Farming

The next morning was an equal parts hell and learning experience. It was his first day, And he was awakened to the now much more familiar kick to his ass. Though, the odd thing that came to his mind first was the question of 'Why the hell is she waking me up when it's still dark outside?'

"Get up you lazy ass. I need to join father on patrol and you need to go to the farm." Prana's voice was as loud and grating to Ren's poor ears as it was the previous two nights and the fact that he was still exhausted and being woken up at what seemed to be before the crack of dawn, only made him more irritable.

Groaning and rolling over, Ren slowly rises to his feet. As he finds his balance and blearily blinks the sleep from his eyes he says "Alright, I'm up, I'm up." His whole body felt drained and he couldn't help imagining kicking Prana over and over in the ass just to get back at her. That blissful thought didn't last long before Prana threw a sack at him.

"There's enough provisions in there for today. As for tomorrow, it'll be up to you to figure out how to feed yourself, but if I come back and find our food stores pilfered, I will be to first to enjoy watching you suffer the punishment, followed by the rest of the village. We do not treat wasteful guest or thieves well here." She glared at him and made sure her threat got across, but the grin on her lips betrayed her hopes that he would actually try something and end up punished. "Father and I will be on patrol for the next few days to clean up your mess. Father has said to learn from Liv in that time as best you can, though I'm personally hoping you'll just fall in the river and leave us be. We don't need you here, and we don't want you here. And one final warning, our patrols are thorough, so any thoughts of you getting away, well, let's just say father won't stop me this time." With that Prana chuckled as she walked out into the dark and left.

Ren couldn't help but wonder what he had done to deserve all this prisoner treatment. He looked into his new 'inventory', which was little more than a small sack with a rope tying it shut. Inside was few pieces of fruit and a couple pieces of dried meat. It wasn't a three star full course meal by any means, but it was at least enough for him not to go too hungry for the day. Sighing as he tied the small sack to his belt line, Ren made his way out of the home and down the road towards where Liv's house was. Although it was still very much dark, the purple sky was already warming as the sun was still just below the horizon. The village for the most part was rather quiet. With only a few sounds coming out of a number of houses as people awoke to head to the fields or like Prana and Arne, were headed into the forest.

It didn't take him long to come to the fields once more and he spied the large house already well lit and with numerous shadows moving about in front of it. Soon, the largest of the shadows stopped and began to move towards him only to call out with a loud laugh. "Haha, the boy actually came. Come come, you're already far behind but I think we can get you up to speed, isn't that right boys?!"

Ren could already hear a number of chuckles coming from some of the larger shadows that continued to move about between the house and what appeared to be a barn or large shed.

"Right, can't have you staring all day. Grab a blade and trowel from Kendrin and follow us to the fields. Need to make sure no new weeds or beasties roaming the fields before the real work can begin." Liv laughed as he slapped Ren's back and shoved him in the direction of the confirmed barn as he heard a large number of animals inside, even as he approached one of the larger shadows who appeared to be waving him over.

Ren couldn't help but look up at Kendrin and feel how small he was in this village. Well, either that or he just happened to be only introduced to all the village's giants and no one else.The man looked to be around the same age as himself, and was massive in both muscle and height. It was like looking at one of those old pictures of a viking come to life, except Kendrin was dressed in dirtied and ripped linens and lacking any battle armor. Though, the large knife and sickle he was sporting certainly gave him plenty of threat anyway. He smirked seeing Ren approach and waved him closer.

"Ay, come closer new guy. Nothing to be afraid of. Just grab a sickle, a sack and I'll show you how it's done for a bit anyway." He tossed Ren the sickle and kicked an empty dirtied sack at him before walking towards the fields. Ren fumbled a bit with the sickle, which was little more than a rusted curved piece of iron on an old stick. Everything seemed extremely used and old, even for this more primordial world.

'Ugh, this is already a pain. Maybe I should have just said I could weave with my hands instead.' He followed Kendrin into the fields as carefully as he could.

"So, here's the major breakdown of your duties for the next few hours. Cut out the weeds and other growths that are soaking up the water in the fields, and make sure to keep that scythe close. There's quite a few pest that like to jump out from the dark." Kendrin couldn't help but chuckle as they walked further into the field. The brush of the plants against them was some of the few sounds accompanying their footsteps between Kendrin's small demonstrations on how to properly cut the individual weeds. Finally, it was Ren's turn. Even just attempting to cut the weed was a trial with the rusty blade. The miserable cold of the morning, the muddy ground, the dense fields, it was all building on top of the ridiculous work he was doing.

At yet another weed and yet another muddy piece of dirt, Ren reached down to pluck it up from its roots. As he bent over, a small hiss was all he heard before he saw a shadow move. Frightened and a bit off balance, he pushed himself to the side and fell into the dirt. He scrambled in the mud before turning around and seeing what had attacked him. It was an ugly creature. Some strange mixture of a worm, and a centipede. It's mouth like the lamprey's and the slime dripping from it evoked the idea's of nightmares. It was disgusting, but it was fast, it already leaped at him again, forcing him to roll away. Finally, getting back up on his feet, he bared the crappy scythe in front of him and prepared to fight it. He was feeling his heart race faster and faster, the blood rushed into his ears. It was the first encounter he had where he needed to fight in order to live. It was terrifying, and exhilarating at the same time.

His new muscles were tense and his fingers squeezed tight. Finally, the worm like thing jumped at him again, its mouth wide and the slime falling behind it as it flew threw the air towards him. Finally, he took in a sharp breathe before slicing with his scythe and feeling the slight pressure before the blade smacked the worm to the ground, half sliced before it smashed into a pile of goo. It was over in almost an instant, but it was still a tense moment before the air finally gushed from Ren's lungs as all the tension in his body released. He panted again and again as he caught his breathe.

***Ding****

First victory in combat has been achieved . Experience and Points awarded.

Combat is one of the harshest lessons to learn and all the harder to see its rewards. You have earned your first victory, however small, and begun your journey on the path of the warrior sovereign. Awarded two points and twenty experience.

'Holy crap, finally. Some actual progress. Wait, do I get rewards just like a game? From killing creatures? Oh hohoho, this might be easier then I thought."