Rocky Hills

It's a new day and Aurdon's muscles are aching more than he ever felt during P.E. at school. Unable to leave the bed, he thinks back to when he did attend school and how he still runs on a circadian rhythm that wakes him, though there's no blaring alarm now, just a feeling.

His mother isn't there to call him down for breakfast, only what he sees as a poser that goes by lady Hiya. As for his replacement father, there's nothing different in how much they've interacted, but in this world, it's seen as a pleasure that Garth is so absent.

Last night, after the incident involving Siege, Garth didn't bother to acknowledge what pain he's going through besides believing It's a sign of good training. Just the reminder of his remark made the pain of standing up for Aurdon pale in comparison.

His clothes and breakfast are already prepared for him at the door on the cart. Because of the previous night, Hiya puts in all the work she can to appease his seclusion as if it'd win him over in time. All Aurdon sees it as is creepy how obsessed she is to be in a mother position.

When Aurdon pokes out his door to roll the cart inside, he's caught like a trap by the bellowing voice of Garth. "Aurdon. I hope you're aware that you’ll be heading to the tailor this morning."

"Is that today?"

"Yes. I can't have you wearing those strange rags wherever you go in this city, especially when I'm around. It's bad enough Feimo and those children had to see you work up a sweat in such a thing."

"Whatever." He silently mocks his speech while closing the door.

Holding up his uniform, he examines the patchwork done by Hiya from when he first arrived to yesterdays fight. Though the threads aren’t the same, he acknowledges the effort she took to replicate the color.

“Any more of this and my uniform will be shreds…” He hugs the uniform for a moment of silence.

***

“You look amazing!” Hiya is palming her cheek as if she is tasting something sweet.

“It’s a little much.” Aurdon is holding still with his arms out as a woman closely examines and touches the new clothes he’s been forced into.

The design, just like everyone else has been wearing, is similar to a kurta or short length thobe style, with simple but seemingly religious symbols decorating it in small accenting patterns. No matter where he’s gone, through the city, on the people, and from the people’s speech, they’ve all been very dedicated to their faith.

“Nonsense. It suits you perfectly, and don’t worry about the expenses.”

The lady examining Aurdon takes a few mental notes before pulling the top off of him. “I’ll make a few adjustments and prepare a whole line of outfits in his size a few days from now. Before you leave, you’ll at least be taking this outfit home with you.”

“Perfect!”

“A few days?” Aurdon is for once impressed.

“That’s right. You’ll have something that suits you during any occasion in the city. The color of your hair will go perfect with the celebration outfit I have in mind. And don’t worry, you can mix and match as you please.”

Aurdon feels as though he’s being pampered with the fanciest outlets in this new world’s city. If it weren’t for his memory of the original world, something like this would be a dream come true.

The outfit he wore received a few touch-ups at the tailor woman’s table, and within the blink of an eye he’s re-dressed in the new attire and being escorted out of the building along Hiya.

“I must take us to a painter someday and have our portraits done. You’d be so dashing; a museum would collect it up.” Hiya can’t stop gushing, dreaming up plans for the future that only sound like a bucket list of chores to Aurdon.

Now in the street, their carriage’s coachman awaits them, but Hiya waves them off. “Since we came out so early, let’s walk to Bollar's for some delectable pastries. Do arrive for us there an hour from now.”

The names and lengths of time are all far from how earth culture would interpret it, but Aurdon can still comprehend them as though he’s lived and learned it in this world. It’s not one-to-one with his original time, what she said was roughly estimated in his mind. The only thing obviously shared between these worlds is the acknowledgment of days and nights.

The entire walk to the patisserie had Aurdon stuck in thought over factors of time. First there’s translation of text and speech, then time, and now his mind wanders into weight. It’s a rabbit hole of knowledge he keeps digging through, so blown away that he is able to recognize any of it without taking the time to learn it in school. He realizes whatever other worldly being brought him here did him the courtesy of translation. So, he thanked the mysterious entity only once in his mind, still holding a grudge for being there in the first place.

“What’s caught your eye Aurdon?” Hiya interrupts his derailed train of thought, gesturing to a display of freshly baked goods.

