Hunter Or Huntress

There was a strange cold feeling at the table as Tom looked around, all the people felt tense in the well-lit wide hall. He glanced at the many trophies lining the hall, his gaze landing on the big draconic skull hanging over the lord's table. ‘Huh… that wasn’t… wha?’

“You should smile more, Joelina,” a mocking male voice called out to his left. Turning, he recognized the weathered face of Inquisitor Harvik as he quickly snapped into lucidity.

“And why is that, sir?” the familiar voice of the younger Joelina responded as Tom cursed to himself. ‘Not this again, fucking hell it was going so well.’

“It helps ease the poor souls. This is all mutually beneficial after all: we keep their little secret and they lend us a sled,” the inquisitor chuckled, going back to his wine, seemingly without a care in the world as he sat betwixt the people he was threatening into cooperation.

‘Well this seems familiar,’ Tom sighed to himself as he watched through the eyes of a woman he was fairly sure wouldn’t see anything wrong with that at all.

As she glanced at the cup of wine for a moment as if to consider if she wanted some, she surprised Tom by pushing it away.

‘Oooh? Is someone wary? Poison maybe?’

“Yes, you mentioned sleds, sir. Quite what are we supposed to be doing here? You clearly know these people well, yet don’t tell us?” Joelina questioned, looking to the inquisitor, who seemed in better cheer than he had ever been before to Tom.

“Sled,” he corrected merrily. “And why must you prod and pry? Where is your sense of adventure?”

“Sorry, sir.”

There was a pause from the inquisitor as the smile faded a touch. He had clearly been expecting more.

“That’s it? That was your line of questioning? Blunt as a hammer and as persistent as a spring shower?” The mirth had left the old man in a flash, and Tom felt Joelina’s heart pick up, evidently thinking she had made some grave mistake. He could even feel her draw a sharp breath, though she didn’t glance away. Rather she turned to the inquisitor, though not looking him in the eyes.

“I was not questioning, sir, simply making polite conversation.”

The older man stared at her for a moment, his eyes cold and seeking, like he was looking for tells.

“There is no such thing as polite conversation for you, cadet. There never will be again.” He looked back to his meal and ripped off a chunk of meat from the bone of whatever it was they were eating. “I did not think much of the latest work of the Citadel, but I must say I expected them to at least get that right. I suppose this explains some things.”

“You wish me to attempt to interrogate you, sir?” Joelina questioned, eyes front still and sitting stiffly.

Tom couldn’t help but ponder what the inquisitor meant by ‘explains some things.’ As far as he could remember Joelina had acquitted herself very well thus far, even earning praise from the clearly rather grim inquisitor.

“No… but you should be. There is no traitor more damning than the one on the inside. Or do they not teach those stories anymore?”

“They do, sir.”

“Then do your job, cadet. If not for our sake, then at least for yours.”

Tom had no clue who they might be referring to, but he could feel that Joelina did. Perhaps it was the inquisitor who had helped the mad queen steal the ship all those years back that Paulin mentioned, but as he understood it, it was the church who had put an end to that incident not the inquisition.

“Sir yes sir,” she replied, turning back to her food almost mechanically, heart still hammering as she once more glanced at the wine glass.

“Bloody Hashaws, nothing but army people sick with pomp,” Harvik spat out dejectedly before reaching past her, getting uncomfortably close, and picking up her cup of wine. “Let me see if that is poisoned.” He downed it in a single motion, waiting for a moment. “... Seems not. Here you go.” He put the cup back, slamming it into the table forcefully, causing Joelina to start.

That too gained his attention, slowly turning to look at her, still uncomfortably close. She could even feel his breath on her face as he glared at her.

“Or maybe not a soldier this time… maybe a tavern guard, though one would expect someone like that to be used to a cup being moved about.”

Joelina didn’t reply, simply sitting there motionless, though Tom could feel her starting to seethe now. She was scared of this man, but she was starting to hate him too.

‘Just as proud as Victoria then… good to know.’ Tom thought to himself, as Harvik pulled back to sit properly once more.

