I closed my eyes and sat on the cold ground. I figured that any large animal was likely pretty far away. I placed both hands onto the earth, and whispered “Seek deer” and felt my consciousness spread out over the forest, finding trails and spoor, but no deer within five hundred yards or so of my position. All I found was a curious fox and several squirrels, but nothing large enough to feed the four of us. I withdrew, and returned to myself.
Shaking my head to clear the cobwebs, I slowly stood. “Well boys, it looks like there is nothing nearby that is large enough to take for food.” I waited as Blainaut returned with an armload of decent wood, and deposited it under the overhang. I stood there, considering the man and his fate. While slavery was indeed a terrible practice, I had just robbed this man of his magical power. Would that alone be enough to maintain his cooperation? I decided to find out.
“Blainaut.”
The man looked over at me, his eyes smoldering with hatred. “Yes, Master?” The words were forced out through a clenched jaw.
“Blainaut, do you understand what I’ve done to you?” I asked, hoping he did.
He puffed up, indignant with rage “You’ve turned me into a servant! A damned servant! I’m compelled to do as you say, and the more I resist, the more I am beset with unimaginable pain. This is humiliating. To think that I, Blainaut Kiernan, a member of the prestigious Explorer’s Guild, would ever be enslaved to some disheveled creature such as yourself is positively unthinkable.” He began to shout loudly, “How could you do this to me? Why?”
I raised my left eyebrow in surprise. “Why? You have the nerve, the gall to ask me ‘why’ I’ve enslaved you? Look at what you did to these three. Look! They are starved. Literally half the size they should be. They are children, you fucking monster. Children. And you starved them. That is cruelty beyond anything I’ve ever seen. I was wondering if I could let you free, but at this point, I feel it would do more harm than good.” I sat in thought a moment, while the man seethed, his hands clenched in rage. I could tell the magic was the only thing keeping him from attacking me. Not that it would do much good. “Tell you what, Blainaut. Settle down, and take a seat if you wish. Are you hungry? I have some dried meat and fruit here.” He moved to the side of the fire opposite the boys and sat sullenly.
“Yes, I’m hungry. I doubt your food is of any quality I’ve been accustomed to, however.” Haughty only began to describe this man.
I shook my head, and retrieved the backpack I kept the food in. This was supposed to last me a week, and now I may go through it in a couple of days. Taking my seat at the fire, I sighed. “I only packed enough for me for a week. I didn’t expect to be transported to some new world where nothing I knew existed. I guess I should make the most of it, though. Not like I had much back there, anyway. Just my mom and sisters.” I pulled the meat from the bag, and divided it up into five portions, and the fruit into two. I passed three bags of meat to the boys, and one each of the meat and fruit for myself and Blainaut. They were all looking at me with shock. “What? What’s wrong? Is there something behind me?”
They all shook their heads, and Blainaut spoke first “You’re not from this world, you say? How then, do you know such powerful magic?” The boys chimed in with questions, as well. I held my hands up.
“Woah. Wait a minute. One at a time, please. Blainaut, you first. As to your first question; I just woke up here. I went to bed after setting up my campsite, and awoke to the sound of crows or ravens, and saw the three of them, rifling through my things. Now, I don’t blame them, they were starving, Blainaut.” I gave him a harsh look, and he had the decency, at least, to look somewhat ashamed. “But, yeah. I just woke up here. As to your second question, it appears your magic words are simply my native language back where I’m from. As such, I think I’m probably the most powerful mage this world will ever see. I don’t necessarily like this fact. While I am not averse to having and wielding power, I’m just not comfortable with it. You see, I could have easily killed you in our little ‘battle’. Not with my magic, but with my weapons.” I drew my pistol and aimed at a tree not too far away. “I would caution you all to cover your ears. This will be loud.” Once I saw that they had all done so, I pulled the trigger, the report deafening as it echoed off the side of the mountain, and the bullet ripped through the tree, ending up gods only knew where. The four of them stared in horror at what had just happened, and Ahte-ukum began to cry. “I’m sorry, little one. A demonstration was in order. Don’t worry. I’ll leave it holstered.” I replaced the gun, and turned to Blainaut. “So, as you can see, I am merciful. I’m allowing you to live, Blainaut. I figure a few days or weeks as a servant may teach you some humility. A small price to pay for your life, yes?” The man simply nodded, too terrified to speak. “And that weapon is accurate to only twenty-five or thirty yards. Still lethal if I get lucky at over two hundred. My rifle, on the other hand, can potentially end you at about two miles.” I waited while he digested this information. He looked confused.
