Vol. 1 Chapter 2 - Aethred.. Son of Boudica of the ‘Iceni’

A.D. 866 Kingdom of Northumbria, Ragnar's Farm

/pov MC/

"Zzz beep.. bzzzzst.. beep.. beep.. initializing 'proficiency system' parasitizing current host" is what I hear.. whilst shaking awake for the first time.. in this life.. my second life.. my new life.. in a new world.. with a new body.. a new destiny.. a new fate..

"Fuck.. yea.. loading memories hurt.. fuck.. so Uhtred is my last living relative.. we are both currently slaves.. working on the lands of Ragnar the 'fearless'.. alright let's get this day started.. status!.." I say the last word a little louder than the rest..

In hopes of it working.. and it did.. I read the screen that popped up in front of my eyes.. the screen showing..

/Status Panel/

Name: Aethred

Age: 10

Status: Healthy

Height: 4'11"

Weight: 70.0lbs

/Attribute Panel/

Physique: 0.6

Strength: 0.5

Dexterity: 0.8

Spirituality: 1.1

/Combat Skill Panel/

'Basic' Boxing : lvl 1 (10/100xp)

'Basic' Axe-Play : lvl 1 (10/100xp)

'Basic' Sword-Play : lvl 1 (10/100xp)

'Basic' Spear-Play : lvl 1 (10/100xp)

'Basic' Archery : lvl 1 (10/100xp)

'Basic' Horse-Riding : lvl 1 (10/100xp)

/Crafting Skills Panel/

'Basic' Carpentry : lvl 1 (10/100xp)

'Basic' Black-Smithing : lvl 1 (10/100xp)

'Basic' Farming : lvl 1 (10/100xp)

'Basic' Tailoring : lvl 1 (10/100xp)

'Basic' First-Aid : lvl 1 (10/100xp)

/Commander Skills/

Leadership : lvl 1 (10/100xp)

Infantry Commander : lvl 1 (10/100xp)

Cavalry Commander : lvl 1 (10/100xp)

Artillery Commander : lvl 1 (10/100xp)

Siege Commander: lvl 1 (10/100xp)

**********

So a little bit of knowledge in a plethora of subjects.. to start my journey off with.. no personal dimensional-storage-space or anything of like.. but thats more realistic right..

I'm wearing the same 'sort' of outfit as Uhtred on episode one.. I've got an old hunting and skinning knife.. and a small short-handled hatchet.. could be used as a throwing weapon.. could be used to chop trees and branches.. to flipping it over.. using the back of it.. to hammer in nails into wood..

First thing I should 'craft' is an 'engineering' shovel.. or maybe.. maybe a 'brush-hook' which is like a pole axe.. I used to use them to chop branches to clear forests and chop small trees down..

To get clear 'shots'.. or 'measurements' with our instruments.. surveying all those years.. back in the day.. surveying was all done by hand.. 'chains' were pulled.. 'rods' were placed.. 'measurements' or 'shots' as they are called taken..

Modern day.. anybody who knows how to run a computer.. can survey.. it's all done by 'geographical-positioning-system's'.. all the data is inputted into a computer.. then the computer takes the data and draws the maps for you..

Back in the day.. you take your measurements.. get your tools.. compasses.. pencils.. you had to draw it all out by hand.. good ol' days.. my 'pa' used to say.. back before he lost half his right leg.

He said that a lot.. he used to ask me if I liked apples.. "what do you mean..? Do I like apples?" I'd ask back at him..

"Do you like apples..?" He'd ask again..

"Well I guess.. yea I like apples dad.. wassup?" I'd say back to him..

He'd then finish his joke with "because Im about to go fuck your mother.. hahahah.. how you like them 'apples'..?hahahah.." then he'd just walk off laughing.. heading out for the night.. probably gonna go play poker with his co-workers.. and what not..

Anywho, back to my first mission.. finding my surroundings.. hmm.. a decent size wooden structure.. surprisingly pretty clean and comfy feeling.. hard dirt floors.. clean hay straw piled in the corners.. a couple rooms for sleeping.. a large open air kitchen.. slash dining room.. with a long table.. sitting in the middle of the hall..

I don't see anybody around at the moment so I 'tuck' my weapons into my pants.. tightening the cloth belt I have tied around my waist.. securing them to my sides.. taking a long deep breath.. I head out the open doors of the great hall..

The suns shining.. and by the gods.. it's beautiful.. before I can react my emotions go berserk.. causing me to cry.. tears running down my face.. while I just laugh.. and laugh.. eventually I take back to control of my body and mouth.. looking around making sure nobody noticed my little 'break-down'..

Alright.. I look around.. gathering intel of my surroundings.. this place.. Ragnar's farm is near a town called Oxford.. I know this from the show..

Uhtred stops in Oxford to have his sword made early in the show.. 'crafted' by a smith named 'Ealdwulf the 'smith'.. I might can learn smithing from him.. viable option 'fa-sho'..

Let's see.. hmm.. I know what I'm responsible for.. working here on the farm.. at this time of day.. I should be helping Uhtred and Brida.. milk the cows in the barn.. ok let's start there then..

******************

Ragnar's Farm, The Barn

/pov MC/

As I'm walking down the 'dirt' path towards the barn.. I observe more of the terrain around the farm.. I see fields of barley and fields of oats.. there's a field with clover.. I see a line of trees surrounding the farm from three directions.. leaving only one with a clear path.. for a 'dirt' road to 'cut' across the horizon towards the south..

I see a creek passing along the edge of the farm.. running out of one tree line.. across the farm.. then crossing into and disappearing through the other tree line on the opposite edge of the farm..

"Brida!.. Uhtred! Y'all in there..?" I holler as Im walking up to the open entrance of the barn filled with moo'ing cattle.. and bleat'ing sheep..

"Y'all..?" They both turn around to look at me and ask almost at the same time.. 'jinx'ing' each other..

"Um… yea.. it just means you all.. but shorter.. y'all.. see.." I said.. hoping they'd just go along with it..

"Uh.. ok.. yea.. we are in here.. you gonna help us out..? Or what..?" Brida replies asking..

"Yea.. where ya been..? We gotta a lot of chores to do Aethred.. let's get this done so we can spar.." Uhtred says excitedly..