《The Eld》


 Chapter 1

    No one ever thinks that their life is going to change forever when they wake up in the morning. For 22 year old Christopher of Montana, that is exactly what exactly happened.


    It seemed like every other day. Christopher, or Chris as his friends call him, was your average 22 male. He was studying Computer Engineering at MSU in Bozeman, mt. Chris had just finished his first semester of his sophomore year, enjoying his time off now that classes were done for the semester. Staying up way too late playing video games while watching youtube. It was December 7th.


    Chris started his daily routine, browsing facebook while laying in bed. Finally decided it was time to get up and actually be productive for once. After making his morning shake Chris decided it was time to hit the gym.


    ¡°Great it snowed again.¡± he thought as he walked outside. Getting in his 2005 pontiac bonneville he starts to warm it up, as he wipes the new 3 inches of snowfall off of his car. ¡°I¡¯m getting tired of this shit, only two and a half more years of this and I can move somewhere warmer.¡±


    For the record, sure it gets cold in Montana, Chris Lowkey loved living in bozeman. It was a beautiful place to live, the people were nice, and all the modern conveniences were amazing. He had grown up in a back country town in montana. A little place called conrad. It was awesome to only have to drive 5-10 minutes to get to anything he wanted/needed. Instead of the 1 hour drive it took to get to great falls, from conrad.


    ¡°Fuck it¡¯s icey¡± Chris thought as he was driving to the gym. He looked down at this phone to check the temperature. -20 degrees. As he is sitting at a stop light he sees 2 different people start to fishtail as they are driving through the intersection. ¡°amatures ¡° Chris muses to himself as he watches everyone struggling to drive in the icy conditions.


    The light turns green, Chris starts accelerating through the intersection. He looks to his left and sees a semi truck that isn''t slowing down. The semi rams into the back of the car in front of it. Chris has time to think ¡°OH SHIT!¡± before the semi pushes the car into the driver side of his car and his world goes black.


    White.That is all that Chris¡¯s world is upon waking up. ¡°Im dead¡± is the first thought that crosses his mind. He tries to open his eyes. wait. He doesnt have eyes. He looks down, no body. ¡°Well this is weird.¡± He thinks. ¡°Why don''t i have a body? Where am i? Is this heaven? Is this hell?¡± It very well could have been hell in his mind. Being conscious for all eternity in what looks like unending whiteness. Thinking about it even more, there was no way he was in heaven or in hell. Sure he was raised to be a good little Luthern boy, but who believes in that nowadays?


    After what seemed like an eternity, or what could have been easily 5 minutes. A door opens. Or at least that''s what Chris thought it was, how else to describe a section of white disappearing in this vast nothingness he has been stuck in for the last forever. Through the doorway there was a creature he had never seen before.


    ¡°It''s not nice calling me a creature.¡± the thing says to Crhis. ¡°Or a thing.¡± it says to Chris. Standing before him, if that is what he truly was anymore, was something that looked like a mix between the cloners from star wars episode 2, and the Na¡¯vi from Avatar. It was tall, thin, insanely long neck, blue skin, and vibrant gold eyes.


    ¡°What are you?¡± asks Chris. His voice sounded weird, distorted, almost as if it wasn''t coming from him. He began to wonder about the physics behind trying to produce words without lips, or even vocal cords. ¡°How can I talk? Or better yet, where am i? No, I definitely want the first one answered, ``What are you?¡±


    The being chuckles, ¡°I am what your people might call the boat man, I help lost souls get to where they need to go.¡± The concept was not strange to Chris, after all he did know enough about greek mythology, his favorite Disney movie growing up was Hercules.


    The beast walks closer to Chris, and waves it¡¯s hand. As it does a table and a chair materializes. It proceeds to take a seat and point across from it. Understanding the meaning Chris travels over across from the enigma.


    Stunned by what he is hearing Chris asks, ¡°So your name is Charon?¡± ¡°No.¡± replied the entity, ¡°But if it helps your mind understand that you are no longer on earth, then you are welcome to think that. As to your other questions, you are in something akin to purgatory. You are inbetween worlds, you are no longer a creature of earth, but you are not of any world anymore. You are a blank slate.¡± ¡®Charon¡¯ summons a mirror and shows Chris himself.


    Staring back at Chris is a floating ball of light. ¡°So you''re saying I am nothing?¡± ¡°Again, no, you are still Chris, but you are no longer a human, you are no longer on earth, and you no longer are restrained on what you can become. In your last life you couldn''t chance yourself, at least not fundamentally. It was possible for you to try to improve yourself, but you couldn''t become better than a human. As to how you can talk, when you are here, physics don''t really apply exactly how they do on earth.¡±


    ¡°You no longer have to push air out of your lungs, past your vocal cords, to make them vibrate and create words. In your current state your thoughts are broadcast as sound, and as such you can create words.¡±


    ¡®Charon¡¯ as Chris has started to refer to it, gets a far away look in it¡¯s eye, almost as if it was zoning out. ¡°What are you doing?¡± asks Chris. ¡°It''s getting close to time, follow me¡± replies Charon. It stands and walks through the opening in the endless space they are sharing. Chris is hesitant at first, he doesn''t know what Charon meant by ¡°it¡¯s getting close to time¡± but he didn''t like the sound of it, but alas his curiosity got the better of him, and followed Charon.


    As he enters the doorway his world takes on the solid shape of a hallway. Looking back he sees nothing but white behind him through the doorway. Charon is already far ahead of Chris. How does it walk so fast? He thinks to himself as he rushes to try to catch up.


    After a good distance of travel, or so he thinks he catches up to Charon as they round a corner. Before them is an expansive room. Ornate columns and arched alcoves line the exterior of the room. Inside each alcove there is a large brazier in the middle of it, burning a white flame producing a white light, with two columns with pulsing orbs of light floating above them. Above every alcove there are fancy stained glass windows that depict scenes ranging anywhere from egyption hyroglifics, to fancy medieval tapestries. Each scene was of happy events, families eating dinner, a woman feeding a calf, a meadow of flowers. What stood out the most about the scenes on the stained glass were moving.


    ¡°Well,¡± says Charon, ¡°time to find out who you will become.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®Who I will become¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I thought that was pretty self explanatory¡± says Charon ¡°You are a blank slate, we need to find out what you are going to be in your next life. Think of this as ¡®character creation¡¯ as you humans like to call it. The only difference is you won''t be waking up in the back of a wagon with other captured prisoners rolling into town to get your head chopped off.¡±


    Wait a second, did Chiron just make a skyrim reference?


    ¡°Although i wouldn''t count that out. I might know a bit about where you are headed but i don¡¯t know for certain that Alduin won''t try to kill you within the first ten minutes of your next life.¡±


    Yep, definitely just made a skyrim reference.


    ¡°Alright Chris, i''m going to need you to not freak out, i''m going to activate your system.¡± Items appeared around the periphery of Chris¡¯s vision.


    ¡°Oh I get it, it''s exactly like playing a rpg, but in real life.¡± Chris pulled up his Character sheet.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:???


    </td>


    <td>


    Race:???


    </td>


    <td>


    age:???


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Hp:???


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina:???


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana:???


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Strength:???


    </td>


    <td>


    Constitution:???


    </td>


    <td>


    Dexterity:???


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Agility:???


    </td>


    <td>


    Endurance:???


    </td>


    <td>


    Intelligence:???


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Wisdom:???


    </td>


    <td>


    Charisma:???


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skills: N/A


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Abilities: N/A


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°I finally understand what you mean by a blank slate,I am nothing, how can I see what each of these basic stats do?¡± asked Chris, ¡°Just focus on them.¡± Replied Charon.


    Chris nods, it makes sense to him, basically it told him to look up the tool tips, which makes sense for someone who spent the better part of his spare time playing video games.


    Strength: How strong your body is. Each point will increase the force your body can produce. Will increase your carry weight without major stamina drain by 15 lbs.


    Constitution: How well your body can handle changes to its norm. Each point will add 10 hp to your Maximum life, and increase how well your body can process poisons.


    Dexterity: How well your body can perform more complex tasks. Each point will increase your dodge, as well as more complex tasks with your hands.


    Agility: How fast you are able to move your body: Each point will increase your attack speed, it will also add .2 mph to your running speed without major stamina drain.


    Endurance: How long your body can keep up strenuous activities. Each point will add 10 points to your stamina, as well as decrease the rate at which your stamina drains.


    Intelligence: How well you can acquire and apply knowledge. Each point increases your mana by 10, it will also make your spells more powerful.


    Wisdom: The quality of having knowledge, and good judgment. Each point will increase your mana regeneration.


    Charisma: How other people will view you. Each point will make others around you more likely to like and listen to you.


    Honestly, Chris wasn''t too surprised by what he saw. After all, it was fairly standard definitions for the stats in any rpg game you play. ¡°Alright.¡± Chris says as he turns back to Charon. ¡°So how do we determine what I will be starting in my next life?¡±


    ¡°You are taking all this information better than most people I help.¡±


    Increased reputation with Charon.


    ¡°As to your question, you have to pick two positive abilities, one negative ability, and a race to start from. Inside this first room will be your first positive ability, after you pick we will move on to a different room to pick your second positive ability. Etc. etc. In each of these alcoves there are 2 abilities to choose from.¡± Chris looks over the room doing some quick guesstimation. ¡°There has to be over 1,000 alcoves I can choose from, i''ll be here all damn day!¡±


    ¡°You should see all the choices I didn''t pick for you based on your last life.¡±


    ¡°Well how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.¡± Chris turns to the first alcove to see what he had to choose from. Looking into the first recess there are two orbs floating on top of pedestals.


    Extreme Strength: adds 20% to your strength score.


    Initial Spell Casting: adds 5 levels to each school of spells that you are able to learn.


    Holy shit! If the rest of these abilities are similar to these first two, they all would be a video game player¡¯s wet dream. Alright let''s see what''s next. Chris floats over to the next alcove to see what else they got.


    Thick Skinned: 20% physical damage reduction.


    Bound Creature: Upon entering the world you are randomly assigned a creature that will follow your commands and will be loyal to you till you die.


    A thought starts to worm its way into Chris¡¯s head. ¡°Hey Charon, I''m not going back to earth am i?¡±


    ¡°No, you''re not. You are headed to a world where sentient life has just recently started to be seeded.¡± ¡°what do you mean seeded?¡± ¡°You will be dropped into a world where sentient creatures have not existed for long.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I think I understand what you mean.¡± Chris turns back and starts searching the alcoves, after looking at about half of the choices he found one he wanted.


    Skilling Prodigy: Gain skill levels twice as fast.


    Chris was about to call out asking how he claims an ability when a prompt popped up in his vision.


    Would you like to gain the ability ¡°Skilling Prodigy?¡± Yes/No


    ¡°Um, Yeah.¡± Chris thinks as he selects yes. Who wouldn''t want that? One of his favorite games he played growing up was runescape. There were many many years he wished he could have gotten double experience to level up faster.


    The orb that contained Skilling Prodigy started to glow. It started to pulsate. Worrying Chris started to back away from the orb. The pulsations started slow, as they accelerated, it started to glow brighter and brighter. There was a slight hum in the air. As Chris thought it was time to run, the orb shot off his pedestal and came right at him. The orb shot into Chris, once he calmed himself a little bit, he didn''t feel any different. Pulling up his character sheet he sees that Skilling Prodigy is now in his Abilities tab.


    ¡°Well that took you long enough, if I wasn''t immortal I could have sworn I would have died of old age before you¡¯d actually pick an ability.¡± Charon gave a little snort. ¡°Whatever, come this way.¡± and walks back out the way that they came in.


    Once Chris crossed the threshold of the door the hallway that was before him disappears, and another smaller room is before him. The room is fairly ornate, with the same floor plan as the one they just left. Looking back there is another long hallway that looks eerily similar to the first hallway that they traveled down. ¡°Why is this room smaller than the first?¡±


    ¡°Ah, it is because this second room has abilities that synergize with your first choice.¡±


    After looking for nearly 20 minutes Chris comes across an ability that doesn''t quite fit. ¡°How does pet pal synergize with Skilling Prodigy?¡±


    Pet pal: You gain the ability to talk to animals, animals also are more likely to like, and trust you.


    Would you like to gain the ability ¡°Pet Pal¡± Yes/No


    ¡°The world works in mysterious ways.¡± Replies Charon, ¡°Well what the heck.¡± thought Chris, and selected yes. Checking his Character Sheet


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:???


    </td>


    <td>


    Race:???


    </td>


    <td>


    age:???


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Hp:???


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina:???


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana:???


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Strength:???


    </td>


    <td>


    Constitution:???


    </td>


    <td>


    Dexterity:???


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Agility:???


    </td>


    <td>


    Endurance:???


    </td>


    <td>


    Intelligence:???


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Wisdom:???


    </td>


    <td>


    Charisma:???


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skills: N/A


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Abilities: Skilling prodigy


    </td>


    <td>


    Pet pal


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°That was a lot faster than i expected¡± said Charon ¡°At the rate you picked the first ability i thought we would be here till the heat death of the universe. I digress, come with me, little orb.¡±


    This time instead of leaving through a hallway there is a weird distortion and they are standing in a new room. The same type of filigree is decorating the walls around them, but instead of different shades of white there is different shades of black. This new room has the same layout as the last two rooms. This time there were only about 100 alcoves to choose from. The main stark differences in the room was the brazier and the stained glass windows. The brazier was burning a black flame, only instead of producing light it seemed to be absorbing light, but the flame is still very visible. The stained glass was very jarring to look at, they depicted scenes of murder, people being flayed alive, and people being eaten by demonic looking creatures. It was hard to look at because these windows were also moving.


    ¡°This isn''t ominous at all, I think you need to get yourself a new interior decorator.¡± said Chris to charon. ¡°Eh, it looks worse than it actually is, go on, go pick your negative ability.¡±


    As Chris approached the first alcove with dread in his heart he couldn''t stop looking at the stained glass above it which depicted a furry humanoid creature being burned alive.


    Clumsy: the effectiveness of your dexterity skill is reduced by 20%


    Awkward: the effectiveness of your charisma is reduced by 20%


    ¡°What the hell!¡± exclaimed Chris, ¡°you''re telling me i need to pick something that will limit my life in such a negative way? That hardly seems fair to me.¡±


    Charon chuckled ¡°who said that life is fair? Was your death fair? You are about to go into a world that is full of unjust beings, a world of death and strife, and you want to talk about fairness? You are going to have to toughen up, it''s time to put on your big girl panties. Besides I told you it was going to be a negative ability, did you think it was going to be a cake walk in your new life?¡±


    ¡°I guess that makes sense,¡± Chris grumbled, ¡°that doesn''t mean I am going to like it.¡± After searching around for a bit Chris settles down on one negative ability


    Magically inept(air): lose all chase to learn any spell from the school of air magic.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Would you like to absorb ability magically inept(air) yes/no?


    Clicking yes once again the orb shot off the pedestal and straight into Chris''s floating ¡°body¡± as a sense of intense trepidation overcomes him.


    ¡°Alright the last thing you need to do is now pick your race, come along ball,¡± as a mouth opens up from the ground beneath the two of them and swallows both.


    When Chris regains his sentience he and Charon are in a room of lush grass. There are rolling hills all around them, with what looks like potholes all over. Around the outside of the hills there was a storm cloud almost in a perfect circle around the center where he and Charon Arived. Floating over to one of the holes he looks into it and sees a creature inside of it that looks likes a cross between a lizard and a lion.


    Race: Lyzard: A quadruped creature with basic control over grip, more monster than sentient creature, medium level intelligence, and mostly solitary in its living. +2 to strength, +1 to constitution, +1 to dexterity, and 2 free points to distribute per level.


    Hell to the no, there is no way I would give up my opposable thumbs. ¡°Hey Charon, what''s outside of the storm wall?¡± ¡°Out there are the races that your soul isn''t strong enough to inhabit.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean my soul isn''t strong enough to inhabit? Why wouldn''t I be able to be one of them?¡±


    ¡°Well you see Chris, even though you are a blank slate in a base sense of the word, you are still you, and unfortunately on earth you didn''t really suffer anything that strengthened or grew your soul. It''s one the down sides of living in a world where your biggest trial growing up is getting spanked by your parents.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough¡± Chris thinks to himself, floating around he finds all sorts of strange races, eventually he comes across a small hillock which contains something he is more familiar with.


    Race: Elf: Often considered the fairer races, long lived, and have a pre disposed nature towards being magic casters. Elves gain +2 to dexterity, +1 to charisma, and 2 free points to distribute per level.


    ¡°That''s more like it, now that is something im familiar with, but being a frilly posing smelling elf just seems lame. Moving on.¡± thought Chris, floating around he finds that most of the holes near the elves are races he has heard about before. He finds humans, gnomes, draconics, dwarves, and centaurs to name a few. There is one that just sounds right to him though.


    Race: Orc: Orcs are a tribal species, very warlike in nature, they are natural born fighters, and grow to maturity fairly quickly. Orcs gain +1 to strength, +1 to constitution, +1 to endurance, and 2 free points to distribute per level.


    Chris always liked playing the bad guys, the fighters, and honestly orcs in all of his video games. Besides who wouldn''t want to worship Gork and Mork.


    Making his final decision he clicked yes and his body began to morph, first elongating, and extremities began to grow out of his blob, ending in an orc body. Looking at his new body something didn''t quite seem right, something just felt off. Looking down he realized what it was, he had breasts.


    ¡°CHARON!¡± exclaimed Chris, ¡°what the hell man? Do I sound like a woman to you? How do I change it so I am a guy?¡±


    Chucking Charon just shook his head at Chris, ¡°it wouldn''t be the end of the world if you were a girl.¡± Snapping his fingers Chris¡¯s body began to change again, growing taller, and putting on more muscle.


    A Prompt opened up in front of Chris.


    Name: ???


    Thinking about it for a second Chris decided on a new name, after all who was going to fear the all mighty and powerful orc, Chris?


    Would you like to change your name to: Gulnar? Yes/No


    Once Chris chose yes, Charon said ¡°Well Gulnar, that is all I really have time for you, a few words of caution for you before you go. This new world you are going to is nothing like the one you came from, you will not have an easy life, you will struggle, if you do not adapt you will die, and there is no guarantee you''ll get another chance past this one. You will need to gain power if you wish to not be tortured, taken advantage of, or rightout killed. I wish you luck in your next life, make it one worth living.¡±


    Once he stopped speaking Charon raised his hand and it began to glow a soft purple color, as Gulnar¡¯s world faded to black.


    The first sensation Gulnar feels is pain. Upon opening his eyes he is able to see for a brief moment before the liquid in his eyes boils. He is inside of an active volcano. As he takes in an involuntary gasp to scream at the searing agony of his eyes melting in his head he finds out he cant breath. He can''t tell what hurts more, feeling his lungs get 3rd degree burns, or feeling the toxic vapors start to eat away at the structure of his lungs.


    Gulnar immediately starts coughing only to start to cough up pieces of his lungs that are being eaten away and sloughing off from the vapers. At this point he has lost feeling in his skin as it started on fire as the skin dried out and became flammable in the hot environment. His insides start to boil from the water being separated out of his blood and boiling. Once his blood began to separate into the water and the other components he could feel his cells start to vaporize before his consciousness fled his body. The body of Gulnar never hit the ground, it had turned into ash as it began to fall.


    You have died.


    For the second time in what feels like a day, Chris¡¯s world is nothing but white. ¡°What in Zeus''s left testical was that? I spawned in a volcano! How in the hell is that fair at all?¡± Once again there was a section of nothing that just disappeared and in walks a familiar face.


    ¡°Well well, what do we have here? I thought you just left for the eld.¡± said Charon with a slight frown on its face. ¡°This cant do, I have a schedule to keep and you¡¯ve already wasted enough of my time.¡±


    ¡°Do you know what that is like? I felt my eyes melting, i felt my blood boil, i felt my skin go up in fla-...¡±


    ¡°Last time while you took forever and a day to pick your life last time, and i don''t appreciate being talked over¡± as charon says that, chris who was in the middle of a tirade about what he felt as he burnt alive, finds himself cut short, unable to speak. ¡°Now that''s better, some quiet. I told you that you would have a hard life, I just didn''t foresee that it would be that short.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re in luck because of your first death your essence had just enough energy left in it to send you here. I want to make sure you know, this won''t be happening again, when you die next you will not be coming back here, you will be dead for real. As i was saying before you tried talking over me, i already used up too much of my time on you last time you were here and i dont have the patience to let you go through that whole creation again so i''m going to help you out here, best of luck to you in your new life.¡±


    With that final statement Chris¡¯s body began to fly through the void as his awareness faded to white.


    Soft. That was the only word that could be used to describe what Chris was laying on. Blessed relief flooded through Chris''s body, he had no way of knowing, but when he was dead in that other realm, he had little to no sensory input. Which led to whatever he felt before his death to be frozen in his mind, not feeling the pain, but also not going away.


    Upon opening his eyes and looking around what lies before him, he appears to be on a mountain, underneath a massive pine tree. Its proportions are nowhere near understandable, it looks to be larger than the california redwoods, with a diameter of at least 30 ft, and a height well over 500 feet. What blew his mind was each of the trees on this mountain were comparable in size to the one he was under, looking around there were hundreds of trees, no, thousands, and this didn''t look to be the only mountain around him. From where he stood he could see a vast mountain range, with what looked to be a river running through it.


    The next thing taken in was his body, his view looked a little shorter than he did in his last life, his skin was the same tanned skin he remembered, 10 fingers, that''s good. Coming to the conclusion that he was in fact a human again, "wait", he thought as he checked his ears, which were round, "yeah definitely a human."


    On the edge of his vision there were 3 different colored bars in the upper left hand corner, one was red, one was green, and the last was blue. Concentrating on each of them in turn, he learned that red was for health, green was for stamina, and blue was for mana. With a thought the bars started to display a number, each one read 90. About what was to be expected. On the right side of his view there were a bunch of different icons. "That''s going to get in the way if I end up in a fight, or in my day to day life." With a thought he was able to get them to disappear, then they came back, and away again, finally stopping with it up.


    His next action was to pull up his character sheet.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:Bjorn Ward


    </td>


    <td>


    Race:Human


    </td>


    <td>


    age:18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Hp:90


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina:90


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana:90


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Strength:9


    </td>


    <td>


    Constitution:9


    </td>


    <td>


    Dexterity:9


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Agility:9


    </td>


    <td>


    Endurance:9


    </td>


    <td>


    Intelligence:9


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Wisdom:9


    </td>


    <td>


    Charisma:9


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skills: N/A


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Abilities: Increased growth


    </td>


    <td>


    Skilling Prodigy


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Demerit: Weak


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Synergy: Latent potential


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Alright, let''s see what we are working with here", focusing on his perks a half translucent window popped up.


    Increased growth: Increase all xp gained by 25%.


    "score, increasing all xp gained, i can see that leading to a great advantage."


    Skilling prodigy: Gain skill levels twice as fast.


    "Well, it''s exactly what I would have wanted anyways, seeing how it''s what I picked for my last life." thought Bjorn "now time for the negative"


    Weak: gain 1 less skill point per level.


    "Horse shit!" Exclaimed Bjorn, "I''m going to be 25% weaker than all humans in this world. even more so than other races." "I''m not one to sherk away from a challenge, but damn, I think that one might be a bit much." Thought Bjorn "And on top of all of that you picked the name Bjorn Ward for me? What do you think i am? A viking that stumbled into a fairy tale? Charon you''re a dick!", as he finished saying that a fist size rock appeared 100 feet or so above his head and began to drop. Yelping and diving to the side, narrowly missing the falling rock as it slammed into the ground with way too much force for how far it fell, the rock embedded itself into the ground about 5 inches. "Nobody likes a whiner." Charon''s voice echoed in his head.


    Still grumbling to himself, he checks the last new thing in his Character sheet.


    Latent Potential: ???, you have not met the requirements to know what this does for you.


    "that isn''t ominous at all." Nothing ever gets done complaining about things. Moving on to his equipment screen.


    On the equipment screen it was pretty stock standard for most video games, 2 ring slots, 1 neck, body, legs, boots, gloves, head, back, belt. Nothing really stood out as unusual there. He appeared to have basic clothes on, they didn''t appear to have any bonuses.


    Next to where he woke up there was a short sword that looked like it was made out of iron, and a bow and quiver with 12 arrows in it. "pretty standard, nothing unexpected here." Picking up the short sword he belted it on and strapped the quiver to his back, not really seeing how he could attach the bow to himself as well he decided to carry it.


    Not really seeing anything to do around, he took a look at the sun, correction, suns, and at least 2 moons that he can see currently.


    Seeing no better option Bjorn started to slowly pick his way down the mountain. After a particularly close call where he almost slid off of a 25 foot cliff, he decided to take a little break. Looking up, not really able to tell time, he thought a few hours had passed.


    This was as good a time as any to start looking at the small circles around the periphery of his vision. Not quite understanding how daunting of a task that would be, there were hundreds of tabs, and sub tabs.


    Pretty soon there is a light rustling behind him. Turning around slowly there is a rabbit digging around and eating the grass. Looking at the rabbit his stomach rumbled. Standing up and knocking an arrow, drawing the bow, slighting on the rabbit. Bjorn took a slow breath in, held it for a second, and released. And missed, the arrow going high and right of the rabbit. It stood up and looked around at what the noise of the arrow shooting over its head was, but ultimately not moving.


    Cursing under his breath, drawing another arrow, taking aim again, releasing. This time the arrow flew true, taking the rabbit in the body pinning it to the ground. Giving a whoop, he ran over to the rabbit. It was struggling against the arrow in its side, watching it kick furiously in a fight to try and escape the pain. When he got up to the rabbit, it just gave up and stared at him. Bjorn was disgusted with himself. He was a little hungry, but he just caused this suffering just because, feeling bad, he drew his sword and put the rabbit out of its misery.


    Taking a knee before the rabbit, Bjorn bowed his head and cried. "I''m sorry."


    Spending a good 10 minutes crying over this rabbit that he wantonly killed. He stood up and tried to find his arrow that he lost, after searching for a bit he was able to find, and successfully retrieved both his arrows, leaving the body of the rabbit behind, and took off again down the mountain.


    As Bjorn was stumbling down the mountain he noticed a blinking circle on the side of his vision. Mentally thinking about it a screen appeared in front of his face. "Gah!" Bjorn exclaimed.


    For slaying level 4 jack rabbit you are awarded: 60 experience points (base 48)


    "it''s nice to know that you get experience from killing creatures, i wonder if there is any way to get quests to gain xp as well.'''' Unfortunately the universe doesn''t seem to have any sense of irony, because a quest prompt didn''t appear in his vision.


    As time passed, it seemed like Bjorn was making progress. Both of the suns were starting to get to the horizons. "you know it would be nice to be able to tell time." Bjorn thought, digging through his menus he eventually came across a tab labeled "User Interface.", "Huh, it''s almost exactly like a video game." With a mental thought he started to scroll though, eventually coming to a clock option which was set to off. Another mental thought was all it took to turn the setting on.


    A clock appeared in the corner of his vision and it read 9:43 pm. "Easy peasy, at least there is a standard time scale here as well."


    Things were starting to get a bit chilly up on the mountain. Searching around Bjorn was able to find a small outcropping in the wall of the mountain. Climbing inside, which was a light squeeze getting through, the light traveled 10 feet inside and he couldn''t see any further. Climbing back out he started to try and find some firewood to burn. Finding some wood that didn''t look too rotten, and too damp, he took it back to his cave.


    Carrying his wood back inside of the cave Bjorn took a longer round piece of wood and started to rub it between his hands with some down pressure like he learned in school, on a field trip. Eventually he was able to get a fire going.


    Upon starting a fire another blinking notification appears, opening it up it read.


    You have gained the skill: Survival. Some people balk at the thought of spending expending periods of time out in nature, not you, you welcome it. Nature is your element, you can find a way to thrive and grow away from civilization.


    "It''s about time I gained a skill." thought Bjorn "Although i seriously doubt there is a skill for walking or running, And it seems to be one that will make me more likely to Survive" He gave a light chuckle. "out here."


    Looking around the cave there wasn''t much to look at, it was about 7 feet wide at its widest and 15 feet long at the longest. Moving the fire to the rough center of his cave, he settled down for a restless sleep.


    Waking with a pinch of pain on his foot, opening his eyes Bjorn looked down. There was a large slug type creature attached to his foot where he took his boots off the night before to sleep. With a startled yell he picked up a rock that was by his hand and slammed it into the creature repeatedly.


    For Slaying a level 3 acidic slug you are awarded: 31 (base 25) xp.


    Pulling up his character sheet he was down 6 Hp, putting him at 84 out of 90. "How long was that slug on my foot for?" There was another strange thing on his character sheet, instead of having 93 xp like he thought he should, he had 94 xp. 91 of it was accounted for between the two things he killed, the other 3 he had no idea where it came from. The only thing he could come up with was he got 1 xp per day. More testing is needed to say for sure.


    Taking a closer look at his foot. There was a large blister running from the toes of his foot to the ankle. Swearing under his breath Bjorn tugged his boot, feeling the leather rub over his fresh wound made him want to scream out.


    Fairly early in the day Bjorn found a stream, and decided to follow it, around what he guessed to be mid day, he took a break. Being quite parched, he knelt to take a drink out of it. Remembering stories of people getting giardia from drinking out of unfiltered water Bjorn gave it a second thought. Looking up the mountain he wasn''t really able to see where the water came from. "What was it again? Drinking moving water is safe because it is less likely for you to get a disease? Or did you want to drink from stagnant water because it would let the sediment settle out?" Stuck in the mental quandary trying to figure that one out he started to get a headache. "Ah what the hell." He said before he decided to roll the dice and drink anyways.


    Cool and refreshing. "And now we wait." Bjorn thought. Looking at his clock it read 14:33 A.M. "That can''t be right." Bjorn thought there was only 24 hours in the day last time he checked. So he sat there and watched, the clock slowly ticked up to 16:59 Am before it clicked over to 1:00 PM. "32 hour days," Bjorn thought. "I wonder how else time will be different here, does that mean that the years are shorter? Or could they be longer? Am I still going to live a normal 80ish year life, or will I live till I''m 200?" Bjorn mused, having no way to test anything or find out the answer to his questions, Bjorn remembered his earlier concerns about water borne illnesses, seeing how there didn''t seem to be any negative consequences for drinking out of this stream Bjorn knelt once again and drank his fill of the water.


    As he moved downwards along the stream he started to notice berries in bushes. Bjorn''s stomach rumbled, having not eaten in most likely an entire day, he started to regret not eating that rabbit. Realizing how wasteful, and stupid that was, Bjorn shook his head. Regretting what happened or didn''t happen won''t get him anywhere. Deciding it wouldn''t be the best idea to eat the berries yet he kept trudging on.


    The day mostly passed in a haze, plodding along following the stream, as it slowly joined with other streams. The going was slow, but it was faster than pushing through low ground cover as he moved downhill. The stream didn''t always go the fastest route downhill either.


    As he was nearing night he came across another small animal that looked like a cross between a badger and a rabbit, it had the upper body and size of a badger and the lower half of a rabbit. The animal had not seemed to notice Bjorn yet. Slowly drawing an arrow, he knocked the arrow, drew, sighted on the animal, and released. The arrow was a bit off and took the animal in the rear, right above its leg.


    With a snarl the creature leaps at Bjorn. Yelping he dropped his bow and fumbled to draw his sword, just barely being able to draw it before the creature slammed into him. Bjorn hit the ground and was able to get a hand on it and flip it over his head. As it landed it got back to its feet and came back at Bjorn. Luckily he wasn''t idle, he was able to right himself and get his sword in between himself and the animal, Impaling it on his sword as it lunged at him again.


    For slaying a level 3 Baddit you are awarded: 60 (base 48) xp.


    "Baddit? Is that the first part of badger and the last half of rabbit mixed together? What kind of lazy naming convention is that?" Bjorn mused. Noticing he had some new notifications he checked them.


    You have gained the skill: Archery. Some people have mastered the skill of killing up close. Not you, death can come from anywhere. Many fear the arrows of an archer, with good reason.


    You have gained the skill: Swordsmanship. Too many Swords are the embodiment of death that is all. You have gained the understanding that it''s not just a weapon of death, it is a way of life. Swords and the study of them lead to better understanding the world.


    Looking down at his handy work he briefly looked at the baddit and reflected on not feeling bad at killing this creature. It probably had to do with the fact that the creature had tried to hurt/kill him. Bjorn looked down at the baddit having no idea where to start preparing it for dinner. Taking his sword to it he removed all 4 of its legs and began to cut into its back, he cut the skin along the spine and started to cut it away from the meat underneath. Once he had the skin removed from the meat far enough, he started to cut the meat on its back into strips, setting them aside on a flattish rock. Feeling a bit ill the entire time.


    Next he began to gather dry firewood and started another fire in the same manner as yesterday. Once it got going he set the rock next to the fire and kept the fire going well enough to cook the meat on the rock. As he was getting the fire going Bjorn found a few sticks that had forks in the end and made 2 straight long branch sticks. Sticking the fork sticks in the ground, and sticking the straight sticks over the two of them. Bjorn stuck the 4 leg pieces precariously over the Fire on top of the sticks.


    Letting that cook for 20 minutes he took the legs off the fire, digging into it. It was bland but palatable. Letting the meat on the stone keep cooking, trying to dry it out to make a basic jerky. It worked surprisingly well, setting it aside for later, there was another new notification.


    You have gained the skill: Cooking. From now on as long as you have something edible, you''ll never go hungry again. True master''s of this craft can change minds, the world, and themselves.


    After eating Bjorn settled in for the night. spending more time digging through his interfaces, one thing he decided to change, was the xp notifications. It would be very unfortunate if the notification distracted him in a fight.


    The next morning he checked his character sheet, gaining another xp putting him at 155 xp. Something caught his eye, he was at 85 out of 90 hp. "Looks like I might regen my hp at a rate of 1 per day as well."


    The rest of the next 2 days passed much of the same way. Walk, drink, eat, repeat, kill, repeat. There wasn''t a chance until the third day, as Bjorn rounded a bend there was a large bear rooting around in the grass. Freezing in place, Bjorn dropped into a crouch and slowly started to back away from the bear. A sharp snap brought the bear lumbering around.


    They made eye contact for a few seconds, Bjorn nodded, and started to back away slowly again all while knocking an arrow. The bear stood on its rear legs, let out a bellow and started walking towards Bjorn. Starting to panic he brought the bow up, drawing it and losing on the bear, hitting it. In his rush he didn''t get the bow to full draw, making the arrow barely break skin.


    The bear dropped onto its 4 legs and broke into a sprint, barrelling down on Bjorn. With a yelp at the bear''s speed he dropped his bow and drew his sword as the bear rapidly closed the distance between them. Raising his sword for a strike the bear slammed into him before he could complete his attack.


    As the bear put a paw on Bjorn''s body pinning him to the ground, it went in to bite his throat. Pushing his arm upwards to try and hold the bear back it bit down on his arm. There was a sickening crunch as its teeth punctured his skin and the force of the bite broke at least one of the bones in his right forearm.


    Bjorn''s red bar dropped by about a third as he cried out in pain. That''s when the bear''s claws dug into his side scraping along his ribcage as it tried to get purchase and tear his arm off.


    With his health dropping another portion, all he could think about was how he was going to die 3 times within a week.


    Then the pressure on his arm and side was gone, as a stone spike shot out from the ground impaling the bear, piercing it through the shoulder and holding it in the air.


    Not knowing what was going on, Bjorn looked around frantically. That''s when he noticed a woman standing in the trees not too far off. She was short, had shoulder length hair, which was brown with streaks of white, she was old. The last thing that he noticed was that her hands were wreathed in a green glow.


    She started to chant something in a low voice. As the bear was thrashing around trying to free itself from the stone spike a second one came out from the ground and stabbed the bear in the head, going limp.


    As Bjorn turned back to look at the woman, he got light headed. Right before he passed out he saw her slowly walking towards him.

 Chapter 2

    Bjorn opened his eyes, he was inside of a small building, there was a single bed, a fire pit off in one corner with a small fire with what appeared to be a pot of water hanging over the top of it, a small table, and a few low stools, the table had various items that looked like they belonged in a lab. There were vials, flasks, a pestle and mortar, and various other small metal instruments, including a scale. Along the ceiling there were plants hanging up, most likely drying. In the other corner there was a bookshelf with a few books, and odds and ends of items on it. There was a pleasant aroma in the air, it was warm.


    Taking a look at his health bar it was at 49 out of 90, a lot closer to 0 than Bjorn was entirely comfortable with. A dull ache in his arm made him remember that the bear had most likely broken one, or even both of the bones in his forearm. Taking a look, his arm looked like it had been set, bandaged and then splinted.


    That was when he saw the notifications in the corner of his eye. A thought brought up a cascade of windows.


    You have advanced your skill level in archery, reaching skill level 2. Damage from arrows you shoot is increased by 3% over base damage.


    You have been bitten by a level 7 Brown bear, suffering 34 points of damage.


    You have broken a bone: Right ulna, right radius. Mobility of your lower right arm has been reduced.


    You have been maimed: With out proper treatment you will lose much of your ability to use the maimed part of your body.


    For your part in slaying level 7 Brown bear you have been awarded 259 (base 207) XP.


    Your maimed body part: Right forearm, has been set, and bound, with proper rest you will regain full use of your maimed body part.


    You have ingested a healing herb. You will regain three times the health points for the next 12 hours.


    You have applied a healing salve. You will regain two times the health points for the next 12 hours.


    As he was sifting through his notifications the door to the cottage swung open and the woman who saved him walked through the door carrying a pack on her back. As she slung it off of her back Bjorn got a better look at her height, he was probably around 4 and a half feet tall. Looking closer at her body, she was a bit on the husker side. With a little bit of a gut, but over all her entire body just looked more dense.


    She turned towards Bjorn and said something he didn''t understand as she started to walk towards him. Bending down she took a look at his arm. Not fully understanding what was happening, Bjorn tried to pull away. The woman made a hissing noise which apparently was universal for "stop you idiot".


    She lightly took hold of Bjorn¡¯s arm and started to contort it gently, all the while making a light clicking sound with her tongue. Apparently coming to the decision that the bandage needed to be changed she started to unwrap his arm.


    As his wound was revealed Bjorn got a look at his arm for the first time since it was hanging at an awkward angle after the bear let go of him. There were obvious signs of where the bear''s teeth had punctured his skin. She motioned for him to relax. Which was alright by him, after all he was starting to get a little queasy looking at his slowly healing mutilated arm.


    The woman walked around the room picking a few different herbs off of the ceiling, after dropping the bandage into the water pot, all the while keeping up a slow string of incoherent babble almost under her breath.  She then Sat on one of the low stools and started throwing herbs into the pestle and mortar and started to grind.


    ¡°Look, I don''t know if you can understand me, but thank you for saving my life. I don¡¯t think I could handle dying a third time in the span of a week. As soon as my arm has been fully healed I will get out of your hair and be on my way.¡±


    The woman made no signs of understanding, or even hearing what Bjorn said, she just kept working the pestle and mortar while occasionally throwing in a new herb.


    After what seemed like a long time she walked over to the fire, stoked it and then pulled the bandage out hanging it up to dry. She took the pot and threw the now bloody water out of the window, looking over at Bjorn she said something to him, and walked out the door. She came back in a few minutes later and set the pot of what looked like clean water back over the fire and sat back down at the table.


    After about half an hour more of sitting at the table she stood up and walked back over to Bjorn sitting next to him she started to apply the contents from the pestle and mortar to his wound. By this time his arm was starting to stray into pain territory again. Shortly after applying the paste his arm started to drop back down to a dull ache. After applying the paste she started to bandage and re-splint his arm in place.


    Half way through working on his arm she stopped and touched her chest looking at him and said ¡°Medera.¡± Touching his chest she looked at him quizzically.


    ¡°Bjorn.¡± He responded.


    Giving him a nod she pushed him back down onto the bed and walked over to the pot, throwing a few herbs in it she let it sit for a few minutes before taking it off the fire and pouring it into a cup. She walked over to Bjorn, handing him the cup, and motioning for him to drink.


    Figuring if she wanted to hurt him he would be dead already, he took a drink from the cup. Immediately he started to become drowsy and fell into a deep sleep.


    When next he woke it was dark in the room. Sitting up and looking around Medera was sitting on the floor with her back to the wall, lightly snoring. Looking at his health bar it was a lot fuller than it was when he was last awake. With a little mental focus it showed his health being at 79 out of 90.


    ¡°So I''ve been out for 5 days, assuming nothing has slowed down my healing process.¡± Thought Bjorn. Upon closer inspection his arm no longer hurt, but was still splinted. Feeling surprisingly good he decided to try to get out of bed.


    As soon as he pulled back the rough woven blanket over the top of himself Medera¡¯s eyes snapped open and looked right at him.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Said Bjorn.


    Grumbling to herself Medera stood and started to move about the room. She got the fire stoked again, and walked out of the room, coming back in after a bit with a few bits of dried meat. She offered some of the meat to Bjorn. Realizing how hungry he was, Bjorn gratefully took it.


    After they were done with breaking their fast, she stood and came closer to Bjorn, taking a look at his arm. Poking and prodding it, all the while looking at his face, seemingly gauging his reaction. When she saw he didn''t wince at all, she nodded and removed the splint.


    Motioning for him to follow her, Medera walked out the door to the small cabin. The cabin was on a clearing on the side of one of the mountains, there were 3 small buildings total in the clearing, off to one side was a small cultivated garden with a wood fence going around the outside of it. Rudimentary paths are visible from where there has been obvious foot traffic, going in between the buildings and the garden with the paths converging on a stone well in the center. There was a small stream running down the side of the mountain off behind the other two buildings that were kind of clustered together. Down off the side of the mountain the stream first fell off in a waterfall, as there was a 100 foot cliff on that side of the clearing and then continued down meeting up in a river that ran down the center of a gorge.


    ¡°Wow, what a view.¡± Commented Bjorn to no one in particular. They both stood there for a while just taking in the sight of what was before them. When he looked over at Medera she had the slightest of smiles on her face.


    Saying a word and beckoning Medera took off for the right of the two buildings. Heading over and looking inside there were all sorts of knick knacks you''d find necessary for living in the woods. There was a tinderbox, an ax, a draw knife, a hatchet, thread and needles, a shovel, a wheelbarrow, a hoe, and various knives, to name a few. Off to one side of the wall there was a waist high table, sitting on top of was Bjorn¡¯s bow, arrows, and his sword. Upon looking closer at his quiver he was down to only 5 of his original 12 arrows.


