The hunting grounds were a wide open field littered with little white flowers. The trees were barely existent here, but in the far off distance, you could see shades of pink. Beyond, there was a towering mountain spewing smoke and ash.

  “What’s that?” Paco asked as he pointed.

  “The home of dragons. Created during the time of Lord Greatwood. It releases smoke and ash, spews lava, but the wind takes it away from us thanks to Lord Greatwood’s blessing.”

  “How was it ‘created’ during his time?” Paco looked up to Brukrag inquisitively.

  I watched as Brukrag looked down at Paco with a pensive stare.

  “Let me shorten it briefly for you so we can hunt. Then, later, I will tell you the full story. Lord Greatwood united the dwarves of old under the house banner as the golems encroached on multiple territories all at once. They were led by Krik-krak the Obsidianblade. With their forces united, Lord Greatwood was able to repel the golem attacks with heavy losses. Eventually, he marched to Srazada-um, which is the mountain you see in the distance. Lord Greatwood and Krik-krak waged battle for a fortnite until both succumbed to their injuries. Lord Greatwood was then granted access to the Gates of Elysium where he resides until Krik-krak’s return. Then, the gates will open and his ax shall fall once again on Krik-krak.”

  “Wait, so this obsidian guy is going to come back even though he died? Same with Lord Greatwood?” Paco’s eyes were full of wonder in the legend that Brukrag was telling.

  Brukrag put his hand on Paco’s head. “Do not worry, little one. I will explain it all eventually. Though I do believe it is time to hunt.”

  Paco turned to me and rubbed his hands together. I sighed, went into my inventory and produced a biscuit for him as Brukrag started jogging into the field of white flowers.

  “Go as fast as you can!” he shouted back to us.

  I ran, pushing hard against the ground. Before I could even cover the ground Brukrag between us, I felt myself breathing heavily. Paco on the other hand had almost caught up to him. I slowed and began to jog, trying to catch my breath. I looked up and saw Brukrag had stopped and Paco was still running in circles around him while laughing.

  “You need to work on your cardio,” Bruk said. I bent over, put my hands on my knees, and tried slowing my breath. “You have hidden abilities that aren’t directly tied to everything else you’re able to upgrade. These will automatically upgrade as you use them. When you reach level 10, you’ll have a new menu icon to see them.”

  “What kind of abilities?” Paco asked as he continued to run around.

  “Swimming, running, things you barely think you use.”

  Don’t forget coordination. The dexterity in your fingers and hands. Flexibility. Shit like that.

  The AI chirped in as Brukrag laughed. It had been a while since we had heard its voice. It was startling at first.

  “It’s been a while since someone has spoken to me that way,” Bruk said.

  “Yeah, well I’m used to it. This thing hates me.” I showed him the sleeve as I finally started to recover my breath.

  “So, does that mean things like climbing I’m already pretty good at?” Paco finally came to a stop.

  “I’m sure you’re already decently leveled in it, but yes, you can continue to increase these hidden abilities just by existing. Remember, especially you,” Bruk pointed at me, “you have to get these things leveled up. Laziness will be the death of you in times of war. They can decrease, though it is infrequent. If you become sloth-like, your cardio and running will go down. Now that you’re a part of the Council, you will be able to run faster than the fastest animal on your planet should you choose to train and push yourself beyond your perceived limits.”

  “Understood,” I said. I looked over to Paco who simply saluted Brukrag after he finished. He stood there waiting for anything to happen.

  “Alright, now let’s get to work,” Brukrag said. “I want you guys to work on climbing and ambushing any little animals you find. There should be boar beyond this line of trees in a clearing. They like to graze around this time.”

  I followed Paco as quickly as I could as he scurried off towards the tree line. He scampered up a tree, and I climbed up behind him as best I could grabbing any limb that wouldn’t break from my weight. More than once did the thought cross my mind that the wood would snap and I’d go tumbling back down to the ground which seemed to be a common occurrence these last few days. When I finally caught up to Paco, he was staring at a group of boar. There were four just chilling in the patch of grass, snorting as they ate anything they could get their mouths on. I inspected them. They were all level 7.

  “Okay, so what’s the plan, Chris?”

  “I think I’m going to use Deadeye, then I’ll hit one or two of them. You should go to another tree, quietly. Then you can jump down and use Double Slash on any that get away.”

  Paco nodded in return before he took off and made his way around to another tree. I could barely see him as he camouflaged against the bark. He waved his stick, and I could see the green flash through the pink leaves. I looked down at the closest boar and activated Deadeye.

  My knocked arrow loosed after I drew back the bow and paused to steady my breath. It aimed true and connected with the animal just behind the ribs. The squealing was horrendous as it lashed out and began to run away from where I sat. I knocked another arrow, steadied my bow, and launched it to a boar that had looked up to see what the fuss was about. I missed as my arrow dug into the ground next to it.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Shit,” I whispered as my hands fumbled for another arrow. This one hit its mark and connected with the head of the boar. Before it knew what happened, it collapsed onto the ground. The others had now taken notice and began to run away with the bleeding pig.

  I watched as Paco jumped from the tree and pulled his sword from the sheath. He plunged directly down onto one. The metal going straight through the animal as Paco stabbed it in the back. I watched as the handle dug into Paco’s chest and a sickly groan escaped him. His health bar had gone down by half, and I knew the maneuver was meant to look cool, but he hadn’t thought it through. Inertia had taken over and his arms weren’t strong enough to stop the handle from pushing back into him.

