Chapter 3

Hunting

The next morning they found the area completely desolate. Thankful for a safe place to sleep, but disappointed with still being cold hungry and naked, Torger walked outside. He looked at the multitude of trees to the north. He walked back in and told Graul “Our next door neighbor Giln was a local history buff. He once told me redwoods grew here up until about five hundred years ago. And it seems the Cucamonga Indians have been replaced by the Cucamonga dwarves. There are some redwoods here but not a lot. I think this is how the area looked when Columbus landed.”

“Great. So how does that help us?”

“I don’t know. But I think we should try to find the others. I don’t know where they were born but I think they were all born in SoCal. First we should go to our house, see if it’s there, but we’ll have to hurry because rain is coming.”

They knew they had a five mile walk to the south to get to where their house should be. Along the way Graul saw a jackrabbit under a yucca plant. He picked up a rock and threw it. The jackrabbit got knocked to its side then got up and hopped away. A while later they saw another one. This time both men picked up large stones and tried to get close. Once they were twelve feet away the jackrabbit started hopping. Graul threw his rock and missed, but it caused the prey to change direction. That extra second allowed Torger to get close enough to hit it with his fist sized stone. Again the jackrabbit got knocked to its side and Graul ran close and bashed it in the head with a large stone.

At the same time the brothers realized the dilemma. They had to put their Kindles and water skins on the ground to kill the bunny, and now had a dead rabbit to carry as well. Torger agreed to carry it and while walking Graul looked at his Kindle. Under his Exp icon, a new item was added.

Exp 11/1000 Available ability points 0

It would take another ninety-one rabbits to find out what an ability point was. That just wouldn’t do. They needed real weapons. They hurried to the house and sure enough it wasn’t there, just a wide open field. They did find a dead tree and were able to break off a branch for each of them as a crude club. They began walking back to the cabin, and after a couple of miles saw a coyote. It was much bigger than any they had seen in that area, maybe sixty pounds. They each circled to its sides to flank it then attack, but after a few steps they heard bushes rustling behind them. Turning they saw three more behind them.

Torger had once been surrounded by coyotes in Nevada while Graul was exploring a cave, but Torger called and when the coyotes saw Graul emerge they walked away. These coyotes were much bigger and were not walking away. The men weren’t really scared, they could win the fight, but without clothes they would get a few scratches and bites, which they would prefer to avoid.

They set their water skins, and tablets on the ground and held the branches like clubs. There was a standoff. The coyotes wouldn’t leave or attack, they just circled at a distance sizing them up.

Torger called over to Graul “Are they here because they’re hungry or did we enter their territory?”

“I don’t know. We can’t keep standing here so let’s attack on three. One two three!”

The men ran a few steps, each toward a different coyote, and the two targets backed away but the other two coyotes ran towards Graul. He swung his club hard catching one in the jaw and knocking it unconscious, but two others jumped at him and each landed a bite, one on each leg. He grunted in pain and swung to hit one in the hind leg. It limped away but Graul fell down from swinging while off balance. He crawled a few feet, with one coyote jaw locked on to his calf.

Graul reached a rock and slammed the coyote in the side. It yelped and scurried away. Graul was happy to see his legs weren’t bleeding profusely, but there was a slow steady drip from each leg, and he had no medicine. He crawled back and slammed the stone into the skull of the unconscious coyote.

Torger was much better off. Since he had only one coyote to contend with, as soon as he ran towards it the beast took a few steps back but still didn’t attack or retreat. Torger got a good solid downward swing to split its skull. He turned to see Graul’s fight, but got there too late. Torger decided to chase and kill the bleeding coyote, which was surprisingly easy with another good swing, but the branch split on impact.

The coyote that Graul had first struck was lying in the field a hundred yards away and breathing hard. Torger guessed it had broken ribs and was unsure if he should try to attack a wounded animal. He decided to go for it. He went back and grabbed Graul’s club and approached the coyote cautiously. It stood up when he came near and it growled and its fur bristled along its neck. Torger knew he had the supreme advantage and there was no reason for him to get injured. He grabbed the branch one hand at each end and held it in front of him sideways. The thinking was he would use it to keep from being bit.

