Chapter 7: Ch. 7 – Fish Processing

I snuck back into the smithy, Typh and Dee bidding me farewell after instructions to wait for him a little after first light. When I asked how I would get out of my daily chores, he told me he would handle Romas. I was sure he could, judging by how he was treated by his peers at the settlement.

That night, I couldn't sleep. I had some fantastic skills now and was excited to learn more about them. When I saw my reflection earlier in the day, I felt like I was already a bit slimmer. It could have been the overalls. But in this jungle heat, I sweated like an animal, and taking that damn ramp multiple times a day fetching ingredients from the farms for Romas was a lot of good cardio.

I planned on asking Typh as many questions as possible while training with him. I needed to get a good feel for what this world had in store, including the strengths and weaknesses of the terrifying Shadowalker creatures.

I wanted additional information on how I got here or even how I could get home. While this world was certainly exciting, if I was being honest with myself, I missed my fat, lazy life on Earth. Nothing was trying to kill me there. Well, other than diabetes.

I looked around, making sure everyone in the smithy was still sleeping and pulled out my slingshot. I stroked the weapon, looking over my handiwork. It was just as beautiful as the dagger I had made, which I left under my cot. The wood was a dark amber color with specks of gold. I was deeply disappointed that this world didn't have some kind of magical storage sacks or infinite inventory system like the video games I played on Earth. All I could do was carry stuff around in my overalls. I will need to start making non-weapon stuff too. I wonder what I could use to make a belt...

Suddenly the world slowed down to a crawl. Thinking about making something started my 'THINK' skill. No! No! I would be more careful about planning items. I cut the spell off right away, chuckling to myself. Finally, I tucked my slingshot away and fell asleep.

***

Morning came quickly, Jasper shaking me awake. My disappearance went unnoticed, which was a relief. We moved to the sinks to wash up for the day.

"Slaves! That you?" Romas yelled from the front of the smithy. "Good. Clean my quarters. Then fetch me some cronny berries near the eastern farms to die these leather bracers. Then prepare for the Baron's arrival. He will be picking up his high-level saber today. I must ensure that it's spotless in here."

A voice spoke up from the doorway. "That will be unnecessary. I have arranged for a slave trade for today. You there," Typh pointed at me, pretending he wasn't as acquainted with me as he was. "Take off your blacksmith attire and put on this dockworker attire. We will be heading to the cannery with the fishing slaves. You will be replaced today by a smaller, weaker human who can certainly handle the day's sweeping duties of the smithy."

"Typh!" Romas growled, jumping off his T-shaped chair and standing up to full height. "You cannot move my slaves around again. This fat one is mine, and as useless as he is, I want him here."

"Romas, there will be no time for power struggles. I am taking this one. The dock requires a human of this size. A piece of equipment has broken down, and they are shorthanded at the processor," Typh replied, standing closer to Romas, eye to eye with him now.

The two looked at each other, both growling quietly. The fur stood up on Romas’ neck. Typh showed his teeth in a snarl. I looked to Jasper, seeing if this was a regular occurrence here. He looked just as afraid as I felt. The tension in the air was palpable. Eventually, Romas backed down, knowing he was unmatched in a fight. "Fine. Take the large slave. I expect two slaves in return. If the Baron comes to a dirty smithy, it will be you who I call out to the square for a brawl, Typhonious." 

"We have an accord." He nodded at me. "Let's go."

I followed Typh out the door, not looking back. I knew better than to say anything to him in public with all these Fekan eyes on me. We turned left out of the smithy, a way I had yet to go, toward the water surrounding the back of the settlement where the fishing docks were located.

His stride was very long, and I struggled to keep up. I was drenched in sweat when we got to the water, panting in the jungle heat. "Over there, slave. They're waiting on you."

"Sir, I thought that whole 'dock' thing was a ruse to get me to training?"

