Chapter Twenty Two
Garnedell held watch over the men butchering the great bear, wishing to do well by his master and make certain that he received his due, especially if the beasts core remained intact and it turned out to be a monster instead. Garnedell had already been amazed by how well his master had been at collecting cores. He’d always heard that retrieving a core from a beast was incredibly difficult, often destroyed in the process of defeating monsters, but Joe had extracted the core of every slime Garnedell had seen Joe attack. Maybe the adventurers keep most of the cores for themselves and simply tell others that they are rare? Garnedell cleared his head, shaking it quickly so that he could focus back on the butchers as they worked on the great beast.
The people had crowded the returning victorious hunters as soon as they had come close to the village, and cries of shock, sighs of disbelief, and amazed looks of awe had flooded the group as the staggered in under the weight of the bear. The crowd almost immediately called for a retelling of the story and one of the hunters eagerly told it. The crowd gasped in awe, cried in fear, and gasped in suspense as the story unfolded. By the time the hunter told of how his master had fired three or four arrows all into the throat of the bear before it had even charged, the crowd had become utterly silent, eyes almost as wide as their mouths. When the hunter described how Joe had stood tall and roared at the bear even as it charged towards him, unmoved and bracing to combat the bear, the eyes of the crowd were drifting to stare at Joe. Garnedell felt his shoulders pull back and spine straighten as he felt his pride swell for his master. MY master!
Throughout it all, his master simply smiled and said nothing, even waving goodbye to the crowd and heading off to the inn, wishing more for quiet and rest that any fame. Why doesn’t he want accolades? Why does he hide from the fame he is due? Garnedell had always been curious of his master’s apparent reticence to dealing with fame and the clamoring of the crowds. Most of what he knew and had heard of adventurers were that they were a proud lot, quite enjoying their fame. Joe didn’t seem anything like what he had heard.
While the crowd had dwindled since the boar and bear had been dropped off for butchering, there were still many curious who stared at the great beast, awed by its size. Kargallen the Smith stood watch as well, making certain the bear was treated properly, although there was little he could do and could only entrust such work to the cooks in their midst since the village lacked a butcher. The worked seemed to go well, and the several cooks took care to butcher it well. The cleaning of the entrails went well and quickly, but work slowed quickly once the butchering moved to the internal organs for no one wished to damage the core if it had survived. After another twenty minutes of cautious butchering through the chest cavity, the cook currently excavating the heart released a soft but exultant cry as she pulled out the heart and found the core nestled in the entangled arteries at the top of the heart.
“A core! It survived!” the cook called, surprised!
A soft groan passed through the crowd, proof they could no longer eat the beast, but curiosity for the core soon outshone their disappointment.
“How is it,” asked another?
“Let me see! Show us,” one of the crowd called out, followed shortly after by another three or four similar cries from the crowd.
“Alright, alright! Calm it down. It’s Master Joe’s! Let’s return it to him as is right,” the Smith called out as he stepped forward, but a whisper of surprise escaped his lips even as he came upon it, “Triple core!”
Similar gasps of surprise echoed from the crowd when the heard Kargallen the Smith’s statement and more neck craning jostled the crowd as they tried to see. Kargallen turned to Garnedell and quirked an eyebrow. Garnedell nodded in quick agreement, and Kargallen raised the clear brown triple core to the sky, showing it to the crowd. They all stared with silent awe with several parents lifting children to get a better look. Kargallen the Smith held it aloft for a few more moments before walking towards Garnedell. The cooks then went back to quickly butcher the rest of the monster, now uncaring of their cuts as they prepared what few parts could be used for the tanners and alchemist before burying the rest safely. Kargallen, meanwhile, took the time to inspect the core himself while he walked up to Garnedell before handing it over to him, a small smile gracing his lips.
“You have done well for yourself, Garnedell. He is an excellent master. Learn well by him!”
“Thank you, Smith Kargallen,” Garnedell responded, offering the strange head bend Joe often did, wishing to honor his master’s ways.
Kargallen’s smile grew, returning the strange head bend as well, “You honor your master! Learn his ways well.”
“Thank you.”
“Now go! You need to return to your master for what he may need of you.”
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“Yes, Kargallen. Thank you.”
“Go! Go!”
Garnedell turned and left, waving behind him as he headed back to the inn. When he arrived, he was surprised to find his master already eating and he quickly ate to catch up. He didn’t really need to since his master kindly waited for him to finish his meal. Garnedell was a bit surprised when the two headed out to hunt slimes for the rest of the afternoon once again, and he could only admire his master’s dedication and resolve.
When they returned that evening, they both fell asleep quickly, the exhilaration and exhaustion of the day quickly taking its toll.
