“The thing was Wilson, if someone was willing to hire me they automatically ended up being fair game at the same time. Hiring me made them de-facto murderers. I got a job to knock some Korean businessman, Yung Sum Kim or something like that, I forget his name. Anyway it was five or six years ago and he’d gotten into bed with the wrong bunch of Tokyo Triads, helping them move into Seoul. Their competitors wanted me to end the association permanently. So I did.” I took a drink of water. I’d been casting heal every time I had enough mana and though my health was back to full, the deep ache in my shoulder and leg told me very firmly that just because I was “healed” didn’t mean I was fully functional again. So I’d spent the day recovering and talking to the wolf.
My bandages had been peeled away some time ago and thin pale skin now stretched across the teeth marks in my shoulder and the hole in my calf. My left arm remained sluggish and painful. I was still limping whenever I moved to get another urn of water. Wilson was an excellent listener though. I’d never been able to tell my stories to anyone back home, not even Jimmy. The moral dubiousness and obvious criminality of my adventures meant finding someone I could trust with my tales was a non-starter.
“So later on the Triads who had been working with Yung paid me to knock the blokes who’d sent me on the job to kill him! Funny how things work out in the end sometimes. I bet you’ve never had that happen? Take down a deer or whatever and then have it’s mates hire you to go after their competition?“ Wilson chuffed quietly but didn’t look up. “Every client was another potential mark.” I finished happily.
I picked up another leafy envelope of smoked meat, unwrapped the “good” stuff and chewed thoughtfully. Every day I had gathered more firewood than I would need and I had a decent pile built further back in the cave. Enough that I wouldn’t have to worry about getting more for a few days at least. The meat would last me a week or so but without the berries and tubers I’d end up malnourished eventually. I tossed a lump of meat to Wilson who heaved himself over painfully and scarfed it down without even chewing.
“So the question is mate: do I heal you? Sure you’re pleasant enough conversation right now but you’re crippled and I’m throwing lumps of meat at you. Once you’re up and about, our relationship will take on a whole new dynamic. Thoughts?”
Wilson ignored me as he laid his head back down on his undamaged paw. I was torn. I felt confident that the worst that would happen would be that the wolf took off as soon as he could move again. With the spear and a full tank of mana he wasn’t going to be much of a threat to me now I was largely recovered. I’d lose my friend, either by defending myself if he attacked or if he legged it for the woods and I found I didn’t want to lose the company. It was nice to be able to talk freely, no masks and no deception.
I felt my moral compass twitching at the back of my mind. I couldn’t keep the poor bastard crippled and in pain just so I had someone to talk to. An anticipatory sense of loss passed over me as I accepted I would have to lose this newly forged bond and be alone once again.
As I rose shakily to my feet the sky cracked, thunder rumbling as the flash of lightning illuminated deep into the cave. Bugger. Of all the times… it had to start raining now? I hurriedly created a new fire six feet into the cave and far enough from the entrance the rain wouldn’t put it out. With a click of my fingers a ball of flame appeared in the heart of the tinder and kindling, quickly igniting it. I added a few larger sticks to get it going properly and turned as the rattle of falling rain began to echo into my subterranean home. Wilson whined and shuffled forward before stopping and staring up at me. Big green eyes. Intelligent and cautious, they pleaded with me for shelter.
“Fine. Come on in.” As I backed away to indicate he could move out of the rain falling like a waterfall I cast heal other. A bolt of green light appeared at the tip of my finger and shot into the wolf's face, startling him and eliciting a snort and a sneeze. He shook his head then tentatively rose to his feet. His legs were steadier and he breathed more easily. He looked at me with what I could have sworn was gratitude. He slunk in and moved towards the pile of stored meat he’d seen me fetching him snacks from earlier.
“Ah!” I admonished, wagging a finger at him as he looked up at me. Wilson whined faintly but moved away from my larder and stretched out by the fire. “Well that completely ruins the rest of the day,” I muttered. I wouldn’t be able to get out and reset my traps so I wouldn’t get a windfall of Souls in the morning. All in all this setback wasn’t too significant but it still frustrated me. The others were out there somewhere, getting stronger every day.
