As I settled into my chair, the three lizardfolk children, still in just their smallclothes, situated themselves around me to better take advantage of my warmth, and that of the fire. I smiled, feeling contentment in that moment. Taking a deep breath, I began my tale.
“I’ve been working as facilities maintenance and special fabrication in a manufacturing plant in Kentucky -that’s the state I’m from- for about fifteen years. That means that I repair machines, create fixtures, solve minor plumbing and electrical issues and all sorts of other stuff,” as I took a breath, Blainaut interrupted me.
“Forgive the intrusion, but what is e-lec-ric-al?” He had some issues with the unfamiliar English word, it seems.
“Huh? Oh. Uh, it refers to any device powered by electricity.” At his confused look, I elaborated. “You know. Lightning? In my world, we don’t have magic. We learned how to basically contain and utilize lightning to power devices.”
Blainaut blinked a couple of times. “Lightning. Your people learned how to capture lightning in a bottle, and force it to work for you?”
I nodded. “Essentially, yes. The specifics are pretty detailed, but yes.”
“Lightning. The second most destructive force a magic user can wield, and your world has tamed it?” The incredulous look on his face was priceless, and I chuckled softly.
“Yep. We even learned how to turn it into healing therapy in some cases. Now, if I may?” Blainaut nodded, still in shock.
“As I said, I fixed things. Machines mostly, but sometimes electrical work and plumbing. I fabricated tools and workstations for my coworkers to use, and generally just made things work. I love my job. Or, rather, I loved it. I doubt I’ll ever be able to go back, now.” I sighed, remembering my company and the people there. Nobody would miss me for at least a week and a half. “Anyway, over the years I made a couple of friends who got me into playing tabletop role playing games. Games where you pretend to be a created character from a fantasy world. It uses a few interesting dice and a lot of play-acting in our case. From the very first dice roll, I was hooked. After that first session, I devoured all the information and media that I could about it. It was rather extensive. I latched onto magic-users, because wizards and sorcerers are just plain awesome. I mean, who wouldn’t want semi-phenomenal, nearly cosmic powers at their disposal? As long as I had a decent-sized home, anyway.” I chuckled at my small joke, noting with some sorrow that it was not understood at all. “Well anyway, the game we played lasted about six years, until it ended in a world-saving climax. My party were heroes of the realm, and we each crafted an end story to detail what we did afterwards. My character, a mage, went on to found his own school, to teach magic to anyone who wanted to learn, not just the ruling elite. It was nice. We played different campaigns and sessions, but that first taste of magic never left me. I bought all kinds of gaming books about magical lore and descriptions of spells. I got several fantasy novels written about adventuring parties; anything with magic and spellcasters. Hell, I memorized the player’s handbook section on spells so I’d never need to refer back to it again.” I sighed, remembering the fun I’d had with the guys.
“After a while, I began to feel the itch to go camping and hunting, so I went exploring in the local national forest,” I held up my hand to forestall any questions. “Camping and hunting are seen as pastimes in my world. We no longer have to hunt for our own food, as we have farms that grow and raise livestock and plants, which are shipped to massive stores all across the world for sale. I don’t know how it works here, but dedicated hunters are mostly a thing of the past.” At the look of comprehension on Blainaut’s face, I continued. “I found a nice little spot a hundred yards or so from a stream that had a protective rock face, and scouted it over the course of a year or so. Just to make sure there weren’t any critters that could ruin my experience or my life. Having found none, or maybe scaring them all away, I began using that spot as my campsite. I’ve been there at least one week a year for almost ten years. Sometimes, I’d hunt in the area. Bag a deer in the morning, have food for a month or so. I have lived alone for nearly twenty years, so a single good-sized deer would take care of me for about a month.”
Ahte-tan lifted his head and looked at me sadly. “All alone for that long? No friends or family to live with?” I shook my head. “I’m sorry Mr. Ivor. That sounds like it was unpleasant.”
I smiled. “It wasn’t all bad. I got to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted to do it. Nobody to tell me no, nobody to try and talk me out of things, or into things. I was free.” I sighed and said, “I did get lonely, sometimes. I’d either drive out and have dinner somewhere, or call up a friend and see if they wanted to go do something for the night or the weekend. I’ll explain ‘calling’ later. Suffice it to say that I would send a message to them.” At Blainaut’s nod of understanding, I continued. “So, for several years, I hunted and fished and camped in the area that these three found me. At least, it looks similar enough to my world that I would have a difficult time telling the difference. I still want to know how this happened. One doesn’t just wake up in a new world without reason. Either an especially powerful mage brought me here, or some deity that I know nothing about thought it’d be hilarious to rip me from my home.” I sighed, thinking of my mom and the few friends I had. “The only family I had left was my mom. I had a small handful of friends that I would hang out with, no real prospects for a partner, and no children.” I hugged the boys closer. “Maybe they did me a favor, I don’t know. Not until it’s all over and I can look back on my history, will I know.” I sat in somber silence for a minute, then looked up. “Any questions? I will answer them.”
