Jack and S'haar were back on the road to the village once again, but while the last trip had seemed calm and relaxing, until it wasn't, Jack now felt like raiders were hiding behind every tree or rock. S'haar noticed her companion's nerves and placed a steadying hand on his shoulder. "You know it's too cold for anyone to be this far out without one of your coats, and even if someone was out here, they'd be useless in a fight by now."

Jack looked up at the taller, armored woman and smiled a bit shakily. "That obvious, am I? I know you're right, but I can't help but shake the feeling that something's about to go wrong again. We got off too easy last time."

S'haar threw back her head and laughed. "Easy? I nearly lost my arm, and the only thing that kept you from being gutted is the armor you wear under your coat. I think you and I have very different ideas on what's 'easy'"

Jack was staring at another tree as they passed. "I didn't say it was easy. I said we got off too easy. As many raiders as we picked a fight with, I'm surprised we survived at all. Given how many got away, others must have heard what happened and are probably looking for revenge."

S'haar merely shrugged, still shaking her head in exasperation. Her "hair" clacking lightly because of the movement. "Maybe they will be, but not right now, and not in this cold. We would have seen the smoke from any camp large enough to be a threat long before we stumbled across anyone out this far. I'm your bodyguard, so let me worry about possible danger. I promise I'll tell you if we're in trouble."

Jack took a deep breath to steady his nerves and silently told his hand to stop shaking so much. His heartbeat did slow a little, but the hand stubbornly refused to listen. Jack held his hand up in front of himself and forced it into as tight a fist as he was able. Once he felt his grip start to weaken, he relaxed it and was relieved to see the tremors had finally passed. Another deep breath led to another slight slowing of his heart rate.

S'haar watched Jack's calming techniques with interest. "You know, it's okay to be shaken. I've known hardened veterans who lost their fighting spirit after a particularly brutal fight."

Jack had been starting to do complicated math in his head to distract himself when S'haar had spoken, now he turned his attention back to her. "You might be right, but right now, I can't be too shaken to do the job. Not because 'I can't show weakness,' but because people depend on us getting this done. As strong and smart as Angela is, she can't leave the ship and will eventually run out of power without our help."

Jack closed his eyes for a moment as he walked, enjoying the crisp smell of the cold morning air. "Then there's Em'brel. I'm honestly completely lost about what to do for her other than help her feel safe and maybe teach her a thing or two before she chooses her path in life. I don't even know enough about this world to know what direction to think about pointing her in."

S'haar shrugged again, although this time, her voice held a bit more sympathy. "She'll find her own path. The girl is smart and already better educated than myself. She can read and write, and she knows her numbers. She could probably make a living working for a noble with those skills alone. Add in whatever crazy things Angela will teach her, and she'll probably be ruling her own village in no time!"

Jack shook his head at that last part. "Knowledge is vital for anyone wanting to rule, but there's more to it than that. There is charisma, politics, and, most importantly, whoever has the most soldiers is usually in charge."

S'haar slapped Jack on the back in what was probably supposed to be a comradery manner rather than the bone-jarring experience it was. "Good, I'm glad you understand this! It will be important to keep that in mind once you get your little outpost up and running!"

Jack took another steadying breath to calm his nerves again before they got out of hand once more. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me. The good news is I'm suddenly not as worried about the raiders. Though, I think I preferred it when they were the only problem on my mind..."

S'haar gave him her favorite predatory smile, which did nothing to calm Jack's nerves, before she replied. "Good, now you are worried about the right things! As I said, leave the danger to me. All you have to do it worry about leading a community of 'eight-foot-tall monsters.'"

Jack couldn't help but be impressed by S'haar's impersonation of himself at the end of the sentence.

-

Em'brel was getting frustrated. She let out a heartfelt sigh before trying to charm her way out of this lesson. "I know how to add, subtract, multiply, and now I even know how to divide. Why do I have to learn this thing you call 'algebra?'"

Angela looked down at the girl, for once immune to her charm. "The whole world around us can be broken down and understood mathematically. Once you can do that, you can take those same principles and use them to improve life, or even create it."