Sure enough the coyote ran at him and Torger positioned the branch to go sideways into the canines’ mouth. Once it bit down Torger released his left hand and spun around its back. He straddled the beast and used his left arm to try to choke it. Unfortunately it was able to back up and slipped backward between his legs. It turned to run but Torger used the club to get a good strike on its hind leg. That caused it to limp and a quick second blow split its skull, and the branch was ruined too.

Torger walked back to Graul and was breathing a lot harder than he thought he should have. Graul looked at him and said “You’re really out of shape. I guess we both are. Ten years ago this would have been too easy. But now we’re weaklings. My bleeding legs mean I’m going to walk slower and we need to get to clean water. Do you think you could carry one of those back to Baybil?”

“Probably not, but I think I could peel off the pelt of one in an hour. I’ll carry one to you and we can both work on salvaging our first trophy kills.”

He made crude stone shanks, which made very poor knives, but after an hour they both had fresh pelts with amateurish jagged cuts all over them. Graul’s bleeding stopped and they decided to skin the other two. Each man put one pelt over his shoulders like a shawl and tied up the legs of the other pelt. Graul sat down while Torger went back to get two more branches. After another hour the men began walking north to see Baybil and get more fresh water, and they used the branches and pelts like a hobo stick and sack.

Chapter 4

Rewards

The brothers made it to San Antonio Falls just as it was getting dark. The wind was strong and a light drizzle was beginning, promising a heavy downpour. Baybil met them just outside the village once again with a look on his face that was a mix of surprise and anger. Before he said anything Graul pressed Translate on his tablet.

“Either you brought back a deer or you want to be my slaves. Which is it?”

Torger answered “We have some things you might be interested in. Four coyote pelts, three crude clubs, two crude shanks and a partridge in a pear tree.”

“I don’t know what a partridge or a pear is, but the four pelts is worth half a full deer. I’m surprised you’ve done so well without help. And the way you sharpened those clubs shows you know a little something about woodworking.”

“Do you have need of cabinets? We can work for you, but we don’t have any tools.”

“Aye. There is no one in this village that works with wood. Our blacksmith can make some for you. What do you have for collateral?”

“You see everything we own, except our house. We need more water and food.”

“You two have a house? I’ve never met someone that came here and the tyters gave them a starting house. Most imported beings don’t have a house, and if they do it’s far from where they’re born. Put up your house for collateral and we’ll go see it tomorrow. I’ll give you a fair trade for it.”

Graul was furious. “There’s no way we’re trading away our house! If it is our house now. Take the four pelts for water, food, and a dry comfortable place to sleep tonight. I haven’t slept much since we got here two days ago. I’m injured and exhausted.”

Baybil thought about it. “Let’s see, a good coyote pelt is worth three copper, but those are worth one copper each. I agree. Four copper now and another four copper on credit is worth a good nights lodging. Follow me.”

Torger looked at Graul and they both knew they just got bamboozled. But a good rest was worth it in this cruel world.

Getting a closer look into the village they saw three small cottages, poorly made, but said nothing about the shoddy workmanship or asked who lived in them. Baybil walked into a cave mouth and turned into a small alcove just inside. “Here is my home. Meet my wife Hilda and my son Berks. Hun make a nice meal for these men please, and Berks prepare a soft bed for them. They will be staying here tonight.”

The dwarves easily agreed and Baybil led the men to the falls to bathe. The water was frigid but they were grateful because they were covered in mud and blood. Bathing in cold water let them see just how unimportant they had actually become in this world. Once back in the cave they were led a little further inside. Baybil turned into a different alcove and they sat on chiseled stone ledges that were coming out of the walls. Baybil picked up a dark brown water skin off the floor and took a long drink. He passed it to Torger who drank then coughed.

“I haven’t tasted real mead in years. It’s very rare where we come from but I wish it was more easily available.”

He took a good drink and passed it to Graul who had never tasted mead. It was too sweet for his likes but he wasn’t one to turn down free alcohol so he took a few chugs. After the skin made a second round among the guys Torger had some thoughts he couldn’t restrain.

“Baybil, are you guys, I mean dwarves, looking for anything in this mountain? Or is this just your home? We hear picks striking stone deeper inside the tunnel.”

“As I’ve told you, the tyters hunt here once every three years. They change the land to fit the home of their prey. For us who live here that means once every three years we have to start looking for new precious minerals, we dwarves love jewels. So yes, we are looking for stuff like emeralds, diamonds, or even mithril in this mountain.”