Joelina gave a few quick glances about the room, taking note of who had seen the interaction. Most pretended they hadn’t seen anything, which often only made them more obvious. A notable exception was Glazz, who was sitting opposite the two of them. She was looking at Joelina and slowly shaking her head side to side disapprovingly.

He could feel her rapid shallow breaths, her fists clenching, but she did not move and did not speak. Tom guessed she was trying to deduce what she had done wrong. Tom couldn’t hear her think. But he could sorta… feel it? It wasn’t an easy thing to describe, but when she got angry, or sad, or scared, he could feel the reaction clear as day, and it leaked, much like all these damn mind games tended to do.

The feast carried on, and Tom took some time people-watching. It was all but a charade. No one was actually enjoying themselves, they simply pretended, likely for the sake of the inquisitor. Smiles and laughter filled the air, fake laughs and shallow jokes. The kind performed by terrible actors at local town shows.

Joelina however did not do much save keep up the polite appearance of enjoying the food, along with a cup of fresh water. She was thinking, and she was thinking very hard. And Tom couldn’t help but feel a pull, like her mind wanted to go somewhere.

To begin with he ignored it, but as he grew bored looking at those poor people playing charades in the torchlit hall, he started to try and concentrate on the feeling. Maybe it was his key to make this accursed thing end. It had been plenty long already for his taste.

The more he focused on the feeling the stronger it became. It really was a pull, in some ways it almost reminded him of when Joelina had dragged him through his memories before, what little he could remember aside from the pain. He could feel his head throb of course, but it was but a distant concern, something beyond his control. This pull though, this he could focus on.

He almost startled himself as Joelina blinked and her eyes opened to a wholly new scene. The wind was biting her skin, snow swirling all around. She was sitting on one of a pair of those sleds they had used to hunt the Ferinix as it cut through the snow under a sunlit sky, the strange hound looking creatures hauling away towards a mound on the horizon.

She was huddled up under a pile of thick furs, and Tom could feel something warm under there, likely the only thing keeping her alive right now considering the cold.

“Any idea why he wants to go to that old place?” a man called out from behind her. He sounded out of breath, so Tom guessed he was running alongside to keep warm for now.

“No… nor why he was so pointed about a sled.”

“What do you mean? We have two?” the voice called over the wind. Tom recognized him now; he was one of the other cadets that had been assigned to the inquisitor.

“Precisely.”

“Do you think it is for Chaika?” the man tried again, Joelina throwing a quick glance behind her to where the dragon could be seen trotting through the snow, throwing up great big loads of white powder as he moved.

‘Why are they not on the dragon? Why is he not flying?’ Tom questioned to himself as he noticed the black smudges on the dragon’s side, and large nets of… coal?

Just as quickly as she had turned, Joelina looked back ahead and grumbled, “A bit late for that now.”

‘Why are they doing this? It doesn’t make any sense?’ Tom pondered, trying his hardest to try and work it out, but to no avail. He needed to know more. The feeling was still there, and as he concentrated on it harder and harder, Joelina blinked. The scene instantly changed to some decrepit yet decently vast corridor lit by nothing but the torches and lamps they were all holding. They were all running, or rather jogging through the corridor. And Tom felt so cold, so incredibly cold.

Snow had long since made it inside, and the only respite they were finding was from the wind. He could feel how Joelina was willing every step, her body fighting back, wanting nothing more than to lay down and go to sleep. Tom had little doubt doing so would be fatal right now.

“Why are we here, sir?” Joelina called out as they all kept up the pace. Only now did Tom notice the Lord from the fortress, or whatever it was, was still with them, and he did not speak a word, only throwing her a glance.

“You will know soon enough,” Harvik replied as he turned, coming to a stop at a very intricate metal door, roughly two meters tall and one across. “We are here.”

The inquisitor beheld the door for but a moment, a smile creeping onto his face. “Rixar, are you ready to do your duty?” Joelina looked to a thus far silent figure who simply nodded in reply. Tom made note of the belt of tools she seemed to carry, as well as a bit of silver visible poking out under her tight-fitting hood.

