Maeve had been gone for three days, and Erica and Christine had been working hard.  Kai spent most of the first day back having them help him fix shingles on the roof of the cabin, chop copious amounts of firewood, and learn how to tan some animal hides by scraping a blade across a skin stretched taut on a wooden frame.  The second and third days had been mostly spent with Kai trying to teach them the local language.   Kai called the local language Valdan, and the local Kingdom, Valris.

 

      Erica and Christine took a break from language lessons for a few minutes; Although they had been working hard at learning the local tongue, it was easier said than done, and both Erica and Christine were nursing mild headaches, even if Christine’s was slightly larger. 

 

      “Argh!”  Christine asked Erica, ignoring Kai’s chuckle at her frustration.  “How can you be doing so well at this, while I’m still trying to figure out basic words?  I’m not stupid - I learned French pretty quickly - but it’s like you already know half of this gobbledegook.”

 

      Erica laughed a bit.  “I don’t know, Christine - it’s just coming to me.  Half the time it’s like I’m remembering it, rather than learning it for the first time.  I don’t know how to explain it.”

 

      “Well, it’s certainly making me feel stupid.”   I can’t believe I’m practically pouting over this, Christine thought.  But it really isn’t fair.   Christine was indeed almost pouting, which only made the whole situation look sillier to Erica and Kai.

 

      “Considering you’re learning a new language with no relation to English at all, I think you’re doing great.”  Erica said.   “Even if I am somehow using a cheaty-hax to learn - I’m not sure if I am somehow - you’re learning it pretty quick!  Don’t put yourself down.”

 

      Kai chimed in from the kitchen nearby.  “You both are doing quite well.   Erica is doing best - but I can’t explain that any better than I can explain how she ended up in the Dreamers body.”   Kai did look more than a little baffled by the whole situation.  “It might have been a miracle, I suppose - but maybe there was another factor at work we didn’t understand.  I know Sir Andred thought it was a miracle - but I wonder why the goddess saw fit to return you in the body of the Dreamer girl, rather than heal the burns on your original body?   Her priests and priestesses heal dire bodily wounds all the time.  It’s beyond my understanding.”

 

      Kai poured some water from a kettle heating by the wood stove into three mugs - and soon the scent of the local herbal tea filled the room.   “The language skill Erica has shown is surprising - she can already speak sentences, and I figure at the rate she’s going she’ll be speaking like a local in a few weeks.   I can’t explain it.  Maybe it has something to do with the bond between Erica and the Dreamer.  Maeve said that your bond before you died was uncannily strong.”

 

      Kai brought the tea out, and everyone grabbed a steaming mug.  The tea was brewed from dried herbs gathered last fall, and flavoured with honey.   It was good, and tasted a little of blueberries.   Kai grimaced as he sipped it.  “All I had left in the cupboard was Maeve’s flavoured tea’s.  I thought I had more of my old standby, but it seems to be all used up.”

 

      Christine smiled.  “It’s fine, really.”

 

      Erica smiled too.  “Yeah, it’s not bad.”

           

      Kai nodded, and sipped his tea.  “Maybe we should take a break for a few hours, and head outside?   I’ve always been told a change is as good as a break” - so perhaps I should try my hand at teaching the two of you to shoot a bow.  How does that sound?”

 

      “Cool!”  Erica said.  “I’d like to learn!”

 

      “I’m not sure when I’ll use it, back home - but I guess I might need to learn how to hunt if we’re here a while, right?   I’ll give it a shot.”  Christine looked a bit dubious about the whole bow thing, but couldn’t deny that although she might not have a use for the skill right now, it might be far from useless if they ever were in danger again.  

     

      “I’m glad to see you at least try it, Christine.”  Kai said, honestly glad.   Kai gathered up two bows - his, which was noticeably larger and heavier, and a smaller bow, along with a quiver of arrows.  Like all the goods they had seen on Mercia thus far, they looked hand-made.

 

      Soon they were bundled up in their warmer clothes - fur boots and mitts, with a hooded leather parka trimmed with fur as well.   Christine and Erica both felt like Eskimos in their leather garb - but they also felt one other very important thing as well - they felt warm.

 

      Kai led the two women outside to a small field behind his cabin.  The field wasn’t huge - perhaps twenty yards across and thirty yards long, with a small shack structure about ten yards from the cabin itself on the right side of the field.   “This is where we’ll shoot.”  He said.  “My smokehouse is about thirty feet away - I’ll set up a target near that.  Just try not to shoot the smokehouse, alright?”  

 

      Christine and Erica chuckled, and watched Kai take a wooden target from behind the smokehouse and set it up in the light snow.  The target was a wooden pole wrapped in canvas, stuffed with straw, made in roughly the shape of a human target - they could make out rough nubs of arms, legs and a head at this distance.

 

      “Why does it look human?  Why not a circle?”   Christine asked, not realizing she had spoken aloud.

 

      “I guess he’s not shooting for points.”  Erica answered.  “Maybe with all the trouble he seems to get into with Maeve, he figured this would be more appropriate.   I’ll bet he didn’t expect to have company when he came back, either.”

 

      “True.  Still, it’s a bit creepy.”

 

      “Maybe.”  Erica said.  “I guess things are different here.  I mean, people shoot paper targets back home with human silhouettes - is that creepier?”

 

      “Not really, I guess.  I never saw the reason to get into the whole target shooting thing, with either a bow or a gun - nevermind the hunting.  I keep thinking I’ll end up shooting Bambi if we do this.”  Christine made a worried face.  She actually was concerned about hurting Bambi or another animal like him.  Isn’t it strange how Bambi is a guy’s name in the movie, yet its associated with women outside the movie?  Weird. 