“Uhm. Some questions, if I may?”
I nodded, “Absolutely. Go ahead.”
He worked his mouth a few times, seemingly unsure if he should continue. “What is a ‘yard’ and a ‘mile’?”
I stopped, a piece of jerky halfway to my mouth. I’d forgotten that the units could possibly be different. “Okay. From shoulder to shoulder, I’m about two thirds of one yard wide. A mile, on the other hand, is one thousand, seven hundred sixty yards. Does that help?”
He sat there, dumbfounded. “So, you’re telling me that one of your weapons can kill me at nearly a full league?” I nodded, and he continued, “I guess I was incredibly lucky that you were confused.”
I nodded again, “Incredibly, Blainaut. I’m not cruel. I’m not a killer by nature. I’d like you to live and learn rather than simply die for a foolish lifestyle.” I watched as he thoughtfully chewed on the jerky.
“This is rather good, I must say.” He sighed. “I suppose I’ll have to serve you for some time, won’t I?” I shook my head. “That’s entirely up to you, Blainaut. Once I can see that you’ve learned to not want to enslave someone, I’ll let you be free. Believe you me, I don’t want to be shackled to you any more than you wish to be shackled to me. But you still haven’t told me why you had them.” He cleared his throat.
“Ah. That. Well, you see, the lizardfolk are inferior creatures, and our job as humans is to show them what it means to be civilized, to respect their betters, and to not raise arms against us. They were bought at the flesh market about three years ago, and I couldn’t turn down the prestige, even if they did cost me a small fortune. A fortune, mind you, that you robbed me of.” He turned to look at me then, and he shrank back from the fury that was obviously evident on my face. “What did I say? Why are you so angry?”
I sat there, raging internally, and struggled to collect myself. In a barely restrained voice, I said to him, “Inferior? Inferior? You have no right to judge them inferior. Even if they were wearing loincloths and dancing around a fire to a god of bone and ash, you have no right to take them. None. They are simply different and we should respect that and learn from them. Who knows? They may have cures for some illnesses. Or some form of technology we do not. By taking them from their homes, and treating them as chattel, you debase yourself. Ugh. I have the urge to throw you as far as my magic will allow. In my world, that mentality largely died out long, long ago.” I stood, and walked to the man. “Hand of air.” Conjuring the hand, I lifted him up. I grabbed his hand, Unlocked the ring and pulled it off him. “I will no longer be shackled to you, nor you me. I don’t think you can ever be changed, and I don’t want to spare the effort. You’re not worth it. Your former slaves will determine your fate. Better hope all you did was underfeed them.” I turned to the boys, “Kids, what should I do with him? Throw him into the sun? Bury him up to his neck here in the woods? Crush him with the Hand?” The three sat there, shocked.
Before they could say a word, Blainaut had pointed a finger at me. “ICE BOLT!” he shouted. The kids jerked back in fear, but I simply turned toward the man who looked terrified and confused. “Why didn’t that work? Where is my magic?”
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I pulled him to me, my face inches from his, “Because I burned all the magic and the capacity for magic out of your soul, Blainaut.” I didn’t think it was possible, but the pale man became even paler. “I figured you’d try to kill me or the kids at some point, even if I had left you enslaved. I took precautions. I didn’t trust you then, and I don’t trust you now. Actually, I trust you less. And now that we have that settled,” I once again turned to the three lizardfolk children. “Boys? What to do with your former master?”
The three looked at each other and shrugged. Ahte-ukum was the first to pipe up, and in his thin, soft voice he said “M-maybe w-we could l-let him go? I mean, h-he can’t hurt us a-a-anymore, w-wite?”
