"It's rare to see you relaxed," Meena remarked as she walked towards Barda. This was his 3rd day of employment, and the whole time he had been pure work. He hardly took the time to relax, just work and eat.
Barda had to force himself to take a break at night. His body didn't need sleep nor rest, he could keep going until the work was done. Unfortunately for him, he was surrounded by humans that needed to eat and sleep. Either way, he had to acclimatize to his surroundings.
However, this was not the cause for relaxation. That morning, he had used up the last of the ores. The way the smithies worked was that they bought ores directly from the miners. The smithies would then smelt and refine the ores before using it in their craft. Everything seemed pretty low scale in Barda's eyes, but without the industrial age, this was what he had to work with.
Today they were feeling the pressure of having a noble dedicate themselves to making your life difficult. No miners were willing to sell to Markell, which meant that they couldn't make more weapons. The Feilin family didn't stop there though.
The Markells didn't want Barda to know this but they were also running low on food supplies. None of the sellers in the market were willing to sell to them. Meena and Anna were doing all they could to ration, but they still gave Barda his fair share. He was, after all, an employee, and one that had proven quite useful. They couldn't afford to lose him.
Barda had just finished his lunch, and Meena was there to collect the dishes. Markell was off negotiating with the miners for a shipment, and Anna was nowhere to be seen.
"What do you think of this?" Barda asked Meena as he showed her his latest creation. It was an elegant looking bow. It was a meter long, and it was made of hardly looking metal. Meena didn't quite know what it was, but it glowed like copper, only sturdier. This was the first introduction of Bronze in the society, his creation.
"It's beautiful!" Meena said breathlessly as he grabbed it. The weapon looked immaculate. It's luster and dazzling effect added to the flair. The bronze bow had a bronze cable spanning it. From its curve, the material seemed very difficult to use. When Meena tried to pull it, she couldn't even bend it, no matter how hard she tried.
"Who could wield such a weapon though?" She asked, disappointed. In response, Barda drew out an arrow. It was nothing extraordinary, just wood and feathers. However, the material that made up the tip was similar to the bow's material.
Barda took the bow by hand, nocked an arrow and aimed. Drawing the bow may have been much of a strain for Meena, but Barda made it look as though it was an ordinary bow. Taking time to aim, Barda fired the bow.
The arrow went through the wall, coming out the other end. It almost went through completely but given how deeply it was lodged in the wall, one wouldn't pull it out that easily.
"Is hunting allowed in the forest?" Barda asked. Meena was still stunned by the power in the bow. Wielding it was no small feat, but if one could successfully use it, its power was grand to behold.
"Yes!" Meena's eyes sparkled. She hadn't thought Barda would volunteer to go out hunting, especially now that they needed food. Her mother had been appalled by the cowardice shown by her neighbors and friends. These women in the marketplace were her friends, yet when the nobles flexed their muscles they went scurrying away like rats.
Meena knew of her family troubles, so she willingly offered to help Barda. This was the reason Barda made the bow and arrows, despite knowing the lack of material. He reasoned that if he used the materials to feed the family, Markell wouldn't be too angry.
"Oh look, little Meena is going hunting." As the duo made their way to the forest, a loudmouth exclaimed when he spotted them.
"Grila, how shameless of you to show your face to me," Meena exclaimed, she looked so peeved Barda couldn't help thinking of her father. It would seem that the apple didn't fall far from the tree.
"Shameless, now you talk about shameless? I wonder, have you looked in the mirror lately?"
"Oh, you still mopping over that. Poor you, will you get over it, or should I call milkmaid?" Barda was shocked that the innocent looking Meena had quite a sharp tongue and a history.
"Who's this, your new boyfriend?"
"Why are you asking, you jealous?" Meena asked, then she reached for Barda's hand and dragged him away, saying: "Come, I don't want to waste another minute with this fool."
Even as they walked away, the 2 exchanged insults until they were out of range of each other. All this was quite amusing to Barda, who kept chuckling.
"Don't ask!" Meena yelled at him when she noticed he was looking at her with curious eyes. She walked faster, trying to get away from him.
"Alright," Barda said as he hurried to catch up.
***
"So, what did they say?" Anna asked Merkall as she served him the evening meal.
"The bastards. They are too afraid, won't sell me anything," Merkall looked pissed as ever. Markell spat out as he stared into the fireplace. "I'm starting to think we bit off more than we can chew."
"Is this my overly ambitious husband talking, or have you substituted him with someone else?" Anna's words seemed to stoke the flame in her husband's heart. It wasn't that she was so ambitious, but she knew her husband, and she couldn't allow this to break him.
"We are not beat yet! Now, where is that daughter of mine?" Merkall exclaimed. A rare smile appeared in an attempt to project confidence.
"I hear she went hunting."
"Hunting? Alone? Are we that desperate?"
"No, apparently she was invited by your boy."
"Soft Hands, he wants to go hunting? Does he know?"
"Well, he has been staying here for a while, he has to know something," Anna seemed to think of something, "He didn't explicitly say it, buried it in some nonsense about testing out a new bow." Merkall was deep in thought. A good employee like that who would go overboard without asking for something, what an asset.
"That's good, I think. But how good a hunt can they bring back, and what if they get into trouble. We don't know anything about the kid." Merkall was getting worried.
As they continued to talk, they heard a commotion outside. At this time, it was already dark, the dusk had overtaken. There was little activity going on outside other than drunks going home. They couldn't understand why there was a commotion.
"Let me go check it out," Merkall said as he went to the door.
Anna grabbed Merkall's hand, worried, but she let him go.
"What's going on?"
"They bagged an entire deer! Imagine that, a whole deer!"
"Did you see the antlers on the thing, it must have been some catch!"
Many people were gathered outside their home as they were discussing something excitedly. Markell overhearing wondered whether if his ears were hearing right. Could it be that his daughter had hunted a male deer? A male deer!
The kind of animal that only the mighty and the powerful could attain. Only the nobles were known to hunt such prey. They were the only ones that could bring down such a beast. Even then they had dogs and hunting parties. They were only 2.
Both Anna and Markell were shocked as they watched the mighty beast get hauled back into the compound. It was unbelievable but true. There were even people cheering them as they came in, something that made Barda pause.
Earlier on, he had seen hunters going after wild beasts, and even celebrating when they caught a deer. He didn't think it would be a big deal, all he wanted was to earn some points by feeding the family. Now, he could tell that this was no ordinary achievement, for the entire village had moved to welcome them. He also hadn't missed the look on Meena's face when he had shot it down. While this no doubt brought him to the limelight, Barda wasn't sure whether this was a good or a bad thing.
All things considered, it was a done deed. No point in worrying whether he should have or not, all he had to do was deal with the consequences. The good thing was, the looks on the Markells' faces were priceless, and the joy plastered on them could not be bought. That was one upside to the whole escapade.
That evening, the meal tasted better than any they'd had in a long time. The family and their new member were full of laughs as the night faded away, a glimmer of hope settling in their hearts. Yes, they could survive this.