The rain passed in what I estimated to be under an hour by tracking my mana regeneration but by that time the sun was fading to the west and night would be on us soon.
“If I get some shut eye can I trust you to leave the meat alone?” Wilson glanced up then put his head back down without a sound. That was as much as I could expect really. Great listener, not much of a conversationalist.
I had enough mana to throw another heal at the wolf who chuffed in a way that suggested he was far more comfortable as the green bolt vanished into his flank. I had water for a couple of days, meat for a week and firewood for three or four nights. Tomorrow I’d have to recover my knife and fix all my traps. Some more water wouldn’t hurt either.
Wilson started twitching and whining in his sleep, probably dreaming about stealing someone else's rabbits. The wolf was closest to the mouth of my cave, with the fire between us. If anything came at us he would be first on the menu. His senses were likely sharper than mine so he should act as a good sentry and alarm if anything came by in the night.
Leaning back on the pile of crinkly furs I’d collected from the rabbits and crudely stitched together into bedding, pulling a stretch of it across my legs, I contemplated sleep. I kept the spear handy and leaned back against the wall. It was comfortable enough to doze off but too awkward to let me sleep deeply. An unhappy compromise but one that I felt was wise in light of Wilson’s still unknown loyalty.
I awoke to a quiet crack and lurched upright pulling the spear I’d hugged all night into something resembling a fighting stance. Wilson looked up guiltily then bent down to drink from the urn he had knocked the lid off to get at the water within. I hadn’t woken up when he started moving around so I did a quick inventory of my limbs and fingers… yep, I had not been nibbled on.
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“Good boy,” I offered. I was pleasantly surprised he had left the meat alone while I was asleep so I pulled open a couple of leaf wrapped packages and put the contents of one in a bowl that I popped down at his side. I made a note not to drink from the urn he had used myself and pulled over another to slake my thirst. As he turned to his breakfast I decided to leave the lid off Wilson’s one to mark it out as dog water. He shied away slightly as I reached across him to pick the lid up but he kept his snout in his food bowl and didn’t bolt away.
I needed a piss so I walked out towards my experimental tannery. The warm sunlight hitting my face and chest robbed the morning air of some of its chill. I no longer limped but I felt a sharp pain in my left calf whenever I bent my left ankle or knee too much. My shoulder still ached constantly.
The rain hadn’t helped my experiment, the mixture of rancid brains and old piss had largely been washed away but I watered it anyway. Wilson came out of the cave and sniffed around. He shook himself vigorously and trotted over to join me, cocking his leg and adding his own precious urea to the mixture.
I went back and picked up my belongings. Waterskins were slung over my shoulders, I winced as the one over the left settled into place. I didn’t want to take the litter even though it might make it easier to come back with full skins. I was going armed for bear this morning. Or at least I’d be armed for wolves.
I took a pair of the throwing spears I’d made and used imbue on one of them. Ten mana ticked away and I knew the next thing it struck would get a blast of fire summoned at the point of impact. I eyed Wilson suspiciously but he returned a perfectly innocent look my way.
“Don’t eat the meat,” I told him firmly, earning a confused look and a quiet yip. With a shrug I set off for the river. It wasn’t as though he’d be able to eat too much if he hung around the cave. I was only planning on being away for a couple of hours and he’d already had a decent breakfast.
As I headed onto the muddy path I marvelled at how the brief wash of rain had changed the once familiar woods. Nothing had visibly altered but there was an aura of growth and vitality that the cold water had stirred from slumber. The air had smelt incredibly good to me before, the complete absence of pollution left it fresh in a way I’d never known on Earth, but now it had a loamy odour that smelled of future growth.
Wilson followed along a short way behind me. He moved quietly, slipping along without a sound as only feral creatures can. He waited as I reset my traps and tossed away the prey that had been left on the ground for longer than I was willing to risk. He shot into the brush after the first rabbit and came back with it hanging from his jaws. Whenever we stopped he would tear at it, pulling the fur back and chewing at the meat within. At the third trap he approached me with a leg hanging from his jaws and laid it at my feet before backing away and looking at me expectantly.