    Once again beckoning to Bjorn they left the right building and walked to the one of the left. Inside was where Medera stored her food, she seemed to be very well stocked, if he was going to guess she would be able to live off of what was in there for at least 6 to 8 months. There was a second door which going through, there was what looked like a smoker, the back wall of the building was built out of stone, there was a grate separating two chambers.


    ¡°Nice place¡± Said Bjorn. She just nodded in response. ¡°What now?¡±


    She looked at Bjorn quizzically and she just started walking back to the cabin. Not really knowing what to do he decided to follow her. Inside she set about making them a kind of soup if he was to make a guess.


    Time passed in silence as the food cooked. After they both ate she pushed him back down into the bed as she turned on her heels and walked out of the cabin.


    The next morning Bjorn was awoken to the sound of rustling in the room.  Opening his eyes Medera was kneading a dough. Climbing out of bed he walked over and motioned to help, She looked at him and stepped back letting him take over on the dough. Occasionally she stopped him and corrected what he was doing, and adding more flour or water, whatever was needed, eventually satisfied she took the dough and put it in the pot hanging over a small fire she had built as Bjorn was working.


    In the corner of his eye there was a blinking notification, mentally clicking on it, it opened.


    Congratulations you have advanced in the skill: Cooking, you are now skill level 2. Your attempts to make an edible meal have increased by 2%.


    ¡°Well that''s great¡±, Thought Bjorn, ¡°My notifications seem to be sarcastic.¡±


    After setting the dough in the pot she then beckoned him to follow her outside, heading over to the shed. She took the shovel out of the shed and a wheelbarrow, and handed it over to Bjorn. Through pantomime she was able to convey that he should dig out the paths between the shed and the cabin.


    Not one to shirk from a task Bjorn set to digging with fervor. Medera walked off out of the clearing, only to come back about an hour later with a large glowing green boulder floating behind her. She set it down with a hand motion and turned around and sat on it, she was covered in sweat.


    Resting for a few minutes, Medera looked to have recovered some, standing with determination she walked into the cabin, and came back out fairly quickly with a slice of fresh bread, handing it over. She looked at his progress and nodded.


    Medera then started speaking, motioning to his bread saying a single word. Getting her meaning he repeated after her. Nodding again she then moved on to the boulder they were sitting on. Saying a word and waiting for Bjorn to respond. They spent the next few hours going through words. Eventually Medera stood up in a huff and stormed off. Obviously she had issues with his pronunciation of the word ¡°urndlikr¡±.


    Not knowing what else to do Bjorn got back to excavating the path, much of his day was spent this way, until evening when Medera came back to the boulder and took a squat in front of it, and started to chant. A dark green glow started to surround her fingers as she used her hands to draw a complex rune in the air. As she finished the spell a green ball of energy shot from her fingers and sank into the boulder as it started to crumble. Falling into gravel. Once again she just looked at it and nodded, she turned to look at Bjorn with a big smile on her face.


    She motioned for him to use his shovel and wheelbarrow to put the gravel down in his trench he excavated, and then went inside, after a while she came back out with a stew and some of the bread in two bowls, they sat eating their dinner, watching the sun set behind the mountains. Once they both ate they went inside and had another lesson on language.


    Over the next few weeks Bjorn fell into a bit of a routine. He woke up, and either cooked or ate, then he went outside to start working on his paths some more, he would work until his stamina would become close to bottoming out, dropping down to the single digits, he would then stop and they had a lesson on language. By the end of the lesson his stamina would have regenerated enough for more work, he worked some more and then they had dinner, another lesson and then sleep. As for Medera, what she did didn''t look so monotonous. Some days she worked in her garden, some days she walked into the woods with the axe and spent most of the day felling a tree, delimbing it, and then cutting it into more manageable sections.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Medera was a woman of many talents, Some days she did carpentry work, turning the sections of logs they brought back to the clearing into planks, or into chunks for firewood. Other days she took some of her herbs that she had hanging and turned them into what Bjorn could only guess were potions. Sometimes she would be happy with the results, others she would get angry and throw the contents off the side of the cliff down towards the gorge in disgust. On other days she took out her thread and needle and repaired the holes in Bjorn¡¯s clothes from the bear attack.


    Bjorn also learned that Medera had a bit of a temper. Sometimes she would be patient and would put up with him butchering her language for hours, or they would only work for 10 to 15 minutes before she would get angry and storm off. One thing was for certain though, no matter how annoyed she would get she never ran him off, or made any attempt to bring harm to Bjorn.


    Another benefit that came from doing his work he gained some stats. He gained 1 in strength, 2 in endurance, and oddly 1 in intelligence. Bringing his stats up to 10 strength, 11 endurance, and 10 intelligence respectively. He also gained a new skill.


    Congratulations, you have gained the new skill: Construction. As long as you have the time, resources and tools necessary you will build wonders that will awe any living being that comes to see it. You now have the skills to build roads, buildings and the structures to provide safety to you and the ones you care about.


    And finally Bjorn gained the prompt he had been hoping for.


    You have learned the language Mountain Dwarvish to a basic level of understanding.


    Medera looked at Bjorn and said "finally I can hold a bit of conversation with you, the dunce."


    "What? How can I all of a sudden understand what you''re saying? And for that matter how do you know that I finally can speak Dwarvish? Lastly, I don''t remember learning the word for finally, so how come it sounds different when I say it?"


    "For your first question. The only answer I have is magic. Somehow once you get to a certain amount of understanding a language It''s like magic fills in the rest for you. As for your second question, when you read the prompt, which I''m assuming said something along the lines of "After long excruciating hours of pestering Medera you have learned how to kind of  speak mountain dwarvish." There was a glow in your eyes and surrounding your ears. Which led me to  guess that you finally learned how to speak in a proper tongue, not that barbaric language you speak sometimes. Lastly, the answer to your last question isn''t too far off from your first question, magic."


    "So magic is real? Like really real?" Asked Bjorn.


    "Duh, how else do you think I saved your life? How else do you think I moved that boulder?" Answered Medera.


    "Can you teach me? What kinds of magic can you do? What kinds of magic are there?"


    "For heaven''s sake, if i knew you''d ask so many questions i would have left you ignorant of how to actually speak. You get 4 questions and then I''m going to kick you out to go back to making your path. Use them wisely."


    "Alright" Replied Bjorn, sitting quietly he thought about what he wanted to ask. "What kinds of magic are there?"


    "Easy enough" replied Medera, "There are 8 basic schools of magic: earth, fire, water, air, light, dark, life, and lastly death. After that there are Higher forms of magic, combination magic if you will. Types that I know of are, Blood, which is life and water. Shadow, light and dark. Spirit, life and light. And lastly soul, life and death. There are other forms of magic that I know of but haven''t the foggiest how they actually work, I''ve just heard about it, and that is time magic. Before you ask your next question I''ll give you a freebie, I know a little of Earth, and light magic, more earth than light."


    "Wow." Said Bjorn. That was a lot to take in. Given those combinations, there could in theory be endless types of magic. What is stopping something from taking 5, 6, 7, or even all 8 of the elements all at once.


    "Alright, for my second question, can you teach me what you know about magic?"


    "Now that is an easy question, with an easy, and hard answer. Easy, I might be able to teach you, there is no guarantee though. Hard, it is complicated as to why I might not be able to teach you."


    After a few seconds of waiting Medera didn''t look like she was going to be forthcoming with why it would be complicated, instead of pushing he decided to just push onward.


    "Are there others? Other people like us, living in the woods out here?"


    With a slight smile Medera answered. "Other''s living in the woods on the side of the mountain, with a normally solitary life? Not that I know of, no. There is a small town of my kin a ways away. But none that brave living in the wilds like I do. I''m sure there are hermits that live all over but I haven''t come across any. The wilds are dangerous, as you learned, there is much out here which wishes to kill us. You are lucky that you ran into a bear instead of a griffin, or an owlbear, or even a Mother goose."


    "And for my last question, are there many different races? I see that you are a mountain dwarf, I am a human, but you didn''t seem to react at all to my species."


    "There are more races than you can imagine. Now that you have asked your questions, begone with you! I am feeling lazy this morning and will take a nice nap."


    As Bjorn left the hut, he took a look at his path, it was almost done going from the hut to the shed. Picking up his shovel he went back to work with a sigh. It took only a few hours to finish his work. Taking a step back and appreciating his work he had fully built the path between the two buildings. With a new flashing prompt, he mentally clicked on the prompt.


    Congratulations you have gained the sub-skill. Road building. Road building is a sub-skill of construction. Some say empires are built upon their infrastructure, and they would be right. No empire can ever last without a way to logistically move troops and supplies throughout their lands. As a road builder your prowess with shaping the land into traversal able land is one of the most important tasks to the growth of an empire.


    With a sigh of contentment, and a smile on his face, Bjorn started to walk back towards the hut.


    Once the door was open Bjorn could hear a soft snoring coming from the bed in the corner. Shaking his head with a slight smile, he closed the door. Not knowing what to do with his time, he could continue building the path, but with such a nice day out today that just seemed like a waste. Walking back to the Shed he retrieved his bow and arrows, depleted as they were, and set off into the woods.


    Not really having a goal in mind Bjorn sort of wandered aimlessly. Looking at this and that. Grabbing leaves off trees, looking at plants, and flowers. After a bit he stumbled upon a plant that looked familiar. Not really knowing what it was Bjorn bent down to get a closer look at them. The plant had a bulb with small clusters of leaves growing out of the bulb. Each cluster had 3 leaves and a single stem that ran down and attached to the bulb. Each leaf had orange running across the outside of it, and towards where the leaves attached to the stem turned into a royal blue color, the stems themselves were also a royal blue. The bulb itself was predominantly green with steaks of orange and royal blue running through it, and about the size of a small plum.


    Scooting closer to the plant Bjorn reached out to touch the bulb. As his hand came close to the plant the leaf closest to his hand went rigid and lashed out at his hand.


    You have been cut and poisoned by a deathwart. You will take 2 points of poison damage per minute for the next 10 minutes. As the poison of the deathwart has a paralyzing effect you will lose control of your right hand for the duration of the poisoning.


    "Ah! Mother Fucker!" exclaimed Bjorn as he pulled his hand back from the plant. The cut on his hand was short and shallow, but he could see an orange residue left on the cut itself and it started to seep into the wound. from where the wound on his hand was he could see lines of orange start to grow across his hand, Many of them running along the veins in his hand.


    Looking around frantically he saw a small stream running across the forest floor not too far off. Running as fast as he could, Bjorn booked it for the stream. In his hurry he tripped over a rock that was buried underneath the debris of the large trees around him.


    Out of reflex as he fell Bjorn thrust his right arm out to try to break his fall a little bit. After he landed on his right arm that is when he noticed, there wasn''t actually any pain in his right arm. He couldn''t move his arm from the middle of his forearm down, but he still had control of his arm from the elbow up. As he was marveling about the lack of pain, he remembered why he took off running as the orange streaks were starting to move further up his arm just past the middle of his forearm now.


    Getting himself to the steam, he thrust his hand into the water and started to scrub at his hand with his left. The orange residue came off easily. Remembering something he was told when he was little, "If you get bit by a rattlesnake try and remove the venom anyway you can." Starting from right above the orange lines on his right arm, Bjorn applied pressure and started to try to squeeze his arm sliding his left hand down towards the wound while keeping the pressure as constant as he could.


    A sickly orange and red gunk came out of his hand wound. It looked like the orange residue combined with his blood and turned into a gel of sorts. Spending the next few minutes repeating the process, tons of the orange and red goo oozed out of his body, more than he was comfortable with. His efforts were not in vain though, as the orange lines started to fade. Only stopping when the orange was gone from his forearm, and the liquid that came out of his body started to look like normal blood again. That was when he noticed the flashing icon on the side of his vision.


    With the removal of the poison from the deathwart you have slowed the damage you will take. You will now take 1 point of poison damage every 5 minutes for the next 10 minutes.


    Congratulations you have advanced in the skill: Survival, you are now skill level 2. You are now more likely to see dangerous situations before you are in them.


    You have gained the skill: Healing. Through your knowledge of the natural way the body works you are able to turn what for some would be a fatal injury into a mild inconvenience.


    Your constant inability to avoid damage has somehow made your body stronger. You have gained 1 point in constitution. Maybe if you weren''t such a pansy this notification wouldn''t have been necessary.


    "Well that is just hurtful." Thought Bjorn as he read the last of his notifications. Looking down at his hand it was still slightly bleeding. Using his left hand he started to prod at the right. He was starting to regain feeling in his right hand. As he was regaining feeling he was also regaining mobility.


    Taking a look at his health bar it was at 87 out of 100. Gaining that point in constitution he gained another 10 points of health. Doing some math Bjorn had taken 6 minutes of the full poison, he figured the first point of damage was from the leaf cutting his hand. Looking through his notifications he found that he was right, the leaf had cut him for 1 point to begin with. Walking back over to the plant with a scowl. Bjorn was trying to decide what to do with this plant.


    Upon closer inspection, the leaves clusters on the bulb were only on the upper part of the bulb. Kneeling down with a sigh of resignation "I hope this works." Bjorn mumbled. Placing his hands on the underside of the plant he waited. The plant was as docile as it looked. Expecting some sort of trap, he pulled upwards with a gentle force as the plant started to slowly unearth. Once the plant was fully out of the soil the leaves sort of drooped.


    With bravery he felt like he shouldn''t have, Bjorn again moved his hand towards the leaves, and this time they didn''t react. Relaxing, Bjorn took off his shirt, spread it out on the ground, and placed the plant in the center of his shirt. Looking over at the small patch of the deathwart there were 7 more of the plant. Repeating the process for all 7 and placing them onto his shirt, finally he tied the shirt corners together to make almost a gunny sack of sorts. He picked up the shirt and set off wandering again. As he was setting off once again there was that flashing icon.


    You have gained the skill: Herb-lore. There are many wondrous and unknown things about the plant life of this world. Today you set off on your journey to find out what those wondrous things are, is it folly? Only time will tell one thing is for certain, the pursuit of mastery of herb-lore will either lead to greatness, or death.


    "That''s not ominous at all." Thought Bjorn. "Oh well." Taking off again. This time deciding to follow the stream. Not within half an hour there was a rustling ahead. Dropping into a low stance, setting the shirt on to the grass quietly. Bjorn pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back and set it to the bow string on his bow. Slowly and as quietly as he could, Bjorn crept forward around the trees. Up ahead as he rounded a tree there were 6 deer along the stream. 2 were laying in the grass, 3 were drinking, and the last one which was closest to him was digging through the grass with its nose.


    Happy with this luck, Bjorn hid back behind the tree. He set up so his back was to the tree and drew his bow back, and silently rounded the tree again. The deer was closest to him and moved closer, to a distance of about 20 feet. taking aim down his bow, the deer was facing him. And Bjorn waited, one breath, 2, 6, 13. As his arm started to quiver from holding his bow under tension did the deer turn and present him with a broadside. Sighting his arrow on the deer right behind the foreleg, halfway down the torso.


    Exhaling, he released. With a soft snick of the bow being released the deer tensed and turned to look in the direction of the sound, but it was too late. The arrow flew true and hit the deer right where he was aiming. The deer leapt away, as it did so the other 5 deer took off in a sprint. The deer that was hit ran 50 feet, and slowed to a walk, looking behind it, it laid down in the grass.


    With a hoot Bjorn broke cover and ran over to the deer, laying there breathing heavily. It was dying but not dead yet. Reaching for his sword, he realized he didn''t actually bring it with him. With no knife or sword, there was no easy way to kill the deer. With dread he did the only thing he could think to do. Pulling out another arrow, and sinking to a knee he took the arrow and plunged it into the eye socket of the bleeding out deer. It squealed in pain and kicked weakly. The arrow and only sunk up to the arrow head, it was stuck on the eye socket. With a grimace he moved his hand holding the arrow around until it hit a soft spot and sunk further in. With that the deer stopped its flailing and finally died.


    With disgust Bjorn went to retrieve his arrows, he was able to get one. When the deer laid down to die it fell onto the side his first arrow hit and had snapped the arrow shaft. Resolving that he couldn''t do anything about that yet, he picked the deer up, putting its belly on his neck, grabbing his bow, he stood up and turned to head home. Stopping to get his shirt with the herbs inside he started to trudge on.


    That is when it finally hit him. He had killed a deer, and was now carrying it back home. Oddly enough, his earlier moral dilemma about killing things didn''t really seem to bother him all that much. Reflecting on how fast his outlook on life had changed, Bjorn was actually not that upset about the change. He was now living the life he had fantasized about when he was a kid. He had always wanted to live a rough life, in the medieval times. He was always fascinated by knights, swords, and bows and arrows. As he grew older that fascination about the medieval turned into fantasy, and now he seemed to be in a fantasy world. There was magic, and plants that could never be in his own world. He was living with a dwarf of all things! It was everything he had wanted, yet it wasn''t as glamorous as he envisioned it being. There were things that he missed. There weren''t showers, he is pretty sure he hadn''t bathed since he came to this world. He had got mauled by a bear, he has been chewed on by a slug, he even burned to death inside an active volcano, and now he was carrying a dead deer through the woods feeling it''s blood slowly drip down his bare back, and could feel it slowly soaking into the back of his pants. Why did no one ever think to include this in their stories, in their games. The real world is a dark place, it is not a clean place, things die all the time and their bodies are left behind to slowly decay and provide a use to other parts of the ecosystem. This fantasy world was even darker and grungier than the one he came from.


    As Bjorn''s thoughts kept getting darker and darker, the trees finally parted and he was back home. Medera was in her garden kneeling pulling weeds. Hearing the sound of footsteps in the grass. She stood and turned around. "So you''re back it would seem, when I couldn''t find your bow after my nap I thought you would have run off. I guess I was wrong. The mighty hunter even returned with a deer, well done. How long ago did you kill it?"


    Without a word, Bjorn walked near the food storage and smoker and set the deer down on the ground. Setting his shirt there as well, he stood and walked towards the well. Retrieving a bucket of water he set to removing the blood that had fallen onto the bow as he walked back.


    Walking up to him Medera said "Boy! Did you hear me? I asked you a question, how long ago did you fell the deer?"


    Looking up, "less than an hour ago." he replied. After his bow was clean he took the bucket of cold mountain water and started to remove the blood that had dried on his back. Once he finished with his back, he stripped his breaches off and set to cleaning his lower half from the blood. Finally clean from blood, and not even looking towards Medera he took his breaches and threw them into a fresh bucket of water to let them soak. Standing up stark naked Bjorn slowly trudged back to the hut, falling into bed he fell into a deep sleep.

 Chapter 3

    The next morning Bjorn is greeted by a shuffling sound around him. Opening his eyes he sees Medera moving around the cabin. Trying to pretend to be asleep, Medera looks over at him and says. ¡°It¡¯s no use pretending to be asleep. I heard your breathing change when you woke up. As for you, leaving your bloody pants in our bucket that we use for D R I N K I N G W A T E R, was an extremely dumb idea. Thankfully for you I saw you do it and removed it before the wood of the bucket soaked up the blood and tainted the taste of our water for the next few weeks.¡±


    With a bit of a sheepish grin Bjorn replied. ¡°I guess you were right, I went to a dark place for a bit there, and wasn''t in my right mind. Thank you for taking care of that for me, speaking of which, what ended up happening to my pants.¡± Looking around he actually saw them, and the shirt neatly folded at the foot of the bed. Reaching for them, he also saw that Medera had bandaged his cut hand. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Not that I am going to complain, I haven¡¯t seen many naked men lately, but I think you might want to cover up.¡±


    Standing he got dressed. ¡°Now what can I do to help you with dressing that deer, and taking care of those deathwarts.¡±


    ¡°I have the deer hanging outside on the back of the smoker, I cut its throat and the blood is draining, this afternoon we should skin it and debone the creature. It will be some grisly work but I¡¯m going to have you do it because it, if i''m not mistaken, is your first kill. That is something you should take care of. As to what to do with the deathwarts, I already took care of them, 3 of them i replanted in the garden to go with the other 1 I had before, the other 5 I plucked the leaves off of them and I stored them in a pouch, the bulbs are actually hanging there.¡± as she pointed to the corner of the room. ¡°Drying, they actually make a rather effective painkiller which I plan on turning them into in a few days. I¡¯m surprised you were able to get them and didn¡¯t die out there. Deathwarts actually grow and only propagate through consuming blood. They are a rather nasty plant to stumble onto, pretty rare. As you probably found out by the cut on your hand, their leaves are quite poisonous and have a powerful paralyzing effect. Its victims being none the wiser accidentally step on the plant, paralyzing it¡¯s legs making the creature fall over onto the other bulbs where the other plants leaves also attack their victims and kill it through the combined poison of all the cuts. Then the plants then slowly start to absorb the blood from their kill and grow.¡±


    With a shudder. ¡°Yeah I found out their effects by reaching out and trying to touch the leaf. It mixed with my blood and formed a sort of orange red gel. I was able to get most of the poison out.¡± said Bjorn


    ¡°You''re lucky it was a small cut, anything larger and you might have not been able to get the poison out yourself, once the poison runs through the paralyzed area it is a rather excruciating way to die. Also how did you find out to pick them by grabbing them by the underside? If you hadn¡¯t been as gentle as you were you would have ruined the efficacy of the plant. Also another defense mechanism the plant has, if you had been rough to the underside of the plant it would have dropped one of its clusters of leaves near where it was being touched. The 3 leaf pattern is shaped in such a way that the leaves start to rotate as they fall, basically making a spinning blade as the leaves go rigid. I¡¯ve seen that happen once, cut cleanly into the poor fellas wrist, almost severing his hand. There wasn¡¯t anything I could do as I watched him die from the poison taking over his entire body over the next few minutes.¡±


    Trying to not think about the leaves falling off and killing him. ¡°It just seemed like the right thing to do.¡± replied Bjorn


    With his response Medera¡¯s head whipped up and turned towards Bjorn. ¡°You are a dumb ass, and you are going to get yourself killed with that kind of reckless behavior. It would have been far smarter to come and get me to retrieve the deathwarts. But your reckless behavior seemed to pay off this time. Heed my warning, if you don''t wisen up you are going to end up dead, and all that you¡¯ll be good for then is feeding the wolves.¡±


    After saying that final warning she turned on her heels and walked out of the cabin.


    It was about an hour before Bjorn came to terms with his almost 3rd death in what was less than a month. Leaving the cabin Medera was nowhere in sight. Checking the other 2 buildings nothing. Not really knowing what to do he got back to digging and moving dirt in the pathway. Starting in going from shed to the storehouse. After a while Medera came wandering back into camp. Looking Bjorn up and down taking in his disheveled state.


    ¡°I see my words must have taken a toll on you someway.¡±


    ¡°Yes they did.¡± he replied. This time when he went back to work digging he had attacked the ground with such gusto and fury he had done more in that short time then he would normally do in one of his work sessions.


    ¡°You are coming along nicely.¡± Remarked Medera. ¡°And on top of that you completed the first path from house to shed, nice work. Leave your tools, it is time to dress your first kill.¡±


    They both walked to the back of the store house. There the deer''s hind legs were tied together and, unnoticed to Bjorn before, was then tied to another rope which was threaded through a loop built into the back of the building where the rope was then brought down to a stone that was jutting out of the building and tied off.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pulley system.¡± Remarked Bjorn.


    Giving him the side eye. ¡°Yes it is.¡± Medera replied with a squint. Walking forward she untied the rope attached to the stone and lowered the deer to the ground. She then began to drag the deer over towards the stream on the back of the clearing. There was a small area back there with a large flat rock that was big enough for the deer and both of them to lay stretched out on and still would be room on either end. The stone itself was set at an angle towards the stream. The surface of the rock was wet.


    ¡°Did you clean the rock?¡± Asked Bjorn. ¡°Yes, if I didn''t, that is a good way to spoil our meat. Let¡¯s get to it.¡± pulling a short knife from her belt she handed it to Bjorn, and began to instruct him. First she led him through the process of cutting the deer open, and removing all of the important organs that left unattended could spoil the meat. Namely the intestines, esophagus, windpipe, stomach, and liver. Next she had him move up to the heart. As he got to the heart he could see his arrow had just nicked the heart.


    ¡°That was almost a perfect shot.¡± Said Medera. ¡°But either way the deer was going to die, if you see there.¡± She pointed to the side of the heart. ¡°Your arrow just sliced through the outer wall of the muscle. It was going to die, it was just a matter of time. You ending it¡¯s life, although crude with the arrow in the eye, was still the most decent thing to do.¡±


    They were able to retrieve his arrow head from inside the deer now that it was open. From there once the important parts were removed she instructed him how to skin the deer leaving the hide intact the best they could, and set it aside. Next they set about cutting the meat from the bones, and cutting the meat into usable pieces.


    Finally she instructed him on how to remove the remaining gore from the inside of the pelt. Setting it aside to be taken care of later. All of the work was oddly calming, and methodical. It wasn¡¯t as bad as Bjorn was expecting it to be. By hanging the deer up most of the blood had drained out of the animal, making it not as bloody of work as he was expecting it to be. It felt good to be able to say all of that meat is now ready to be cooked all because of the effort of his own hands.


    The deer initially weighed a little over 120 lbs. Which explained how exhausted he was when he got back to camp. Bjorn¡¯s stamina must have been close to bottoming out. After the deer was dressed there was roughly 55 lbs of usable meat. Looking at his work he smiled and looked over to Medera who was smiling back. ¡°We aren¡¯t done yet, we can¡¯t let this meat spoil.¡± She then grabbed two bags that she brought with her and started filling one with meat. Kneeling next to her, Bjorn started to do the same. With all their meat in bags they took it back to the smoker, Opening the grate they walked into the small chamber and started to unpack the meat onto small shelves. With all of the meat on the shelves. They went back around outside and opened a small door set in the stone. They quickly built a fire inside the cubby and shut the door.


    ¡°We will have to check in on the fire every 15 to 20 minutes for the rest of the day to properly preserve the meat. That is your job, as for me. I have to build us a drying rack for the hide. The hide itself isn¡¯t overly useful for us, but once it gets closer to fall I need to head into town to stock up for winter. We can take it with us and get it turned into leather.¡±


    Nodding they both set to their tasks. That is when Bjorn decided to check his prompts.


    You have gained the skill: Stealth. With this skill you become one with the shadows. Shadows become your play thing. There are reasons people fear the dark, they never know if there is a master of stealth in a dark corner preparing to take them out.


    You have stuck a level 4 deer with a sneak attack. Extra damage is applied.


    You have critically stuck a level 4 deer.


    You are awarded 102 (base 82) Xp for killing a helpless level 4 deer.


    Congratulations you have advanced your skill level in Survival, reaching levels 3 and 4. You are now more likely to see dangerous situations before you are in them.


    The rest of the day was fairly boring. Standing around adding wood to the fire, and then waiting again. After a few hours Medera came around the corner and informed Bjorn that she had finished the drying rack and had set the hide to dry. After that they sat down and dove into another language lesson for the rest of the day.


    As the sun was starting to set, Medera turned towards Bjorn, slapped her thighs and said. ¡°Well I suppose.¡± and stood to head inside. Hurriedly following after Bjorn got up. That was when they heard a splash coming from the river behind them. Slowly turning around they saw a tall thin willowy creature standing in the stream. The creature had long crystalline looking limbs, 6 in total, with other smaller tentacles of dark crystalline structure moving around its body. The limbs attached to a large oblong ball in the center, in the front of the ball there was a gaping hole with a soft purple light emanating from it. There were 3 smaller pins of purple light ringing the hole. The creature had an unnatural way of moving, as it moved forward it pulled one of its legs back into its main body and the limb grew out of the front of the body and stepped onto the ground. The entire thing was around 4 feet tall. Its shape and movement reminded him of the aliens from the Tom Cruise movie The edge of tomorrow, which everyone called live, die, repeat for some reason.


    The creature started to move around the large rock they used to dress the deer. ¡°What is that thing?¡± asked Bjorn. Looking over at Medera, he could see that she was agitated, with a look of fear on her face she grabbed Bjorn by the arm.


    ¡°Get inside.¡± She said forcefully in a low whisper.


    The creature moved over to the pile of bones that was left. As it loomed over the pile, it slowly lowered the front half of its body towards the pile. The purple light got more intense and the bones started to get sucked into its maw one at a time. There was an awful sucking sound, similar to what the movies depict mummies breathing. As the bones got into the maw there were snapping and crunching sounds of the bones being devoured. The most unnatural thing was there was no discernible movement from the creature. It was eating the bones but wasn¡¯t moving.


    Turning towards Bjorn ¡°Go!¡± she said and pushed him with surprising strength. Stumbling backwards he turned back towards the creature and slowly backed away all the while keeping an eye on the monster. Medera followed after him.


    Once they got around to the front of the building Medera directed Bjorn to the shed. Opening the door as quietly as he could, they both slipped inside. Once in there she said, ¡°That is a small mauler, grab your bow and what arrows you have left, and your sword. If it attacks we could very well be in trouble.¡±


    Nodding Bjorn quickly did as she asked, he strapped the belt with his sword to his waist, the quiver on his back and held the bow in his hand. Heading back to Medera, she grabbed a long bladed knife off the shelf and handed it to Bjorn. ¡°In case you lose your sword and bow, this creature likes to get close, if it gets in close to you drop your sword and go for the knife, it will do you better than nothing.¡±


    Reopening the door they slowly walk out back into the clearing. They started to make their way towards the well, all the while they were keeping an eye towards the stream. By this time the crunching sounds had stopped and it was eerily quiet. All of the normal sounds of the forest were gone. Almost as if the forest itself was holding its breath waiting to see what happened.


    After a few minutes they both began to relax. That was when the creature appeared at the top of the smokers chimney. Looking down inside the chimney. Swearing softly, Medera said, ¡°Alright we can¡¯t let that thing get inside and eat all of our food, it has an insatiable hunger and will clean us dry. It is a Juvenile one so we might be able to take it down. If I fall, run, run as fast as you can, you have no hope of surviving without my help.¡± Nodding to show he understood she continued, ¡°Now draw your bow, on the count of 3 shoot at it, if you can try and get your arrow down its throat. Ready? You count.¡± Nodding back again, Medera began to chant, as that familiar dark green glow started to surround Medera¡¯s hands. ¡°1¡± The green glow started to turn into green tendrils that were reaching for the ground. ¡°2¡± Touching the ground they began to bury themselves into the dirt as the soil began to tremble around them. ¡°3!¡± Bjorn shouted as he released his arrow. At the exact same time 3 stones long and thin burst forth from the ground flying towards the monster faster than the arrow. Turning towards the sound the monster reacted much too slowly. The first stone caught it on the side of its head, the second went down its maw, and the 3rd glanced harmlessly off the top of its head. As for the arrow it slammed into one of its legs and held fast. There was a scream as the monster turned and threw itself off the roof directly at the 2 of them.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Medera didn¡¯t waste a second and began to chant another spell. Bjorn on the other hand tried to remove an arrow from his quiver and the tip got caught. Trying to struggle to remove the arrow he wasted precious seconds, as the creature had already closed half the distance. Giving up he dropped his bow and drew his sword. When the creature was 10 feet away thick vines sprung forth from the ground and grabbed a hold of the mauler, 6 vines in total latched onto the monster bringing its momentum to a halt. 3 of the vines managed to get ahold of the body, while the other 3 got ahold of its limbs. The vines then began to constrict and pull downwards trying to pull the creature to the ground.


    Moving forward for a swing the monster launched one of its tentacles at him. One of the limbs that was bound from the vine retracted into its body faster than Bjorn could react and the tentacle grew in length shooting straight for his chest. Trying to dodge the tentacle he dove to the side, but the tentacle was too fast for him to fully react to and its tip pierced his chest right below his collar bone.


    The tentacle began to retract, pulling Bjorn with it. With a startled grunt of pain he raised his sword and brought it down on the tentacle. To little effect. His health bar dropped by a quarter going to 2/3rds and it continued to drop as the tentacle tried to widen inside his body. That was when another volley of the stones slammed into the creature. By now its other 2 legs had retracted back into its body then slammed back into the ground, and began to strain trying to free itself from the vines.


    Raising his sword for another swing he bellowed out and swung down, the blade sinking into the limb, not doing enough damage to sever it. He began to swing down over and over again trying to free himself, but the angle at which he was swinging didn¡¯t provide much purchase to deal damage.


    There were groaning sounds as the vines began to give way. There was a snap, and then another. That was when dropping his sword Bjorn grabbed at his knife and slashed at the tentacle, this time there was a satisfying ¡°slick¡± as his knife finished the job his sword couldn¡¯t do. Finally free from the monster pulling him in he could feel the tentacle go limp inside his body. Not having time to worry about it, as he fell backwards.


    One final snap could be heard as the monster turned towards the now prone man and lunged at his fallen form, going for the head. With a yell he moved the knife into the path of the creature as his arm sunk into its maw. There was a crunching sound as pain shot up his arm, it had latched onto his arm as the knife dug deep into its body. With one final convulsion the monster¡¯s strength left it as it died.


    Moving quickly Medera was at his side. ¡°Are you alive? Please don¡¯t be dead. I¡¯d hate to have to dig a grave your size.¡±


    Looking up into Medera¡¯s concerned face with tears in his eyes Bjorn said. ¡°Gesh, it¡¯s nice to know you care so much about my well being.¡± laying back onto his back. That is when he felt the tentacle push back into his body. With a scream he moved onto his side.


    Medera looked at his back, got quiet and said wait here, and scuttled off. Less than a minute later she was back at his side. She had a vial in her hands and held his head back, uncorked the vial and poured the contents down Bjorn¡¯s throat.


    With her other hand she presented a wooden dowel. ¡°Bite down on this, I''m going to try to remove its limb from you. Not even really knowing what was happening, Bjorn bit down on the dowel.


    Medera maneuvered him onto his side. Placed her knee right below the pained area and said. ¡°On the count of 3, 1, 2¡­¡± on two she yanked hard on something on the other side of his back. With a scream he blacked out.


    Coming back to his senses Bjorn was still in pain. Opening his eyes he hadn¡¯t moved, Medera had a cloth pressed firmly into his shoulder front and back side. The corpse of the monster was still attached to his right arm around the biceps. Feeling his arm still enclosed in the belly of the monster.


    Trying to move to remove his arm, Medera told him to stop. ¡°If you keep moving like that this wound won''t close and you¡¯ll bleed all over the place, it doesn¡¯t look life threatening, but I just cleaned your clothes. I''m not going to have you bleed all over them again. Settling in until he got the go ahead Bjorn reflected on the fact that he was still alive. With the way Medera had talked about this creature he thought for sure they were both going to die.


    ¡°You know we got lucky right? I especially got lucky.¡± Said Medera. ¡°Without you here there was no way I could have won, I either would have died, or I would have had to leave my home.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Are you trying to say what I think you¡¯re trying to say?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t push your luck, boy.¡±


    ¡°A simple thank you would suffice.¡± said Bjorn with a grin, which quickly turned into a grimace as Medera pushed her finger into his wound.


    ¡°Oops, sorry my fingers just slipped.¡± Medera replied with a way too sweet tone.


    Narrowing his eyes ¡°Anyways, how long before I can get my arm out of this creature.¡±


    ¡°Just a minute more, the wound has almost closed over.¡±


    ¡°What did you give me?¡±


    ¡°A healing potion.¡±


    Giving Medera a look of incredulity, ¡°You¡¯ve had healing potions this entire time and I¡¯ve had to heal the slow way? Why not give me one sooner?¡±


    ¡°See if you can puzzle it out yourself.¡±


    ¡°They are rare?¡±


    ¡°Give me strength to deal with this dumbass.¡± Medera said under her breath. ¡°Okay, healing potions take time to make, they are quite literally life in a bottle. Before I knew nothing about you, why would I spare my resources to save your life. The potion I just gave you could potentially have saved my life in the future. With how weak you are, that hole in your body would have killed you. If that tentacle was removed you would have bleed out before your wound could ever heal. It is also more efficient to let you heal on your own. That potion was the strongest one I owned. If you don¡¯t feel the pain, how can an idiot like you ever learn?¡±


    Pulling the cloth away from the wound there was unblemished skin where there had been a gaping hole. ¡°Alright now let''s see about getting that monster off of your arm.¡± Medera stood and walked over to the other side of Bjorn, taking a knee she placed one hand on either side of his arm grabbing the creature''s jaw and began to pull. The pressure on his arm lessened but the pain remained. After a few seconds she let go, ¡°Huh it doesn¡¯t seem to want to let go. Give me that knife.¡± Looking around, not seeing it she held out her hand to Bjorn.


    ¡°Look, I¡¯d love to hand it to you but there is one issue, it¡¯s kind of stuck inside this creature.¡±


    ¡°Oh, duh, hold tight, let me go get that knife we used to process that deer earlier.¡± In a few moments she was back to his side with the knife. She looked at the creature and took the knife and inserted it to the side of its maw and began to slowly work back and forth. The knife slowly cut the mouth and the pressure lessened. ¡°Stubborn little bastard, its jaw mussel is still clenched. Let me get the other side too.¡± After she cut the other side she set the knife down and grabbed the top and bottom of the maw again and pried. This time the pressure really lessened. Until there was an audible snap and the pressure went away fully.


    Finally being able to remove his arm, Bjorn did so. As he retrieved his arm it was covered in a slick black fluid, and his arm still had puncture wounds. ¡°Hey why didn¡¯t the healing potion heal these wounds while it was at it?¡±


    ¡°Healing potions are wonderful, so is healing magic, but as wonderful as they are, they aren¡¯t able to heal wounds that still have objects in them. At least the magic I¡¯ve heard about, and my potions. I have heard of strong potions and powerful magic that are able to ignore those rules, but for now think of them as that. As long as there is an foreign object in the wound it won''t heal. By the time we were able to get the mauler off of your arm the magic from the potion had worn off.¡±


    ¡°So life saving, but they aren¡¯t the answer to all problems and injuries. Got it.¡±


    ¡°Also be of use and try to get as much of that blood on your arm into this vial, i''m going to go get more. The stuff is useful.¡± Returning with more vials ,they tried to get as much of the creature''s blood as they could. In total they were able to get 23 full vials. The creature''s blood had the viscosity of used motor oil, and a color of pitch blackness. ¡°Go clean yourself off and go start dinner. I still have some dirty work to do. Oh also take this inside with you.¡± She handed over the piece of tentacle Medera removed from Bjorn''s body.


    At the tip of the tentacle it was barbed. When it had punctured through his body it had been a point. Apparently maulers have more control over the shape of their bodies than Bjorn realized. The barbed tip had 4 total sides to it, with the ends of the points hooked back on themselves. It was no wonder he wasn¡¯t able to pull himself away from the mauler, it morphed its tentacle in such a way that it wouldn¡¯t be able to be pulled out without considerable damage to his own body.


    Going back outside with the pot to get water to boil Bjorn saw Medera standing over the mauler with the dagger in hand sawing the creature up through the middle. She was covered up to her elbows from the blood and gore from the creature. Getting his water he went back inside and set to making a stew of tubers and meat. That was when Bjorn decided to check his notifications. Gaining a cascade of prompts and a new sound which he hadn¡¯t heard before, it was a monotone voice like the ones in cheap indie video games saying ¡°level up.¡±


    You have been impaled by a level 11 juvenile mauler, suffering 25 points of piercing damage.


    You are bleeding you will lose health at a rate of 3 health per 10 seconds until the wound is closed.


    You have been bitten by a level 11 juvenile mauler, suffering 8 points of piercing damage.


    You have defeated a level 11 juvenile mauler. You have gained 2,996 (base 2397) XP.


    Level up


    Level up


    You are now level 3, you have 6 (base 8) attribute points to distribute.


    You have taken a weak health potion. You will gain 8 health back per second for the next minute.


    The object you have been impaled by has been removed and your bleeding has worsened. You will lose 9 hp per 1 seconds for the next 7 minutes


    The healing magic from the healing potion has reduced this bleeding damage to 6 damage per 2 seconds for the next 45 seconds.


    You have gained the skill: Small blades. There are few things more deadly than a small blade in the wrong hands. With a quick cut to the wrong place someone will bleed out in seconds. Being small and easy to conceal, it won''t do you much good in a battle, but they are perfect for back alleys and shanking some bitches.


    Due to all of the wisdom you have been getting by letting yourself get hurt over and over again, you have gained 1 point in wisdom.


    This mother fucker, ¡°You know I am not letting myself get hurt thank you every much.¡± Bjorn said to no one at all. Finally, a level up. ¡°Although I don''t need a reminder about the weak demerit, those 2 lost skill points are really aggravating. Fuck you Charron.¡± Thought Bjorn.


    A booming voice replied, ¡°No one likes a whiner, you twat. You¡¯ll thank me later.¡±


    Jumping back in surprise, and looking around the cabin itself hadn¡¯t moved, nothing was out of place. Poking his head out the door he yelled to Medera, ¡°Did you just hear that?¡±


    Rooting around inside the corpse of the mauler she yelled back, ¡°Hear what?¡±


    ¡°Nevermind.¡± Ducking his head back inside he decided to let it go, no use dwelling on what was obviously an obsessed god like being who wouldn¡¯t leave him alone. Pulling up his character screen he debated on where to put his points


    <table>


    <thead>


    <tr>


    <th>


    Name:Bjorn Ward


    </th>


    <th>


    Race:Human


    </th>


    <th>


    age:18


    </th>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <th>


    Hp:92/100


    </th>


    <th>


    Stamina:22/90


    </th>


    <th>


    Mana:100


    </th>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <th> </th>


    <th> </th>


    <th> </th>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <th>


    Strength:10


    </th>


    <th>


    Constitution:10


    </th>


    <th>


    Dexterity:9


    </th>


    </tr>


    </thead>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Agility:9


    </td>


    <td>


    Endurance:11


    </td>


    <td>


    Intelligence:10


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Wisdom:10


    </td>


    <td>


    Charisma:9


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Abilities


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Increased growth


    </td>


    <td>


    Skilling Prodigy


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Disadvantage


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Demerit: Weak


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Synergy


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Latent potential


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Skills


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Archery: 2: 47%


    </td>


    <td>


    Construction: 1:  56%


    ¡úRoad building:1: 47%


    </td>


    <td>


    Cooking: 2: 41%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Healing: 1: 27%


    </td>


    <td>


    Herb-Lore: 1: 89%


    </td>


    <td>


    Small blades: 1: 48%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Stealth: 1: 26%


    </td>


    <td>


    Survival: 1: 4%


    </td>


    <td>


    Swordsmanship: 1: 90%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Looking at his character sheet he decided on putting 2 into dexterity, 2 into agility, and although it hurt him to do so 2 into charisma. A small part of his gamer side bitched about putting his points into something as weak as charisma, but this isn¡¯t a video game. It is real life and he had to live in it. His interactions with Medera had literally saved his life more than once, and if he wanted to continue to live he would need the help of those around him to do so.