Blainaut stared into the embers for a moment. “I have a slew of questions, but I’m not sure they’ll help me understand things.” He furrowed his brow as a soft breeze blew through our campsite, sending the smoke from the meat into our faces. A heavenly scent. “So, your job was to maintain machines? To keep them active? And to handle plumbing and the lightning?”
I nodded, replying “Yeah. I kept all the machines running in tip-top shape. Adding lubricant, replacing gears or pistons or belts, or whatever needed to be done. The plumbing bit was mostly just replacing worn out pipes that had reached the end of their life, and I made sure the wiring wasn’t cut or needed replacing. I was a jack-of-all trades. I had to be. All my life, I had to be the person who knew how to fix stuff and build stuff and do stuff; even how to mend my shirts and pants. Mostly because it was just me and my mom. My sisters had both moved to the opposite ends of the country for work.”
Ahte-tan looked up at me, “So you know how to make clothes? Is that why you wanted the skin of the Dire Bear? To make us some new clothes?”
I nodded, saying “Yep. That’s exactly right. I want to let the skin dry a bit before I process it. I can probably pull the rest of the material I need from the trees nearby. A bit of salt from the earth, and I can probably use magic to speed the process up. I want to be well-rested and have ample food I can use to keep my energy up. I know the process of making leather and tanning pelts, I just need to think on how to accomplish that without some of the more vital ingredients. And in such a way that I use a lot less magic. In the morning, I’ll do my best to clean your clothes, and then start working on the soon-to-be leather. If I’m right, I’ll be done in a few hours, and we can continue on our journey. If not, at least your clothes will be clean, and you can wear them. I may even be able to restore them without much hassle.” I turned to Blainaut, “Looks like I’m going to have a busy day tomorrow. How close are we to the river you said was nearby?”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Blainaut thought for a moment, “I should think no more than two hours’ walk. After that, if I’m correct, We have about fifteen leagues’ travel. That should put us in their territory.”
I sighed. Forty-five or so miles. At least I was used to walking. “So, a question. What kinds of transportation does this world have? Is it mostly beasts of burden and foot power, or is there some other kind of transport?”
Blainaut’s eyebrows climbed his thin face “Well, yes. Horses and carts. Carriages, if you’re wealthy enough. Why? What sort of travel did you have in your world?”
I laughed, knowing I was about to blow his mind. “We have machines that can travel fifteen leagues in under an hour, and others that fly through the air. There are boats that move below the waves, even. The distance we are talking about walking is just a little more than I would take going to work every day. And I’d come home the same day, too. My world is extremely technologically advanced compared to this one. By the way, what is this world called? And in what country do we reside?”
Blainaut’s eyes grew wider and wider as I spoke, the surprise evident on his face. “Less than an hour? That could revolutionize this world. And even air travel? You have seen marvels that people here would be unable to imagine. And they’re commonplace to you. Incredible.” He shook his head, clearing that line of thought. “Anyway, this world is called Chaia, and we are in the great Kingdom of Thult. Near to the borders of both the Fyg Empire to our west and the Kingdom of Alfknavia to our south. Relations with both are friendly and open, though minor skirmishes do occur from time to time.”
I nodded, yawning. “Okay. I’ll want to see a map or a globe at some point. It’ll help orient me to my new home. I have to assume I’m never going back. At least not until I’ve done whatever it is that whoever brought me here to do.” I looked down at the three boys, all asleep on me. It was time for bed, it looked like. At least for them. I still had a pelt to work. “Hey, kids. You need to get up. I’m going to put you three to bed, as it looks like you’re pretty tired. I’ve got some setup to do for the skin tonight, so that I can work it tomorrow, and make you some new clothes, or at least a new cloak, if nothing else. Okay?” Three little heads nodded and yawned, and I wrapped my arms around them and stood, carrying them to the tent. Once inside, they padded off and got into the large sleeping bag and curled up around each other. “I’ll be back in a little while to go to sleep, myself. Here’s the light stone.” I handed them the glowing rock, and they started playing with it, before I gently took it and set it on the ground behind their heads. “If you’re ready to sleep, just cover it with something, okay? Goodnight, boys.”