"This is the start of your training. It's time to toughen up and strengthen those fat arms. Slingshot or not, there will come times when a Shadowalker will be within melee weapon distance. It's best if you don't die in those situations."

I looked at the fish processing device. It was an enormous flat weight held up on ropes. The rope went through an intricate pulley system leading to the front slave, who held it in his hands. Two others stood behind him, also holding the rope. The men, all at least 6 feet tall, bulged with well-toned muscles. It looked like they were ready for a game of tug-of-war. They looked at me expectantly as I wandered over. "Morning, gentlemen. What do we do, exactly?" I asked in my friendliest voice.

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The workers looked back and forth, confused. "We...package. We package the fish."

My eyes darted side to side between the three of them. "No, like, what do we do? With the machine here?"

The slaves were just as uncertain as I was. "We pull the weight, smash the fish, and can the meat," he said slowly like I was a small child asking why the sky was blue. I felt like I was back in high school all over again, the jocks giving me a hard time.

"Ok fine. Let's get after it then, shall we?" I looked back to Typh, who smiled, turned, and walked away.

***

Night began to fall on the worst day since I arrived on this godforsaken planet. Fish juice, blood, and guts drenched me. It was in my eyes, ears, mouth, everywhere. And my clothes had been soaked through after the first 20 minutes, putting me in a perpetual state of sweaty grossness.

The amount of fish these creatures could catch out of the nearby gulf was just incredible. Every time a fish got loaded onto what I called the 'smashing table,' we did in fact, play a game of tug-o-war with the weight, lifting it up and smashing it down, pulverizing the fish over and over until it was flat.

Then we would gather up all the pieces, loading the meat into a giant bucket and putting it on a rope hook. Another slave on the above tower would pull the bucket up, I assumed for further processing. When one fish finished, another was loaded onto the table. Over and over, all day long. Some fish were long, some fat, some huge, and some small. But they all got pulverized by the enormous weight. The bigger the fish, the more times we had to pull the weight until the lead slave stopped and deemed the fish adequately crushed.

My arms burned, and a numb sensation went down my forearms. I had bleeding blisters and rope splinters sticking out of my hands. The three others were sweaty and gross like me but showed no other signs of wear and tear.

It was funny; my health started decreasing as I further injured my hands, but it grew in value. It now read [14/18], telling me I could train my body and increase my overall health by working on physical tasks. It looked as though this was Typh's mission. I wondered if the cats had a way to tell their total health, mana, and even level. I only saw a way to tell their level by how many stripes or spots they had. I would have to ask Typh later. It was amusing, however, that I didn't unlock a skill for playing tug-o-war with a giant fish-smashing device. I was starting to think that everything you did here got a skill.

I sat on the dock, waiting for Typh to return for me. I had no idea how to get home from here and didn't want to get lost somewhere in the settlement. The other three slaves, whose names I never got, had already gone home. I ate a piece of fish that the dock's slavemaster handed to me. He shook his head the whole time, looking at my bleeding hands.

I finally saw Typh walking down the nearest ramp. He stopped to talk to a different dockmaster tiger-looking cat, handing him what looked like money and winking at him. I shook my head. These sly cats were going to be the death of me.

He saw me and walked over. "Enjoy yourself, slave?"

"Yes, sir. It was a fantastic day. I was able to grow my health by 3 points, it appears," I said in the most chipper voice I could muster. "The smashy canning device gave me a new appreciation for Romas and his chores." This time, I dripped with sarcasm.

"Do not speak of creators this way, human. Romas is a vital part of this settlement. But yes. You have a very cushy job at the blacksmith. But then again, Romas is a very cushy person." Typh smiled, letting me know he had made a joke. "Let's go back. Your sense of direction is probably just as horrible as most other humans. I don't want you wandering off. Follow me back to the smithy. We will have more training tomorrow."

"What's on the schedule for tomorrow?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

"Tomorrow, we head to the cave and take down that Mecho you found with Dee."

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