Chapter 12
Scouting
A couple of days had passed, and Ragnir was still hanging around Mutopia, having decided to help where he could, at least for the time being, though, after meeting Louie, it took a lot of convincing to get him inside the inn again.
Currently, he was in the blacksmith, helping Loki properly familiarize himself with the forge and its tools.
"… and remember to always pre-heat the molds before you pour the metal, get rid of any moisture. That way, you won't risk any molten metal exploding in your face. I've seen it happen to novices several times, and it's not pretty."
"Pre-heat, then pour. Got it. Can we go on to hammer techniques now?"
"Ha! I like you, kid! You got an urge to learn." Ragnir chuckled, patting Loki on the back.
Outside, Tyroth stood and watched together with his father.
"Loki seems to have made a new friend." Richard said with a smile.
"They share a common interest, metal forging. But I must admit that I'm surprised that Ragnir decided to stay this long."
"Especially after he met Louie. Not even your mother reacted that badly. I didn't think he would come back after he ran out of the inn."
"Me neither, dad, but I'm glad he did. We need all the allies, and all the help, we can get in this world."
"You know, back when you were still just a little toddler, I tried to imagine what you'd become once you had grown up, and I would never have thought you would be the leader of a village. A jarl of all things."
"Trust me, neither did I." Tyroth sighed, but he soon felt his father's hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry about it, son, we all know that you'll do your best. And with everyone being able to handle their tasks and themselves, you'll have time to get used to this."
"And I thought you and mom would have the harder time to adjust."
"Aside from that dinosaur, it's been pretty much like when we visited Mutopia, the old Mutopia that is. It took a while to fathom all of it, but after that it was more or less our second home, just like this will become a great home for us all."
"I'm glad that you think that, dad, especially with how you and mom were brought back into my life. Where is mom anyway? I haven't seen here for quite a while."
"She said that she wanted to look for herbs and such in the forest. She grabbed one of the books we got from Ragnir and headed out together with Sephie, Jack and Heather."
"That's good, I was worried for a while there. I know that mom knows better than heading into unknown woods alone, but I can't help but worry all the same."
"And that's what will make you a great leader."
"That remains to be seen, but I wonder how they are doing."
Meanwhile, deeper in the woods to the north, Heather plucked a leaf off of a small plant.
"Is this what we are looking for?" she asked, presenting her findings to Erica.
"Looks like it." Erica responded and checked the book she held. "Yes, that's Enom's Leaves. It says here that it can be used in poultices- sorry, potions, to heal wounds."
"You sure about that? Looks like nettles to me." said Jack.
"I would have thought so too, but according to the book it isn't." Erica continued. "The serrated edges are round rather than sharp, and the flowers have dark red petals. And it doesn't sting like nettles does."
"Well, that's a relief." said Jack. "I just can't stand the itching, it drives me nuts, so I won't be picking any nettles."
"I could do that easily." said Heather. "My carapace-like skin is too tough to be affected by such things."
"If we can, I think we should try and get some seeds so that we can cultivate the herb back in the village." said Sephie. "I'm sure Patch will appreciate that. And James. Does it say how to make that potion?"
"Not in this book, but I think one of the others had a chapter or two on making medicines." said Erica.
"Not to be one of those, but maybe we should have checked that and written down what we need." said Jack.
"You're probably right. I'm not very good at this kind of lifestyle, not as good as the rest of you at least."
"We are still learning too, Erica." said Heather. "And I am not sure if we got all the tools to make these potions, so it might just be just as well. At least we know where the herbs are for when we can make them."
"And they are good, or the ones in the game were." said Sephie. "I hope that the same is true here."
"Right, you know stuff from when you were stuck in the game a few times." said Jack.
"Some, but not a lot. And I wasn't a Ranger, but a Fighter, specifically an Arcane Archer. But I, or my character, was adopted by Elves, so I was taught a little, or my character was. It's difficult to explain, it's like memories of memories, someone else's memories."
"So that's why you wanted to come along." said Erica.
"In part, yeah, but I also want to keep you safe. You are my mother-in-law after all, not to mention the grandmother to my children, and ever since you and Richard came back into our lives, you've been the closest to an actual mother I've had since I mutated."
"Oh, you're just the sweetest!" Erica said, cupping Sephie's cheek before hugging her. "I knew that I would like you as soon as Tyroth started dating you."
"You always made me feel like a part of the family." Sephie said with a faint blush. "I'm so happy that we're all together again. I just wish that… that I could at least have met my family again before we had to leave."
"I understand, and you don't know how hard it was to meet them and not being able to tell them that you're still alive."
"It's probably for the better." Sephie sighed. "After what happened to you at the hands of the Foot, I can't risk them finding out about my family, and I pray that they are still safe now that we've left Earth."
"Don't you worry, we were very careful whenever we met. The Foot will never find them."
"Thank you."
"Sorry to interrupt the tender moment, ladies, but I though I heard something." said Jack, drawing his scimitar and taking a readied stance.
At once, Heather and Sephie drew their own weapons, and the three mutants formed a circle around Erika.
"So glad that I brought these." Sephie said as she drew one of her explosive arrows. "They should make it easier."
Soon, the others all heard what Jack had picked up, something was moving through the vegetation, slowly but heavily, and seemingly towards them. A few almost agonising moments later, a large bear walked into view, its gaze fixed on the group as it growled loudly.