 

      Erica laughed.  “I know - you totally freaked out watching Charlottes’ Web with Angie when I was ten or eleven, that year you stayed over for Thanksgiving.”

 

      “Hey, believe it or not, I had never seen that movie before...”  Christine said, trying to defend herself.  “It had a really sad ending.”

     

      By now, Kai had come back, and handed the smaller of the two bows to Christine.  “Hey you two, time to learn something.”  He said.  “I like the bow as a weapon because it’s something I’m really good at.   It’s a useful and deadly weapon - but its primary use for me has always been about hunting - for food and game, not for killing men.   It can be a difficult thing to take an animal’s life - but I and other hunters satisfy ourselves with the knowledge that we waste nothing the animal has to offer us - hide, sinew, bone, meat - all of it gets used for some purpose or another.”  While Kai said this, he strapped two leather bracers onto Erica and Christine’s left arms.

 

      Kai grasped his larger recurve bow, and held it at arm’s length.  “Watch carefully please - I’m going to show you how to draw a bow and nock an arrow without hurting yourself or the bow.”  He waited a moment, until he had their attention.   “First, hold the bow in one hand - left if you’re right handed, or the other way around if you’re a lefty.  Place an arrow on the string, like so... and raise the bow slowly to just above shoulder level - then draw the bow back with the hand holding the arrow, and aim at the target.”

 

      Christine tried with the smaller bow - but only got a few seconds into her draw before she was stopped by Kai.  “No... Christine, not like that.”  Kai moved her left arm upwards, so that it was level with her eyes.  “Like that.”

 

      I don’t see the difference.  Christine thought.  “Why like that - why can’t I draw the bow back as I raise the bow and arrow up to shoulder height?  Wouldn’t it save time if there was a fight?”

 

      “Yes, it would save time.”  Kai answered.  “But if you shot like that repeatedly, your right shoulder would get all kinds of strain, and you’d probably pull a muscle or tear a ligament - and that’s not good.  Also, until you’re much, much better, your aim would probably be thrown off and you wouldn’t hit what you shot at.”

 

      “Okay.”  Christine said, trying again.  She followed Kai’s steps, and got a grunt of approval.

 

      “Good!   Now take a shot at the target.”  Kai pointed at the canvas dummy.  “Aim a little higher than the dummy - as soon as the arrow leaves the bow, it starts to drop from where you pointed it - so unless you aim a bit higher than the dummy, your arrow will land in the ground, between us and it.”

 

      Christine took aim - or what she thought was aim - maybe an inch or two higher than the dummy looked at eye level, and let loose.  The bowstring snapped, and the arrow flew out of the bow - to fly past the dummy target and land in the field behind it.  “Aw crap!”  Christine scowled.  I thought I had it! she thought.

 

      “Cool, Christine!”  Erica said.  “You were close!”

 

      Kai nodded.  “You were close - which is good.  Your aim was a bit off, but I wasn’t concerned with your aim as much as I was watching you shoot.  I need to know which of your eyes is the dominant one - the one you aim with.”

 

      Erica looked a bit confused.  “The eye you aim with matters?  Don’t you aim with both eyes?”

 

      “You usually do, yes - but one eye draws the other, and it’s not always the same as the hand you hold the bow with, nor always the side of the hand you favour.  Your stance and grip on the bow itself are also important - if your stance is off kilter, or your grip too light or too strong, your aim will be off true.”  Kai said.

 

      “You didn’t say anything about a stance!”  Christine said. 

 

      “This isn’t a competition... yet, Christine.  I need to see what you do when you shoot to know how to break any bad habits you have, and show you how to aim properly.   Competition comes later.  Now let’s see Erica try this.”

 

      I swear, if that girl hits the damn target I’ll stuff snow down her coat so fast you’ll think it was done by the Flash himself.   Christine griped to herself.

 

      Erica took the bow from Christine, and tried to draw it the way Kai had shown them, but struggled with the strength of the bow.   “I can’t – it’s too strong - or I’m too weak.”   She raised the bow over her head, and tried to draw the bow by pulling down on the string - which seemed easier to do; she was able to nock the arrow!

 

      Kai shook his head.  “You might as well aim and loose the arrow, now that its nocked - but if you keep drawing that way, you’ll hurt your shoulder - the one holding the bow.   Drawing that way can strain your muscles on the arm holding the bow - so it might be better to not shoot for now, if you can’t draw the bow normally.”

 

      What?  Erica thought.  I’m too weak to pull a kiddy bow, so I might as well give up?  Hell no!   She took aim, and tried to sight down the bow - and loosed the arrow.  The pull of the bow was such that she had a hard time keeping her aim straight.  She felt the feathers whip across her cheek, and the string snap against the bracer Kai had given her.  The arrow flashed out - and missed the target by at least ten feet or more to one side, and about twenty feet before the dummy.   “Wow, I suck.”

 

      Kai tried to keep a smirk off his face, as he took the bow from Erica and gave it back to Christine.   “I take it that that means something different, from where you come from?”  Kai asked.  “Because it didn’t sound like you meant it the way it sounded.”

 

      Erica paused and did a double-take.  “Oh, yeah - sorry.  I guess I meant I’m not very good as yet.”  She had the good graces to blush a bit at least.

  

      Christine released a breath she didn’t know she had been holding.  So she isn’t perfect at everything.  Wow.  She thought.  I suppose that’s a bit unfair - just a bit of sour grapes I guess.

 

      “Perhaps not, Erica.  I think for you, we need to build up your strength first - to get you in shape to be able to draw the bow, before I can teach you how to use it.  How do you feel about cutting firewood?”

