Landing on the opposite side of the Torii left us a bit groggy. “Alright, let’s get unpacked!” I said, clapping and hopping up and down.

We quickly got to work with getting everything into the cellar; I had expanded part of it with a wooden door to hold many ice crystals, essentially making a deep freezer. There we kept seafood and the stored meat that had been caught prior; it was doing its job as everything stayed fresh and would be suitable for about six months.

We had worked hard, and our efforts had paid off; it was now drifting into summer, and the berries would be ripe for picking along with plenty of vegetables! I rubbed my hands at the idea and realized I would need canning jars.

Wait… did they have those here? I stood back on my heels and swayed this way and that way, thinking.

“You’re thinking loud again, Taka,” Moto said from in the deep freezer getting a few elk steaks to defrost.

“We need jars.”

“Like apothecary jars?” Freya asked, taking the fish to hang on hooks.

“No, fermenting jars.”

[[We have those!]] Fauna said holding up a pottery for fermenting fruits into alcohol. It was like using a Rumtophff from Germany. This world just got cannier and cannier, but with teleportation magic it was not a surprise trade goods were shared more readily in this world.

“It’s not (sterile),” I muttered. Everyone paused, another word they didn’t understand. “Ah, um. Clean? Prevents (botulism) ugh, um…it prevents upset stomachs…illness…” I wondered about the medical field. They knew of infection, but perhaps this was just a case of lacking medicinal knowledge.

They all glanced at each other and shrugged, Moto laughing as he had been used to it by now. “What do you need, little vixen?”

“Glass. And Metal, preferably (aluminum)…shoot…uh…not quite a steel…it’s lighter? It is made of copper and tin.” But would they have that? It was made with lime. I crossed my arms; maybe it would be best to make copper covers. “Copper would be fine. But we need to find a blacksmith.”

“You want a dwarf.” Gaelan said, “they are the best working with these things.”

I tilted my head, isn’t that kind of stereotypical? Whatever happened to a poetic dwarf.

Moto seemed to read my mind, “they live in mineral-rich areas; not all dwarves are miners or smiths. In fact, I have known quite a few who are renowned cooks to royalty.”

“Ah, in my world, the typical depiction is a short round strong creature with beards.”

The others stifled laughter, “they are smaller, but mostly they are strong.” Gaelan said. "And not all have beards." He added.

“They have dwarves in your world?” Freya asked.

“No, but we talk about other worlds in games, like Dungeons and Dragons, or perhaps World of Warcraft.” I broke off as the menfolk were glaring at me. Gaelan with a look of an exasperated older brother. Motoyuki more on the verge of aghast concern.

Moto was the first to speak, clearly and concise as if to a child. “Takara, that is not a game to play. Dungeons are no place for a new fox, and Dragons, especially you know what they are like. And your world sounds evil indeed if the game was War.”

I couldn’t help it; I doubled over in hysterics despite their flustered confusion. “N-No! You misunderstand, a game, it wasn’t genuine to us…our world had no magic or anything like this. We had whole worlds created to play in.”

Moto made a comment that was typical, “no magic and can make a world but can’t figure out how to…” I couldn’t hear the rest as he walked on.

But both men breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank goodness.” Gaelan muttered, “that is all we need. You going and poking a Dragon in its lair.”

“I’m not that stupid!” I cried as we left the cellar with everyone laughing at me.

“Good because not all Dragon’s are as nice as Ryujin.” Moto noted.

Late spring was inching it’s way into summer, the cicadas would soon be screeching all over kingdom come. I did not look forward to it— in fact I hated those things. Gathering the supplies I had gotten from the village though, I took the pine resin, beeswax, and the sterilized cloth that I had made from boiling it and soaking it alcohol. I laid them out on a sterilized surface.

Once done, I made a mixture of the resin and began to coat it on the fabric squares I cut out. Before cooking it with fox fire to dry the resin after it had soaked the fabric.

“What are you up to Lady Taka?” Freya asked curious.