Em'brel looked confused, but Angela continued before she could ask any questions. "Take me, for example." Angela gave Em'brel a perfect imitation of the formal bow the girl had used before. "I am essentially nothing more than a complicated math equation. Everything I think and do is an expression of math. The bow I just performed would look something like this." Angela put up a display of a complex formula.

Em'brel knew she was being tricked into showing interest in math but couldn't resist looking a little closer. "I recognize the numbers and some of the symbols, but there are so many more symbols. what do those mean?"

Angela smiled. That was the question she'd been hoping for. "Each one of those expresses another mathematic idea or principle. Similar to how the 'x' I showed you can stand for different numbers, those symbols could represent entire equations. If I were to replace those symbols with simple digits, the equation of the bow would look more like this."

With a wave of her hand, Angela filled the entire room with layers of numbers so complex that it became painful to focus on any one part. "Now, something like this would be far too complex for any person to ever put together, so instead, they use symbols that represent different ideas to take this mess and simplify it down to this." The original equation returned, now seeming beautifully simple in comparison to the chaos Em'brel had just witnessed.

Having made her point, Angela waved away the equation, which faded as if a wind had passed through it. "The good news is, you don't have to learn anything nearly that complex. You won't be creating life through math after all. However, there are still plenty of aspects of life on this world that could be improved simply by the proper application of math. Algebra is the first step to go from keeping simple ledgers to building a bridge that will stand for centuries. Eventually, your distant descendants could sail through the stars above utilizing the principles you're learning today."

Em'brel looked at Angela with eyes filled with the excitement of discovery. "Is that where you and Jack came from? The stars?"

Angela smiled at her pupal's newfound enthusiasm. "It is, and if you agree to work on your math with me a little every day, I'll agree to tell you a little about life out among the stars, agreed?"

Em'brel pretended to mull the offer over a little before nodding in excitement. "It's a deal!"

-

As Jack and S'haar approached the village. Jack noticed a familiar argu'n sitting by a fire in front of the gate. S'haar waved before greeting the old guard. "Ger'ron, the toothless wonder! Do you ever do anything that doesn't involve sitting around all day?"

Ger'ron looked up from warming his hands by the fire with a grin, still full of plenty of teeth despite S'haar's claim. He waved back as the two approached. "You should show your elder more respect. Last I checked, I still have the upper hand, having won 42 out of 83 sparring matches so far!"

S'haar laughed as she gave her old mentor a friendly punch in the arm. "That's just because you refused to fight me anymore since I got one match away from breaking even!"

Ger'ron looked at his old pupal with an expression like a wizened old sage. "A true warrior knows when to fight and when to retreat. The only way for a poor old man like myself to win is by refusing to play the game."

S'haar held out her sword for Ger'ron to take. "You might be old, but I doubt you'll ever be poor. I bet you still give the new recruits a surprise by feigning a bad back mid-fight!"

Ger'ron waved away S'haar's sword as he responded with a slightly self-deprecating smile. "I have to pretend a little less every year, but I still do alright. Lord A'ngels said to let you keep your weapons from now on. Something to do with a couple of muggers?"

S'haar blinked in surprise a few times before resheathing her sword. "Huh, that's... unexpected."

Ger'ron shrugged. "It's not my job to understand the rulings of a lord, just to enforce them."

He walked over to the gate and rapped his knuckles against it. "Hey, we got some traders out here, open up!"

From the other side of the gate, Jack heard the same young voice as last time. "As cold as it is outside? Are they suicidal?"

Ger'ron's voice developed an impatient edge. "For once, will you just listen to me rather than questioning everything I tell you? open the gate already!"

As the gate opened, Jack and S'haar walked past the same young guard, just as bug-eyed as the first time. Though this time, there was also a hint of hero worship to his expression. Old Ger'ron shouted something after the two of them that explained the look. "Oh, by the way, the story of your little adventure with the raiders has spread! Quite the story Lon'thul brought back!"

As the two walked through the village crowds a second time, everyone was staring once again. But this time, the looks ranged from the hero-worship of the young guard to expressions of doubt and disbelief. Jack noticed that most of the eyes were now directed at S'haar and not himself, but he was just fine with that. He'd never been big on being the center of attention.

