good man and not the criminal they make you out to be.”

“Thanks,” I said as I felt my shoulders relax.

“That’s what friends are for.”

“You said that you told the inquisitors everything you knew?” I reminded him.

“Yep, under pain of torture I did,” he said and rolled up his sleeve to show me a bloody bandage on his forearm. “They said if I didn’t tell them then they'd get it out of the kids. So I told ‘em. But I ain't going out of my way to give them bastards information about you.”

He wouldn’t go out of his way didn’t mean that he would keep his mouth shut if they tortured him again, and I realized that this was the last time I could wear this disguise. It might be the last time I could come into Buckshire, too.

“I’ve got to go,” I told him. “I’m sorry that I brought you trouble, Torrance. I really am.”

“Wasn’t your fault you had such a dangerous power,” he said.

“Granhelga was lying,” I said. “You were right about me being in trouble with witches. They've got it out for me, Torrance. It’s why Granhelga lied about that ridiculous power. If you’re questioned again, you tell those bastards what I just told you, and maybe they’ll see that I’m on their side.”

He nodded. “Then this is goodbye.”

“For now,” I said, “but Torrance, thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. You’re a good man, and I’m going to pay you back some day for taking care of me.”

“You take care of yourself, Boba,” he said with a solemn nod.

“You too,” I said, and then I left him in the alley.

As I walked out of town with my gear and a cage full of chickens, I kept my hood low and hunched beneath my burden. I couldn’t get my mind off Torrance’s plight, and I vowed to myself that I would make it right. Maybe after I got more loot from the underdark, I could find out where he lived and give him some. It was the least I could do after the hospitality that he and his family had shown me.

A few minutes later, I noticed the two bounty hunters on the other side of the street and ducked down the nearest alley.

When I got to the end I glanced back, saw them enter the alley, and cursed under my breath. I knew I couldn’t outrun them while I was lugging all my shit around, but I couldn’t just leave it behind, since that would mark me for sure.

I needed to find a place to hide, so I hustled down the street like it was just another day huffing gear on duty and turned into another alley. The rooster crowed, and I banged the cage against the wall in an attempt to shut it up. But the stupid thing wouldn’t be quiet, so I put down the cage, opened it up, and glared at the annoying bird.

“Listen, if you don’t be quiet, you’re going to be dinner. Understand?”

It had been a rhetorical question, of course, but to my surprise, the rooster stopped clucking and cocked its head at me. It studied me for a moment and then settled in to roost between the hens.

I heard a noise behind me and ducked into the open door of the inn beside the alley.

“Hey!” a man behind an oven shouted.

“I’m here to see Patrick. Shh, it’s a surprise,” I told him.

“Who the hell is Patrick?” he said as I pushed through the door to a hallway of a restaurant. I could see patrons sitting at the tables down the right side of the main eating room, and there was another door to the left. I wasn’t about to walk through the dining area with all the gear strapped to my back, so I went left and prayed that it led to the back door.

I pushed through the door and found myself in a storage room. I guessed that there would be a loading door of some sort in the back, so I hurried through. Sure enough, a big double door stood open, and through it I could see the river that ran along the northern border of the town.

I glanced left and right along the backs of the other buildings and saw a well-worn wagon road ran the length of the buildings. There were a number of small boats docked down by the water, and a plan formed in my mind.

If I could get to one of those boats, I might be able to escape, and it would be a hell of a lot easier to get my things back to camp.

I looked left and right again, and that’s when I saw the two men emerge from another alley. I ducked back into the storage room and carefully shut the doors. The room was full of barrels and stacks of grain bags and other foodstuffs, so I rushed over to the right corner and ducked behind a row of barrels and prayed to god that the chickens would keep quiet.

I sat there in darkness and listened for footsteps. The only light came through the crack between the doors, and when a shadow passed by, I held my breath.

“You go check the granary,” I heard a voice say.

“Come on, he’s just some guy buying equipment for his farm,” the other man said. “Let’s go get a beer before we head north.”

“You ever seen a sane man wearing a raincoat in the sunshine, Barry? Use your head and do what the hell I tell you,” the first man asked.

“Alright, fine,” Barry said.

Then the doors to the storage room opened, and a grizzled looking man walked in with his sword drawn. I recognized him as one of the bounty hunters that were after me and mentally prepared myself for a fight.

I watched him through a tiny gap between the barrels as he strode into the storage room and sniffed at the air. He turned a full circle, but didn’t stop when he looked my way. Even so, I slowly wrapped my fingers around my survival knife and prepared to spring from my hiding spot. The big man walked to the other side of the room, moved around a few crates, kicked a barrel, and then investigated deeper into the room.

I knew that I wouldn’t be able to sneak out, since the room was only fifteen by fifteen, and he would no doubt hear me as soon as I made a move. So I stayed put and glared at the chickens to keep them quiet.

