yawn.. midnight here.. last chap section for tonight.

enjoy

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Chapter 7

That's Not A DEER!

“In a civilized and cultivated country, Wild animals only

continue to exist at all when preserved by sportsmen”

Theodore Roosevelt

Waking up on my tenth day in the world of Arkhay I was more then happy with myself that for the first time I wasn't waking up soaking wet. Hearing a noise at my door I glanced up and saw Martha with her bucket standing there with a sad look on her face. I suspected she had grown fond of using her water bucket on me over the last four days. I was about to say something when she suddenly hauled back and launched said water onto me with a serene look on her face.. Yes..She was indeed enjoying herself.

With a loud cry of “What the hell Martha!' I jumped out of bed and started with my usual routine that I had developed over the last few days. Namely stripping the bed linens getting dressed etc. All the while glaring at the madwoman standing in my door laughing at me. “You do know I was awake right?!” I exclaimed. Nodding at me she turned around and as she walked out said “Awake isn't out of bed Richard!”

Shaking my head in exasperation I couldn't help but chuckle at our weird relationship. Grabbing the wet linens I once again proceeded to hang them outside to dry while I was off working and learning. After completing that depressingly routine job I headed back inside for breakfast. Entering the kitchen my nose and mouth were assaulted by a smell that instantly made my mouth water. Looking around I couldn't' spot what the hell smelled so good.

I asked Martha what the smell was and she uncovered a plate with what looked like BACON!. God I missed bacon and eggs in the morning. Don't get me wrong the mashed vegetable Carto stuff tasted a lot like sweet yams and made for a very nutritious and filling meal. But you just can not beat BACON! In the morning. Mmmm Hot Bacon...

On the table was our usual morning fair.. Carto and fresh baked bread. The BACON was on a plate set between Martha and me. Sitting down and taking a piece of Mana from heaven I stuffed one end into my mouth. Biting down a explosion of taste entered my mouth, It tasted like BACON but it also had a distinct honey barbecue taste also. I let out a load moan of pure pleasure while chewing. Two kinds of food I loved the most combined into one small neat package. The only problem was there was so little of it to eat!

After loosing my mind over a little BBQ Bacon it took me a few minutes to realize all the food was gone. Sighing In pleasure of the treat I asked Martha what the occasion was and where the bacon came from. She said “Well that is the last of the Gipper in the village and sense today is your day to head out and hunt I thought you might like a bit of motivation. As for Bacon I do not know that word. But it sounds like the Gipper meat tastes like this Bacon?”

Nodding in affirmative to her I said “Yes on my world we have a animal called a pig. It will basically eat almost anything a omnivore. Bacon is meat that is usually cooked for breakfast and comes from the pigs belly area.”

After finishing up my little speech about the pig and its glorious BACON. I asked Martha to tell me about the Gipper and said a silent prayer that somehow 'Ronald Reagan' wasn't running around on this world. The description of the animal she described put all thoughts of the dead president out of my mind.

“Well the gipper is a lot like the pig on your world. It too will eat anything it can get its mouth around. They really are a nuisance animal and are hunted relentlessly for not only their meat but also because the breed so fast. One pair of Gippers can produce twelve new Gippers ever two months. Because they eat everything they come across they grow really fast. From birth to full grown it only takes four months. If we didn't hunt them they would quickly eat the entire world down to nothing more than dirt.”

Understanding the full importance of managing these critters I asked her to describe them for me. What I heard was the stuff nightmares are made from. Martha “Full grown Gippers reach about nine foot tall are about three and a half to four foot wide at the shoulders and twelve foot long. They walk on four legs and have a set of razor sharp teeth about the length of good dagger. They are extremely aggressive if you get near their territory, But if you kill one of the adults others will run away. The closest group of them is to the east of the village. You wont be able to miss where they are sense they destroy nearly everything around them. I suggest you kill one from a distance.”

What Martha described to me was a elephant crossed with a saber-tooth tiger on steroids. I could picture the monster in my minds eye, and it made me shudder more then I would like to admit. Picking up my dishes I washed them and went back to my room to get the coat and gloves Beth Tailor had delivered the night before. I was impressed with the quality of her work I thought the jacket made me look rather dashing to be honest. After donning it I couldn't help thinking of the 'Fur is murder idiots' back on earth and wondered if they might change their tune if they ever met a were-wabbit. One can only hope...Then again..Unless magic has some surprises I don't know about there still is no cure for stupid.

Heading out of the house Martha handed me my usual cloth bag with my lunch in it and wished me good luck on the hunt. With a nod and a thank you I took my leave. Passing by the blacksmith shop I stopped dead in my tracks. The door was open, I knew I had closed and latched it the day before so it being open meant something was wrong or Ben was back from his mysterious trip.

I pulled out my M14 and after doing a quick check that it was is good working order I walked up to the door. On reaching the door I could hear someone working on something in the back. Figuring that it was the blacksmith I headed back to talk with him. Sure enough there was Ben working on some piece of metal mumbling to himself about what I don't know.

Calling out to him I said “Hey Ben welcome back” Spinning around faster then a man his size should be able to move he stood up to his full height and said “Oh its you..............Your late for work this morning boy. Have you been slacking off while I was gone? What exactly did you do while I was away?”

A tad flabbergasted at his words I looked around the shop and saw the last 4 days of my efforts everywhere I looked. Everything was sorted out and cleaned, I had even setup and sorted all the tools in easy to reach places. Looking around I couldn't understand why he couldn't see what I had done. Glancing back at him I noticed a slight smirk on his face. I then groaned and said “Everyone's a comedian...”

Seeing that his ruse was over Ben's face grew a big smile and he said “Boy when I had to leave I never expected you to actually do anything while I was away. Thank you for cleaning the place up, I have been meaning to do it for years but I just have not gotten around to it.” Noticing I had my rifle in my hands he then said “What do you have their boy?” Showing him my rifle and explaining why I had it out and that I wasn't going to be working at the shop today because I was going hunting for Gippers. Ben let out a low whistle at my rifle. Then a louder one once he heard about my Gipper hunt.

Studying my rifle I could tell Ben became a instant fan of it, He seemed to like anything mechanical. After handing it back to me I pulled out my 1911 and showed that to him also. It was kind of comical how the big pistol disappeared in his big hands. After giving me my pistol back he said “Those are some fine weapons you have there boy, I thought that you might have problems with the grippers at first but after seeing those my mind is at ease. Follow me for a moment I have something for you.”

Following Ben into the shop front he stopped in front of the Armor stand holding the set of Leather studded armor I had seen the first day I was in his shop. Pointing at it he said “That is yours now boy, hopefully it will keep you safe” Protesting that the armor was worth way too much as a gift got me nowhere with Ben. He just shook his head and said. “NO. You worked hard cleaning this place up. What you did was worth more then a set of Leather stud boy and I will not hear you say otherwise. Now hush and put that armor on.”

After putting my new armor on I was starting to think quite highly of myself. The armor itself was expertly crafted by Ben. Examining it I noticed that it gave me +10 to Vitality and the armor rating was fifty. {{{Authors note: Change/add etc these values}}} Wishing in a moment of vanity for a mirror I looked around and failed to see anything that would work. Turning around I said “Ben I do not know how to thank you for this....Other then to simply say thank you.” Smiling at me he just nodded his head.

“So Ben. How do I look?” Ben's smile instantly turned into a scowl and letting out a snort he said “How should I know. Im not a woman.” Yea... I didn't blame him for that.. Telling Ben I would be back to work in the morning he wished me well as I headed out.

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End chap 7 part 1.

1764 words.