What would you do if you were given extraordinary powers? Would you leave your nine to five if you could heal from any wound? Would you walk the streets dressed in spandex if you were unreasonably strong? I’m sure you have thought about it. If you occasionally let your mind wander into dreams of such grandeur, know that you are deluding yourself. Needs are more or less constant, and new means does not equal new needs. Hanna had extraordinary capabilities, but they were not used for extraordinary tasks. Take right now for example:

Hanna had just arrived at the site where they were constructing the palisade. Once again, she found herself acting like a goddamned glorified donkey. Anyone could load a cart with some timbre. Why was she stuck doing it just because she could do it better? She couldn’t really complain about it, this shit needed to get done ASAP. And she could do it faster than anybody. Still, it annoyed the hell out of her. Once this attack was over with, the very first thing she would do was to get started on her animal breeding program. Those bulls wouldn’t know what hit them.

The palisade was more or less done, this load of hers would be the last. There wasn’t a lot of soil on the mountain. Just a meter or so was what they had to play with until they hit rock. It would probably be enough for the palisade to hold. It had to be. It had taken the village a solid week to get this far. If the attack was coming it would be soon. There were quite a lot of houses outside of their make-shift wall. All of the families living there had been relocated to other places, like the communal house Hanna had been living in the past week.

Hanna scoffed at the memory of the funeral. She did not like to think of herself as a sensitive person, but it was probably time for her to accept that she wasn’t a robot. She had been hurt and angry. Being shunned by an entire community got to you, where you recognized that or not. Hanna had been sulky for the first couple of days. The palisade still needed to be built though, so she had buried herself in work, avoiding tasks that meant she had to talk to others than Gunnar. He had been his usual self. Either he didn’t stand by Karins decision on the funeral, or he felt bad about it and wanted to make amends. It took Hanna a few days of manual labour, but eventually the fact of things sunk in. The village was bothered by her, simple as that. They might feel threatened or they might dislike her for being an outsider, but it wasn’t something that would change quickly. She just had to accept it and move on, or once and for all decide to ditch them for good.

The room she had seized in the communal house was nice enough. It was small but clean and with a working bed. Best of all was that the communal house was all but empty, she had only seen three others walking in and out, and none of them with a burning need to talk to her.

The manual labour she had engrossed herself in was actually rewarding, all things considered in the way that only manual labour can be. She put in hard work, and in return she got instant and clear progress. For every load of logs that she dragged the long way from the forest to the village, the palisade grew a sizable amount. And now, largely thanks to her, the palisade was pretty much finished. The only thing left once the last parts were up was to construct some kind of gate. Right now it was just a largish hole in the middle. There had been quite a lot of discussion on how to build the gate. It needed to be movable, sturdy and built in a heartbeat. What they had settled on was to have a section much like the rest of the palisade, just with the difference that it could be tipped backwards, and when closed it would be supported by some diagonal logs from the inside.

It wasn’t just Hanna that worked hard though. They had only gotten this far because virtually everyone pitched in, but it meant that all other activities had to be paused. The notable exceptions were pulling in the harvest and finishing the sawmill. It wasn’t really time to harvest the fields yet, but an early harvest was a safer bet than leaving the fields to the Wolves.

The sawmill had been finished yesterday, and it was a beautiful thing. Hanna couldn’t take much credit for it, it was mostly Gunn’s work. Seeing it in action filled her with pride anyway, and the rather neat planks that it churned out would do wonders for the village’s architecture and standard of living. As soon as the attack was over and they could get back to fortifying the village properly, the village would begin a massive makeover. The very first thing they would focus on was the outer wall, but as soon as that was up, buildings would be put up in a neat and orderly grid-based layout. It was a necessity really, the segmentation of the village meant that they had to use space wisely, and that they must always have a clear plan for the flow of goods and people.

