"Papa, I got it!" The young teenager exclaimed as he took off running after the arrow he had just shot. Leading him were 2 hounds that also ran in the direction the arrow had been shot. The ground of hunters followed suit.
"Wow, I did get it." The boy exclaimed as he looked at the male deer that had an arrow protruding from its skull, like a unicorn. It lay down lifelessly, with the arrow as the obvious cause of its demise.
He couldn't believe it. He had been desperately hoping for a kill, hoping to wipe out the embarrassment he has caused his family, but never did he hope to snag such a kill. An adult deer, how hard were they to take down.
"Well done son!" Sir Fielin exclaimed as he discovered his son's kill. He too was impressed, and the smile told his son that this was enough to make up. Neither of them nor those that they had come with saw a man that was watching them.
In truth, they couldn't see him since he was more than 10 miles away, yet he could see and hear then as clearly as if they were standing in front of him. He had been following this group since they came in the forest, 7 days ago. Since then he had shadowed them, and he had understood what they were trying to achieve.
Firstly, Barda had been super impressed by the android's ability to understand foreign languages. Using comparative simulations and collecting data from the group, the android could understand and even communicate. He hadn't tried talking yet but he knew he would.
The group was comprised of 4 different families. These families seemed to hold some power since each family was able to hire several guards to accompany them. The family had dispatched the patriarch and a junior alongside the guards.
It was a competition of sorts, but it also seemed to be a ritual, a rite of passage. The juniors were here to snag a kill, which told Barda that these were a hunting tribe. The families seemed to be the nobilities. They hailed from a city-state known as Crane.
Most of the juniors had already gotten their kill, but the junior from the Fielin family had yet to get a kill. His aim was terrible and he made too much noise while hunting. Seeing the arrow planted so wonderfully on the deer's face, none could believe that he was responsible. Sometimes luck seemed unfair.
Barda had taken pity on the little boy. Even from afar, such a shot was child's play to him. Finding a rock nearby, he had tossed it in the air. From his hiding spot, he needed to throw the stone at 0.2334 seconds Bearing 231 Elevation 4. He also needed to thrust it with 343 Newtons of force to bear flight speed of 12 knots. His aim was true.
10 miles away, he struck an arrow that was hurtling towards the deer, altering its trajectory. Only then could such a great shot have come from such a poor shooter. The boy reveled in his victory, enjoying the accolades he got from his followers. Many knew it was a lucky shot, but this was the Feilin family heir, lip service was not an expensive price to pay.
Barda followed the group as they made their way back to their city-state.
Crane city-state was not as massive. It had a walled-in capital where many of the well-to-do families. The capital was circular, for the most part, 13.4 kilometers diameter. There were grand castles in there but the grandest was towards the southern wall, where the king lived.
The people he had been following entered the capital and made their way inside. Barda had finally found civilization, so he wasn't keen on following them further. he decided to observe the community before he made his approach. Since he was in no particular hurry, he was to watch them for 2 weeks.
For an android, 2 weeks was like an eternity, but the wait paid off. Barda was happy to know that he could now both read, write and talk the local language like a native. Secondly, he had a basic, rather, in-depth understanding of the community functions. They were like any other human settlement, and he felt right at home.
The city-state had a king called Sahir. He ruled supreme and he hailed from the crane family. He was also the chancellor and patriarch of the crane family.
Under him were the nobilities. They had close ties with the ruling family. They had their spheres of influence and several guards working directly under them. The families rarely interacted with the commoners unless there was an absolute need.
There were other hierarchies even among the commoners, but Barda didn't care much about them. He had also come up with how he would make his approach. But first things first, he needed some clothes.
***
Tang! Tang! Tang!
Loud metal strikes echoed across the smithy. A burly man with a dense beard extending from his chin to almost reaching his chest was hard at work, shaping the piece of metal in his hands.
"What do you want?" He asked. He didn't even lift his eyes as he kept his work going, the loud banging not even going off-rhythm.
"There's someone here looking for employment." A crisp sound came to the man. He paused for a minute to look at his young daughter who just spoke to him. He let out a wry smile and asked.
"Huh, another would-be smithy, does he look to have any kind of potential?"
"Not really, he looks like a spoiled rich kid who got lost."
"Then why didn't you send him away?"
"He insists that he is very good at what he does."
"Hah! another show-boat. Come Meena, let's go put him in his place."
The moment the smith saw the new arrival, he understood what his daughter was talking about. The recruit in front of him looked completely lost. It wasn't the clothes he was wearing, for they looked ordinary, worn-out even. It also wasn't the air or how he carried himself, but rather, his skin.
One look at the recruit and one could tell, those were not a working man's hands. On the contrary, his smooth soft skin looked so unembellished it was hard to believe that he had done any kind of work besides being pampered. His clear white teeth and eyes spoke of someone refined. The smith guessed that those clothes had been stolen or borrowed from someone else.
"So, I hear you are hiring." The boy began. The smithy sneered inwardly. In his mind, he understood that the boy was from one of the rich families looking to learn how to smith. The confidence in the boy had sold him this notion, ordinary people would be a touch more humble.
Of course, he couldn't just send him away, but there was no way he could hire some dead weight, regardless of who they were. He had to find a way to let him down easy.
"I am sorry, but we are no longer looking for apprentices." The smith said simply. He had to be respectful, but he wasn't going to let anyone dictate who he could or couldn't hire.
"But sir, I am very good, and I don't demand much salary. I just want something to get me by, and I promise to be the best apprentice you could ask for." The kowtowing sounded forced, and this was exactly what Barda was going for.
He knew he couldn't just turn out of the blues without people asking questions, and since he got to create his own mystery, he had the freedom to make as mysterious background as he could.
Seeing the false pretenses, Markell couldn't take it. He grabbed the boy's hands and showed them to him, asking, "With these, what could you possibly do, Smooth hands?"
"Sir, give me a chance and you won't be disappointed."
"Follow me." Seeing the persistence, Markell decided on another way to get the boy to leave.
The boy and his daughter followed him to his forging room, where the piece of metal he had been hacking at was. Pointing towards the metal, he said, "Make this into a knife. Only then will I even think about hiring you."
Markell knew that the chances of him producing a knife from the metal he was working on were slim to none. The metal was meant to make a goblet, and it was just a metal plate. Reshaping it from what he had already made to become a knife was a very complex task. The quality of the knife was also determined by the skill of the maker. With such a complex task, the boy would see that he had bitten off more than he can handle and show himself out.
"The tools?" The boy asked eagerly.
"Feel free to use anything in this room. Just show me what you got." By now, even Meena had a small sneer. She didn't believe this showboating fool would have what it takes to be hired by her father.
"Thank you sir, you won't be disappointed."