I smiled and knelt next to him, cupping his cheek, “Ahte-ukum, you are sweet. I hope you never lose that kindness. However, Blainaut has been bad, and must be punished. Some things, in some people, just can’t be rehabilitated. I don’t like this any more than you do, but something must be done.” I looked at his brothers in turn, “Ahte-tan? Ahte-naah? What do you think?”
Ahte-tan looked at his brother, a questioning look on his face, and said, “Do you think he could be turned over to our people? Face justice there?”
Blainaut started struggling mightily. “NO! NO! No, anything but that! Those yippers will eat me!” The boys’ faces grew stern and angry, and they all hissed. “See? SEE? They just want to eat humans. Filthy lot of unsewn purses!” Spittle flew from his lips as he raged toward my boys.
I had had enough. My anger burst forth as my heavy right fist flew towards his face, connecting with his nose with a satisfyingly sickening crunch, and he was quiet. My hand, however, had been broken. I’d only hit someone once before, and that was as a freshman in high school, over twenty years ago.
Blainaut fell to the ground, out cold, as my concentration wavered, the spell failing. I held my hand gingerly, and began inspecting it. As I had feared, I had broken the third and fourth metacarpals in my hand. I really needed to learn how to punch, especially when my strength was factored in. Oh well. Nothing for it but to get to a healer to get it set. Or did I? I took a steadying breath, and let it out slowly. Grasping the offended bones gently, I whispered “Set and heal” and concentrated on the broken bones.
Gasping in pain, I heard and felt the bones forcibly separate and become situated where they belonged, and heat rushed through my hand as I felt the bones knit together. The pain was intense, and I cried out more than once. I fell to my knees as the three boys rushed over to me, obviously concerned.
Shaking and panting, I sat back on my rear, still holding my hand. It ached, but the bones were fixed, right as rain. I looked over at them, and smiled “I’m okay, guys. I fixed it. It was broken, but I’m all better now. Let’s get him fixed. Won’t do to have him die before he faces justice.” I stood and walked over to where Blainaut lay, wheezing. His nose was sitting about forty-five degrees from where it should, and he was missing a couple of teeth. I looked about on the forest floor for a moment, and spied them sitting a few feet away in a small bit of blood. “Ahte-tan? Will you hand me those teeth over there? I’m going to see if I can’t fix him.” Ahte-tun hurried over and picked up the fallen teeth, and handed them to me without a word. “Thank you, son. Now. Let’s get you all fixed up, Blainey…” Unceremoniously, I shoved the teeth into their sockets, prompting Blainart to jump up, yowling in pain. “Sit still, or I’ll hit you again.” He spat blood and teeth at me, spattering my shirt. “Okay, then. We do this my way.” I took him by the throat and held him, whispering “Hands of air.” I conjured five hands, and directed them to hold his arms, legs and head still. I stood and brushed the dirt off my pants, and picked up the teeth. “I don’t think I’ll be replacing these, then.” I cupped my hands around the teeth and whispered “Pulverize.” and poured the resulting powder out of my hand, scattering it to the wind. “No more teefies.” I said in a singsong voice. “Now, hold still. This is going to hurt worse than breaking it did.” I reached up, and grabbed his nose firmly, hearing him howl with pain, and slowly twisted it back to where it belonged, more or less. Blainaut screamed himself hoarse and started crying about midway through. “There. Now it’s just going to have to heal on its own, Blainaut. I could have been gentle, but you decided to be an ass. Let this serve as a lesson. I will treat you well as long as you are behaving like a decent person. The more you attempt to antagonize me and treat my boys with cruelty, the worse this will be for you. Please don’t make me regret our decision to let you live.” I leaned in close, fixing him with a blank stare, and pitched my voice low so the boys would hopefully not hear. “I can be very inventive when I need to be.”
I slowly lowered him to the ground, releasing first his feet, then his arms, and finally his head. He stood there, shivering and shaking, in rage, fear or cold, I didn’t know, nor did I care overmuch. As long as he was at least civil, I’d let him live.