“Very well, I did promise you the trip would be worth it.” And with that the inquisitor reached inside his thick winter coat, pulling out some sort of necklace. It glowed faintly, a sickly green color as the inquisitor inspected it with reverence. Then he stuck it into an appropriate hole in the door and turned. Clicks and whirrs were heard and he let out a groan, going slightly weak in the knees for but a moment. Tom guessed magic was at play in moving the mechanism then.

Glazz was at his side looking ready to catch him, though she was not needed. Soon the door gave a final click, then a hiss of air blew away some of the loose snow and Harvik pushed the heavy metal door open.

Tom waited anxiously as they all made it inside one by one, and what they were faced with was a big pile of stuff covered with a tarp.

‘What is this now?’ Tom questioned as Joelina glanced about, noting a large door on the right. ‘Oh is this a warehouse then? This far north?’

Harvik walked up to the tarp confident as could be and grabbed a corner, heaving and running to the far corner, pulling it off.

What it uncovered was some sort of… machine. Wrought from bare iron, colored by nothing but oil and coal dust. A massive hunk of metal, covered in pipes and valves at least 10 meters in length. Two chimneys upfront vented from a pair of long cylindrical boilers placed side by side. The front rested on skis, pointed and affixed with leaf spring suspension like something found on a train car.

The rear rested on wide metal tracks, almost as wide as the whole vehicle Tom guessed, a pair of simple pistons driving it via chain and sprocket.

“What in the-” someone exclaimed aloud as Harvik turned back to them all, evidently excited.

“And you thought we could go no further north!”

Joelina just stared at the slumbering beast of steel and brass, Tom taking the time to note down what details he could manage as she slowly let out “Is that-”

“A blessed machine,” Rixar erupted, stepping forth and taking off her hood despite the cold. “Its warmth shall shield us all.”

“Indeed, it is getting rather nippy is it not?” Inquisitor Harvik added, turning towards the larger door, large enough for the machine to pass through for sure. "Glazz, get our dear friend’s attention, he shall have to dig the door free for us.”

Glazz responded with a nod, walking up to the door and starting to bang on a bracing girder with the warhammer that had been hanging at her side.

As the clang of metal on metal rang out Harvik got them all to work preparing the machine for departure.

‘Where the hell are they going?’

_________________________________________________________________________________

‘Poor Tom, ' Saph chuckled to herself as she saw the slightly depressed human stare at the wolf carcass as Jarix unceremoniously dumped it on the platform. It was a bloody mess, but with some stitching and a thorough clean, Saph supposed the pelt could be salvaged together with whatever bones hadn't been shattered.

Everyone had tried not to be too rude last night considering it was a holy evening, but alas there had been plenty of chuckles and murmurs this morning, especially after Yldril had recounted her side of the story. For once Sapphire believed the dragon. She had clearly enjoyed telling it too, and even Fengi was smiling, which made Sapphire all warm inside despite the cold air. It was a bit of a shame it had to be at Tom’s expense, but that’s how it was sometimes.

The black dragon wasn’t even complaining as she assisted Fengi with the preparations to spit mount the deer from the hunt. The largest buck was set aside as Yldril’s personal deer, which delighted her greatly, and doubtlessly annoyed Baron to no end, even if the venerable old red wouldn’t spill it.

‘Gotta lend a hand if you want the prime cuts,’ Saph had chuckled to herself at his grumbly expression, before she had headed back up to the greeting hall to see about preparing her jackalopes for smoking.

And so there she sat chuckling to herself as the human just stared at his kill, seemingly clueless about what to do now. He certainly had his work cut out for him today, though his problem was clearly lack of skill rather than size of kill. At least he had Jacky to help him out.

The two of them had already gotten started earlier with the birds Jacky scored yesterday, which they had taken to boiling in butter and potting, which sounded like it would turn out very good indeed.

They did use potted meats every now and again, but the amount of butter that you needed rather limited it. This year, though, they had plenty of butter to work with.