“Wraps for keeping food fresh. All it takes is pine resin, beeswax and” I thought for a moment, it was a strange oil that I had extracted from a fruit that was a carrier oil. “Whatever this is.”

“Oh! You found a kulgi.” It sounded like Cool-Gee. But it tasted exactly like an avocado. However it looks like a large green melon. How odd. Freya continued, “they grow well in Tatsu soil, and people use them for salves, but sadly that is all they are good for.

“I can make a spread out of them.” I muttered, wasting perfectly good avocado toast. “I like it on toast back in my old world.” I did not mention I had only had it once at a luncheon my father had hosted where everyone was required go— even me, to prove I wasn’t dead and buried somewhere.

Once the resin had soaked and was baked I did a few more rounds to ensure that it had soaked through and was properly done, all that was left was to let them dry. And then! “Give me that apple you just halved Moto.”

He did so, “if you want I can get you one.”

“It is alright! Look!” I took a smaller piece and wrapped the apple up tight. “Packaged and ready to go!”

Everyone took a piece of the cloth and one was utilized for wrapping a wooden bowl with greens. “See? It keeps it fresher longer!” I sighed, “really it would be best to keep it from oxidizing.”

“Is that magic?” Gaelan asked.

“That is science.” I corrected feeling my tail swish behind me as I tried to gain my bearings.

The Sentinal nodded, “we have many a scientific mind in our land.”

I looked upward. Thank you Creator. But wait, was this like scientific we are on the moon, I doubted it. Or was this scientific we still don’t know what causes rotting and germs…

I glanced at Gaelan, “what do they know?”

“It is very secretive.”

I grumbled, “not with me it ain’t. Science should be used to better the world. Back in my old world it was used for disgusting amounts of profit while others below suffered immensely.”

Not that it was much different here, but maybe we could change that little by little. I stopped to think, I wondered if there were other migrants like myself. That would have to wait though.

Right now, I was in need of several things to be fully comfortable for the winter. Sugar, and I also needed cows milk rather than the mountain goats milk, The creature wasn’t even necessarily a goat, it was a strange four legged creature with two little horns, and while round in stature was nimble on hooves. The milk tasted like cows milk, but it had a different viscosity. Oh and I needed yeast.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

I grabbed a map and yanked it open for the Realm of Ileria. To the north of us was one massive land mass. “Oh my god is that Pangea?!” No it was not— but it was like Pangea. A large continental mass, with a few islands scattered on the outskirts.

I found myself lost in my own mutterings. “Wait. Did that mean that the bering straight never happened? How did languages evolve? What does that mean for countries?”

“Taka?” Moto said.

“There she goes.” Freya laughed as she shook her head.

“But if that was the case, then it would mean potentially a whole new set of evolutionary process, especially since we have magic and monsters and other creatures…” I whispered quickly to myself trying to bore my gaze into the map to make some sense of it. I finally overloaded smacked my head on the map.

“WHERE THE HELL IS THIS PLACES EUROPE!!!!!!”

Everyone blinked, “Taka, what is it you are looking for?” Moto smiled and pulled my head up rubbing the red spot between my eyes. “Gaelan and I have seen much of the world, and if I do not know where it is I am sure someone in the Heavenly Realm does.

“Would they?”

“Mmhm, come here and press your forehead and think about what you are looking for.”

My brow furrowed, “you’re not gonna pull a Ryujin on me are you?”

“No nothing of the sort, this is just showing pictures, it has nothing to do with the pool of memory for soul walking.” I would have to ask questions on what that was, but put a pin in it for later. Pulling me forward he touched foreheads with me and I began to think about the photo book of Europe that I had glanced over one day wishing to maybe run away there.

The townhouses, the roads, the advancements, but then I realized it may not look like that and so I thought of something like Tudor England, a bit too much like the soap operas I was used to seeing but none the less there it was. And then Elizabeth the 1st in the Elizabethan era.

“Goodness.” Moto shook his head a moment. “That was…interesting.”

