Game Master in Another World

The next day we woke up early and headed to the neighbour's place for breakfast. Juliana was, as before, a cat on Igasnov’s shoulder. We found her house fairly quickly and knocked on the door.

“Welcome, Igasnov and Toby. Please do come in,” the lady said as she opened the door.

Igasnov stooped to walk through the door while Toby meekly followed him in. We ensured our claws were extended enough to get a good grip on Igasnov’s shoulder and neck.

“That cat does seem like a permanent feature of yours there, Igasnov; she must really love you.”

“Well, I wouldn’t call it love exactly, but more clinging to me for convenience, if I were to guess,” Igasnov replied.

We sat down at the simple wooden table while the lady dished out several bowls of what looked like porridge.

“Oh, sorry, I just realised I had never given you my name. You can call me Freya.”

“Well met, Freya,” Igasnov replied.

We got off Igasnov’s shoulder and sat on the floor, beginning to walk around the small room. It looked the same as most village rooms, apart from a few carvings of what I assumed to be a god.

“So, Freya, do you have a partner?” Igasnov asked.

Freya, while adding some milk to each bowl, responded, “I used to. He was conscripted for the war many years ago and never made it back.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Igasnov responded.

“Oh, don’t be. It was at least ten years ago; I have moved past that part of my life and live quite happily here by myself.”

“Did you have any children?” Igasnov then asked.

“Yes, three daughters and two sons. Two daughters and a son didn’t make it to adulthood. My surviving son, Quinn, was conscripted as well, and last I heard he is guarding the western border. I get word that he is doing okay. My daughter married a nice young man in another village a week’s walk away. I suspect soon I will become a grandmother; I am quite excited about that prospect.”

Freya then placed a bowl in front of Toby and Igasnov before sitting at the table herself with her own bowl.

“In Halwen’s name, may you bless our food today,” Freya said, her head bowed in prayer.

Igasnov nodded with his palms together and eyes closed.

Juliana positioned us to watch the table from the centre of the room; we watched as Toby and Igasnov ate their food. I felt a little envious of the opportunity to eat some different food, but at least I didn’t feel hungry.

“This is very good, thank you,” Toby said politely.

“My, what a polite boy. You are most welcome,” Freya responded.

“How long have you known Igasnov, Toby?” asked Freya.

Toby swallowed his mouthful of porridge before responding, “Oh, about one week.”

“That soon? You seem so comfortable with him already,” Freya inquired.

“It is mainly the cat that helps me feel comfortable, but I am getting more accustomed to Igasnov,” Toby replied.

After Toby and Igasnov had finished their meal, Igasnov rose from the table. “Thank you, Freya, for the wonderful meal this morning. We will take our leave now and see if anyone in the village could use some assistance today.”

Freya smiled. “I’m sure some will take you up on that offer; we are fairly shorthanded when it comes to the farm work now.”

We then headed out into the village as a cat, accompanying Igasnov and Toby to have a look around. The villagers were all working on their various tasks. Some were mending fences, others were shearing sheep.

It brought back memories of helping out with the harvest in Holver village many years ago. I longed to get back into the simple farm work and sing the songs of harvest again, but I couldn’t foresee a way to achieve that; the fear of our kind seemed too deeply rooted.

Igasnov walked up to a farmer currently digging a new post hole.

“Hi there, care for a hand with the digging?” he asked.

The villager, an older man with a wrinkled face and greying hair, looked up. “Oh, Igasnov, I’d appreciate the help; this is back-breaking work.”

Igasnov picked up the shovel and began to dig. His strength and power were immense, making quick work of the job at hand. Once the hole was deep enough, he placed the new post inside and then used a solid lump of wood to begin to pack down the earth around the post.

Once the soil was compacted around the post, Igasnov tested the strength by pulling it side to side. The post seemed to stay firmly rigid.

“Thank you, that saved me a lot of effort. You and Toby should come over for dinner tonight; my wife cooks a nice stew.”

Igasnov smiled. “Oh, that sounds great, but only if you wouldn’t mind feeding my cat too; she can be a little hungry sometimes.”

The villager smiled back. “Certainly, we can give her some scraps.”