 

      Erica’s groan echoed across the clearing, and Christine and Kai both laughed.   While Erica went to cut firewood, Kai continued the archery lessons with Christine, who slowly found the experience to be a little bit addictive.  It’s like playing a video game, but with a real weapon.  She thought.  I really want to hit that stupid dummy and score.   The draw-aim-loose rhythm became Christine’s only concern for a while, aside from the occasional pointer from Kai regarding her stance and aim, or her grip upon the bow.   By the end of the afternoon, her shoulders were sore - but she could hit the target at least three times out of twenty.

 

      “That’s enough, Christine - you’ve done well.”  Kai said.  “It’s getting dark and we still need to prepare dinner.  I daresay your shoulders will be sore in the morning.   But I mean it when I say you did well - some people can’t even hit the target save by chance with so little training, and you can hit it several times.  You have a talent for it, I think.”

 

      “Thanks, I guess.”  Said Christine, a little proud of herself even if she didn’t have a clue where or when the skill would be useful.   “I just wanted to hit the damn target.”  

 

      “We should go see how Erica is doing.”  Kai said.  “She’s probably just as tired as you are, or more so.”

 

      Christine agreed, and the two of them headed over to see how Erica was doing.   Erica was standing at Kai’s chopping block - a large flattened stump on which a log sat ready to chop.  The ground nearby was covered in sawdust from where Erica had used what looked to be something similar to a swede-saw to cut a dropped tree into smaller logs, which she had then cut into firewood and kindling with Kai’s axe.   It looked as if she had succeeded in cutting a fair bit of wood in the two hours they had been outside - and Erica had shed her outer parka due to her exertion.  Erica looked exhausted, and her dress clung nicely to what curves she had.  She was unwilling to let the log on the chopping block ‘win’.  She didn’t hear them approach.

 

       “Alright, Log.  Let’s do this.”  Erica planted her feet, raised the axe, and swung.  The axe sunk into the log, and stuck about two thirds of the way down.  She groaned, and put the log between the ground and her foot, and pried the axe free of it for another swing.   The second swing cut the log in half.   “Finally.”   She said, exasperated.

 

      “Trouble?”  Christine asked.  “You look like you got a lot done.”

 

      “I guess.  My shoulders are killing me - and I didn’t get all that much done considering the time I spent.  How did archery go?”

 

      “Archery went well.”  Said Kai, smiling at both of them.  “Christine has a good technique and a talent for shooting.  We might be able to make her an archer one day.”

 

      “I was trying to be nice.”  Christine said to Erica.

 

      “Sorry.”  Erica said.  “And great, about the archery.  I think it’s pretty neat you can shoot - and at least you can draw the stupid bow, Christine.”

 

      “True.”  Christine said.  “But I’ll bet that once you get some strength in your arms and legs, you’ll be doing well too.   Don’t forget, you’ve basically been bed-ridden for who knows how many years - at least two or three, maybe more - we don’t know what age she fell ill to the sleeping sickness after all.  That kind of inactivity can really weaken a person.  Once you get active and build up your strength, I’ll bet a lot of things are a lot easier.”

 

      “True, I guess.  Thanks.   Is this enough for now, Kai?”

 

      Kai looked at the pile of firewood and nodded.  “It’ll do for now - but I think you should keep cutting the firewood until your strength gets better.  It will be good exercise and it’s a useful chore - goddess knows we always need more firewood.  Let’s go inside and get something ready for dinner.”  

 

      Erica stretched, and rubber her shoulders a bit before grabbing her coat to head inside.   Oddly enough, both women looked fairly proud of their accomplishments, even though they hadn’t expected to be.

     

     

      Inside, Kai lit a few lamps and put away the bows and arrows while Christine and Erica got out of their winter boots and coats.   Christine fetched a kettle full of snow to melt and heat by the fire - hot water was always needed for something - while Erica set the table, and checked on the stewpot by the hearth.  

 

      Dinner was something Kai called ‘pottage’ - a kind of soup or stew, made mostly of roots and legumes stewed over the fire for hours at a time, with some meat Kai had hunted for flavor.  Apparently pottage was a dish that was kept in the pot for days at a time, and new ingredients added as time passed.  Neither Christine nor Erica could get the children’s rhyme ‘pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold’ out of their mind when thinking of it.   It tasted okay - like split pea soup, sort of - but the fact Kai expected it to last a week in the same pot without refrigeration made both of their stomachs do flip-flops.

 

      Earlier that morning, Kai had shown Erica and Christine how to make bread - Christine wasn’t surprised Erica didn’t know how to make bread, but she was a bit embarrassed to admit she had never made a loaf of bread herself either.  That’s what the damn supermarkets are for!  She thought.  

 

      Still, however hard it had been to make the bread, they had spent all morning slavering over the smells of hot bread cooking in Kai’s stove.   If tonight followed last night, they would probably eat a bowl or two of pottage, with bread slices and a spoon to help eat it, followed by a simple honey-cake for desert that Kai had bought in town.   Beverages were limited to water or hard cider, of which Kai seemed to have a decent supply.

 

      As they ate, Erica asked about the cider.  “Kai - you don’t strike me as a big drinker.  Why do you have so much cider on hand?”

 

      Kai stopped eating his pottage and considered the question.  “Well, I do enjoy a drink in the evenings - but like you said I’m not a big drinker except under certain circumstances.  I guess it’s partially because I get bored of water after a while, and I don’t have any beer at hand at the moment.  Also, Wethom is a good place for orchards - we’ve got a lot of local apple orchards - and every vinter and brewer in the area has a recipe for apple cider.   I did a favor for Genna Candless, who owns the Greenapple orchards, a few years back and she makes sure I get a barrel or two of their apple cider or a keg of their Greenapple Brandy at below cost once or twice a year as way of saying thanks.”