    ¡°Besides, I''m sure the points in charisma will help with the ladies.¡± Thought Bjorn, immediately he thought of the short old cranky dwarf woman he was living with. ¡°On second thought scratch that last part.¡± With a shudder he went back to slowly stirring the stew he was cooking.


    Not long after Medera came waltzing in, with a bit of a bounce, carrying a fist size almost round ball, Setting the ball down on the table, she asked ¡°Supper ready?¡± She had cleaned herself up before coming in to eat.


    ¡°It¡¯s ready, I was about to go tell you to go wash up to come eat. What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°That ball is the heart of the beast. It will fetch us a pretty penny when we go into town to trade.¡± Slowing down when she was talking she looked Bjorn up and down. ¡°You¡¯ve leveled up, and you put some points into charisma. Wise choice. What else did you put points into?¡±


    ¡°Dexterity and agility.¡± Replied Bjorn. ¡°I¡¯m tired of being so slow to react, slow to move and feeling like a clumsy oaf in my own body.¡±


    ¡°Smart choice, I was going to suggest doing something along those lines. Those two attributes are hard to train in this environment. It will be a long slow process with a lot of slips and falls running through the forest. Strength, that one is easy for us to train, just keep working on your paths, it will work like a charm.¡±


    Not quite in the mood to be lectured after Charron and apparently his prompts decided to make a comment about the way his life has been going he replied with a simple, ¡°Yep¡± and moved on eating dinner.


    They ate in silence and afterwards Medera took the bed and Bjorn sprawled out on the floor drifting to sleep.

 chapter 4

    The next few weeks passed without many exciting things happening. Both Medera and Bjorn fell back into their routines. Bjorn worked on his paths, but also spent time exploring the woods around their home. Medera continued to do whatever she wanted to do. One day she took a knife to the back of the deer hide scraping off all of the fur. Another day was spent reading and relaxing. They were both productive, but spent less of their time working themselves into a frenzy.


    Able to retrieve his arrow that went into the mauler, Medera spent an entire day teaching Bjorn how to turn wood into arrow shafts, reattach the arrow heads to the shaft and how to apply the fletching to the shaft. One thing she stressed was to try to make the arrow shafts as similar as he could. She started talking about how the arrows bend back and forth in flight. How an arrow once shot doesn¡¯t fly straight it kind of wobbles back and forth in the air. Emphasizing how if the shafts aren¡¯t the same stiffness and shape the flight path of each arrow will be different. Medera produced a bag of new arrowheads which had 24 in total, with the 1 broken arrow Bjorn spent the rest of that day and the next 2 making the arrows. Bringing his new total up to 30 arrows.


    After that his days consisted of working on the paths in the morning, once his stamina started to bottom out, resting, while resting he would get lessons from Medera on language. Once his stamina recovered he would go out into the woods to explore, it wasn¡¯t rare for him to find the odd small animal, using the opportunity he would stalk the animal. Trying to train his stealth ability. He would try to kill the animal once it became aware of Bjorn. Something he had mixed results with, about half the time the animal would get away, at the same time 30% of the animals would get aggressive and attack, so Bjorn didn¡¯t care and padded his stats. The rest of the time Bjorn decided that hunting the creatures wasn''t worth it. Afterwards he would head home and begin to practice with archery. He would shoot until his arms ached and couldn¡¯t pull the bow or keep it steady. He and Medera would then work with language more while dinner was cooking, and then they¡¯d head to bed.


    The way that Medera treated Bjorn had also changed. Not by much, but by enough to be noticeable, she went from a cold distant harsh person, to a cold less distant less harsh person. Her attitude and demeanor change was nice. No longer feeling unwanted, some of their conversations actually strayed into the almost nice territory.


    One day after breakfast Bjorn turned towards Medera and asked. ¡°Can you teach me alchemy?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t take half measures, do you?¡± Medera replied in retort.


    ¡°I was just thinking, you said you were going to make a painkiller with the deathwarts I brought back. Seeing how I was the one to bring them, I''d like to learn what can be done with them, and how to do it.¡±


    After a few seconds of silence Medera replied. ¡°Alright you make a fair point, but looking at my stores I''m still short 1 herb to make the painkiller, so I was going to make a poison out of the leaves first. If you want to learn how to do that, and if you finish the path from the shed to the well I''ll teach you how it is done.¡±


    ¡°Alright deal.¡± Replied Bjorn, doing double time working on the path it took him 3 days to finish that section of path.


    On the morning of the 4th day Medera said, ¡°Well I wasn¡¯t expecting you to get the path done quite so fast. Alright this morning let''s go get a herb.¡± Leaving the cabin Medera grabbed a small shovel and took off in a direction Bjorn hadn¡¯t explored yet. Most of his exploration happened to the north and east of the cabin, with the cliff and gorge off to the west, they went south.


    After 15 minutes of walking they came to a small clearing. Inside the clearing was a bunch of plants with red and pink flowers, the head of each flower had 6 petals, each petal was red on the ends of the petal with it being pink at the base, the red had small veins going into the pink. The flowers were about 2 to 2 and a half feet tall.


    ¡°What are these?¡±


    ¡°These are arrowroot, and all we need out of them is the root.¡± Walking up to one of the flowers Medera used her shovel starting about a foot away from the plant she used the spade to loosen the dirt around the plant. After she loosened the soil she placed her hand at the base of the flower and softly pulled. It took about 3 minutes for the plant to start to move. Once it started it slid right out of the soil. ¡°You have to be gentle with the arrowroot, if you pull too hard the stalk will break, or when you pull the plant out the roots will break, and that is what we are trying to save. Be patient. Now you try.¡±


    Taking the shovel Bjorn repeated exactly what Medera did, and was easily able to retrieve the plant. They collected 5 of the plants in total. Looking at the clearing there were over 100 of them. The herb''s root system were unusual. Each plant had 6 offshoots of roots, they were long and thin with the end of each root being an arrowhead.


    ¡°We only need this end bit, the rest of the plant is pretty much useless.¡± Pulling out a knife Medera cut the tips off the flower. Then using her shovel replanted the arrowroot. ¡°Alright let¡¯s head back.¡±


    Once they made it back to camp they headed to the cabin. ¡°First things first, I need that bag of deathwart leaves, go and grab it for me please. When you walk in the shed it¡¯s on the selves to the right 3rd self.¡± Retrieving the bag. When Bjorn walked back into the cabin Medera had taken a small pot and put it over the fire, and it had water in it, which was starting to boil. Once the water was boiling she took the leaves out of the pouch and dropped them into the water.


    Dropping them one at a time. When each new leaf touched the water it turned a different shade of orange, and the boiling water got more violent. The pot that they used was wide in the middle and narrow at the mouth. The design made it so that none of the water sloshed out from boiling, making it so none was wasted.


    ¡°We boil the leaves, the purpose is to get the orange powder off of the leaves. We will refresh the water again, and again, until the water doesn¡¯t turn orange when the leaves are added. Using that pot we will save the water, we will need to boil the water off when we are done.¡±


    Taking the pot off the fire Medera grabbed a small set of long tongs and fished each leaf out of the water, and then transferred the water into a larger pot which she set over the fire. With fresh water she started the process all over again. It took 5 iterations to get the water to stay clear when the leaves were added to the water.


    ¡°While we let that sit. We will begin to grind down the arrowroot. But as we grind the arrowroot we will also add in this.¡± Pulling down a long coil of a rope like plant. The plant was black in color. Its surface looked like boiling pitch, but when she set it down her hand was clean.


    ¡°This is called black tar ivy.¡± Cutting off 6 one inch sections. ¡°As we grind down the arrowroot only grinding in clockwise patterns, we will be adding the black tar ivy. When the black tar ivy is added we will grind in a counter clockwise pattern. The ratio we will need is 5 arrowroot heads to 1 section of black tar ivy. When making this poison you have to use freshly cut arrowroot and dried black tar ivy. If you use either dried arrowroot or fresh ivy it will make the poison volatile when we add the paste we get from boiling down the orange residue. It will explode into a fine powder that will cover the entire room, if it is breathed in we will get enhanced effects of the paralyzing poison from the deathwart.¡±


    Medera had Bjorn prepare the arrowroot and black tar ivy paste in a pestle and mortar. He ground the plant down until Medera told him that he could add the ivy. He ground it down until there were no large chucks left. After the ivy was added and ground down the paste from the arrowroot turned into a fine gray powder. Bjorn then transferred the powder to a small pouch and started the process all over again.


    By the time Bjorn had gotten all of the arrowroot and tar ground down into the powder the pot of water had boiled down leaving an orange paste left in the bottom of the pot. Using a metal spoon Medera scraped the orange powder into a small bowl. ¡°Next we need to grind down the stem part of the leaves. Then in this bowl we will mix the two.¡± The resulting sludge was a bright gold color.


    ¡°Next we mix the powder and the sludge together in our pot, and we will add 8 drops of this.¡± She held up a small vial of a clear liquid with small motes of blue light that were floating in it. The lights would be there one second and gone the next. ¡°This here is taproot extract from a young hearth tree.¡±


    The gray powder and the gold paste mixed together turning into a dull brown color. As each drop fell onto the mixture on the bottom of the pot, the mixture grew in size. Starting at the size of a strawberry it quickly grew to the size of a melon, if a melon was made out of a low density rubber, it kept a rough ball like shape but it just looked melted. As soon as the last drop fell on top it deflated coating the bottom of the pot with the dull brown color.


    ¡°We have been lucky so far, each part of this step has a chance to fail. If something has an unexpected result, the entire process up to this point and all the ingredients used will be wasted. For our very last step we will add a cup of water and bring it to a light simmer, once it cools down we will have made the poison and we can store it for later selling or use.¡±


    All in all the entire process from start to finish took at least 6 hours. Talking to Medera Bjorn found out that each potion has a chance to fail, and that chance largely depends on the complexity of the recipe, the purity of components that go into the potion making process and one¡¯s skill level in potion making. The entire process made 14 vials of a dark earthy brown looking liquid with a viscosity of oobleck.


    With a smile Bjorn turned towards Medera, ¡°So what other potions do you know how to make?¡±


    ¡°Now let¡¯s not get too hasty young boy, that entire process took the better part of the day to make, why don¡¯t we call it for the day, and we can pick this up later.¡±


    ¡°Boo!¡±


    Bjorn stood, not realizing how cramped he actually was, he hadn¡¯t moved much in the last 6 hours. He had to move. After a brief moment of hesitation Bjorn took off at a fast run into the woods.


    Not 30 seconds later Medera her a smack resound through the camp and a loud, ¡°FUCK!¡± Chuckling to herself she set to cleaning all the equipment used today, musing how fast her life had changed from living out here alone for years to all of a sudden not minding the weird scrawny human boy who now lived with her.


    That night after Bjorn¡¯s run he came back to camp exhausted, checking his prompts for the last few weeks.


    Due to your excessive hard labor work your Strength has increased by 1.


    You have gained the skill: Bowyering. One day someone decided that they didn¡¯t like someone, but they were all the way over there, and so the noble art of bowyering was created. People well versed in this skill have gotten really good at hurting people they dont like from afar.


    You have advanced your skill level in road building, reaching skill level 2. Roads and path that you build will increase movement speed along them by 2% and increase the durability of the road by 4%


    You have advanced your skill level in construction, reaching skill level 2. Buildings you build will have 4% increased durability.


    You have advanced your skill level in herb-lore, reaching skill level 2. The efficacy of plants and herbs you collect will increase by 6%.


    You have gained the skill: Alchemy. You have started walking down the road of much wasted supplies and money. The saving grace of this endeavor is one day if you waste A LOT of money, maybe, just maybe, you¡¯ll be able to create a potion powerful enough to render the most powerful weak, or even bring someone back from the dead. (It is usually not pretty. Decomposition and such.)


    Congratulations, due to the first thing you made with alchemy was a fairly hard potion to make for someone learning the craft you have made extra progress on this skill.


    You have advanced your skill level in alchemy, reaching skill level 4. Potions you make will be 4% increased effect and 8% increased duration of effect.


    With all of your hard work and dedication to your body you have put in during the last few weeks I guess it is time to give you some sort of reward. You have gained 1 point in endurance, and 1 point in agility.


    Honestly, being satisfied with the progress he had made over the last few weeks Bjorn couldn¡¯t help but do a little jump for joy, doing a heel click in the middle of the air.


    Over the next month Medera started to come around to Bjorn, seeing his willingness to learn and listen and follow along with what she told him. During that time he made large leaps forward with his progress. His arrows rarely missed the tree he was aiming for, his movements became more fluid, making it so he didn¡¯t have issues getting a new arrow and shooting it within 5 seconds of his last shot.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Medera continued to work with him to learn language. He even got a prompt telling him he was now able to speak mountain dwarf to an acceptable level. Once he got that prompt she started to teach him a new language, Common. Apparently common is a language that the ruling classes of many of the enlightened species have agreed to teach their children. According to Medera many of the largest and most powerful cities in the world had a large number of different races living amongst them.


    Medera also spent much of her and Bjorn¡¯s time together either teaching him about various plants and potions she knew how to make. He learned how to make the standard health, mana, and stamina potions. These three potions had the usual effect to them; whenever one of the potions were to be taken, the embiber¡¯s stat which was affected dropped by 10% of its maximum value for a day. For example, taking a stamina potion would drop Bjorn¡¯s maximum stamina from 120 down to 118, and then the effect of the potion would begin to invigorate the user. These effects will continue to stack. Making for example the maximum number of potions taken would be in theory 10. Medera insisted that was a bad idea, as apparently if one of your maximum stat pools ever dropped to 0 you would die. With health your body would start to leak blood, with blood even leaking through the pores of your skin until you bled out. With stamina your heart will just stop working in your body. Your body wouldn¡¯t have the energy to continue to run and all bodily functions would just stop. Lastly with mana your body enters a vegetable state not ever recovering from that effect. If your stats did not bottom out from too many potions, your body would begin to recover from the effects of the potions at a rate of 10% per day. If another potion was taken before the body had fully recovered there was a chance for the 10% decrease to become permanent, with ingesting the potion again it was damaging an already damaged body.


    Medera also taught him how to make other useful potions and remedies, such as the healing ointment she used on him, the painkillers she had talked about, and a general cure potion used on plants to help them survive blights and many other useful potions.


    Bjorn¡¯s hunting and exploration excursions were starting to get farther and farther away from home. He started to, as Medera would put it, wisen up. When exploring he would walk as normal until he heard a noise, dropping into a crouch he would then start to sneak forward until he found what had made the noise. If it was a creature he knew, or looked like something that would be easy to fight he tried to do so. If it was a large or unknown creature he would back away and continue in another direction. As soon as he made it back to camp he would try to recite what the creature looked like to Medera, most of the time she was able to tell him what they were off of his description.


    Due to this exploration and subsequent killing he also was able to gain 2 levels he put 2 of his points into strength, 2 into constitution, 1 into dexterity, and the last point into charisma. He also almost made it all the way to level 6. Bjorn had also found various points of interest. There were abandoned run down houses, large cave systems that looked to be occupied, and he even found the dilapidated remains of a small town.


    It was one one of those excursions he decided to finally check out a cave near to their base camp. Entering stealth Bjorn began to slowly creep down the entrance. The cave itself was more of a tunnel so far, at 7 to 8 feet in diameter with a mostly flat section of ground to walk on it traveled downwards. Eventually the ground leveled out as the light level started to drop. Just ahead there was a distant light.


    As Bjorn stealthed forwards the tunnel opened up into a cave, the cave was lit up by natural daylight coming from a hole in the ceiling. Inside the room there was a small waterfall coming through the hole in the ceiling which formed a small pool at the base of a ledge. The ledge was 5 feet above the ground of the cave, with a tunnel going onwards in the wall. The ground section he was standing on had stalagmites all over the place, with a few stalactites. On the other wall there was another tunnel that went off downwards.


    Just as Bjorn was getting level with the cavern entrance there was a creak of old leather that sounded in the cavern. Slinking back he set up to wait and see what made that sound. Not long afterwards there was a skeleton that walked into view. As it panned around the room with its eyes Bjorn got a better look at the skeleton. In one hand it held a rusted sword. In the other it held a fist sized rock. Its eyes emitted a soft blue glow. The rest of it¡¯s gear consisted of the remains of a simple rotten shirt, a leather belt around it¡¯s waist, which was held up by it being caught on one of its hip bones, and the remains of a leather jerkin. Half of its rib cage was missing on its left side.


    Bjorn upon finding the skeleton began to retreat. As he was about to round the corner out of sight he looked back and the skeleton was on its knees digging against the wall in the dirt with its hands. In a moment Bjorn changed his mind and turned around slinking back towards the skeleton. Once again back at the cavern entrance he tried to see what the skeleton was doing, but from where he was at he couldn¡¯t get a clear view of what was happening.


    Deciding that the skeleton had to die, otherwise he would never know Bjorn pulled his bow from his back, nocked an arrow and drew, took aim at the skeleton¡¯s back and fired. The arrow slammed into the back of the skeleton sending it face forward into its hole. A hollow sound of its skull hitting wood reverberated through the room. As the skeleton scrambled to get itself out of the hole turned around and back on its feet. Bjorn didn¡¯t waste his advantage this time, taking another shot as soon as it got back on its feet, knocking it back and staggering it before it came at it. He was able to get a 3rd shot off before the skeleton made it across the room. As soon as Bjorn loosed the 3rd arrow he dropped his bow, drawing his sword and stepping forward he raised his blade to meet the skeleton''s overhand chop. Catching the swing with the edge of his blade the skeleton¡¯s surprising strength overwhelmed him pushing his own blade back into his chest. Leaning to the side the skeleton¡¯s sword slid across Bjorn¡¯s blade as it stumbled forward with the resistance suddenly gone, the skeleton fell past him. On Bjorn¡¯s end, with the skeleton¡¯s back to him he raised his sword and did a sweep for its neck, severing its head from the rest of its body.


    As the skeleton¡¯s head toppled to the floor the rest of the skeleton flopped to the ground like a marinate with its strings cut. Breathing hard Bjorn took a seat, feeling his pulse with his shaking hands, it was racing. After a few minutes of deep breaths he started to calm down. Getting down on a knee he removed the mostly intact belt from the skeleton and retrieved his arrows. After walking to the hole he looked down, the hole was about a foot deep and at the bottom a faint bit of wood could be seen covered in dirt.


    Assuming the same position as the skeleton was in he dug in the dirt with his hands soon revealing a small box. Pulling the box out he searched the outside finding a rusty clasp in the side of the box. Grabbing a hold of the clasp he yanked on the clasp, it swung free but as it did so a small needle which was hidden below one side of the clasp came free and pricked the meaty part of his hand.


    You have been poisoned by diluted shriek snake venom. You will take 5 points of poison damage every 30 seconds for the next 6 minutes.


    ¡°Ouch.¡± Bjorn said, before reaching into a pouch at his belt, fumbling around until he found what he was looking for, a small vial. Pulling it out and uncorking it, he drank the contents of the potion.


    You have taken a basic poison antidote potion. The damage from the diluted shriek snake venom will be significantly decreased. You will now take 1 point of poison damage every minute for the next 5 minutes.


    ¡°Thank goodness for Medera¡¯s insistence that i carry that potion with me.¡± Thought Bjorn, ¡°Without it i very well could have been in trouble here today.¡±


    Kneeling over his box again he turned the box so that the lid was facing away from himself, just in case of another trap attached to the box, and slowly lifted the lid towards him. When nothing else jumped out at him he looked down into the box.


    The box contained a book, a vial, and two small pouches. Looking inside the pouches he found coins. The larger of the two had copper coins in them, the smaller had silver. Counting them out the copper coins were 47 and the silver there were 12 of them. Opening up the book the very first page said. ¡°Simple light.¡± as he read those words a prompt appeared in front of him.


    Would you like to attempt to learn the level 1 light spell: Simple light. Yes/No


    Of course he was going to try to learn the spell, what fool wouldn¡¯t want to learn magic if given the change to? Clicking on yes the spell book flipped through its pages rapidly coming to a rest about a quarter way through the book on the last page filled with writing. As soon as it stopped a light arched out of the book and entered his eyes. Suddenly he just knew how to cast the spell. The words, the hand gestures, the positioning of his body that was needed to channel the mana into magic to cast the spell.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">


    Spell: Simple Light


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Cast time: 1 second


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Components: Verble, Somatic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Range: 150 feet


    </td>


    <td colspan="3">


    Duration: 10 minutes


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="6" rowspan="2">


    Effects: Produces a small light which will illuminate in a 20 foot radius around the ball of light produced. The light is able to be manipulated at the will of the caster while in contact with the caster. The ball of light will hover 3 inches over whatever object it is attached to, by default it is attached to the caster. The spell can travel up to 150 feet once it is detached from the caster.  If the ball of light collides with any surface while it is traveling it will adhere to that surface for the duration of the spell.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr></tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    With a giant smile on his face Bjorn didn''t hesitate a second and cast his new spell. A small 3 inch across ball of light formed on the tip of his pointer finger. Moving his hand around the ball of light hovered 3 inches off of his pointer finger. With a flick of his fingers the ball of light shot away from his hand when it collided with the wall it stuck there. Also hanging 3 inches off of the wall.


    Casting the spell once again, Bjorn let the light continue to float over his fingers, quickly learning that he could get the spell to hang over either of his hands. Grabbing his bow he slung it over his back. Moving onwards he took the way forward that was on top of the ledge.


    Moving forward there was no natural light in the tunnel, thankfully with his new spell Bjorn could see easily for 20 feet, past that it was hard to tell what was ahead of him. This new tunnel traveled parallel for another 100 feet and there was another opening. Drawing his sword he flicked the spell and it went into the room. It traveled 150 feet not revealing much to see and stopped, floating in place. As soon as the first spell was on its way Bjorn cast his spell again. Once the light hit the end of its travel path he tried flicking this new light and casting again. Repeating this process 8 more times before the light stuck to something. This time as the light flew it struck a stelemite. Casting his spell one last time he started to move into the cavern.


    Stepping into the cavern Bjorn got a feeling of unease. That feeling of being watched over took him. Pausing he got into a defensive stance and waited. Just as the feeling passed and he was starting to stand straight another skeleton shot out of the dark running towards him. This skeleton didn¡¯t have a weapon, it slammed into Bjorn sending him to the ground.


    Raising his foot to try to kick the skeleton back it lunged at him trying to wrap its hands around his throat. The skeleton pushed the kick aside and got on top of Bjorn. Surprised by the weight of the skeleton, dropping his sword, he grasped at its hands trying to stop the skeleton from getting ahold of his neck. His right hand found purchase, getting ahold of its forearm, stopping its momentum. The left on the other hand wasn¡¯t quite as lucky, he did however, catch one of its fingers. With a snap the finger came loose and continued onwards to get ahold of his throat. The skeleton started to squeeze, and Bjorn¡¯s vision started to go fuzzy.


    In a panic Bjorn felt around on the ground with his left hand trying to find something to hit the skeleton with but to no avail. Closing his hand he threw a punch at the skeleton catching it on the side of the head. The pressure lessened on his neck for a split second before it bore down on him again. With a gamble he let go with his right hand and took both of his hands to the skeleton¡¯s arm. Grabbing each bone of it¡¯s forearm with each hand he pulled apart with all the strength he could muster. Another snap could be heard and the hand went limp as it was ripped away from his throat.


    His moment of respite was short lived as the skeleton¡¯s other hand that was being held back came crashing into his head, bouncing his head off of the ground. Bjorn¡¯s vision swam, in a desperate attempt he kicked at the skeleton again. This time he caught something solid and the skeleton was flung away from Bjorn.


    Quickly locating the skeleton Bjorn flicked his light spell at the skeleton, and it collided. With the light now affixed to the skeleton Bjorn grabbed his sword before it came at him again. This time as it lunged he got out of its way and swung at its leg severing it. With the skeleton¡¯s mobility hindered he easily dispatched it.


    Huffing Bjorn took a survey of the room he was in. That was when in the distance where the first light stopped he could see another skeleton rushing through the light right at him. Bjorn turned around and ran, the sounds of the new skeleton¡¯s bones rattling behind him served as his hint that the creature was in pursuit. Making it back to the first room he came across the sounds behind him hadn¡¯t diminished. Not taking any time to look at this room he took off for the exit. As he crossed the threshold of the exit door Bjorn took a look behind himself. Behind him there were 2 skeleton¡¯s one had a hatchet in its hands, the other had a bow. The bow wielding one had an arrow nocked and was drawing on Bjorn.


    With a yelp Bjorn dove forward trying to make the arrow miss. Luckily for him the arrow flew over his head, right where his chest had been a moment before. Scrambling back to his feet he fled as fast as he could. As he was running he cast his simple light spell again. Soon the sounds of pursuit were fading behind himself, but still Bjorn ran on, stopping for nothing. After 10 minutes of running he finally stopped and took stock of the situation.


    He had lost over a third of his health in that brief fight. He had spent over three fourths of his stamina in the fight itself and his flight thereafter trying to save his life. And to top it off he had spent about half his mana casting his simple light spells. Having not lost any of his weapons or supplies Bjorn had gained a new belt, which had to count for something, right? The most important thing though was now he knew some magic, there was a reason for him to use his mana pool. The fact that Bjorn didn¡¯t have a way to spend his mana pool was driving him crazy. Now that he knows a magic spell, it shouldn¡¯t be hard for Medera to teach him some earth magic, in theory.


    Completely ignoring the fact that he could have died, Bjorn happily started back to the cabin with a bit of pep in his step, and decided to check all of his prompts that have been piling up.


    (If you don''t really care about character growth you can now skip to the next chapter.)


    You have advanced your skill level in cooking, reaching skill level 7. Your pathetic attempts to make an edible meal have increased by 14%.


    You have advanced your skill level in archery, reaching skill level 3. Damage from arrows you shoot is increased by 9% over base damage.


    You have advanced your skill level in herb-lore, reaching skill level 5. The efficacy of plants and herbs you collect will increase by 15%


    You have advanced your skill level in alchemy, reaching skill level 7. Potions you make will be 7% increased effect and 14% increased duration of effect.


    You have advanced your skill level in stealth, reaching skill level 3. You will now be 12% harder to spot while stealthing.


    You have advanced your skill level in survival, reaching skill level 4. You are now more likely to see dangerous situations before you are in them.


    .You have advanced your skill level in swordsmanship, reaching skill level 2. Your attacks with swords now deal 6% more damage over base value.


    Congratulations you have gained your first magic school, light magic. As it is your first school you will gain a bonus. You will gain an additional 10% light resistance. With all things there has never been a consensus as to what the most effective school of magic is. Light magic has it¡¯s own uniqueness, this school is more beneficial than just producing light, only through your exploration of the concept of light will you learn what those benefits are.


    You have gained the skill, hand to hand combat. There is a saying in your world and this world that goes something like this. The pen is mightier than the sword. It doesn¡¯t really matter if that statement is true or not, because the true power comes from the hand that is wielding either.


    You have advanced in level again, reaching level 6! You have 3 stat points to distribute.


    2 of those points went into intelligence, and 1 went into wisdom.

 Chapter 5

    Making it back to camp, Medera was lounging in the areas between the paths. Her head snapped up and looked directly at Bjorn as he entered the clearing. Taking in his disheveled state, she slammed her book closed and got up storming over to him. Walking up she poked him in the chest.


    Taking a step away from the angry ball of woman she snapped. ¡°Are you alright then?¡±


    Sheepishly he replied, ¡°Yes.¡±


    Stepping forward again she smacked him a few good times. ¡°And just what were you thinking? You got into another fight.¡± Looking him up and down.¡± By the looks of it, whatever beat your ass was humanoid. You have some rather nasty looking bruises around your neck that oddly look like fingers.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault that there are undead in this forest.¡±


    A look of horror crossed her face. ¡°Undead? Tell me everything. This does not bode well.¡±


    Recounting his tale Medera listened with undivided attention. When he got to the part about the book her eyes narrowed and her lips thinned, but she did not interject. After Bjorn finished speaking she was quiet for a minute.


    ¡°And? What do you think?¡± Bjorn asked


    ¡°Hush child, let me work through this.¡± She was quiet for a long while. ¡°So you will have to be more careful on your nightly runs, I even think you should avoid it if you can.


    ¡°Why? They have been out there this entire time and I haven''t seen neither hide nor hair of them.


    ¡°Undead, especially skeletons typically don¡¯t like to be out in the sun. There have been multiple times you have gotten back from your run after dark, so you¡¯ve been lucky. I don¡¯t want to chance them seeing you out of your run and tailing you back to our home. I highly doubt there were just those 4 skeletons, and I don''t think we could handle more than 5 of them at once. You may be becoming stronger but you are still weak, and I am no fighter. I may be able to defend myself from many of the creatures of the forest, but for all of those I can defend against, there are 5 more that I can''t. Now let me see your new spell.¡±


    Bjorn complied, casting the spell. Another small ball of light appeared over his hand.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Medera said. ¡°That is a good starting spell for learning light magic, it will provide much use for you in the time ahead, at least it should. You are an absolute idiot though, you wasted a fortune reading that spell book.¡± Medera then cast a spell, and a small ball of light appeared over her hand. While Bjorn¡¯s light was a soft white, Medera¡¯s was a soft blue. ¡°I was going to try to teach you magic here soon, and I have that spell. Seeing how you learned the spell from the spell book there was a good chance I could have taught it to you. That spell book could have easily sold at town for at least 1 gold if not more.¡±


    ¡°How much would that be? Also i found these coins, what is the exchange rate between the different currencies?¡±


    ¡°A gold piece is worth more than I''ve ever had in my life. As for the exchange rate, it is 100 coppers to 1 silver, 100 silver to 1 gold, and 100 gold to 1 platinum. I¡¯m not entirely convinced they exist, but I am told they are out there. And you wasted your chance to get a gold piece. Oh well no use crying over spilt milk.¡±


    They were both silent for a few minutes before Medera spoke up again. ¡°Winter is coming soon, and we will have to get ready for it. We will head into town in 2 fortnights, we should get everything ready and prepared to take into town, and hopefully sell or trade. Lets spend the next two fortnights crafting as many potions as we can. They don¡¯t have anyone who can make potions so what we bring should fetch us a good price. Hopefully we can make it there on the market days. Every year at the end of the year there is a scheduled 3 day period where anyone can set up a shop to sell their goods. There should be a good chance for us to find what we need.¡±


    Nodding. The silence grew between them until Bjorn spoke up. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Medera, you told me that I need to be careful and I keep disregarding you and taking impulsive moves. I could have easily died today, again, if that skeleton had gotten a hit on me with that bow there was a good chance I wouldn''t have been able to get away, and for that I am sorry. I didn¡¯t have to open that box, if I had brought it back you might have found the trap and saved me. Your antidote potion saved me a good bit of pain. I read the book instead of asking you what it was. To top it all off I continued to explore when I should have come back to talk to you. Maybe we could have gone together and maybe cleared the skeletons.¡±


    With his apology her features softened. ¡°It is okay, I forgive you, I forget what it is like to be young and feel invincible. You are head strong and have a strong sense of adventure, there is a chance if you survive you will do great things some day.¡±


    Turning to move back into the cabin, she turned back around and said. ¡°Oh I almost forgot, let me see that belt.¡± Handing it over she turned it around and over in her hands, all the while muttering to herself. She took the belt, walking inside. Bjorn followed after her. Inside she had the belt on the table, digging through one of the shelves on the book shelf.


    ¡°Ah ha!¡± She exclaimed as she produced a vial. The vial was about half full of a magenta liquid, with flakes of white floating in suspention. Medera walked back to the belt, uncorked the vial and let a single drop fall onto the belt. The drop sunk into the belt, and after a minute a small plume of white smoke came off of the belt where the drop fell onto it.


    ¡°What was that?¡± asked Bjorn


    ¡°This.¡± She said, holding up the vial. ¡°Is a potion that can tell if a magic item is cursed, it will react with most curses, if the smoke was magenta it is cursed, but the white smoke is the all clear. At least most likely.¡± At that she handed the belt back to Bjorn. ¡°Go ahead, try it on.¡±


    ¡°Hold the door, this belt is magical? How can you tell?¡±


    Sighing with impatience, Medera replied. ¡°You can tell it¡¯s magical by its faint sheen it has, are you telling me you can¡¯t see that?¡±


    Studying the belt, it looked just like a normal leather belt to him. ¡°No. I can¡¯t tell that there is a sheen, it looks just like a leather belt to me.¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess that your eyesight must be going bad in your old age. Trust me it is a magical item.¡±


    Medera pointing out that the item could be cursed, which Bjorn didn¡¯t realize was an option to begin with, and then her showing him that the belt was most likely safe, didn¡¯t do much to allay his fears that he just developed. Looking at Medera she gave him an encouraging nod with a smile on her face, as if to say ¡°go on touch the big red button I want to know what will happen just as much as you do, but I don¡¯t want to be the one to try.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you put it on? I mean it looks to be almost the right size for your waist after all, and you seem more interested in this belt than I am. I think it¡¯s still a normal belt, with no magical properties to it, and you are telling me it¡¯s magical to try and fool me.¡± Retorted Bjorn.


    ¡°It is the spoils of your expedition and your hard fought loot that you rightfully took off of the corpse of a corpse. It would be very rude and ill considered for me to be the one to try it on and subsequently take it. Alas the duty falls on you.¡±


    Begruggingly Bjorn looked at her and grabbed the belt, belting it to his waste. Once the belt was clasped close on his waist he felt stronger, and lighter on his feet. Looking in his character sheet he found that his strength grew by 2, and his dexterity also grew by 1. Taking the belt off a sense of weakness and sluggishness over took him. Not enjoying the feeling he put the belt back on.


    ¡°Well it looks like the belt was completely useless, having no effect whatsoever.¡± He lied through his teeth to Medera.


    ¡°If it is useless why not just hand it over to me, my old belt is starting to fall apart.¡±


    ¡°As you said it would be rude and it would be disrespectful to the dead that I made redead to steal this belt off of the dead. So to honor the redead dead I think I will keep ahold of this belt, you know for respect.¡±


    ¡°Bah! Keep your secrets then, I will have them out of you one way or another.¡±


    The next two fortnights were spent harvesting some of the herbs growing in the garden. Many of the herbs growing were actually multiseason plants, some of them even grew better in the winter than they did in the summer. They also planted many different kinds of seeds, all of which Medera told Bjorn what they were, what they did, and what they could be used for. They also spent much of their time working on making as many potions as they possibly could. Making things as simple as a stomach ache tonic, all the way up to potions that granted a form of night vision. Medera truly was gifted at her craft of potion making, she knew how to make a potion of almost any situation that Bjorn could come up with.


    At the end of the 2 fortnights they had made an impressive collection of potions. Most of the potions were made by Medera, there were a few that Bjorn could lay claim to having done by himself, but not many. Much of the work that they had done had been limited by the tools that they had access to. Medera had only the one alchemy set, with many of the potions requiring most, if not all of the tools that came with it, their progress in making the potions had been slowed down.


    ¡°In town we need to pick you up one of your own sets, there is a talented glassmaker who travels around, I hope he will be there this time. I also need to buy more vials from him, most people in town return the vials that they use and are empty, but I am running out.¡±


    Another nice thing that came out of their constant working together, Medera spent a lot of their time when instruction wasn¡¯t needed working on Bjorn¡¯s common skills. After the first fortnight he got a prompt.


    Congratulations you have gained a basic understanding and speaking ability of the language: Common, now there will be more people who can understand you and realize how stupid you are.


    Every night they also took precautions against the undead, Medera took a herb called nightsbane and rubbed it on the ground every night before bed. The herb will slow down the skeletons, but it won¡¯t stop them. The effect that nightsbane had on skeletons had 2 different purposes. First it wards them away, so hopefully it will cause them to avoid the house all together, and secondly it makes them produce a sound that could make the most stout hearted fear. Making the herb also function as an alarm clock.


    Thankfully in their time preparing there weren''t any signs of the undead. On the last night before they left to head into town they packed up everything that they needed, each potion and herb had its place, and its purpose. They had an extravagant meal that night, Medera made them a hearty bread, while Bjorn found them a baddit, which provided just enough freshmeat for Medera to slather it in doogleberries, giving the meat a sweet smokey flavor. With it getting closer to winter, baddits hibernated during the winter so the creature had put on fat, making the meat nice and marbled. The grease from the meat and the bread was a welcome change from the rather bland food that Bjorn had been cooking and eating for the last few months.


    That next morning they set off together at the break of dawn heading along the mountain face moving south. It was going to be a 5 day trip to get to Nontorum. Much of their days were spent hiking up and down the rugged landscape of the mountains. If he was to guess, they weren¡¯t making more than 7 or 8 miles of progress per day. All the while Bjorn continually cast his simple light spell whenever his mana came close to maxing out. The fourth day was the only day anything noteworthy happened.


    As they got to a ravine Medera made it across no issues, but Bjorn¡¯s foot slipped on a rock as he went to jump across, making him lose his balance as he landed. Luckily Medera was paying attention and caught him and helped him regain his balance. Bjorn got scolded for that one, seeing how he would have lost half of their work. Not because of him slipping would have caused him to plummet to his death. That wasn¡¯t even brought up once for the entire hour long tirade about how big of an idiot he was.


    There had to be something to be said about Medera¡¯s surefootedness in the mountains. Not once in their 5 days of traveling did she slip, stumble, or even catch her foot on something. She also led them on without any sign of wavering or questioning on where she was going.


    The last day of their trip the mountains seemed to be shrinking, getting close to the edge of the mountain range. The paths became less steep, and the trees weren¡¯t growing as tall as they had been while near the cabin. The trees near the cabin were growing over 500 feet tall, and here at the foothills of the mountains they grew to a more modest 150 feet tall.


    As the sun was setting on the last day they crested another ¡°hill¡± and could see a town clinging to the side of the mountain. Looking down on Nontorum it was a quaint town, there were over 300 buildings. Off to one side there was a clearing where tents and wagons could be seen, multiple campfires were set up already burning. Many of the buildings had lights that could be seen in the windows. Around the entire town a rough palisade wall had been built, no doubt to try and keep any of the critters they had seen out. There was also a 4 foot trench dug around the base of the palisade, off to one side there was a small path across the trench leading to the gate of the palisade.


    ¡°Well there is no use in standing around as the chill is starting to set in.¡± remarked Medera. ¡°Let¡¯s head into town, there is an inn near the field that is used for trading, let¡¯s get us a room for the night.¡±


    Making their way up to the gate there were two people stationed at the opening in the wall. Both were lightly armed with swords and knives on their belts, they both had spears that they held in their hands. Their armor was light weight leather armor, nothing too restricting, but still protected their more vital parts. One of the guards was an elf, the other one a dwarf.


    Upon seeing Medera and Bjorn approaching the elf turned towards them and started to position to bar their way, when the dwarf bellowed. ¡°Medera you old fox! I was hoping to see you here again, made it another season without biting the shaft.¡±


    ¡°Etri, my old friend. It is good to see you, it looks like you have put on a bit of weight, has Meradith been over feeding you?¡± Medera said as she came in to give Etri a hug. Pulling back, ¡°Your beard has more gray in it than I remember.¡±


    With a snort he said. ¡°It seems your age is playing tricks on you, for it has always been speckled with gray. But nevermind that, who is this you have with you? He looks a bit too young for you. I thought you always liked them older.¡± Etri said as he gave Bjorn an assessing look.


    Medera turned and smacked him on top of his head. ¡°There is no need to be crass. This here is Bjorn, I found him being mauled by a bear in the woods. I saved him and turned him into my porter, which is why he has that pack on.¡± Moving forward he stuck out his hand. Etri stepped forward and grabbed Bjorn by the forearm.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let Medera fool you young man, she may talk a big talk, but she is actually a softy at heart.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m learning actually, she was as cold as ice when I first met her, but now she is teaching me alchemy. Seems she has taken me under her wing.¡±


    ¡°Has she now? That is no small thing, if she is teaching you, you must be worth something. I shouldn¡¯t be keeping you, my shift ends in an hour, I expect I can find you at the Dancing Dog tonight? The first round is on me.¡±


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Thank you Etri, I will take you up on that. Good to see you.¡± Replied Medera as her and Bjorn headed through the gate. They started to head up the main street. The buildings on either side of them were a rough hodgepodge of wood, stone, and thatch. There didn¡¯t seem to be much planning that went into the buildings, some were cut stone, fitted perfectly together, others had cobblestone bases with wooden walls, there was even one that had cloth walls. The street they walked on was wide enough that 10 people could easily walk abreast without issues, it was made of fine cut stone that was fitted together perfectly.


    It was easy to tell what each building was used for, most of the buildings were houses, there were a few exceptions that could be seen. Such as the blacksmith, the cobbler, a tannery, a weavers shop, a mill, just to name a few. There was more variety than what Bjorn expected there to be. It makes sense though, all of the goods that he took for granted back on earth could be obtained by going down to the supermarket had to come from somewhere, towns in the medieval period were mostly self-sufficient, the problems arose when the towns became too populated to supply its own goods fully.


    The streets had people traveling down them, and were by no means crowded. Most people nodded to the pair and then continued onwards, a few stopped Medera wanting to catch up with her but didn¡¯t make her dally for too long. Before long they made it to the clearing in town, it was a large open area which had tents in the process of being set up. With the sun setting most of the work had come to a halt.


    ¡°Come on this way.¡± Medera said as she started to head towards a 3 story building with a sign hanging over the door with a carving of a dancing dog engraved in the wood. Opening the door light and laughter poured out onto the street. Heading inside, the building''s first floor was a large open area. A bar on one side with an open doorway leading into the kitchens. Directly to the side of the bar there were stairs leading upwards. Along the walls of the taproom booths had been built into the walls. 6 tables were in the middle of the room, all with 7 to 8 chairs around them. The bar was about 3/4ths full.


    Shouldering her way up to the bar, many of the patrons welcomed Medera as she passed and gave Bjorn a welcoming smile. Once they made it up to the bar the barkeep was nowhere in sight. Medera loudly exclaimed, ¡°What a lousy establishment, I walked for days on end to get here and there isn¡¯t a soul in sight to pour my old weary bones a drink!¡±


    From inside the kitchens there was a loud bang followed by a string of curse words. ¡°Hold your horses you impatient twit, I¡¯ll be there in just a minute.¡± An angry reply came. Soon a large light green woman with small lower tusks that jutted into her upper lip came around the corner. As soon as her eyes laid to rest on Medera she stopped in her tracks. ¡°By the gods, Medera, you made it.¡± All anger had drained from her voice as she rushed forward and picked up the small dwarf in a large bear hug. Spinning her around both women giggled happily at the sight of each other. Afterwards she set Medera down and immediately they started talking. The words came out gushing, questions and responses happened at the same time. As soon as the orc asked her question Medera started to reply, halfway through her response another question came flying out.