As it was now, Hanna was feeling rather good and optimistic. She could live with how the village treated her, at least for the immediate future, and she was honestly looking forward to seeing the village grow and prosper. Her self-imposed stint of isolation had done a lot to improve her mood, but what really had helped came from a rather unexpected friend. Gunn had come knocking on her door yesterday, looking all fidgety and nervous. Gunn’s previously hostile attitude was gone and she seemed rather apologetic. The speech she gave about how the village ought to straighten their act and realise that Hanna was only trying to help was nice and all, but it was what she brought with her that truly sold the message.

It was the crossbow they had designed, in all its glory. It was a beautiful thing, a wooden stock, dark from being treated with oil and probably about just over a meter in length. No pistol grip but at least a proper triggering mechanism similar to modern rifles. The bow was made of steel, and the string attached to it was some kind of metal wire. Running along the length of the stock was a steal leaver that was connected to the end of the crossbow. When it was folded down it laid slick against the barrel, without obstructing the string, and when it was pulled backwards it put the bow in a tension without too much hassle. Gunn had even fitted the crossbow with a leather strap and matching quiver that was meant to be connected to her belt. The arrows were rather short, maybe just two or three decimetres, but the fletching was done nicely and the steel tips locked dangerously sharp.

It was love at first sight, and Hanna had hugged Gunn before she even realized it. The woman had blushed from that, and now in hindsight Hanna realized that hugs might be a bit more emotionally loaded here than they used to be. Whatever, Gunn would just have to deal with it. Hanna had dropped everything and immediately gone out to test her new toy. The village lacked a proper firing range, so Hanna had improvised and placed some pieces of firewood at different distances on the outskirts of the village.

The crossbow had a glorious kick to it that made shooting an absolute delight. It wasn’t the same kind of kickback that rifles had since it was more of a pull than a push, but it made the force of the shoot evident. Aiming was done through open iron-sights mounted on the tip of the crossbow. It wasn’t quite was she was used to, but it was close enough that she could manage. Distances over two hundred meters or so would probably be impossible, but the arrows began dipping in height around there somewhere, so it wasn’t as if the crossbow could handle those kinds of distances well anyway. Hanna wouldn’t be able to snipe from far away, but in shorter distances she would be an absolute nightmare. She was still getting used to the weapon, but she could load and fire an arrow in about ten seconds or so. The logs she had been shooting at had not fared easy. At closer distances, the force from the arrow had blown the firewood into pieces, and the further targets had been skewered or at least deeply pierced. Hanna smiled to herself. When Josef finally was coming around, he would be in for a treat.

While the fork with the palisade had run smoothly, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. Most of the villagers had been happy to help, but a small and growing group stubbornly refused to do their part unless Gunnar very clearly told them to. It took Hanna a couple of sessions of eavesdropping and snooping to figure out was what going on. Mud-girl and her sidekicks were spending all their time convincing the villagers that Hanna was not to be trusted, that the palisade they were building was her idea and that it was purposely designed to fail them at a critical moment or some similar nonsense. Most didn’t by their bullshit, but enough people did for it to be a problem. Hanna had told Gunnar about it, but like always he had been too understanding to actually see it as malicious. They couldn’t afford any infighting when the attack came, and Hanna was out of patience for all the shit Mud-girl was pulling. Hanna was going to confront her and put an end to all this, and she would have to do it soon.

The other captive had woken up two days ago and Birgitta had thoroughly interrogated him, with whatever that entailed. Hanna had not been there when it happened, but from what Birgitta was saying he was a great deal more tight-lipped than Tor had been. Tor on the other hand had been a real asset. Aside from readily answering any questions from Birgitta, he had soon joined in on building the palisade. Letting him help was a risk of course, but the guy was quite scrawny, and even if he tried something he probably wouldn’t be very successful. He genuinely seemed glad to have ditched the Wolves and it was obvious why. From the way he interacted with the other villagers it was clear that he was a nice guy, or that he was an amazing actor. The later didn’t seem very likely, and Hanna couldn’t really see him robbing and killing for a living. Still, it irked her that some former gang-member was quicker to integrate into the village than she had been.

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“Good work Hanna!” Gunnar said and patted her back. Hanna had been too deep in thought to see his approach.