I didn’t like the prospect of eating scraps, but it seemed we likely were going to have no choice later.

“You can find my place; I live with my daughter and wife. It is a house with a white door and a small bird carved into it.”

I had a moment of realisation: this was the house of the woman who hit on Igasnov the other night. There was likely going to be more to this than just a reward of dinner, possibly trying to set his daughter up with Igasnov in the hopes of having some grandchildren.

Igasnov continued around the village helping with odd jobs; Toby even joined in for the less physically demanding ones. By the time evening fell, we had at least four offers of dinner for the night. Igasnov declined each one, as he had already accepted the first.

Igasnov knocked on the white door with a bird carving. From inside, we heard an older woman’s voice call, “Come in.”

Igasnov entered with us still on his shoulder as a cat; Toby followed behind. The room smelt of the beef stew cooking on the stove. There were three chairs set up around the fireplace and a small, simple table with four chairs.

“Make yourself at home," said the older lady, pointing at the chairs by the fireplace.

We got off Igasnov’s shoulder and curled up in front of the fire. The warmth seeped through our body, lulling us into sleep. It seemed quite advantageous being a cat.

Igasnov sat down in the chair. The young lady from last night immediately sat on the floor next to him and leant her head against his leg.

“Now for some introductions. My name is Hilda, my husband here is Robert, and this is my daughter, Vera,” Hilda said.

“Vera is looking for a suitable partner and is available if you are interested.”

Igasnov looked a little flustered before the warmth of the fire finally caused our eyes to feel heavy, helping us fall asleep.

We next awoke to the sight of people eating. In front of us was a bowl of fresh food; we got up and tentatively sniffed it. It smelt quite tasty. We took a careful bite with our small mouth, chewing it slowly.

The food tasted great; it was still warm, and our feline taste buds made the food taste quite different.

With our acute hearing, we could easily overhear the conversation at the table.

Vera asked, “Igasnov, you leave tomorrow. Can I come with you? I need some adventure that I will never get here in the village. I can even keep you company at night.”

“Sorry, I don’t think that is a good idea. We plan to cross some dangerous areas that will be rather unsafe.”

“Other people from the village are going with you, though. Can’t I come along with them?” Vera said.

“Won’t you at least think it over?” asked Robert. “We are very keen to have grandchildren, and eligible men aren’t often seen around here.”

“I’m not so sure I would consider myself an eligible man, but sure, I will at least think it over tonight,” replied Igasnov.

Vera reminded me of Ilza from a long time ago, with her eagerness to leave the village. But Vera was different in a way: her goal was to start a family by any means possible, and I think the adventure was just the only way she could see to achieve that.

The rest of the dinner was filled with awkward silence. Vera kept staring at Igasnov, clearly smitten. Juliana, however, seemed unconcerned, closing her eyes to once more enjoy the heat of the fire.

The next time we woke up, Igasnov was picking us up and holding us in his arms. Being carried this way somehow seemed calming and comfortable. It was a new understanding I hadn’t had until now; this shapeshifting ability was giving me new insights I had not expected.

“Thank you for the lovely meal. I’ll get back to you tomorrow about Vera joining us,” Igasnov said as we were leaving.

“I can come over tonight if that would help make up your mind. I can bring some alcohol too,” Vera offered.

“No, that won’t be necessary. We can talk tomorrow.”

Igasnov hastily left the house, heading for our accommodation.

Igasnov then sighed. “You know, Juliana, I don’t think I could handle travelling with that woman.”

We made it inside before Juliana shifted back into her humanoid form.

I took control of Juliana’s speech. “We should bring Vera with us. A villager like her doesn’t get much opportunity for adventure, and we are travelling with other villagers anyway. She might even meet a man to whom she can switch her attention, if you are lucky.”

Igasnov placed his hand on his face, rubbing it. “Fine, but this will make the trip quite painful; it isn’t you she is placing all her attention on, after all.”

“Vera seems fun,” Toby interjected.

“Yes, but not for me,” Igasnov replied.

My other unspoken goal was to give Igasnov a chance to experience some romantic relationships; it would likely do him some good. But that was going to be up to Vera to achieve.

We then headed to bed, our bellies full from a great dinner and our minds tired from some awkward conversations.

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