“How long ago was this world transformed? You’ve already built a smithy, a few cottages, and tunneled a few hundred yards into the mountain. And how do they transform the land?”

“They have big ships that fly over the land. The ships send out beams of light and mountains are raised or shrunk, valleys are made and eroded, and plants grow in hours. It takes them about a week to transform the whole world. Our buildings and us are lifted into the air while the land is terra formed, then placed back down in a nearby spot but always with fresh water and at the foothills of the mountains. They know we love mining. The elves are always placed in a forest, and the goblins in a swamp.”

Torger and Graul looked at each other. The story was hard to believe to say the least. Torger didn’t allow himself to get flustered by the absurdity. He leaned over and whispered to Graul “Trade him for information on the California gold rush.”

Graul caught on but had a better idea. “Baybil, it seems that this land was how our area probably looked five hundred years ago. Do you know why?”

“It could be that’s how long it has been since they last visited your planet. Some of the intelligent prey have said the same thing over the years.”

“How old are you? How long has this been going on?”

“I am two hundred and twelve. Some in this village think I’m over the hill but I think I’m in my prime. And the answer to your next question, dwarves live on average for three hundred years. When I was a very young dwarf my great grandfather told me prey had been coming here for as long as he could remember.”

Graul continued. “Thank you Baybil, that’s very helpful. If this land is exactly as it was hundreds of years ago, I know where silver is at. What is that information worth to you?”

“Silver? The lowest of ores that free dwarves would bother mining? That’s not highly useful, but if your directions are good I would give you both leather armor and a copper sword, if the silver is close. But before you receive your reward I would have to verify it’s there.”

Torger caught on that Graul was talking about Calico, which was much closer than the gold in northern California, and they knew exactly where Calico was, but were not big on local history and had only a vague idea of where gold had been discovered. Why didn’t they listen to their neighbor Giln when he rambled on about local history? And why didn’t Bear Grylls teach them how to make clothes from plants. Now they had to trade their information for the basic necessities. But hearing the heavy rain outside reminded him it was worth it.

Torger asked Graul “Should we take him to Calico or look for the others?”

“We don’t know where the others are. Let’s go to the desert while it’s still winter. Baybil, let’s head for the desert tomorrow. But we need to have leather armor and that copper sword for the journey.”

Baybil agreed and they ate a hearty stew and drank more mead and slept deeply that night. The next morning the brothers and Baybil walked to the cabin. The men felt good to have clothes on, with proper boots and a short sword. Baybil had the tanner make the outfits during the night while the men slept.

Baybil went with the brothers to see their house. When he came near he waited a hundred yards away while the men kept walking. They turned to look back at him.

“What’s wrong? Why did you stop?”

“I’m no fool. I’m not walking in until you take down your shield.”

“What shield?”asked Graul.

“Oh gods help me. The tyters are supposed to bring formidable prey. Are you two so daft you didn’t activate your property shield when you left?”

“Uhh no. Come inside and explain it to us.”

Baybil looked around clearly impressed. He had never seen wood floors before, and Torger couldn’t explain they were actually poorly crafted; with modern tools on Earth they could do a much better job. They explained how modern plumbing was supposed to work if they were hooked up to city water and sewage. They explained how light bulbs and outlets were supposed to work if they had electricity, and routine things like a missing stove, washer, and dryer. Baybil was even impressed by the concept of door knobs. He heard about windows and they explained they were supposed to have drapes, or blinds. Baybil sort of grasped the idea of blinds, and told them the strings would be good for a beginners to intermediate bow. The brothers realized Baybil had always partied like it’s thirteen ninety-nine while living in an Amish paradise.

Graul found a secret panel in the wall with a few knives in it. The men set their tablets on the floor. Fortunately they were solar powered or the batteries would have been dead. The icons for weapons, armor, cities, and exp were all flashing yellow. Weapons added their new copper swords. Torger’s showed this.

