Deep winter, p.16
Deep Winter, page 16
part #1 of Tears of Winter Series
“Really, for how long?”
“Um, two years, would have been three after this winter.”
“Did you pay attention to what the dungeon divers talked about?”
Eiko nodded her head up and down vigorously, “Oh yes. I wanted to try and go on a dungeon run eventually.”
“And Tora, how about you?”
“I worked in the adventurer’s guild armory cleaning gear for a fee. And yes, I did pay attention; getting into the dungeon was the only real hope my sister and me had of getting more credits to advance our skills enough to get a better position.” Tora said, fiddling with the end of her strawberry blond tail.
“My lucky day, I guess. Are these your kids,” I indicated the teen and the four by the road.
“Oh, Hisako is our sister, well, technically, she is our grandmother’s sister’s daughter’s daughter. But we grew up together.” Eiko answered. Hisako had dark gray ears and tail, though her hair was a soft green, and she had bright green eyes.
“And Sumina and Renna are 6 years old, and they’re mine,” Tora said.
“Ayaka and Emiko are 7, and they are mine,” Eiko added. The little Neko girls all had the same hair as their mothers, strawberry blond. The four Neko children had long hair, and it looked disheveled and a little dirty.
“Well, you want to come along with us?” I said, indicating the group behind me.
“Really?” Tora asked, suspicious of my offer but accepting at the same time as I already had so many women and children with me.
“Yeap.”
“You going to eat us?” Eiko asked.
“Gods! Is it that big a feckin problem, Holy Mother of Marry? I swear that’s been the main gobshit concern this whole feckin time. How often do you feckin Eejits eat each other? Holiest of shite!” Trisha blurted, looking horrified.
“Is it really that bad during a deep winter?” Stacy asked, looking at Miyuki and Sakura.
“Well, you hear stories. We were born after the last deep winter.” Eiko said.
“Yeah, grew up with stories of the butcher gangs, taking bad kids to eat them. Then you learn it’s nothing but stories to scare kids, then when you’re a little older, you learn the truth. Your neighbor or the shopkeeper down the road was in said butchers’ gang, and most of the adults left alive by the end of the deep winter hunted people and ate them. Most of them anyway.” Tora shuddered.
“And this is supposed to be worse than the last five,” Miyuki said.
“Feckin crazy-ass shite. Right, let’s get going. I can feel the cannibals crawling down my spine as we speak.” Trisha said, turning to face up the road.
Soon everyone was walking at the wonderfully slow pace only a five-year-old can set. I was shocked to see Eiko and Tora’s kids had little more than dresses on, with slip-on leather shoes. They looked cold and miserable as we trudged to the next closest pullout along the road from the end of the tents. It was only a mile and took forty-five minutes to get to, but we were finally officially on the road to our new town.
It was 06:05:03 pm when we found the spot along the road that was clearly designed to be used for camping. Hard-packed dirt cut into an empty field dusted with snow, and a rock fire pit was at the center.
I pulled the trailer from my inventory and set it up near the back of the space. As it materialized, Eiko gasped, “It’s so big.”
“You were carrying that in your inventory?” Sakura said, her face clearly impressed.
“Yeap, and it’s home for the night. We’ll all fit… I think.”
“Is the shower stuff still in there?” Stacy asked.
“Yeah, should all be where we left it.”
“Right, let’s all get washed, come on, Liza, shower time,” Diana said. As the girls all moved to sort the kids out.
I moved over to the fire pit in front of the door to the camper and brought out camping chairs. Between Stacy, Diana, Sanako, and myself, we had mostly enough chairs for everyone. I brought out some of the firewood I had bought from a while back and lit a fire. Then I sat and closed my eyes. Fuck I was tired. Just walking would have been fine; hell, I could have run most of the way to the new town today. Okay, it might have taken three or four days of hard running with all the weight I had, but still, at the pace we were going, winter might be over by the time we got there.
