1 Strange World

The days for those who shared Eddie's fate somehow managed to be as brutal as they were repetitive. Weeks, months, years, decades of the same few harsh, repetitive tasks, with little rest. Building homes for people that they didn't know and gathering wheat for bread that wasn't theirs, the life of a slave was a bad one, but a stable and predictable one. He would always have food on the table, a ceiling above his head, and if he obeyed and did as he was told, he would receive no punishment. He didn't find it fulfilling, and wasn't exactly grateful, but at least he was alive and intact.

In contrast, Dave couldn't have lived a more free and fulfilling life. He had lived through a lot of hardship in his early years, his parents had died while he was still a little boy, and he was forced to fend for himself in the small town he lived in. He started stealing food from the market, or from unsuspecting passerby's, but he was soon one of the most recognizable young faces of the town, so he was forced to abandon his profession. He moved in an abandoned shed in the forest near the town, and learned how to hunt small game, like rabbits or squirrels. He learned how to use a bow, and slowly became more and more proficient with it. He could sneak up close to his prey and shoot it down while it didn't notice a thing. He began to sell part of the game he didn't eat - he couldn't eat all of it anyways – and managed to change his reputation, from another pickpocket to look out for, to a reliable hunter that could provide food for the townspeople. Living like this felt right. Maybe food wasn't served to him, nor shelter simply provided, but he was free, without people owning him like he the animals he hunted.

These were the circumstances under which Eddie and Dave met, one doing the bidding of his lord, and the other choosing to exchange his work for some coin. As the two teenagers performed the exchange, admiration could be seen in the Eddie's eyes.

"Hello. Did you hunt that deer by yourself?" Eddie asked, as curiosity and respect could be traced in his glance

"Yes" Dave plainly answered

"With a bow and arrow? Did you have to chase it?"

"I didn't, I quickly shot it in the head" he replied, using the same laconic tone as before

"Hey I'm done for the day, master said I should bring the deer back by morning, what do you say we find somewhere to get comfortable to stay and have a chat?" Eddie offered, as this was the first time in a long while he interacted with someone outside the domain of his master

"Sure, I have nothing to do today either"

And so the two youths slowly headed towards a nearby tree, sat under it with their backs against its trunk, and got comfortable. They started awkwardly conversing, as they talked about each other's lives. Eddie found Dave's freedom pretty enticing, but he still didn't know if he could ever abandon the certainty of his life for freedom. The latter didn't reveal his thoughts about the life of his peer, but his mind was already made up, such a life would be wasted on a guy like Eddie

"How about some?" Dave offered as he took out a bottle of wine from his coat, he liked the company and hadn't talked like that to people in some time

They both opened up, joked, and talked through the night, and woke up the next day, a bit drowsy and kind of dried up from the wine

"I'll be selling game to your household from now on, on what days will you be free?" Dave asked

"I'm the one handling master's food purchases, so you won't have to worry about it. I'll come whenever you have anything to sell"

"Can't wait to see you again, bastard. Can't have you drinking my precious wines" Dave jokingly said

"Yeah yeah, bring it along next time too, to see if it's any good. We don't want anything subpar for dear Davie now, do we?"

They talked a bit more, said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Eddie knew he would be at the very least scolded for his delay, but his mind was off, already waiting for his next encounter with the hunter.

"Dave is gonna be here soon, I can't wait to meet with him again" Eddie thought out loud, his voice filled with eagerness

Meanwhile, the former was simply happy to have found an interesting conversation partner. Life did get pretty boring living in a cavern in the woods by himself, after all. He did have to go out of his way to get wine though, as the bottle he had with him was depleted from every drop of the spirit it used to hold

He slowly walked to his cabin in the woods. It wasn't a cabin, as much as a shed. Its walls were made of stone held together by clay, baked by the sun. Its roof by dried hay and tree bark did a fine job at shielding the interior from wind, snow and rain, but left him really vulnerable to forest fires. It was supported by wooden stakes as thick as an arm, and could barely hold it from falling to his head every night. Despite all those shortcomings, Dave was satisfied with his little shed. He would improve it, from time to time, maybe slowly thicken the walls by adding more clay, or maybe covering the earthen floor with the furs of his game, to make it enjoyable to walk barefoot. But improving its foundations, or adding better support to the roof was almost impossible. He already had his day filled with hunting, going to the town, selling his game, returning, maybe doing any other freelance job to save up some money. He couldn't be bothered with fixing a house he would leave in some years

He had decided to leave that shitty town, and go out to see something worthwhile. The world out there couldn't possibly be the same as he had always known. "how could it?", he thought "I've only seen a small, backwater town, the earth is huge, endless for all intents and purposes, and there are infinite things to see". That's why he was committed to saving up some small wealth, and going out exploring, without worrying much about money. At least for a little while.