“Thanks”

“I don’t think we could have done this without you. At least not this quickly”.

Hanna smiled. It was nice of him to try, but a few compliments from him couldn’t really cover for the rest of the village’s disregard of her efforts.

“As strange as it sound, I don’t think there is much more for you to do now. You should take a break for the day, you’ve definitely earned it.”

Hanna studied the work on the palisade. Her cart had been emptied and the last logs were being put into place as they spoke. He was probably right, but she was leery about stopping work. It had kept her occupied and focused for a while know and she didn’t look forward to the brooding that was bound to return if she was back in her room and alone with her thoughts. But then again, there was other stuff she could occupy herself with than work. She could knock back an ale or two, and she still hadn’t gotten what she wanted out of Rune…

Happy with her plans for the evening, Hanna said goodbye to Gunnar and went to the alehouse. Lunchtime wasn’t quite over so the place was packed. No tables were free and Hanna wasn’t exactly eager to sit down with some random villagers. To her delight, she found that Rune was manning the bar. He was still wounded but seemed happy to see her.

“Hanna! I’m surprised to find you here. First time?” He asked playfully.

“Very funny. Pour me an ale, would you?”

“Sure, just show me the money first. If memory serves you’re not exactly flush with cash”.

Hanna glared at the cheapskate. Then she realized in embarrassment that he wasn’t wrong. She hadn’t have to pay for her drinks in a while so she hadn’t thought about it, but she was flat out broke. Earning an income had been very far from her mind since she got here. She would have to talk to Birgitta about that, her spot in the Regulars ought to earn her at least some pay. Not that it would help her now. She stuck her hands in her pockets and fished around for anything of value. What she found was the coins she had taken from the battle.

“Is this enough?” She asked, throwing what she had in front of Rune. He fished one up and studied it.

“Where did you get these?”

“What? Are they not good enough for you? I took them from our attackers.”

“Of course they are no good. These are from the Kingdom. Someone might take them but I certainly won’t. Village money or no service hon”, Rune said and tossed the coin to the bar disk.

“The Kingdom? Is it another place filled with exotic creatures and wonder?” Hanna asked with a tired voice.

Rune gave her a confused look, probably struggling with if she was sarcastic or not. “Of course it is. It’s the strongest faction there is. Their military is unbeaten. The only reason the villages around here haven’t been conquered is because we are too small for them to bother with. Be that as it may, I’m not accepting their fucking coins.”

Hanna’s interest was piqued. Something big enough to dominate everything around it had probably been around for a while. Or had some concrete reason for their might, but in either case, chances were high that someone around there held some answers. This strange world Hanna had woken up to was constantly growing bigger and bigger, which paradoxically enough only served to remind her of what a small corner of it she had seen yet. Sure, that small corner was stranger than anything she had seen anywhere in her old world, but that only raised the stakes. There was a larger context out there, and Hanna had questions that needed answers. She also needed that ale.

Hanna growled. “What does a girl have to do to get a drink around here?”

“I’ll by you an ale”, Olof offered and joined her by the bar disk.

“Welcome” Rune nodded towards Olof.

Hanna smiled. She hadn’t seen Olof in a while. His goofiness wasn’t exactly attractive, but it was somewhat endearing. At least his sense of timing was on point

“Long time no see”, she said. “And I wouldn’t mind taking you up on that offer”

Olof coughed up the coin and Rune handed them an ale each. Olof was silent for a little while and Hanna was too busy chugging to contribute.

“I… I heard about what happened at the funeral”, Olof began tentatively.

“Please, don’t bring that shit up” Hanna said. “I’ve more or less managed to put it behind me”.

“Still, it isn’t fair how they treat you”

Hanna scoffed. “They don’t seem to be too bothered by fairness.”

“You’ve worked your ass off helping with the palisade. The least they could is to treat you with some respect.” He paused for a moment. “I don’t get why Birgitta is so worked up about you. She should stop it with the trash talking”

Hanna was surprised. “You’ve noticed it too?”