I faced the trailer and looked at it. If I had my truck, I could have just hitched it up and been on my way. That’s when I noticed it, the jack stand had a flip-down wheel. The wheel was a full-size tire also, designed to be lowered so you could move the trailer around when not hooked up to a hitch. The back rested on four wheels, two on each side a little farther back from center. There was an answer here somewhere.
I thought about wagons. If I built a wagon and had the kids ride in it, then I could pull it, no. What if we got horses and rode them? No. I watched the kids shuffle into the trailer and back out, an efficient assembly line of dirty kids in, then clean ones out. Everyone was helping each other, that was good. I sat and stared between the fire and trailer.
Maybe I could, “Ah, got it!” I said a little too loud when the idea hit me. I got a few strange looks from Stacy, Miyuki, and Eiko at the opposite end of the fire, where they were getting food ready for everyone on a fold-out table.
“What did you get?” Stacy asked over her shoulder.
“I’m going to Oregon Trail the shit out of this bitch.”
I got up and started pacing near the hitch. If I could rig up a bench to sit on, then get some horses or cows to pull the trailer, we were set. I wasn’t going for any land speed records, and a slow walk would be fine for the front wheel to handle; the only problem was turning and breaking.
I pulled the brake wires out from under the hitch, where they would plug into the port on the truck towing it. I brought them out from over the trailer overhang to the side and sat. I got my electrical clips out from inventory and took the wires apart. There were twelve in total. Each was labeled with newly manufacturing tabs, indicating what rear tire they went to. BBL (back, back left), BL (back left), BBR (back, back right) and BR (back right). I joined the BBL and BBR wires together and the BL and BR wires. Now, it was time to see if magic could work these electrical breaks.
I focused on creating a tiny jolt of electricity that would activate the two back wheels’ breaks. After several attempts, I got a prompt and heard the rear wheel brakes engage.
Spell:
Shock: Novice, level 1. Use 50 mana to create a shocking electrical touch.
It worked; in my focus, the mana actually could trigger the breaks. Probably could not do much more than that, but it would work. I did the same thing again, this time focusing on deactivating the breaks. The wheels clicked; the odd mechanical sound foreign in the surrounding natural noise. Now I had breaks; all I needed was a yoke.
After looking at the options in the shop, I decided to go with oxen instead of draft horses. The truth was I did not know the first thing about using draft horses. I knew you needed a bit for the mouth to guide the horses, a collar to pull the wagon, some bits in the middle of the horse, stuff on the back, and rains. I knew pioneers in America used oxen mostly when heading out west to pull their wagons. They were slow but could pull 2.5 to 3 times their weight all day.
Oxen, as it turned out in the shop, was just a male bull that was castrated while a calf and trained to do work. The oxen token we had bought allowed for the option to castrate a cattle bull and then pay in credits for years of training for that ox. Going through the selections, I found that the dairy bull would make the best ox and would stand at about six feet at the withers, the top of its neck.
I went into the shop and bought a 10-foot-long 2-inch-round hardened steel pipe for 100 credits and two 1-inch-thick 8-inch-long plates for 3,600 credits. Where the tow hitch dropped down, I fitted the saddle mount, the two plates with tabs on the back, and fused the bar to that. Now the so-called tongue could swivel left and right and sat five feet off the ground. All I needed now was a yoke for the oxen I would buy in the morning from the shop.
For the yoke, I knew there were fancy-shaped ones, but a sturdy log across the top of the neck would work just as well. I got out my sawhorses from inventory and purchased a 6-foot-long 6-inch-thick hardwood log for 100 credits. After it materialized from the blue mist, I set it on the sawhorses and used my draw knife to debark the thing. Then I measured 6-inches to each side from the center and marked the spot for my first two holes. This would leave a foot between the oxen. Hand drill out, I drilled two holes with a 1-inch diameter bit.
Lastly, I needed a ring for the tongue of my now wagon trailer and a ring for the yoke. I had a few Crosby shackles to attach the two but would need to make the rings. I bought my last bar from the shop, a 2-inch-thick by 10-foot-long hardened steel pipe for 100 credits. I used my cut spell to cut it in half and set the pieces next to the log on my sawhorses. I would have to wait for morning to complete the setup when I could fit them to the animals.