For her part, S'haar seemed annoyed by the looks being directed her way but kept her mouth shut and her eyes focused on the crowd. This time, they stopped by the hunter's lodge first, hoping to find Lon'thul.

As they walked into the gloomy interior, Jack noticed the place was empty. Well, almost empty.

In one corner was the single most terrifying argu'n Jack had ever seen. His clothing was more bones, horns, and skulls than leather. His armored plates were dyed black to emphasize where they were scored and scarred by countless battles for life and limb. He'd lost one of his elbow spikes but replaced it by tieing on the claw of some massive beast. His head tendrils were laced through with bits of wood and metal to array them outward in a manner that made them look like a magnificent mane. Jack knew this could be no other than the hunter chief, Dek'thul.

He briefly considered backing out of the hall and pretending like he hadn't seen anything when the argu'n spoke without turning his head. "So, you're the one everyone's been talking about."

As the hunter chief turned around, Jack couldn't help but think the man was even more terrifying from the front than he was from behind. Jack had been expecting a horribly scarred face to go with his armored plates, but as far as Jack could see, there was no blemish in sight. Instead, it was his eyes that unsettled Jack.

All argu'n have metallic eyes, gold, silver, copper, etc. Dek'thul was no exception. In many ways, Jack would say his eyes and S'haar's were similar, but where her eyes portrayed all the complex emotions of a complex person, human or argu'n, all Jack could see in Dek'thul's eyes was hunger.

As the hunter chief approached him, Jack couldn't help but feel that every movement was that of a dangerous predator stalking him. Its eyes held Jack's transfixed, preventing him from doing or saying anything. Jack stood hopelessly transfixed, watching as Death approached him.

Jack was just debating whether the better course of action was to wet himself or simply pass out from fear when S'haar placed her hand on his shoulder in the way she was coming to do to remind Jack He wasn't alone.

Jack resisted the urge to take a deep breath or shake his head, and instead stepped forward and held out his hand to offer a handshake before speaking. S'haar translated as usual. "I apologize. Where are my manners? I'm Jack, and you know my friend and translator, S'haar. You must be Dek'thul. I've heard so much about you!"

Dek'thul threw back his head in laughter, both hands on his hips, and his whole demeanor suddenly changed and became almost jovial. "Impressive greeting from one so small! After seeing you, I expected you to run and hide. Welcome to my hall! To what do I owe the honor of your visit?"

Following this, his hand shot out with speed only an argu'n was capable of, gripping Jack's offered hand. "I believe you call this a 'handshake,' yes? My son told me all about it!"

Jack was still intimidated but felt much of the tension leave his body as he grinned in return. "Yes, this is a handshake, but usually you only shake two or three times before letting go. As to your question, we were actually looking for your son. We entrusted him with the care of some of our goods and wanted to make sure he was able to return safely."

Dek'thul finally ended the continuous handshake with an apologetic smile. "Ah yes, quite the generous payment you offered him in return for delivering your good for you. If I'm not mistaken, you'll find him at the inn, spending some of the iron you paid him while sharing the tale of the battlefield you left for him to find. He always knows how to tell a good story, and this might be his best yet!"

The large argu'n chuckled to himself. "Ah, to be young and popular with the ladies again, such is the wasted blessing of youth! When you see him, tell him I said he'd better not let his suddenly increased popularity dull his hunter's edge, we have a village to feed after all!"

With that apparent dismissal, Dek'thul returned to the carcass he was cutting up. As S'haar and Jack turned and left, Jack couldn't suppress his shudder any longer. True, if anything, Dek'thul was even friendlier than his son and seemed eager to help, but Jack noticed two things that seemed off about the whole encounter.

First, Dek'thul never looked at or acknowledged S'haar. Usually, the first time Jack spoke and S'haar translated an argu'n would look back and forth between the two a few times before they fully understood what was going on. However, aside from the time he laughed, Dek'thul's eyes never left Jack. Which brought Jack to the second thing that bothered him about the hunter chief.

Not once had the look of hunger ever left Dek'thul's eyes.