* * *
Joe woke the next morning refreshed and ready for the day, quite excited about the festival to come but he soon learned that like all things rural, everything happened much slower and in a very relaxed manner. People were out wandering and greeting each other from the early morning, but there was little to do or eat until around lunch when tables quickly bowed under the weight of the piling food. The whole village quickly gathered soon after and the villagers settled into gatherings, enjoying their meals with one another. The whole affair was surprisingly simultaneously communal and private. Everyone was gathered together, enjoying a festival that encompassed the whole village, but there was no universal entertainment as Joe was used to back on Earth, nor was there a speaker system to allow for all people to come together over a single event. Most people ended up gathering in groups, speaking together but the groups never stayed firm, always fluidly morphing as some would join and other’s leave, all organically as they chose.
Every once and awhile, someone would stand on a strange podium like affair to give a loud statement which was always accompanied by rousing cheers and cries from the crowd. After the speaker was done with his speech, the people would return to their small groups to enjoy their socialization. In the early evening, a large fire was built up in the middle of the agora and the people soon shifted to a strange round dance where some would stand in the center around the fire, bouncing and jumping, while a greater majority were simply running in circles around the center bouncing group. People would move back and forth between the groups as the chose without any discernible pattern that Joe could see. The dance happened for a good hour or so until it died down and then the younger men and women of the village came forward. The men gathered on one side of the fire, spreading out in a line while the women did the same across from them.
The women then sat and watched as the men began dancing or… cavorting… what are they doing? Joe couldn’t figure it out as the young men seemed to just do random things. It was when he saw one young man grab the ledge of one of the heavy food tables and successfully lift the end off the ground that Joe realized the men were showing off. Really!? I’m seeing a courting ceremony? The men did this for another few minutes until they all seemed to settle down at some unspoken signal almost simultaneously.
The women then stood and began to simply dance, some slowly, others a bit wilder with grandiose movements or in small swaying movements, almost shy in their demeanor although their smoldering glances revealed the lie quite quickly. Joe found that several of the girls were sending their glances his way and he found them embarrassing despite their allure. Joe quickly glanced around at the other men and noticed that the men simply sat and returned the looks, although some seemed to glance away in obvious rejection. O… K! Don’t think I want to step my foot in that mess. Is this an invitation to a one night stand? Seems unlikely since the whole village, including mom and dad, are watching! So I don’t think I want to find myself in a marriage. I think I’ll follow what these other guys are doing. Joe quickly glance down, looking away from the dance and suddenly found his finger nails incredibly fascinating.
It was at that moment that he felt someone sit down next to him and glanced over. Surprise colored his face as he realized the priest had sat down next to him. The priest turned to look at Joe and he found the holy man to be quite sober, his gaze a very focused stare. Huh… what does he want? The priest looked to him for a few moments before offering a small bow and Joe returned the shortened bow as well. The priest looked at him for a few moments before offering what Joe recognized as a simple greeting.
Garnedell jumped in as he usually did to translate and confirmed the greeting, “He say hello.”
“Ah… yes. Hello, priest.”
Garnedell turned to the priest and translated for him and the priest seemed surprised and excited, acknowledging his greeting and rattling off another sentence immediately after. Garnedell listened but then replied respectfully in a way that dampened the priest’s ardor, replacing the excitement with a bit of anger and frustration. The two spoke for a few moments but then Garnedell seemed to get quickly excited and turned to Joe, explaining rapidly and just a bit brokenly.
“Priest say you … speak!”
Joe grimaced a bit, confusion painting his face and Garnedell himself grimaced as well, easily understanding Joe’s inability to understand. He pondered for a few moments before trying again.
“Priest say…” Garnedell waited for a few moments and Joe realized he was breaking the message down for him and he nodded in understanding.
“Right… the priest said…”
Garnedell nodded and continued, “You learn speak…”
Joe smirked and shook his head, “I know… hmm… Speak! Hard!”
Garnedell shook his head, dismissing Joe’s statement, “Learn Job. Learn speak.”
Joe’s brows crowded each other for a moment as he tried to parse Garnedell’s idea before they leapt apart in sudden understanding, “There’s a job I can use to learn to speak!!!”
Garnedell nodded excitedly and Joe’s face beamed, a grin large enough to reach his ears, “What is it? What is the job… arg… Job! What?”
It was at that moment that the trio hit a wall, and their excitement floundered in frustration as both sides realized that there was no way that translation would likely be possible. The conversation meandered until finally the three decided there was little they could do. As they sat in pondering silence, the priest seemed to suddenly have an idea and he quickly began speaking with Garnedell again. The conversation continued for a while and Joe could see Garnedell growing more and more excited. Finally, the two nodded in understanding and Garnedell turned to Joe.
“Priest. Help!”
“He can help? Great. Let’s see what we can do then.”