I turned back to the fire, the only source of light now that the sun had gone down. Everyone was sitting around the fire eating and making light conversation, getting used to one another. I felt oddly out of place for a second until Trisha walked over to me, Lola in her arms.
“Showers free, the kids and the rest of us are done. What are you working on? Stacy said you were Oregon trailing a bitch?”
“Ah, yes, That. I’m going to pull the trailer with oxen; sort of want it to be a surprise.” We walked over to the log and what I had done.
“I see what you’re doing here; you got the tongue on the trailer and the beginnings of a yoke. Not the best, mind you, you’ll have to watch out for the skin getting rubbed raw on the oxen, but it should work. You know dairy bulls make the best ox generally.”
“Yeah, from what I saw in the shop, that’s what I was going to choose. Do you think two will be enough to pull this thing?”
“For this feckin monster, might want four; what’s its weight?”
“Like 12,000-pound unloaded.”
“Then add the rest of us in there, sweet grass in spring. I’d definitely have four if we were going for more than a week. Two might do it, mind you, since it’ll be only a few days.”
“Thanks, Trisha, I had no idea. I’m going to shower,” I said as I walked Trisha back to the campfire.
I went inside and proceeded to scrub six days of grime off my body. It felt great, though the hot water was endless, if not continuous, it did the trick. I just wished I had clean close to get into, but over the preceding weeks, I never did get the chance to do laundry. I changed into my cleanest clothes, which were my pajamas.
Back outside by the fire, everyone was seated eating dinner from bowls. The women had all left my camp chair empty, so I sat in it. “This is really good, Miss Sanako, thank you,” Liza said.
Stacy brought me over a bowl, “Saved you some.” the steaming fried rice was mixed with vegetables, egg, and a bit of meat.
I spooned some into my mouth as I said, “Thanks, and thank you for cooking.”
“Not a problem. Do you think we need to set a watch for the night?” Sanako asked.
Miyuki, Sakura, Eiko, Tora, and Allynna all looked at each other before Tora said, “probably don’t have to, but it is good to get in a rotation now.”
“Agreed,” Eiko added. It was clear that the two Neko were the best judges for this based on their experience and knowledge with the adventurers.
“I still don’t get how food is so hard to come by. I mean, 100 gold is only 10,000 credits; why don’t people just buy a batch then sell them back individually for 100,000?” I asked while I ate.
Allynna spoke, “an easy miss understanding. The shop sort of tracks coins and won’t let you do that. If you collected 100 gold coins from a few people, then you could do that, but batch selling won’t work. Has to be natural.”
“So, how do most people get credits? Kill stuff?” I asked the group while I chewed the hot fried rice.
Miyuki answered, “for maids, we collect dust and other such detritus and sell it to the shop.”
“Remember digging how you can quickly sell the dirt to the shop instead of making a pile?” Allynna asked.
“Yeah, but I only got a few credits for it.”
“Well yeah, that’s how it works, it sort of accumulates, and once you have sold enough dirt to the shop, you’ll get a credit. It’s how most people earn credits.” Allynna added.
“Digging?”
“Well, no. A crafter might make something and then sell it. most people convert coins to credits as they can get more coins from people than the shop would give the credits for the same work.” Allynna answered.
Tora said, “since I cleaned and repaired basic armor, I could collect scraps and make low-level gear and sell it to the shop.”
Eiko chimed in, “mostly I got tips in coins and my wage, a dozen or so copper a night, we used most, but I sold one or two coins to the shop to accumulate credits.”
“So, the shop is like a bank. You bank up credits when you can, but most don’t really make enough to get substantial amounts saved up?” Diana asked.
“What’s a bank?” Sakura asked.
“A vault where a lot of people store coins at….” I said, trailing off as I saw the blank looks.
Tora added, “Nobles have big strong boxes they keep valuables in, but why not just use your inventory to store coins or the shop?”
“The shop acts as a bank then.” Sanako said, adding, “with very bad conversion rates.”
“So, what about killing stuff?” I asked.
