Chapter 4: Volume 1 – Chapter 3

It was clear that this time she was not coming back. Tal looked around the small hut he had called home for the past six years. What little possessions he had were packed in his backpack. He absentmindedly reached around and touched it. The patched-up backpack was made from hare skins provided by Mishi.

'I hope she at least is all right. If only we…' Tal let out a long sigh. There was no point dwelling on these things. She didn't want to live in a bigger city nor even come back here. He took a small piece of linen and scribbled on it with a small piece of charcoal. 'Goodbye. I hope we meet again.'

The sun had barely risen, and the early morning wind felt cold and refreshing. With a brisk pace, he started to walk towards the west on a dusty country road. With clouds in sight, there was no need to worry about staying outside during the night.

Surely it would be much better to be under a roof, but for someone like him, relying on the kind hearts of unknown farmers was a foolish thing to do. As someone who had worked almost every moment of his waking life in the past years, walking long distances was a pleasure, not a chore.

His only companions were chirping birds and the various sounds bugs made. The road twisted around the hills and small patches of woods, leading on towards his destiny with a slow, calm pace.

Tal skipped the first few houses he saw. His backpack was full of food and the drinking pouch had enough water, so there was no reason to bother with them.

Once noon came and went, he took a quick break to eat and rest but quickly resumed the walk, not wanting to waste time. When the sun started to set, he carefully approached wooden buildings in the distance which were surrounded by fields of wheat and oats.

As he came closer, he saw a bulky, brown-haired man, dressed in just linen pants, who looked about thirty. He was working on the roof in the yard, focused on his task. With a face that showed deep concentration, he was nailing wooden planks to the roof that yet had to be put together. "Hello, sir, I hope I'm not intruding." Tal said.

The man lifted his head, eyed him carefully for a brief moment, and then asked. "Somethin' I can help with?"

"You see, I am traveling to Ovalle, and I wondered if I could stay under your roof for a night?" Tal asked in a polite tone.

"Not much space inside the home. Got a large family, you know? But you don't look like those fancy city boys. Is the barn good enough for you?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"You can thank me by passing those planks, start with that long one. Works a lot faster with some help" the man said and resumed his work. Tal put the backpack down and grabbed the plank, passing it up to the man on the roof.

Not wanting to seem overly nosy, he just silently assisted the man who didn't seem the talkative type either. With him helping the man, the work was done quickly and in about an hour, a short, brown-haired woman came out of what looked to be the family house. She carried two bowls filled with wheat porridge and a plate with freshly fried meat.

"Geal, come down and eat. You, boy, come as well." she said, flashing Tal a motherly smile and then looking up at her husband with a stern expression. She quickly put down the food on the bench by the house and walked back inside.

Geal grunted, put down the hammer, and jumped down the roof, waving for Tal to follow. As they ate, Geal said without changing his expression. "Few more and we are done, need to take care of the wife as well, you know? The barn is clean and there is enough straw."

"Thank you, sir."

"Don't mention it. We simple folk must look out after each other. And stop with this fancy 'sir' stuff. Name's Geal and that's it."

Tal nodded and started to eat. It was a simple but nourishing meal and, best of all, he didn't have to use his reserves. After the meal, both of them resumed working and, true to his word, Geal quickly hammered down the last few planks, pointed out which building the barn was, and went inside.

Sleeping in the barn, not counting some smells, was pleasant and restful. As usual, Tal woke up at sunrise and walked outside. He was about to leave when the friendly couple came outside, with the woman carrying a small pack.

"Here you go, boy, a quick breakfast on the way. You watch your back out there. Lots of bad folk in Ovalle, just waiting to take the last shirt off the backs of simple folk."

Tal took the small pack and said with an earnest smile "Thank you. Goodbye."

With the next few days also getting places to sleep and in some places even meals, the travel shaped out to be easier than expected.

‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›

It was noon once again, and Tal started to look for farmhouses. His food supplies had diminished, and there were at least three days to walk till he would reach Ovalle.

Luckily, farmsteads littered the countryside and finding one wasn't hard. There was one just over the hill, and Tal took the small road leading to it.

A man, about fifty years old, dressed in dirty pants and a shirt that was a size too small for his somewhat fatter midsection, was instructing three younger men who looked about thirty to thirty-five.

He was pointing at the side of a barn "Dig the pit right there. Pig crap piling up, ya hear."

"Sure, pa." the eldest of three responded as one of the other two pointed at Tal.

The oldest man turned and, after a moment of staring, asked. "Wach ya want boy?"

"I am traveling to Ovalle but have run low on food. Can I do work around the farm to earn some?"

"You take a shovel, you dig with ma boys. When the sun goes down, we'll see how much you earned."

The man's tone and mannerisms put Tal on alert. 'Maybe I should just go to another farm?' It surely would waste even more time as there were no guarantees that he would get a job for a day there.

Many farmers turned him down, stating they had enough farm hands. Even if they try to give him less than he earned, it still would be something.