‘I still don’t get how he said he used to be a hunter. How can you not know how to properly skin something if you are a hunter?’ Sapphire questioned to herself as she cut her jackalope meat into strips ready for smoking in the little hut. She knew well enough that the lean meat wouldn’t end up tasting great, but for winter, survival was what mattered, and lean game meat could keep very well if given a little care.

They should of course be just fine for winter, but no one ever froze to death from having too many supplies, and with all the off cuts from building the barn they hadn’t even needed to do that much more work for firewood. Tom’s escapades with the quad earlier in autumn had of course helped as well.

It still needed to be split and laid to dry of course, which Herron and Kulinger were hard at work with today. Or more likely Kulinger was making sure Heron was working hard. That could be a hard job in and of itself.

Ray was still cleaning up after the fire yesterday, but at least it wasn’t just her working her ass off. Pho and Bo were boiling bones in the kitchen, which had Saph very excited. Jellied meats had to be one of her favorite ways they could preserve it out here. That or smoked hog. Deer always got so dry, and the fowl ended up dry as sand. Sausages were usually great too of course, but they took quite a lot more work. This year they had plenty of bought sausage though, so that would be good.

Wiperna and Raulf were busy down below separating the handful of goats away from the hogs after the two had apparently gotten into a fight. The new arrivals didn’t need to stay long, so they had just hammered together some improvised fencing for the time being. The goats were going to Dervia as their final gift to their neighbors of the year. There had been some talk of sending Yldril with them, but they had dropped the idea after talks of just what Tiguan might say about her. Best to have that encounter happen on their own turf, and with Baron and Jarix around. But they did need to send them over somehow, so it would likely be Jarix’s job. Saph didn’t actually know. Maybe some of her jerky could go with too. They probably needed it more after all. Saph just snickered to herself at what the faces might be when they received a box of jackalope Jerky.

‘Hehe… I wonder if Tom knows some tricks for preserving meat?’ she questioned to herself, looking over to the human. He and Jacky had managed to get the wolf onto a rack to make it easier to work on, though the smiles and spark normally between the two of them when they worked didn’t seem to be there today.

Sapphire furrowed her brow as she watched the two of them work in silence. ‘Did he take it that hard yesterday?... really?’ Saph couldn’t really get herself to believe that. He had taken quite a lot of abuse over the year. The dressing up, them sorta messing up his hair a little, that time they put him on Kokashi’s back. But had this finally done it? That didn’t seem quite right.

‘Maybe Jacky said something stupid and he’s mad at her or something?... I guess that isn’t exactly an impossible story to believe…’

She sat there working and watching for a bit longer pondering, finally noticing that Tom was wearing some sort of earring. She had never seen him do that willingly before.

‘Why would he put that on?... Did he lose a bet with someone over yesterday maybe? Or might be Jacky actually, come to think of it. Oh poor guy. It just keeps going for him today then.’ She did actually feel sorry for him, but it was also a little funny. The human finally loses a bet and while playing huntress no less.

‘Oh well, if you miss the shot you lose the arrow. Maybe food will take his mind off things.’ It sounded just about right to Sapphire. It definitely didn’t have anything to do with her wanting to know if he had any good ideas before she cut up all of the jackalopes.

She got up and sauntered over, knife still in hand, just as much looking to see how the two were getting on with the big wolf.

The answer was not great, judging by the amount of tears in the shaggy pelt. ‘Oh dear… Oh well.’

“Hey Tom?” she opened, waiting for the human to turn his attention to her, which he eventually did, even if Jacky kept working. He looked a bit tired, eyes slightly droopy, and she could swear he had dark spots under them too.

“Yeah?”

“I was just wondering, how do you preserve meat for winter back home? You know, potted meats, jerky, all that stuff. I remember some of that jerky you had; it tasted divine.”

The human did at least seem to not mind too much, even if he didn’t exactly liven up at the line of questioning.

“Oh we have fresh supplies year-round, but we often freeze things to make it last much longer.”

“What, just put it outside in the cold?” Saph had heard of places doing that farther north, but around these parts you couldn’t trust it to remain freezing all day and night for that long.

“Well back in the old days sure, but now we just use a cold box. Frost powder should replicate that easily enough, I think.”