 

      “Neat!”   Erica laughed as she said it.  “It’s a nice way to say thanks!”

 

      “True,” said Kai.  “Not everyone has money like Maeve to throw around, so a lot of business transactions are handled by barter and trade.   Money is used and changes hands a lot too, mind you - but trade and barter are still a big part of day to day life.   I might offer a couple of rabbits I snared in exchange for supplies to repair the cabin, for example - a lot of the people in town only get the meat offered at the market, so game is a little more scarce in their diet.  In fact, a lot of people don’t have much in the way of meat in their diet at all.”

 

      Christine shook her head, still a bit baffled about how Mercia could be so different from the world she was used to - and yet have people in it that acted ‘aside from the technological differences’ so much like people back home.   “I hope us being here won’t bankrupt you, Kai.”

 

      Kai laughed.  “It shouldn’t.  Maeve pays well when she has one of her crazy missions - and I dare say she’ll probably throw in something extra for me after this one.   I live pretty well, with her jobs supplementing what I make as a hunter and trapper.”

 

      “How much do you make, Kai?”  Erica asked.  “If you had to convert it to money, I mean.”  

 

      Kai thought a moment.  “I guess I would make somewhere between a hundred and eighty to two hundred and eighty silver a month.   If what you said about how much one of your dollars could buy, I think that would be somewhere between nine hundred and fourteen hundred dollars per month.  That covers all my living expenses, plus maintenance on my cabin, plus a little bit extra on the side for me to spend when I go to town to have some fun, or buy something expensive on the rare occasion I do so.  Plus, travelling around with Maeve is kind of expensive at times.” 

 

      “It makes sense.”  Christine said.  “How much would a hunter living in a cabin need to survive, back home, compared to what an executive at a banking firm need to survive?   I guess I’d live in a palace by comparison.  I guess it gives one a little perspective.”

 

      “A palace?”  Kai asked.

 

      “Christine’s aunt was pretty wealthy.”  Erica said.  “When she died, she left her home to Christine.  It’s a big house in a fairly expensive area of the largest city in our home country.  Toronto has over three million people living there.”

 

      Kai’s eyes goggled at the number.  “Excuse me?  Did I hear you correctly - or is this another one of your odd words that don’t mean what they should?”

 

      “No, she means it.”  Said Christine.  “On our world there are cities with up to fifty million people in them - but they’re pretty rare.  Most mid sized cities have over a hundred thousand people, though.”

 

      Kai looked amazed.  “Truly?  This isn’t some jest or joke at my expense?”

 

      “Nope.”  Erica said.  “But I think it’s only because of our machines - like those cars Maeve told you about - that let us do it.  We learned a lot about how to use the machines to do farm work for us, so the same farm twenty people would need to work here, only one - or less - needs to work back home.  It made a big difference.”

 

      Kai could only nod in agreement.  “I guess that makes us here seem rather backward and provincial, then doesn’t it?”   He sounded a bit bitter about it - like Christine and Erica’s casual assertions had been almost like a condemnation of what people here in Mercia had accomplished.

                                                                

      “No - quite the opposite.”  Erica said.  “We’re so used to building and making things with our machines, that to see what you’ve been able to accomplish here without them makes the accomplishments all the more impressive.   I mean, Wethom would never exist back home in our world - no one would build high stone walls around an entire city - and if they did, it would look sterile and characterless.   Just looking at the walls of Wethom, you can tell each brick and stone was laid by hand by a craftsman or worker, not a machine - and it shows.  It has a character that a lot of the modern buildings and items in our world don’t have.   I think that’s really cool - it shows how much you care about the things you make, and the things you have.   I think we’ve lost that somewhere along the way.”

 

 

      Christine agreed.  “Yeah - I can’t remember the last time I saw a piece of hand-crafted anything outside a yard-sale or a craft-fair.   Everything is made by machines back home - and like Erica said, most of it looks okay, and does the job - but it lacks the uniqueness that the furniture and tools and buildings have here.  We have entire blocks of cities with virtually identical homes side by side - so much so it’s not uncommon to have people mistake their neighbour’s house for their own.  That’s pretty disgusting, in my opinion.”

 

      Kai shook his head in disbelief.  “I don’t think I’d like your world very much, Christine, Erica.  It sounds like there are so many people they would be crawling over each other like ants in a hive, and the way you describe your cities doesn’t make me want to visit them.  I can’t imagine how Wethom or even Arathel would look if all the houses in one section of the city looked the same.   It’s hard to understand.”

 

      “Seeing what I’ve seen of Mercia, and how you live, I don’t think you’d like our world either.”  Said Christine.  “There are parts that are still pretty wild, and have few people - where hunters live a lot like you do - but those areas are becoming fewer and farther between.  Eventually they’ll all be gone.”

 

      After that, Kai didn’t feel much like talking... he seemed to brood a bit over how different their worlds were, at least to Erica’s and Christine’s eyes.   It wasn’t long after that, that Kai suggested they all head to bed for sleep - in the woods, he tended to rise with the dawn, and head to sleep shortly after dark, at least in the winter.   Christine and Erica found it a bit difficult to adapt to usually, being used to electric lights and so on, but tonight they were sore from their exertions, and bed sounded like an excellent idea.

     

*          *          *

 

      Erica woke the next morning to feel sunlight hitting the edge of her bed, and hearing Kai moving about in the kitchen quietly.   Christine was still snoring lightly from her bedroom, but the loudness of the snores wasn’t anything near what Erica had joked about with Christine a few days earlier.   It’s funny,  She thought.   I feel more normal here and now than I did for the last four to five years back home.   I haven’t felt this good since before I got sick with the schizophrenia - which isn’t even schizophrenia.   Erica shuddered at the thought of the multiplicity of demons she had seen, clutching and whispering evil words to the link - the magical cord tying his old self to the Dreamer he now inhabited.  I wonder if a lot of other schizophrenics are actually possessed, like some people think?   Erica was kind of torn about her opinion.  After seeing what a real demon could do, and what it was capable of, I think I’d rather be sick with an illness. 

