The Systems Challenge

Jonas had been unsure how to deal with the giant spider. Even after they defeated it, Kim used her sword to cut through the hanging threads of its webbing so they could walk around the spider's body. There wasn't any need to check its body, since it wasn't going to have anything on it that would be worth anything, although, Jonas did wonder if they shouldn't check up in the trees where the sider seemed to like to draw its prey.

Not that they could do much about that, unless they let both Heather and Sony sit on the ground for a while, which Jonas wasn't sure was a good idea. Especially with the fact that he doubted Elmo had the presence of mind to scan the spider, which meant that they didn't know anything useful about them.

As such, there was no reason to not suspect that there wouldn't be other giant spiders around. Though, if there were, they probably were wanting to keep a low profile for the next little bit, so they wouldn't meet the same fate as their friend here.

As they cleared the spider's body, Jonas readjusted Heather in his grasp so he was carrying her again bridal style instead of over his shoulder. He had a feeling that Heather wouldn't like to be treated as a sack of produce and would probably be aware if she was. Not that he had any idea of why she was like she was.

"Any guesses on how many of these things there are around here?" Jonas asked Kim as they started walking forward again.

Kim shook her head. "That one is more than I prefer already, so I couldn't say," she answered.

They had barely started before they stopped, but that was so Kim could pick up Sonya. Jonas had to admit, if Kim hadn't been able to get on the other side of the spider's trap, they might have been in trouble, because he was sure that Kim would have found it rather difficult to fight while carrying Sonya.

No one spoke for the next couple hours as they travelled through the woods. As they walked, they quickly found the trap from the spider disappear, leaving them with basic forest scenery. It wasn't until the sun was clearly starting to set that they came across any signs of actual life. Wildlife or otherwise.

What they first encountered was a field with a fence around it. They didn't see anything in the field, but the presence of the fenced field was enough that they could tell there was clearly something intelligent living nearby.

"Kim, you're the one who gets to make any arrangements if there's a village," Jonas said.

"Wait, what do you mean 'arrangements?'" Kim asked, surprise evident in her voice.

"Well, if we need to stay or anything, you get to decide where we do that or if we'll find a place outside of any village we come across," Jonas answered. Then after a moment added, "Assuming there's more than one option, of course."

Kim sighed. Jonas wondered if she even thought about what that field meant or if her mind was on other matters. Jonas wouldn't blame her if her mind was elsewhere. He wasn't particularly eager to be here himself either.

"So, I choose and you pay, right?" Kim asked after a few minutes, just before Jonas was about to give up on Kim saying anything.

"Pay with what?" Jonas snorted. It wasn't like he had any of his debit or credit cards, let alone cash, but even if he did, he seriously doubted that any of it would be accepted here.

"There is that gold coin you got from the kobold. Even if it's not of the currency whatever village we arrive at, gold is still gold. It'll have some value if nothing else," Kim replied casually.

Jonas could have smacked himself. He had completely forgotten about the coin. Partly because he hadn't thought it would have any use at that time and partly because for the fact that it was gold. If he got back to his world, having something like that could be useful to have. As he could always use it for quick cash if he needed more money at some point.

However, survival now was more important than what could be useful when he got back. After all, what use would it be if he died still holding on to it, when he might have been able to survive if he'd used it.

"Not a problem," Jonas said, though we could always offer to pay in other ways.

Kim whirled on him. "Not a chance. I'm not going to sell myself and neither is Elin," Kim snapped, her anger so intese that Jonas wouldn't have been surprised to see bursts of fire coming out of her mouth.

"Relax, I wasn't meaning anything like that," Jonas protested. "I mean, we could offer to do odd jobs or even other work in lieu of payment."

Kim didn't say anything for a minute. "So, you mean like you and Elmo could chop wood or if we're at a old-time inn, Elin could clean floors?" Kim asked, her temper cooling.

Jonas noticed Kim hadn't suggested anything she could do, but he didn't feel like mentioning it. He had a feeling that Kim wouldn't take it so kindly.

"Yeah, something like that. After all, we only have one coin. How would you or I know how far that's supposed to go?" Jonas remarked.

"What if they don't let us stay?" Elin asked.

"Then we go camping," Jonas replied, forcing himself to sound cheerful. Though, he dreaded that idea. He really didn't want to stay outdoors. Especially since he had no idea what the weather was going to be like.

"If they don't let us stay, then we could always ask another house or something," Elmo suggested.

"Good idea, you can be the one to ask if that occurs," Kim volunteered Elmo.

Jonas smirked at the groan he heard from Elmo. Serves you right, kid, Jonas said to himself silently. It's not a good idea to suggest things you'd not want to do yourself. You could easily end up be the one doing what you suggested.

"Hey, I thin I see something over there!" Elin called out.

Jonas glanced at Elin to se where she was pointing, then followed her gaze and saw a small building in the distance. He couldn't say if it was a shed or even a house. Partly becaue of the distance and partly because he couldn't really see all of it. All that was visible was one side that wasn't hidden by the trees.

"Let's hope that means we're getting close," Jonas said.

"Would be nice if there was public transportation here," Kim groused.

"Actually, public transportation is more of a newer concept," Elmo remarked. "It wasn't until-"

"Look, kid," Kim interrupted Elmo. "I don't care for a history lesson, so you can just shut it. I know that there's not going to be a bus or anything coming by that we could get a ride on, so I don't want to hear it."

Jonas shook his head. While he knew Elmo probably should have thought answering Kim's complain through more, he felt Kim was more at fault here. After all, don't complain about something if you don't want someone to say anything about it. That just invited others to say something, even if it's merely their own thoughts.

"What's 'public transportation?'" Elin asked.

Jonas tuned out Elmo as he explained it to the sheltered girl. He didn't really care about listening to that, especially because he couldn't have cared less about the public transportation system in his own world. It was easier to just walk. He didn't have to worry about it his feet would be late or anything. Though, while it did get tiring, he knew that he'd at least eventually get there.

The sun had set, leaving them in twilight when they began seeing buildings regularly. Maybe they had passed others that were hidden by trees or something, or that they just hadn't noticed, but it was clear they were entering what looked to be either a village or a small town.

Though, at first it appeared to be deserted, until the path they were on turned into more of a dirt road. Emphasis on dirt. Once that happened, they began to see other people going about their business in the distance.

No one seemed to have noticed them, which Jonas couldn't care about. He was more relieved that there were actual people. He wasn't sure what he'd have done if it turned out to be a ghost town.

While they wouldn't have needed to spend anything on shelter if that was the case, he still didn't like ghost towns. Even if they were over a hundred years old. Though in this case, he'd have to worry if it had become deserted because of illness, war, or some other natural disaster. There would be too many possibilities that could be problematic for them.

"Should we ask for directions?" Kim asked.

"Do they speak a language we understand?" Jonas asked Kim. "If they don't, then it's not going to matter what we ask them."

Kim sighed. "Maybe, but there's only one way to find out," she answered. "Besides, how would we ask for shelter if they can't understand us?"

Jonas couldn't argue with that. "Let's hope that they understand us then," he replied.