“A ton.” Aurdon lets slip from his mind while going cross-eyed at the display of completely alien breads and pastries.

“We can’t just buy a ton, Aurdon.”

“I’d love it if you did.” The clerk exchanges a devious smile with Hiya and she laughs.

“Sorry. Um… whatever you recommend? I don’t know.” Says Aurdon.

“Ooo, you’ve been eyeing the 'Berry Rotund Boy,' so how does that sound?”

“The what-now? Whatever. I’ll take it.”

“And I’ll have my usual.” Hiya looks to her purse and takes out some copper cubes that have designs stamped to each side, placing them in a tray at the counter.

Their pastries are both taken to the counter, laid out on cloth, and tied up by a twine. Hiya takes the bag and exchanges thanks with the clerk. From the smell of the place, Aurdon can tell it's going to be delicious, and even more exciting, there could be more profiles of flavor to discover, comparable to a vacation in a foreign country. He hadn't left his hometown all his life in the first place. With time, it's the small things that he thinks will make life there bearable.

Outside the patisserie, there’s some small tables and seats squeezed against the outer wall that are shaded by an overhanging second floor. Taking it as an invitation to rest and enjoy their food while waiting for the cart to arrive, the two take a seat across from each other, Hiya untying the bag to reveal the pastries.

Aurdon takes the opportunity sitting outside for once to look around at the people of the city, and the castle further uphill, a prominent centerpiece. The style reminds him of the old cathedrals in Europe, and other spectacular centuries old buildings, but here they seem as though their architects could still be around.

He bites into the round and crispy 'berry rotund boy' the clerk recommended, a sensation comparable to the shell of a croissant in ball form, and at its core, a warm purple filling that tastes similar to apple.

"What do you think of their pastries? This is one of the best places to visit when on an outing."

“They’re ok. Similar to an apple pie.”

“Apple pie?”

“It’s something like this, but circular and flatter.”

“Your parents must’ve baked some interesting things.”

They both pause, Hiya with the thought she had stepped on an eggshell, while Aurdon was in the middle of a mouth full bite.

“Sorry Aurdon. It just came out without—“

Aurdon swallows his bite and shakes his head in disapproval, but not because of the touchy topic. “They didn’t bake.”

“Really? Then there must be places I haven’t seen.”

“There’s a whole world. Literally.”

“You’d be surprised the places I’ve been when traveling alongside Garth. Merilam is only where we decided to settle.”

“I’m not of this world Hiya. You’ll never have seen what it’s like.”

“I know, and you’re right.” She pulls off a piece of her pastry. “So I thought we would share. Sound interesting to you?”

Aurdon doesn’t know how to react, a part of him feeling fooled. It was clear from the start this trip with Hiya was to win him over, as expected. But, despite expectations, he found himself falling into the palm of her hands, and willingly too.

Once he took the piece of pastry, they had sunk into conversation on the differences between their worlds, how one seems magical to the other in both directions. The people they know and miss. The food. Then it turned into more present matters, his training, and even the bite of her pastry she shared. Time flew by, and even Aurdon felt a tinge disappointed when the carriage arrived on time.

“It’s a shame, but you must go to your training.” Hiya sighs as the coachman looks to her. “There’s so much more to ask and say, but it’ll be another day, if you care to?”

“Maybe.” Aurdon looks to the crumbs left on the cloth, wondering why he softened up so much. “No guarantees.”

“I’ll keep that in mind."

They both stand, Hiya disposing of the cloth and Aurdon stretching out in preparation for training later.

"Hiya."

"Yes?"

"Is there a reason we have to learn swords and magic?"

"If this world were perfect, we wouldn't have to. Not everyone does, but with Garth and how he is, it's important you become a respectable figure."

"That's so lame."

"There's more to it though, Aurdon. Remember that monsters walk these lands, and always will, so I believe he wants you capable of protecting yourself."

“I don’t believe it.”

“I’ve known him since we were your age, so don’t ignore the possibility.”

Aurdon groans and they both get onto the carriage, turning and heading back downhill.

