Aubrey appeared sufficiently freaked as we walked closer to the forest’s edge at the back of the scrubby field. Zane asked her if she was alright, and she waved him off. She also kept giving Slate a lot of side eye. The distrust was understandable, but what was Slate supposed to do other than exist in this System like the rest of us? It was foisted upon him every bit as much as it was upon anyone else.

Speaking of Slate, I’d noticed he was smacking the side of his handheld device, as if to get the thing working again.

“Problems?” I said to him.

“Something I’d feared would happen,” Slate said. “This piece of equipment isn’t meant for me, and I knew it’d be a matter of time before it’d begin failing.”

“Who’s it meant for then?” I said.

“That’s where we’re going,” he said. "Or, rather, whom we're going to see."

That rhythmic knocking which had been distant grew louder, and then as our group neared a small hill in front of a cluster of evergreens at the forest’s edge, I could hear guttural grunts. When we crested the hill we witnessed a massive man, wearing a bear skin, chuck a heavy rock at a mossy log. He had long, muscled arms, uncovered, and a slight pink from the cold. The hair on his head was short, but he had a beard down to his collar bone.

When he biffed the stone into the dead tree he emitted such a deep growl you felt as if you were in the presence of masculinity in its rawest form, like a walking vial of testosterone. He was the kind of man the world hadn’t seen in a millennium. To me, he looked to be about seven feet tall. He must've been three hundred pounds. I've never been great at guessing a person's weight, but I'd imagine this to be true.

Dillard seemed to recognize him, but merely gave the man a wave, and opted to keep his gaze averted rather than speak to him. The behemoth for his part smiled at us, and he possessed amazingly nice teeth for what appeared to be such a primitive specimen of wild, uncut human. He may have even been Neanderthal for all I knew. The System certainly did an impressive job of mincing our history, and putting it back together again in a complete jumble.

Of course, I was eager to see this titan's stats.

Tools:

Hitting 25

Power 30

Fielding 20

Running 25

Throwing 40

OFP = 28

Nothing overwhelming there. At least, I didn’t think so, as far as I could understand this framework of numbers. I was going to have to get clear on just what these stats were telling me, because even here, personally, in the presence of such clearly defined athleticism, his numbers weren’t top tier. I did note his Power and Throwing presented as better than everyone else I’d studied. Maybe something to work with there. If you could even get this wild man to work with you in the first place. Typical for me, I was full of assumptions.

Slate stepped ahead of our group. Zane kept his camera phone aimed at the man. I'm sure he felt this footage was gold.

“You’re Gak, I understand,” Slate said. I had to go with the assumption the System had given my android protectors a spreadsheet of names in this world, or something along those lines.

“Aye,” said the large man. Then he swiped a round stone from the dirt, and reared back like he was going to drill us with it.

Chai let out a little squelch, and we all reacted to duck out of the way. But, the big man held on to the rock, and bellowed with laughter.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Gak said. “I’m reformed.”

He was better spoken than I’d expected. So much for stereotyping.

“Gak was a barbarian,” Slate said.

“‘Tis true,” Gak said. “Gave it up for the thrills of civilization. Moonlight’s the only place to take me in. Barbarians earned their reputation.”

“What are you doing out here today?” Slate asked.

“Mission from Judith,” Gak said. “Guard the tomb.”

Slate turned to me. “That’s where they’re housing our friend,” he said.

“Our friend?” I said.

“The one who actually goes with this malfunctioning device,” Slate said. “The one meant to use it. As I’d said, the System erred. Not all is going as planned. But, don't worry. When we make contact, we’re likely to find he has my device. Our friend, I mean.”

“Judith said someone would be along to collect an item from the tomb,” Gak said. “Must be you doing the collecting.”

“It is,” Slate said.

Aubrey’s look of worry may as well have been a permanent feature. It was hard not to be afraid of any new development in a world this unpredictable.

“I trust Judith,” Gak said. “Suppose that means, I have to trust you.”

“Judith trusts the System,” Slate said. “As she should. As should we all.”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

The way Slate said it rubbed we wrong. It sounded like a cult leader in tone, and manner.

“Do you know who Judith is?” I mumbled to Dillard.

“Mayor of Moonlight,” Dillard mumbled back.

“And, we like her?” I said.

“Mostly, yes,” Dillard said.

His answer didn’t put me at ease.

“Can somebody fill me in here?” Zane said. “I’m completely lost.”

“Shouldn’t we be getting back?” Chai said. “I’m hungry. Hag’s probably done her chores by now, and she probably has a stew made for us. I don't wanna get stuck with oat loaf.”

Gak spit into the dirt at its mere mention. "Bloody oat loaf," he said. "Wretched bread."

“Thank you for guarding our friend,” Slate said to the reformed barbarian. “We should be getting on now.”

“‘Twas no trouble,” Gak said.

I kept staring at the heavy rock in his hand. Couldn’t help but picture it as a baseball. With the man’s height, and muscularity, he’d be a formidable sight on the pitcher's mound. His Throwing grade wasn’t great, but it was pro level. I wondered what the velocity on his fastball might be. Maybe it could be built up. That was something I’d have to question the System about. What were my parameters? I could see Overall Future Potential scores, but was that a hard cap? Could I increase a person’s Tools through training, practice, or other means? Did these ancient people even have a concept of what could be achieved through diet and exercise? I had to chuckle a bit to myself as I realized these could be the literal embodiment of 'going paleo'.