“How could I not? It’s all she ever does”

“That ends tonight”, Hanna said with determination. She hadn’t really decided until now, but enough was enough.

“What will you do?” Rune butted in.

“Not sure yet. I guess I’ll talk to her and tell her to quit her shit or face the consequences”

Olof looked worried. “Be careful Hanna. Birgitta isn’t normal. She has always been… a bit unhinged.”

“All the better” Hanna said. She was itching for a fight. “I’ll gladly take her on”.

Hanna emptied her ale, filled with determination. “Wish me luck boys”, she said and left the premise.

She spent the rest of the day following Mud-girl around. It felt silly sneaking after her, but she wanted to see for herself what the girl was up to. Finding her wasn’t hard, she practically toured every place of the village that was likely to have a congregation of people. Hanna was too far away to hear what they were talking about, but it wasn’t hard to imagine that the topic was her. Wherever she went she was constantly shadow by one or both of her sidekicks. Hanna wasn’t sure what was more pathetic, that they constantly needed to be by Mud-girls side or that she constantly wanted them there. It wasn’t until evening that they split up. Mud-girl walked in to a small house and stayed there for a while. Hanna guessed that it was probably her house and that she would be staying there for the night. Just as Hanna had grown tired of waiting and was preparing to take care of business, the door opened and Mud-girl left once again.

This time something was different. She was up to something, constantly checking her surroundings. Hanna followed her as best as she could, but it was a lot harder when Mud-girl was turning around every second. The chase went through the less travelled pathways between the houses, until they ended up outside the building were the second captive was held. Mud-girl entered the door with a final glance around to see if someone had noticed her.

Hanna was intrigued. She totally excepted her to rile up the villagers against her. Sneaking off to have a chat with the enemy was something else entirely. Hanna took the risk of moving in closer, figuring that this was a conversation she needed to hear. That didn’t prove to be very fruitful, despite the flimsy quality of the walls it was pretty much impossible to hear anything. Mud-girl was probably smart enough to keep her voice down. Hanna toyed with the idea of walking in on them, but before she could make up her mind, Mud-girl opened the door, putting her face to face with Hanna.

Both of them were startled.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Hanna asked.

Mud-girl looked afraid. “None of your goddamned business!”

“Yes it is! All you do is go around, telling people what kind of monster I am. What the hell have you got against me?”

Mud-girl glared coldly at Hanna for a couple of seconds. “What a stupid fucking question. You are a freak! Strutting around the village like you belonged here, having the audacity to think yourself human. And despite all that, mom still think you’re the hottest shit she’s ever seen. Do you have any idea how hard I’ve worked to impress her?”

Hanna was caught off guard by that. Tears were building in Mud-girl’s eyes.

“A whole life spent trying to make her notice me, care for me. And what do you do? You walk up, shatter a shield in my face and then bam, a member of the fucking Regulars!”

“Are you crying?” It came out sounding like a mockery, but Hanna didn’t mean it like that. It took Mud-girl over the edge.

“Fuck you!” she shouted and ran away, cowering her face. Hanna was far to confused by how this turned out to follow. This was not how she expected this to go. It probably wasn’t that easy growing up with Birgitta as a mother. Hanna hadn’t heard any mentions of a father either, so maybe he was out of the picture. Still, Mud-girl wasn’t the first to grow up without doting parents. It didn’t excuse her behaviour and Hanna wasn’t about to forgive her just because she turned on the waterworks.

The girl had been hostile since the first time they met. She had stabbed her, backtalked her at every opportunity, and now she was scheming something with the captive. All Hanna wanted was to tell her to fuck of and maybe kick her around a bit. Was it too much to ask?

Worst part was that she couldn’t let it end like this. The girl was a growing problem, not just for Hanna but for the entire defence of the village. Someone needed to deal with that. Given the cause of Mud-girl’s tears, it was clear what needed to be done. Hanna just had to stroll up to Birgitta and inform her that she was quite the shitty parent, and that she needed to rein her daughter in before things got really out of hand. That would probably work out alright.