    ¡°... And then a mauler came over the hut and we tried to kill¡­¡± ¡°Who is this scrawny little human with you?¡± ¡°We were able to kill it and get its core. This pipsqueek is someone I saved¡­¡± ¡°So you got the core that should fetch a hefty price.¡± ¡°He has been following me around and won¡¯t leave me alone. What happened to your favorite table?¡± ¡°Oh, a band of travelers started a fight with John and they slammed into the table, breaking it.¡± ¡°John, how is he? Wait, he broke the table?¡± ¡°Yeah I kicked him out and won''t let him back in.¡±


    Trying to keep track of the conversation was starting to give Bjorn a headache. ¡°Enough!¡± He said, ¡°Slow down, some of us can¡¯t seem to think as fast as you.¡±


    The orc looked over at Bjorn, ¡°Right right, sorry, I just haven¡¯t seen Medera in a year, when she made her trek into town last spring I had to go down to Ogden¡¯s crossing to pick up a shipment of hops. Introductions, I am Brumhilda, and your name young master human?¡±


    ¡°I am Bjorn Ward, at your service my lady.¡± Not knowing why he spoke that way or why it felt right, he bowed. He was attracted to the orc, for some reason his eyes were drawn to her and he had a feeling of being compelled to do whatever she asked of him.


    ¡°Brumhilda, knock that off, Bjorn is a nice kid, there is no need to charm him.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Brumhilda apologized looking crestfallen. ¡°I got so excited I lost control there for a second.¡±


    Medera took up looking over at Bjorn. ¡°Brumhilda here has a special ability called compulsion. It allows her to make people more susceptible to liking her, and listening to what she says.¡±


    ¡°It is one of the most useful things I have to help me keep the bar here in order and keeps the crowd mostly tame.¡±


    One of the patrons spoke up loudly. ¡°Yeah and she uses it to get too many of my coins!¡±


    Brumhilda looked back and said. ¡°That''s not even close to the truth, Jeddidia you just have a love for the drink.¡±


    ¡°Too true, too true.¡± He said and turned back to his drink.


    Turning back to Medera and Bjorn, ¡°So how long will you be staying? The entire festival? Of course you''re welcome to stay for free, although if you want a second room I¡¯ll have to charge you.¡± She said as she looked Bjorn up and down.


    ¡°No no, 1 room will be just fine thank you, we will probably stay the entire time, but if we sell all of our stock and get everything we need we might just leave early. There is a bite to the air that has come early this year, I fear we are in for an early winter this year.¡±


    ¡°All too true.¡± Brumhilda said. ¡°You can have your usual room, if you want supper I have a meat pie I¡¯ve been working on all day today, and of course all the drinks you can want. Although Bjorn, you¡¯ll have to pay for yourself, you aren¡¯t quite cute enough for me to buy you a drink.¡± She said with a wink.


    After depositing their bags upstairs, they came back down, a serving girl gave them both a slice of the pie, and both a cup of an amber liquid. Upon tasting the drink it was a light beer with just a bit of bitter hop flavor. After the long days on the road both the pie and beer went down very easily.


    Halfway through their second cup of ale Etri came in and joined them at the table. He and Medera started to chat away. Not too long afterwards Bjorn excused himself and went up to bed. A while later Medera came staggering in and took the other bed and soon was snoring.


    The next morning Bjorn woke up and Medera was still snoring away. Getting up he headed down to the taproom. There was a middle aged man behind the bar cleaning up. ¡°Ah, you must be Medera''s friend. Would you like to break your fast?¡±


    Sitting down at a table he soon came over with a biscuit and a cup of water. ¡°Here you go, oh and for your food and bar tab it will cost you 8 coppers.¡± Handing over the money Bjorn tucked into his food. Soon after the man came back to the table. ¡°If you¡¯d like, we have a bath out back, I can draw you some water and you can use it for 5 coppers. We even have the ability to heat the water if you want.¡±


    Bjorn hadn¡¯t had a warm bath since he came to this world. ¡°I would love that.¡± He said and handed over the coppers. 15 minutes later the man came back and led him through the kitchens. There was a door out back of the kitchens leading to a fenced in yard. There was a small building built into the ground. Opening the door there was a spiral staircase heading downwards. The corridor they were walking down had small glowing stones set into the walls providing a surprising amount of light. Reaching the bottom there were 4 different doors leading off of a small chamber.


    ¡°This one is your room, there is a small lever there, it is used to control the temperature of the water. Here is soap and a towel, take however long you want. Just let either myself or Brumhilda know when you are done.¡± The man said as he turned around, closing the door behind him. Stripping down Bjorn lowered himself into the water, it was pleasantly warm, after he fully cleaned himself he turned the heat of the water up. Moving the lever the water heated up about a minute later, taking some time to get it to the right temperature he just sat there and soaked.


    Bjorn must have dozed off at some point because when he went to get out of the bath his clothes had been washed and folded, and he didn¡¯t remember hearing anyone enter. Getting dressed he headed back to the taproom. Entering he saw Brumhilda and Medera sitting at a table talking. Walking over he told Brumhilda that he was done with the bath and it was wonderful.


    ¡°Glad you enjoyed it, I''ll get someone down there to take care and clean the bath. What is on the agenda today for you 2?¡±


    It was Medera who replied. ¡°We are going to set up the stall and then I was going to go catch up with people who I haven¡¯t seen in a long time. You¡¯re welcome to do whatever you want Bjorn, There isn¡¯t much else we need to do, the first day of the market starts in 2 days. So feel free to explore.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be wanting the stall you and I built a few years ago I¡¯d assume. It¡¯s out back there is a little work you¡¯ll need to do to put it back together.¡± Brumhilda replied.


    ¡°Thanks for holding on to that for me, and yes we will use that.¡± With that Medera and Bjorn got up and left the table. Heading out back Medera walked over to a stack of wood, and grabbed a piece. They hauled all of the wood to a clear area of the field and spent the better part of the morning putting the stand together. They said their goodbyes and Medera set off. Leaving Bjorn by himself. He spent most of the first day lazing around town, looking at what there was to see and exploring. The second day he spent it exploring the countryside.


    Nontorum was a mining village, they quarried stone to be sent down the mountain to Ogden¡¯s crossing. Ogden¡¯s crossing was a larger town situated at a meeting of 2 rivers. It was a sort of transport hub to move goods around. With not much else to do Bjorn explored the farm lands around Nontorum, he even went and explored the quarry. There weren¡¯t many people working there today due to the festival coming up. Most people took the day off so they could rest. Someone yelled at him telling him saying he wasn¡¯t allowed there. Taking his word Bjorn continued exploring around the town, but most of the land was tamed so there wasn¡¯t much adventure. Agricultural practices were interesting though.


    Some of the plants that they grew looked like what you''d expect to see on earth. There were potatoes and carrots, broccoli, and asparagus. Others looked like a mix between wheat and cabbage. There was a long stock and at the top were the seeds in the wheat were there were small heads of cabbage. Other plants didn¡¯t even look remotely close to anything that was grown on earth.


    All of their fields were irrigated in some way. There were natural springs all over the place, and the town used those springs to great advantage. Sometimes they just let the field be flooded with water. Others there were canal systems dug into the ground letting the water flood only in certain spots. Bjorn¡¯s favorite was closest to the town, they had small cleavely built gates that they used to control the water flow, by opening and closing gates when they wanted they could provide water to whatever part of the field they wanted. If they had all the gates closed they diverted the water to a field lower down that grew something that needed to be fully submerged to grow.


    Finally it was market day. On this day when Bjorn woke up Medera was already gone, heading down to the taproom it was empty. Poking his head back into the kitchen, no one was around. Grabbing a piece of stale bread left over from last night''s dinner he walked out to the market field, and it was pandemonium. People were all over bustling about. There was a clamorous din of everyone talking, looking for wares, and trying to haggle over the price of whatever they were trying to buy. Making his way through the crowd he made it to Medera¡¯s and his booth where there was an orderly line out.


    As he walked up Medera had just finished exchanging coins for a lady. Handing over the change and a potion the lady curtsied and left with a beaming smile on her face. ¡°Ah, about time you showed up. I thought I was going to have to do all the hard work around here. Put yourself to use and help these people.¡±


    The next person in line was an older gentleman. ¡°Hi Medera, and new guy. I am having a hard time working these days. I am having a lot of pains in my joints, here, and here, it¡¯s mostly a stabbing pain. Do you have anything for that?¡±


    Medera thought for a second. ¡°Is the pain a lingering pain? Or fleeting?¡±


    ¡°Lingering.¡±


    ¡°We should have just the thing that should help.¡± Turning to Bjorn she was about to ask for a potion but he had already retrieved it. It was a potion of strengthening. When they had made the potion, Medera had told Bjorn that one of the uses for the potion was to help alleviate the problems of arthritis. Nodding to him she took the potion. ¡°We have this potion, it should help a little bit with the problem, there is no guarantee that it will fix the problem. It will cost you 1 silver.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a bit steep.¡±


    ¡°You know I don¡¯t sell a potion that won¡¯t work. This potion took the both of us a whole day to make.¡±


    ¡°With expenses as they are, I can¡¯t do full silver. I still have to afford to eat, you know. I can do 70 coppers.¡±


    ¡°You''re basically asking us to work for free at that price. Let¡¯s do 85, that should allow you to afford to eat for the next 2 span.¡±


    ¡°Yes, eating is well and good, but I also have to afford wood to heat my home for the winter. It feels like it''s going to be a cold one, how does 78 work for you?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re basically asking for us to give it away for that. But I do agree with you. It feels like it¡¯s going to be a cold one. I¡¯ll give it to you for 78 coppers.¡±


    With that they both were happy and traded the coins for potion which he drank right away and handed the vial back. As he walked away Bjorn could see his gait became smoother and easier. Medera turned towards Bjorn. ¡°You get the basic jist, Help me sell these potions, 30% of what we sell i¡¯ll let you keep to get whatever you need.¡±


    That day they sold most of their stock of potions. After his first sale Bjorn got a notification.


    You have gained a new skill: Trade. There are few in this world that can do everything and provide everything they need by themselves. Everyone uses trade in some way, whether it is bartering, or the exchange of coins, it is essential to any society.


    You have advanced your skill level in trade, reaching skill level 3. Items you buy and sell prices will be 1.5% more in your favor, this also includes bartering.


    After the first day Medera counted out all of their proceeds from the potions and gave Bjorn his share of the pay. 24 silvers and 60 coppers, bringing his total up to 36 silvers and 99 coppers respectively. Thanking Medera, they packed up what they didn¡¯t sell, and went back to Brumhilda¡¯s inn. The common room packed when they got inside, dropping their bags in their room, they both went back down for an evening of merriment and food.


    The next morning Bjorn woke up to the sound of Medera rolling out of bed. ¡°You¡¯re up early, I wasn¡¯t expecting to see you for another hour. I also wasn¡¯t expecting to see you up here last night especially with how handsy that barmaid was with you.¡±


    On Bjorn¡¯s end it felt like someone had implanted an ice spike behind his eyes. He had a splitting headache, and his mouth tasted sour. ¡°What barmaid? I don¡¯t even remember coming up to bed last night.¡±


    Chuckling, ¡°Oh, to be young again. Well any matter, I don¡¯t think ill be needing your help today, we don¡¯t have much stock left, so if you want to spend the day browsing and finding anything you want or need. Remember winter is just around the corner, so some sort of winter clothes would be much advised.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the advice Medera, I''ll keep that in mind.¡± Bjorn said as he turned around and went back to sleep.


    Having a late morning, Bjorn spent the day perusing all the various different stalls and vendors there were. Finding odd nicks and bobs that caught his attention, he didn¡¯t spend much of his money. Except he did splurge and buy himself a good set of winter clothes, he also got himself an alchemy set. Those two items cost him 20 silver. He also bought a block of salt, a few bags of arrowheads, a nice knife, a nice sticky sweet bun. With so many new things to look at Bjorn barely made it through half of the stalls. That night Medera gave him another 4 silvers and 12 coppers for his work on making the potions; she had sold out the rest of their stock.


    On the last day of the market the glass ware salesman Medera had talked about showed up and they bought over 200 new vials from him, they also bought used vials back from people for a copper for 2 vials. It was the same rate the salesmen charged for his new vials. On that last day the tanner found them and told them that the deer hide that they brought wouldn¡¯t finish curing, but there was another hide they could take with them and they wouldn¡¯t have to pay. Taking the offer Medera directed Bjorn back to the blacksmith to get some leatherworking tools.


    With the last day coming to an end and Bjorn was starting to head back to the inn there was one item that just caught his eye. Not quite sure what it was that drew him to it, he went over and took a look at it. It was a small orb, it looked like it was made out of glass. On the inside of the orb there were 8 different lights swirling around inside, the lights itself didn¡¯t actually penetrate the shell of the orb. ¡°What is it?¡± Asked Bjorn


    The shopkeeper who looked half asleep looked over and lazily said, ¡°I don¡¯t have the faintest idea, if you want it you can have it for 15 coppers.¡±


    Going back and forth on what to do Bjorn thought. ¡°In for a penny, in for a pound.¡±, ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡± counting out the coins he walked away a strange orb richer, and started to walk away.


    ¡°Oh, no refunds, all sales are final.¡± called the shopkeeper after Bjorn.


    As Bjorn walked into the inn he found Medera and Brumhilda talking at the bar. Shouldering up to the bar he took a seat next to Medera and set the orb on the bar in front of her. ¡°Any idea what this is?¡±


    She looked down curiously, picked up the orb and turned it over in her hands. ¡°A glass bauble?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why but something attracted me to this orb so i bought it for 15 coppers.¡±


    ¡°Well I think you fell victim to one of the oldest tricks in the book. You got scammed my friend, for it looks just like an orb of glass. It sure is pretty to look at, but it doesn¡¯t seem to have much of a use.¡±


    Getting visibly upset Bjorn snatched the orb back, turning a beet red and stuffed it into one of the pouches on his belt.


    ¡°Anyways.¡± said Medera and paused for a few minutes before saying, ¡°You better get to sleep, we have another long trek ahead of us.¡±


    The next morning they took off early, paying off his outstanding tab Brumhilda was oddly sappy. ¡°You take good care of her, you hear? I expect to see the both of you in the spring, otherwise I''ll come find you myself.¡± Picking Bjorn up in a bear hug she set him down. Saying their final goodbyes they set off for the cabin.


    The 5 day trek back home was rather uneventful. Cresting the hill looking down on the cabin, they both sighed in relief, just appreciating the fact that they made it home. Other than a few animal tracks walking through their yard their home was surprisingly undisturbed. Both weary from the road they set their packs by the door and settled in for the night.


    (If you don¡¯t care you can skip to the next chapter.)


    You have advanced your skill level in alchemy, reaching skill level 11. Potions you make will be 11% increased effect and 22% increased duration of effect.


    You have advanced your skill level in herb-lore. reaching skill level 8. The efficacy of plants and herbs you collect will increase by 24%.


    You have advanced your skill level in light magic. reaching skill level 2. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.

 chapter 6

    It wasn¡¯t long after they returned from Nontorum that the first snow of the year hit, and boy did it hit. 3 days of constant snow, by the time the snow had finally stopped falling there was over 3 feet of snow. Bjorn got a good laugh out of Medera, as she was trying to get over to the shed the snow came up to her shoulders. She had to dig a path through the snow almost being buried in it. After she got to the shed and made it back to the cabin with a pair of snow shoes Bjorn was on the ground crying laughing at her predicament. Her response was to hit him with her snow shoes. Every time she hit him with the shoe he got flashbacks to watching her struggle in the snow causing a new round of laughter at her plight.


    The next few days they spent it cooped up in the cabin, Medera grabbed her wood working tools and her leather working tools and taught Bjorn how to make snow shoes. They spent the next few days working on the snow shoes.


    The snow shoes themselves were made out of a wooden frame that they cut the wood into long strips, then they added another layer of wood and bound them together. They used a piece of the black tar vine that they put into a pot of boiling water, which rendered down into a sticky fluid that they used in between the layers of wood. Once they layered the wood 5 times they bent it back on itself and tied it secure with the two ends connecting. Next they took the leather that they got in exchange for their deer hide and cut out 2 oblong circles. They then took the leather and applied a paste that they made out of a snagwort and glidegrass to the bottom of the leather, letting that cure for a day. After it had set they grabbed some rivets that Medera had bought from the blacksmith and used those to affix the leather to the wooden frame. Doing that twice, they then cut long thin straps of leather and affixed them to the wooden frame. Creating an elaborate knot system that Medera told Bjorn would hold the shoes to his feet. Once they finished the shoes Bjorn got 2 new prompts.


    You have gained the skill: Carpentry. There are many things in life that are very satisfying. One of which is seeing your wood in all its glory after you are done working it, smoothing it, and polishing it. Today you start your journey at learning how to treat wood right.


    You have gained the skill: Leatherworking. I¡¯m sorry, I don''t really have much for you here, it¡¯s pretty self explanatory, you now are better at working with leather.


    Telling Medera about the prompts she just laughed. ¡°That¡¯s not what it told me when I gained the woodworking skill. Maybe the universe is saying you like to handle wood.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Exclaimed Bjorn, ¡°I do not like to handle wood. That is an accusation that I won¡¯t stand for.¡±


    ¡°One does protest too much I think. Whatever you say Bjorn, who am I to judge your proclivities? Just try and keep whatever you get from your wood polishing outside. I do not want to have to clean up anything that comes from that.¡±


    Knowing that no matter what he said he wouldn¡¯t be able to change Medera¡¯s mind he just kept his thoughts to himself.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to tell you about the leatherworking prompt, it is pretty self explanatory, if you can¡¯t figure out the usefulness of leatherworking then you are hopeless.¡±


    After making the snow shoes they settled into a routine, there wasn¡¯t much to really talk about, the days got shorter, they spent most of their days inside. What few excursions they made outside were every few days, mostly to get more food, tend to the garden, checking up on how the plants were doing, and gather fresh drinking water from the well. It did continue to snow, not nearly as much as it did the first few days. Every 2 to 3 days there were new snow accumulations of 4 to 5 inches. It was a good thing that they stocked up on firewood to heat the house, the snow accumulation would have made it hard if not impossible to collect firewood to heat the cabin.


    On the bright side Medera¡¯s cabin had a pretty clever design, she had built an underground heating pit under the floorboards of her house, which once the fire had been lit down there, it was a slow burning fire, with it venting outside, it kept the house surprisingly warm throughout the day without much wood requirement for heating.


    Most of their time together was spent cooking, brewing potions, Medera talking about plants, her teaching him languages, or even trying to teach him earth magic. It was a godsend that Bjorn had been found by Medera, she was an unending source of knowledge. It is honestly impressive that she was able to keep it all straight in her mind. She was a jack of all trades, everything she had taught him was useful and would make his life easier or more likely to survive in the future. Her unending fount of knowledge on plants alone. As she kept talking about all the various plants, where to find them, how to collect them, how to propagate them. It really drove home how much she knew, it felt like she was just breaching the tip of the ice berg of all of her knowledge.


    ¡°Medera, what is your skill level in herb-lore?¡± asked Bjorn one day as they were eating.


    ¡°Well you''re awfully bold today.¡± She replied. ¡°But to answer your question, my skill level is 67.¡±


    When she said that, Bjorn choked on his water, and started coughing. Once his airways were clear again he asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think I heard you correctly, did you say 67?¡±


    ¡°I did in fact say 67, your ears did not deceive you.¡±


    ¡°And you aren¡¯t considered a master in herb-lore?¡±


    ¡°No i am not considered a master, to be considered a master you need a skill level of at least 100, from skill level 0 to 9 you are a beginner, 10 to 24 you are considered a novice, from 25 to 49 an apprentice, 50 to 74 journeyman, and finally 75 to 99 an adept. So therefore I am a journeyman. Each rank you obtain in a skill gives you some sort of benefit, there as far as I know the benefits aren¡¯t the same for each person. For example my first benefit I got for reaching novice was increased growth on any herb I cultivate. Through testing it seemed to double the rate at which my herbs grew.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s awesome.¡± interjected Bjorn.


    With a glare Medera picked back up where she left off. ¡°Yes it is awesome, it is honestly what has allowed me to get as far as I have as an alchemist. Normally people have to purchase the plants they want to continue to grow their craft, luckily for me I also grow my craft.¡± As she finished that last sentence she started to smile at her play on words.


    ¡°When I got to level 10 in alchemy I gained a benefit.¡± Said Bjorn. ¡°It decreased my likelihood to fail potion brewing by 50%.¡±


    ¡°Now now, who really has the good bonus here? My level 10 benefit made me 25% more effective in teaching other people how to do alchemy. I would literally kill for my potions to fail less.¡± Medera shook her head in bewilderment. ¡°Some people have all the luck.¡±


    Another thing that took up a lot of their time was Medera trying to teach Bjorn earth magic. Apparently trying to learn a spell from scratch was hard, if not borderline impossible. There were so many different things that affected the spell. Once you had a decent enough grasp on how it worked though and how the spell interacted and was affected by the world around it, you would learn the spell, and then the ability to cast the spell becomes second nature. Again the answer as to how that happened was magic.


    They spent countless hours trying to get Bjorn to feel the mana, to focus and form the mana in his body into whatever shape he willed. ¡°Mana flows through your body just like how blood flows through you, but instead of the heart being the core of where it all flows it is the brain.¡± It was like trying to learn how to control his circulatory system. One day something inside of him just clicked, and it felt like he understood how to control it. Instead of trying to force the mana to be directed in his body it was like he just willed it and it should happen. Except nothing actually happened.


    Explaining his feeling to Medera she told him ¡°That is entirely wrong, you don''t will, you don''t force, you just do it.¡± That cryptic message from Medera didn¡¯t help at all, how do you just do something you can¡¯t do? Not being deterred Bjorn kept trying to learn how to manipulate the mana flow in his body.


    That wasn¡¯t the only thing they worked on, Medera also started to teach him the theory on how the spell works with the environment, how it changes based on the type of stone under the ground, the distance, even the moisture of the soil affected how the spell was cast. It was extremely tedious. If the stone was 4 feet down and the soil was wet, and the stone was a calcite you moved the mana in this direction through your body, all while making a slight horizontal cut through the air as the somatic component of the spell. The cut had to start right above the right shoulder and had to end at just below the armpit of the left side of his body. But god forbid that the stone was actually 3 feet down and was jagged. Because then you had to cut the other way starting from your left hip with the left hand up to your left shoulder with your right hand.


    Needless to say they struggled to get Bjorn to even start to break ground on how to cast the spell, or how it even worked to begin with. But they still struggled on, Medera was trying to teach Bjorn a first level earth spell, called cast stone. Which did just that, formed a stone ball from the earth and cast it at whatever he was aiming at. Which really sounded useless.


    One day there was a breakthrough and a stone that was on the ground moved 1 foot closer to Bjorn upon casting the spell. His mana decreased by 1 point. And what followed next was a godsend.


    Congratulations you have gained a new school of magic: Earth magic. You have started your path down the most grounded (Ha nice pun.) of all the magic schools. Through the exploration of the concept of earth you will gain a better understanding of the world around you.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">


    Spell: Cast stone


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Cast time: 1 second


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Components: Verble, Somatic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Range:100 feet*


    </td>


    <td colspan="3">


    Duration: 10 seconds


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="6">


    Effect: Summons a small stone from the ground which will slowly raise to eye level. You have 10 seconds after the spell has been cast before the magic of the spell fades and the stone will drop back to the ground. The stone will travel in a straight line for 100 feet and then lose momentum and height after the 100 feet. The stone can be cast at any target you choose within the 100 feet.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Sighing in relief they both took the next day off to celebrate the fact that Bjorn finally made headway, and was actually able to learn the spell.


    ¡°You know you are quite lucky. Most people go their entire life without ever learning how to cast magic, and you are now able to cast 2 different kinds of magic spells from different schools of magic. You now are able to do what most people only ever dream of.¡±


    With a giant grin on his face he turned and hugged Medera. ¡°Thank you Medera for teaching me earth magic, I didn¡¯t ever think I''d learn how to do magic. Where I come from there isn¡¯t any magic in the world. This is really a dream come true.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome child, although if you had a more competent teacher we could have saved both of us a lot of time.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? I think you did a wonderful job teaching me how to cast that spell.¡±


    ¡°Well, there are 3 different ways you can learn magic that I know of, the first one is with a spell book which you are already familiar with. The second way is by studying and learning how the spell works. Obviously as you have just learned it is a long and labor intensive way to learn. Once you have a good enough grasp on how the spell works you will learn the rest of the information by magic and gain access to casting the spell. The last one that i know of is by having a mage who is at least journeyman in rank in that school of magic teach it to you, it is the most surefire way to learn spells. You learn the spell in seconds rather than slowly over time, and when you learn spells from spellbooks there is a chance that you actually don''t learn the spell. That isn¡¯t the case when the spell is taught to you by a journeyman spellcaster, if you have some sort of affinity to a class of magic you will learn the spell being taught to you,¡±


    ¡°Reguardless, I am thankful that you have taken the time to teach me how to cast earth magic. I am sure it will come in handy in the future.¡±


    They also made inroads on teaching Bjorn languages, he got his ability to speak common to an acceptable level, roughly where his mountain dwarvish was at. Once he got to that point Medera started to teach him the last language that she knew, which was Orcish. Their language lessons started to alternate between Orcish and back to mountain dwarvish. Medera kept telling Bjorn she was getting tired of listening to him butcher her language. She also told him it would be nice to talk to him with words that weren¡¯t like a child''s.


    That is how half of the winter passed, nothing overly exciting, falling into a routine, and practicing his new spell. Bjorn started for an hour every day practicing with his cast stone spell. At first his aim was off, it wasn¡¯t like shooting his bow, where you could sight down the arrow and it would go straight. The small stone ball would come out of the ground, and come to hover near Bjorn, he could then cast the stone whenever he wanted, aiming for whatever he wanted. But it wasn¡¯t like throwing a ball, the stone wasn¡¯t affected by gravity until it passed 100 feet. So aiming was odd, once the stone was ¡°thrown¡± it would travel in a straight line from wherever it was hovering to the point he was aiming at. It traveled through the air like a vector, until it hit that 100 feet mark then it would start to drop off. So most of his 1 hour was spent casting the stone until his mana was almost depleted and then resting. All of his practice started to pay dividends though. His aim was starting to get better, and he no longer had to let the stone start to hover towards eye level to start to get close to the target. In all things, the closer the target the easier it was to hit.


    Another added benefit to all the mental work he had been doing over the winter, he gained some stat points. He gained 2 in intelligence, and 1 point in wisdom. Apparently all it took to really train those stat points was to work your mind day and night for months at a time trying to learn and remember all sorts of asinine information. Almost like the school system back on earth.


    It was on one of those days where Bjorn was working on his cast stone spell when something changed. He was continually casting his spell when there was a snap of breaking wood off to the side of the clearing. Wheeling around there was a skeleton standing there. This skeleton looked like a rotting corpse, in the later stages of decomposition. There were points on its body where the skeleton could easily be seen, and other points where the flesh was still hanging on the body. Its head was just like that, there was a line across its face going from left ear to upper right jaw where the top half still had flesh on it, oddly enough its eye sockets were empty. But below the line there wasn¡¯t a bit of flesh and clean white bone could be seen until you got to its neck. The skeleton was on the taller side, around 6 and a half feet tall.


    Seeing the skeleton Bjorn just froze, it was the middle of the day and Medera had told him that skeletons shouldn¡¯t be out in the sun. The skeleton was just standing at the edge of the clearing staring at Bjorn. After a second it started running at him. Its movements did not seem to be impeded at all by the deep snow. Calling out for Medera he took aim at the skeleton and let the stone he had just formed fly. It flew with uncanny accuracy and hit the skeleton in the collar. There was a resounding snap as the stone came in contact with its collar bone. But even with the hit it didn¡¯t slow down the skeleton at all. Casting again he threw the stone and it went wide. That is when the skeleton got to him and tackled him to the ground. The door to the cabin flew open and Medera was standing there. In a moment she took in what was happening and started to cast a spell. In the meantime when Bjorn was tackled to the ground they fell into the deep snow getting engulfed in it. As they were both on the ground wrestling to gain the upper hand, this skeleton wasn¡¯t quite as strong as the last skeleton, but it was significantly more gross. As he was trying to gain control of the fight his hands kept slipping into the areas with the decomposing body getting covered in frozen gore.


    Bjorn soon got the upper hand and started to extricate himself from the skeleton. As he was pulling himself back it got a good grasp on his right arm and started to pull itself towards his arm. As Bjorn got back to a standing position the skeleton had drug itself up as well and pulled itself towards Bjorn''s arm. It sunk its teeth into the meat of his right upper arm. Blood started to well from where its teeth punctured his skin. Yelling in pain Bjorn raised his left arm preparing to strike down on the skeleton but he wasn¡¯t fast enough. Medera¡¯s spell had successfully been cast but she hadn¡¯t dared cast it before she could see both Bjorn and the skeleton. As Bjorn had stood up and the skeleton started to pull itself towards his arm their fight had positioned them so that they were presenting a board side to Medera and she let her spell fly. 3 Stone spikes flew at the skeleton, and they flew true. Catching the skeleton in the side, they landed with a sickening crunch. Two of the stone spikes landed in the meaty part of the lower half of its body, the last one broke through its ribcage and severed the spine right before exiting the other side of its ribcage. As the skeleton¡¯s lower half disconnected from the upper half Bjorn¡¯s left hand came crashing down on its skull, with another crunch the skeleton went limp.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Pulling the skeleton off of his arm Bjorn threw it to the ground. Rushing over Medera took a look at Bjorn¡¯s arm. ¡°Why is it you always let yourself get in close to these damn creatures. That is why you keep getting hurt.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Replied Bjorn, ¡°I intentionally let the half falling apart skeleton tackle me. I woke up this morning and thought to myself ¡®I want to let a rotting corpse pull me to the ground and try to bite me.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Alright, your sarcasm is heard and understood. This is not good, the skeleton coming here in broad daylight, I think we need to do something about this. Tomorrow we should try and take the skeleton¡¯s lair, if we can. If we are forced to retreat, we should relocate, otherwise it will be a problem we will have to put up with until we both die. We can¡¯t get lucky forever.¡±


    ¡°I agree we should do something about them, but with that bite my hp is down by 8, we should let me heal up fully before we go looking for a fight.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair and I agree, if you take some kingsheart every 12 hours we should be ready to fight in about 4 days. Let¡¯s do that, I''m going to make a poison from the nightsbane we have been using. If we coat your weapons in it, it will make you more effective at killing them.¡±


    Over the next 3 days Medera spent it working on making a poison she called night''s killer. Medera made a lot of the stuff, enough to coat the blade of his sword and the arrowheads of his arrows. The last day they spent it just sitting around. They set up a watch. All of Bjorn¡¯s waking time was spent keeping an eye out for any more skeletons while Medera slept or spent it working on the poison. Medera just kept watch while Bjorn slept.


    At the dawn of the 4th day Bjorn¡¯s health was 119 out of 120. Agreeing that it wasn¡¯t worth waiting any longer they both grabbed a few potions. Medera grabbed a stamina, a health, and a few mana potions. Bjorn on the other hand had a mana potion, and several stamina and health potions. They came up with the battle plan that Medera would be the back line. If they spotted a skeleton they both would stand back and hit it at a range before they were noticed. Once the skeleton was almost to them Bjorn would switch into using his sword.


    Being fully stocked up, and with a battle plan, Bjorn finally grabbed the night¡¯s killer poison and they set off for the cave. Their usual joviality was absent as they moved. Being a bit somber they continued to travel onwards. Soon they found the cave. As they approached the cave they took cover behind a large tree. Bjorn motioned to Medera to say put. Sneaking around the tree he got a good view of the cave entrance. In the entrance 2 skeletons were standing there as guards.


    Slinking back to Medera, Bjorn spoke to her in a low voice. ¡°There are two skeletons standing guard at the cave entrance. They have made no motion that indicates that they have seen us yet. Do you have a spell you can cast that doesn¡¯t cause a light? Or one that allows you to prepare the spell here in cover?¡±


    Medera nodded and started to cast her usual spell creating the stone spikes. ¡°I think it is time you coat some of your arrows in that poison. When we come around I''ll target the further one away, I¡¯ll count to 3 and on 3 we will let our spells and arrows fly.¡±


    Nodding in understanding Bjorn took one of the vials of the poison and used it to coat the head of 5 arrows. They both snuck around the tree again. Took aim at their respective skeletons and Medera started to count. ¡°1. 2. 3!¡± on three they both let their attacks go. Bjorn¡¯s arrow shot away from his bow, and caught his skeleton in the eye. Instantly killing it. As the arrow made contact with the eye socket a golden glow spread from the arrowhead and overpowered the blue the skeletons'' eyes normally were. When the effect ended the skeleton¡¯s eye sockets were empty and it collapsed in a pile of bones. As for Medera¡¯s attack the 3 stone spikes shot forth from her hand and all three connected. The skeleton¡¯s body crumbled to the ground as whatever magic was used to reanimate it was spent.


    Pulling up his notifications because he was curious what the poison¡¯s effect really was.


    You have struck a level 8 skeleton with a sneak attack.


    You have hit level 8 skeleton for 147 damage.


    Night¡¯s killer poison¡¯s damage will be amplified due to the sneak attack.


    Night¡¯s killer poison deals 29 light poison damage per second for the next 10 seconds.


    You have killed level 8 skeleton.


    Level up!


    ¡°Medera, I could hug you.¡± said Bjorn, ¡°This poison is amazing, every time I think I know everything you have you still surprise me.¡±


    ¡°I know you say you could hug me, but don¡¯t. I don¡¯t want to watch you try to figure out how to touch a woman for the first time in your life.¡±


    ¡°Hey! I¡¯ve touched women.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh. Anyways we will have to be careful going forward, obviously whatever these skeletons have as something in charge is aware of us.¡±


    They started to head into the cave all the while moving forward in stealth. It was weird, when Medera was in stealth, Bjorn could see her as she entered it, if he didn¡¯t take his eyes off of her he could still see her. Once he looked away, he couldn¡¯t really find her, it was like she blended into the rocks of the walls around them. As soon as she spoke or if Bjorn concentrated on the area she should be in he could find her again, but if he didn¡¯t really look overly hard she was near invisible to him.


    Soon they made it back to the first room, it looked just as disheveled as it did when Bjorn left it last. The hole was still there in the ground, the waterfall was still coming out of the hole in the middle of the ceiling, cascading into the middle of the room. The only notable exceptions were that the box and the skeleton were gone.


    Pointing at the exit on the ledge Bjorn said. ¡°That was the way I explored last time, where I got ambushed by the skeletons.¡±


    ¡°Well we should start there I guess.¡±


    And onwards they went, as they went down the tunnel Bjorn resummoned his simple light spell providing them the light they needed to see the way forward. Once they got back to that same room that Bjorn got ambushed in he nodded to Medera. Nodding back she took a wide stance and started to cast a spell that Bjorn hadn¡¯t seen her cast before. Her hands took on a pure white glow as she chanted the spell. Soon a ball of light condensed in between her hands and when she finished casting the ball of light shot forward from here towards the ceiling. Once it collided with the roof of the room a dim light spread throughout the entire cavern, illuminating the entire room. The light wasn¡¯t bright enough to see everything clearly, but it was bright enough that they could see objects in the room.


    The cavern was a large cavern, at least 4 to 5 hundred across and about the same in width. On the right side of the cavern there was an underground lake, which took up about half of the total space. On the left side of the cave there were the remains of a house. On the far side of the cavern there was another cave entrance. There was nothing else really in sight.


    ¡°This is where I got attacked last time.¡± Bjorn pointed to the ground where the ground of the cave was disturbed. It was fairly obvious where it had happened. Seeing how that was the only patch of disturbed ground in the entire cavern.


    ¡°Noted, no signs of skeletons yet, let¡¯s check out that house.¡±


    So off they went towards the house. As they got closer it was easier to make out details of the home. It looked like it was carved into the stone, with stone walls being built into the room giving the residence more space in their home. There was a stone roof, it looked to be a fairly large home, a 2 story building. Getting even nearer, they could see more details. The stone itself was blackened. Once they got to the home they touched the stone and their hands came away also blackened.


    ¡°Soot, someone burned what they could of the house down. Probably after killing the residents.¡± Nodding in agreement Bjorn walked over to one of the windows to get a better look inside, and all he could see was darkness. Throwing the simple light spell inside the building it came to rest on the far wall, the room was small in relation to the rest of the house, and was empty. The room had 2 different doorways leading further into the building. Each of the doorways were larger than what would be needed for a human to live in, being at least 8 feet tall.


    Recasting his spell and drawing his sword, Bjorn walked through the door into the building with Medera trailing not too far behind him. Checking the first doorway it led to a hallway with multiple other doors leading off of it. As Bjorn started walking towards the other doorway, a large skeleton came lumbering through the doorway.


    The skeleton could barely be called a humanoid. Towering at 7 feet tall. It stood upright and had 4 limbs, but that is where the similarities ended. The creature had two legs, which looked doglike in nature. At the base of the foot there was a bone that went straight up, and then came to an elbow which angled forward before coming to another elbow which led to the bone attaching to a hip socket. Its two arms were human like but long, too long. The upper part of the arm came down almost to its hipbones, where the lower part of its arms almost touched the ground as it moved. Each arm led down to its hand which had 4 fingers per hand, and each finger was long and narrow like a claw. Its head was that of a dog, being even larger than its form would suggest. Its eyes had the same blue glow to it that the other skeletons had.


    After raising to its full height the skeleton dropped down onto all 4s and lunged at Bjorn. The entire time the skeleton was preparing for its attack Bjorn and Medera weren¡¯t sitting around idle, Medera started to cast a spell and Bjorn assumed an athletic stance with his poison coated sword slightly in front of him.


    As the skeleton lunged forward at Bjorn he dove to the side, landing in a roll he quickly got back on his feet and faced the skeleton. Having missed its lung the skeleton landed in a heep and quickly turned around. It wasn¡¯t fast enough, Medera''s attack landed on the skeleton, as the ceiling above where the skeleton landed crumbled falling onto it. Bjorn also charged forward bringing his poison coated sword down on the creature''s arm. The sword came swishing down on its forearm splitting it in two. The amount of resistance that met the blade surprised Bjorn. Where the blade came in contact with the skeleton, tendrils of pure gold started to creep up the wound on the skeleton.


    With an inhuman scream the skeleton tried to throw the stone off of itself, but the part of the ceiling that crumbled had landed on one of its legs pinning it to the ground. Bjorn didn¡¯t waste the opportunity that Medera had given him and swung his sword again. This time his sword landed on its shoulder, cutting deep. The golden tendrils that were creeping up the skeleton¡¯s arm accelerated as its attempts to free itself grew weaker and weaker. Eventually the skeleton succumbed to the combined efforts of Bjorn and Medera.


    ¡°What did this skeleton come from?¡± Asking Bjorn.


    ¡°I think it is from a gnoll, but I am not entirely sure. It¡¯s nice to know that the poison is doing its job though. Let''s not waste anymore time and get to the bottom of this.¡±


    Nodding in agreement Bjorn and Medera search what was left of the house. Most every room had large raised ceilings, most likely from the fire. Surmising that the inside was made of wood there wasn¡¯t much left to find. Just a bunch of large rooms of various sizes. Meeting back up in the first room there was a clacking sound that could be heard from down the next tunnel they haven¡¯t checked yet.


    Dropping into stealth again Medera had Bjorn dismiss the light he had attached to his hand. They walked into the room that the gnoll skeleton came out of and stealthed up to the window in that room. Looking out into the cavern it was still empty. They didn¡¯t have to wait long before a small contingent of skeletons and a small reptilian creature came walking out of the tunnel. There were 3 skeletons total, all of various different sizes and shapes.


    ¡°Kobold.¡± Said Medera with a hiss. The creature was around 3 feet tall, with a mostly humanoid physique. The main difference was its dragon-like head and snout, its tail, and its scaled hide. With long reptilian legs and feet, it had a kind of shuffling gait as it walked through the cave. It wore a long dark robe covering its upper body, with the hood thrown back.


    ¡°Shit, well that isn¡¯t good. That kobold is probably a caster based on its dress. We have 2 different options I can see. We can try to kill the kobold, it could be what is summoning these skeletons, if the summoner dies their summoned creature has a few different ways it can go. If it was a lower level spell used to create the skeletons they will just fall apart, if the magic comes from the kobold it might work. If it isn¡¯t a lower level spell, or if it doesn¡¯t come from that kobold then we will need to kill the skeletons anyways.¡± Medera paused for a few seconds letting them walk further into the cavern. ¡°I don¡¯t have any spells I can cast stealthily, so you should start by attacking it from stealth.¡±


    Nodding in understanding Bjorn positioned himself by the door and prepared to shoot at the kobold. Taking one of his poison tipped arrows he set it to the string and sat to wait for the party to come closer. Once they got in range he looked over at Medera who just nodded back, and he drew his bow.


    Pulling on the bowstring Bjorn started to prepare for his shot. Halfway through the drawing process the bow creaked. Not stopping for anything he finished drawing his bow. The group of skeletons and the kobold stopped in their tracks and looked in their direction. But unfortunately for them they were too slow to react. An arrow came streaking through the dim light and hit the kobold in the lower chest.


    With a grunt of pain it started to cast a spell. Its hands became wreathed in a black light, and the syllables that it spoke were harsh and cutting coming from its reptilian mouth. 3 seconds later a barrier formed between it and the unseen archer. None too soon as a second arrow came streaking in and ricocheted off of the barrier. The skeletons weren¡¯t idle when the arrow slammed into the shield, 2 of the skeletons took off in the direction that the arrow had come from, the last one drew a bow and started to shoot arrows back. As the two skeletons rushed forward out of the barrier the arrow that had ricocheted off of the barrier hit the larger of the 2 skeletons in the leg.


    At the same time as the kobold casting its spell Medera immediately started casting a spell of her own. It was at that time that the skeletons had noticed what was going on and took off towards their position. In the low light Medera could not see that the last skeleton had drawn a bow and started to shoot at her. Right before she finished casting her spell an arrow streaked through the dark and hit her in the stomach. Grunting in pain she didn¡¯t stop her spell. However she wasn¡¯t a novice in casting and was able to hold her concentration to finish the spell. As soon as she finished the first spell she started working on a second spell.


    Medera¡¯s first spell had an immediate effect on the ground under the skeletons running at Medera and Bjorn. The ground that they were running on turned into a soupy mess and started to drag the skeletons under. ¡°Shoot at the skeletons.¡± Cried Medera right before she started casting her second spell. Bjorn on his end had been bombarding the kobolds shield spell with arrows to no avail. Upon hearing Medera he switched his aim towards the two skeletons running at them.