The man rifled through some sacks and then continued around the room.

He inched closer to my location with his sword held low and his eyes slowly scanning the room. I didn’t want to kill the man, but if it came down to it, I would do whatever I had to do to survive.

So I gripped my knife tighter and prepared to stab him.

He drew closer, less than eight feet away, and out of my sight as I hunched behind the barrels.

His footsteps drew nearer.

I held my breath and glanced down at the still quiet chickens. Another step sounded on the wooden floor, then another. I saw the shiny metal of the man’s sword move over the top of the barrel, one foot above my head.

It was over. I knew he was going to find me, so I prepared to bat aside the sword and stab him in the heart.

A fraction of a second before I made my move, the door to the inn opened and someone walked in. “Hey, what are you doing in here?” the newcomer asked.

The sword turned away from my hiding spot, and I heard the creak of the bounty hunter’s leather armor as he shifted his weight. “Did you see a man come this way? He has red hair, and he was wearing a raincoat.”

“What? Who are you, what are you doing in here?” the other voice asked.

Four quick steps sounded, and I positioned myself to see what was going on. When I spied them through the crack, the bounty hunter had the man by the throat and was threatening him with his long sword. “Answer my question.”

“No, blessed twins, no. I ain’t seen nobody like that come through here. I promise,” the innkeeper gurgled out.

“What about your staff?” the bounty hunter quizzed.

“I, I, I don’t know, you’d have to ask them.”

“I think I’ll do just that. Lead the way,” the bounty hunter said, and then he shoved the scared man through the door.

As soon as the door closed, I shouldered my heavy backpack, picked up the chicken cage, grabbed a growler of mead, and hurried to the big double doors. I opened one, glanced left, right, found the way clear, and hauled ass down to the river.

I tossed my supplies in a little rowboat that no one was using, set the cage inside, glanced back to make sure I hadn’t been seen, and untied the boat in about five seconds flat. There were a few fishermen out on the wide river, but they were far from shore and paid me no mind as I pushed off and started rowing.

The river flowed slowly, but I got up to speed quickly and watched as the village of Buckshire slowly shrunk below the tall reeds. I didn’t see the bounty hunter come out to the back of the buildings again, and I let out a sigh of relief as soon as the town faded from sight.

That had been a close one.

I was confident in my fighting ability, but the man carried a long sword and seemed to know how to use it. I probably would have killed him if I got the jump on him, or I could have used my pistol to end him, but shooting him would have attracted all kinds of bad attention. Killing him would also have made a big mess, and I would have had to worry about hiding the body.

This was definitely the best outcome. No one knew I had come to the town, and no one knew I had left. I'd gotten everything I needed to make a great homestead, and I couldn't wait to get back to Nika.

But then I thought back to the town crier and the bounty on my head.

I was a marked man, and sooner or later someone was going to find me. If they tortured Torrance again for information, he would tell them about seeing me in Buckshire, and he would tell them about my disguise. I was glad that I had lied to him about living in the underdark. Maybe that piece of information would lead local authorities to give up the search and consider me dead or gone. Maybe Nika and I could just live in peace.

But I knew that was just wishful thinking.

For all I knew, there were already people searching for me in the forest between the two towns.

They may have already found Nika.

I pumped harder and rowed faster down the river. My worry for Nika grew with every passing moment, and I cursed myself for having left her alone. It was then that I realized that I loved her. Really loved her. I wasn’t worried about getting back to Earth anymore. I wasn’t worried about being caught and killed.

All I was worried about was the green-skinned woman who made me laugh, and the unborn child she carried.

My child.

Our child.

The first of many monster babies if Nika had her way.

The little rowboat moved down the river at a good clip, but a jetliner couldn’t have gotten me back to camp fast enough. If anything happened to Nika, I didn’t know what I would do.

When I came to the spot where I had emerged from the woods earlier that morning, I rowed the boat beneath the low bridge and left the road behind. The river got a little rocky further downriver, but I managed to steer it through the whitewater without banging it up too badly.

Eventually I came to a spot where the waters became too tumultuous and steered the boat toward the shore. I was glad that the obstacle was there because it meant that other people could go no further either.

The last thing I needed was people sailing past the homestead.

I made landfall and pulled the boat up onto the riverbank. Then I unloaded the boat, tied the growler of ale to my pack, hauled the chicken cage off, and then hid the boat under a bunch of brush. The boat would come in handy, but I couldn’t carry it home with all the other stuff that I had with me.

When I was satisfied that the boat would go unseen, I started west along the ridge. My backpack was probably about a hundred and twenty pounds, but I was used to rucking heavy loads across much more difficult terrain, so I pumped my arms and legs steadily as I trekked through the forest toward our home. I had one thing on my mind and one thing only, and that was getting back to Nika before someone else could find out her location.