Eiko answered, “that’s easy. Monsters, beasts, both in the world at large or in dungeons and towers, are ranked F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS. F ranked monsters, really more an animal, is worth 1 credit. Like a mouse or squirrel. Flies and small insects are worth tiny fractions of a credit. E rank is 10 credits, D is worth 100 credits, C 1,000, rank B is 10,000 credits when killed, A is 100,000, S a million, SS ten million and SSS one hundred million credits.”
“How many SSS monsters are out there?” I asked, finishing my food.
“I’ve only heard about S ranked wild monsters, and they’re terrifying. I don’t even want to think about what something more powerful would be like.” Tora shuttered.
“So, most people get by on making a few silvers a week? what about the towers?” Stacy asked.
Miyuki answered, “We got paid ten silvers a week as maids.”
Hisako spoke, her voice soft a demure, “towers are dangerous. I don’t know if I could ever go in one.”
“True. Even if you go in at the lowest rank for credits, ten squirrels all trying to claw at you and kill you is dangerous for most of the common folk.” Tora said.
“Tora and I went in every ten days together; most do. But we only ever did E and F-rank and not past the third or fourth level. Got us a few extra credits.”
“Right, well, I should head to bed; I get up early. Have we figured out sleeping?”
“Will take the watch; you just go and sleep. The kids will bunk together and will take the sofa beds and floor.” Stacy said.
I headed into the trailer and to the king bed shutting the door. I fell asleep quickly, only waking when Allynna crawled in next to me and then one of the other girls. Soft fur was the only hint I got about who it was.
Chapter 11
I woke as the sky just began to lighten with the morning. Nothing had woken me in the night except for Miyuki or Sakura switching positions for their turn for the watch. The master room was dark, and I headed out of the room and into the bathroom, where a candle burned. I put on my filthy work clothes and geared up.
It was October tenth by the calendar from the shop. The weather said it was forty degrees outside, but it felt much colder than that. The trailer had stayed warm with so many people inside but not by much. The hot coffee I pulled from my inventory and sipped from a thermos warmed me in the chilly morning air. Diana and Miyuki were sitting around the fire, which they had blazing. I waved as I headed over to the front of the trailer.
The trailer had a wagon tongue to hook the oxen up to. It needed a bench, though. The hitch drop that came from the overhang on the front where the tongue now stuck out from would work for a bench mount. I bought a 10-foot-long 3-inch piece of hardened steel square tube from the shop, spending 100 credits. I used my cut spell to slice it in half. The cut spell worked like a hot knife through butter on anything just bought from the shop. After a week, once something had formed its own mana field, it would meet a lot of resistance.
I took the section of square tube and lined it up with the hitch drop above the tongue, so I would not impede its movement. I was able to fuse six inches to the hitch. It only took 60 points of mana. Now I had a base for my bench seat. Taking a 2-inch by 1-foot board from my inventory, I cut it to the right size. Setting on top of the mounting bar, I fused the full three inches of wood to the three inches of metal, taking 600 mana to complete. Now I had a bench seat five feet off the ground to sit on. The last board went along the back upright, creating a backrest.
I got up and sat on it, feet dangling towards the ground. I now had the most uncomfortable bench I think I could have made, but it would get the job done. I got down and went to the front of the tongue. I got out a large Crosby shackle with a two-inch mouth. I fitted it under the bar making sure there was enough room for the bolt pin to be secured after I fused it. A two-inch Crosby shackle could handle 35 tons, so I wasn’t worried about it.
I went over to the sawhorse and looked at the yoke; there was no way it was going to work. The oxen would split the thing in two once they started pulling. I sold the debarked log back to the shop for 6 credits. The debarking had added value in the shop’s eyes, giving me six credits instead of just one.
I pulled up the oxen from the shop I was going to buy and adjusted the parameters to what I had the night before. A translucent image of an ox formed in front of me. It was unnaturally still, but I could walk around it and get an idea of what I needed to make. I yoke from what I remembered had a thick center part, a neck loop that ran up the sides of the ox’s neck, allowing for its shoulders and back to push or pull a load.