    Medera¡¯s spell had slowed the skeletons but it hadn¡¯t stopped their advance. Bjorn took full advantage of the slowing effect and switched his target to the larger skeleton. He was able to get another arrow off into the skeleton which didn¡¯t seem to do much to it before it reached the end of Medera¡¯s spell. Once it broke free Bjorn drew another arrow and aimed for the center of its chest. Connecting it staggered backwards and fell into the mud. The second skeleton continued to run towards Bjorn. Making a snap shot decision he drew one final arrow and shot the skeleton stuck in the mud finally stopping its struggles to free itself from the ground.


    The smaller skeleton was upon Bjorn. It had a dagger in its hands taking a lunging swing at Bjorn; he deflected the swing with his bow. There was a snap as the dagger severed the bow string as the wood of the bow fell back into its normal resting position. Grabbing the bow by one of the ends he swung it at the skeleton like a club. It threw itself backwards in what looked like a botched attempt at a back handspring. Dropping his bow he drew his sword.


    During that entire exchange the skeleton in the back kept shooting arrows at Medera making her duck back into the stone house trying to avoid the arrows. The kobold had started casting balls of black energy at Medera as well. Not finding its target it spoke in its harsh tongue. And the skeleton archer switched targets and started to aim towards Bjorn.


    Once the sound of things hitting the stone Medera was hiding behind she dared to take a look, and saw the skeleton aiming at Bjorn. Swearing under her breath she took the stone shards that were floating by her and cast them towards the barrier. Where they landed cracks started to form on the barrier. So she started to cast a 3rd spell.


    With his sword in hand Bjorn tried to lunge at the skeleton on the ground, but it rolled away from his swing and pushed itself away mid roll. In a feat of impressive athletics the skeleton was able to get its feet under itself and stand looking at Bjorn. That was when an arrow came streaking through the dark and hit Bjorn in the leg, and he went down onto one knee. The dagger wielding skeleton didn¡¯t waste its chance and pounced at Bjorn. As its dagger started to arch down towards Bjorn''s neck a stone came shot out from where he was kneeling and hit the skeleton in the head, making its head snap back and staggering it.


    In a moment of quick thinking Bjorn used his body to shield the light that his hand created by casting his cast stone spell. Even though his leg protested from the arrow that went straight through his thigh he pushed himself up and took his sword burying it in the dagger wielding skeleton with a yell he yanked his sword to the side. There was a crunch as his sword ripped out of the ribcage and the skeleton fell to the ground in a pile of bones. Looking at where the two ranged enemies were, Bjorn started running at them, by taking cover.


    With a smile at seeing her companion finish off the two melee skeletons, Medera completed her 3rd spell. There was a crack from above where the skeleton and kobold were as a stalactite broke free from the ceiling and fell on the shield of the kobold. The shield was not able to hold up to the force and weight of the stalactite and with a sound similar to breaking glass the shield shattered. The stalactite continued its trajectory downwards and fell on the bow wielding skeleton crushing it flat.


    Seeing how it was all alone the kobold turned around to flee, taking off down the corridor as fast as it could. But the arrow that was embedded in its gut slowed its movements, and a stone came rocketing out of the dark slamming into its back. There was a crunch from its body and it went down with a scream, its legs stopped working. Its legs not working didn¡¯t stop the kobold, it still tried to pull itself along the ground with its hands trying to escape.


    Medera and Bjorn caught up to the debilitated kobold easily, they restrained the kobold. Looking at each other they both knew what needed to be done, without a word being said between them they started to ask questions.


    The kobold was rather uncooperative to their questions, it didn¡¯t actually say anything to them in any language they knew. And any of the prodding that they did, forcefully or gently hadn¡¯t yielded any results. Eventually they realized the futility of their questions and Bjorn was the one to kill the creature. Even though he didn¡¯t like killing a defenseless creature like they did, they really had no choice. It wouldn¡¯t be right to leave it in the state that it was, and they couldn¡¯t let it go. It had proven that it was a spell caster and they couldn¡¯t just let it have the chance to cast even more spells at them.


    ¡°I see it as we have 2 choices.¡± Bjorn said to Medera. ¡°Either we go home and recuperate and hope they don¡¯t find us and kill us when we are underprepared. Or we dress our wounds and continue onwards. There was no guarantee that the kobold was our necromancer but I don¡¯t want to leave it to chance. I would rather we move onwards. This leg wound is a pain but it''s manageable. And your gut wound doesn¡¯t seem to have slowed you down at all.¡±


    ¡°I agree, I think we should continue onwards. It would be unwise to stop, I am getting low on mana but I can just take my first potion. There is a chance that this kobold is actually our necromancer, he was casting death spells. That black light and the black energy are dead giveaways.¡±


    Looking at Medera with a look of incredulity. ¡°Really? Do you really think this is the best time for a pun?¡±


    With a chuckle Medera replied. ¡°Of course it is the best time. We just fought to the death with a death mage. Right now we need to relax, so we can prepare for our next fight. The art of returning to a clear state of mind is starting to become a dying practice for you.¡±


    Bjorn just groaned.


    They spent a few minutes addressing the wounds that they had, Medera drank down her mana potion, and then they both looked ahead and started down the tunnel with a walk of determination.

 Chapter 7

    Traveling down the tunnel it was ever changing. It didn¡¯t seem to go in any one particular direction, it had parts that sloped up, and down, where it shrunk to where they had to crawl and grew to where they both could stand with their arms outstretched and touch neither wall. They remained on alert for any signs of any enemies. They walked along through the first duration of the simple light spell, and then a second. By the third one they were starting to relax. As they traveled Bjorn started to read through his notifications.


    You have advanced your skill level in herb-lore, reaching skill level 13. The efficacy of plants and herbs you collect will increase by 39%


    Congratulations by reaching the novice threshold in Herb-lore you gain a perk! You get an idea of two uses of a herb when you ingest it.


    You have advanced your skill level in light magic. reaching skill level 3. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.


    You have advanced your skill level in earth magic. reaching skill level 2. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.


    You have advanced your skill level in archery, reaching skill level 5. Damage from arrows you shoot is increased by 15% over base damage.


    You have advanced your skill level in stealth, reaching skill level 4. You will now be 16% harder to spot while stealthing.


    You have advanced your skill level in swordsmanship, reaching skill level 3. Your attacks with swords now deal 9% more damage over base value.


    Level up! You are now level 8, you have 6 attribute points to distribute.


    Next he pulled up his character sheet and decided where to put his 6 attribute points he had to distribute.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:Bjorn Ward


    </td>


    <td>


    Race:Human


    </td>


    <td>


    age:18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Hp:120


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina:120


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana:140


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    Stats from items (*)


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Strength:15(2)


    </td>


    <td>


    Constitution:12


    </td>


    <td>


    Dexterity:13(1)


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Agility:12


    </td>


    <td>


    Endurance:12


    </td>


    <td>


    Intelligence:14


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Wisdom:12


    </td>


    <td>


    Charisma:12


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Abilities


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Increased growth


    </td>


    <td>


    Skilling Prodigy


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Disadvantage


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weak


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Synergy


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Latent potential


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Skills


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Alchemy: 11: 11%


    </td>


    <td>


    Archery: 5: 11%


    </td>


    <td>


    Bowyering: 1: 55%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Carpentry: 1: 98%


    </td>


    <td>


    Cooking: 7: 12%


    </td>


    <td>


    Construction: 2: 0%


    Road building: 2: 33%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Hand to hand combat: 1: 99%


    </td>


    <td>


    Healing: 1: 27%


    </td>


    <td>


    Herb-Lore: 13: 10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Leatherworking 1: 1:27%


    </td>


    <td>


    Small blades: 1: 48%


    </td>


    <td>


    Stealth: 4: 50%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Survival: 4: 83%


    </td>


    <td>


    Swordsmanship: 3: 40%


    </td>


    <td>


    Trade 3: 81%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Perks:


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Alchemy 10: 50% less chance to fail potion creation


    </td>


    <td>


    Herb-lore 10:Can see 2 potential uses upon consuming any herb.


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Taking a look at all of his stats, there wasn''t really any one place that lacked. So Bjorn decided to put 2 points into strength, 1 into constitution, 1 into agility, 1 into wisdom and finally 1 into dexterity.


    After all of that was done Bjorn and Medera just started to walk on in silence. Right before the end of the third duration of the simple light spell Medera put her hand in front of him and barked. ¡°Stop, there is a trap right there.¡± As she pointed to a patch of ground.


    Getting down on his knees Bjorn got closer to take a look at what she was pointing at. Not seeing anything he replied. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Pretty sure, it is right there.¡± Also joining him on her knees she pointed at a small round stone, 4 inches across. ¡°I think it is a pressure plate.¡±


    Looking even closer to the rock that Medera had pointed out he finally saw a small groove cut into the side of the rock, putting his eye level with the groove he could see a small metal rod pushed up from the ground into the rock.


    ¡°How did you see that?¡±


    ¡°I have a trap finding skill. Which, if you just saw what I saw you should have gained the skill yourself.


    Checking his notifications again she was right.


    You have gained the skill: trap finding. There are many evil and nefarious people in this world, and people have devised a way to set traps to hurt the unsuspecting who stumble upon them. You have started to learn how to get around these asshole¡¯s plans. Good luck.


    Telling Medera that he gained the skill and what it said. ¡°You know I find it disconcerting that the prompt that gave me the skill wished me luck. Doesn¡¯t really engender a sense of security.¡±


    ¡°You know based on the notifications you have shared what it had said with me. It makes me wonder why they are so sarcastic, and sometimes rude. I haven¡¯t ever gotten a notification anything like what you¡¯ve been getting.¡±


    As she finished saying that another notification popped up in front of Bjorn¡¯s vision, this one with a booming voice saying it in his head.


    Congratulations, you have learned you are a bitch. Only those who are true wimps go and snitch. You know what they say, snitches get stitches.


    The notification stayed in the middle of his vision and he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. He tried to close it, to minimize it, there was even a little mute button in the bottom corner of the notification that he tried to mentally click on it. Which did nothing. Once it finished with its sentence it made the sound of blowing a raspberry and then closed.


    Frowning, Bjorn was about to ask Medera about this new notification that he just got, and wasn¡¯t able to remove, but he thought better of it. Who knows what would have happened next. Moving on back to the pressure plate.


    ¡°What do we do to disarm it?¡±


    ¡°There are many different things you can do to disarm the traps, and depending on how good or shoddily the trap was made, all could work, or none that I know of could work. Luckily for us I think this trap wasn¡¯t built with all too much care and all we have to do is this.¡± Medera said as she grabbed ahold of the top of the trap and lifted it up with a smooth motion.


    The rock came free exposing a hole. Looking into the hole it was around 3 and a half inches around. There were 3 small metal rods that extended into the ground. The bottom of the rock had 3 different groves, one for each rod. The 3 rods converged down into a point and attached to another small rod that shot off under the wall. Examining the wall there were 4 different small holes.


    Looking at each other they both took a step back as Bjorn picked up a small rock and tried to throw it into the hole. It took a few tries but eventually he was successful. There was a small audible click as 4 arrows covered in a sickly green ooze came shooting out of the holes in the wall. When the arrows hit the opposite wall of the tunnel one of the shafts snapped, another one the head got bent so badly the tip was bent at a right angle. The last two bounces around a few times before coming to a stop.


    ¡°It was a good thing that we spotted that, if we didn¡¯t it would have been trouble for us.¡±


    ¡°Thank you captain obvious.¡± Said Bjorn.


    Giving Bjorn an annoyed look, Medera took off down the tunnel again. Quickly collecting the two remaining arrows he took off after Medera. It wasn¡¯t long before Medera stopped again and pointed out another trap. Once again Bjorn couldn¡¯t see what she was pointing at. Taking a few minutes looking at it, he eventually saw what she was talking about. This time the trap was a small tripwire that was strung inbetween a small stone in the middle of the tunnel and the wall. As soon as he spotted the wire the entire wire lit up in blue.


    ¡°What is your trap finding level Medera? I wasn¡¯t able to see it until you pointed it out. I probably would have just blundered into it.¡±


    ¡°Not overly high, just 19.¡±


    As they moved onwards they had to stop more and more frequently because of traps. ¡°Kobolds are notorious for their traps.¡± Said Medera as she was skirting around a pitfall trap. As they progressed forward there weren''t any other signs of life other than the traps they had to get around. ¡°I sure hope we don¡¯t have to leave in a hurry, these traps will be quite a nuisance if so.¡±


    Not long after the pitfall trap there was a light up ahead of them. Asking Bjorn to extinguish his light they started to creep forward. The light was in a medium sized cavern, this cavern had stones all over in the walls and ground. The stones ranged from the size of a pinky nail. To one that was over a foot and a half in diameter. The stones emitted a soft pleasant blue light.


    The light illuminated the entire cave. Inside the cave was a small town. There were 8 different buildings, all were pretty small. Their roofs were no larger than 5 or 6 feet tall. They looked small enough that they would be single room homes. All except for 1, the last one was around 8 feet tall and large enough that it could have boasted multiple rooms. Off to one side of the cave there was a small stream that came out of the rocks and then sunk back into the rocks on the opposite wall.


    Slowly moving into the cave it looked to be deserted. ¡°I don¡¯t like the looks of this.¡± Said Medera. ¡°We should head back.¡±


    Nodding in agreement they turned to leave. Only to find that the cave was blocked by miniature skeletons. The skeletons looked to be human skeletons but only they were smaller, around 3 and a half feet tall at the tallest. Their proportions were just that of humans. The skeletons all had various different weapons, all from spears, swords, knives, clubs, a few bows, and even 1 had a sling that it was lazily swinging around. There were 9 of them in total.


    A high pitched voice called out behind them in common. ¡°You come into my home, kill my skeletons and my friend, and now you want to leave? I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    Turning back around there were another 5 skeletons all the same size as the others blocking the door. In the middle there was one living creature. It was the same size and dimensions as the other skeletons around them. It was male, had pale skin, black eyes, and there was a glow of black surrounding its hands. The skin around its eyes had turned black and there there were black streaks leaching into other parts of its body.


    Speaking in a low voice in mountain dwarvish, Medera said. ¡°It is a rock gnome, and based on its appearance we have found our necromancer.¡±


    ¡°Stop that.¡± Snapped the rock gnome. ¡°If you speak again in any language I don''t understand, I will have my skeletons kill you without mercy.¡° The gnome made a hand gesture and two of the skeletons walked into the big house and came back a moment later with a chair. Setting it behind the gnome he took a seat.


    ¡°Now where were we?¡± he said. ¡°Ah yes, you coming into my home, killing my guards, and my friend. And now have circumnavigated my traps to come here so heavily armed in hopes to kill me. I am here to dissuade you from that notion. You have been quite a thorn in my side. Do you know how long it took me to collect all those skeletons that you have killed and destroyed over the last few months. I think I know where you live. I was going to send my skeletons to go kill you but you saved me the effort by coming to me.¡±


    ¡°Who are you? And why are you here and doing this?¡± Asked Medera.


    ¡°Ah that is a fascinating question you see.¡± Replied the rock gnome. ¡°Who I am, well I am no one of consequence, just a rock gnome boy who wants to be left alone with my family. As to why I''m doing this, what are you referring to? I just want to be left alone and you have to come in here to disturb my peace.¡±


    Bjorn looked around at the small gnome skeletons that are the same size as the rock gnome in front of him. ¡°Your family? Are you talking about these skeletons? What happened to them?¡±


    ¡°Quite astute of you. Yes, these skeletons are my family. All of them are my family. We were a kind peaceful family living down here in this cave eeking a living, it wasn¡¯t anything glorious, but it was good. Better than living on the surface or in one of the larger towns down here. We toiled every day and never seemed to get anywhere. One day I stumbled upon the remains of a fight. There were all sorts of creatures, Mostly gnolls. Some goblins, and a hobgoblin. They were fighting a nagpa, which is a large humanoid bird creature. They had the limbs of a human, a large hunched stature, and a crows head. You know they are actually quite fascinating beasts. But anyways, I can''t get too distracted.¡± As the gnome trailed off. ¡°Anyways on the nagpa¡¯s side there were skeletons scattered all over the ground. Both parties looked to have finished each other off because the corpses didn¡¯t seem to have been looted at all.¡±


    ¡°You see, living in the underground is rough, if either group had stumbled upon our little village here they would have wiped us out. Most likely they would kill any who fought back, and those who didn¡¯t fight back they would capture and take back to their camp and slowly eat us one by one. Gnolls are vicious creatures, they like their meat fresh, so they wouldn¡¯t actually kill us before feasting, they would actually eat us while we were still alive. The nagpa would probably also eat us alive, but it was a necromancer so we wouldn¡¯t rest in peace. It would have bound our souls to our bodies and enslave our free will, we would be trapped and have to do its bidding, all while being fully aware of what was happening.¡±


    Stolen novel; please report.


    The gnome shifted in its seat. ¡°Luckily for us, both parties were dead. So I set about trying to find anything useful to bring home. As I was searching I found this book.¡± As he said it a large leather bound black book came floating out of the house. Upon closer inspection the book''s surface looked to be roiling. A mix of black, red, and dark gray. As each color vied for control over the dominant position on the book different images would form and then fade away. An image of a young girl laying on an altar with a knife through her chest as blood dripped off of the altar. Then an image of a skeleton bursting forth from a corpse. They just kept coming.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what it was but I was transfixed by the book. It was by the dead nagpa¡¯s hand. I took the book, it looked like it would be useful. Afterwards I returned to my village and stowed the book away and hid it away. For months I would go back to the book whenever I had free time and read from it. It wasn¡¯t long after that that I started to hear whispering. It was oh so helpful. The voice started to teach me death magic, small stuff at first. It taught me how to raise skeletons, how to leverage my mana, and eventually how to raise zombies. That was when my wife found out about what I was doing. She didn¡¯t like my new abilities, she was afraid of me. She started to push me away, and said she had to tell the village what I had become.¡±


    His voice started to get quiet as he was talking. ¡°She called me a monster, she tried to run and I tried to stop her. I tried to get her to listen to me, but she wouldn¡¯t. She hit me, I don¡¯t remember it but she pushed me off of her, I was never a strong person. She pushed me off and hit me. My skeleton¡¯s defended me. They killed her, my grimoire had taught me how to preserve her soul at this point. So I did what I had to do, I bound her soul to her skeleton. Now I never have to be alone. She will never leave me. The process makes a bit of noise, and pretty soon the rest of my family came to see what was happening.¡±


    His body started to become rigid as he sat on the chair, his voice grew more steely, and he started talking with confidence. ¡°My own family, those who I have been with my entire life, looked at me with their cold judgemental eyes. They all said that I had become a monster, that no normal gnome would do what I just did. But how could I be the monster, I didn¡¯t want to lose my Gretta. They were the monsters, they tried to run me from my own home, they threw stones at me, kicked me, they even started to talk about killing me. All I did was defend myself. They forced my hand. Once it was all done I did the same to them as I did to my Gretta. Now they won¡¯t do those things to me anymore. They will never try to leave me.¡±


    The rock gnome then got up from his chair. ¡°Enough about me, what knowledge do you have in your brains? Never mind that, I will know soon enough.¡± As soon as he said that the skeleton gnomes all rushed forward and piled onto Bjorn and Medera. They tried to fight back but there were just too many. The gnomes tackled them to the ground and swarmed, using rope to restrain their limbs. Bjorn and Medera didn¡¯t go easy though, they fought back, Bjorn was able to snap off two different limbs on two of the skeletons before they restrained them. Medera on the other hand crushed one of their skulls stopping its movements.


    As she crushed its skull the Rock gnome yelled with anger and a wave of black energy shot forth from his body and slammed into Medera, and she went limp. Once they both were restrained the skeletons pulled all of their gear from them, all except for a knife that Bjorn kept in his boot.


    After they were fully restrained and disarmed, the skeletons drug both of them to a ritual circle that had been laid out while Bjorn and Medera fought back and subsequently were restrained. There were runic symbols built into the sides of the circle, with 3 lines running through the middle crossing in the center.


    ¡°This little beauty was taught to me recently by the Grimoire, it will pull your skeleton from your body and then again bind your soul to your skeleton. The difference this time is you should still maintain a greater part of your intelligence and you will be able to speak. The caveat is that you won¡¯t be able to choose what you speak. You only say what I ask of you. You won¡¯t be able to lie, or withhold any information that I seek. You¡¯ll have to repay me for all that you have taken from me so far.¡±


    The skeletons first drug Bjorn to the center of the circle and threw him roughly on the convergence of the lines. When he came in contact with the center point the lines of the circle lit up and Bjorn found he couldn¡¯t move from that point. Some sort of magical force held him in place. Bjorn didn¡¯t want to give up, his hands were tied behind his back. And so he struggled. With some effort from his struggling he was able to get the knife from his boot. Still struggling he turned the knife around in his hand and started to saw at the ropes around his wrists. As he was doing that the rock gnome started to chant, as he was chanting the light of the lines grew brighter, while the rest of the light from the glowing rocks dimmed. The grimoire floated just behind the rock gnome with a black mist drifting out of its open pages. Black tendrils snaked out of the book and latched onto the back of the rock gnomes head.


    Sawing furiously at the ropes the air started to grow colder. Bjorn¡¯s strength started to be sapped away into the lines. As he grew weaker the lines on the ground which were originally white started to turn black. The 6 lines that converged on Bjorn started to slowly turn black starting with him. Soon the entirety of the lines were black, the room felt like it was ice cold, and Bjorn didn¡¯t have much strength left in his limbs, his vision began to blur.


    In one final act of defiance Bjorn cut free of his bindings on his hands. He drew his arm back that was holding the knife, took aim at what he thought was the rock gnome and threw with all his might, and he missed. The knife flew through the air traveling end over end and sailed past the gnome, and struck the grimoire, embedding itself blade first in the front cover of the book.


    The effects of the blade toss were immediate. Bjorn regained a portion of his strength, his vision cleared, the lines of the circle started to retreat, and the force holding Bjorn in place faded. Pushing himself onto his feet he sprinted at the gnome. Running into the creature with his hip the gnome drifted backwards away from Bjorn, the tendrils of the grimoire held it suspended in the air. The gnome itself didn¡¯t react, he had a glazed look in his eyes. All 13 of the remaining skeletons also remained in place, the light in their eyes faded, but the skeleton of the skeletons remained standing. Running at the gnome again Bjorn grabbed ahold of the gnome this time, and went for the head, grabbing ahold of the head he tried to twist the head sideways snapping the neck, but try as he might the head stayed in place, an evil laugh came out of the book.


    The gnome started to stir, coming back to its senses it started to cast a spell. Not wanting the gnome to finish casting the spell Bjorn let go of its head, and had an idea. He instead grabbed ahold of the body of the much smaller creature and twisted the body. There was resistance. Giving another swift turn on the body there was a snap as the body gave way, and started to turn. Bjorn turned the gnome''s body one full revolution before he stopped.


    As for the gnome, as soon as its neck broke the chanting stopped. The dark tendrils started to retract back into the book, and the gnome''s lifeless corpse fell to the ground, its head lolling to the side at an awkward angle. The grimoire fell to the ground left open. The skeleton¡¯s that stood around the circle had all crumpled to piles of bones. Retrieving his dagger Bjorn ran over to where Medera laid, he hadn¡¯t seen her move since she got hit by that spell. Getting down on one knee he checked her neck, and there was a pulse. Looking around the room there didn¡¯t appear to be any apparent danger. Finally relaxing Bjorn looked at his status.


    His health and stamina were dangerously low. Both down in the teens, her mana was mostly full. Feeling drained, Bjorn left the circle in search of their supplies. Stumbling back to where they drug him and Medera away from. With nothing there he started to look inside the huts, he finally found their supplies in the large house in the middle. Grabbing three potions, one stamina, and two health potions, he immediately took both the healthing and stamina potion. Heading back to Medera he put her head on his lap, opened her mouth, poured the liquid into her mouth, and then closed it. He then started massaging the muscles in her throat in an attempt to get her to swallow. Once she swallowed Bjorn relaxed even more.


    Taking a look around the room he studied the circle even more, getting closer to the lines on the ground he found that they were made out of chalk. With elaborate designs placed into the chalk. A prompt appeared in front of his face, making Bjorn jump back, and go back on high alert. After a few seconds with nothing jumping out at him he took a deep breath and read the prompt.


    You have become aware of a new area of magic: Ritual magic. You have unlocked a new area of study.


    Not knowing what to do with that knowledge Bjorn started to sift through the piles of bones and the necromancer pulling anything that looked interesting or useful out and setting them aside. After that was done, not wanting to continue to explore the camp without Medera¡¯s expertise, Bjorn sat with his back against the wall and stared at the open book, and resigned himself to wait until Medera woke up. The entire time he was waiting the book didn¡¯t do anything really creepy, no mist, no voices.


    A little after an hour later Medera finally stirred. With a groan she sat up into a sitting position. ¡°Finally you wake up from your little cat nap. Was it nice to sleep while I saved both of our lives?¡± Bjorn jeered at Medera.


    ¡°That was unpleasant.¡± Medera said as she got up and walked over to where Bjorn was sitting, and took a seat next to him.


    ¡°You know, I tried to move you over here to better protect you, but you¡¯ve been eating too much of our dinner and put on some weight.¡±


    Medera smacked him. ¡°That was just uncalled for. Thank you for saving me, I have no idea how you freed yourself, killed the necromancer and saved us.¡±


    Bjorn quickly gave a recap of what happened after Medera was knocked unconscious.


    ¡°Wow, seer dumb luck. I don¡¯t entirely know what happened due to the fact that I am not well versed in dark or even death magic. But it seems to be like you hitting that book with the knife is the only thing that saved us. If the knife had hit the gnome you¡¯d already be a skeleton and I wouldn¡¯t be far behind you. Whatever it is, I think the world would be a better place if we destroy it. We should try fire.¡±


    ¡°Alright you nazi, want to do an old fashioned book burning? I¡¯m not sure I''m entirely onboard with that, but I think your plan has merit.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? What is a nazi? And most importantly why are you telling me we shouldn''t burn the book? Don¡¯t tell me you want to learn it¡¯s dark secrets, you heard that gnome, the book convinced him to kill and raise his own family from the dead.¡± Her tone grew serious. ¡°If you want to keep the book I¡¯m afraid either we will have to split ways or if I have any inclination of you reading or using that book. I will not hesitate to kill you. I will not have you coming after me with death magic in the future.¡±


    Taken aback by the shift in tone and subject matter of the conversation Bjorn quickly backpedaled. ¡°Hey, that is not what I meant at all. I agree we should try to get rid of the book, I think the world would be a better place if that book was not a part of it. It was a poorly timed joke at the wrong time. In my world there was a group of evil people who killed millions of innocent people, and one of the things that they would do was get together and have a mass book burning.¡±


    Realization dawned on Medera¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I misunderstood where you were coming from, that is a dark subject to joke about.¡± Medera drifted off for a minute. ¡°You weren¡¯t exaggerating when you said millions were you?¡±


    ¡°No I was not.¡±


    ¡°That number is hard to wrap my brain around, I can¡¯t even think of 100 people I know and care about, that is an order of magnitude I can''t even begin to imagine.¡± Silence fell between the two companions.


    ¡°Well.¡± Said Medera as she slapped her knees and stood up. ¡°This book isn¡¯t going to get rid of itself.¡± They both set about breaking down one of the smaller houses to get enough wood for a fire. Once they gathered the wood they used a stick to start a fire. Quickly they built the fire to a bonfire and once the flames built to around 4 feet high Bjorn knelt to pick up the book.


    Once his hand came in contact with the book, he started to hear an insidious whisper in the back of his mind. Ignoring the voice he stood up and headed over to the fire they built. As he walked the whisper became louder. It started off as a friendly sounding voice. Trying to get to know Bjorn. As he got closer and closer to the fire the voice changed, it became more frantic, and started to shout that he was making a mistake.


    Not falling for the book''s bullshit, he tossed the book into the fire. There was a short pause before the book caught on fire. The voice that was in the back of Bjorn¡¯s head became audible as a loud scream escaped the book. Covering his ears he stood his ground and watched the book burn. The smoke from the burned book didn¡¯t dissipate. It slowly created a form of a demonic creature, all black. The creature''s red and orange eyes moved between Medera and Bjorn, and a thunderous deep voice boomed. ¡°I DON¡¯T KNOW WHO YOU ARE, BUT WHEN I FIND OUT I WILL COME FOR YOU, AND I WILL SLOWLY DEVOUR YOU FROM TOES TO HEAD, AND THEN I WILL EAT YOUR SOUL. YOU WILL NEVER FIND PEACE.¡± With that proclamation the last bit of the book shriveled up in the fire and the form dissipated and the smoke dispersed.


    The silence between Medera and Bjorn was deafening. Finally he broke it. ¡°On that cheery note, let¡¯s see what we can find here in this camp.¡±


    Nodding in agreement They set out to scavenge everything that would be of use in the camp. The smaller buildings didn¡¯t host much in the way for useful items, there were the remnants of small gnome sized beds, and small areas that were used for more personal storage. It was the large building that held anything of note.


    The inside of the building looked like something out of a horror movie. There were spots of dry blood and rotting pieces of dead animals scattered all over the interior of the house. Of the 3 rooms of the house 2 of the rooms were like that. The last room was where the necromancer had lived. Tossing the room they found all sorts of nick nacks, tools, and things that would be useful for living in a cave. Inside one of the small boxes next to the bed they found a sack of coins. Inside there was 1 gold 30 silver and 29 copper pieces. Making eye contact, Medera just said. ¡°I¡¯m here because of you, the way I see it, that money belongs to you.¡± Saying his thanks Bjorn tied the small coin pouch to his belt. Taking all of the items and placing them onto the ground next to the loot from the gnome skeletons there was a small pile.


    Sorting through the pile Medera kept finding things she thought would be useful. There wasn¡¯t much that really interested Bjorn, except for a ring. Picking the ring up he held it in his hand. It wasn¡¯t much to look at, it was a simple copper band with an engraving of a heart on the middle part.


    Showing it to Medera she took one look at it and said. ¡°It¡¯s a ring of health.¡±


    With any doubt¡¯s dispelled he took the ring and put it on his pinky finger, seeing how it looked to have been made to fit a gnome¡¯s finger. it added 24 points of hp to his pool. Other than that, most of the gear and items that were on the ground were much too small for Bjorn to have any use of them. Leaving Medera to her own devices, Bjorn stood and picked up one of the small pickaxes. Walking over to the cave wall he began to slam the too small pickaxe into the wall trying to free one of the glowing stones. Slamming the metal head into the rock was not pleasant by any means. The pickaxe hit the rock doing damage and starting to chip away at the rock of the wall holding the stone in place. But Newton¡¯s third law of motion was a bitch. Every swing also rebounded back from the head into the handle, and in turn into Bjorn¡¯s arms. So each strike hurt his hands and arms.


    Even with the pain that came from freeing the stone he soon was able to retrieve the stone, it was the size of a closed fist. Smiling to himself he walked back over and dropped the pickaxe. The stone itself retained its glowing demeanor. Pocketing the stone he looked to Medera. ¡°I¡¯m ready whenever you are.¡± She said to Bjorn. As she stood up, there was a small sack that they had found while looting and it looked to be half full with item¡¯s Medera wanted to take with her. Taking one final look over the pile of items Bjorn bent down and picked up a small drinking horn that was in the middle.


    ¡°Alright I''m ready.¡±  And the two of them started the long walk back to the starting cavern. After leaving the room the glow stone retained its glow. The light that it produced was just a little bit stronger than the light of his simple flame spell. So Bjorn used the stone to light their way. Returning to the second cave where they had killed the Kobold Bjorn stopped long enough to retrieve the bowstring from the skeleton archer. After some testing the string looked to be just the right size to make his bow workable again.


    Leaving it all behind they left the caves behind them. When they entered the cave it was early morning. Upon exiting it was dusk. Re-strapping on their snow shoes they began the walk home through the snow, with a few light flakes falling, giving the walk a nice peaceful feeling.


    Making it back to camp they stowed their gear, and set about getting ready for bed. Before they laid down Medera looked at Bjorn and said. ¡°Nice work today. I am glad to call you my friend. Without you my home that I have built over the last 8 years would have had to be forfeit. Words cannot describe my gratitude towards you.¡± After saying her peace they both drifted off to sleep.


    The next morning Bjorn and Medera spent it working on sorting through their new haul and storing it where it should belong. After that they fell back into their normal daily routine, working on language, practicing with magic, and taking turns cooking.


    One day Bjorn asked Medera if they could work on making him a set of leather armor.


    ¡°Sure we can try.¡± Replied Medera. ¡°I bet you wish you had it when we went down to fight the skeletons. I should have thought about that sooner. After all, we have the spare leather from that tanned deer hide. Sure, let''s get to it right away.¡±


    They spent the rest of the day working on the armor. They started by getting measurements of Bjorn¡¯s body, and making a basic stencil of how they will need to cut out the leather, which took most of the day. Over the next week they took the leather and cut the pieces out. Using a skiving knife they put a bevel on the edge of the leather pieces. After all the pieces had rounded edges they then took a grooved stone and wet the edges of the leather, running the grooved stone across the edges they created friction on the pieces basically getting all of the fibers of the leather to lay down, which increased the longevity of the leather according to Medera, she called the process burnishing.


    After they had the pieces burnished they wet down the leather again and used the bottom side of their pestle and mortars to shape the leather, trying to get it to stay in a particular shape. Medera produced a small punch. ¡°It will make it so that it will be easier to sew the pieces together.¡± With their preparations almost complete Medera pulled out a small pot of a rank smelling liquid. ¡°We will apply this to the surface of the leather, it is a strengthening agent. It should make the leather nice and durable, making it more resistant to cutting. We had to punch our holes before applying this, if we had applied this agent before making our holes it would be almost impossible for us to sew the pieces together.¡± With the foul smelling paste applied to the leather they had to leave it be for 4 days. After the first day the greasy looking surface of the leather had turned into small splotches of grease. By the 3rd day the small splotches turned into little white dots that were all over the surface. On the last day the leather looked just as it did before they applied the paste.


    Admiring their handy work Medera grabbed a knife and handed it to Bjorn. ¡°Go ahead, try and cut it.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you want me to ruin our last few days of work?¡±


    ¡°We need to make sure that the paste did its work. You wouldn¡¯t want to wear a set of leather armor that was as easy to cut as we did with the raw leather.¡±


    ¡°That is a fair point.¡± Replied Bjorn as he picked up one of the smaller pieces that went towards the back of his shoulder and pushed the knife into the leather. Only it didn¡¯t actually sink into the leather; the point of the knife stayed in place. ¡°Looks like it worked wonders Medera.¡± Said Bjorn, sounding like a giddy school boy.


    After their preparations were complete then they sewed the pieces of leather together using a thick string. Next they made long thin leather cords out of their remaining leather. Repeating the process that they used on the main leather pieces they then sewed the leather cords into the whole armor as a way to secure the set to Bjorn¡¯s body.


    After 3 weeks of hard work they had a set of leather armor that fit Bjorn¡¯s body. With appreciation Bjorn began to wear it as he fell back into doing his daily practices again.


    One day Medera said. ¡°The snows are lifting, it will be fully into the swing of spring again. Once the snow begins to melt it will be time for us to travel back into Nontorum. There will be another spring market, and it will be good to see what is there this time.¡±


    They spent a few weeks getting ready for the trip into town again. On the day that they were finally prepared to go they both got ready. Each of them gearing up to get ready for whatever awaited them. Bjorn packed up all of his worldly possessions so far. Medera packed up most of their potions they were going to try to sell in town.


    As they were leaving, Medera said. ¡°Wait I forgot something, I¡¯ll be right back.¡± as she ducked into the cabin. It was a beautiful, clear spring day, Bjorn wandered over to the cliff face and took in the view again, admiring the drop, then the steep slope down to the river bed.


    A loud crack came from behind him, turning around Bjorn¡¯s heart sunk. On the edge of the clearing there was something he had seen before. A mauler, only this one was bigger, much bigger. The last one was close to 4 feet tall, this one was well over 9 feet tall.


    Medera came out of the cabin upon hearing the sound. She froze as soon as she stepped out of the cabin. Turning towards Bjorn she yelled a single word. ¡°Run.¡±


    Once that single word broke the tense silence that fell over the field the mauler sprung into action, it dove at Medera. In a panic she started to cast a spell, but it never finished. As the mauler got within range of Medera one of its legs turned into a large scythe appendage and struck out at Medera. The weapon came swishing down and bisected Medera. The upper half of her body went flying toward Bjorn, as her lower half stayed in the same place she had just been standing. The mauler turned and charged at Bjorn. Medera didn¡¯t die immediately when she got cut in half, and a scream left her lips as her body slammed onto the ground in between the mauler and Bjorn. Her scream was cut short as the scythe appendage came down on Medusa''s  head as it ran toward Bjorn. The limb impaled her body and it stuck to the limb as it continued toward Bjorn.


    In horror Bjorn did the only thing he could think of to get away. He turned around and jumped off of the cliff. When he hit the ground there was a loud snap as his leg broke. Toppling over he began to roll uncontrollably down the hill. His body began to pick up speed as he rolled, that was until it came in contact with a tree, there was another crunch as pain shot up his side. He continued downwards, his momentum didn¡¯t seem to be slowed all that much by the first obstacle. He continued to hit rocks and trees as he fell. A large boulder came in view as he plowed headlong into it and his world went dark.

 Chapter 8

    The sound of a peaceful babbling brook was what Bjorn woke up to. Taking a minute he just laid there breathing, relief flooded over him, just being thankful he was alive. The need for a cough overtook him, and that was when the peace was broken, and he immediately changed his mind, no longer thankful to be alive. When he coughed, pain racked his entire body. Looking at his health bar it was sitting at 5 out of 154. Luckily he had his health ring on, otherwise he would have died in the fall. Opening his eyes he started to take stock of his situation. He was at the bottom of the ravine, from where he lay he couldn¡¯t tell where Medera¡¯s and his home was at.


    Memory came flooding back, Medera was dead. There was no escaping that fact, he watched her get cut in two. He could see her lifeless corpse dangle from the mauler''s leg as it ran towards him. He could see the scene play out in vivid detail, he could see her eye as it fell out of her socket by the force of the mauler¡¯s leg stabbing into her head. Laying his head back down he closed his eyes and cried.


    Bjorn wept for a long time, he cried for the loss of his friend. Everytime he thought he couldn¡¯t cry anymore, he would remember small parts of her personality and the process would start all over again. It was crazy, how attached he had become to Medera, how her presence became a rock in his life. Whenever he had a problem Medera was there, she had the answer, and she helped him in whatever way she could. He was aimless again, he had no motivation besides the drive to live. And so he laid there and wept.


    A snuffling sound jolted Bjorn awake, it was dark out, the time on his clock told him it was morning. Some time during the day he must have fallen back to sleep. The sound happened again. Trying to sit up again he failed to do so, as he tried the pain overwhelmed him until he gave up. So he just laid there, oddly, there was no fear. With nothing to strive for he welcomed the thought of death, he wanted whatever it was that was making that sound to just come over and finish him off. So he just drifted back to sleep.


    The next time he woke up it was mid afternoon. Laying there, it was quiet again. Looking at his health bar again, it was at 8 out of 154 this time, meaning that he had laid there on the ground for 3 days so far. Opening his eyes and looking around, there was a rock about 6 feet away from where he was laying. Rolling onto his stomach pain overtook him and he passed out.


    When he awoke next consulting the clock on the edge of his vision an hour had passed. Using both of his arms he began to drag himself towards the rock. His right leg refused to obey his orders. His left leg felt extremely weak. Progress was slow, putting his arm towards the rock, digging his fingers into the grass, and then pulling. And then his entire body would be racked with pain and he would stop moving until the pain went away. Once he was pain free he started pulling again. Going from an outstretched arm to having it right next to his chest took around an hour each time. Finally dragging himself to the rock he turned himself back around onto his back and passed out.


    The next day Bjorn woke up and slowly propped himself up so that he was in a sitting position with his legs outstretched in front of him on the ground. That was the first time Bjorn got a good look at his leg, his right leg was sitting at an odd angle, the part where his leg attached to his hip was just fine. About halfway down his thigh the entire leg was sitting at a 45 degree angle. 4 inches after the first break there was a second break, and the leg sat at another 45 degree angle so that the lower part after the second break sat parallel to this left leg. With dread he knew that the leg had to be set. Grabbing his right leg he quickly jerked the leg to the right holding the upper portion of the two breaks in place with his other hand. With a crunch his leg now looked to be in two pieces instead of 3. Pain shot up his body and he passed out again.


    Waking up again it was late in the day. Opening his eyes there was a small squat furry animal digging in the dirt not far away from where Bjorn was laying. His first thought was to kill the animal, but he thought better of that. There was no guarantee that he would be able to get to the animal, so it had no use for food, if he killed it, its body could attract other predators to come and eat the body, and finding it in his weakened state they most likely would finish him off. So instead he cast his cast stone spell and shot it near the animal, scaring it and it ran off.


    Next thing on the list was to bind the portion of leg that he set, looking around there was a mostly straight stick not far off from where he laid. As he worked up his courage to go for the stick he had a thought. When Bjorn fell down the hill he had his bow, it was on his back. Reaching behind him he felt the bow, and he pulled it out. The bow was snapped a little above the middle. Pulling the bow string off of the bow he took the two pieces of the bow and placed the bow on either side of his leg, then he looped the bowstring around his leg 2 times before tying the string into a quick release knot.


    With his leg splinted he grabbed his leg right above and below the first break with another jerk and another crunch his leg moved back into place. This time instead of passing out Bjorn stayed conscious through this ordeal. Untying the knot he moved the bow further up his leg and tied the pieces in place again, luckily the bow was long enough that he was able to use it to splint both breaks.


    Now that the leg has been taken care of the next pressing issue Bjorn had was he was getting dehydrated. The distance between the rock and the stream was around 10 yards. With trepidation Bjorn started to drag himself towards the stream, the process was faster than it was earlier but it was by no means fast. By the time he got to the stream both of the suns had gone down casting the ravine into darkness. Drinking his fill Bjorn was exhausted and passed out again.


    Feeling something crawl across his fingers Bjorn woke up with a start, pulling his hand back, a small centipede scuttled away on the ground. From where he laid the stream wasn¡¯t overly far away from Bjorn¡¯s face. Looking in the pond Bjorn contemplated how his life had changed. Looking at his health bar it was now at 14 out of 154. Nine days, it has been nine days since Bjorn first time he woke up. His stomach rumbled from a lack of food, but Bjorn didn¡¯t care, there wasn¡¯t a way for him to get food. As he laid there with his head next to the water he saw a patch of moss on one of the river stones.