Then a jolt of an idea captured me. I stopped the group before we proceeded on from the big man.

“Gak?” I said to him, intimidated as it was to say anything in his formidable presence.

“Yes.”

“By any chance, are you a hunter?”

He laughed from deep within his belly.

“Didn’t you hear? The man's a barbarian,” Zane said. I noted he’d kept his phone held high, no doubt hoping for raw footage of this seven foot Goliath throttling one of us, and tossing us aside like a limp rag. Entertainment for the aliens.

“Was a barbarian," Gak corrected. "Yes,” he said. “I’ve hunted. Haven’t we all?”

You tend to forget for most of human history there were no supermarkets.

Okay, chalk that up to a stupid question. Still, there was a method to my madness.

“And, what about dinosaurs?” I said.

The big man gnarled his upper lip, as if I’d just spoken gibberish.

Dillard held up his hand. “Thunder lizards,” he said.

Gak nodded in recognition. “Ah, the thunders?” he said. “Aye. I’ve taken down a few.”

Terrific, I was in business. Part of getting the baseball club off the ground would entail securing the area of franchise operations. I couldn’t exactly have marauding dinosaurs constantly threaten to destroy anything I’d ultimately build.

“See, we had that attack yesterday,” I said.

“Aye, the big tooth,” Gak said. “I was out for stags, but received word of it thereafter.”

“The big tooth?” Chai said. “What’s that?”

“It’s his name for a T. Rex would be my guess,” Zane said.

“You’re correct,” Slate confirmed.

“Right,” I said, “the big tooth. You hunt those?”

Gak shook his head. “Not on my own. Takes a pack. Was once a pack of ten, and we took three. No easy business, that. Big tooth can be quick, and difficult to slay.”

“But, it can be done,” I said.

“Aye,” Gak said. “You have enough souls on board. It can be done.”

Music to my ears.

“What are you thinking, Adam?” Aubrey asked.

“I’m thinking of formalizing a way to protect the village. In turn this can also protect the team,” I said.

“The team you haven’t built yet,” Zane said.

“What’s the saying about Rome, and a day?” I said.

“It’s something to be worked out,” Slate said. “But, we should get on to the tomb. It’s just over there.”

“In a minute,” I said. As much as I felt compelled to defer to the androids, whether it was Slate or Flint, I had to keep in mind that in reality I was in charge of them. They were there for me, and they would ultimately follow my orders. It was crazy to contemplate given it hadn’t been that long ago, I was a working stiff fighting over laundry equipment with fellow plebs.

“Gak,” I said. “What about dragons?”

Dillard spit out of the side of his mouth as soon as I’d uttered the word. Gak laughed with his entire body this time. Okay, even dumber question, apparently.

“What about them?” Gak said. “Hunt them?”

I shrugged, but I had to know. “Yes, sure,” I said.

“Moron,” Dillard murmured.

“You may as well forego that notion right off,” Gak said. “You’ve a better chance splitting the world in two than slaying one of those.”

“So, there’s no way of killing them?” I said.

Gak’s jaw dropped open. For the first time I got a good look at the whites of his eyes. He pointed at Slate.

“Where’d you find this one?” Gak said. “Killing one of the nine? Has he gone mad?”

“I’m not mad,” I said. “I’m just hoping for a way to gain ultimate security. I don’t know if you’ve heard but-”

“Ultimate security doesn’t exist, mate,” Gak said. “Not even the fiercest among us stands a chance against any of the nine. There was once an effort to catch Darling. Many perished as a result. Folks I knew.”

“I’m sorry to hear,” I said.

“Dragons have laid waste to thousands. No,” Gak said. “The most one can hope for with a dragon is to shoo them away. They can be led to leave with the proper methods. Souls better than me could explain. They’re not simple minded killers, but they will simply kill you.”

It wasn’t exactly the news I wanted, but it gave me a clearer picture of what I was dealing with.

“So, if I wanted to form one of these packs,” I said. “To deal with dinosaurs, sorry, thunders. You could help me with that?”

Again, Gak curled his lip.

“Do you know others who hunt, like you?” I said, to clarify. “Others that maybe I could hire?”

“Adam,” Aubrey said. “Where are you getting the money for this?”

“They’re expecting me to run a team,” I said. “I’m assuming it’s going to come from somewhere. And, it’d better come soon.”

“Aye,” Gak said. “I know of others. Quite right that I do. But, most are far from here. I’m not as familiar with who’s who in Moonlight. It’s something to learn for yourself.”

My lips pursed, I stared at the dirt for a moment. I detected everyone’s eyes on me. They were probably all bored with the conversation, and I knew Chai just wanted to go back and eat. Regardless, I was brainstorming. ‘Learn for yourself’, Gak’s words echoed in my brain.

I broke from my trance. “Right,” I said. “Then that’s what I’m going to do. Find a pack. Right here in Moonlight. More than one pack, actually.”

Gak appeared as confused as the rest of them.

“What are you going to do,” Zane said. “Conduct interviews or something? Put out flyers? ‘Hey, all you T. Rex killers, apply here.’”

He wasn’t far off. “Yes,” I said. “It’s time to get serious. We’re going to host a dinosaur hunting hiring fair.”