"Wach' ya waiting for? Take a shovel, or get lost!" the man said in an angrier tone.

'I guess I'll stay and work.' He quickly decided to take the man up on his offer, despite the proposal being less than courteous, took the shovel from the old man's hands, and followed the younger men.

The digging was not the easiest nor the most pleasant work, but work was work nonetheless. Tal started to dig in his spot with a decent pace, rarely glancing around. During the next few hours, his stomach started to growl, and he wondered when they planned to take a break to eat.

He glanced around and the rest of the men were digging at a casual pace.

You are reading story Maker of a Dynasty at novel35.com

"Hey, why are you slacking off boy?" the eldest of three asked in a condescending tone.

"I was wondering when we are taking a break to eat?"

"Eat when you haven't earned your share, boy?"

"What?"

"Hey, pa!" the man shouted as the old man appeared.

"Whach ya want?"

"That lil shit slacks off and asks for food."

"We do not feed slackers, boy!" the old man said in an angry tone.

"Sir, I have worked for hours non-stop!" Tal said back, climbing out of the pit he had dug.

"So what? Day's not over! Get back and dig!" the man said. It sounded like a nonnegotiable order, but at this point, it was rather clear that he was taken for a fool. Almost every time he had glanced up, he had seen only two of the three men around. It wasn't that hard to figure out that each had been gone long enough to eat and take a rest.

"I have worked for hours non-stop. You can't just force me to work all day and not eat at all!"

"Oh, the lil slacker has an attitude. Boys, show him what we do with slackers."

'I should have known!' Tal dropped the shovel and started to run. For a moment he got confused about why his backpack was nowhere to be seen, but then it clicked.

'Those bastards. Those fucking scum!' Luckily, the small money pouch and identification card were safely secured around his neck. He heard laughter from the men. They were not even chasing him.

Tal ran until he was back to the main road. 'They stole my backpack! They fucking stole it! I…' For a moment he considered waiting for a night and putting fire on the fields to get back at them.

'That would teach them!' Causing a fire surely would not be that hard, and he would be gone before anyone knew better. After all, Tal was a nobody, they would not even remember his face.

'But what if they die? There could be children in those houses!' Surely those assholes deserved to get punished but then what? Could he live with the fear of being a possible killer? What if some innocent child got burnt alive because he wanted some petty revenge? Tal kicked a small stone in anger and started to walk. It simply was not worth having such a burden on his mind.

'I should have known better! Why did I think they would just pay me less? That's it, from now on I will follow my gut feeling. No more Naive Tal. There are people out there that will take everything if I let them.'

There was one thing he knew for sure: he would not forget this house.

‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›

The time spent with Tal had spoiled her. Mishi's stomach growled. The only thing she had eaten were some berries, mushrooms, and roots for the last two days. The lack of need to hunt for survival had made her more careless and hares had gotten away again and again.

Tal had left half a loaf and a goodbye letter in the hut, together with some tools she could use, but the bread was already gone and with that the assurance that she would not starve.

The cave she now dwelled in was not too bad and provided protection from the elements and creatures that wandered the woods during the night, but there was no one besides her.

Mishi closed her eyes, half listening to the sounds that came from the cave's entrance. The hunger was still manageable, but she needed to remember her old wits and do it fast. In the worst case, she could try to kill a young boar who was too far away from their much more fearsome parents.

The choice she made still lingered in her mind.

'What if…'

That 'what if' ate her harder than starvation ever could. She had a friend, a friend she had learned to trust.

'Why did things need to change? If only I… No, that is stupid. He would want a better life anyway. He would have taken a human girl.'

Whoever those Gods Tal mentioned from time to time were, they surely were cruel bastards and had made someone like her as a mockery, a cruel joke.

The memories of the past had never truly left. When she was smaller, when she was property. Her freedom had come from her own effort, and the hardships of living alone in the forest and for a while felt great. She was in control of her own life, no fear, no… How could they do that to her!?

Mishi pushed away the memory. Then she met Tal. When the cold snow had covered the ground and food was sparse, she had gotten clumsy and sneaked into the small hut to steal food. There she found a boy of her own age, living alone.

He didn't hate her for stealing. He was angry, yes, but that look of understanding when their eyes met for the first time… That extended hand with a small, hard piece of bread. He didn't see a beast. He saw someone like himself, and despite the hard life, helped.

'I have grown soft. I should have known better. I am on my own. He is from that world. I always needed to be ready for that day. I was stupid. I was stupid. I was so stupid!' Her anger arose from within once more.

Tomorrow she would catch prey and eat. Tomorrow she would forget this stupid fantasy she'd harbored for too long. He was a human, one of them, and she was a beast who was better off on her own.

Edited by Edgy.

Proofreading by placid_void.

You can find story with these keywords: Maker of a Dynasty, Read Maker of a Dynasty, Maker of a Dynasty novel, Maker of a Dynasty book, Maker of a Dynasty story, Maker of a Dynasty full, Maker of a Dynasty Latest Chapter