“I’ll eat this later. Thanks though.” I tucked the mauled limb in my left hand with the throwing spears and decided to find a suitable location to dispose of it without offending my new friend.
When we reached the site of the fight Wilson whined and crept past me. He crawled along on his belly as he approached the body of the much larger wolf. Another high pitched noise and he shoved at the prone beast with his snout. The body had stiffened overnight. A faint growl escaped him as I stepped past and shoved the head to one side.
“I just need my knife back bloke. I’m not going to hurt him. Maybe we can come back tomorrow and bury him, ok?” Green eyes blinked and the wolf chuffed quietly, clearly unhappy.
The rabbits I’d been carrying yesterday were gone. Mostly gone at any rate. Whether it was foxes, birds or some creature I’d yet to meet, they weren’t tidy eaters. Bits were scattered here and there creating a macabre scene with the giant wolf body as its centrepiece. I left the trap on this animal run alone. I’d fix it when I came back to bury Wilson’s buddy.
The rest of the traps had all been robbed in some capacity and any bits of bunny went into the bushes as I reset them. I was making sure to split my attention while I worked. Even with Wilson as a pseudo-sentry orbiting my position, I wouldn’t let myself be caught off guard like I had yesterday.
We made it down to the river and the wolf ran up and down the bank, occasionally splashing his way into the water before leaping back out. Was he playing? I couldn’t help but smile at his antics as I stripped down and had a wash, finally removing the last of the blood stains from my skin.
Refreshed but with a chill seeping into my bones, I came out and picked up my waterskins. I filled them carefully and set them on a stone beside me then sat down to drip dry in the warm sunlight. Hopefully tonight the Soul income would be back in business and I could begin building myself up before venturing out to find my counterparts.
Wilson approached me as I lay back and nudged my arm. It was the first time he’d dared to make physical contact with me and I took it as a good sign for things to come. I looked up, tilting my head over and shielding my eyes from the sun with my right hand. The wolf ran off a short distance then ran back and yipped at me.
“Get lost, kid. I’m not playing.”
Again a nudge and a run and retreat.
“You want me to follow?” I sat up then stood and slipped my shorts back on. I picked up my gear and headed off after the wolf who fled further away this time before stopping to wait for me. Wilson led me down the bank of the river in this fashion.
“What’s got you so excited buddy?” I asked aloud.
We came to an animal path I hadn't found before, the wolf had dragged me farther down river than I’d wandered on my own. Wilson crouched low and began to slink into the bushes upslope. I moved quietly behind him, focusing on placing my feet carefully to avoid making any noise. The steady wind was blowing down the hill and pushing our scents to our rear. Was he trying to teach me how to hunt?
Off to my right I could hear the gentle burble of a small stream and the ground became damper as we moved uphill. He stopped and lay down on his belly just ahead of me so I crouched low and snuck up to his side. With the tip of my spear I shifted a broad leaf hanging in front of my face to one side.
Before me lay an idyllic pool, lined with young trees and young vegetation. It was perhaps three metres wide and at the other side stood a stag the equal of the one I had spotted across the river. I moved very slowly, painfully aware of every tiny noise, and brought my imbued spear into my right hand.
This was an awkward position to throw from. I had to hope my improved reflexes, coordination and strength would counter the poor stance. The spear crept back behind my ear, the tip hovering in my peripheral vision for a moment. Then it sped forward as I put my whole strength behind it.
I had not fully appreciated how improving my statistics improved my capabilities until that moment: the spear shot forward like it had been launched by a ballista, unerringly zooming towards the stag's heart. As it left my hand it burst into flames and left a streak of smoke in its wake. The prey's head snapped up and I watched almost in slow motion as it tensed to flee.
Before it could do more than tighten its muscles the spear slammed into its flank, piercing it clean through and exploding out of the far side in a red mist. The momentum of the blow knocked it off its feet and the stag was left pinned to the ground as it died almost instantly.