“Welcome to Earth.” I said, “that was (England). There are other places, such as (Germany) and a few others like (Russia) and (Norway).”

“These buildings,” Moto sketched out some of them onto parchment. “They look to be on the Mainland and a small Island to the North East of the continent, and several other cities dotting the coast across from there.”

“That one?” I pointed to a large island to the right of the gigantic landmass. “Hm, and it is in other sections as well?”

“Yes.”

The kingdom of Nansir? It appeared to be pronounced “Nan-seer”. I thought for a moment about how earth we would would get there. Sighing, I rubbed my forehead with my palm, “Torii gate?”

“Well, sadly no, there are not many shrines in other locations, we would need to travel by flying carriage, or go to the Well of Paths.”

“That sounds like an oxymoron.”

“Not at all, you simply fall down and land wherever you are thinking of…” he flattened his ears and swished his tails embarrassed. “Just be careful what you think is all. It is best to have an item from there to ease your way in case you are easily distracted..”

“Like you?” I asked raising a brow.

“Aha, like me.” Rubbing the back of his head, Motos ears flicked back and forth as his big grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.

I shook my head and pat his hand, “So cute…” As I walked away I could distinctly hear Gaelan lighting his pipe.

“Hear that, so cute Moto. What would the field foxes think.”

A hiss, “They’d get flamed. SHUT IT GAELAN.” Followed by a deep baritone laugh.

[[Gaelan be nice.]] Fauna reprimanded from the kitchen.

Moto was chuckling, “yes, Gaelan be nice!”

“Shut it fur ball.”

“Massive Mountain.”

“Destructive fireball.”

“Overgrown stick.”

A laugh, “that’s new.” We left them to their devices as they kept at their taunts, laughter edging the words so no real harm was being done as they began to play chess.

——————————————————

I decided that I was going to work on the courtyard. It was important to be prepared for winter, and I wanted to ensure we had several facilities at our disposal.

First was the Sookie coop. Moto said the birds were suspended in time, so I was grateful for that. Gathering wood from the trees Gaelan had chopped down with Moto to clear the path, I easily absorbed the wooden stumps and rock in the ground and manipulated it to a smooth flat base. Making cobblestone flooring was just another part of the process. And soon the courtyard in the back had expanded an acre, with a few dirt plots for a dairy, coop and processing shed. I was excited to get started. And determined that first and foremost I would work on the coop.

The dirt plot was lined with fencing, sturdy enough to keep the flappy little dum-dums inside. The coop itself was tall enough for us to walk into, with boxes for each individual Sookie to rest in and lay eggs, I had even gathered similar materials they used on the rocky cliffs, including some stone to set inside in a circle as they did making the nests.

The exterior of the coop allowed for one to lift a latch and gather eggs while they slept or were out and about.

I was able to (with Moto’s help) get females. I was not ready to get chicks to deal with. These eggs, I had recalled were a bit bigger than normal chicken eggs, and had a fattier taste with the yolk. Finishing the coop I made sure that Gaelan enchanted it for protection from beasts, and for making sure the stupid birds didn’t wander away in the middle of the night. Moto released the Sookie birds into the coop, who looked around, glanced at the dirt, and began promptly digging grubs and the grains I had spread out in the hay.

“Are you sure about this?” He asked leaning on the door watching me pat a bird on the head.

“If anything we can eat them.”

He nodded enthusiastic, “yes!”

“Not unless it doesn’t work out, no foxes in the Sookie coop.”

“Is that a thing in your world?” He frowned.

“Yes, foxes love stealing chickens.” I laughed as I exited the coop and shut the fence.

Next, was the processing shed. It was not very big, but it had plenty of shelving and was right off the side of the root cellar. I thought about being able to eventually make cheese and wished that I had a way to read the materials I had acquired from my old world. There was plenty I had not gotten to learn and I sighed wistful.

[[Is that your wish?]]

I squeaked and looked at the sky. The Voice?! What was it doing here!? “M-Moto?” I asked. “Did you hear that?”