    Bjorn recalled something Medera said to him once before, ¡°One of the most common healing herbs is called Water moss. I know super creative. If you ingest it your natural rate of healing will double for the next 24 hours.¡± Sticking his hand into the water he grabbed ahold of the small rock, and pulled it towards him. Using both his hands he stabilized the rock and picked the moss off of it. Once he got a clump off the size of an apricot he stuck it in his mouth and started to chew. The moss tasted like dirt. He forced himself to continue to chew disregarding the taste. When he swallowed a few notifications appeared in his vision.


    You have consumed a bit of river moss. Your natural healing with be doubled for the next 33 hours.


    Doing some quick mental math, the duration of the healing effect was increased by 39%, which coincided with the benefit he got from the level 13 herb-lore.


    As you chew on this river moss you get the impression it could be used to make a rather decent healing salve, and a weak healing potion.


    Although useful, it was also rather useless. Without knowing what else he could use to make the healing potion, and the healing salve the information was mostly pointless. But his situation had just gotten better, all he had to do was sit and wait. Dragging himself back over to the rock he sat and contemplated how to change his situation, No matter what he came up with there was nothing he could do until some of his bones mended. The pain that was caused by the broken bones stopped whatever he tried to do. That was when he decided to check the rest of his notifications.


    For your part in killing a level 19 death mage, and killing a level 33 death grimoire you have gained extra experience.


    Level up times 3! You have 9 stat points to allocate.


    You have advanced your skill level in Leatherworking, reaching skill level 3. Durability of items that you make will be increased by 3%


    You have advanced your skill level in small blades, reaching skill level 2. Damage from your use of small blades is increased by 5% over base damage.


    You have managed to break over 15 bones in your body in less than a 5 minute span, each bone broke to a varying different degree. Because of the amount of damage you did to your own body, and still somehow survived. (I think that ring was a cheat) You have gained an increased pain tolerance, you will feel 25% less pain than you normally would as soon as you finish reading this prompt. You¡¯re welcome.


    As soon as he finished reading the prompt the pain that constantly racked his body decreased immediately. God damn it. Why hadn¡¯t he checked his notifications before? What a dumb ass, the last 9 days wouldn¡¯t have been so bad. And what a pain in the ass, why hadn¡¯t he gotten the pain tolerance before. Why couldn¡¯t it have just applied as soon as he got the notification. Silently he held up a middle finger at the universe. ¡°You are an asshole.¡± Bjorn blurted out directed at the universe.


    Because someone is an ungrateful bitch, your pain tolerance will be decreased by 5% making your new pain tolerance 20%.


    Bjorn had to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying something else that would most likely make him lose even more of his benefit.


    Now that he was level 11 Bjorn pulled up his character screen, what to do with these 9 stat points. Having an idea he put 2 of the points into constitution. Raising it to 15. His health bar grew a darker shade of red, and the bar became 17 out of 174. ¡°Damn it.¡± Said Bjorn as he saw the size of his health in the entire bar had not increased. It just stayed the same. Doing more mental math, seeing how he had the time. His previous health total before he put the 2 points into constitution was around 9.5% with his old total health, he was now at around 9.5% of the maximum total he could have. Swearing that he didn¡¯t find a way to cheat the system he moved on.


    He next put 3 points into endurance. 2 into charisma. Finally he put the last 2 points into intelligence. That last allocation was purely out of survival, Bjorn reasoned that going forward, seeing how his bow was broken, the next best thing he could do was use his cast stone spell for ranged damage. More mana meant more stones, which meant more likely to kill whatever it was that was going after Bjorn, or more likely to successfully hunt. With nothing else to really do Bjorn decided it was time to sleep.


    The next time he awoke the first thing he checked was his health, it was at 20 out of 174. Grunting with pain he also kept an eye on his stamina, it was currently full, but it was draining at a rapid rate. ¡°No wonder I keep sleeping so much. I¡¯m not even doing anything, I¡¯m at rest and my stamina keeps draining.¡± Watching the bar steadily decline Bjorn grabbed his rock and picked another batch of the river moss off of it. This time the moss tasted of dirt, and of decay. Still he got the same notification he had last time. This time it didn¡¯t tell him the uses of the plant.


    You are starving, until you eat all healing you receive will be cut in half.


    Swearing under his breath, he had to get food. That was when he remembered that he had rations that he and Medera had packed to make the trip into Nontorum. Slowly he removed what was left of his pack and took stock of what he had left.


    He had enough food for about a week and a half, which would help, but it wouldn¡¯t solve his problem. All of the potions that he had broke in the fall. Somehow a few of his empty vials were still intact. He lost his bed roll, his sword, and all of his arrows broke. About half of the arrow heads went missing, his bag of arrow heads had ripped and most were gone. He was able to retrieve 9 of them from the bottom of the bag. He lost his tinderbox, and the little rope that he had to set snares. The thread and needle that he got to use for leatherworking hadn¡¯t got lost, and his knife that he bought. The glass bauble that he got from the farmer was still intact. His winter clothes were torn in multiple places. They were torn only on his extremities. The leather armor had saved the body and most of the legs from being torn, he lost the hood of his jacket. The armor itself had small cuts in it, there was one small gash under his right arm. Based on the blood on the clothes underneath the armor, he had gotten cut there but it had already healed. The cloak that he picked up at the farmers market he also lost. His alchemy set, although it was a little beat, still looked like it should work, it¡¯ll be harder to make any potion, but it should still work.


    All in all, it could have been worse. Most of his useful possessions were lost, and what other useful possessions he kept wouldn¡¯t be of much use to him in his current situation. Still, all was not lost. Grabbing the food he ate until the debuff of starving went away. Which took roughly half of his total food.


    Grabbing his thread and needle he began to sew up the holes in his pack. It was a long and laborious project. He worked until his stamina bar got close to 0. Setting the pack aside he went to sleep.


    This time he wasn¡¯t out quite as long as he had been. Upon waking he still had 14 hours on his extended healing buff. Slowly Bjorn got into a kneeling position and crawled on his hands and knees to the river, fishing out another moss covered rock he picked enough moss for 3 uses. Then he crawled back to his pack and set to finishing up sewing the pack. Once he finished he was exhausted, taking another dose of river moss Bjorn went back to sleep.


    A low growl woke Bjorn up from his sleep. Opening his eyes a wolf was 20 feet away from where he lay. This wolf was big, bigger than he expected it to be. It looked to be the size of a great dane. It¡¯s body was close to the ground, like it was getting ready to lunge at him. Doing the only thing he could think of doing he drew his knife with one hand to put it between him and the wolf, and with his other hand he cast, cast stone. The wolf continued to growl as it moved closer. Not wanting to wait for it to make its move, Bjorn cast the stone at the wolf, his aim was true and the stone hit the wolf in the head, with a yelp the wolf jumped back and then turned around and ran away.


    After Bjorns heart rate slowed, he set about loading up his gear and remaining food. He then started to crawl away from his spot. The wolf now knows where he was, he couldn¡¯t chance it coming back, let alone it coming back with other wolves. Setting off in a slow crawl, due to the pain he felt, and his useless right leg that drug behind him as he crawled. The entire process was awkward, he moved both of his hands forwards and then did a small jump with his left leg and moved it forward. Each step forward brought with it a new wave of pain, which caused him to stop to wait for the pain to subside. With no better idea, Bjorn set off down the stream, figuring eventually he would have to run into something. He spent what he had of his awakeness crawling that day, his stamina dropped at a very fast pace, it took less than 30 minutes of movement before it bottomed out again.


    The next few days were spent doing the same thing, waking up. Crewing some moss, and then crawling downstream. By the end of the 3rd day his health was sitting at 34 out of the 174. The pain he felt in his chest had decreased significantly. His leg on the other hand didn¡¯t seem to have made any real progress, the pain was still there, and he couldn¡¯t put any weight on his right leg without a searing pain. His time spent crawling went from 30 minutes to just under an hour before bottoming out and forcing Bjorn to stop, and sleep.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    It was on the 4th day the wolf came back, it was alone again. The wolf paused and sat there looking at Bjorn¡¯s attempts at crawling. It alerted him to its presence by a low growl. Pausing and turning around to face the wolf again, Bjorn froze. The wolf this time was about 25 feet away, and it was sitting on its haunches this time. Its body language didn¡¯t hint at it wanting to jump at or attack Bjorn. The pair just sat there and stared at each other. Taking a gamble Bjorn pulled out one of his 3 remaining portions of food, dried meat and threw it inbetween the wolf and himself. The wolf looked at him and cocked its head to the side. It slowly got up and came forward, grabbed the meat and turned tail and walked away.


    Just shaking his head, Bjorn took off again. On the 5th day the wolf came back another time. It sat 25 feet away again and this time it alerted Bjorn with a little woof. Turning around again Bjorn looked at the wolf and said. ¡°Go on get! I don¡¯t have much left for food, and if you can¡¯t tell I am not really making much progress forward. I¡¯ll most likely starve to death out here, and you aren¡¯t helping.¡± The wolf just sat there staring at Bjorn expectantly. Sighing, Bjorn pulled out his last bit of smoked meat and threw it to the wolf. It caught it out of the air and sat as it started devouring the meat. After it finished eating the meat it licked its jowls and then stood and walked towards Bjorn. It walked up to him and nuzzled his arm. Picking up his arm, he pet the wolf, and then it stepped back, just outside his reach, walked in a few circles and then laid down.


    You have gained the skill: Beast Taming. Why would you ever want to do anything yourself? (You lazy bastard) When you can get other creatures to do your bidding for you. There are only two different kinds of beast masters, the first are the ones who force creatures to bend to their will, basically making the beasts slaves. The second are the ones who care and build a relationship with the animals. Which one will you be?


    You have advanced your skill level in Beast Taming, reaching skill level 2. You now have a 5% increased chance to tame an animal.


    You have successfully tamed level 8 Tamber Wolf. Would you like to name level 8 Tamber Wolf? Yes/No.


    Looking over at the wolf Bjorn asking it. ¡°Are you a boy or a girl?¡± The wolf for its part just looked at Bjorn and sighed before turning back around. ¡°Alright, how about an ambiguous name. How does Kris sound to you?¡± The wolf was as indifferent as it was before. ¡°Alright, Kris it is then.¡±


    Pulling up the notification he mentally clicked yes this time. Another prompt popped up, asking him to input a name. Entering Kris Bjorn clicked yes. A new icon appeared on the edge of Bjorn¡¯s vision, it was in the shape of a wolf howling. Mentally clicking on it a new screen appeared.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:Kris


    </td>


    <td>


    Race:Tamber Wolf


    </td>


    <td>


    age:3


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Hp:80


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina:120


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana:20


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    Stats from items (*)


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Strength:12


    </td>


    <td>


    Constitution:8


    </td>


    <td>


    Dexterity:6


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Agility:12


    </td>


    <td>


    Endurance:12


    </td>


    <td>


    Intelligence:4


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Wisdom:4


    </td>


    <td>


    Charisma:6


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Abilities


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Slow metabolism


    </td>


    <td>


    Stealthy


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Disadvantages


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Dumb


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    The Tamber wolf is the most common dog predator that is native to wooded areas. The tamber wolf gains 4 stat points per level. 1 in agility, 1 in endurance, 1 in strength, and 1 free point to allocate.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Slow metabolism: Decrease the amount of food needed to survive by 30%


    Stealthy: Increase the effectiveness of any stealthing skill by 25%


    Dumb: Decrease the effectiveness of any mental stat by 50%


    ¡°Well, you were easy to tame. Did you want to be tamed?¡± The wolf once again ignored Bjorn. ¡°Either way I¡¯d like to make more progress today.¡± He turned around and assumed the crawling position again and took off. After 20ish feet he turned back around and Kris was standing there looking at him. ¡°Come on, or stay, I don¡¯t overly care.¡± Said Bjorn as he kept crawling. Throughout his time crawling Kris kept up, sometimes Kris would range behind Bjorn, other times the wolf walked alongside him, other times it couldn¡¯t be seen in the foliage around him.


    That night when Bjorn stopped for the night because he was exhausted Kris came padding over to him and laid down right next to Bjorn. Stroking the wolf, Bjorn just smiled, tamed a wolf, what a piece of cake.


    The next time he awoke Kris was laying next to him still, all curled up. Reaching out and patting Kris on the back the wolf''s eyes shot open as it tensed up and jumped up a little.


    ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to scare you, everything is alright.¡± Bjorn said in a soothing voice. And Kris calmed down. Scratching behind Kris¡¯s ears, the wolf closed its eyes and pushed its head into Bjorn¡¯s hand as its back leg started to kick. Moving down to the neck, and then the main body the wolf rolled onto its back.


    ¡°Alright, so you''re a boy.¡± Said Bjorn looking at the dog''s belly. He kept rubbing and then rubbed the belly, the dog started panting. ¡°Well boy, let''s keep going. We will need to find some way to get food. I am out, and I don¡¯t think I''ll be able to do much to get some food soon. Unless something falls into my lap.¡± Then he turned and started to crawl away.


    About halfway through his stamina Kris came out of the foliage around Bjorn with a baddit in its mouth. Bjorn stopped to look at Kris, as the wolf came bounding up to him, stopping right in front of Bjorn and dropped the baddit right into his lap.


    ¡°You know, when I said ¡®Unless something falls into my lap.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t being serious.¡± The wolf for its part just sat on its haunches panting and wagging its tail. ¡°Alright I¡¯ll see what I can do with this.¡± From where he sat Bjorn did a survey of his surroundings, he was on top of a small hill that ran along the stream. Although to call it a steam wasn¡¯t entirely accurate anymore. As he had made his way along the river going downstream he had to cross multiple small streams that formed up with the one he was following. At this point the stream had turned into a small river running along the bottom of this ravine. Off to one side back about a hundred yards from where he just came from was a small bluff which should be some sort of shelter.


    Turning back around and making his way towards the bluff Kris picked the baddit backup and trotted along behind Bjorn. They made it to the clearing and Bjorn set about collecting small branches and sticks. With a large tree on top of the bluff there were plenty to choose from. Taking his knife he cut some kindling from one of the branches and set about rubbing two sticks together to make a fire. Soon he had a fire going with not too much hassle. Taking 5 sticks he fashioned a rudimentary spit, the stick that he used as the spit itself he cut as much of the bark and barbs on the stick off, and then sharpened one end of it.


    Turning towards where Kris was sitting with the baddit still in its mouth Bjorn looked to him and said. ¡°Come here.¡± Kris just sat there with the baddit in its mouth, wagging its tail. ¡°Don¡¯t make me make you regret it.¡± Still the wolf just sat there. ¡°Alright, you forced my hand here.¡± Bjorn said as he started casting cast stone. As soon as the stone formed Kris scowled at Bjorn. Somehow a wolf scowled, and then dropped the baddit to the ground, turned around and walked away.


    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t give me that attitude.¡± Called Bjorn after the wolf¡¯s retreating back. ¡°Of course I tame the wolf with an attitude problem.¡± he grumbled under his breath as he crawled over to the dead animal to retrieve it.


    With the carcass in hand he crawled back to the fire, and pulled his knife, setting to dressing the baddit. After everything that wasn¡¯t what he would eat was removed he skinned the creature. Then he cut the leftover meat into sections and skewered it with the spit. Then setting the spit over the fire to slowly cook. About half way through the cooking process Kris came sulking back and grabbed the meat that Bjorn cut off and drugged it to the edge of camp. Kris then turned his back to Bjorn and set to eating the meat scraps.


    ¡°Drama queen.¡± Said Bjorn to Kris¡¯s actions. Getting a growl in reply. Bjorn turned back around to watch the fire and make sure it didn¡¯t burn the meat. After finishing his meal, Bjorn turned back around and Kris was laying there with his back towards Bjorn. ¡°Alright, you drama queen here you go.¡± As he threw a chunk of cooked meat at Kris. The wolf just lazily picked its head up, looked at the meat, and then at Bjorn, and then turned so that his butt was towards the meat and Bjorn, laying back down and going back to ignoring Bjorn. Sighing with exasperation he just went to sleep.


    The next week passed in relative calm. Bjorn spent all of his energy on building a rudimentary shelter for both himself and Kris. The wolf¡¯s attitude didn¡¯t change much, it was pretty accepting of him, and listened to him, at least a little bit. Mostly when Bjorn asked Kris to do something Kris complied, but Kris still had plenty of sass to give.


    On Kris¡¯s end he would leave during the day, and come back every other day with some sort of animal that he killed. From there Bjorn would cut up the creature and give Kris the less appetizing parts of the animal. It¡¯s not like the wolf cared, He would eat just about anything. Kris was a good enough dog, and friendly, but he wasn¡¯t overly smart. Bjorn was pretty sure he saw Kris trying to eat a rock at one point. Although he didn¡¯t have a good look so he couldn¡¯t say for certain.


    At the end of the week Bjorn tried using his splinted leg. Removing the two pieces of the bow, he slowly put weight on it. With no pain he started to put more weight on it. Soon he tried walking, being able to move faster so far his leg didn¡¯t hurt too bad. There was a dull ache from both of the breakpoints, but it was manageable. He spent the rest of the day testing his leg to find his limits. A slow walk was currently as much as he could handle before his leg started to hurt too much again. The slow walk was still faster than he was traveling with the crawl.


    The next morning Bjorn packed up everything from camp and he started to hobble off. Sensing that something was changing Kris stayed around in the morning, instead of wandering off. They took off together heading downstream again. They made progress, it wasn¡¯t fast by any means but it was faster than they made initially. It was around mid day when they made their big discovery.


    They came up to a stream that met up with the brook, being too large for them to easily cross, they started to range up stream to find a crossing. A little up stream there was a small grove of plants. Upon seeing them Kris bounded off and immediately started to eat the plants.


    ¡°Hey! Let¡¯s see what they are before you eat them!¡± Yelled Bjorn. But Kris completely ignored Bjorns words and just kept eating. Sighing Bjorn cast, cast stone and shot it into Kris¡¯s romp. Luckily he was able to change the speed at which the stone was thrown. And Bjorn threw it hard enough to get Kris¡¯s attention, but not enough to do any real damage. With a yelp Kris ran a few paces away from where he stood chewing on the plant. Turned around and started to look around trying to find out what just bit him on the ass.


    ¡°Serves you right!¡± Called Bjorn to Kris as he walked towards the plant that Kris was just eating. Kneeling down The plant was a pale blue in color, with leaves in small clusters of 5. It was a plant that Medera had told him about, it was a herb called Bliscus. Medera talked about the healing properties of the plant. Trusting his old teacher Bjorn took one of the clusters of leaves off of the plant and put it in his mouth and started to chew.


    As you chew on this bliscus you get the impression it could be used to make a weak healing potion, and that it could make a hallucinogenic.


    Well, that could be interesting. Bjorn¡¯s mind was filled with visions of making a hallucinogenic poison and affecting his opponents with it rendering them mostly useless in the fight. He figured if someone was tripping balls it would make them pretty useless in a fight. But that is a long way off. Medera hadn¡¯t talked at all about the possibility of something like that. Shelving his hopes for later he started to collect as much of the bliscus as he could. As he was collecting the plant Kris was going around behind Bjorn looking at what he was doing. After Kris drooled down Bjorn¡¯s neck. Bjorn shooed him away. With another yelp Kris ran away into the bushes.


    After everything was collected Bjorn took off looking for a place to cross again, soon coming across one, he continued following the river. This time he had a goal in mind, instead of trying to cross as much distance as he could, he started to look for a place that he could make camp for the night. He had a plan that he wanted to try to do.


    Soon after he got camp all set up how their previous camp was set, he set to work. There were things that Medera had told Bjorn about alchemy. When making potions there were 3 main forms that healing ingredients needed to take if ever testing to make your own potion. The first one was a pure liquid that could be achieved by steeping the alchemical ingredient in water to make a tea of sorts. The second was a paste, which could be achieved by grinding the ingredient up by itself, or with other ingredients. The last was just wholesale. Of course there were hundreds if not thousands of different ways to make healing potions, and just because you knew how to make healing potions one way with certain ingredients. That doesn¡¯t mean that it would work if you changed out one of the components for something else. Alchemy was a complicated practice.


    And so Bjorn started to test, he wanted to see if he could come up with some sort of healing potion using the Bliscus and the River moss. Although the theory was sound in practice Bjorn failed over and over. That first night he had no luck, the second day nothing changed. Same with the third and fourth day. On the fifth day everything changed.


    When he finished adding the last bit of the Bliscus leaf to the liquid in front of him the potion took on a thin red color. With a woop he took the liquid and drank it down.


    You have drank a truly pitiful health potion, made by a pathetic alchemist. You will regain 10 hp over the next 12 hours.


    Bjorn was so ecstatic by his success he just completely ignored the dig at his ability to brew potions. The potion was just his first success after all. From here on out he could refine the process and make the effects of the potion stronger. First things first though, seeing how his stock of the Bliscus was starting to run low he brewed 5 more draughts of the potion he had just made. Which took most of the rest of the day and part of the next. He spent the rest of the sixth day using up the last of his Bliscus and with no success he planned to move on again on the next day.


    For Kris¡¯s part the wolf barely spent any time in camp, apparently Sitting around in camp all day didn¡¯t sit well with the wolf, so it explored. On the 3rd and 5th day he had brought small animals into camp to be prepared and cooked. On the morning of the 7th day, seeing Bjorn packing everything up he started to bump into Bjorn as if to say ¡°Come on, this has been boring, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Taking one more look at this health pool it was sitting at a steady 74 out of 174. Nodding in content, it looked much nicer than the 5 it was initially. A little over a third of the bar was full. Pulling out a potion he drank it down getting the same prompt as he got earlier, shaking his head in annoyance he set off out of camp with a bit of pep in his step.


    The day was a beautiful day out, spring was starting to be in full swing. There was still snow all over on the ground and up higher up in the mountains. But it was a nice warm day, with clear blue skies. Bjorn and Kris walked in high spirits. Stopping around mid day to have a meal. As they took off again just after noon, they continued along the river.


    Soon taking a short break again to take a drink out of the river. Bjorn took a look at his surroundings he was at the bottom of the ravine, behind him was a small cave entrance, all around him were large trees, not quite as large as the ones on the side of the mountain, but trees around 60 to 100 feet tall, about what was normal for back on earth.


    A crackling sound reverberated through the ravine. Pausing Bjorn started to look around to find the source of the sound. The sound was almost the sound ice made as it slowly broke. There was one final resounding crack as the snow on top of the mountain Bjorn was at the base of, broke free and started to slide down hill directly towards him.


    Standing there watching the majesty of the avalanche it was lost on him that the snow was coming straight towards him and Kris until the wolf grabbed ahold of his sleeve pulling him away. Then it dawned upon him that he was in danger. Kris was trying to pull him away from the avalanche. Quickly Bjorn realized that they wouldn¡¯t be able to get clear of the snow before it hit where they were at. Looking at the cave Bjorn started to take off towards it. He was pulled to a stop, as Kris tried to pull him the other way. ¡°We can¡¯t make it, that cave is our only hope.¡± Bjorn yelled as loud as he could, as the avalanche picked up speed it also got louder and louder. Pretty soon the sound was deafening.


    The wolf must have heard what Bjorn said because it shook its head which held Bjorn¡¯s arm. Obviously he didn¡¯t want to go into the cave. Bjorn tried again ¡°We must go into the cave. That snow wi- ll kill us.¡± in the middle of the word will, the wolf let go of Bjorn''s arm, took one more look at Bjorn and turned tail and ran. Taking one final look at Kris¡¯s retreating back Bjorn turned and ran towards the cave. It was a race between the snow and Bjorn, It looked like he was going to lose, and not make it to the cave. The snow was almost upon the cavern. Bjorn swore under his breath, if that dumb dog hadn¡¯t slowed him he could make it to the cave just fine. Gritting his teeth he put on speed.


    He made it to the cave. As soon as he got inside the cave the snow and ice started to cover the mouth of the cave. WIth horror the snow started to fill the cave Bjorn was standing in. Pushing his way into the cave he blindly flailed around trying to get away from the snow. The snow had fully covered the mouth to the cave and it was plunged into darkness. Realizing he was being an idiot flailing around the cave Bjorn cast simple light. The cave was long and shallow, in the back of the cave there was a single exit. Looking back the snow was halfway across the cave and it continued to encroach. Without a second thought Bjorn threw himself into the new passage. Not long afterwards the snow stopped right next to the entrance to his tunnel. There was no way he was going to be able to dig his way out before he was out of food and water. Turning around he took off down the tunnel, plunging himself into the depths of the earth

 chapter 9

    Bjorn kept casting simple light as he continued down the tunnel heading into the earth. Hours passed with no change in sight. There were of course side tunnels he could try and follow but each of them were too small for him to fit into. Moving onwards he traveled until he didn¡¯t have enough mana to cast his simple light spell again.


    So he stopped moving in the middle of the tunnel and took stock of his situation. He had 3 potions of healing, and 5 mouthfuls of the moss left over. With no way to regain mana at an accelerated rate he soon would be in darkness again. Not knowing what else to do he intentionally snuffed out his simple light spell, crawled into a small rocky alcove and went to sleep.


    When he next awoke his timer on the moss and the clock told him almost an entire day had passed. Taking another mouthful of moss he was about to cast his simple light spell and continue when he realized he wasn¡¯t in complete darkness. There was a super dim light coming from his backpack, Opening it up and digging through the contents he found the small glowstone that he had grabbed from the gnome¡¯s home. He had completely forgotten about the stone, it had lost its glow as he and Medera had climbed up to the surface. Not even contemplating the fact that it could have been triggered by the depth he was underground. He had kept it because he thought the fact that he found a glowing stone to be cool, and kept it as a keepsake. But his keepsake was paying dividends now, the rock provided just a little less light than his simple light spell.


    Holding the glowstone in one hand he continued to track down this passage. It was by no means straight, it went down, then up, then it seemed to go back on itself. The short of it was not long and Bjorn had no concept which direction he was actually traveling. It was around an hour after he felt truly lost when he got a notification.


    Your tamed Tamber Wolf Kris has no clue if you are alive or dead anymore, seeing how you haven¡¯t re-emerged from the cave Kris has assumed you are dead.


    Kris has lost the tamed status and has returned to a wild animal. If you ever cross paths again it will be easier for you to tame the wolf again.


    Due to the fact that you sucked as a master, leaving poor Kris all alone, you have lost some of your beast taming progress.


    Pulling up his character sheet he was dismayed to find that his beast master skill had decreased all of it¡¯s progress all the way back to 0%, luckily he hadn¡¯t lost any of his skill levels.


    Swearing under this breath, Bjorn continued to trudge onwards. Following the twisting paths. He soon came to a side tunnel that was actually big enough that he was able to squeeze through. Not knowing if it would be any better he started doing eenie meenie miney moe settling on the path that he was currently traveling on. He started to continue onwards when his sense of curiosity overtook him and he went back to the offshoot.


    Crawling into it the tunnel started off at a steep incline, which eventually grew into a shoot almost vertical that traveled upwards for 5 feet before opening up back the way he was going. Turning himself around precariously he grabbed the ledge above him and pulled himself onto the ledge. In front of him were two items, one was a dead creature, the second was a mushroom growing out of the body of the creature.


    The creature looked like a large earthworm. It was about 6 feet in length and over six inches thick at its thickest parts. The entire length was segmented every few inches. Without a clear head or tail of the creature Bjorn didn¡¯t know what to make of the thing. The body of the monster had not hit a stage of decomposition yet. Moving up to it, its body was cold. So at least it wasn¡¯t recently dead. Moving to the mushroom Bjorn looked at it. It had a white stem with a black cap. The cap had spots all over it, and all of the spots were of different colors, although the most common spot color was also white.


    In a move which was probably stupid he grabbed the mushroom at the base of the stem and pulled, and it came free without much effort. At the base of the stem the roots were still intact. Only the roots were actually moving. They were like tiny tentacles slowly flailing about in the air.


    With a very manly screech Bjorn dropped the mushroom. When it landed the roots maneuvered the stem and cap so that it was upright again and it started to crawl forward towards the worm''s body again. Shuddering at the sight in front of him Bjorn carefully grabbed the mushroom by the cap again and moved it further away from the worm''s body. Yet the mushroom continued to crawl forward towards the dead worm. Grabbing his knife and the mushroom he laid the mushroom down on the ground holding it in place with one hand and used the knife to stab into the stem of the plant. A tiny squeak escaped the mushroom as a dense cloud of spores escaped from the cap covering Bjorn¡¯s hand. Not to be deterred he continued and pulled the knife downwards towards the slow flailing roots.


    Once the knife cleanly bisected the stem of the mushroom in two the roots of the mushroom stopped moving and the mushroom laid still. Not one to trust the treachery of moving plants Bjorn stayed in place and watched the mushroom for over twenty minutes. When it didn¡¯t move anymore he turned to the worm. It¡¯s body laid right where he had left it. Walking over to the body he took a look at the place where the mushroom had been attached and to his surprise there was a small hole leading into the worm.


    Shuddering at the thought of what he was about to do Bjorn positioned his knife over the hole and began cutting the worm trying to open it up and see what was inside the creature. Bjorn had flashbacks of dissecting worms in school growing up. The process was pretty similar to that, and the interior of the worm was also similar. The hole in the body led to one of the hearts, which the creature had eight in all. It looked like the roots had dug into the heart and was feasting on the blood that remained inside the heart. Small tendrils of root could be seen still moving about inside the heart.


    Moving further down into the body of the worm Bjorn found the stomach of the creature. Using his knife he opened the stomach up and a thick viscous liquid spilled out and onto the rock at his feet. The Rock started to hiss and a thick smoke came up from the places where the bile touched the ground. Taking out his 2 free vials he collected some of the bile. Next he took a piece of cloth that had been left over from patching his backpack and wrapped the mushroom up in the cloth.


    Storing both the mushroom and the vials, Bjorn turned back to the worm¡¯s stomach. Prodding around with his knife the blade didn¡¯t seem to react to the liquid. His knife caught on something, Pulling hard a small bracelet came out of the stomach. It was still covered in the fluid so Bjorn just held it at length. It was a simple band of metal, a smoky white color, in the center of the bracelet there was a small pink stone set into the metal. Still not wanting to touch it he held it at arm''s length with the blade of his knife. Going back to the worm he searched but didn¡¯t come across anything else of importance. Leaving the body behind he first dropped the bracelet down on the ground in front of him and then crawled his way back down.


    When the bracelet hit the dirt a small poof of smoke came rising up out of the ground and the dirt mixed with the metal. Grabbing it with his knife again he continued onwards. All in all a successful side mission. Making his way back to the main path he kept moving in the direction he was heading before. He kept moving until a faint sound came down the tunnel in front of him. He moved forwards towards the sound. After a time the sound became clear enough that he could make out the fact that it was running water. The way that the sound reverberated off of the tunnel walls was deceptive. He kept taking wrong turns as he was moving towards the water. It sounded like the water was off to his right, he would take that path and then after a few minutes of travel the sound was clearly growing quieter. So he would backtrack.


    Progress was slow because of that, it took well over half a day to get to the water. Coming around a final corner he beheld the water he had been seeking. Calling it anything more than a trickle of water was a mistake. The sound was actually surprisingly quiet when next to the water. It just sounded louder due to the dead silence he had for ambient sound under the ground. The only thing that could be heard other than the water was the sound of his boots either hitting stone, or shuffling through dirt.


    Regardless, the water was a welcome find. His own water was running low, and he wanted to clean the bracelet off. It had a weird mixture of goo and dirt. So it was like mud, but it wasn¡¯t really mud, somewhere in between. Cleaning the bracelet wasn¡¯t an easy task, Not trusting that the bile wouldn¡¯t have a reaction to his body Bjorn slowly let the water sluice down on the bracelet at the end of his knife. The water slowly washed away the mud, not mud. Fully washing away the gunk took the better part of an hour.


    Examining the clean bracelet it looked much as it had before, only this time the metal shone under the light of his glowstone. Turning it over in his hands there was a faint warmth that came from the stone in the center of the bracelet. Looking closer at it he got a sense of warmth, of peace, and home from the stone. Putting the bracelet onto his arm there wasn¡¯t any apparent change immediately. Shrugging he left it in place. With nothing else really pressing at the moment Bjorn backtracked to one of the larger offshoots. After exploring it making sure that there wasn¡¯t anything in them and that it was a dead end Bjorn laid down to go to sleep.


    A splashing sound awoke Bjorn. Joulting upright he took stock of the situation. He was still safe, using his glowstone he found that there wasn¡¯t anything nearby to worry about. When he had sat upright the sound stopped. After sitting there in silence for a few minutes the sound continued. Coming slowly to his feet Bjorn stowed his glowstone, donned his pack and slowly made his way back to the stream in the pitch black darkness.


    Moving as fast as he dared in the pitch black Bjorn Stealthed slowly back towards the water. Moving slow enough so his boots wouldn¡¯t scrap on the rock to produce a sound, but fast enough that hopefully he would come across whatever creature was making that noise before it decided to move on. Feeling forwards with his hands he found the corner of where the stone turned opened up to the trickle of water. As quietly as he could and as fast as he could he cast simple light.


    Blinding light flared in the tunnel and there was a shriek of pain as Bjorn could hear something flopping around on the ground. In the corner of his vision a small little eye with a red circle with a line going through the middle of the eye icon appeared. Underneath the eye icon a small timer saying 5 seconds also appeared. Focusing on it a prompt opened.


    You are blinded for 5 seconds.


    Throwing himself backwards, back the way he came in hope that he avoided whatever was making the sound''s defense mechanism. As he jerked himself backwards he also threw the simple flame into the section he had just vacated. Waiting for his timer to hit zero Bjorn chided himself, it was an awfully boneheaded move. He knew that the flame was going to happen and yet he didn¡¯t shield himself from the light. After the timer hit zero his vision returned to normal being able to see light coming from around the corner.


    Moving around the corner Bjorn stopped in his tracks. Writhing around on the ground was a scorpion the size of a dinner plate. Its claws and stinger were a white creamy color while the rest of its exoskeleton was black. The scorpion was rolling around on the ground, obviously the light was affecting it. As he watched the scorpion put one of it¡¯s own pinsers into one of its eye sockets. The pincer pushed into the socket, from where Bjorn was standing he could see the eye start to bulge as the claw pushed into it. The eye ruptured and a thick liquid spurted out of the socket. Once the eye had popped the scorpion stopped thrashing about and turned towards Bjorn and started to move towards him. In a panic he threw the knife at the creature, the knife flew at it and severed one of its legs, slowing its progress forward. Casting his cast stone spell he also threw it at the creature, the stone came in contact with the carapace and there was a loud crack as cracks spider webbed throughout the creature''s carapace.


    But still the scorpion came towards Bjorn, casting his spell again he threw it at the scorpion one more time as it continued to get closer. Without anywhere else to go but back down the tunnel Bjorn took a step forward and stamped down hard on where the scorpion''s carapace was cracked. This time there was a crunch as his boot came down hard on the scorpion, killing it. Not to be outdone, the scorpion¡¯s stinger curled down stabbing into Bjorn¡¯s leg, which was still positioned on top of the corpse.


    You have been injected with a pain amplifying poison.


    Pain shot through his entire body as what had become a dull ache flared up. Dropping to his knee a second shot of pain coursed through his body as it felt like a hot knife was digging into the calf muscle of his left leg, right where he got stung by the scorpion. Reaching down he yanked the stinger out of his leg. A timer appeared on the corner of his view, counting down from 4 minutes and 10 seconds. Curling up into a ball Bjorn just lay there waiting for the timer to go away. The little over 4 minutes felt like half an hour as he waited for the poison to work its way out of his system. Throughout the entire ordeal the pain hadn¡¯t subsided at all.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Once the time had elapsed, he looked first at his health and then his stamina. His health, which was 88, had dropped down to 85. The poison wasn¡¯t deadly, but it sure sucked. His stamina had taken the biggest hit, it was already down a half. Apparently the pain was enough that it had forced all of his muscles to contract in a vain attempt to protect itself, and having all of your muscles contract for 4 minutes straight sure took it out of you. Thinking about it, the real danger from that poison wasn¡¯t the initial hit, it was the debilitation your body would be affected with each time you took any new injury. Nasty little creature.


    Looking down at the dead scorpion he first carefully snapped off the claws and the stinger of the scorpion, the carapace was hard, but the tip of the stinger and the pinsers were hard like metal. When the stinger came loose a small sac came loose with the stinger. Figuring it was the venom sac he tucked both the stinger and the sac away. Retrieving his knife Bjorn drank his fill from the water and started to wash the grim from his body.


    Bjorn realized entirely way too late that when he was in his weakened state trying to recover his body had kept doing its normal daily needs. His backside was entirely coated with dried and caked on shit, and the front of his pants didn¡¯t smell any better. Shuddering he removed the soiled clothes and began to slowly clean himself in the slow trickle of water. After he was clean he took the clothes back the way he came and just left them in a pile on the floor. Standing buck naked in the middle of a tunnel Bjorn decided that this wasn¡¯t the wisest choice he had ever made. Then looking back at the pile of gross clothes he decided that he didn¡¯t care.


    Going back to the water he then proceeded to clean whatever he could off of his leather armor. Which for the most part was almost all of the gunk. With a shudder he slowly donned the leather armor again. With his more important parts covered, but not his most important part he took off back down the tunnel.


    Three days were spent moving down tunnels, the tunnels were confusing, they never seemed to go in any particular direction. With no way to guess where he was in relation to anything, he tried his best to move upwards. Which didn¡¯t always seem to help, he would start taking a new path and it would seem to move upwards for a while, then it would change and move downwards, or even level out. No matter what he did though, he never backtracked. There was no way he could know if he was moving in the right direction, so he figured that moving backwards was foolish. Most of the time he moved by his glowstone, but whenever his mana was close to maxing out he would cast simple light and use that to see for a time. Doing so had brought his light magic skill level up to level 5. All in all things were quite similar over the three days.


    One the fourth day something changed. As he was walking down one of the tunnels a horrible stench started to waft towards him. Which was odd, this entire time he was underground the air felt stale, there was no wind moving the air around. For there to be a breeze was odd. Marveling at the feeling of wind on his face Bjorn made the only logical jump he could think of.


    With excitement at the thought of potentially getting out from underground he rushed forward. What he stumbled upon wasn¡¯t actually open air, but he burst into a cavern. Looking around for the source of the wind Bjorn stopped. All around him laid dead bodies of gnolls and what looked like goblins. Only they were bigger than what he imagined a goblin would be. The skin of the creature was orange. Looking around there were over 50 dead bodies, almost equal numbers. Quickly moving back into the tunnel he entered stealth and looked out over the battlefield.


    From where he stood he got a decent view of the battle, laying there were 2 other tunnels leading out of the cavern. From the way that the bodies lay it looked like the goblinoids were set upon by the gnolls, on the outskirts of the cavern was the largest grouping of goblinoids. As the battle progressed the goblinoids seemed to have lost ground, but they had rallied and that was where the first gnoll bodies could be found. There was one cluster of goblinoids up against the wall, and ringing that was the largest grouping of gnoll bodies.


    Not trusting that the cavern was fully empty Bjorn stayed there crouched hiding just past the entrance to the cavern, after a time when there hadn¡¯t been any movement in the cavern Bjorn decided to chance it and started moving through the bodies on the ground. The goblinoids were better equipped than the gnolls were. Moving from body to body he found various useful items. There were tinderboxes, various glowstones like the one he had, vails full of liquid, handfuls of coin, rope, and innumerable other useful items. There were also weapons and armor. Most of the goblinoids had a mix of no armor, some chainlink, and some leather armor. The gnolls on the underhand were mostly bare, they did have weapons and the odd piece of something that could be passed as armor. One goblinoid stood out from the rest, it was larger than the rest and had a set of scalemail on it, it also was at the center of the goblinoids. He also found enough unsoiled clothes on the goblinoids that were big enough to fit him, that he was able to redress himself. No sense running around a cavern almost stark naked after all.


    Searching the goblinoid that Bjorn assumed was their leader he found the best of all of the loot. It had a well made sword which he took. It also had two rings on its fingers, also which Bjorn took. Around its shoulder and down towards its hip there was a satchell. Opening it up he found two books, which looked similar to the cast stone spellbook he had found earlier. A small pouch of coins, a rolled up piece of paper, and a small vial of a honey looking substance. Taking it all Bjorn retreated back to his tunnel entrance.


    First he opened both of the books and he was greeted by two prompts.


    This spellbook contains the spell Purify water, it is a level 1 water spell. Would you like to attempt to learn this spell Yes/No?


    This spellbook contains the spell Light Bolt, it is a level 4 light spell. Would you like to attempt to learn this spell Yes/No?


    Doing a mental fist pump, Bjorn first clicked yes on the purify water spellbook. The book started to glow as the pages quickly flipped through its pages until the book rested on the last page filled with letters, this time the book slammed shut as the arch of light came out of the book and entered his eyes. The book then crumbled to dust in his hands after he finished reading. It was a success and Bjorn gained another new spell.


    Drunk off of the success of his last book he repeated the progress a second time with the Light bolt spell. And once again the same thing happened, only this time when the light entered his eyes Bjorn didn¡¯t gain a new understanding of how to cast a magical spell. With a frown he got a new notification.


    You have failed to learn the spell Light Bolt from the spellbook. Better luck next time.


    Annoyed that he had actually failed to gain anything from the second book he was still happy about at least one success. Quickly he pulled up the info for the purify water spell.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Spell Purify water


    </td>


    <td>


    Cast time:Channel


    </td>


    <td>


    Components: Verble, Somatic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Range: 5 feet


    </td>


    <td>


    Duration: Channel


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Cost: 6 per second


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Effect: This spell will purify water into drinkable water at a rate of 1 liter per 2 seconds channeled. Will remove most diseases both magical and non-magical. Will also remove trace minerals helping avoid poisoning from element toxicity.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Looking at the vial of liquid he debated on drinking it, it looked good. What could possibly go wrong right? Quickly pushing that thought aside he stored the vial for later use, there was no guarantee that it would do anything beneficial. Lastly he turned towards the piece of paper, he unrolled it and began to read it, speaking the words a little under his breath.


    Unbeknownst to him the gnolls had come back. They were slowly and quietly picking their way through the battlefield collecting anything useful from the dead. Once finishing the first line of words that were written on the piece of paper it glowed and then caught on fire burning up in less than a second.


    The gnolls looked over at the bright flare of light seeing Bjorn. In a harsh guttural language they said something. That was when Bjorn was alerted to the gnolls as well. There were around 9 or 10 of them standing spread out throughout the room. A small cluster of the gnolls stood around where the goblinoids had made their final stand. Turning towards Bjorn they all started to run towards him.


