Milli stood in front of the barrel, the container’s top just below her waist. She took a few steps in place and shook her arms out. What was originally a joke had become a bet. One of the men responsible for loading and unloading had jokingly commented that not even Milli could lift a filled cask of moondew by herself. Some of the other workers, knowing the sheer size of the woman commented she could. Thus, the lift had to be done, and now there was money on the line.
Clapping her hands together, she sized up the barrel and figured out a way to lift it. In order to win the bet, she had to lift the cask above her hips and into the trunk of the auto-transport.
Auto-transport refers to a large vehicle designed to go off-road and deliver many things from town to town. Each vehicle requires a lot of energy. Engines are designed to absorb the surrounding energy in the environment, while accepting extra energy from the driver and passengers.
Milli grabbed one of the built-in handles on the top of the cask and pulled the barrel to its side. Still gripping the handle, she reached to the other side of the barrel and set her other hand to grasp the bottom edge. Squatting down she shifted a little to better position herself and the barrel.
Gasps of surprise escaped from the onlookers as Milli grunted and started to lift the cask off the ground. The barrel was easily 800 pounds, and while many of the men in the warehouse were large in stature. None of them could ever hope to lift the entire container off the ground by themselves. Breathing rhythmically with her movement as she lifted the cask, it was easy to tell that Milli was struggling to keep her grip on it.
Already past her knees, the men began to cheer her on as the moondew was lifted higher. With a final grunt, Milli made one more final push and almost tossed the cask onto the loading bay. Although they had put their bets for her, none of them could believe that she actually lifted such a heavy object. “Unreal…” one of the men commented as Milli pointed to the guy collecting bets and motioned him to come over.
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After receiving her cut of the bet, she took a seat on a nearby crate and shook her arms out a bit. It had been a while since she had tested her strength. “Hey Boys!” Milli called out as she walked over to the other workers.
Each one turned to face her and look up. “Eldin and Lumina are going to be leaving Woodvale soon to go on an adventure. I know you all don’t need an excuse, but I am planning on throwing a party. The biggest this town has ever seen!”
All the guys chuckled, a few cheered as Milli continued, “It’s already planned and ready to go. I just need bodies and some of the rowdiest guys I know. Are you all in? We are setting up an area north of Woodvale for the event! It’ll be tomorrow night!”
There was a unanimous agreement among all the workers as they broke off to finish the work for the day. With the bet completed and her invitations given out, Milli left the docking section of Woodvale and went to stop by Jack’s Tavern to get something to eat with the newly won crystal.
Walking through the double door a large man almost as tall as Milli standing behind the bar greeted her. "I was wondering when you were going to come in. again” He walked around and out from behind the bar. Even though he was 2-inches shorter, his arms and general mass were much greater. He wore a button up short sleeve shirt and rugged pants. Very similar to the clothing the lumberjacks of Woodvale wore while they worked.
“How’s it going Jack!” Milli responded as she went to shake the man’s hand. She held the title for Woodvale’s strongest, but if there was one person that could beat her in sheer strength, it was the one standing before her.
Both of them smiled as Milli took a seat at the bar and Jack resumed his previous position. “You left me high and dry for two years. Not even a word, just gone. Didn’t even come back for holidays. When I heard from Elrin what happened, I was wondering when you’d get back. Did our little wolf actually survive?”
She gave him a large smile as she tapped on the counter signaling Jack for a drink. As he went to fill a mug, Milli answered, “She survived, and she managed to leave this nice scar when we fought.”
Giving it a quick look over before handing her the filled mug he gave an impressed looked. “Got her fangs now has she?”
“Well, that’s one reason why I’m here. I got everything set up for a surprise party for the kids, just need the best bartender to show up and serve drinks.”
Jack scoffed at the compliment as he went to polish a mug, “I’m the only bartender here. What’s the party for?” Milli took a deep drink from the mug before continuing, “We’re gonna send them off on their own adventure. They won’t learn anything else if they stay here.”
“You gonna order any food? Or you gonna try to drink me dry again?” Milli just smiled as she gulped part of the mug’s contents.
The tavern was empty, it was her and Jack, and the staff in the kitchen. “I’ll take a steak before the dinner rush hits.” Milli said. Jack wrote the order down and slapped the slip of paper on the counter behind him.