Knives level 2, 0 exp

Small pocket knife x2

Crude shank x1

Swords

1 handed level 0, 0 exp

Decorative sword x1

Short sword (Copper) x1

2 handed level 1, 0exp

Decorative sword x1

Bows level 0, 0 exp

Clubs level 3, 156 exp

Cudgel x1

Staffs level 0, 0 exp

Guns level 29, 0 exp

Shotgun x1 Shells x 0

Graul had gained 52 exp in clubs, which meant each coyote killed was 52 exp. Armor showed leather boots, pants, and tunic. Cities showed

Small Hammer (Dwarven village)

feared 0/100, loved 0/100, respected 2/100, hated 0/100

Mayor: Baybil

HOME: Would you like to take possession of this property?

Of course Graul pressed yes. A message appeared.

You have accepted the position of Co-Mayor of Home. As the property grows, the rewards will increase, along with the pressures of leadership.

Graul backed up to the previous screen and saw Home added to Cities.

Current level: Large cottage (Property 200 foot diameter) Home needs a population of 6, and 5 ability points to expand

Population: 2

Ability points 0/5

Buildings:

Single family residence

Mayors: Torger and Graul

Population morale 40/100

Allies: none

Enemies: none

Quests: none

Bring Baybil a deer minimize

Complete. Reward: food and lodging for 1 night, 50 exp, 2 respect points

Show Baybil silver ore details

Incomplete. Reward Leather Outfit x2, Copper sword x2, 300 exp, 19 love points

Security: none

Shield: off

Next Graul pressed the exp icon.

Experience 113/1000. Available ability points: 0

Oh yeah! Somewhere were practice swords and knives. The brothers finally felt like they were getting somewhere in this world. Being rulers over sage brush and Joshua trees was not enviable, but they saw with some elbow grease they could become moderately powerful. The three hundred exp for taking Baybil all the way to Calico was underwhelming, but they didn’t want to lose their clothes again. Torger activated the shield and nothing seemed to happen, but the security showed Shield: 100/100.

They looked around the cabin and found a loose floorboard. Under it were zinc swords and knives. The tyters really did give them the ability to grow stronger.

The men were not looking forward to another cold night on a hard floor but Baybil had them gather dry brush and sticks. Once tinder was in the fire pit Baybil waved his hand and a flame shot out igniting the kindling. Torger and Graul both stepped back and asked what that was. Baybil asked “You don’t even know a basic fire spell?”

“No. There is no magic where we’re from. Our mana is zero,” answered Graul.

Baybil looked down and shook his head. He muttered “Slaughtered like turkeys.”

Torger asked “What do you mean ‘Slaughtered like turkeys’?”

“The tyters use common weapons, and if they get in a bind they use what they tell us are futuristic weapons, whatever that means. Some prey is huge and physically strong, small prey usually has strong magic and venom. You guys won’t last a day, so I don’t know why they would bother bringing you here. It won’t be a challenge for them.”

“We are the strongest on our planet because of our intellect. We’ll think of something.” Torger said that because he hoped they would think of something, but had little confidence.

The depressing conversation caused Graul to go wander outside. He couldn’t handle his inevitable death as easily as Torger seemed to be taking it. After a while he came back inside with a few branches from a Eucalyptus tree. Without a word he sat down in front of the fire and began carving one branch. After five minutes Torger saw what he was doing and picked up a branch and also began carving using his new zinc pocket knife. Zinc doesn’t cut well compared to pretty much all other metals, but Eucalyptus is somewhat soft.

As they carved Torger told Baybil Eucalyptus isn’t indigenous to the area, it comes from the other side of the world. The tree is thirsty and planting several saplings near a swamp will drain the swamp in thirty years leaving a very fertile meadow. They also can be planted in a line to form a wind break for a property. Baybil was impressed by their knowledge of wood and trees, and their skill in creating something delicate with a zinc knife. After a few more minutes he pulled a steel knife from his belt and handed it to Graul. A few notches later Graul stood up and cut the strings of his boots. An hour later they fell asleep, the brothers each had a new beginners recurve bow.

As they were getting ready for bed Graul asked “Baybil, what do you do for toilet paper?”

Baybil reached into his bag and tossed him a clump of leaves from a jungle plant Graul had never seen before. Baybil told him “We stock up on these when the tyters are hunting aposors. No charge for good hygiene.”

Baybil slept uneasily. He had his iron armor, iron shield and two handed double headed steel axe, but he was a stranger in their house and their relationship was neutral. He didn’t know if they would try to rob him in his sleep.