I turned to the three boys and smiled. “I think it’s time to strike camp, and head off to your homeland, boys. What do you think?” They beamed smiles at each other and me, and nodded excitedly. “Alrighty! Let’s get moving.” I showed them how to break down my tent, and where to store all the small pieces and parts. Blainart, curious, came over and watched.
“That is a curious device indeed.” He remarked, adding “Something like that would sell for a princely sum back in the Kingdom.”
I paused, stuffing the tent into its bag, “Huh. I suppose you’re right. I’m not going to sell it, however.” I thought for a moment “I could sell the designs to a capable smith, though. That might work. Thanks for the tip!” I continued packing up, directing the boys in their tasks.
Once finished, there was a pile of equipment that was obviously too large for us to manage ourselves. Blainart crossed his arms and fixed me with a steely gaze and mockingly said “Now what, genius?”
I leaned against the rock face, and crossed my arms. “Yeah… I’m thinking.” I started pacing, and then stopped, snapping my fingers as a broad smile erupted over my face. “I got it!” I rushed over to Blainaut. “Hand me your waterskin. I have an idea.” I started bouncing from foot to foot, giggling maniacally.
“O-okay…” He held out his waterskin to me, and I snatched it up, pulling out my pocket knife.
“Oh, this is gonna be so damn cool….”
I poured the water out, and then I cut the stitches, laying out the two halves of the waterskin on the ground. Placing a hand on one piece, I Duplicated it several times. I cut out panels, forming a rather large pouch, and Sealed the edges together, making a single, unbroken sheet of rounded leather, and punched holes all around the outside edge. I then cut a strip of leather and laced it through the holes, forming a simple bag. I held it up to the group, who looked at each other, and then at me, and Blainart remarked “Congratulations, you made a bag. It’s still too small to carry all this stuff.”
I giggled and opened the bag, shoving my face into it, speaking aloud “Demiplane of holding.” The bag shimmered, turning a bright red, as intricate designs raced across its surface, embossing it with a beautiful pattern. I set the bag down, and opened it, picking up a stick that was obviously too large to fit in all the way. “Let’s see if it works.” I slowly introduced the stick, and it easily slid in all the way. I let it go, and dropped a handful of rocks into it as well. “Ahte-tan, get me a log for the fire.” He ran off, and returned with the wood. I introduced this as well, and closed the bag.
As I picked it up, Blainaut stared. “Do you know what you’ve just done?” He said, his voice soft and quiet.
I nodded, excited. “Yup! I made a bag of holding. Watch.” I opened the bag and reached in, concentrating on the stick, and drew it out. “I can take out whatever I put in, and the bag will never weigh any more than its component parts.” I chucked the stick off into the woods, and started shoving all my camping gear into it, giggling all the while. I slung the bag onto my shoulder, and looked at the group. “Ready to go?” They all stared at me, slack-jawed. “What?”
Blainaut was the first to speak. “Sir, I don’t think you quite understand what you just did. You created something absolutely new, and absolutely useful. If anyone ever found out what that is, you would have a target on you for the rest of your life. The lizards know exactly what I mean. You’re dangerous. Extremely so. I will cause you no problems for the trip. I don’t want to see
what you can do when pressed. You have my full cooperation.” He bowed slightly, and gently rubbed his face. “This still hurts, but I’ll be okay.”
I made an apologetic face. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know how to heal that without extreme pain. I found out the hard way. I wound up breaking my hand when I hit you, and fixing that was not something I’d like to repeat. Although, it is better than it was before. I have a few ideas, but they’re going to have to wait. If you all will excuse me, I need to relieve myself.”
With that, I picked up my jacket, left the group, and walked into the woods, far enough away to not be heard, and took care of business. I still didn’t trust Blainaut, so I took hold of my hooded jacket and whispered “Impenetrable fortress” and felt it momentarily stiffen, then return to its usual feel. I repeated the process for the rest of my clothing, then returned. “I apologize, but I’ve been needing to do that for a couple of hours. Shall we?” I motioned for us to continue, and we were suddenly on our way to the homeland of the lizardfolk.