    The light show didn¡¯t end there, after the roll of paper went up in flames a small piece of the flame no bigger than the head of a needle stayed and it started to grow. It quickly grew over the next 3 seconds until it was the size of a softball. After it grew to the size of a softball it shot out away from him shooting towards the gnoll in the lead.


    Seeing the ball of flame rocketing towards its face, the lead gnoll quickly dropped to the ground, and the ball flew directly over its head. Unfortunately for the gnoll behind the lead gnoll its reaction time wasn¡¯t quite as quick and the fireball hit it in the face. Upon coming in contact the fireball exploded, fire flew out 10 feet in every direction from the impact point.


    From where he was standing Bjorn could feel the heat from the fireball wash over him around 40 yards from the impact site. What quickly followed were howls of agony as the flesh of the gnolls around the impact site began to melt from the intense heat. 4 of the gnolls were affected by the fireball spell. The first one that the ball hit laid headless on the ground, the remaining 3 were howling in agony as their flesh caught fire from the intense heat. Quickly burning to death. The remaining gnolls continued to run towards Bjorn, each was brandishing some sort of weapon in their unnaturally long arms.


    Not waiting around for the remaining gnolls to catch up to him Bjorn took off down the tunnel. Minimizing the prompts that had popped up Bjorn just kept running. Words that sounded like a mix between a barking hyena''s laughter and harsh human language, almost like how Rammstein sounded in their song du hast, could be heard echoing down the corridor behind him. Bjorn ran for all he was worth, but his headlong run down the tunnel he had just traversed seemed futile. There was no way he would be able to take on 5 of the remaining gnolls, he was lucky to have even taken care of 4 of them. But regardless of the futility of running Bjorn wasn¡¯t going to just give up. He ran until he had a stitch in his side, all the while the sounds of pursuit didn¡¯t seem to close in or fall further behind. Once as he was running his foot landed wrong on the rock below him and he slid face first on the ground as he fell, he was able to get back on his feet quickly, but the sounds of pursuit came closer behind him because of his mistake.


    The sound of gnolls in the tunnel in front of him brought Bjorn¡¯s headlong reckless charge to a halt, he was trapped. With gnolls in front and behind him he had little chance of escaping. From where he stopped there was one of the small dead end tunnels not 5 feet in front of him. Taking his chances Bjorn ducked into the tunnel, this one was similar to the one he went down before. Only this time it went down, traveled for a few feet and then shot up to a platform which he was able to pull himself onto. He had no way to escape from where he was. Drawing his newly found sword he set up and waited. If the gnolls were going to come for him he would make the pay dearly to pry him out of the rocks.


    Not a minute after he got situated he could hear the sound of the gnolls talking just outside of his cave entrance. They stopped talking and a new sound came out of the dark, it was a snuffling sound. Swearing internally they were tracking him by sight, he had hoped that they would just continue down the tunnel or start to fan out, and he would be able to sneak past them. But no, he had no such luck now.


    Soon he could hear the sound of a gnoll making its way into the tunnel he took as the snuffling sound grew louder. When the gnoll poked its head up over the ledge Bjorn lashed out with the sword. The sword sunk point first into the gnolls head and the entire sword grew heavy as the gnolls lifeless body pulled the sword downward, the added weight was so rapid and unexpected that it pulled the sword from his hand.


    Loud exclamations could be heard as the gnolls saw their brethren fall. There was a dragging sound as the gnolls pulled the body of the other gnoll out of the way. Pulling his dagger Bjorn set to wait for the sight of the next head poking up over the ledge, he would do the same to the next curious head to show itself. And so he waited, after a few minutes there was the sound of retreating footsteps down the tunnel. It was hard to tell, but it didn¡¯t sound like 4 sets of footsteps, figuring they left a guard he stayed there and waited.


    He was waiting for over an hour, as he was about to go out and check and maybe take off again the sounds of footsteps approaching came echoing through the tunnel. A voice right by his side tunnel entrance called out to the encroaching footsteps. He had been right, they left at least 1, probably 2 gnolls there to keep him cornered. There was some quieter speech between the gnolls when the parties reconvened.


    An odd sound could be heard from where he lay in wait, it sounded like wood being piled in the tunnel. A bright flash of light illuminated the tunnel and then a persistent glow remained. Quickly smoke began to fill the room he was laying in, they were smoking him out. This made him unreasonably angry, and a thought crossed his mind. They were likely going to kill him if he left the tunnel, if he didn¡¯t leave the tunnel he was going to suffocate down here. So instead of giving them what they wanted he was going to make sure that no matter what they did to his body he wouldn¡¯t have anything useful on him when they came for him.


    Opening up his pack he began to dig around, pulling out all of the items that he could eat Bjorn began eating them one by one. First he ate all of his remaining food, there wasn¡¯t much, but he would be damned if he let the gnolls get the spoils of his labor. Next he pulled the ring of health off of his finger and ate that too. Taking his two healing potions he drank them both down, next he moved on to the vial he pulled off of the dead goblinoid drinking that down. Looking at the vials of bile he got off of the worm he couldn¡¯t force himself to drink those, he tried but the smell from the bile was too much for him and made Bjorn start to gag. Recorking them he was almost out of clear air and was starting to get light headed. Finally he pulled the orb that he got from the farmer back at the market day, it was just the size that he wasn¡¯t sure if he could swallow it but damn it he was going to try. Sticking the orb in his mouth he tried to swallow, it took a few tries but eventually he got it to go, and he could feel it move all the way down his throat and into his stomach. If somehow he survived this endeavor he didn¡¯t look forward to what it was going to be like to pass that orb. As his final act of defiance he smashed the vials and started on his alchemy set as the smoke finally got to him and his world went black.

 Chapter 10

    When Bjorn came to, he was disoriented for a second. There was a tugging sensation on his arms and he could feel a warm furry thing wrapped around his wrists, and a dragging sensation on his rear end. Opening his eyes Bjorn looked around, he was in the middle of a contingent of gnolls, there were seven of them in total, four ahead and three behind him. Bjorn¡¯s wrists were tied together by a rope and the one directly in front of him was dragging him along like a parent does to their unruly toddler. Bjorn allowed himself to be drug along behind the gnoll until his rear was drug across a rather sharp rock. He tried to get his feet under him, but had no luck. He was facing the back of the group so he was being drug backwards, and he wasn¡¯t able to get any purchase with his feet, as soon as he almost got some the gnoll would pull him off of his feet and just keep walking forward.


    After a minute of being drug the gnoll let go of his wrists and the group all turned towards Bjorn. Turning around Bjorn got into a low crouch, there was one gnoll bigger than the rest it had Bjorn¡¯s pack slung across its back. Looking around each of the gnolls had various weapons, some had swords, others clubs, one even had a spear. The larger gnoll didn¡¯t have any apparent weapon, but the back of its hands had small three quarters of an inch spikes protruding from them. Four of the gnolls had small blades at their waists.


    Lunging forward at the smallest of the gnolls Bjorn made a grab at the knife on its waist. With a laugh the gnoll closed its fist and struck Bjorn in the face. He went down hard. All of the gnolls laughed, as the small gnoll kicked Bjorn in the stomach. Crippling over he lay there waiting for another blow which never came. Instead the gnoll roughly picked him up from where he lay and set him on his feet, then turned him around and pushed him roughly from behind.


    ¡°Alright, I get it, I can¡¯t get away, and you are taking me somewhere.¡± Said Bjorn in common.


    One of the gnolls spoke back in common, the words sounded like a dog growling them out as it spoke. ¡°Shut up and walk, slave.¡±


    Thinking better than to retort, Bjorn fell into silence. If the gnolls viewed him as a slave then they would have some sort of use for him, and wouldn¡¯t likely kill him. At least for now, there was no guarantee that his usefulness would run out and they would kill him, or worse eat him alive. So instead of convincing them that he wasn¡¯t worth the effort to keep alive he stayed quiet and prodded along.


    They traveled for two days through tunnels, as they moved they ran into two other parties of gnolls, both times the gnolls made what seemed like jeering comments directed towards Bjorn. Each time the comments were in their harsh language. Over the two days Bjorn had plenty of time to check his prompts.


    You have drank a truly pitiful health potion, made by a pathetic alchemist. You will regain 10 hp over the next 12 hours.


    You have drank a truly pitiful health potion, made by a pathetic alchemist. You will regain 10 hp over the next 12 hours.


    By drinking a second healing potion before your body has fully recovered from the effects of the first potion. unLuckily for you, the alchemist who made the potions is so pathetic that the likelihood of you having any negative side effects is significantly increased. Your maximum health will still be decreased by 10%, and the likelihood of your maximum health remaining decreased is so increased that I would just already assume that the effect will become permanent.


    You have ingested the honey of the Asigi bee''s, you have gained 1 point in dexterity and 1 point in agility.


    You have ingested an ability bead, you have gained the ability, WAILA.


    Ability bead¡­ What was that? And what is this new ability WAILA? It took entirely way too long from Bjorn to process the fact that he most likely just got a new ability. Once he did do so he pulled up his character sheet. Sure enough in the section where it said abilities there was a new entry right after skilling prodigy. Focusing on it pulled up an explanation as to what the ability did.


    WAILA: Shorthand for ¡°What am I looking at?¡± When looking at an item or person for a few seconds if you mentally command so, you will have a brief description as to what you are looking at.


    WAILA, wasn¡¯t that the name of a mod from minecraft? Regardless, now having a way to view the world around him without a need for someone else to tell him what is going on around him. This is a real game changer. Immediately he used it on the gnoll that was walking in front of him.


    <table>


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    <td>


    Name: Rret Farears


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Deep Gnoll


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 9


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 7


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Deep gnolls are pack driven creatures, and are vicious creatures to anything not of their pack, packs can range from 3 gnolls to thousands. Deep gnolls gain 1 point in constitution and 1 point in endurance per level with 3 free points to distribute.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    By the end of the second day they came upon a camp. The caves leading up to the camp grew in frequency, and size. Getting closer to the camp the tunnels intersected each other became more and more common. More and more groups of gnolls started to pass by their contingent. Each group they passed changed in size, some were as small as two or three, and others were as large as 40 to 50. The groups also weren¡¯t always just gnolls, other races of creatures were often seen chained together in the middle of the groups being pushed along by the gnolls, whipping, hitting, or even in one case stabbing them with their weapons. He saw humans, dwarves, elves, gnomes, hobgoblins, goblins, and there was even a single nagpa tied up and paraded through the cavern.


    In the tunnel leading into the cave that the camp was situated in, the gnolls had built a large defensive structure. As they got closer to the structure the tunnel grew in size, going from something Bjorn almost had to crouch in to a tunnel well over 30 feet in diameter. The large structure was made from cut stone and covered most of the tunnel entrance. On top of the structure there were parapets where gnolls could be seen standing keeping an eye on the tunnel. As they drew closer to the entrance one of the gnolls on top of the wall called out. The largest gnoll, who was in the lead, called back in reply.


    The sound of stone grating on stone echoed throughout the tunnel, in the enclosed space the sound was unnecessarily loud. A hole in the wall ahead of him could be seen as the stone door slid upwards. Marveling at the gnolls stoneworking abilities Bjorn walked forwards mouth agape. They passed through the opening in the wall and they came upon the camp. To call it a camp wasn¡¯t entirely fair to the collection in front of Bjorn. It would be better to call it a small city. The gate that they entered through was situated in a tunnel a good 70 feet above the rest of the cave; a wide ramp had been built leading up to the gatehouse. Hundreds of buildings were arrayed in the large cavern. Two other large tunnels out of the large cave could be seen both with equally impressive stone; other smaller tunnels could be seen leading out of this cave. In the center of the cavern a stone keep could be seen jutting out of the ground, from where he stood he could also see gnolls standing on top of the walls of the keep. Off to one side of the town there was a large area surrounded by a wooden wall. And in the middle of all of this cave there was a large hole in the ceiling, leading up and letting natural light down into the entire cave lighting the whole settlement.


    Bjorn stopped and gaped at the intense view before him. Again marveling at the gnoll''s ability to work with stone he just stood there until he was hit in the back of the head by the small gnoll again. Pushing him forward and making him stumble as stars danced in his vision. For the hundredth time in the last two days Bjorn swore silently that he would kill Rret Farears. Over the two days he had learned how to actually use his WAILA ability, and had learned that the name of the smallest gnoll was Rret. As it turned out Rret was actually the cruelest of all the gnolls. There was an obvious hierarchy to the gnolls party and Rret was at the bottom of the totem pole. So whenever one of the other gnolls picked on Rret it would turn around and do worse to Bjorn. Its frustration at its position was translated into physical violence it would do upon Bjorn.


    And for his part Bjorn took it all with a smoldering anger deep in his gut. One day when one of the other gnolls hit Rret when they stopped to eat, Rret in turn turned and took a swing at Bjorn. Not wanting to let the hit land, Bjorn dodged out of the way. Barking laughter exploded laughing at Rret¡¯s situation, it had landed on Bjorn throwing punches and kicks, and scratching at him. Bjorn fought back, and started to win. When he was in a winning position the other gnolls pulled him off of Rret and beat him into unconsciousness again. When he next awoke he had been drug by his arms again this time face first into the dirt. He let them drag him for a while like this until one of the gnolls dropped him and kicked him to wake him up.


    Another shove pushed Bjorn off of his feet and he fell to his knees, two hands on either side of him grabbed him by the armpits and drug him back to his feet. ¡°Go.¡± Said the only gnoll that spoke common leading him down into the town. Obediently following they started to head down into the streets of the town, as they were making their way through town Bjorn caught a brief glance into gnoll society.


    All of the gnolls that he passed were dressed in some form of battle garb, they all had at least one weapon at their hips, often even two, that included the children. The small gnoll children all sported a knife of some kind at their hips, even as they ran through the streets playing games. Bjorn thought that the gnolls society was one of violence based on how they acted to the other races, but walking through the streets the gnolls were actually quite peaceful. He saw gnolls walking through the streets hand in hand, a mother walking with her 7 kids all the same size as they crawled all over her, there was even a young gnoll helping an old hunchback and decrepit gnoll eat.


    It was the exact type of thing that he expected to see in a human settlement. Then he got hit on the back stumbling and falling once again. The couple glanced over and just kept walking, the mother and kids just stood there and watched as the gnolls treated Bjorn roughly, and the elderly made a rather loud comment to the young one, the inflection and the way it looked at Bjorn left little doubt that it was a rude comment about Bjorn. That was how it was going through the crowd in their town, not once did he see any sympathy.


    They pushed him all the way through town and towards the wooden wall. There was a crude wall made out of wood with wooden lookout towers built surrounding the rundown town. Outside many Gnolls were patrolling around the outside of the fence. In the wall there was a wooden gate which is where they were heading. Opening up the gate the gnolls pushed Bjorn inside and closed the gate behind him.


    Stumbling forward Bjorn took in his surroundings. Every part of what surrounded him was nasty. Hundreds of people were huddled together in their own filth. They were slaves, most of the people here were men and women of a healthy age. There were no children, and no elderly people. Many of the people barely had any clothes at all, and those who did didn¡¯t look overly cared for. Off to one side of the area there was a large pit dug in the ground. Looking around no one made eye contact with Bjorn. There were all sorts of races trapped in here, Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, the goblinoid looking creatures, Orcs, There were even small fairy looking people. Using his new WAILA skill he found out that the fairy looking people were Sprites. Moving over towards the pit he looked down, it was their latrine, but there were also dead bodies laying in the bottom of the pit. Stepping back Bjorn looked around in disgust. Most of the people here were in advanced stages of starvation, their bodies were lean with little muscle to them. The dead bodies in the pit looked to have died from starvation.


    There were a few notable exceptions to the sorry state each of the prisoners were in. There was a single building inside the walls, it wasn¡¯t big by any means. As Bjorn was looking at it a flap was pulled back and 2 mostly clothed and healthy looking men stepped out of the house. They drug a naked elf lady out of the house by her legs, as she lay there letting them drag her. They threw her onto the ground and turned around walking back inside.


    Walking over to the elf lady he knelt down and put a hand to her neck, there was still a pulse, but there wasn¡¯t a reaction to his touch, her eyes just stared off into the distance. Picking her up he started to walk her to one side near all the other people who were huddled. As he approached the other people parted around him, they all gave a 5 foot birth around him. He tried to ask a few people questions, no and one one replied. Setting her down he didn¡¯t know what to do so he just sat next to the elf woman, he took off his shirt to try and cover her nakedness.


    After a while the flap opened again and another one of the goblinoids came strutting out of the building, he started to strut up to the group. As he was approaching all of the people slunk back and tried to avoid his notice. So Bjorn used his Identify ability on him.


    <table>


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    <td>


    Name: Olvog


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Hobgoblin


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 43


    </td>


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    <td>


    Level: 19


    </td>


    <td> </td>


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    <td colspan="3">


    Hobgoblins are bigger, stronger and meaner than their goblin counterparts. That doesn¡¯t mean they are dumber, hobgoblins tend to have more cunning too. Their only downfall is they are less prolific breeders as their goblin counterparts. Hobgoblins gain 1 point in strength, 1 point in constitution, 1 point in endurance and 2 free points to distribute per level.


    </td>


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    The hobgoblin stood there, eyes sweeping over the group in front of him, his eyes fell on the elf girl and lingered for a minute, then they moved to Bjorn. He looked Bjorn up and down and a slight smile touched his lips, then his gaze moved on. It came to rest on a young mostly clean pretty human woman and the smile turned evil. He moved over to the girl, as he did the group of people parted as he waded through them. The human girl just sat there eyes hollow. The hobgoblin grabbed her by her hair and started to drag her back to the building. No one, not even Bjorn, moved to stop him. Soon a rhythmic slapping sound could be heard coming from the building.


    As the day went on the sound started and stopped multiple times, over the course of a few hours. There were a few times Bjorn talked himself into doing something about what was happening not 100 feet away from him. Each time he had convinced himself he was going to be the hero and save the human woman something overtook him and he lost all of his will.


    Eventually the gate opened and a group of a hundred or so slowly limped into the camp, they were all covered in dirt and grim, many of them sported open sores on their bodies. Once the group finished shuffling in 15 gnolls entered the enclosure.


    There was one gnoll bigger and meaner looking than the rest it stepped forwards and said in a surprisingly high pitched voice. ¡°Alright maggots, if you want to eat we need another 100 of you for the mines, we want volunteers, but if you don¡¯t volunteer we will get 100 of you one way or another.¡±


    A weak woman¡¯s voice called back. ¡°Have you guys found out what¡¯s killing us down there?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    The no was met with a low susurrus that went through the crowd. Still around 20 of the group stood up and made their way over to where the gnolls were standing. Looking around Bjorn also stood up and made his way over to the group.


    ¡°We still need more, any takers? No? Alright Trexat get the rest.¡± Said the large gnoll as it turned on its heels and walked out of the camp. The rest of the gnolls slowly made their way through the group grabbing whichever person met their fancy. There didn¡¯t seem to be any rhyme or reason as to how they picked. Some looked stronger, some looked weaker, some male, some female, and with no particular race. One thing that Bjorn noticed was that they didn¡¯t go for the building in the camp, and none of the occupants inside came out. The last person that got picked was the elf girl that Bjorn pulled over there.


    After they all were picked the gnolls pushed them out of the camp and towards one of the tunnels not far from where the slave camp was built. At the tunnel entrance there was an offloading station for minecarts, there were already a bunch of carts up here loaded with ores. A small group of people were left up there as the rest made their way underground. The tunnel entrance loomed over the group as it swallowed them with its darkness. Passing into the dark the tunnel traveled downwards, next to them on the ground was a track for minecarts. They traveled for the better part of an hour downwards further into the mine. Once the ground began to flatten out there were offshoots branching off of the main tunnel for the trip forward. At the bottom were more minecarts full of ore. The gnolls further broke the group apart as they left a group at the carts to start pushing the carts back up the way they had come. Finally the gnolls herded the remaining people, around 80 in total further down the tunnel. They came upon a pile of pickaxes and a few more empty carts. There was another track in the tunnel heading further down the tunnel. Most of the group trudged over and picked up pickaxes and then headed off down different tunnels.


    One of the gnolls looked over at Bjorn and said. ¡°Ah your new first time, you get to eat if you bring ores back to go to the surface. Each piece only counts if it''s the size of my fist.¡± As the gnoll said that it made a fist out of its hand. ¡°For each piece this size you get some food.¡± It gestured to another gnoll standing there with a book in its hand. ¡°We make note of who brings what, and you get fed at the end for what you bring.¡±


    ¡°What about the people who have the hauling duties?¡± Asked Bjorn.


    The gnoll looked back at him. ¡°Who said you could ask questions?¡± It said in an angry voice. It turned towards Bjorn and started walking towards him all menacingly. For his part he stood his ground. The gnoll walked up to him and kicked him square in the chest. Bjorn fell backwards and into the minecart, getting pinned between the gnolls foot at the metal of the cart behind him. It held him there for a long moment before it said. ¡°They get fed a fixed amount at the end of the shift.¡± It removed its foot and turned back around. ¡°Work or don¡¯t work, I don¡¯t care, but if you want to eat you better get to work.¡±


    Taking his que he picked up a pickaxe off of the pile and turned to head down a tunnel to work. As he turned around he saw the elf girl still just standing there staring off into space with a blank expression on her face. Looking back around the gnolls were standing there watching the elf, one of them licked its lips. Using his identify on her he got her name, Meira.


    ¡°Meira, can you hear me?¡± Bjorn asked her, to no response. She still just stood there. So Bjorn picked up one of the pickaxes and put it in her hands, she gripped it but made no motion at understanding or moving. Standing behind her he pushed her from behind and she walked forward. Turning back around, the gnolls were watching them intently. Still they walked down the tunnel together. Once reaching the end of the tunnel Bjorn walked around to Meira¡¯s front and looked her up and down. She was still naked except for the shirt that Bjorn had given her that she was wearing. She was tall, slender, and beautiful for being covered from head to toe in dirt and grim. Still through it all he could see that she would have been stunning if she was clean. His eyes lingered on her bare legs for a second. That was when he noticed a sticky liquid dripping from between her legs. Curious he walked closer, being careful not to touch her he touched the liquid. Bringing it up to his eye to see what it was closer. It was thick, stringy, and surprisingly slippery. Using identify on it his blood began to boil. It was sperm.


    He finally put two and two together, and had to admit what he didn¡¯t want to admit while he was in camp. Whoever it was inside of the building had raped her, and based on her disheveled appearance and her vacant expression, it had been happening for quite some time. Bjorn looked at her and he felt pity, who knows what she has been subjected to, it is no surprise that she had broken. Taking her by her hand he walked her back halfway up the tunnel and sat her down on the ground. When she sat she curled up into a ball and lay there.


    Trusting her not to go anywhere Bjorn got to work mining at the stone wall hoping to find some sort of ore vein. It was hard, and grueling. That doesn¡¯t actually give it justice. Every time he struck the rock face with the pickaxe it barely dug into the stone. Newtons Third law of motion was a real bitch. He struck the rock face with the pickaxe and it dug into the rock a little, but for every bit of strength that went into the rock an equal amount of force reverberated down the wooden shaft of the pickaxe and straight into Bjorn¡¯s arms. After 5 minutes his arms were going numb. After 20 minutes his arms started to hurt. After an hour of swinging his stamina was starting to bottom out and he was starting to get dizzy. As for his progress, he had barely made any progress in the rock face. Four watermelon sized rocks had broken away from the rock face and not wanting to leave anything up to chance he broke the rocks down even further, all for nothing, he didn¡¯t even get anything from the rocks that looked different from all the rock surrounding him.


    Taking a break he left the pickaxe where it was and headed back to Meira. She hadn¡¯t moved at all, she still lay where Bjorn had left her, staring off into the distance. Checking her neck, she still had a pulse. Letting out a sigh of relief Bjorn sat down next to her, Looking over her face there were faint signs on the corners of her eyes that she was crying. As he watched a single tear formed and slid down her cheek, to drop off and hit the ground.


    Standing Bjorn headed back to where the minecarts were. The gnolls had moved to the end of the tunnel and were sitting around a table, talking to each other in their own language. Looking around the tunnel Bjorn found what he was looking for, off on the far side of the tunnel there were empty burlap sacks. Walking over to the pile of sacks Bjorn bent down to pick one up. As he was doing so another one of the slaves walked into the room with one of the sacks over one of his shoulders. Walking up to the minecarts going further down and upended his sack. Rocks spilled out of his sack, the sound of stone hitting stone filled the air for a few seconds. Before he turned around and walked back down his tunnel carrying his sack.


    Removing his rocks he got back to digging. His entire time down there was wasted. Over the 14 hours they spent down in the mines Bjorn had moved the tunnel he was digging in further down by a good 2 feet but had not gotten any luck with finding any ores. What he had gained though was a new skill, and a few levels.


    You have gained the skill: Mining. There are few things in this world that are as important to progressing society as metal. Metal isn¡¯t always at the surface, oftentimes you have to go through the rock to get to that driver of industry. Today you have started learning how rock falls apart to get access to that metal.


    You have advanced your skill level in Mining, reaching skill level 3. Rocks are 15% more likely to break from a solid strike. Your stamina drain while mining is decreased by 6%.


    After their shift the party recollected and started to head back up out of the mines. Bjorn made sure that Meira was not all that far from him the entire time they were heading up. Her stare was the same stare she had the entire time they were down there. She seemed to not react to anything around them, as normal. That day Bjorn didn¡¯t get anything for food. Obviously neither did Meira.


    Once they made it back up to the surface they started back towards camp. Stopping at a station on the edge of the gnoll town they all had to stand there and watch as the gnolls passed out food to the miners who were successful and the haulers. They were also forced to eat all of the food that they collected there, if they wanted they could share their food, but none of the slaves did so. Making their way back to camp a new group of gnolls were there, they traded off the slaves and the gnolls who stood guard wandered off into the gnoll town. Pushing the slaves back into camp they started the entire process over again, they got 100 more slaves and sent them off, leaving the Bjorn¡¯s group in camp. Most of the miners joined the larger group and squatted down, or huddled in to preserve body heat. Inside this cavern even though it got natural light it was cold. The cold of the stone sapped much of the heat from the bodies, so to combat this the slaves who barely had any clothes themselves had to huddle together in their nakedness to keep warm.


    Leading Meira over to the edge of the group they sat down against the wooden wall as far away from the latrine as they could. Not 20 minutes after they settled in, one of the large well fed humans in the building came out, looked around and locked eyes on where Bjorn and Meira were sitting, and started to walk over to where they were sitting. The entire time he walked over he had a litigious smile on his face. Once he got to the two of them without warning or saying anything he grabbed Meira by her ankle and turned walking back towards the building again. Meira just let herself be drug behind the man without any reaction.


    Shame fell over Bjorn as his memory of what happened earlier, and his inaction to stop it. Barrelling to his feet he threw himself at the back of the man walking off with Meira. Both of them came crashing to the ground, with Bjorn landing on top. There was a puff from the man under Bjorn as the air rushed out of his lungs. Not wasting the opportunity he straddled the guy and started hitting him over and over with his fists until the guy went limp. The sound of fist striking flesh continued to sound through the camp well after the man went limp.


    Blinded by his rage he didn¡¯t notice the orc and a purple skinned elf came up to him and grabbed him by the arms lifting him off of the unconscious man. Bjorn fought back but their combined strength was more than enough to restrain him. So he just dangled there, a human grabbed the unconscious man and drug him back to the building. Olvog came out a few seconds later. When he saw his men restraining Bjorn a chilly smile crossed his lips. He started to walk casually over to Bjorn. Bjorn noticed that all of the other slaves had moved as far away from him and Meira as they could. Before they only gave them a foot or two birth.


    ¡°So, I figured you¡¯d have to be taught a lesson eventually.¡± Olvog said. ¡°I could see it in your eyes, and in your posture. You''re a proud one. This here is my camp, and if you don¡¯t interfere with my men, and my doing we will get along just fine. As long as you accept who is really in charge here.¡±


    Bjorn spit at the feet of Olvog. ¡°You can do what you want and I won''t stop you, but Meira is now off limits. She has been broken with what you and your men have done to her, if you won¡¯t comply we will have issues.¡±


    Olvog¡¯s chilly smile turned savage. ¡°I don¡¯t think you understand your position here, you have no power, you are in no position to stop us. We will do what we want and you aren¡¯t able to stop us.¡± He brought his hand to Bjorn¡¯s head and laid it on his forehead. Cold sprouted down his entire body from where Olvog¡¯s hand touched his head. Bjorn felt his resolve starting to crumble, still not giving up he pulled his head back and using his teeth bit down hard on Olvog¡¯s hand. The taste of iron filled his mouth as blood filled it from where he bit down on the hand. A hand came crashing down on Bjorn¡¯s head and his world went dark.


    When he came to next he was covered with bruises and his entire body ached. Olvog and his men must have kept beating him while he was unconscious. Sitting up and looking around the slaves must have pulled him towards where the latrine was because they were back in their normal place. Slowly coming to his feet Bjorn surveyed his surroundings, no Meira. His white hot anger earlier at what they were doing to her was no longer there. The anger he felt was just a pale shadow to the fury he felt. Instead of the anger being at Olvog and his men his own anger was directed at himself, at his helplessness, how he wasn¡¯t able to stop them from doing whatever they wanted.


    Moving back over to the group of slaves he went to join them, but they didn¡¯t let him get close at all. He was like a leper moving through the crowd, every single one of the slaves stayed at least 2 feet away from him. Finding he was thirsty he looked around the enclosure, off in one corner was a trough. Moving over to it, it contained water, but looking at all the growth on the sides of the trough there was no way the water was potable. But still a slave slowly scrambled over and took long drinks directly from the water. A shiver ran down Bjorn¡¯s spine at the sight. After the slave moved away Bjorn grabbed a handful of water and started to cast his purify water spell. Small bubbles started to form and drift out of the water, after less than half a second no more small bubbles formed and drifted up from the water. The bubbles continued to float up to eye level where they floated for a second and then popped. Before they popped Bjorn could just barely see small objects floating inside the bubbles. Letting his spell fade he put the water in his mouth, it tasted of clean purified water, the type of water he hadn¡¯t tasted sense coming to this new world. The water he drank wasn¡¯t even close to enough to satiate his thirst. So Bjorn decided to cast his purify water spell at the trough itself. He picked a spot in the water and cast. Bubbles began to form starting at the point and moving outwards from the casting point. Once the bubbles stopped forming right over where he cast the spell his mana was getting dangerously low, letting his spell drop he bent down and quickly drank as much of the water as he could.


    With his thirst satiated he went back to waiting. By the time the gnolls came to gather more slaves for the next shift, mining Meira still wasn¡¯t out of the building in camp. With nothing else to do Bjorn joined the mining expedition. It ran pretty much the same as last shift. Halfway through Bjorn dislodged a chunk of rock and underneath instead of gray rock there was a small patch of rust colored rock. Bjorn spent the better part of an hour retrieving the piece of rock. It was the size of an orange, using his identify skill on it he found that it was Iron ore. With excitement he started back up the tunnel. That was when the screams started.

 Chapter 11

    Chills ran down his spine as the sound carried through the tunnel, the screams were loud, terror filled and the sound of someone in pain. Shortly after the first scream started another one took up its call, this one a female, and it was a blood curdling scream.


    Springing into action Bjorn gripped his pickaxe tighter and went running up his tunnel, by the time he got to the mouth, into where the minecarts ran a third scream sounded, again by a different voice. The first two were eerily silent, as he was running up the corridor the first scream had been cut short, it had made a gurgling sound at the end of its life. The second had sounded as if it had been drug away. The third scream had been more of a startled cry rather than a full scream. This one too had been cut short by a gurgle.


    As he stood there trying to orient himself, the gnolls that were supposed to be their guards were all standing there, they had moved from their seated position around the table to a standing position staring off down the tunnel towards where the non ore was taken.


    ¡°Are you going to do something?¡± Asked Bjorn in a rather rough tone towards the gnolls. All but one of the gnolls continued to stare down the tunnel, the last one looked at Bjorn and shook its head. Not wasting another second he lept off heading down the tunnel. Rounding a corner in the tunnel Bjorn came across the site where the attack must have happened. There was a man with a hole in the side of his neck with blood trickling down from the opening. Underneath his body blood pooled staining the hard stone red. With him obviously dead Bjorn kept moving, further down the tunnel.


    There was another pool of blood, but looking at the spray pattern on the wall something had rent this victim open, and with some force if the distance the blood spray could be found was any indication. The blood pool wasn¡¯t entirely a pool, it was streaked on one side of it where the body had been pulled through the pool. Right next to the pool lay a feminine looking arm. With more blood spray off to the side, in that part of the tunnel there was a small patch of dirt. The dirt had been disturbed by something being drug through it, and with what looked like the woman struggling to break free. Not far after the dirt it turned back into stone where there was a blood trail where the woman was drug off.


    After the screams the tunnels were eerily quiet, when everyone was down here working there was always a din of sorts of pickaxes hitting rock, of people talking quietly, of the wheels on the minecarts rolling down the track. All of that was gone. In the time it took Bjorn to fully investigate the situation no one came to investigate, Bjorn was the only one to have shown up.


    After spending a few minutes paying his respects for those who were killed, Bjorn turned around and went back down the passage. When he came upon the body of the man he stood there. It didn¡¯t feel right to leave him there, but at the same time Bjorn didn¡¯t want to pick the guy up and have himself get covered in blood, he also thought of how someone once told him that when a person dies their bowel muscles eventually relax and they release their excrement everywhere. Sighing, it wouldn¡¯t be right for the man to be left there, so he knelt down and put the guy''s body over his shoulders and started to head back to where everyone was.


    When he made it back to where the gnoll guards were situated they looked at him carrying the body and said. ¡°How many did it kill this time?¡±


    ¡°3, what did it?¡±


    It was the gnoll that looked at him and shook its head earlier that answered Bjorn. ¡°We don¡¯t know, and its hunting patterns are never the same. Sometimes it will kill 5 or 6, other times it will only kill one. Sometimes it will wait a few hours in between attacks, and sometimes it will go weeks before it kills one of you slaves. It is rare for it to leave behind a body though." After it finished its sentence, silence fell for a few minutes, then the gnoll spoke up again. ¡°Where are the pickaxes?¡±


    ¡°They are back there in the tunnel.¡± Replied Bjorn.


    ¡°That won¡¯t do, go fetch them, otherwise the next group of miners will be short on pickaxes. It will be your fault, and you¡¯ll have to pay a hefty price for your failure.¡±


    Biting off a retort Bjorn turned around and headed back down the tunnel, he wanted to say something but thought better of it. Walking away he did grumble under his breath though. ¡°How is that my fault? What a crock of shit. I think it''s your fault, I mean you let whatever it was kill three of us.¡± Stuff like that. Luckily for Bjorn he was able to retrieve all 4 of the pickaxes that were left down that tunnel. For one of them he had to walk a ways down the tunnel before he came across it. He was no expert in forensic science, but if he was to guess the pickaxe had been clutched in the woman''s other arm and had been drug along with her body before it had caught on a rock and been wrenched out of her dead hands. After getting the pickaxes the gnolls told him he had to take care of the body, so Bjorn had to carry the man¡¯s dead body up to the cave the gnolls'' home was built in before he could go back to mining, which took most of his shift.


    The rest of his shift after that had passed with nothing else of note. When he made it back up to the surface the gnolls had written him down for another portion of food due to his work getting the pickaxes back.


    This is how another two weeks of his life went. Most of it was mining and sleeping, and very little changed. Some days he would go mine by himself, others Meira would be around him as he worked, but she never did anything herself. If he got any food he would give Meira a share of his food. Not knowing why he did it, he shared what he could with her. Maybe it was pity, maybe it was a desire to not be alone in this situation. Who is to say the reason for Bjorn¡¯s care of Meira.


    In those two weeks there hadn¡¯t been another attack. He was making some gains though. His mining had hit level 9, apparently spending 14 hours a day grinding a simple skill like mining was amazing at gaining skill levels. One thing that was unexpected though was he gained another level. He hadn¡¯t noticed how close he was to another level after his fight with the gnolls before he was captured. That daily experience was coming in clutch. Using his three skill points one went into strength, and two went into endurance. He figured more stamina and decreased drain on said stamina would pay more dividends at the moment mining than anything else. He had also gained 2 skill levels in water magic by his time spend purifying the drinking water. You would think that with how often and much of the water he purified every day the water would be plenty purified, but no. There was a small stream that bubbled up and ran into the trough, so it was constantly being refreshed, and with how many different people there were in the slave encampment the water he purified didn¡¯t last long, there were always some people around it drinking from the water. So far no one had said a thing, or even interacted with Bjorn when he was casting his purify water spell.


    Even though many good things were happening, it was few and far between. Most of his life had become hard, rough, and dangerous. All that needed to happen was for him to look at a gnoll the wrong way and he would receive a beating. One day his pickaxe handle broke and for that he received a beating. Another, the man he had beaten had recovered enough to want revenge, and so Olvog¡¯s men beat him. That one was the worst of them all. The other slaves didn¡¯t react to Bjorn, he tried to interact with them, but either Olvog beat them into submission so they wouldn¡¯t talk to Bjorn, or they had no will for companionship. The only thing that gave Bjorn hope was he could see Meira crying more often than she did initially.


    Thus it came as a terrible surprise when Bjorn was sitting in the slave camp when the gates opened unexpectedly and the gnolls pushed a dwarf into the camp.


    ¡°Eh you cunts get your grimy hands off of me.¡± He said in a gruff voice, it sounded something like a scottish accent but with more gravel in it. The gnolls ignored the dwarfs'' complaints and shoved him into the camp before closing the door behind him. ¡°Now this is a sorry state to see.¡± He said gravely as he looked over the field of people. He slowly walked into the group. ¡°Ello, what ¡®ave we ¡®ere?¡± the dwarf said as his eyes made contact with Bjorn¡¯s, they held each others gazes for a moment before Bjorn averted his eyes. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t laddy.¡± the dwarf made his way through the crowd, the slaves parted before the dwarf as they did for Bjorn. Standing before Bjorn he looked down and said. ¡°Now what¡¯s your name?¡±


    A moment passed before Bjorn replied. ¡°It¡¯s Bjorn.¡±


    ¡°Ah a good strong name, My name be Alaric. Tis a pleasure to meet you.¡± There was a pause as Alaric looked around the camp. ¡°What¡¯s the story ¡®ere?¡±


    Quietly Bjorn quickly filled Alaric in on what all happens at camp. As Bjorn was finishing speaking the flap covering the entrance of the building opened, and a man drug Meira¡¯s limp body by one leg. He drug her to the edge of the huddle of people and dropped her. As he watched Alaric¡¯s facial expression grew dark. He got disconcertingly quiet. ¡°Oy! That¡¯s right, big boy, I''m talking to you! Why don¡¯t you pick on someone your own size.¡±


    Barely contained rage could be seen on the man¡¯s face as he turned towards Alaric. It was the same human man that Bjorn beat for trying to take Meira away from him. The man stocked up on Alaric, and he towered over the dwarf. Alaric didn¡¯t seem to be bothered at all by the posturing. Instead he just calmly stood there looking up at the man.


    ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°I knew from looking at you, you were slow. So I''ll spell it out for you nice and slow. Why. Don¡¯t. You. Pick. On. Someone. Your. Own. Size.¡±


    The man scoffed. ¡°My own size you say? I don¡¯t think you are talking about yourself. You are nowhere near my size. It would be like beating a child.¡±


    ¡°I would think that wouldn¡¯t be anything new for you.¡± Alaric said, looking pointedly towards the man''s crotch.


    The man¡¯s rage boiled over at that comment. Raising his arms he went to push Alaric back, placing his arms on Alaric¡¯s chest the man shoved hard. Instead of Alaric stumbling backwards it was actually the man who was pushed back. Quickly recovering he raised his arm to throw a punch at Alaric. Throwing it Alaric stepped to the side, stuck a foot out, and tripped the man, who fell face first onto the ground. Bending over he grabbed the man by the back of the shirt and pants he hefted the larger man up and started to walk towards the latrine. All the while the man flailed about trying to free himself from Alaric, but with little success.


    Once they got to the edge of the pit Alaric commented. ¡°Oof, that sure doesn¡¯t smell all that great. Perfect.¡± And he threw the man head first into the pit. The man yelled as he fell, but the yell didn¡¯t last long, it was cut off by the sound of a squelch, as the man landed in the pit. Turning around he walked back over towards Bjorn rubbing his hands together in a gesture that looked like he was wiping something from his hands. All Bjorn did was just stand there staring at Alaric, slack jawed.


    ¡°Well that takes care of one of them. How many others are there?¡±


    ¡°There are 4 more, including their leader. He is a hobgoblin named Olvog.¡±


    A head poked out of the building looking around, after all the sound of the man hitting the latrine was loud enough to most likely be heard in the gnoll city. The man looked around after a few seconds of looking, the head retreated back inside. After a minute all four of the building''s occupants came out, Olvog was Strutting in the lead, head held high, behind him his three minions slunk along. Olvog walked boldly up to Alaric. As he grew closer the sense of unease that Bjorn felt every time Olvog drew near slowly overtook him, and soon he had the feeling of needing to avert his gaze.


    ¡°You dwarf, what happened to my man just now.¡±


    ¡°Well, you see I had the sense that he was about to take that little elf there.¡± As he pointed to Meira. ¡°And take her back into your building, and rape her. Tha¡¯ doesn¡¯t quite sit right with me stomach, so I taught ¡®im a lesson, he won¡¯t be forgetting. That¡¯s if ¡®e can crawl his way out of that shithole.¡±


    Olvog¡¯s face grew tight and his eyes became slits and he looked down at the dwarf he towered over. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve been entirely acquainted with how things work here. You see¡­¡± Olvog trailed off as Alaric¡¯s voice came booming out over the field.


    ¡°I don¡¯t give a flying witch''s teat about how things work ¡®ere. While I live ¡®ere there will be no raping of young elves around me, as a matter of a fact. I think there will be no raping of any women while I¡¯m around.¡± He stopped for a second and gave one of the lackeys a stern look. ¡°There will be no raping of men either.¡± At that statement the man¡¯s face grew red as he grew angry at the not so subtle suggestion at his proclivities.


    ¡°If that is how you want to do it.¡± Said Olvog. Without any hesitation as soon as he finished speaking Olvog whipped his head down towards Alaric trying to headbutt him. Anyone who had ever spent time with a dwarf would understand that folly, because as soon as his head came in contact with the dwarf¡¯s head we went reeling back. Olvog stumbled backwards as blood started to pour off of the spot where their heads connected. Alaric was fine, he didn¡¯t even blink as he stepped forward and threw a punch into the hobgoblin¡¯s gut doubling him over. That was when the lackeys all jumped the dwarf


    You would think that three on one the dwarf wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. It was by no means fair, and the dwarf started losing immediately. But it wasn¡¯t as lopsided as one might think. For every 4 or 5 hits the dwarf took, he landed one solid hit that would send his opponents flying, or would knock them down. All the while Alaric didn¡¯t stop his litany of insults.