 

      The soreness in her shoulders had spread to be an ache that covered the majority of her back, but Erica knew that if she didn’t keep using the muscles, they wouldn’t get any stronger.  Still, she thought.  I hope I don’t have to cut too much wood today.  Don’t muscles need some time to heal first?   She lay in bed, eyes still closed, enjoying the feel of the sun on her face.  She felt safe.

                  

      What about my new body?  She thought.  Can I live like this?   Erica considered that for a moment.  She remembered the day long ago, when he was only twelve or so; his mother had caught him trying on his sister’s clothes in front of a mirror.  He didn’t know why he wanted to do it at the time, but it seemed something was just wrong with his life - like it wasn’t supposed to be the way it was.   He had been so nervous, trying the clothes on - feeling how they felt different from his normal clothes - but also happy, because it was the way he wanted to be.   Then his mother found him - and scolded him soundly - more worried about her stern husband’s reaction to his son’s behaviour, than worried over what Eric had been doing.   I think she knew.  Eric thought.  I think she knew, and was scared for me.   She knew dad would never understand...  That’s why she told me to keep it inside, a secret, until later.   Only there wasn’t a later...  She died.  Dad hated me - blamed me for mom, and my life fell to shit.  And now that life is over - and I have to figure out what I’m going to do with this one...  What the hell DO I do?

 

 

      While she was musing, Erica heard Christine groan as woke up.  Damn - I can’t stay in bed all day...  She thought.  I guess I better get up.   Erica pulled back the covers, stretched and got up from the bed.  

 

      About twenty minutes later, both Christine and Erica had cleaned themselves up, and come back from the cold outdoors.   As much as I like outhouses compared to the open sewer in Ogden-town, Erica thought.  I really, really miss indoor plumbing and modern toilet paper.   Plus it’s really cold out there...  “Cold enough for you?”  She asked, to no one in particular.

 

      Kai laughed.  “Cold?  It’s a bit chilly and damp, but you haven’t seen real cold yet.  It’s practically spring outside.   If you ever have the misfortune to see a Yaskaran winter, you’ll know true cold.  They say it’s cold enough to freeze your blood solid in minutes, if you don’t dress for the weather.  I’ve seen it – it’s true.  You can get frostbite so quickly and so badly that you can lose your fingers and toes in less than ten minutes.   As cold as it gets here, the people of Yaskar suffer far worse, and do it every year.  They’re a hard people, born of a hard land.”

 

      “Wow, Erica - I think you just got told.”  Christine laughed.  “I assume Yaskar is north of us?”

 

      Kai nodded.  “Yes - it’s actually wider than it is tall, running mostly east to west from the Dragon Sea in the west, to the mountains of Ghaelorn in the east, and from the northern ice oceans south to the borders of northern Valris and Madragoor.  I’ve actually heard that its northernmost lands are so harsh, that trees refuse to grow there - that there’s naught but icy wastes and tundra.   I’ve not been that far north myself, nor care to do so - but I suspect Maeve’s been there once or maybe twice.”

 

      “Do people live in Yaskar?”  Erica asked, as she carried the heavy kettle from the stove to the table to pour water for tea.  “I mean humans, like us - or do different people live there?”

 

      “Yaskar is home to the Harvon and the Wolfen, although some brave humans venture there.   The Harvon are like humans in most ways - they look like us, live much like us, and can breed with us - but they burn bright, like a candle - and burn out like one too.   Harvon are capable of great bursts of strength and speed, like nothing you’ve ever seen before I’d wager - and because of that power, they burn through their life faster than you or I.  A Harvon will probably live to see forty winters before old age takes him - if battle, hunger or disease don’t do it first - where you or I could expect to see sixty - perhaps even eighty winters if the goddess smiled upon us, and violence or sickness do not claim us quicker.   Because their lives are so short, they live life to the fullest, without reservations or regrets.  Their unreserved behaviour makes many in these lands see them as uncouth barbarians, but I think it’s simply because they don’t have time to waste on the foolish games we play as part of how we interact with each other.  We have the luxury of doing so, while they do not.”  

 

      Kai thanked Erica for the tea she had poured, and continued.  “The Wolfen are a people made by the gods.  A long time ago, mankind fought many demons - and the Harvon were especially sacred to the Twins, Feana and Hathor - the children of Isundal and Askeline.   When they saw the Harvon were suffering, and losing their battle against the demonic hordes, they created a new people - born of the harsh lands the Harvon hailed from.  These people were the Wolfen - humanoids born from the mighty and powerful timber wolves that run the northlands of Mercia.  They appear much as you would expect, if a wolf had the build of a man and walked upright, and was able to speak.” 

 

      Christine shook her head in disbelief, as if this other, new race was just another example of how strange Mercia was compared to Earth.    Erica on the other hand looked interested - a bit overwhelmed by all the information - but still curious.   As everyone served themselves some breakfast from the cookpot, Kai continued.

     

       “Together the Wolfen and the Harvon fought against the demons and vanquished them - and if the legends are true, raised a great shrine to the Twins in their most sacred of cities – ‘Shining White’ - commemorating their victory.  Since then, the Harvon and the Wolfen claim Yaskar as their homeland, and live, trade and raid the surrounding territories as they have for millennia.  The Wolfen value their pack and the Harvon their clans - and they both cherish their honor, both personal and pack or clan.  They believe the worst crime a man can commit is to be without honor.  They rule the north, together.”  Kai ended his tale, and started eating.  

