DB Lazarus
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8. Lay of the Land
🕑 Added 2024-10-12 00:42:56 +0000 UTCA stiff gust of wind hit me as soon as I walked out of the door. It cut like a knife, and I pulled my white coat closed to ward off the cold. My shock turned to awe as I found the source of the frigid blast. A sheer rock face stretched to the sky. Even craning my neck, I could barely see the blue sky at the top. It had to be thousands of feet. It would be majestic if this wasn’t my new home. Now it just confirmed I was nowhere near home.
My mind drifted back to how the elder healer had mended the wound. Had she used magic? I didn’t want to entertain that. It should be impossible, but I had seen nothing that suggested I was on Earth.
I hurried to catch up to my “guide,” not willing to risk the wrath of my escort. He had no reverence for the natural surroundings and walked at a quick clip towards a narrow gap between two other buildings that clustered near the one we had exited. I spent as much time as our pace allowed inspecting the buildings’ walls. I needed more clues about the place I had ended up in.
The walls definitely did not consist of prefab walls or whatever metal and composites were used in modern buildings. No, they had stacked logs, which totally made sense if the camp existed in a forest and in a time before the 1920’s. Only one of those should be true, and…I chose to ignore that. The trees here had the height suited for construction. I slowed as I passed a break in some of the logs’ spans. A window. I ran my hands along its base. Irregular, likely hand cut, and no glass. Instead, shutters made of many small planks hung on…leather straps.
As soon as I passed the edge, I stole another glance at the front of the building. The design was similar, though on this side, the builder had cut a door instead of windows into the logs. Wood planks, regular in their cut, lined up to create a door. I found not a single gap. It would require a sawmill or someone skilled in carpentry to do that. Maybe the healer’s building was an anomaly. Except why use whole logs then? I knew little of architecture, but they just seemed wasteful.
The clusters of buildings sat at the beginning of a slight decline that overlooked much of the area between it and the cliff wall.
“No,” I whispered, stopping at the edge of the flat.
The sight brought it all home. Before me laid a large portion of the mining camp, and they had nothing modern. No dump trucks. No excavators. No electrical wires. No smell of diesel or exhaust. Just clusters of wood buildings centered around a large gash in the cliff face. The mine—if you could call it that—was so primitive.
I worked to push down an unpleasant warmth rising from my stomach. I had to stop living in denial. This wasn’t home. It wasn’t even Earth. I knew humans—or Humans—existed, but they weren’t the only intelligent species. I would have to question everything I knew. I forced myself to reassess the place.
First, the place was huge. Second, an impressive number of people walked into and out of the buildings and the mine entrance. Third, massive walls surrounded the place. Their technology was primitive, but keeping that number organized and fed spoke of significant coordination and skill. Then add constructing all these buildings without modern machinery…
I eyed the walls. They stood at least a quarter the height of the surrounding trees. Except these trees towered over any I had ever seen at home. A few men walking the platform near the top let me hazard an estimate of the height. Nine, or maybe even ten, men. So, roughly forty-eight to sixty feet tall. That had to be tall for Earth standards, and this was an outpost, not a city. That didn’t even include the two watch posts that towered over the walls.
Why did they need—never mind, dinosaurs.
They sure didn’t take security lightly. Everything was manned. In our short walk, I passed three different pairs of wolfmen wearing similar armor, long knives at their belts, and bows in their hands. Bows—not rifles, not crossbows, but bows. Primitive, and yet not the Stone Age. Even in the middle of the day, the gate was closed, and there were no trees near the walls. If they built this place, they somehow could fend off dinosaur-like creatures that lived in this forest.
I took a better look at the enforcer. I knew nothing about his armor, but his gear spoke of skill and care. It had needed a host of tools and resources to craft it. There was no way it could have been made here with what I was seeing.
“How many people are here?”
Before I could blink, he spun around and had his hand around my throat. I coughed, then wheezed as he tightened his grip. He barely strained, but he had already clamped down on my blood supply. With each second, my face grew warmer, and a dull pressure built behind my eyes. I stared at him, unable to speak.
He looked at me like I was a piece of trash. “I will give you this reminder only once. You haven’t earned the right to address me.”
He tossed me backward. I stumbled and fell into the packed dirt. I gasped, welcoming the air back into my lungs.
He said nothing more as he turned and walked away.
I picked myself up, suppressing a shiver. Just the cold breeze from the mountain. That’s all.
The cliff did leave a long shadow. The sun hadn’t crested the edge, and it was already—I checked my watch—some time in the morning. I sighed, wincing at the movement. I rubbed my neck. Did that really matter now? And would it even be accurate?
I kept quiet for the rest of the walk. I didn’t dare let too large a gap occur between the two of us. We finally arrived at our destination. Based on our angle, I had expected the large building or a cluster near it to be our destination. Standing in front of it, I had underestimated its size from the hill. It was easily three or four times the size of the largest building here. It rivaled small warehouse from home.
The enforcer gave me no time to gawk. He pushed open the door, and saying nothing to me, walked inside. I started to ask if I should enter, before his last words popped into my mind. I shook my head and rubbed my neck. Better safe than sorry. Seeing as I was supposed to follow him, I walked towards the open door. As I entered, I glanced at the sign to the side of it. The script was strange, but somehow, I understood it. General Supply.