***

A real sword is Held by an enamored Aurdon who flips and rotates it under the sunlight. If he thought the wooden swords were cool, these shiny and hefty blades gave the feeling of being a real warrior.

He feels the edge of the blade, unsure if he should apply pressure and if it’ll cut him, but it was too dull.

Feimo sees his disappointment and smiles. “These haven’t been sharpened, as you’re all aware. Though Aurdon is an exception, being very new to this. We will be hunting wild slimes for the third time this year.”

“The third time?” Aurdon looks to everyone else, who nod in familiarity with the event, but are still pumped with excitement. “I really have looked like a fool.

“Because of the incident yesterday, Siege will be unarmed and focusing on scouting for slimes.”

Siege rolls his eyes and exchanges cold contact with Aurdon, placing the fault on him.

“As a reminder, and to catch Aurdon up, Slimes are a mass of digestive liquid that consume whatever it rolls over. A single slime is of course a low threat, but in numbers and at greater sizes they can be overwhelming. When in contact with a slime, our bodies are fairly resilient taking a few minutes to break the skin, but something sensitive like your eyes can get temporary to permanent blindness in seconds. Luckily, when slashing at a slime, you won’t have to worry about it getting in your eyes or on you as long as it’s disconnected from the core. Breaking the core will kill the slime, but also separating all the slime from its core will starve it. If in the event you don’t have a weapon to destroy it, using your hand to rip the core out can be a last resort. Siege, do not take that as an invitation to do so.”

“I wasn’t going to!” Siege shouts.

“Anyways. The slimes we’re hunting are almost as clear as water, so finding and destroying their cores will be easy. Don’t go after the barely transparent slimes, they are far more potent and can be deadly enough to digest children like you in seconds.”

“In seconds?” Aurdon whispers to himself, frightened by the thought of being dissolved alive.

“Pissing your pants already?” Jivali does a playful slap on the back, and hangs his arm around Aurdon’s neck.

“Well I’ve never fought a slime before, or anything actually.”

“We can tell. Which got me thinking. You’re a farmer boy. Didn’t slimes get in your crops or something?”

Aurdon didn’t know what to say at first, finding it funny to be under the facade of a farmer boy. “Guess we didn’t have a slime problem.”

“You’re lucky. Sometimes when I craved stew, there’d always be a vegetable missing. Mom told me it was because all the time, a certain farm’s crops were ruined by a slime stampede.”

“Must be rough.”

“Well that hasn’t happened lately, except now after that big storm. I think the slimes no longer have a taste for crops, but FLESH!” He tries to scare Aurdon, but he saw it coming.

“Aurdon!” Brez runs over but stands behind him instead of facing head-on. “Are you feeling better now?”

“Feimo healed me up before we left yesterday, so I’m as good as new.” He tries to look back at her, but Jivali is unintentionally obstructing him. “Why are you standing behind me?”

“In case S-siege comes at you again, I’ve got your back.”

“Thanks but I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”

“You ready to take down some slimes?” Jivali tries to hype Aurdon up with a shake and it kind of works 

“Yea. I guess I am.”

“it’s funny because I know you’re not.” Kea joins in with only harsh things to say. “From what I’ve seen, this hunt is going to be a mess, so watch how I get things done.”

“Dont listen to her, she’s only seeking att—“ jivali takes a precise blow to the gut from Kea.

“Don’t forget I had to distract the slime for you on your first hunt.”

“Come on you all, we’ll be heading out of the city for the hunt.” Feimo shouts to the children while standing by the entrance of the field.

“Yes Feimo.” They all say in unison and line up to follow.

***

“I feel like I’m in daycare.” Aurdon marches last with the children in a single file line behind Feimo, moving through the lower streets of the city.

On the journey they pass by people smiling and waving at them from all ages, and to everyone’s surprise, another larger group of marching children pass them.

The large group of children look to be Aurdon’s age, and move with better discipline than them, making Aurdon feel embarrassed to be seen as a held back student. To rub salt on the wound, the teacher leading them, stops to greet Feimo.