 

      “Amazing.”  Erica said.  “There’s so many things that are different here.  Can you believe it, Christine?  First Reechi, and now Wolfen and the Harvon.”

 

      “I can believe it - I mean, magic works and we’re on another world.  Maeve and Kai said that Elves are real - why not a bunch of different races.  Why don’t we chuck evolution out the airlock - it obviously doesn’t really apply here anyway.”

 

      “I suppose not.”  Erica chuckled.

 

      When their breakfast of pottage and slightly stale bread was done, Kai finished his tea and cleared his throat.  “I’m going to be heading into the woods today, to set up my traplines - unlike Maeve I try to hold down a job when I’m not working with her.  I’ll probably be gone all day - but if the weather is good, I should be back in time for dinner.  Do you two think you can hold down the fort here for today, without me watching over the two of you?”

 

      “We’re not children, Kai.”  Christine said a bit snidely.  “We should be able to manage.”

 

      Kai scowled, obviously annoyed with Christine’s tone.  “You’re not children, no - but you both lack the basic skills any child raised here would need to know to survive by your ages.   I’m not concerned that you’ll be safe - I’m concerned that you’ll run into problems you won’t know how to solve without me aiding you, until you do learn the basics.   Like making fire if the stove should blow out, or making bread - without the use of your machines from your home.”

 

      Erica got between Kai and Christine, motioning them apart.  “We’ll figure it out Kai - I’m pretty sure I can figure out how to light a fire - and together we’ll figure out bread and how to do any other chores, until you get back and tell us what we did wrong or how we can do it better next time.  We might even surprise you!”  Why is Christine being so bitchy?  Erica wondered.   She really seems to be up in Kai’s face today.

 

      “Fair enough.”  Said Kai.  “I’ll leave the two of you to figure things out then.  Don’t wander too far from the cabin - there are dangerous things in the woods this far from town, alright?   Maeve was right when she said Elves weren’t friendly.”  Kai looked grim as he said that.  “I don’t expect them this far east this time of year, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be one.  They spy on our lands from time to time, and cause mischief while doing so.”

 

      “Mischief?  Like knocking over a water barrel or letting out the animals from a barn?”

 

      “No.”  Kai said.  “More like kidnapping, arson and murder.  They might even ensorcell you, or worse.”

 

      “Umm...  You’re leaving us here why?  Are we at risk here?”  Erica looked a bit concerned - and so did Christine.  

 

      “Erica, if I truly thought you or Christine were in serious danger from either elves, or bandits, I wouldn’t be haring off into the wilds to set my traps.  I was just voicing a concern over the possibility that such dangers exist - and since you’ve both mentioned elves don’t exist on your world, I thought I should warn you about the dangers they pose.   I didn’t mean to alarm you - just warn you a bit.”   Kai looked a bit exasperated.  It was clear all the explanations he was giving were just as draining on him to tell as they were for Christine and Erica to try to assimilate.  “Will you two be okay while I’m gone?  Really?”

 

      Christine stiffened herself, and nodded.  “We’ll be fine - like you said, it’s not the season for elves, right?  Besides, if we have a problem, we still have the gun Erica brought from home.”

 

      “We do?”  Erica asked.  “I haven’t seen it since I ummm.... died.”

 

      It was Christine’s turn to be bashful.  “I kind of picked it up after... you know, and shot Bishop Vargas like eight or nine times with it.  It’s in my bag in my room - I’ll get it for you if you want.”

 

      Erica nearly did a spit-take.  “Eight or Nine times!  WOW!  I think you just unlocked an achievement, Christine.”

 

      “Excuse me?”  Kai asked, obviously confused at the turn of phrase. 

 

      “It’s a reference to some games back home that taught young people how to shoot.”  Christine said, coming to Erica’s rescue.  “When you got a good score, you ‘unlocked an achievement’.   It became slang for doing something significant and noteworthy.” 

 

      “Cool...”  Kai said.  “That’s the right word, right?  Or should I have said Organic?”

 

      Erica laughed.  “Cool is the right word.  Go set your traps - we’ll be fine.”

 

      Kai nodded, smirking, and gathered his traps.  He liked seeing Erica smile and laugh.  Soon his receding form disappeared into the woods surrounding the cabin, leaving the two women alone.

 

      “Well that sucks about elves.”  Erica said, once they were alone.  “I’ll bet you were daydreaming about Legolas or something - you and Angie were always crazy over Orlando Bloom in elf-garb in that film.”

 

      It was Christine’s turn to nearly do a spit-take.  As she wiped the tea off her hand, she turned to Erica and said “It’s not exactly any of your business whom I do or do not daydream about, okay?”  She didn’t look too annoyed to Erica - but miffed might be a closer term.   “Unless you want me to start asking you whom you daydream about, hmm?”

 

      Erica went red, realizing she might have gone too far.  “Sorry Christine - I didn’t mean to be rude... I was just trying to lighten the mood.”   That and I don’t want her asking whom I daydream about.   I’m not sure I can talk about that...

 

      Christine scowled a bit, the shrugged.  “I guess I’m just a bit cranky today.  I’ve been a bit achy, and didn’t sleep too well.”

 

      “Sorry, Christine - I didn’t mean to go too far.”

 

      “It’s okay - I guess I’m just kinda pissed off that unless you discover how to do an amazingly difficult and very dangerous magical task, we’re never going to get home.  We’ll never see another movie, listen to the radio, or have another can of soda pop.  I’ll miss movies.”   Christine paused, and interrupted Erica before she could apologize again.  “But I want to tell you, as much as I miss all that stuff, I’d be a lot more upset to see you get hurt trying to get us home - or try to get us home, and get us stuck in that Void where you and Maeve said the demons were.  If either of those were our options, I’d rather we stayed here - as much as I don’t like the idea.”

