The invitation was from the king of the country on the other side of the howling wood. It seemed if you kept following the dirt trail you would get there eventually. Since the road next to the howling wood was so dangerous, no one used it. Instead, they took the longer route around the howling wood. As expected, the king wanted to lavish him with gifts to entice him to move to their kingdom.
Chuck wasn’t interested. From what little he had learned about the other countries, most allowed slavery which he didn’t like. He had grown to enjoy living in Axtol even though the whole migration thing was kind of a pain. The giant spider attack was also something he hoped never to experience again. He still had nightmares about that event.
Still, he had friends in Axtol and with Tess around it wasn’t a bad life. He also enjoyed working with the alchemy guild. Speaking of which, Chuck decided to go there to work on his truck. It would also give him an excuse to put off studying for one more day. The family piled into the pickup and they headed to the guild.
Chuck pulled into the usual warehouse and saw Nox who waved at them as he parked. “Otherworlder it is good that you are back. We have received a prototype for a replacement tire from the capital that is ready for you to look at.” Nox led him over to a corner of the warehouse where the tire was stored. The tire was mounted on his old rim and looked to be the right size although it was a light grey color instead of black.
There were even similar grooves in it to match the tread of the old tire. Nox consulted the notes that came with the tire and explained that they had cut the old tire off and placed the metal rim in a mold. They poured a concoction around the rim in the mold and let it set for several days. Chuck was impressed and thought it would function like a solid rubber tire. He hoped they weren’t mad at him for not stopping by the alchemy guild while he was in the capital but the delivery quest had thrown off their schedule.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Chuck poked it experimentally and found it to be a lot squishier than a normal tire. He was a little concerned about its durability but Nox assured him that according to the notes it would hold up. They wanted him to test it on the pickup and he readily agreed. The old tires didn’t have much life left in them so finding replacements was essential. It would also be nice to have a spare tire again.
He had Raz help change tires. Maz was busy listening to music with Tess in the cab. He picked the worst looking tire and swapped it for the prototype. While they were finishing, they were interrupted by a lizard kin who wandered into the warehouse. R2 jumped off the back of the pickup and stopped the intruder before they got too close.
Chuck sighed as he guessed this must be their other visitor. “Otherworlder, may I have a moment of your time?” The lizard kin said, eyeing R2 warily. Chuck stood up and faced the intruder, crossing his arms. “Make it quick. As you can see we are in the middle of something.”
The lizard kin narrowed his reptilian eyes and took out a parchment. “As you wish. It is my duty to deliver this invitation from our king.” The lizard kin said as R2 took the parchment. “You can tell your king I’m not interested.” Chuck replied. The lizard kin glared at him and was about to say something else when R2 pointed another blade at him which caused him to hurriedly leave the warehouse.
Chuck took the invitation from R2 and gave it to Tess before getting back to work. He hoped that would be all the unwanted visitors for now. After swapping the tire, Chuck decided to change the oil again after their trip. He didn’t have another oil filter but he hoped that if he changed the oil often enough that the filter would last longer.
He didn’t think they would be able to come up with a replacement filter anytime soon. There were a lot of things that would wear out eventually on the old truck that he didn’t think they would be able to replace. When that time came one of his major advantages would be gone. He just hoped it would last for a few more years.