“Oh… oooooh,” Sapphire went as she realized. “Wait! You made one of those, didn’t you? Well duh, we used it, why are we smoking stuff then?”

“Oh uhm… I mean we would have to insulate it… and it would be quite a lot of frost powder...” the human trailed off as his mind seemed to slowly wander through the idea.

“Tom, we have kilos of the stuff. You asked for it, remember?”

“I suppose so, yeah… I guess we can make more than just ice cream with that… how would we insulate it I wonder?”

“Would blankets work?” Jacky interjected, seemingly happy to leave her work for now. She did seem to be doing better than the human, though she still seemed a touch more somber than normal.

“I mean… a little. We would really want something a bit better than that, though. Hmm...” The human once more descended into thought, rubbing his hairy chin like he so often did while thinking.

Saph and Jacky let him, but before too long Sapphire’s curiosity got the better of her. The strange new earring was dangling on full display right in front of her.

“Where did you get that by the way? Did you give it to him?” Saph questioned, glancing to Jacky. “Looks good on you.”

Tom didn’t answer, instead throwing a glance at Jacky, still rubbing his facial hair.

“No, Joelina did… she wants a talk.”

“She wanted a talk 2 days ago,” Tom grumbled as he carried on pondering. “My bad that one. But the least she could do was pick up today.”

“Oh shit it’s those kinds of earrings. Wait, Joelina didn’t answer?” Sapphire questioned. That didn’t sound right at all. Joelina putting Tom behind the wing? Then again, an inquisitor might have many things to do in a day, or perhaps the earrings didn’t work quite right. She’d heard many tales of magical items either giving up the ghost or starting to act strangely over the years, especially if not maintained right. Perhaps they hadn’t been used for a long time.

“Yup… beats me. Anyway, if I drop like a sack of shit that’s probably why, just in case, you know.”

“I’ll keep it in mind,” Sapphire replied with a slow nod. “... Anyway, to get back to where we were. We could freeze fruits and stuff, right?”

“Yeah… shame we don’t have any more berries or I could have made jam,” the human responded, seeming quite happy to not talk about Joelina any more than necessary.

“What is Jam?” Sapphire questioned as Jacky too looked to the human, clearly interested now.

“Oh it’s a sweet fruit preserve… like potted meats, but for fruit. You just use sugar rather than butter. If that makes sense.”

“Potted fruits…” Sapphire repeated to herself. She had heard of people preserving fruits in honey, so maybe this was the same sort of thing then? That would be amazing. “We need some more berries then, don’t we?” she questioned, looking to Jacky.

“Last hunt was yesterday,” Jacky replied with a shrug.

“Yeah, but… hmmm,” Sapphire grumbled, glancing around the room as if that would somehow provide an answer. “Oh what about Deriva? We could just ask for theirs?”

“You want to steal Deriva’s berries? This year?” Even Jacky seemed uncomfortable with that idea. Saph did have to agree a little bit that it didn’t sound very good when you put it like that. But still, potted fruits.

“Oh come on, we are getting them goats and stuff, remember all the things we gave them? Salt, flour, salted meats, smoked meats?”

“Shame we can’t do canning,” Tom then went with a shrug. “Gonna need to make a cannery.”

“A what now?” Sapphire questioned once more, turning her attention back to the human.

“Oh, uhm… Metal cans for meats and stuff. You boil the contents in the can after sealing it, so it’s sterilized. Done right and it’ll last for decades, good stuff.”

Saph and Jacky glanced to each other at that little revelation and just nodded in unison.

“Yeah, adding that to the list.”

“Maybe next year. But if you can get me some berries, I can make jam. If not, then we can always just make some more candies. Those last forever too.”

“Iiii’m gonna go find Nunuk,” Saph concluded, turning away. She was so having some of this jam this winter. That sounded amazing on top of some nice fresh juicy jackalope fresh from the freezer. That would be so much better than dry smoked jerky. “Don’t forget about the freezer either,” she added over her shoulder as she walked off.

‘I fucking love that human.’