 

      “I... thanks, Christine.”  Erica said.  “I am going to try to get you home.  I promise you.”

 

      “Thanks Erica.”  Christine gave Erica a fond gentle punch to the shoulder, and then motioned towards the kitchen.  “So what task do you want this morning - dirty dishes, or making bread and prepping dinner, such as it is?”

 

      “I guess I’ll make the bread.  Maybe kneading some dough will help me build up some strength in my arms?”  Erica said.

 

      “It couldn’t hurt.”   Christine acknowledged.  “I can pretty much say I never expected to be in a woodsman’s cabin doing his dirty dishes - or have you making bread by hand with me while doing it.  As much as this little fiasco is screwing up both of our lives, it has been a crazy and I guess exciting experience.  It’s something I’ll never forget, that’s for sure.”

 

      Christine started gathering up the plates and trenchers from the last few days, and got a basin of soapy water ready, while Erica started mixing the ingredients to make a loaf of bread - yeast, warm water, flour and salt.   The chores took a while - Christine was cursing the only thing she could clean dishes with was a knitted wool cloth, while Erica ruined at least two batches of yeast before figuring out how to activate it properly.   An hour later the dishes were done, and Erica had dough for three loaves of bread rising near the wood-stove. 

 

      Erica sat down on a chair with a ‘Humph!’ and pulled a fur around her shoulders for warmth.

Christine sat down nearby, and answered with a ‘Harumph.’ of her own.   The two of them looked thoroughly unimpressed with pioneer living.   They sat a few moments in silence, just resting and taking a moment to get their bearings.

 

      “Aren’t we a fine pair?”  Erica finally said, breaking the quiet.  “I’m exhausted after making three loaves of bread - and you’re defeated by dishes and a lack of dish soap and scrubbing pads.  How lame is that?”

 

      “Tell me about it.”  Christine commiserated.  “There’s probably a million things that need done around here too, but half of them I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”  She picked up a rack with a fur stretched taut across it.  “Like this thing.  I know it’s a skin that has to be prepared to become a fur Kai can sell - and I know He’s been showing us how to scrape them well enough - but what if he brings home a chicken or a quail for all of us to have for dinner?  Do you have any idea on how to pluck a bird’s feathers like that, or how to prepare its carcass for eating?  I don’t - I get my meat from a supermarket, where it’s all done before we see it.  Like normal people.  Do you have any idea on how to butcher a pig into roasts and chops?   I’ll bet Kai does.  This place is just too different.”

 

      “I bet it wouldn’t take too long to get used to it.”  Erica said.

 

      “Yeah, I suppose - you can get used to almost anything.  I just don’t want to have to get used to it.”

 

      “I know.   Hey Christine, all kidding aside, were you hoping to see a handsome elven archer while we were here?  I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting elves to be the creepy Grimm’s fairy tales versions instead of the friendly Middle-Earth versions.”

 

      “It would have made the situation a little more bearable.”  Christine said, smiling wryly.  “I have been going through a dry spell lately relationship-wise...  Maybe a fling would make this place a little more tolerable.”

 

      “Umm... maybe TMI, Christine?”  Definitely Too Much Information, thought Erica.

 

      “Well what about you, Erica?  Did you have anyone you liked back in T.O.?”

 

      “No... most of the time I was begging for change, so Norm and Dave and I could get some coffee or booze or smokes, and then find a safe place to sleep where the gangs and the hoodlums wouldn’t bother us too much.  I was pretty out of it a lot - the voices messed me up badly.  I still can’t believe that they’re demons - at least in my case.  I almost wish I was crazy instead.”

 

      “No you don’t - not really.  I’m betting you’re freaked out more about the demons - but you’re really glad you aren’t crazy.  Am I right?”  Christine looked like she was trying to puzzle something out.  “I mean, no one wants to be crazy - I think people are more terrified of their personality changing due to an illness or injury than they are of being maimed or killed.  Your whole identity is at stake.”

 

      “I suppose you’re right.  I just can’t reconcile what we thought we knew about reality, with the mental image of dozens of demons speaking through the link I had to the Dreamer and maybe other people on earth too - it goes against everything we’ve ever been taught.  It doesn’t make sense.”  Erica said.  “And I guess you could say my identity has taken a hit or two in the last week, huh?”  Do I tell her?   What if she laughs?   What if she won’t speak to me anymore?   I don’t want to be alone here.   There was a quiet moment as Erica considered what to do or say.

 

      “What do you mean, Erica?   The body switch with the dreamer, the ability to do magic against all scientific reasoning, the existence of demons, or the existence of Gods and Goddesses that can be actually seen and proven to exist - when they show themselves.   I think most people from back home would crawl into a bottle and never come back.   I... I have to admit, after seeing what happened to you, and your friends Norm and Dave, I had a few too many drinks trying to deal with it.   It bothered me a lot.  I know it bothered you a lot too - they were your family in their own way.”

 

      “I miss them a lot, Christine.  They took care of me, when Dad would have just locked me up in some institution and forgotten about me.  Angie was too busy, and she had her boyfriend and her life.  I didn’t want to burden them.”  Erica felt tears slowly forming on the edge of her eyes.  “I miss them a lot and I want the bastards who hurt them to pay.”   Oh hell yes, I want them to pay.  She thought.  Norm and Dave deserve justice, if nothing else.

 

      Christine nodded, but said nothing... She wasn’t sure what to say.   She was relieved when Erica gathered herself and changed the subject after brushing away her tears. 

