Tel'ron turned to S'haar, his face expressing his deep concern. "I don't know much about humans, but I can't believe that kind of laughter is normal..."

Jack continued to cackle gleefully as he started up the chainsaw. The roar of the engine caused Tel'ron to jump back in surprise. He was starting to regret his earlier decision to help out Jack and S'haar. Dragon's magic was clearly something that shouldn't be meddled with.

Their request hadn't seemed so frightening when they'd asked for help. Jack and S'haar needed a hand hauling freshly cut trees over to where the woodworkers could ply their trade, splitting and shaping logs into boards and planks. With all the tools sharpened and ready, there wasn't much for the smith to do at the moment, so Tel'ron had volunteered his services.

He'd assumed S'haar would cut the trees down, Jack would trim off the branches, and he'd haul the wood. He hadn't known what to think when S'haar had laughed a little nervously at his assumption.

In Jack's hands, the 'chainsaw' roared as if it was some wild beast claiming its territory, drowning out almost all other sounds. The only thing he could hear over the cacophony was Jack's clearly unstable laughter.

Tel'ron expected Jack to swing the monstrous device at the tree like a woodcutter's ax. Instead, he seemed to leisurely brush against the tree with the lightest of touches. Immediately, shredded wood began to fly everywhere as the tree was torn into pieces before Tel'ron's eyes.

In short order, the tree was on the ground, and Jack was trimming off the branches. As he worked, S'haar showed Tel'ron how to attach the harness they were going to use to move what was left of the tree.

Jack's laughter had died down at some point in the process, but the grin on his face still spoke of a dangerous imbalance in the man's psyche.

Tel'ron dragged the tree back to be processed and was greeted by a somewhat confused Fea'en. "Already? You can't just bring back a tree you found lying on the ground. We'll need fresh wood to get good quality lumber!"

Tel'ron shook his head. Try as he might, he couldn't forget what he'd witnessed. "This tree was standing with all its branches attached not 20 minutes ago. Jack used a weird blade covered in metal teeth to chew the tree down and sever its limbs. He said it was powered by 'dragon's fire.' After witnessing it in action, I believe him."

Tel'ron started to head back after getting the log situated, only to pass S'haar, who was already pulling another log back to camp. The rest of the morning passed much the same. Jack would cut and trim a tree while either Tel'ron or S'haar caught their breath. Once cleaned, they'd drag the trunk back to camp. By lunch, Fea'en had to ask them to stop. Otherwise, the trees would sit too long without being processed. The three of them had cleared away a decent amount of land by that point anyway.

One thing that astounded Tel'ron even more than the amount of work done was how well the chainsaw's metal teeth held up. Given how small they were and how much wood they'd been used to cut through, he expected them to be worn down to nubs, but when Jack allowed him to examine the tiny blades, they were still almost as sharp as any blade he could forge. The dragon obviously had some method of steel refinement that surpassed anything known to Tel'ron.

When Tel'ron asked Jack about it, Jack started his explanation with a shrug. "Well, I don't know everything about it, but it's not just steel. It's an alloy. Similar to combining copper and tin to make bronze, this is mostly steel, but a few other things have been added to turn it into an alloy stronger than titanium and easier to make. The downside is it's a bit heavier, but in small amounts like this, that isn't an issue."

Tel'ron was able to follow most of the explanation, though he didn't know what 'titanium' was. From the context, he assumed it was a kind of metal even stronger than steel, but this steel alloy Jack spoke of was stronger again. Having seen it in action, Tel'ron was inclined to believe Jack's claim, improbable as it might seem. He was now even more eager to work with S'haar and the crazy human and wondered what secrets he might bring back to his people after his time here.

-

Jack and S'haar finally headed back to the ship for lunch. Everyone was eating leftovers from the night before, but Jack wanted to check in on Angela and Em'brel. They walked in on what was apparently another ongoing physics lesson.

Angela was wearing a lab coat with thick glasses and also had "grown" her hair out, just to put it into a messy bun. For the lesson she was currently teaching, she had created a holographic box in front of herself as a prop. "So, as you can see, gravitational force keeps the box in contact with the ground, and friction force from that contact keeps it from moving on its own, but if I use applied force, I can move the box like so!" Angela then seemed to push the box a short distance.

Em'brel seemed a little bored at the moment. "But why does it matter which 'forces' cause these things to happen? Why bother to name them? We all already know the box won't move unless someone moves it."

Angela had obviously fielded such questions before and was ready for it. "These are just basic examples, designed to give you an understanding of the nature of the various forces, but once you understand them, you can apply them. For example, take a look at one of S'haar's throwing spears compared with one of Lon'thul's spears."

An image of the two spears appeared in the air beside one and other. "If you notice, S'haar's spear, often called a javelin, is much smaller and lighter, and the front is more narrow. These qualities decrease the effect of gravitational pull and wind resistance, allowing the spear to travel further and more accurately."

S'haar tilted her head to one side. "Huh, so that's how it works... and here I thought it was just because your steel was better than ours."