They each told me goodnight, and I crept out into the dusk. Time to start the prep on this skin. Using some of the unused wood from the drying rack lying next to the smoker, along with a log from the firewood, I set about crafting a tub by Duplicating and arranging the wood that could contain the massive skin. Satisfied, I Strengthened and Fireproofed the tub, then dug a shallow pit and stuck my left hand into the damp earth, and positioned my right hand over the tub, and Drew enough water to fill it nearly halfway. I then Pulled a large amount of salt from the earth, and dumped it into the water. That should hopefully be enough. Reaching into my coat pocket, I pulled out a packet of Sour Patch Kids. I loved this candy and almost never traveled without it. This time, however, it was going to prove to be even more beneficial.
Retrieving a chunk of bark from the wood, I scraped the powder off the candy, and Separated the sugar from the acids, leaving two piles. One large pile of sugar, and a much smaller one of the two acids in the candy. I Duplicated it until I had what looked to be about the right amount of powder, and dumped it into the water, and stirred it with a stick. It tasted about right. Pretty sour, and plenty salty.
I conjured several Hands of Air, and stretched the hide in the air, and scraped it with an Air Blade. It was surprisingly easy to do, and resulted in a heap of fatty tissue on the ground. Tanning with that on it wouldn’t go well. I scraped until no more of the gunk fell out. I still had some leftover leather from making the bag, so I duplicated it a few times, and made a large container, complete with a tight-fitting leather stopper for what I knew would be a large amount of grease from the skin. I made sure to keep a sizable scrap piece for making other items, as well. I was getting used to it, and started being able to combine commands into sentences, almost. Kind of like a rudimentary programming language.
I settled the container onto a Hand of Air directly under where the tail was, as it was the lowest point on the skin. Placing one hand onto the skin, I Drew out all the grease and oil, watching it flow into the container. The Drawing process took a few minutes, and resulted in about half the container being filled. I stoppered it, keeping the strong smell trapped inside, and placed it into my Bag. I retrieved one of the stones, and Warmed it, tossing it into the tub. With luck, it would keep the pickle at a good temperature. Then I simply placed the skin in, and submerged it completely.
The whole process took about two hours, and I turned around to find Blainaut staring at me with an incredulous look.
“What? Did I do something else you would call impossible?”
“You could say that. You just completed a process that would normally take a couple of days, and crammed it into a couple of hours. I’ve never seen it done quite like that. You’re planning on keeping the fur on that, aren’t you?” At my nod, he continued “You truly care for those kids, don’t you, Ivor?”
I laughed in disbelief. “Of course I do, Blainaut. They’re children, and where I’m from, almost everyone treats all kids with the same level of care. We all treat them as if they were our own, and make sure they get loved and cared for.” I walked toward him on what I knew were shaky legs, “You may have purchased them as simple labor, but I will treat them as if they were my own flesh and blood. I hope, for your sake, you can come to an agreement with the lizardfolk that will keep you alive, and help you learn what life is like for them. They’re just different, not inferior.”
Some of the fire went out of his eyes, and he looked down. “I do not see them the way you do. I’ve been raised and brought up with this as simply the natural way of life. Taught that humans are the only ‘people’ and that the other races are little more than animals. Some of them could easily rip us apart, while others such as the lizardfolk are little better than manual labor.” He held up a placating hand, “This is simply what I was taught, and in my nearly forty years of life, I’ve seen little to dissuade me of that belief.” He sighed, “What I’ve seen in the last forty-eight hours is making me rethink that idea. That the lizardfolk, at least, aren’t too dissimilar from us. Some of the others out there, and there are many, definitely are. I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to be like you are with them, but I’m beginning to see similarities with my own nieces and nephews.” He sighed, “I’ve never looked, really looked, at them as anything more than simple tools.”
I placed a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up. “That’s a start, Blainaut. I don’t expect you to change your worldview overnight. In fact, I hope you don’t. This type of change has to be gradual, else it will never be solid within you.” I looked up at the stars. I couldn’t make out any of the constellations I knew, and a single tear rolled down my face. I was well and truly in an alien world.
“Ivor, perhaps you should eat something and get to sleep. If I’m correct, you have used a lot of energy, and you need sleep for tomorrow.” He gently steered me toward the fire. “You may not trust me now, but I’ve given my word. Once a Guildsman has given his word, he is unable to go against it. We are taught that our word is sacred, and not to be given lightly. I will hold true to it, even if it should lead me to my death. Now. Eat one of your steaks, or some of your fruit and dried meat, then get some rest. I’m actually eager to see what you will come up with tomorrow. Sleep well.” He stayed and watched me as I reluctantly ate a steak, as well as some fruit and some jerky.
Satisfied, Blainaut turned and went into his tent, and I stood there next to the dying fire, weeping silently for my lost home for a while before I, too, went and crawled into bed next to the three sprawled out lizardfolk kids. Sleep was a long time coming.