      “I meant my identity as Eric or Erica.  That I’m in the Dreamer and the old me is dead.”  Here goes.  Thought Erica.  I hope to god that she doesn’t hate me...   “I... I didn’t have anyone romantically back home, cause I was kinda confused as to what I was and what I wanted.”

 

      Christine nodded - and didn’t laugh.  In fact, she looked rather serious, and concerned.  “Are you trying to say you think you were gay?  Cause if you were, I don’t think it’s a bad thing...”

 

      “No... I don’t think I’m gay - I don’t know what I am in that regard.  I never thought about who I wanted to be with, because I felt that I was disgusting and ugly, that my body was messed up and wrong.  I wanted to be a girl, not a guy - ever since I was little, and I knew my dad would hate me for it.  He already hated me anyway.”

 

      “Do you feel disgusting and ugly now?”  Christine asked.  “Or are things better now?”

 

      “I... I don’t know.  Yes...  I think yes - but I think I’m getting a hell of a lot of ‘Be careful what you wish for’ thoughts.   I don’t have the slightest clue how to act, or what to do, or how to live like this - and I’m scared shitless.   I feel like I dove into the deep end of a pool, and I don’t know how to swim - but yeah, I... I don’t feel like a freak anymore.”

 

      Christine got up, and slid over to Erica’s side, and held her hand.  “It’s okay Erica.  It kinda makes sense, considering what your sister told me - we talked about you a lot when you were on the street.  She’s suspected something’s been bothering you like that for years, although I don’t think she knows what you just told me.  I think she would understand you know... no, I know she would understand.”

 

      Oh my god!  She thought.  I said it - and she’s not laughing.  She’s not yelling.  Thank god!   Erica grabbed Christine and hugged her, tears coming again unbidden.  “Thank you.” she said.  “Thank you.”  Just being able to say the words - telling someone else who she felt she really was - was like taking a weight off her soul - a burden she was finally able to set down after so long.  She didn’t know how else to describe it - a weight she didn’t realize was so heavy, so crushing - was suddenly gone, and she felt like she could fly.

 

      Christine let Erica hug her a while, then gently disentangled herself from the hug.  “You know kiddo - if you’d told that to your sister a week ago, you’d have probably felt a lot better too.”

 

      “Maybe...  It just was the wrong time.  I was still messed up from the voices.”

 

      “Maybe - but maybe you would have been surprised.”  Christine tweaked Erica’s nose.  “Hey - you know my favorite character from the Lord of the Rings - whose yours?”

 

      “I’d have to say Arwen...”  Erica said, turning a bit red.

 

      “Why?  Because she’s a beautiful badass princess, and marries a handsome King?  Cause you know you do kind of have a little of that ‘Liv Tyler’ look going for you.”

 

      “Heh heh... Really?  No - I didn’t like her just for those reason, not really - although I really like the badass princess part.”  Erica laughed, a bit sadly.

     

      “Well why then?”  Christine was obviously curious. 

 

      “Because her dad Elrond really loved her, no matter what path she took.  I’d give anything for my dad to love me - and I know he never will.  Never.”   Erica lowered her head and closed in on herself, crying quietly - obviously too upset to continue talking...

 

      Christine, not knowing what to say, just put a reassuring hand on Erica’s shoulder for a moment.   “I’ll be outside if you need me, Erica.” she said, then went outside to cut some firewood, and give her friend some privacy for a little while.

        

*          *          *

 

      When Kai arrived back at the cabin, it was nearly dark.  The traps had been laid, and he’d found some excellent game trails.  Maybe I should disappear for weeks at a time more often.  The game seems to like it that way.  As he walked into the clearing, he heard a loud thwacking sound, repeated often - and as he came closer he saw the source - Erica was beating a pair of his rugs with a shovel to get the dust off them.  They were draped over a fence post, and there were clouds of dust in the air.  Why is she cleaning my rugs?  It’s not time yet!

 

      “Hello!”  He called.  “Thank you, Erica. You didn’t have to clean the rugs you know.”

 

      Erica paused for breath, and coughed a bit.  “I know.” she said.  “I just wanted to hit something, and Christine cut all the easy to get to firewood.” 

 

      “Bad day?”  Oh boy... this sounds like a bad day.  Maeve would know what to do... Dammit, what should I say?  Kai looked at Erica - she was covered in dust from heat to toe - and aside from being too thin - looked beautiful.  He caught himself staring and looked away.

 

      “Not really.  I kind of realized a few things, and needed to work out some nervous energy.  Plus I wanted to really hit something.”  Erica smiled, and pointed to Kai’s belt, where two rabbits hung.  “Are those for dinner?”  

 

      “Yes...  Think you and Christine are ready for me to show you how to clean and skin them, then cook them?”   Kai was glad to change to another, more comfortable subject.  

 

      “I am - but I’m not sure about Christine.”  Erica sneezed once, then twice more.  “I think I need to wash some of this dust off first.  I’ll need to clean up a bit first.”

 

      “That would be a good idea.” said Kai.  “You don’t want to catch a chill out here - and we don’t need you sneezing all over dinner either.”   The joke was plain in his voice.  “I could use a wash too, I guess?  I don’t usually bother too much with that stuff - but I usually don’t have company either...”

 

      “It’s okay.  We’re just used to washing up a lot more often.  We know things are different here - no worries.  Let’s go inside.”

 

      Kai nodded and moved to go inside with Erica.  She seems different - I don’t know how, but she seems different.  Less troubled.   I wonder what happened?  There was no easy answer, without intruding on her privacy, so Kai let it be for now, figuring when Erica was ready to share whatever revelation had changed her demeanor, she would.   They had rabbits to clean and cook, after all.