“Well if it isn’t Feimo. I see you’ve got the kids together for a hunt.”

His interruption gets Feimo to sigh, then she forces a smile. “What a coincidence Kosha. I thought your hunts were the prior week?”

“Well if you haven’t heard, Goblins have been real tricky to find as of late. To compensate, we’ve been doing more patrols.” He smiles and comes closer to Feimo, lowering his voice to a sultry tone. “But it’s not hard to find a table at Light Peak’s Dining, if you’re interested?”

“I think you should find a new brush or some toothpicks.” She pinches her nose. “We’ll be on our way now.”

He checks his breath and is surprised she is leaving so fast. “H-hold on, there’s one more thing!”

She stops and groans with an ever increasing burden on her shoulders. “Spit it out!”

“If you’re looking for slimes. I’m afraid their numbers are thin. We avoided killing any, knowing you’d be out for them, but at best we spotted four.”

“I’ve been hearing this far too much amongst the trainers, and I’ve seen it myself. Do you have any clue what’s going on?”

“Beats me.” He looks to the wary children that follow Feimo, and lingers on Aurdon. “What’s with the older looking kid in your group? Is he hitting an early growth spurt?”

“He’s a bit of a special case brought on by request of Garth, nothing more. Now we’re done.”

“Garth huh? Wow. Why not with me and the older ones.”

“Again, a special case, and Garth thinks you’re a pain in the ass.”

“Really?” He looks physically hurt by the comment as Feimo leaves with her marching line.

As Aurdon passes by, the children of Kosha’s class all stare with whispers of gossip, their lips moving clearly to Garth’s name. The idea that he has become known and associated with Garth, surpasses any pain Siege inflicted on him the day prior.

“Did his breath really stink?” Jivali, the one at the front of the line, speaks up what looks to be on everyone else’s mind, as they kept giggling since her bold statement.

“No, but it might as well. Another word from him and I’ll throw up.”

“Of course his breath didn’t stink!” Brez took offense on his behalf, a possible admirer. “Kosha’s a mighty fighter that has taken down many demons.”

“I’ll give him that, but he’s far too reliant on the blade. The moment that thing is out of his hands, he’ll cower before the lowest of demons.” Feimo holds up her fist and clenches it, proud of her brute strength.

“Don’t you rely on the blade too?” Kea raises a brow.

“Of course, the blade is important, but I’d scrap with any demon even if I’m down to my knuckles.” Her menacing grin widens with a snicker. “I might even prefer it that way.”

“Feimo. You’re being a little intense.” Jivali points her to Brez cowering behind a bench they passed. “It’s scaring Brez.”

“And I thought I wasn’t allowed to use my fists…” Siege pouts.

“You sure aren’t. That kind of thing is far too dangerous for your age, but don’t worry, I’ll make time for it in the future.”

Aurdon’s embarrassment over the chatter has lightened up since hearing Feimo’s comments. It’s the self assurance that he’s being trained by someone who is skilled in more than just the blade. Being capable enough to take down a demon by hand is far more exhilarating in concept than a simple slash by sword.

Their travel leads them to the city’s walls which don’t lie at the outside edge like Aurdon thought. Instead, its large stone fortifications divide the permanent and wealthier residence from the ever cycling or lower-income citizens. Not that everyone outside the walls isn’t a part of the city or is poor, but rather the walls were built in an older time and so the expanding population brought a need for space. The gates are fully open, and the people walk freely through, the only exception being guards who question some based on unfamiliarity.

On the other side, the standard of home changes drastically, from what was previously stone based with wattle and daub second or third floors, to only one-to-two floored stone-less constructs separated by far more space, fields, and less paved roads. It left a cozier feeling in Aurdon, having more plant life decorating the scenery, but one thing that occasionally stung at his nostrils was the smell of animals and manure.

Aurdon’s disgust was seen as odd to some of the kids, bringing to question his farmer origin.

“Even we can handle it Aurdon. Did you even tend to a farm?” Jivali laughs.

“It’s been a while is all.”

“I think it says a lot about the rest of you if you don’t find such a stench so foul, you damn pigs.” Kea says, the only other who was just as disturbed with the smell.