Angela shifted her attention to her new student. "That is undoubtedly a factor. It's part of the reason the spears are so much lighter than what you are used to but are still strong enough to withstand the impact and retain their shape. The trick is to make it light enough to throw well, but heavy enough to impart enough kinetic force upon impact to do some damage."

S'haar was scratching her head. "You lost me. I don't know what energy has to do with my spear. I just throw it, and it stabs into my target. There's no energy."

Jack could tell by the light in Angela's eye meant they were going to be here a while since she now had two willing victims. Jack repressed his sigh as he set about preparing a lunch.

-

After finishing lunch, Jack and Angela were discussing what the next step should be. Angela began the discussion. "Well, if the woodworkers have all the wood they can use for a few days, our next priority should be to increase our power reserves. I've already got some solar panels put together and ready to go, and the cable won't take me long to finish. The problem is where to set them up."

Jack nodded, gulping down a mouthful of sandwich in the process. "Yeah, our cave entrance is facing the east more or less, but given our position in the northern hemisphere, we'd ideally like them to be on the southern face of the mountain. That way, you can adjust the panels to face the sun for the entire day, but that would be a long way to run some cable."

Angela seemed a little put out that Jack more or less bypassed her next excuse for more teaching but let it slide. This time. "Yes, it would be too long, which is why I want to dig a new access tunnel."

A projection of the mountain appeared in the air above the table before Angela continued her explanation. "So, we have natural tunnels already extending only a few thousand meters from the southern face here." The mountain turned translucent, and a glowing tunnel appeared on the inside. It looked more like string than the large cavernous tunnel Jack knew it to be.

Angela pointed a few sections of rock, and they turned blue at the point she indicated. "If you dig here, here, and here you can extend our own tunnel to have nearly direct access without compromising the cave's structural integrity by any noticeable measure."

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Jack was looking closely at the map when Em'brel voiced her own question. "What's a solar panel?"

Jack didn't have to see Angela to know her eyes were lighting up at the new question. "To understand that, you first have to know what electricity is!"

Jack leaned over and whispered to S'haar. "We might want to get back to work. This explanation is going to take a while."

S'haar nodded her head emphatically, and the two left Em'brel to her fate as Angela launched into a new explanation.

-

Lon'thul was out stalking his prey but wasn't having much luck today. Usually, he could sneak right up on a churlish and pounce on it before it was able to so much as sense his presence. He'd been able to do it for years now, but for some reason, today, the churlish kept sensing him and jumping away before he could launch his attack. This had happened so many times that he'd chased it several miles around the mountain.

Of course, his mind was usually focused like a blade, whereas today, his thoughts were all over the place. He'd known for a while that S'haar didn't feel the same way about him as he'd always felt about her. In her eyes, he'd forever remain a bumbling youth. And while he didn't understand the apparent relationship that seemed to be forming between her and Jack, he didn't particularly begrudge it either. S'haar had always been unique among the village women, and it made sense that her relationships would be different from what was usual as well.

What confused Lon'thul was Jack himself. He seemed friendly and sympathetic one moment, then borderline hostile the next. Lon'thul would be tempted to blame it on Jack simply being fickle or petty in nature, but there were no other indications of it other than his occasional behavior toward Lon'thul. He even seemed more forgiving of B'arthon and his two thugs than he was of Lon'thul.

Maybe it wasn't a question of forgiveness. You can only forgive someone who's not actively threatening you, so perhaps Jack saw Lon'thul as an active threat for some reason?

Lon'thul was finally getting caught up to his prey again. He was close enough to taste the churlish with a flick of the tongue. Creeping slowly closer, he readied his spear and started to brace himself for the leap that would claim his prize when he snapped a twig he hadn't realized was beneath his feet. The churlish reacted instantly, leaping away to safety and forcing Lon'thul to continue his hunt further still. In frustration, Lon'thul punched a rather large rock formation and succeeded only in hurting his hand before continuing.

It wasn't fair! Lon'thul had been nothing but friendly toward Jack. It wasn't his fault lord A'ngles had chosen him to keep an eye on the outpost. At the time, he'd just been eager to be involved in the exciting new venture. He hadn't realized this was all done without Jack's knowledge or understanding until he'd brought it up in the inn. Even then, Jack had seemed to agree with Lon'thul's take on the situation and seemed relatively friendly most of the time.

It seemed to come out of nowhere when Jack suddenly became hostile from time to time. It always seemed to be regarding the new argu'n living with him, Em'brel. Lon'thul didn't think Jack had taken her as a mate, the energy between Jack and the young girl was completely different from him and S'haar. He was acting less like a partner and more like a... herd leader.

Now that Lon'thul thought about it, things started to make sense. Argu'n were more small pack oriented. Their loyalty was first and foremost directed toward their immediate family. They could form friendships and live civilly with other families, but that came about only recently because of necessity. There were far too many predators for a single-family to deal with on their own. Then came the discovery that with more people came the ability to specialize, which increased everyone's prosperity.

Herd animals were different, though. The adults lived in large communities, creating safety in numbers, and calves were often looked after by every adult. What if Jack saw Em'brel as a calf in his herd and saw Lon'thul as a predator eyeing Em'brel?

