Day 32 - The Farmer, The Adept and the Fighter

  The three men stood on the edge of Tiller’s farm, facing the direction of the ranch. They could not see the other holding, but a faint tendril of smoke reached up against the grey early morning sky. It was a cook fire or something similar, but the sight could not help but stir memories of the day before the battle. Bad memories. A trauma too fresh to be buried.

  Tiller glanced at Cutter and stepped forward until he was nearly at the precipice to the white floor beyond. He raised his arms high to either side of him. Cutter and Reader could not see his eyes with his back to them. But they began to glow, an earthy green, matching the sudden light pulsing on the earth sigil at his wrist.

  Cutter nudged Reader. “I love this bit. It is so freaking cool.”

  Reader smiled in return without words. Reader’s eyes, however, were just as excited and fascinated as Cutter’s were.

  The ground beneath their feet vibrated. It did not shake, not really. The vibration was steadier and more controlled than that. It was like the low hum of a well-tuned engine. They felt the sudden shift in inertia. It was instant but, again, controlled and gentle. The loose pebbles and crumbs of dirt by their feet barely trembled. But the whole farm began to slide.

  Tiller’s arms shook with the effort. It was like he was holding a weight above his head in those raised hands. It was as though the weight was pressing down and growing heavier. But the earth moved. The entire farm crawled forward, toward the ranch. Foot by foot, then yard by yard, the earth flowed. The surface remained untouched. Not one blade of grass or precious crop tilted in the motion. It was the earth below, that lay on the white, that ground forward. The earth spun like the tracks of a treadmill, driving the whole farm forward.

  The light flicked on Tiller’s sigil and his back tilted suddenly, the motion of the earth faltered. He wrenched himself straight and shoved his hands skyward again, grunting with effort. The motion resumed and the farm kept grinding, yard after yard.

  “Wow…” Cutter was awestruck. He was, at that point, the strongest of them. His band was the most progressed, his sigils by far the best. He had impacted their lives the most to this point, winning treasure and security through violence. But he was awed by this power. He was awed even more in the imagining of what this power could become in the future.

  After about three minutes the light suddenly winked out at Tiller’s wrist and he crumpled to his knees, gasping for breath. The other two men were instantly beside him, Reader peering at his face, Cutter slapping him on the back.

  “Shit. That is the best one yet. I think that must have been a hundred yards.”

  Reader said, “It is pretty hard to judge with no scenery about.”

  Cutter helped Tiller to his feet. “It was a hundred yards. Bet my life on it.”

  Tiller was still gathering his breath. He wheezed, “A hundred yards is still too slow.”

  Cutter said, “Every little helps. Rome was not built in a day.”

  Tiller shook his head. “I do not know why I do this. The ranch is five miles away. At this rate of going it is going to take what, three months to combine them?”

  Reader said, “Eighty-five more days by my maths. But we can add earth from the composter as well.”

  Tiller sighed. “It would just be so much easier if they were closer. Less commuting to manage them both, easier to defend, probably better bonuses from my sigils.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Cutter said, “Keep at it, man. Besides, that earth sigil must be getting seriously ripe doing this every day. Come on and join the iron club, bump that baby up to blaze and then see what you can do.”

  Tiller just sucked wind.

  Then a voice, loud and excited: “DOOOD. Are we gonna do this, bruh, or are we gonna yak all day. Come on, bruh, it is time to GIT SOME.”

  “Hell yeah it is.”

  Cutter turned to the other two. “Do not get killed while I am gone.”

  Reader said, “You are the one who is going dragon hunting.”

  Cutter smiled. “All the same, stay above ground for me. Okay?”

  The men shook hands and clapped backs and shared farewells. Cutter joined Stone Robot and they traversed the farm. Cutter said, “You know, this place has started to feel a bit like home.”

  “Totally. It is kinda sad to be going away, dude. I like totally like those guys. And Maeve. And Bean. And the goblin dude. Not so sure about the talking book, even with the potty mouth turned down. And that pod guy. But I like this place. How long we gonna be gone?”

  They passed the rows of crops and the leprechaun’s home and reached the other side of the farm, the white expanse stretching before them.

  Cutter shrugged. “Hard to say, man. From what Monk told me it sounds like we are going to be riding all day for about three or four days, give or take. Then there is hunting the bastard down, figuring out how to murder his scaly ass. We need to get back as fast as we can with the loot and so I can get back to earning to keep this place afloat, but I do not think we will see home again for two weeks.”

  Stone Robot shifted a little. “That kinda sucks. I mean, I like totally wanna git some, but, you know…”

  Cutter put a big hand on a stone shoulder. “Hey. It is going to be you and me again, like the old days.”

  “Oh yeah… YEAH. HECK YEAH. Let us GIT SOME.”

  “Heheh… git some… come on, transform and roll…”

  Cutter stopped talking as he spied movement. He started, then settled with a smug grin. “Well, look who it is…”

  Huntress stood a few yards away. “Do not be weird.”

  “Just saying, you could not stand to see me go without saying goodbye.”

  “I said, do not be weird.”

  Cutter said, “Just saying… Come for a goodbye kiss?”

  Huntress tapped her helm. “Cannot kiss with this thing glued on.”

  “Oh. So that is not a no to the sentiment?”

  “Oh, shut up. I came to give you this.”

  She held out her sword, in its scabbard with the belt coiled around it.

  “What?” Cutter was genuinely startled.

  “Do not make it weird.”

  “Hang on, babe. What are you going to do if there is trouble? You might need that thing.”

  “There is not going to be trouble. Hanging around here is the most low-key job I have ever had. And if there is trouble I have got my bow and knives. Norris will be back on his feet soon. There is not going to be anything that poses that big a threat that will be interested in a little farm on the outskirts of Medley. We will be okay. You, however, you massive idiot, are going to try and kill a dragon. Without my help.”

  “You are needed here. I got this. Seriously.”

  She stepped closer. Cutter could not help but be intensely aware of her shape, her skin, the sound of her breathing. However adamant he was that this world was nothing but a dream, he could not deny that reality was slowly peeking through at the edges. He was wildly attracted to this woman. But he had a wife. For all his talk, he could not…

  He reached out and accepted the sword. She said, “This will give you much better odds of coming back here alive, and with the prize you are going after. It is still a loan, like the last time. I expect it back.”

  “Babe, when I get back we will have the cashflow to get me a sword of my own and score you a nice upgrade.”

  “Whatever. Just do not be stupid. You cannot take a dragon on head to head. You need to be smart. I know that does not come naturally to you, but I am doing this favor for you, so do one back. Do not rush in. You hear me?”

  Cutter reached a hand out to touch her shoulder. She did not step back or shrug him off. “I will be back.”

  The moment lingered between them. It was not comfortable, but it was not entirely uncomfortable either. After a few seconds Cutter looked away. “Okay. Seriously, thank you. I am going to kick so much ass with this.”

  “DOOOOD. You are doing it again. Less chatting and more gitting some, bruh.”

  Cutter laughed, his huge mad grin suddenly splitting his face. “Okay, okay.”

  He stepped to Stone Robot, who had morphed into his hover-bike configuration. He slung a leg over, feeling like the man with no name, and turned to Huntress. “Hey, you stay alive too, okay? And keep those other idiots from getting themselves dead as well?”

  She stood, arms crossed in front of her. “Sure.”

  Cutter turned back, leaning over his friend and vehicle. “Okay, let us roll out and…”

  Huntress’s shoulders shook with quiet laughter as Stone Robot surged forward onto the white and they sped away, both their voices ringing in perfect unison, “…GIT SOME.”