8 Chapter 8: Systems and Seeking Solace
“- wait. Wait, wait. Go back. You spoke with the wolves?”
“Well- it was more like they spoke to me, but yes.”
“And they spoke back?”
“Mimi, are you feeling alright?”
Jake watched with his head tilted as Mimi held her forehead in her hand and paced around the room. The fire had crackled and died out during the commotion with Lifeld earlier and had set the once warm room into a cold state.
“That’s just not possible, I mean- for you to even get a system a relative of yours must’ve died recently and passed it onto you, but you said you don’t even remember anything from before you came here-“
“Well, that’s not true. I remember-“
“And what’s more! Is that you don’t just have any old system like farming or forgery; you have some sort of monster communicator system! No one has ever been able to do that, ever!”
The pair’s attention was caught as the wooden door of the house slammed open and Gale barged through. In his arms he carried his hunting bow, and Jake noticed that now instead of the blood that had been dripping from his hands water now replaced it.
He scavenged in an old wicker basket near one of the makeshift cots for clothes and began stripping of the bloodied clothes he wore. Mimi turned her back to her brother and faced Jake once again, now looking at him with concern.
Then Gale spoke, “You are no longer welcome in the village.”
“Gale-“Mimi began, but she was immediately cut off.
“No, Mimi. I won’t hear anything about it. He intentionally caused us to lose focus on the beast and could have cost us the lives of the entire village!”
“He obviously didn’t intend for anyone to get hurt,” Mimi reasoned, “and no one did! So what’s your problem?”
“My problem is that the same night I bring in an outsider from beyond the border, a kroaten attacks the village inside the border and almost kills half the villagers!”
“Look, I really didn’t mean for any harm to happen to anyone, Lifeld didn’t know what he was doing- he was sick.”
“Lifeld?” Gale asked.
“The creature’s name,” Mimi offered, “He claims he can talk to the beasts.”
Gale startled, but quickly recovered from him momentary shock and charged towards Jake and held him at the collar of his shirt, “What more do you know of the beasts?”
“Nothing! Nothing I swear. That was all he told me, you killed him before he could say anything else. He just spoke of the sickness that was in the forest, he said he found something deep in it that made the beasts act the way they are.”
“There is no such system that allows the bearer to speak with the monsters,” Gale muttered.
Jake shook himself free of Gale’s hold and straightened his clothes, “Well there is now, whether you like it or not.
The wolves told me the same thing. Something is happening in that forest that is turning the beasts into monsters, it doesn’t affect normal creatures, but it will. Then you’ll really have a problem.”
“And why should we trust you?”
“You don’t have to. But you wouldn’t have brought me here if you thought I was a spy or intend harm in the village. I think you know I’m right,” Jake challenged him; “you’re just not ready to admit it.”
Gale let out a harsh breath from his nose before he stood back and began to revive the dead fire.
Mimi spoke to Jake after a long silence, “It’s very rare for people to obtain new systems, it barely happens even once a generation.” Jake turned to her as she spoke and found she was already looking at him.
“Our grandfather was one of them, he would be able to tell the properties of a herb or plant he’d never seen before at the slightest look,” she smiled wearily, "sick people from all over the town would come to him for help."
“What happened to him?”
“He was killed. There were a lot of people that didn't agree with what my grandfather was doing,” her face turned stern and violent, “They tried to recruit him and make him work for them, when he refused… they killed him.
Jake was silent, he didn’t know what to say or do, so he settled with an apology.
“It wasn’t your fault," Mimi replied, "You had no part in it.”
But something tugged at Jake, something made him believe that statement wasn’t completely true. And for some reason he wondered who he had been before he woke up in this world; who this body had belonged to before and who his family was.
“I really can communicate with the beasts,” Jake said earnestly, “maybe I can help with whatever is making them sick. I could help put a stop to the attacks.”
Mimi shook her head and smiled at him, “That’s really nice of you to offer Jake, but no one is allowed to take action against these monsters. Direct orders from the manor itself.”
“The manor?”
“The nobles’ house in the town square, the entire town bends to the will of the pompous king and queen who sit there, them and their little princes. And because the town bends to their every whim, naturally the surrounding villages do too.” Gale informed him, his voice laced with spite and malice.
“Okay… so then we go to the manor. We go there and tell them what I can do. We make them let us help.”
Gale stood up abruptly, “You really don’t know anything about this world, do you kid?” He spat, “No one ever goes against what the dignitary wants. Not unless you want to end up dead.”
“Either way…” Jake began slowly, “I need to go into town, I need to figure out who I was before I lost my memory,” he turned to Mimi with pleading eyes, “please help me.”
“She won’t be doing anything for you; I think you’ve done enough.” Gale now stood between the two of them, “I think it’s time you leave.”
But before he made to leave, Mimi pushed against her brother and spoke out, “I think my little brother seems to forget that he doesn’t speak for me,” she smiled up at Jake, “of course I’ll help you.”