"Phew, it's just a bear." Sephie said, relaxing ever so slightly.
"'Just a bear'?!" Erica exclaimed.
"I agree with Erica, there's nothing 'just' about a bear!" said Jack. "Sure, it ain't a dinosaur, but none of us is Tyroth either."
"Trust me, a bear is preferable over a troll." said Sephie, swapping her arrow. "And we won't need fire to take it down, if we need to."
The group stood their ground, waiting to see if the bear would make any moves against them, rather than running away and risk triggering it to chase them. And all the time, the three mutants were focused on protecting Erica, since she was just human. The others could easily be healed by some of the water they brought with them if they were to get injured, but Erika would be mutated if she were to drink it.
But as they stood there, the bear kept walking towards them, its gaze never leaving them.
"There is something strange about this bear." Sephie said. "Something with the eyes."
"I have noticed it too." said Heather. "There is intelligence in them, more so than I would expect of an animal."
"So what do we do?" asked Jack, but no one had the time to give an answer.
The bear, now less than fifty feet away, started glowing a soft green hue, rapidly morphing into a humanoid form whilst a swirl of leaves and petals of the same green colour.
When the glow died down, in place of the bear stood a tall and beautiful woman of slender build and fair complexion, with raven black hair that reached to her waist. Her almond shaped eyes were like silver and her ears long and pointed.
She wore a long, sleeveless, open coat of yellow leaves over a long dress that seemed to be made of thin, green moss and fingerless gloves of birch bark that covered the lower half of her forearms. In her left hand, she held a long, wooden staff, slightly crooked at the top with several feathers tied to it, the same sort of feathers that she wore in her necklace.
Fixing her stern gaze on the group, she let her eyes wander from one to the other, especially the mutants, before finally speaking.
"I have never seen creatures such as you." she said almost coldly. "Who are you, and what are you doing in these woods?"
"Who's this? Mother Nature's daughter?" Jack asked.
"Not quite." said Sephie. "She's an Elven Druid, and I take it that she's a protector of the forest."
"You are correct, reptile. Now, answer my question; what are you doing in these woods?"
"We simply came here to look for useful herbs." said Erica.
"What for? Why would you have an interest in that?" the elf asked. "You do not look like travellers, and those are the only ones that have moved through these woods for several seasons, save for those that are running from something."
"Know that abandoned village nearby?" Jack asked back. "We sorta moved in there just a few days ago."
"And now we are trying to learn of our surroundings." Heather continued. "Such as where we can find herbs, edible plants and other sources of food."
"With which you mean animals to hunt."
"If we have to." said Sephie. "We're still rather new to living in these conditions, and we can't afford to be picky if we are to survive. But we will never overreach, we've seen what can happen if we drain the resources of the land too quickly. It's bad for both the land and us."
"You speak wisely, reptile."
"You can thank my mate for that, he's helping us all to better understand this new world."
"So there are more than just the four of you?"
"Try forty, give or take." said Jack.
"Here's an idea, why don't you come with us and see for yourself?" said Erica. "Maybe you can teach us some things so that we know how to better treat the land here."
"An interesting offer. It has been a long time since I sat foot in a settlement not of my kin. I think I will."
"Great! You won't regret it. I'm Sephie, by the way. The wolf is Jack, and the dragonfly is Heather. And that's Erica, my mother-in-law."
"My name is Zaleria. Now, show me your home."
Meanwhile, off the coast of the village, Sharky was swimming in the surprisingly deep waters, trying to catch some fish for the others to eat, but he wasn't having the best of luck. It wasn't that there was a lack of fish, but Sharky was still learning how to do it effectively.
Diving through another school of fish, he frantically tried to grab a few as they scattered, only to fail. There simply to many fish in the school to focus on one or two, and he just couldn't get a grip around anyone when aiming blindly.
"A shark that can't catch a single fish… I'm a disgrace to shark-kin…" Sharky moaned. "All I've done these last few days is basically just swimming around, and that's no good. I think I need a new strategy."
Sharky was just about to turn around and head back to shore, when something caught his eye of in the distance, a silhouette of some for, at the bottom of the sea.
His curiosity getting the better of him, Sharky swam towards the silhouette to investigate, and as he got closer, more and more silhouettes came into view, and after a little while longer, he saw just what they were.
Shipwrecks.
Dozens of shipwrecks. All broken and covered in algae and seaweed, evidence of that they have been there for a long time, probably hundreds of years even.
As Sharky moved closer, the sea-life that called the wrecks home began to hide or scatter, leaving the shark alone to explore the underwater grave yard. Swimming to the wreck closest to him, one that was tilted on its side, the top half of the mast broken off and signs of battle on the top deck, yet Sharky could not see any form of damage that could have sunk it.
The hatch to below deck gently swung back and forth in the soft currents, offering a way in for the curious mutant, a way that he took. Inside, he was met with darkness, only a small amount of sunlight reaching through the sideways hatch, but that was soon cut off. The drag caused by him swimming inside made the hatch close behind him, as well as the latch on it locking into place. Muffled thuds from the inside could be heard as he tried to open the hatch again, but to no avail.
"Crap… I guess I'm in deep waters now…"
Stuff is happening all around the village. Not sure what else to put here right now...
Though, Sharky might be in some trouble.