“Hm?” He was reading underneath a expansive tree, enjoying the filtered sunshine. “Hear what?”

[[He won’t be able to hear me little fox.]] The Voice was laughing now. [[Remember, I owe you several gifts. Here.]] With a heavy weight suddenly in my hand I looked down. It was a book, a beautiful ornate leather hardcover that was a large and filled with hundreds of pages. Despite this it was light as a feather. But opening it I gasped. The pages flipped of their own accord, and looked as if they were filled with a blue mist-like fog that moved, and I saw icons from my previous world floating on the surface; curious I pressed one, upon tapping the little blueprint icon, ping!

This was not just any book. It exploded in a holographic image of multiple items from my old world with schematics of things I had touched and used my past life, and before me countless searches of information began to float inside. I glanced over at Moto who paid me no mind. Did he even notice?

[[This is especially for you other worlder. However you can show others should you wish. We Gods look forward to your improvements in this land. We decided after much deliberation that this would be a good gift. To others it will be a book of no import when they look at it. You may use any brush or graphite in this world to draw and paint ideas and it will keep them for you. However, remember that this is limited to your own skills, you cannot do these feats alone.]] The Voice said.

I had noticed that most of the things I was able to look up and search involved cooking, crafting, and the things that I had already learned about. But the other blueprints, designs and object descriptors required someone who excelled at a specific skill or craft. That didn’t matter to me! “Well, I guess I better not lose it.”

Moto glanced up, “lose what little vixen?”

“Nothing I thought I lost my bucket!” He chuckled, shaking his head and went back to reading.

[[Do not fear such a thing,]] The Voice soothed, and within an instant the book disappeared, a pulsing light resided in my left hand. [[Merely call on it when you have need.]]

Overcome with absolute joy I bounced around like a rabbit with laughter, then paused and coughed. [[Ahem…thank you…wait, doesn’t this kind of make me a cheater?]]

[[Not at all, we have often brought people from your world as well as others to improve things, in fact in the land of Athrion, there was a person from Earth long ago and brought with them many new improvements to the agriculture. She was the first owner of this book, however she was human, and upon her death she was given haven in the Heavenly Realm, it was this individual who suggested this book for you.]]

“Well, please tell them I said thank you. But…Who are you?” I asked.

“Who is who Taka?” Moto asked bored as he continued reading.

“Nothing just thinking out loud!” I walked a bit further into the woods to sit on a flat rock and have a chat with the being that sent me to this new place.

[[I am the one they call On High. I am the One that spoke creation into existence.]]

I frowned. [[So you are God.]]

[[Not exactly, the idea on earth that only one God could create things is somewhat mundane. It is a group effort. I am The Overseer of this world. As well as several others.The Creator is the one who shaped the world itself and other universes.]]

[[So you’re the match that makes the Big Bang while The Creator is the flammable material that goes boom.]] I thought back on the different theories of how earth had been created.]].

A laugh, the omnipotent being found me humorous in my musings. [[I shall take my leave little Kitsune. I look forward to the path you choose. We all do. Oh, and you very well may end up with several blessings.]]

I tilted my head, [[wait, how am I supposed to know that!]]

[[Go to a Temple of The On High. They shall utilize a scrying stone to tell you of your blessings…but be forewarned, a blessing of Inari tends to cause quite the commotion.]]

Oh joy, I thought sarcastically. Because that’s exactly what I needed.

Once I was alone, I began to look about the courtyard, and wondered what else I could improve upon. There was supposedly a hot spring nearby, maybe…hm, it would require pipes. Opening The Book, I thought about piping and making irrigation that could handle heat. A red message came across:

REQUIRES BLACKSMITH.

REQUIRES SCHEMATIC.

A ping came up on a map of the local area, it was mostly filled with black so that must mean I had not filled out the cartography. This was much better than having to utilize maps outside with paper, and far more accurate.

Hmph, well I guess I would need to find a blacksmith after all!

“Moto! Look what I just got!” I cried rushing over to him, excited for the new path we would begin to take.