As Lon'thul approached the churlish this time, everything fell into place. He'd approached from downwind, his feet found purchase on the soft, silent ground, his weapons were ready, and he lept. The churlish didn't have time to do more than grunt in surprise as his spear found its mark. The camp would eat well tonight!

Lon'thul had just started field dressing his catch when the earth shook as though the gods were pouring their wrath upon the land.

Lon'thul hid behind a rock but readied his spear for whatever was coming. He knew he had little hope against anything that could shake the very ground itself, but if it found him, the hunter would not cower and wait for his death. At the very least, he'd meet it spear in hand.

As moments passed, the sound grew louder, and the shaking grew worse. Whatever was causing this must be titanic! The hunter slowly moved toward what seemed to be the epicenter of the noise and vibrations, closer to the mountain. That's when Lon'thul spotted a portion of the mountain heaving and splitting. Something was digging through the very mountain itself! The only thing Lon'thul could think of that could do this was the dragon. The hunter kept his spear in hand, just in case, but peered over his rock, determined to catch a glimpse of the mysterious beast.

Bursting from the ground was a towering figure, but it wasn't quite as large as Lon'thul had expected. It was bipedal and stood maybe 10 feet tall. It seemed to have large metallic looking bones on the outside, and in the middle was what appeared to be a stone skinned form that struck Lon'thul as oddly familiar. In its hands was a large round device covered in odd 'teeth' that slowly spun in a continuous circle.

The dragon seemed to slowly walk out of its new cave entrance before setting down the large device and sitting down. The stone center extracted itself from the metallic bones before dusting itself off, revealing itself to be covered in cloth rather than stone. Taking off its armored head and speaking in an oddly familiar voice, the 'dragon' said something in that odd singsong language the hunter had gotten to know over the last few weeks.

Lon'thul was so surprised he didn't even bother to stay hidden. Standing there, his spear forgotten, and his mouth gaping in astonishment, Jack could hardly miss the hunter. Turning back, Jack said something over his shoulder into the hole he'd dug.

The hunter was speechless a moment longer when another familiar voice echoed up from the cave. "Did you say Lon'thul was out there? What's he doing on this side of the mountain?" S'haar followed her voice out of the cave, dusting herself off and removing a mask of her own.

Lon'thul finally closed his mouth with a snap, then opened and closed it a few more times before his voice finally came out. "I... I was having trouble with a hunt that brought me over this way. It's back that way..." Lon'thul pointed a bit behind himself, but his eyes refused to leave Jack and the metal skeleton behind him.

Jack looked over at the churlish before returning his gaze to Lon'thul. "Well, I suppose that's just the luck of the draw for you. No way either of us could have anticipated bumping into each other out here. The good news is that we can get you back to camp via a much more direct route than you having to carry the carcass all the way around the mountain again. All I'll ask in payment is that you don't enter the cave without our permission, now that you know about it."

Lon'thul stood there a moment, barely processing what Jack had said. Finally, he pushed himself to voice the question in his mind. "Are... are you the dragon?"

Jack threw back his head and laughed. "Nope, afraid not. The dragon is a lot bigger than that machine you saw me using and a lot scarier. She made that thing for me to help her dig out the mountain a little more. You could say she's a bit cramped in there at the moment."

The idea of something bigger and scarier than that 'machine' was something Lon'thul was having trouble grasping. S'haar also seemed concerned, thought about something different. "Are you sure you want to take him into the caves?"

Jack seemed to shrug, dislodging a somewhat impressive layer of dust. He gave a rather lengthy explanation to S'haar that Lon'thul couldn't follow before turning his attention back to Lon'thul. S'haar resumed translation. "So how about it? You get a quicker trip back, AND you don't run out of heat on the way back, forcing us to send out a rescue party. In return, you give me your word of honor that you won't go into the caves uninvited?"

The hunter had utterly lost track of time. He wasn't used to having limited time to go out and hunt. He'd often go out for days at a time, but that wouldn't work with the heated coats. He was somewhat embarrassed at his oversight, and it expressed itself in his voice as he spoke. "Ah... Yes, I'd appreciate the shortcut, and swear to never enter the caves unless invited."

Jack gave him a big toothy grin. Lon'thul couldn't help but notice how flat his teeth were, much like a herd animal's would be. "Don't worry about it man! New tech takes getting used to. I'm just glad we didn't have to track you down before dinner!"

Something occurred to the hunter as he tilted his head in curiosity. "Will we pass by the dragon while we're in the caves?"

Jack shook his head. "Nah, we'll be taking a more direct route. There are so many natural caves in there that we won't have to pass anywhere near the den. No worries."

As he gathered up his prey and readied to enter into the caves, Lon'thul couldn't help but appreciate that he seemed to be back on sound footing with Jack again. More evidence that his theory was correct.

Jack reached up and activated something on his head, resulting in a light to shoot out in front of him into the cave. Not so long ago, this would have astounded Lon'thul, but after the last thirty minutes, that seemed to be the least surprising thing Jack was capable of. As Lon'thul followed the smaller man into the darkness, he couldn't help but wonder to himself a little. What would it be like to be part of a larger group, a herd? One where everyone looked out for everyone else, rather than just tolerating each other? It sounded... nice.