***
I entered a new world as soon as I took a step into the building. I shot a quick glance backward to confirm where I had just come from. It didn’t seem possible based on the other buildings. Just comparing it to one of them did a disservice to this structure. Everything here—walls, furniture, shelving—was finished. And probably more importantly, it had a floor, surprisingly stone rather than wood. Solid stone for that matter. On a cursory glance, I couldn’t find a single joint or seam. It was too flat to be natural. Concrete? The color was off. Well laid tile? But the level of craftsmanship—
“You done?”
My head snapped towards the voice. Behind the main counter now stood a woman. She looked human, though her skin had a golden tone. It was unnatural. Wasn’t there a medical cond—
A picture of a woman with unnaturally tanned skin with a caption flashed in my mind. Hemochromatosis - bronze diabetes: unexplained bronzing of the skin that presents with diabetes mellitus.
—I shook my head at both the surprise of the sudden knowledge and its applicability to this woman. She appeared far too healthy. Her shoulders could match a linebacker’s, and those arms… Their size was made more impressive by the intricate tattoo that ran along her biceps, up her shoulder, across her chest, and down—
“You’ve better have gotten a good look.” My face grew warm as I yanked my eyes away from the diamond cutout in the center of her tunic. Let her just mean the room. "And just so there is no doubt, I earned every bit of that deep in the earth. So, don’t you dare forget that when you have the inkling that I undersupplied your company. There is always a good reason. You got it?”
I nodded, keeping my eyes glued to her face, which also had an intricate tattoo along her temple. Both healers, the enforcer, and now this lady all had them. How common were these things?
“I didn’t hear an answer.”
“I got it.”
“Good. Now shut my damn door.” As I did, she directed her attention back to the enforcer. By the look on her face, they were not friends. “What did you bring me, Bloðtönn?
He answered her question. “A new worker.”
She snorted. “Not much of one. What level is he? He can't be more than level 5?”
He scoffed. “Does it matter?”
“It does. It affects his starting kit. There is quite a difference in cost between the Tier I and II. Just to remind you, the cost always comes from your Alfa’s purse no matter what. That includes life-debts.” He growled and looked me over, judging if I was worth the expenditure. “By the way, you’re losing your touch at guiding people through the forest?” Pointing at my dirty and tattered clothes, “he looks damaged.”
He bared his teeth and growled. To which, she just laughed. The warm, light-hearted sound filled the room and was in complete opposition to the Bloðtönn’s hostile visage, which had turned downright deadly.
”You need to lighten up, Volk.”
“You will use my title, Quartermaster.”
They stared at each other. The hairs on my skin stood up and my skin tingled as the air took on an electric quality. I had to take a step back as waves of anger radiated outward from the man with an almost physical pressure.
What was going on?
They kept at it. With each passing second, the pressure built, making it harder to breathe. Then the bronze-skinned woman behind the counter nodded her head, though her smile never vanished. “Of course, Bloðtönn.”
His stance didn’t chance, but the pressure suddenly vanished. “I know who this is and where he was found. It's not like we have any other Humans in this camp.” I swallowed, a small hope crushed. I hadn’t been doing well with the races I had met so far. “So, what tier?”
It took him effort to unclench his jaw. “Keep him as a Tier 1.”
“Good call. Will he have a life debt?"
"That and then some."
“A life debt.” She shook her head before looking at me. "I don't know if you're damned or lucky. And Tier 1 at that. Well, of all the places you ended up, this would be the one that you could pay it off. What class are you?"
"[Physician]."
“Never heard of it."
“[Doctor]?” She shook her head. I sighed. “I am a--" After before, [Healer] was not an option. “I specialize in first-aid, non-magical procedures, and medicines." All true, but I cringed inwardly at my words. They trivialized my profession, but then again, so did magical healing.
"Huh." She eyed me one more time. "I assume it's a class favoring the Mind."
I mustered all my confidence to hide my obvious ignorance. “Yes.” Also, if that helped me avoid backbreaking labor…
Then she tapped a knuckle on the counter. “Not ideal, but we will take all the help we can get.” She looked at the Bloðtönn. "You can go. I can take it from here."
"He has a life debt. The Alfa--"
"Leaves the administration of the mine to me." The tone was as hard as iron. "While I don’t agree with this life debt nonsense, I will abide by the agreement we have signed. He will earn his keep, but as you can see, he is not properly equipped. I will not throw away labor, no matter what the quality. He should be safe making his way to the company on his own unless you doubt your own security. No? Then this operation has better use of you than watching over my shoulder. The Sæmdarskati will be cracking open a new seam. I had my [Miners] scout it. They think it will be rich, but there is a high chance that there is also a large cavern behind it. He is calling in non-Ættarsk companies, and I am authorizing access to higher-grade supplies. I think your Alfa would agree your talents are better off down there than here babysitting me.”
They stood in silence. She had possibly insulted me, him, or both. By the way his jaw worked, he didn’t seem sure either. However, he didn’t say another word. He turned and stalked out.
Damn, the women of this place were not to be trifled with.
