Lenora

The sun had already risen by the time Ichiro returned to his apartment. He had made it a habit of sleeping through the mornings and working throughout the night. Soon after he laid down on his couch and closed his eyes, he was dreaming of his time in another world.

A familiar woman's voice boomed in with "Are you asleep?"

"What? No." he responded.

Looking around, he found himself sitting on a bedroll next to a fire. A grizzled old woman wearing adventuring gear sat nearby, leaned against an obscenely large hammer.

"Lenora!" Ichiro said.

"Keep your voice down Ichiro. You never know what beasts, monsters, or enemies might be in earshot." Lenora snapped at him.

"Sorry," he responded. "I'm still new to all of this. We didn't worry about things like this when I was a soldier." Ichiro continued.

"You're just lucky I took a liking to you." Lenora joked.

Ichiro looked up and saw three moons and a sea of stars lit up the sky, surprising him. The dull light of the moons barely lit up the distance around them. Twigs and brush cast long shadows from the light of the fire.

"How long before we're out of the brushlands?" Ichiro asked.

"Not long enough." Lenora answered with a sigh. "Remember, I've been teaching you how to fight. This is your first real education into how to survive out here. Also, don't be so quick to get out of the scrublands. On the other side of this, we reach the eastern mountains and you know we'll be busy defending ourselves nearly nonstop while we're there." Lenora chided him for his youthful exuberance in the only way that an elder could. "It will be life or death every step of the way to the fort."

"But, that's where they'll make me my hammer?" Ichiro asked with excitement.

"Of course!" Lenora responded boastfully. "HA, they owe me one or two or twelve for the number of times I saved them. For now, get some food in you while I sleep for my fifteen minutes."

Ichiro began to dig in his pack and pulled out a metal bowl. Looking down to the fire there was an iron pot with some sort of soup. After spooning a few scoops into his bowl and grabbing a few pieces of bread from a rock next to the fire, he began eating.

"Remember, if there's anything unusual, wake me up immediately. You can use my hammer, but not effectively yet. Further, you've never been tested against a real enemy." Lenora coached.

"I know" The boy said in-between mouthfuls of food.

"I'm serious Ichi." Lenora pressed. "You don't know the dangers out here yet. If you get caught off guard, you'll be dead before you can react."

"I understand Lenora." Taking her more seriously.

Lenora laid back next to her massive hammer. Ichiro looked over and noticed that the head of the ornate hammer dwarfed the small woman and easily outweighed her by several hundred pounds. He waited, quietly, simply soaking in the beauty of the world around him, but he didn't have to wait long. After only a few minutes, he started hearing a low and slow, thumping sound from far off. Ichiro stood and looked into the distance in the direction the sound was coming from.

He couldn't make anything out, but having that level of trust for Lenora's teachings, he moved closer to her massive hammer, being careful not to wake her yet. The wind began to blow lightly, rustling the brush scattered across the land. Feeling the wind against him, he calmed down. Lenora, having only been asleep for a few minutes sat up starkly.

Whispering, she questioned, "Why didn't you wake me?"

"It's nothing, just the wind." Ichiro said.

"There's no wind in the brushlands. The whole area is surrounded by mountains." Lenora snapped as she took hold of her hammer.

"What is it?" Ichiro asked while looking around, paranoid from the caution Lenora was taking.

"Howlers" Lenora accursed.

Holding the hammer tight in one hand, Lenora jumped straight up. She disappeared from sight in the blink of an eye. After a few moments, a screech sounded out through the sky and two massive fanged snakes with wings hit the ground nearby. Lenora landed with a thud which cratered the ground next to the twenty foot long howlers. Ichiro noticed their bodies half smashed.

"Howlers are strong enough to snatch us up mid flight and get away with no sound." Lenora said as she sat her hammer back down. "You wouldn't even be able to yell because their venom paralyzes almost instantly."

The novice adventurer mumbled "I've never seen something like that before."

"They move in packs and can move on or under land and sea as easily as they fly." Lenora grumbled. "There were only two. They usually don't move in groups less than five."

"I wonder why they would move as a duo then." Ichiro pondered.

"Well, at least we have more meat for the journey." Lenora beamed as the brush rustled. "Wait." she shrieked. "I made a mistake!"

The ground behind Ichiro burst open as another four howlers charged in on them. Ichiro turned just in time to see the massive, gaping jaws coming toward him and just as they filled his vision, he snapped awake on his couch, lunged forward, and punched as if defending himself from the howler. His fist connected with the television next to him which exploded into pieces. He was pouring with sweat and breathing heavily as he looked around and realized it was a dream, or a memory.

Ichiro turned and sat on the couch properly. After wiping the sweat from himself, he clenched his fist in front of him and looked down at the destroyed television.

"Lenora," Ichiro cried out. "I will be strong again, just like you taught me. I won't let all of your training and hard work teaching a fool like me go to waste. I don't know what you're trying to tell me, but I'll be ready."