There was nearly an impalpable sense of dread that accompanied running through the tall grass when the objective was to quickly travel between towns. Or, when trying to dodge walking npc trainers. Those suckers moved fast sometimes! Either way, Noa felt this dread, multiplied by ten, and he was seriously coming to terms with the fact that he wasn’t going to be able to play Pokemon anymore. He wasn’t entirely sure why that hadn’t occurred to him sooner, and the timing of it couldn’t be poorer as Magenta gingerly set him down in front of the farmhouse.

The frown Noa wore threatened to pull his face right off, and he kind of wished it did when She-monstrosity and Waroc rounded the corner to come greet the hunkering beasts that’d trespassed on her land. The snarl on She-monstrosity’s face made Noa shiver and back away a tad. Well, maybe more than a tad, given that he bumped into something hard, then tripped, and rolled right over Magenta’s foot. Dirt, by the way, did not taste good, especially farm dirt.

“About time you showed up!” She-monstrosity hollered.

“Ooo, I don’t like her,” Magenta said, then grunted when Chief elbowed him.

“I’m not so sure,” Noa said, pushing himself up and spitting, “that that’s even a her.”

She-monstrosity started forward, and Noa jumped, moving around Magenta to use him as a shield. Fortunately, the apple farmer was stopped by her husband’s hand on her shoulder. He had the right idea━don’t contend with trolls, even with the strength of an elite football player.

“We have come to trade,” Chief said, and knelt to get closer to She-monstrosity’s level. “We want your indentured.”

“He isn’t going anywhere until he’s paid for all the apples he stole!” She-monstrosity pointed. Always with the accusatory finger. Couldn’t she have mixed it up a little?

“I didn’t steal your apples!” Noa peeked out from behind Magenta.

“You did. Three nights ago, more of them were missing, and where were you? Not here! Of course it was you!”

Noa cringed. That was pretty damning, but he’d been in a dungeon that night. While he related that to her and got off easy, he certainly wasn’t going to this time. But... Why didn’t she bring this up sooner? Something’s not right, he thought, and nearly heard Elvethor’s Derhur in the back of his head.

He was starting to feel more and more like a fool, not having gone to find the lock already. If something was amiss, more than likely, that lock wasn't there. Worst, maybe whatever's haunting him ate it.

“What do we have to pay to get him?” Chief asked. Noa yelped as she pulled him to the front from behind Magenta. He was seriously going to have to teach the trolls about the impoliteness of manhandling.

“Bah! I don’t want him getting off easy. He needs to work off his crimes!”

“Isn’t the point of being indentured that if I could pay it off, you let me go?” Noa asked.

She-monstrosity scoffed. “You were also caught in the act. Consider this your punishment for thieving!”

Noa ran his hands down his face, frustration bubbling up. He had to remind himself, however, that this wasn't a negotiation to free him, but rather to buy him, in a sense. If he had to choose the lesser of the two evils, he’d definitely go with the trolls. They might have more sense of honor, even when a little voice in the back of his head told him that they might never let him go either.

I just need to prove that I didn’t steal apples, Noa thought. It was the only clear solution.

“You are not very good at negotiating for yourself,” Chief noted.

“It’s been a rough week,” Noa said with a heavy sigh.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“I will let you get back to your servitude. I doubt I can buy you from this wench, and I don’t know how human politics work,” she said.

Noa nodded. “Just bring Eliaz back now, if you don’t mind?” he asked.

Chief patted Noa’s head in what appeared to be a sign of affirmation, but he instead crumpled under her hand. “Sorry,” she said, and left, her entourage following close behind her.

Huffing, Noa stared up at the sky, small fluffy clouds floating through it. He didn’t exactly want to move, but when She-monstrosity entered his vision, he knew he wasn’t going to get the choice. She reached down, grappling a giant wad of his dark brown hair, and pulled. Forced by the fear that she might scalp him, Noa pushed himself up to his feet, grimacing.

She threw him into Waroc, which was a lot like hitting a rock. Waroc grabbed at his shoulders. “Work him all night long if you have to, Waroc. I don’t want him to have energy for any bright ideas,” she hissed. Then stepped forward, pointing a threatening finger at Noa’s nose. “I’ll have you skinned if you so much as think about stealing more apples!”

What if I just left and never came back? Noa briefly considered. However, he imagined the repercussions of that, assuming the law system was somewhat decent, could end very badly for him if he was caught.

Waroc pushed Noa around the house and towards the orchard, and as he did, Noa surveyed the entirety of the farm. Here at the entrance, because of its gentle downward slope, it was nearly possible to see the entire thing with all of the trees planted as one giant intentional block. Towards the right half of the farm, relative to the street he’d burst out on after his “escape” on day one, he made a vague guess on where he’d woken up at. All he had to do now was outrun She-monstrosity’s brute.

Without another thought, Noa propelled himself forward, feeling air whip behind him as Waroc whiffed in his attempt to grab him. Adrenaline was quick to follow, the brute’s pounding footfalls becoming a driving force to outrun him. Desperation fed determination, and Noa knew he’d need to run faster than ever to buy every single second he could to find the lock.

Could he have done this at a more opportune time of day? Perhaps, but it was usually dark when he ended working, and dark when he started the next day. Even with aether stones, it simply wouldn’t be enough to find something so small. His only chances would be to search when he was forced to work.

Sparing a glance over his shoulder, Noa smiled. The distance he’d gained was substantial, enough that he pushed his legs harder. When he woke up on this world just a week ago, he’d had the legs of a retail worker that missed his cross-country days, but now he had the legs of a mean, lean, running machine!

It was a little dismal that the reason for that involved so much running from impending doom. Thinking about what Waroc would do to him when he was inevitably caught drove him just that much faster. Don’t think, dimwit, run! he thought, his previous glory as a running machine smashed by brutish imminence far behind him.

Noa came skidding to a stop when he reached an area that felt familiar, accompanied by something he never noticed before━a heavy sense of being watched. Ick.

His [aether sense] fired off like all five senses were overstimulated, except they weren’t. More that his spirit sensed there was an invisible crowd here, and he was wading through it with every step, searching over the ground for any glint of silver. One physical trait, however, was a chill. Whenever the wind blew, Noa felt as if he was being hit by the refreshing breeze of an AC unit━he really should figure out how to build those here.

Sweeping down the aisle, eventually shuffling through the dirt and grass on his hands and knees, Noa searched, and searched, and searched. It had to be here! Come on! Come on! he thought. He didn’t bother sparing anymore glances towards Waroc, every moment invaluable. He was growing closer to the spot he thought he woke up in, some of the grass still compressed, and the weight of the aether around him was palpable now, almost as if he could pull strands of aether right out of the air.

Finally, Noa’s fingertips touched something hard and cold, grass tightly woven around it, enough that it took him having to tear at it to finally see the glint of the metal. Yes! It’s here! he triumphed, a grin spreading on his sweaty face.

Then a rhinoceros hit him.

“Crap!” Noa spat, shoved some ten feet by Waroc, who pinned him with an arm twisted behind his back, while Waroc’s other hand shoved his face into the ground.

“I’ll make sure you never run again, cursed boy!” Noa winced at the sound of Waroc’s guttural threat, and for once, he found the brute far more frightening than She-monstrosity. Maybe... maybe that was why Waroc was his warden, and not his wife.

No, she couldn’t possibly be the gentle one between the two, right?

Waroc yanked Noa by his twisted arm, and he heard a distinct crack before crying out at the sharp pain that shot through his arm.