章節 9: Society of Strength
It took Ameri over an hour to reset the trap. It may have been able to kill a baby Dune Trap but, to accomplish that feat, it was overly cumbersome to build and reset. Very few with the desire to hunt beasts would see this as a worthwhile tradeoff.
During that time Kaleb was able to work out most of his stiffness. Though his body still hurt, it was at least manageable. He saw Ameri jump off the platform and stare thoughtfully at the Dune Trap's corpse, still partially buried beneath the platform.
"So, how are we going to transport it back to town?" Kaleb asked as he walked over to the edge of the platform.
Ameri looked up at him with a sheepish grin. "Well actually, I haven't figured that out yet." He replied truthfully.
"What did you do with the last one you caught?" Kaleb asked with a perplexed look.
"Actually, this is the first one I've caught." Ameri said, looking even more sheepish. "You see, I saw a baby Dune Trap hunting a Shelled Hog in the distance while I was going to an oasis to get Mumbi fruit. The idea for the trap came from watching it hunt so clumsily and, well, sometimes my enthusiasm gets me ahead of myself. So, I built the trap only to realize that I didn't have a way to lure the Dune Trap into it. I mean, I'm not stupid enough to use myself as bait..." he trailed off awkwardly.
"Which is when I showed up, solving the problem of someone stupid enough to be the bait?" Kaleb asked blandly.
"That's not how I meant it!" Ameri said quickly, waving his arms for emphasis. "It was just sort of lucky that you led one here. I mean not lucky, it's obviously bad that you were being chased and you were injured and all, but it did help solve my problem and you were saved from the Dune Trap too. So, it kind of worked out for both of us." He concluded his rambling explanation with a bright smile, feeling satisfied that he had smoothed over the situation.
Kaleb shook his head as he smiled slightly. 'This kid is a handful' he thought. The two of them seemed to almost be opposites. Kaleb was collected and analytical while Ameri was scattered and enthusiastic. 'He's what I would imagine a young Anthony would have been like.' Kaleb reminisced for a moment 'Fiery and intelligent, but hasn't refined that energy just yet.'
"Do you have any rope?" Kaleb asked, as there only seemed to be one, miserable, solution.
The early afternoon saw Kaleb and Ameri moving across the desert with the Dune Trap in tow. Kaleb was now wearing a light brown poncho and a head wrap that he had gotten from Ameri, to protect him from the sun. The young man was very prepared to be out in the wilds for long periods of time, and was well previsioned with everything one might need. A quality that Kaleb could appreciate.
They had dug the Dune Trap out of the sand and used ropes to make a harness that connected them to it like a team of horses. Kaleb's solution had been simple, the Dune Trap's body was made to move smoothly through the sand so it should be even easier to move it across the surface. While this limited the friction it did not eliminate the weight. Kaleb was originally worried they would not even be able to make it budge but it turned out to be deceptively light for its size. It was still a struggle, and both Kaleb and Ameri were bent forward against the weight.
Their pace was slow and Kaleb required frequent breaks, due to his low stamina. To top it off they couldn't pull the Dune Trap up a dune, so they were forced to take a winding route through the valleys of the desert, further lengthening their journey. They still found time to get to know each other better during their breaks and Kaleb used these breaks to find out more about the humans in the world that he had been pulled into.
"There are three main factions." Ameri explained during one of their rests. "These are the Omniscient Church, the Guilds and the Conglomerates. The Church are the guides of our world, they act as the judges and enforcers, but all of the factions were created for the same purpose, to create warriors who can gain an advanced status."
"Advanced status?" Kaleb asked.
"You don't even remember what an advanced status is?" Ameri asked surprised. "I mean status is what our world is built on. I guess I thought you would remember something so fundamental." He continued thoughtfully. Ameri took his time to gather his thoughts during their next march.
During their next break he told Kaleb. "Status is what determines everything about your life, what you can be, where you can go and even who you can marry. Your original status is determined by your birth but, thanks to the grace of the Gods, you can change your status by preforming acts for the Church. For example, the lowest thing you can be is a serf. Which means that you are bound to one town and to a particular occupation. But, a serf can accept missions from the Church and prove their value. They can then gain an advancement in status to Worthy. Once you are a Worthy you are no longer bound to the land or an occupation."
"What are the missions like?" Kaleb asked curiously.
"The missions to become Worthy are almost all the same. You just have to bring a certain number of beast cores to the Church. If you have higher level ones you don't need as many! Though, there are also missions to participate in den clearings or other stuff like that, and the missions to advance above Worthy are way more difficult!" Ameri's interest and enthusiasm for this subject was obvious on his face.
"Wait, so a serf can leave the town and go out to hunt beasts? I thought they were bound to the land?" Kaleb asked skeptically wondering if he had picked the best source of information.
"Well actually they don't have to leave town to get these cores, they can trade for them too. What the first mission proves is that someone has the initiative to obtain them. But, yes, of course serfs can leave the town, most of them are farmers after all. What being bound to a town means is that you can't enter another town. There is only one town a serf can do business or reside in. Once you are Worthy though you can enter, do business and even live in any town you want to!" Ameri explained as he tied on the harness to continue their journey.
The sun was starting to set, as they both collapsed on the ground, soaked in sweat. Kaleb's curiosity had depleted drastically after their long day. He still had one question left that he felt was important to know for their immediate predicament.
"Are you a serf?"
Ameri looked at him for a moment before looking away, his face serious for the first time since Kaleb had met him.
"No. My parents were both serfs who had earned their advancement to Worthy. Because of that I was born Worthy." he said evenly looking up at the blue sky his eyes far away.
"Were?" Kaleb asked, not failing to notice the past phrasing.
"They both died, in the Mountain Tomb, when I was 8. It's because of them that I want to become a great adventurer... to make them proud." Ameri didn't proclaim his conviction to the world as he had before. In fact, he said it so quietly that Kaleb had to focus to hear what he said. But, the conviction that Kaleb felt from those words was far greater than Ameri's previous claims to glory. Kaleb saw his young friend in a new light after that.
"We should get going." Ameri said breaking the silence that had formed between them. "We can still make another push before the sun sets."
They continued their journey in relative silence from then on. Whether from their mutual exhaustion or distracted by personal thoughts, Kaleb couldn't tell.
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