Into the Fire

Ready Steady Go

"... Because there were more colonists than soldiers?" Marsha asked.

"Nope. Not really," she replied casually, taking another sip of water.

"The colonists were smarter?" Mark tried.

"Maybe, but they had the same roots," Tori said, setting down the cup. "Listen, boys. Let me ask you another question. In the face of great adversity, do you know which animal is most likely to survive? It's not always the strongest, nor is always it the most intelligent—But it is always the one that's the most adaptable," she said, smiling slyly. "The English soldiers lost because they couldn't adapt. But the colonists did. They borrowed fighting techniques from another culture and used the environment to their advantage in order to overcome larger and better equipped troops. And that's what we're doing here."

"And that thing you're making is part of it?" Mark asked curiously. It didn't look like much. Tori smirked.

"Yeah. I'm making a 'castle'," she said proudly.

Meanwhile, Yoichi took Shara and one or two other elves into the castle to show them the swords and armor. The elves stared at all of the gear the drifters had collected, stunned. There was still blood on a lot of it.

"We didn't know why the corpses of the soldiers disappeared over night," one of the elves said. "So, it was you who gathered them!!"

"Choose any gear you want. I hope you don't mind the blood," Yoichi said carelessly. "Oh, chosen ones, washeth them with thy own hands..." He noticed the elves were still a bit squeamish about the blood. 'I guess it's better not to tell them what we did with the bodies of those soldiers,' he thought. 'Toyohisa beheaded the bodies and buried the heads in a common tomb, which is fine. The problem is what Nobu is doing with the remaining parts of the body.'

"What a terrible stench!" Olmine exclaimed as she followed Nobunaga and Toyohisa up a hill in the forest behind the castle.

"We gave a proper funeral to their heads. So, we'll use their bodies to our purposes," Nobunaga began explaining to Toyohisa as they reached their destination.

"A saltpeter mound, eh?" Toyohisa asked as they looked down at the natural pit formed in the land that Nobunaga had seeded with feces and human remains.

"I mixed soil, grass, excrements, and the corpses of those soldiers. I presume it will take  some two years before we get the first crystals," Nobunaga said. "This is something I learned from my enemies. By the way, we have to forbid those elven villagers from entering this mountain, or else they may get sick from diseases unknown to us."

"Ulp," Olmine had to cover her mouth and suppress her gag reflex. This was just sick.

"What are you going to do with the dirt we dug up from the bathrooms?" Toyohisa asked.

"It's easy to get charcoal, but so far we have no sulfur. So, we'll leave it as is for the moment," Nobunaga said.

"This is just too much!!" Olmine abruptly burst out. "I can't believe you could do this to the bodies of those soldiers! Does Tori know about this!?"

"What are you talking about? Of course she knows. Bury them as is, and the same thing will happen. Maggots will eat them till they become dust once again. We are just speeding up the process. We can't let precious resources go to waste. Tori understands all of this. She said 'give priority to living'. These soldiers are dead. They don't need their bodies anymore."

"We washed and cleaned their heads. We gave them proper burials as human beings. So, if you want to pray, pray to those heads. Is you believe that shit and piss are dirty, remember that you and me are also bags of flesh full of shit and piss inside," Toyohisa said. "Do you think that the soul dwells in shit-filled flesh instead of decently cleaned and buried heads? That would be nonsense."

'Now I see...' Olmine thought. 'The main difference between them and me is not knowledge,  technology, or culture. But it is the views on life and death.'

"Hey, Olminboobs," Nobunaga said bluntly, interrupting her inner musing.

"Are you so senile only to mistake the last part of my name?" she asked, chagrined. "It's so disgusting I can't even get mad at you."

"I want that yellow, stinky stuff you can get near volcanoes. It's something we call 'sulfur'. That stuff that smells like powdered fart. Can you get it for us?" Nobunaga asked.

What? Sulfur? Yes, I think its possible to get it. But what are you going to use it for?" she asked, not sure whether she really wanted to know the answer.

"It doesn't matter. Just bring it to us, will ya? Ask your I don't-know-the-name organization."

"What?"

"Octotits?"

"Octobrists!" Olmine snapped, vein throbbing on her forehead. "Uh... I don't think we can do this for free," she said, sweat-dropping. "How much are you willing to pay us?"

"Shut up!!" Nobunaga snapped. "I will pay you after conquering five or six countries! Just hurry up and bring the damn sulfur as soon as possible!!"

"Whaat!?" she shouted incredulously. Was that supposed to be his idea of asking a favor!? 'Earth from bathrooms? Corpses? Sulfur? What are they planning to do!? Someone please give me a clue!!'