“You’ll learn that creatures like goblins and orcs are very unclean, making cow dung seem like flowers.” Feimo interrupts with a piece of advice. “You’re better off wafting it in if you know what’s best for you.”

“Good idea!” Jivali takes a deep breath, only to cough and gag soon after.

Finally they reach the true edge of the city, a hodgepodge of basic fortifications consisting of stakes, waist high rock walls, and ditches, but for the most part, open valley land with rocky hills and patches of trees or bush. There’s still debris strewn about the fields from the storm, but otherwise nature has rekindled.

In the distance, a pack of goats trot the mossy rock, the first view of wildlife Aurdon has seen, even months prior to being brought to this world. Just cresting the same hill, a slime catches Aurdon’s eye, and it’s much more surreal to see than he could imagine.

“I see a slime over there already!” Aurdon points to it.

“Good catch Aurdon.” Feimo praises with a pinky up. “That’s also in the way we’re heading. We’ll want to move towards streams, since slimes use them to reproduce.”

“Oh… cool.” Aurdon mulls over how exactly a slime reproduces, but chalks it up to perhaps being like a starfish, and he doesn’t even know the way they do it either.

“No time to waste. Let’s get moving!”

***

The slime first spotted by Aurdon is rolling down hill, un-impeded by the rough terrain. Following it cautiously are the stumbling children led by Aurdon, and just behind them is Feimo and Siege, taking a supervision and scouting role respectively.

Prior to trailing the slime so intensely, Feimo instructed that Aurdon take on the first slime, being the only one who hasn’t been on a hunt yet. Despite his plea to stay back and observe, avoiding the embarrassment of fumbling in front of the group, Feimo’s insistence and ultimately the fool he was already becoming by begging made him cave in.

Even now, as he nearly slips on loose rocks, driving his sword into the dirt as a walking stick, his mind begs to turn heel and give up, and his cheeks are highlighted with red and burning, but not out of exhaustion.

“Have you not walked on rocky hills before?”  Jivali says.

“Have you not shut up before?” Aurdon’s words nip back at him, the frustration taking a toll.

“I was just asking…” Jivali quiets down at the tail end of his sentence.

“Try stepping with your foot like—“ Kea tries to demonstrate to Aurdon but is quickly shut down.

“Not a word from you either.” Aurdon raises his sword up in preparation while closing in on the slime.

“Prick…”

Blinded by anger, Aurdon commits to an early strike, bringing the sword down on the slime and lobbing off a chunk of its body, but not breaking the core.

The slime keeps moving and reabsorbs the separated part, and in reaction to the attack, the core fizzles, fogging up its body, but not drastically enough to conceal the core.

Off-balance and startled by the slime’s change, Aurdon tumbles down the hill and into the stream to everyone’s surprise.

Jivali and Kea find the fall well deserved while Brez shouts. “Are you okay?” 

Aurdon rises from the stream a little beaten up, but reinvigorated with more hatred. “Feimo, what the heck was that? The Slime hissed at me and got all foggy.”

“Good job holding onto your blade in that fall, and as for the slime, It’s become alert and aggressive. Don’t worry, it’s only going to attack you.”

“Only!?” Aurdon looks uphill at the slime rolling towards him.

“Watch out!” Brez shrieks.

Aurdon positions like a baseball batter and swings when the slime shoots past him, but he misses the core again. “Crap!”

The slime splashes into the stream and is almost lost by him if not for the shiny core drifting towards his legs.

He continues to swing at the slime, severing chunks off it, but he can’t pin down the core’s position under the rippling and flowing water.

When the slime realizes it’s lost too much of its body to sustain any more blows, it retreats with the flow of the stream after its severed parts.

“Don’t you dare run away from me!” Aurdon chases the slime down stream.

“Aurdon wait!” Feimo calls out to him, making her way down the hill, but even the rough terrain can be difficult for her.

The children call out to him too, but both are unsuccessful.

In the distance, Aurdon is closing in on a dark and forested area, unable to hear their calls over his desire to claim the prize.