A Change in Plans
Copyright© 2006 by Asa Strong
Chapter 5: Into the Mountains
Science Fantasy Story: Chapter 5: Into the Mountains - George Rice, a dying, emotionally detached scientist who plans to stage his own accidental death after losing his wife and receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis. At the brink of suicide, he is intercepted by a higher being named Alama, who offers him a chance to “right a terrible wrong.” George accepts and dies—only to be reborn into another world and another body.
Caution: This Science Fantasy Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Ma/ft Consensual Romantic Science Fiction Isekai First
The sun peeping through the trees woke me up. Somehow, I managed to open my eyes to greet the new day.
As I sat there trying to clear the cobwebs from my head, it suddenly became clear to me that I now knew who Donta was. The rest of sleeping must have given my mind a chance to recover most of Donta’s memory.
I was a trapper and woodsman who lived high in the mountains. I really did not feel comfortable being around a lot of people, so at an early age, I made my way into the high woods and mountains to live.
I also could kind of remember what had happened to Donta before George had entered the picture. Donta had been coming down to the lowlands with a load of furs to trade to Mica. He had been attacked by four men on the trail. Evidently, they had hit him on the back of the head, taken his furs, and left him for dead.
Mica! Oh damn! Mica was Rocha’s husband and Kata’s father. No wonder Donta knew who they were. They were part of a very select group of people that Donta had trusted.
I sat there shaking my head, finally understanding a little more about my new environment, then decided there were more productive things to do. I got up and stirred yesterday’s fire to bring up the embers and fed a few small sticks on top to restart the fire.
“Coffee,” I thought to myself, “damn, that sure would be good right now”, but knew that was not an option.
While lost in my own reverie, Rocha groaned, and that pulled me back to the present. I got up and walked over to see if she was doing any better.
“Rocha, are you awake?” I asked.
Her eyes opened, and I immediately noticed that they were reasonably clear. Just maybe we could contain the infection if we could keep the wound clean.
I pulled back her dress and removed the blood-soaked cloth covering the wounds and discovered that the entry wound above her left breast was looking pretty good. The edges were red, but I could find no pus or discharge seeping from it.
“Rocha, I am going to turn you on your side to see what the back looks like,” I told her.
“OK, Donta,” she mumbled, and she tried to turn on her right side.
It was apparent that she was still very weak, so I helped her to turn.
When I pulled her dress back and removed the dressing, there was some seepage and a little white pus present in the wound, but not as much as I would have expected.
While I was tending to Rocha, Celle had awakened and walked over to Rocha and me.
“Donta, is mistress okay?” she asked.
“She is doing better, but we need to get these dressing cloths cleaned, or better yet, see if we can find some new, clean ones. In fact, we should boil the cloth before we use it.” I stated.
“I will see what I can find,” she said and started off towards the burned-out buildings.
“Celle, bring back some clean water too!” I hollered to her retreating back.
She nodded her head and was soon swallowed up by the trees.
I turned towards Kata and could see that she was awake and spoke, “Kata, honey, time to get up and moving. Do you think you could see about getting us something to eat for breakfast? And while you’re in the house, see if you can find some soap.”
Kata half-smiled at me and shook her head in a positive manner, then headed off through the trees towards the house and buildings.
While Celle and Kata were off on their errands, I pondered what to do. We had to get out of here. My Donta memories told me that the whole area was in chaos. Bandit gangs were running amok while what passed for nobles and gentry were furiously squabbling among themselves. Their only interest, it seemed, was to obtain positions of power and wealth to fill the vacuum created when the old king had been killed. The countryside was left to the mercy of outlaw bandit gangs who raped and pillaged at will.
In the best of times, this area was not very stable. The only noble with a claim on the throne was the sixteen-year-old son of the departed king, who had somehow managed to escape the carnage of his father’s assassins. It would be a free-for-all among the competing factions to see who would come out on top.
Kata and Celle interrupted my thoughts as they entered the camp. Kata immediately poured some water into a small iron bowl, while Celle handed me a bunch of what looked like torn-up shirts.
“These were some of the master’s old shirts that I found. They look to be clean. I also brought some clean water from the stream.”
“Thank you, Celle,” I said, then moved to Rocha to clean and change the dressings on her wounds.
I waited for the water to heat up, and then, using the soap that Kata had found in the house, sat about cleaning Rocha’s wounds. By the time I was finished, the fresh dressings had been boiling in the water for about ten minutes. I wrung out as much water as I could from the scorching-hot cloth and then bandaged her as best I could.
Meanwhile, Kata had breakfast well under way.
We quietly ate breakfast with Celle helping to feed Rocha. I think the travesty of yesterday’s events weighed heavily on everyone’s mind. I could tell by looking at Kata’s face that she had cried much of the night.
“Well,” I thought to myself, “it’s time to get this show on the road.”
“OK everyone, let’s get started. We cannot stay here, it is just too dangerous. Celle, I want you to see if you can find the remaining stock and bring them back here.”
“Rocha, are you going to be alright here for a while?” I asked.
“Yes Donta, I will be OK. It hurts a lot but I know we have to move.”
“Kata, you’re with me. We need to get all the food that will not spoil from the house, as well as clothes that have not been ruined. Don’t forget, it is summer now, but we will need heavy clothes for winter as well. I will see about getting the small wagon pulled close to the house. When Celle finishes, she can help me harness the horses.”
Celle headed off in the same direction she went yesterday while Kata and I moved towards the buildings.
While Kata entered the house, I walked towards the burned-out barn.
I spent about a half hour moving burned trusses and debris from the roof to clear an exit path for the wagon. When that was completed, I had to push the wagon backwards because there was no room to turn it around. This turned out to be a real chore. It was difficult to turn the wagon in the direction you wanted using the tang, while still being able to push hard enough to move the wagon.
After about 20 minutes, I managed to push the wagon clear of the building. From that point, it was easy to pull the wagon by hand to the house.
When I reached the house, I could see that Kata had been busy. There were numerous large crocks, filled glass jars, kettles, pans, and other household items sitting on the remains of the front porch.
As I loaded the items into the wagon, Kata appeared with several wooden boxes filled with clothes.
“Kata, how are you doing? Do you need any help?”
“No Donta, I think this is the last of anything that is worthwhile saving. I will make one more trip to check though.” She said.
Kata went back into the house, and I continued to load the wagon.
Shortly thereafter, I saw Celle herding a few animals along the tree line towards us. Since it looked like she was having difficulty keeping them all together, I sprinted towards her to help.
As I got closer, I could see she had four heifers, two calves, six goats, and a lone yearling bull.
The bull was being a pain in the ass, continually trying to return to the pasture to the south.
I finally covered the distance and immediately moved to the right and further outside the tree line from Celle. This cut off the escape route for the bull, and he had no option but to follow the rest of the animals.
I could see this bull was going to be a real pain, but would be invaluable in the future. We would have to find a way to handle him.
We finally coerced the herd into the clearing where Rocha was located, and damn if the bull didn’t find the tall grass there to his liking.
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