Chapter 17

Three or four or five, depending on how you counted. Axorie was certainly a person, albeit an unconventional one not born of mortal man. Mr. Bigfoot was also along, and by all rights should be counted, he had a personality and presence equal to any. By my count, it was five adventurers, who left our world and entered into another, one where minutes and days flew past while only seconds ticked by in our own.

They arrived without anything material except for their forms, their wits, and their powers. Axorie didn't even have all that. She didn't know everything about this new world, she had no physical form, she only had her mind, her thoughts, and the habit of being. She was herself, and nothing else. She was, however, the only one of them who could remotely be described as being dressed. She had conceptualized her costume, and was wearing her clothes in the mind of any who she permitted to apprehend her existance.

As she had been invisible naked girl for so long in their last world, they all accepted her clothed role amongst them. Mr. Bigfoot had refused to be left behind, once he understood they were leaving, inspite of their explanations that they would only be gone for a few days. His experiences over the next few months would lead him to believe that they had lied to him anyway, and he would congragulate himself in his own catlike way for insisting on going along. They arrived in the darkness on a strange world, defenseless but not helpless. Hardcase sensed the vegetation, found some dead branches, and soon had several burning torches in their hands. Being able to see lowered the anxiety level by quite a bit. Obviously, Mr. Bigfoot had been able to observe their surroundings from the start, and had not detected anything threatening, although he had noted several small presumably tasty lifeforces in the area. Hardcase and Freaky soon had a dwelling constructed and camouflaged, a vine hidden earthen hut.

Presumably the area they were in was wilderness, but daylight would discover the truth of that suposition. Steetch got busy making a self-bow, that is, one which was powered by the wielder, not by cams as in a compound bow, nor triggered by a mechanism like a crossbow. Hardcase provided the wood for three bows, numerous arrows, and stout staffs for those who could use them. Freaky was busy searching for valuta, such as gold, silver, or gems, while Axorie and Hardcase did their best to fletch arrows with feathers provided by Mr Bigfoot, and they carefuly didn't trouble him about the source.

They used wood sap and fibers that Hardcase provided, and by morning they had two bows, a dozen or so arrows with chipped stone tips, (Steetch had learned the knapping skills as part of his wilderness survival skillset.) He had also knapped a fine flint blade for himself, Freaky and Hardcase. Axorie was argueably the best armed of them, as she had conceptualized her katana and wakizashi as part of her self-image, and so was never without them, even when she had been nude and invisible back in the home dimention. As an added benefit, they never rusted, and never dulled.

In fact, she was the one who roughed out the wooden weapons, for Steetch to refine using small flint blades, which Freaky had found the flint nodules for. So, after one night, by firelight, they had created quite respectible weapons, and were no longer feeling as defenseless. In reality, the feeling of being naked had as much to do with feeling vulnerable as not having weapons, as between Mr. Bigfoot's teeth and senses, Axories ready to hand razor sharp sword and long knife, and Steetch's martial skills, let alone Hardcase's 'Stranglevine' and Damn! I wanted to write a perfect chapter, without breaking in and interfering with the flow of the story, but I just found out that immolation refers to sprinkling corn meal on a sacrifice, and not to burning at all. The term ;Self-immolation' means self sacrifice in a more generic sense of the word. But you probably already knew that, so I return you to the story already in progress. crap! 'immolation', or Freaky's ability to control the elements. Can you believe it? Freaking corn meal! my view of reality has shifted, and I can't continue with the story at this time. I feel so stupid. I never even considered that 'self-immolation' could mean anything except setting ones-self on fire. I was so trying to give you all a good chapter, too. I was really trying this time, and then this. No, don't email me with reasurances, I will probably be fine tomorrow. Sorry for blowing this chapter. arrgh.