  I quickly slid down the tree and ran over to Paco. He had used Heal. I could hear his ribs clicking back into place like little twigs snapping.

  “That one really hurt,” he groaned as he pulled his sword from the boar.

  “Yeah, wasn’t the brightest idea, but it worked. You got the kill.” I kicked the lifeless form at our feet.

  “Where’s the others?” he asked.

  “Gotta go find the one I injured, but I think two of them got away.”

  “Okay, go get the blood trail. I’m gonna loot this guy.” Paco sheathed his sword and it made that classic movie sound again. I watched as he bent over the boar and started tugging on its tusks. I had no clue what he was planning, but my deranged party member was damned sure he was going to do it. I didn’t say anything as I looked to the ground for the blood trail.

  It wasn’t hard to find. I followed the glistening red puddles away from my tree. My bow was now on my back, and my knife in hand. I figured it would be a quicker end when I came across the animal.

  Maybe 50 yards away, I found it. The boar was panting as it began to drown in its own blood. It was sad, really. I felt a pang of guilt. I had never hunted anything before. As I stood above the furry brown pig, I saw the terror in its eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered as I knelt down and put my knife to its throat where I thought a vein or artery would be. I hesitated, but knew it was worse to let it suffer. The tip of my knife went to its throat, and I put my handle on the back of the blade and jammed it in. There was a squeal of pain as blood squirted out. I watched as its eyes dilated and the vacancy of death took hold of it before I pulled my knife from its throat. I wiped the blood on its fur and looted it.

  I had gotten a few pieces of raw boar meat and a tattered leather hide. I walked back to Paco who was looting my other kill.

  “Got what I needed,” he said as he showed me four boar tusks. “Did you get them from the other one?” he asked.

  “No, just some meat and a hide.”

  I watched as he shook his head. “Let’s get back to Mr. Shoulder.”

  Brukrag was waiting for us.

  “How did it go?”

  “Paco got hurt a little, but we killed three boar.”

  “Not bad for your first hunt,” he laughed. “What happened to the little friend?” Brukrag looked at Paco.

  “I jumped from a tree and slashed down at a boar. The handle of my sword hit my in the ribs when I impaled it and it broke some things in me. But I healed myself and I’m all better now.”

  “Flashy isn’t always a good thing, little one. I’m just glad you aren’t seriously hurt. The rearranging of bones always gave me a sickly feeling.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t really like how it felt,” Paco said as he sat down. “I think I’m gonna have a little snack now. Chris and I are almost level 8 after that.”

  I watched as Paco produced a biscuit and started munching on it.

  “Where’d you get that one?” I asked.

  Paco looked up to me, and didn’t answer. I checked my inventory, all of the biscuits were gone.

  “You stole them from me!”

  Paco laughed. “Gotta pay more attention, Chris. I might be a Samurai class, but I am still a thief.”

  I rolled my eyes. It didn’t actually bother me. I was worried about how easily he had done it, though I knew he wouldn’t maliciously steal from me. Would he? I shook the thought from my head. I sat down and Brukrag joined us.

  “Where to next?” I asked.

  “Probably head back to town then come—” there was a honking noise. It reminded me of the laughter of the Grays. I watched as Brukrag quickly became alert and turned to face something behind us.

  “We need to go,” he said firmly as he stood up and wielded his ax.

  “What, why?” Paco said, still sitting on the ground.

  I looked over and saw it.

  Anomalous Spirit of the Goose. Level 1. Don’t fuck with this thing. I mean it. It’s only level 1, but it will totally fuck you up. Leave any bread on the ground and just back away slowly. These things want one thing and one thing only. And you have it. Don’t try to befriend it. It always ends badly when the goose is loose. You might think, “oh, but I’m different. Surely I can tame this thing.” No, you can’t and to think so is a fool’s dream. When these guys are mad, they grow up to be as tall as mountains and grow heads like hydras. They’ll blast you to Hell with fire magic, cool you down with ice, then when your heart stops beating, they’ll shock you back to life just to do it again.

  “But, I want my biscuit!” Paco screeched.

  “Didn’t you hear what your foot bracelet said!” I shouted back as I grabbed him like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. He dropped his biscuit from the force. I threw Paco over my shoulder as the goose started racing towards us.

  “Back to town, now!” Brukrag shouted.

  I was already full sprint as Paco struggled on my shoulder. I heard the thunderclap of Bruk’s footfall behind us. The honking grew louder, then it stopped entirely. I quickly turned my head to see the goose scarfing down the biscuit and flapping its white wings. It reminded me more of a swan than anything, but I didn’t want to argue with the AI’s description.

  I didn’t stop running until I could see the town. I was entirely out of breath, and my neck was thrashed from Paco clawing me to get free. It had finally given up when he realized he’d never be able to break my grip on him no matter how hard he tried. I put him down.

  “Sorry,” I said.

  “Don’t,” Paco replied as he turned his back on me and started walking towards the gate.

  “He’ll be fine,” Brukrag said as he came up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder.

  “Yeah, he’s just, I don’t know. He’s like a child sometimes.”

  “Because he is a child. He’s scared of the world around him. He was taken from his home just like you, and given intelligence he never asked for. He’s living for the first time just like you. Just give him time, he’ll be fine.”

  “You’re right. Let’s get back home,” I said. Home. What a foreign word.