    ¡°You call that his punch? My grandma hits harder than you.¡± ¡°Did you just slap me? You sissy, I almost feel bad for hitting a girl like you.¡± ¡°You pansy, I didn¡¯t even hit you that hard.¡±


    When Olvog recovered and joined the fray. That 4th person was enough to tip the scales and the dwarf started losing quite badly. Two of them got a hold of his arms and held him fast, the other 2 took turns hitting Alaric.


    In Between punches landing on Alaric¡¯s face he called out. ¡°Hey you!¡± Talking to Bjorn. ¡°I could. Use. A little. Help. Oof, Here!¡± Each sentence was cut short by the sound of fist hitting flesh. Mustering his courage Bjorn stood and leapt at the orc lackey. Slamming into the orc they both went tumbling to the ground, as they fell their bodies clipped the human holding Alaric¡¯s arm and he was able to break free. Rolling on the ground the orc quickly got the upperhand and ended up on top raining blows down on Bjorn. As for Alaric, the time where he was getting beat by all 4 of them took it¡¯s toll on him, and he wasn¡¯t looking the best. But still he didn¡¯t stop talking shit. ¡°Come on ya green skinned bastards, i can take on all 6 of you!¡± Alaric said as he stumbled back to his feet.


    As for Bjorn he quite handily lost his fight versus the orc and the orc left him in a bloody dazed state. Once Bjorn was out of the fight the orc joined the rest and soon Alaric was also down. After Alaric went down they kept beating his body. Eventually they grew bored of the beating and went back into the building, leaving Meira where she lay next to the two men.


    That day all 3 of them missed the mining shift. It took 2 days for both Bjorn and Alaric to recover enough to do anything of note. The man that Alaric threw into the latrine ended up getting quite sick, after a day of retching sounds he got kicked out of the little hut and then the next day he succumbed to his sickness. Whatever he did he must have offended Olvog because there were no repercussions for his death. The gnolls didn¡¯t seem to care all that much, and Olvog didn¡¯t try to get pay back for the death. After Olvog¡¯s numbers went from 5 to 4, a tentative truce fell over the camp.


    ¡°You know Bjorn, I appreciate you helping me out there, but that was a pitiful display. Have you ever even fought before?¡±


    Bjorn looked at Alaric briefly before looking away. ¡°I¡¯ve been in a few fights before, but mostly I had a knife, sword, or bow to help me kill whatever I''m fighting. Never really fought with my fists before.¡±


    ¡°Aye, that¡¯s evident enough, well we will have to fix that, although not here, I don¡¯t think the gnolls or even our hobgoblin friend would take too kindly to us fighting in here.¡±


    ¡°We could always work on it during a mining shift. If we both volunteer I don¡¯t think they would stop us, they only feed us if we get ores though. So we can¡¯t dedicate all of our time to teaching me how to fight, but that is something.¡±


    ¡°Aye aye, aye aye, that seems like a good plan, I¡¯m something of a fair miner myself, so I''ll be able to take care of getting us some ore, I¡¯m assuming you¡¯d want to get enough so the little missy can eat too.¡± He said as he nodded towards where Meira was sitting on the ground with a vacant expression. Bjorn nodded back to Alaric. ¡°That¡¯s settled then, next mining shift we are going to join it.¡±


    12 hours later all three of them made it down to the mines with no issues. Alaric was as good as his word, in less than an hour they had 4 chunks of raw ore big enough to qualify to get the food. It was quite the sight watching Alaric hit the rock with his pickaxe, in the time it would have taken Bjorn to get a single rock out of the wall Alaric had made 15 times the progress. And on top of it all it was almost like he had a sixth sense to where the metal was situated in the walls. Out of the 3 chunks Alaric had found them in the tunnel leading towards the end, and it only took a small amount of effort on his end to get access to the ore.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°I think to avoid suspicion we should split the chunks evenly between the two of us.¡± Bjorn said, then indicated towards Meira. ¡°I don¡¯t think she will be in any state necessary to make it convincing that she was the one to get the ores. ¡° Alaric nodded in agreement. ¡°We should also wait a few hours before showing up with the first chunk, and space out how to turn them in, first me, then you, then you, and then finally me for the last chunk.¡±


    ¡°I agree, now let¡¯s not waste any more time, it¡¯s only a matter of time before Olvog decides that our defiance is no longer tolerable and tries to kill us off. We got lucky with that fellow dying of sickness.¡± Alaric made a grimace, hocked a loogie and spit it onto the ground. ¡±Gnolls are right sick bastards, and they are doubly cruel to their slaves. They are as rotten as they come. They are nice enough to each other, but are sadistic bastards to anyone else. Honestly our living arrangements are almost lavish, I¡¯ve raided gnoll encampments and I¡¯ve seen people who have had to use corpses for blankets, and for food. They don¡¯t even normally provide water, or a latrine. It is up to you to find a way to get that yourself, I¡¯ve seen people who have drunk blood in an attempt to satiate their thirst at gnoll encampments.¡±


    A look of horror crossed Bjorn''s face as the implications started to sink in as to what Alaric said. ¡°Like I said, our camp is actually not bad. But they probably won¡¯t take kindly to a real fight breaking out in camp. They tend to get angry when their slaves kill each other. I have not doubt that if the man was killed by us and not by a fever then the gnolls wouldn¡¯t hesitate to pull us out of camp and torture us to death. But enough of that, let''s see what we can do about teaching you how to fight. Come at me, and don¡¯t hold back, I¡¯m pretty sure I can handle whatever you throw my way.¡±


    Nodding Bjorn set his feet, assumed a boxing stance, took a step forward, and took a swing. Alaric easily dodged the punch by stepping to the side, he then took his foot and kicked almost lazily at Bjorn¡¯s front leg. Bjorn lost his balance and came crashing to the floor. Chuckling Alaric offered him a hand. His strong grip easily lifted the larger man to his feet. ¡°Again.¡± This time Bjorn took a different approach, he still did the step forward and this time threw a jab. Alaric easily deflected his blow while stepping in closer to Bjorn, grabbing him by his upper arm right where it connects to his shoulder Alaric pulled with surprising strength and Bjorn went flying. This time tumbling over Alaric¡¯s back. ¡°Again.¡± Alaric said with dispassion in his voice. And again Bjorn tried to hit the smaller dwarf, and failed.


    ¡°Alright, well, it could be worse.¡± Said the dwarf. ¡°You could be dead, and then everyone could hit you.¡±


    ¡°Oh come now, It can¡¯t be that bad.¡±


    ¡°Tis pretty bad. I¡¯ve seen children better than you. Hell my brother could have probably kicked your ass at the age of 10.¡± Said Alaric looking Bjorn up and down. ¡°Let¡¯s not waste what time we do have.¡±


    And so Alaric started trying to teach Bjorn how to fight. Which at the beginning felt like an exercise in futility. Alaric showed Bjorn how to hold his arms, how to throw a punch, how to place his feet, all in an attempt at instilling a small portion of how to actually defend himself. ¡°When you throw a punch you need to step forward like this.¡± Said Alaric as he placed his foot forward. ¡°When your punch is going to hit you put all of your weight on the front foot, but don¡¯t leave it there, otherwise.¡± Alaric used his foot to sweep Bjorn¡¯s foot out from under him because he had just been doing exactly what Alaric was saying not to do. Crumbling to the ground, Bjorn just lay there. It was humiliating, having a man a foot and a half shorter than himself constantly putting him on his ass. By the second day of training the humiliation had turned into a sort of respect. With every single mistake Bjorn had made Alaric saw it, and he pointed it out. Sometimes with words, sometimes with actions. One particularly bad throw and fall left Bjorn unconscious for the better part of an hour. And on the third day all feelings were gone, all except for a grim determination. Bjorn would learn how to fight one way or another, he figured it would be better to learn from someone teaching him rather than from someone beating him.


    And so a week passed, and then two, then three. All the while Alaric was teaching Bjorn how to fight. He was making slow progress, there were times where he and Alaric would spar and he would almost land a hit, but he never actually landed anything on Alaric. Bjorn¡¯s skill levels in hand to hand combat rose by leaps and bounds, but as Alaric kept saying. ¡°Your skill levels in hand to hand combat may be growing, but you''re still as useful as a wet towel in a fight. You might be able to keep people occupied for a second, but if it ever comes to a real fight you''re completely useless. Skill levels don¡¯t mean fighting ability, and don¡¯t you forget it.¡±


    Not all of their time was spent sparing, and learning how to fight, Alaric also taught Bjorn how to mine, he taught him how to survey the stone, what he was looking for to find the weak spots in the stone. The amount of effort that had to go into moving the rock wall dramatically decreased. Some days they had to dig for hours before they found even a small portion of ore, other days it took minutes. But either way Bjorn was no longer the dead weight of their sane group.


    Meira had made improvements as well, she had gone from sitting and crying every once in a while to now she just had a vacant expression and when you got her to meet your eyes it never seemed like she was looking at you. But even without seeming like she was entirely aware of her surroundings, she followed Bjorn or Alaric whenever she was awake. Which was a burden off of both of their shoulders, now they didn¡¯t need to worry about her being left behind. That little improvement took a large part of his worry away from Bjorn. If she had improved even at all, it showed that she was likely to make a recovery eventually.


    Alaric and Bjorn were becoming fast friends, and because of Alaric¡¯s companionship he was starting to regain a little bit of his own fire that had been beat down while being a slave. He stood taller, spoke with more certainty, and even started to make eye contact once again. Bjorn started to actually like gruff, harsh, and ill mannered dwarf. His spunk and fire were contagious. And in turn, the dwarf was growing fond of the dopey and helpless human. Even though the human was as spineless as they came, and didn¡¯t have the sense any good dwarf would ever have. But still their friendship was what kept both of them going. Just because they weren¡¯t under the yoke of Olvog and his goons doesn¡¯t mean their life went without pain. The gnolls would beat both Bjorn and Alaric and even sometimes Meira for no apparent reason. After a the first week Bjorn let Alaric know about his spellcasting abilities, which he got complaints from Alaric once he found out what spells Bjorn knew. ¡°You let me drink that donkey piss that they call water? Come here you spineless welp, I got a thing or two to teach you. Why are you running?¡±


    Olvog and his goons were idle for a good while. Awfully quiet for around two weeks, on that third week though one of the goons finally made an appearance. Based on his appearance and what he was carrying, it was likely they had also caught whatever random mook #5 had caught. At least in his mind that was how Bjorn began to think of the dead man.


    The attacks on the mining crews continued to happen, around the same frequency as they had in the past, on average 6 or 7 of the miners would die every week to whatever it was that was killing everyone. And still, the gnolls did nothing. They never tried to protect the miners, they never even seemed to care that the slave camp was slowly being whittled down. Even though there were hundreds of slaves, it was still noticeable how many of the slaves were no longer around.


    With all of his time spent either at camp resting or in the mines Bjorn found out where the end of the track led to. One day when he brought his bag of stone to put into the stone minecart one of the gnoll guards stopped Bjorn and nodded down the corridor with fear settling in his stomach Bjorn started to move the cart down the track. The tunnel traveled straight for a bit after the first initial curve. After 10 minutes or so of pushing the full cart the tunnel turned around another corner and the tracks stopped in a medium sized underground cavern. In the middle of the cavern was a pit. Not sure what to do, Bjorn grabbed one of the stones from the minecart and dropped it down the pit. There were no sounds of rock hitting rock, or even dirt. In Fact there was no sound at all. Shrugging Bjorn started to throw the stone down the pit, around halfway through the entire cart there was a stone with glowstone embedded in it. Throwing that stone down into the pit it traveled downwards lighting up the walls as it fell. After 50 feet or so of falling the rock hit the bottom and lit up the ground. Again expecting a sound Bjorn was surprised when no sound was forthcoming. Pretty soon he saw why. In the bottom of the pit there were thousands of the large worms that Bjorn found when he first was locked underground. The difference was that these worms were alive, and they writhed on the ground. Bjorn just stood there in horror as he watched thousands of these large worms wriggle on the ground, soon the rock with the glowstone went down one of the worm''s gullets and the light was snuffed out. Working as fast as he could, Bjorn threw the rest of the stone into the pit and quickly started to push the cart back to the main expedition. The return trip took 3 minutes instead of the 10 it did the first time.


    The peace, at least as much of a peace as you could get being a slave, in a slave camp, was finally broken on the same day Bjorn landed a hit on Alaric. It wasn¡¯t a strong or a solid hit, but he landed a hit nonetheless. When he did land the hit Alaric broke out into a solid smile. ¡°Now we¡¯re getting somewhere, nice work.¡± As Bjorn and Alaric were standing there grinning at each other like idiots a single high pitched woman''s scream echoed down their hall.


    Immediately Bjorn¡¯s mind went to the worst. ¡°Meira!¡± He exclaimed as he grabbed his pickaxe and bolted down the corridor. The sound of heavy footfalls told Bjorn that Alaric was directly behind him. They didn¡¯t have to travel too far, because halfway up the tunnel they met Meira heading down the tunnel towards them with a panicked look on her face. Letting her past them they looked at each other and turned to block the way forward. Two figures could be seen stumbling down the corridor. Soon they saw what made Meira run, and couldn¡¯t blame her for running.


    Out of the low light that the tunnel was perpetually in came two ¡°Creatures'''', if they could even be called that. The smaller of the two creatures was the same size as Alaric, it had a crows head, 4 legs, 3 arms. It was mostly humanoid, two of the legs and arms were in the normal places that was expected. The third arm was larger than the other two, and was sprouting out of the side of its neck and because of the arm, its head also hung to the side, directly away from where the arm was sprouting from. One of its extra legs was smaller than the rest of its limbs, and came directly out of its belly button. The last leg came out of the right knee and drug uselessly on the ground. The larger was taller than Bjorn by at least a foot. It had two heads, One head was that of an elf, but its skin was a pale purple color. The other head had a regular dog neck and at the end of the neck was a pure black wolf head. Its limbs were unnaturally long like the gnolls arms only longer, standing fully upright, the hands drug on the ground as it stalked forward. At the end of the arms it had pieces of broken bone protruding out of the knuckles on the back of the hands. The fingers on the hands were more like claws, from where he stood Bjorn could see that its fingers were actually closer to blades than they were fingers. Covering the tall one¡¯s body was more bone spikes, and eyes with all sorts of different retina styles and colors. The smaller one¡¯s body was covered in mouths, some mouths were filled with fangs, others the perfect white of well maintained teeth.


    As the two creatures shambled forward Bjorn used his WAILA ability on the creature.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: ???


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Flesh Abomination


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 6 Months


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 18


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Flesh Abominations are creatures born out of pure unattended death energy. The death energy combines with the residual malice from those killed often from events such as battles. That combination then has to seep into a pile of dead bodies, over time the energies end up forming a core. That core then goes on and absorbs the flesh surrounding it until a flesh abomination is born. Flesh abominations gain 1 in Strength, endurance, constitution, intelligence and wisdom per level. It also gains 1 free point to allocate per level. Flesh abominations have their charisma set to 1, and it can never go above a value of 1.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Bjorn barely had time to fully comprehend what he was looking at before the abominations were upon them. Alaric yelled out, ¡°Get behind me Bjorn, cast your spells, you being up here fighting wont help.¡±


    Without hesitation Bjorn dropped back and began casting cast stone. Both of the creatures fell upon Alaric. Fearing for his friend he let his concentration falter and the spell failed. His fears were unfounded, as Alaric was a force to be reckoned with. Between well placed kicks and shoves with the pickaxe he was able to keep the abominations back. But with both abominations advancing Alaric had to slowly give up ground to be able to maintain a safe distance from both of the creatures. Without pause Bjorn began casting his spell again, upon completion he shot it at the smaller abomination. Scoring a solid hit on the creature¡¯s head, there was an audible crack as the stone came in contact with the bird¡¯s beak, and the lower part of its beak snapped in half and fell to the ground. The creature reeled backwards off balance from the strike to its head. Alaric used the momentary opening to use his pickaxe and sink it into the side of one of the larger abomination¡¯s neck. With a great heave he was able to pull the larger abomination to the ground, which was a mistake. Because when the abomination hit the ground it used one of its long arms to sweep the legs out from underneath Alaric, and he hit the ground hard. The large Abomination immediately was on top of him. During all of that Alaric managed to keep ahold of the handle of the pickaxe and was using it to keep its heads away from biting him. In such close confines the abomination¡¯s long limbs were actually more of a hindrance than a help. But the combined weight and the strength of the abomination was slowly overpowering Alaric as the sharp bone spikes started to dig into Alaric¡¯s flesh. Which caused him to yell out in pain.


    The smaller of the two abomination¡¯s had scrambled back to its feet and was moving to fall upon Alaric, in a split second decision Bjorn took his pickaxe and threw it overhead in a two handed throw directly at the approaching abomination. It rotated twice in the air as it flew and hit the abomination square in the chest. Unfortunately for both Bjorn and Alaric it struck handle first, not head first. It did knock the small abomination back, buying Alaric a few seconds. A small piece of luck was in their favor though, as the pickaxe rebounded and struck the larger Abomination before clattering to the floor right next to Alaric. Using the pickaxe in the neck he braced it on the ground, which freed one of his hands which he used to grab the pickaxe that landed next to him. With a yell he swung the pickaxe and struck the abomination in its other neck, causing it to pull back briefly. With that distance he was able to get his feet on the abomination¡¯s stomach and with a mighty shove he threw the creature off of him as it flew towards the other abomination. Which ducked as the large one flew right over its head, and continued its shamble forward. During all of that Bjorn recast cast stone and landed a hit on the flying abomination as it flew over the smaller one.


    With both Alaric and Bjorn now weaponless they backed away. Alaric was dripping blood from multiple wounds on his body. The worst of which was a gash right above his belly, where his diaphragm sat.


    ¡°I¡¯m having a hard time breathing. But god does it feel good to go down with a fight.¡± Said Alaric with a big smile, his teeth were covered in blood. ¡°What do you say we try to take this one down and stab it on the larger creature.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a terrible idea, but let¡¯s try.¡± Bjorn replied.


    At the same time they fell on the smaller abomination Alaric was on the side with just a single arm. They bore the creature to the ground and proceeded to both get ahold of one of the arms on either side of the torso. With great effort they were able to get back to their feet. With their difference in height Alaric had to hold the abomination up higher than Bjorn, but they were able to get the abomination¡¯s feet off the ground and now all four of the legs dangled uselessly. By the time they had the abomination mostly subdued the larger one had returned to its feet and shambled forward again. Charging forward they picked up speed trying to impale the two together. As they are running the third arm made its presence known as it clamped down on Bjorn¡¯s deltoid and squeezed. More than just the squeeze Bjorn felt a mouth bite down on the muscle of his deltoid, apparently there was a mouth on the palm of its hand. Crying out in pain as blood welled up from where the mouth bit down hard. Almost there. There was a crunch as his collarbone gave out and he lost a lot of the strength in his right arm. Gritting his teeth they ran the last 5 feet to the large abomination.


    There was a sharp jerk as the abomination¡¯s body was impaled by the larger one and it¡¯s momentum was arrested by that. The arm got ripped off of his deltoid, and because of that a chunk of his flesh was ripped out as well. Stopping and looking back the larger Abomination was struggling to get up as the smaller one lay limp on top of it. One of the bone spikes pierced all the way through the body of the smaller one and embedded on the tip of the spike was a small red orb. Quickly Bjorn used WAILA on the orb.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Flesh Abomination Core


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    This core is filled with an intense vitality. Ingesting this core will bless you with the some of the Flesh abomination¡¯s regenerative properties, granting you increased health regeneration.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Upon finishing reading the prompt he popped the orb into his mouth and swallowed. Alaric made a short cry and stuck his hand out to stop Bjorn. ¡°What in the 9 hell¡¯s do you think you''re doing?¡±


    ¡°It increases health regeneration.¡±


    ¡°And how to the hell do you know that? I¡¯ve never seen these creatures before.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later. Let¡¯s focus on this creature.¡±


    Nodding they turned back to the abomination, during the few seconds it took them to converse the creature had made no progress in its attempts to escape. One of its arms had impaled the smaller one in several places and was useless. Its other arm was flailing about and scoring deep wounds in the other abomination¡¯s body. Alaric walked around to the side of the creature that didn¡¯t have a flailing arm and grabbed ahold of the handle of the pickaxe sticking out of it¡¯s head, and with a yank tore it out of the body. Both head¡¯s screwed up in a silent scream. Bjorn had no doubt that if the necks were fully intact an inhuman sound would have escaped from the mouths. Using the wider side of the pickaxe he was able to fully remove the first head in short order. Soon he moved on to remove the second head. Removing the second head was a slower process due to the arm trying to free itself, but soon he had that hand removed as well. During the head removing process Bjorn kept casting cast stone over and over into the arm trying to disable it. After a minute and almost all of his mana he was able to succeed in his task and the arm went limp. From there they slowly started to dissect the abomination on the hunt for the core. Once they got the core Bjorn offered it to Alaric.


    ¡°No. You could tell me that if I ate that core my shits would turn to gold, and I still would eat it. Did you not see what that thing came out of? I¡¯m pretty sure half of that flesh was rotted. Look at that! It is literally falling apart!¡± Bjorn looked at where Alaric was pointing and as he said a section of the flesh of the creature sloughed off and landed with a rather wet sound as it plopped to the ground.


    ¡°You have a fair point, but we¡¯d be fools to not take every advantage we can get.¡± Bjorn offered it out again.


    ¡°No, no, no, NO! A thousand times no!¡±


    ¡°Fine suit yourself.¡± Said Bjorn as he took it and put the core in his mouth, swallowing. Not wanting to admit it, but the act of swallowing the flesh core did actually make Bjorn want to throw up. Only through a pure force of will he was able to keep it down. From there they turned towards Alaric¡¯s wounds, they looked worse than they were. The spikes didn¡¯t actually hit anything important in Alaric¡¯s body, what it did do though was the spike actually slid into the diaphragm and that was what was causing Alaric to have a hard time breathing. With the wounds addressed they went back up the tunnel to where Meira was cowering.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, we killed them.¡± Bjorn said to Meira.


    In a moment of clarity that they haven¡¯t seen so far from the elf she looked Bjorn in the eyes and smiled. ¡°Thank you.¡± She said, her voice was smooth and sweet as honey.


    ¡°Oh my god, Meira, you spoke.¡±


    With a shaky nod she stood and started to walk back down the tunnel, all under her own free will. Not knowing what to say or do Bjorn and Alaric just shared a glance and then followed after her.


    Soon after a contingent of gnoll guards came slowly down the tunnel, their eyes fell upon the rotting pile of corpses then quickly shot up to where the three of them stood. The lead one looked at the pile and then back at the three of them. ¡°You did this?¡±


    Both Meira and Bjorn looked at Alaric. ¡°What are you looking at me for? Oh alright, yeah we took care of them, I imagine that these are whatever it was that has been killing your miners.¡±


    Taking one more look at the flesh piles the gnoll nodded and said. ¡°I imagine you are right, you three should follow me. I think there is someone who would want to see you.¡± The gnoll turned around, and then beckoned the three to follow after him. Exchanging glances they followed.

 Chapter 12

    They followed the gnoll up out of the mines. When they made it back to level ground instead of heading back towards the slave camp instead they were taken towards a large building on the outskirts of the gnoll settlement. It was made out of stone, which is what most of the city was made out of. As they walked closer Bjorn had a thought.


    ¡°Hey Alaric, how did they build this city, gnolls don¡¯t seem to be much of stoneworkers.¡± At his words the lead gnoll started to growl, a deep back of the throat growl.


    ¡°Are you talking bad about our abilities?¡±


    ¡°No merely observing, and commenting.¡±


    The gnoll stopped and turned around looking rather fierce at 7 feet tall. It stood there and stared at Bjorn for a long minute before turning back around and walking onwards. Bjorn looked first at Alaric, then at Meira, who both just looked back, not wanting to make a scene.


    ¡°You¡¯re right of course.¡± Said the gnoll at the head of the pack, "Most of our buildings are slave made.¡±


    Alaric chimed in. ¡°It is dwarven make, if I am worth my salt, you can tell by the chisel work.¡± As Alaric pointed out a stone set in the wall, the stone was smooth, it looked like the same polished stone countertops that were common back on earth.


    ¡°What do you mean chisel work? That looks like polished stone.¡±


    That made Alaric give a hearty belly laugh. The laugh drew a scathing look from the gnoll leading them towards the entrance of the building. ¡°That is no polished stone, that is rough cut stone lad. Maybe someday you¡¯ll get to see what a dwarf can really do with his rocks.¡± With that comment he winked at Bjorn.


    ¡°Alright that is enough.¡± Said the gnoll. ¡°I am going to take you in front of our captain, you will not speak unless spoken to, you will not look him in the eye, and you will remain kneeling until told otherwise. If you don''t, nothing in the world will save you from our wrath.¡±


    That comment shut them both up. The gnoll pushed open a large iron banded wooden door and pushed the three of them inside. As they were passing by the door Bjorn got a good look at the door itself, the door wood was over 5 inches thick, and had a dark almost black color to the softer parts of the wood. The door had to be well over a thousand pounds but it swung open easily as it pivoted on well oiled hinges.


    Alaric whispered just loud enough that Bjorn could hear him from where he stood directly behind him. ¡°They oiled the wood in a flame resistant pitch to help avoid someone burning their way in.¡± Nodding they continued inside. The interior of the building was spacious with a few doors leading out of the main entrance, above the level they were walking on there was another stone walkway with crenulations. Inside the room there were several long wooden tables with benches situated on either side of the table, each table ran the entire length of the room. The benches had gnolls sitting at them eating some sort of slop that looked like a mix between a soup and raw meat. It almost looked like they had boiled the bones of whatever animal to make a broth, then they cut up the meat from that animal and threw it into the soup just long enough to make the meat warm before being served. The chunks of meat floating in the stew were as raw as they could get. The entire room had 15 or so gnolls spaced out in the entire place, even though the room was spacious enough that it could easily fit 200.


    Walking through the room some of the gnolls make comments towards the gnoll group surrounding the three slaves, which was met with growls, and one of the guards went so far as to smack one of the gnolls sitting at the tables. By the time they made it through the room all of the gnolls stopped eating and were watching the procession as they made their way towards one of the doors.


    Once they made it to the door they were led inside which continued onwards in a long narrow hallway with several doors leading off of the hall. At the very end of the hallway there was one door more ornate than the rest. The gnolls directed them toward that door, once they were standing outside the door the gnoll motioned them to stay put and knocked, opened, walked into, and then closed the door behind it. They sat there for a few minutes with the other 3 gnoll guards. Looking at the body language of the gnolls they looked uncomfortable, like they didn¡¯t want to be there.


    Eventually the door opened and the gnoll poked its head out of the door and beckoned them inside. The gnolls started to follow and a quick word stopped them in their tracks. Looking back at the three gnolls Bjorn was surprised to see relief on their faces. Something in his stomach dropped, if the gnoll guards were scared of this captain, what would it do to the three of them.


    The room that they entered had a neat pristine military vibe to it. There were two bookshelves along the wall filled with books, looking at them Bjorn realized he had never learned how to read any of the languages that he had been taught. There was a large wooden desk sitting in the middle of the room, and sitting behind the desk in a chair too large for even the gnoll sitting in it, sat one of the roughest looking gnolls Bjorn had seen so far. Using his identify Ability on the gnoll his heart decided to join his stomach as he read the description.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Dekxot Farclaw


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Deep Gnoll Chief


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 53


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 37


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Deep Gnoll Chiefs are a rare variant that are born to the deep gnolls, they are natural born leaders. From the day they are born they have a natural ruthlessness that is rivaled by few, these cold and calculating creatures as the last thing you want to come across on a battlefield where gnolls are present. They gain 1 point in constitution, 1 point in endurance, 2 points in strength and get 2 free points to distribute per level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Dekxot gave the three of them a brief look before returning to the papers on its desk. The gnoll guard seemed agitated, it shifted from foot to foot. Dekxot ignored those in its office, grabbed a quill and dipped it into an ink well, and wrote a quick line at the bottom of the page. Then it flipped a page and began reading that next paper. It was four pages of paper before Dekxot gave them any of its attention. After the four pages it stopped the inkwell, and set the quill aside. Setting its paws in front of itself Dekxot started to speak. Its voice was surprisingly soft and high pitched, Dekxot was a woman gnoll. It was hard to tell the difference between the male and female gnolls both had the same basic build, the only real difference that Bjorn could see from where he stood was Dekxot had a little bit narrower of a snout than the guard in the room.


    ¡°So, Thort over there tells me you have killed some sort of monster down in the iron mine today.¡± There was a pause in her speech as she waited for some sort of confirmation. Giving the slightest of nods, Dekxot smiled. ¡°That is good, how did you do it, explain it to me. You have my permission to talk.¡± She said that last bit directly to Bjorn. Taking that as his que he started speaking, telling her how it all happened. Telling her most of the story, leaving out their fight training, and how Bjorn ate both of the cores.


    At the end of his tale Dekxot stood up and started to walk around the desk, soon she was standing behind Bjorn. At the end of his story he could feel her warm breath on the back of his neck. Finishing his story he stood there in silence waiting for some sort of response.


    ¡°That was cleverly done. Quick thinking to use one to disable the other, from what you¡¯ve told me the creature was a flesh abomination. Rare creatures, and I think I know how these came to be. But all in due time. You have succeeded where my gnolls have failed, and for that you will be rewarded.¡±


    With that she turned around and rushed at the gnoll guard that came in with Bjorn, Alaric, and Meira. She closed the distance between her and the guard in a brief moment and used her claws to cut deep into its throat. A gurgling cry was all that the gnoll managed as she removed her claws from the gnoll''s throat. It fell to the ground. As it slowly bled out on the floor of the office, the sound of it attempting to breathe permeated the silence. The sound of its labored breathing slowed until it finally stopped. Dekxot stood there watching the gnoll slowly die with a smile on her face.


    Slowly she walked back around and sat down at the desk. Taking a rag out of her desk she started to clean the blood off of her paw.  ¡°As I was saying you will be rewarded for succeeding where my own soldiers have failed. We will heal your wounds, we will provide you with a week''s worth of food, and we will even provide you with clothes to wear. I thank you for doing that, without removing the creature it was only a matter of time before they killed all of you slaves and we had to send gnolls down there. I ordered my troops to remove the threat, but apparently they were too cowardly to actually try to fight them. They told me they searched the tunnels and failed to find the creature, multiple times. As to how they were formed we have a pit that all of our dead go down. During your diggings you must have uncovered a way into the bottom of the pit. I¡¯m not entirely sure, but I think that is where they came from.¡±


    Alaric was the one who spoke up this time. ¡°I beg your pardon, your ladyship. But would it be too much to ask for you to let us go free?¡±


    Chuckling, she shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to tell you this, but no, I won¡¯t free you. I do appreciate you killing the abominations but you know where our city is, and our anonymity is what keeps us safe here. Not many know where our city is outside of the gnolls and slaves.¡±


    ¡°What about freeing us as slaves?¡± Asked Meira.


    ¡°Again no, if I did that I would soon meet the same fate that Thort met. I may hold power in this pack, but I am by no means the strongest, and I can guarantee you that the rest of my pack would not take kindly to you being free. I would find myself slain, and then the three of you would follow me soon afterwards. I¡¯m sorry but no.¡± She raised her voice and called out. ¡°Rret, come in here.¡±


    The door opened again and this time the tiny gnoll who was exceptionally harsh to Bjorn on the trip to the gnoll encampment walked through the door. ¡°What can I do for you ma¡¯am?¡± Asked Rret


    ¡°Take these three first to the healers and make sure that their wounds are looked at and taken care of. After that take them to the kitchens and make sure they are well fed, next find them some clothes, their nakedness isn¡¯t something I care to keep looking at. Then take them back to camp for me. Do this with all due haste.¡±


    Nodding Rret bowed briefly and backed out of the room beckoning the three of them to follow along. As soon as the door closed Rret¡¯s face changed from one of subservience to one of anger. ¡°Don¡¯t think because I''m ordered to take you to the healer that I won¡¯t make you regret it. The way I see it the healer will heal any damage I do to you.¡± As Rret finished saying that he was true to his word and made Bjorn¡¯s life one of pain. He would have fought back but there were 2 guards standing outside the door. So Bjorn just let himself be beaten.


    Once Rret was finished with Bjorn he couldn¡¯t even stand. ¡°You, and you.¡± He barked at Alaric, and Meira. ¡°Carry this worthless sack of shit to the healer.¡± Turning on his heels, Rret walked down the hall without even seeing if they followed.


    There was little fuss at the healer¡¯s room. Once the gnoll that was in the healer room was told that Dekxot ordered it, the elderly gnoll set to providing healing to the slaves. She took one look at Bjorn and stepped over him going straight to Alaric. She cast a spell on Alaric and the wounds that had broken open again while carrying Bjorn closed themselves and started to stitch itself back together. With a grunt, Alaric commented. ¡°Tickles.¡± Before shutting up again as the gnoll gave him a withering look. She took one look at Meira and said. ¡°There is nothing I can do for this one.¡± Finally she turned back to Bjorn¡¯s bloody state on the ground and spit. ¡°Alright, I can¡¯t guarantee he will live, but I have something that might do the trick.¡± She left the room through a back door and returned a minute later with a potion in one hand. Uncorking it she poured the contents into Bjorn¡¯s mouth and then held his mouth closed until he swallowed. Saying a word her hands wreathed themselves in a golden light before forming a small ball which slowly sunk towards Bjorn. When it came in contact with his body it sunk into it and much of Bjorn¡¯s blood that had covered his skin from the beating turned liquid again and sunk into this skin. The bruises on Bjorn¡¯s skin also faded. There was a crunch as his collar bone snapped back in place and mended.


    When Bjorn¡¯s injuries were healed it felt like a fresh wind traveled straight through his entire being. The feeling washed away the fog that permeated his mind allowing him to think and see clearly since Rret beat him. Looking at his health bar it was actually full. ¡°This healing magic is wonderful, I need to try and learn some as soon as i possibly can.¡± Thought Bjorn and he picked himself up off of the floor. Looking up he caught sight of Rret, who had a wolfish grin on his face. After everyone was fully healed, Rret turned and started to walk out. As he did he turned and said something in gnollish to the elderly lady. When the words were out there was a sharp barely perceptible intake of breath that came from Meira. Looking at her she barely shook her head. Her message was clear, not now.


    Letting the matter drop the three of them followed Rret out of healers room and followed him to the kitchens. Once there he sat them down and gave them a hearty portion of the gruel that they give the slaves who have earned their right to eat. They did give them small round loaves of bread to go with the gruel. As they ate their fill a gnoll came to them and provided each with a set of clothes, they weren¡¯t nice by any stretch of the definition of that word. It was a plain brown homespun burlap. There were a shirt and pants for each of them. Bjorn¡¯s own clothes were tattered, the pants that he had when he was brought to the slave camp where little more than a butt flap by now. The legs of the pants had been ripped and torn to high heaven. Bjorn had never gotten his shirt back from Meira, she had kept that, it was all the clothes she had. One of the times that Olvog¡¯s men had taken Meira to rape her they had torn the shirt she was wearing down the middle, so now it was more of a cardigan then it was a shirt. Which was all that she had for clothes. Alaric had been brought in wearing almost the same type of clothes they provided him with, three weeks of hard work and many ass whoopings had worn the clothes down though, so it was another benefit.


    Once they had eaten their fill they were taken back to the slave camp and thrown roughly into it. Once the doors closed Bjorn turned to Meira, ¡°What was that intake of breath for?¡±


    She turned towards Bjorn and said gravely. ¡°I understand a little gnoll, I have been a slave at this camp for some time, over time I¡¯ve picked up a little gnollish. And as we were leaving the healer that gnoll.¡±


    ¡°Rret.¡±


    She barely acknowledged the interruption. ¡°Rret, said to the old gnoll, ¡°Thanks aunty.¡± It doesn¡¯t exactly translate to that, but it is close enough. I fear whatever it is that you are in for. I don¡¯t think the potion she gave you was actually for your benefit.¡±


    ¡°Now that you say that, I haven¡¯t received a prompt telling me what the potion was yet.¡±


    Nodding, ¡°That can happen sometimes, often when the effects actually take effect you will get the prompt. I¡¯m assuming the effects haven¡¯t started yet and because of that you haven¡¯t gotten the prompt.¡±


    The entire time Meira and Bjorn were speaking Alaric looked like he was going to blow, he kept trying to interject but they continued to talk without stopping to let Alaric speak. ¡°Will you let me get a word in length ways? Damn it.¡± At his outburst both Meira and Bjorn stopped talking and looked at the dwarf.


    ¡°Thank you, I have a question for you Bjorn. How did you know that small slimy red oozy looking orb wasn¡¯t going to kill you? And for that matter, how did you know Meira¡¯s name? She has been mute as a stone these last 3 weeks?¡±


    ¡°I would also like to know the answers to these questions.¡± Said Meira as she turned towards Bjorn.


    ¡°I¡¯m assuming the question you are asking me is actually exceptionally rude given the answer to that question. But seeing how I wouldn¡¯t be alive without you Alaric, I''ll tell you.¡± There was a pause and Bjorn turned to look at Meira giving her a pointed look.


    ¡°Yeah in your dreams.¡± She said, ¡°If you think I''m going to walk away from this conversation you are crazy, my mind just threw off the shackles of Olvog¡¯s Ability, you think I''m going to walk away from the two idiots who did that for me?¡±


    The silence continued to grow between the three of them before Bjorn finally gave in. ¡°Alright. If I hadn¡¯t just spent the last month and a half caring for you and trying to make sure you didn¡¯t die I wouldn¡¯t be telling you either. I have an Ability that allows me to identify whatever I am looking at, and it gives me a brief description of what the item does. It is how I knew that the flesh abomination core was actually beneficial instead of damning. It is how I found Meira¡¯s name even though she hasn¡¯t said a word to me this entire time. It is also how I found out that the gnoll captain we talked to earlier was actually a deep gnoll chief, and she was level 37.¡±


    With that revelation both Alaric and Meira just stood there staring at Bjorn kind of slack jawed. Meira was the first to recover from that. ¡°That sounds like quite a powerful Ability, I do know there have been many times in my life I wished I had an ability like yours.¡±


    Alaric turned towards Meira. ¡°You said earlier that you just threw off the shackles of Olvog¡¯s Ability. I¡¯m assuming you have an inkling of what the Ability does?¡±


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    With a sigh Meira started talking. ¡°You are right, dwarf.


    Alaric¡¯s cheeks grew a shade of red as it looked like he was about to explode. ¡°I have a name you twitter-put, and it is Alaric, it would be appreciated if you used it, thank you.¡±


    With a bit of a shamed look on her face Meira continued. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Alaric, you are right, I should have used your name, it is only fair after what you¡¯ve done for me.¡±


    That calmed down Alaric at least a little, he still didn¡¯t look happy by any means but he was mollified. Meira continued. ¡°You are right Alaric, I do have a clue as to what one of Olvog¡¯s Abilities does. It manipulates people¡¯s emotions, specifically it seems to just be one, subservience. The more exposure you have to this seems to make the effect of the Ability stronger. I have been at this camp for well over two years based on my age counter on my character sheet. Around a year ago the gnolls brought Olvog to this camp and threw him in here with us. Things have always been grim, but not this bad. It didn¡¯t take long for him to take over and have most people turn into his slaves.¡± She stopped at that and let out an emotionless chuckle. ¡°Ironic that the slave started making slaves of his own. Anyways he took over camp easily, it is easy to break those who have already been broken by the gnolls. Within a day he had half the camp listening to him. At first the gnolls sent him out on the mining expeditions, over time they made him go more and more infrequent, eventually they stopped sending him all together. I wasn¡¯t quite so easy to break, but what could I do? I was one person against the entire camp. Olvog took what he wanted when he wanted. Soon there was nothing I could do as he raped me over and over. With his ability growing stronger, eventually I stopped resisting. There comes a point where too much subservience turns people into shells of who they once were. If you look at those people.¡± As she pointed to where the huddled masses were. ¡°They weren¡¯t always like that, once they all had goals on escape, they planned, and a few actually tried, even though it never worked. After Olvog all of that stopped. I think it is part of the reason why the gnolls don¡¯t do anything about him, by him existing he keeps this camp docile.¡±


    Bjorn spoke up. ¡°That explains what I was feeling before Alaric came. I used to fight back and resist Olvog, but by the time Alaric showed up I had given up and I let them do whatever they wanted to you¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    A soft smile fell over Meira¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s alright Bjorn, there was nothing you could do in the situation you were in. I even gave in eventually, and I think my will is stronger than yours ever has been or will be.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why this camp felt weird as soon as I came here.¡± Said Alaric. ¡°I have an Ability that makes me immune to mind altering effects. I was wondering why everyone was just turning belly up to Olvog, his own power is barely anything. Hell by myself I put up a good fight against him and his 3 remaining goons. It is no wonder that the conditions are so good in this camp. They don¡¯t need to use any other means to keep the camp from rebelling.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate your forthcomingness sharing one of your Abilities Alaric.¡± She turned towards Bjorn. ¡°You are right of course, our question was in fact extremely rude, knowing one¡¯s Abilities gives you a certain power over them. Everyone has two of them, and they are their own trump cards. You were wise to play your¡¯s close to your chest.¡±


    ¡°Anyways, because of your help with keeping Olvog away from me, my mind started to fight back against the influence of his Ability, and seeing those flesh abominations was the final straw to break me free, again I thank both of you. I owe you a debt I doubt I''ll be able to pay. I do have my doubts that I am truly free from his influence. I suspect that all it will take is for him to be near me for my mind to fall back into itself again trying to protect me.¡±


    By then they had made it over to the huddled masses and took their place among them. ¡°I feel for these poor people, they have had all of their agency stripped away from them. No one deserves to be driven to what they are. Olvog¡¯s Ability is truly an insidious one. There comes a point where the drive for subservenance becomes so strong it snaps a person¡¯s will and turns them into barely a living creature. These people are more of a walking meat suit and can follow orders. Oddly enough, Olvog¡¯s power has backfired on him, it has made it so that these people who once would have done exactly what he asked to the letter, now just sit around and cower. I imagine that if it comes to a fight they won¡¯t pose us any trouble.¡±


    Silence fell as each of the small group started to digest what they had heard so far today. Hours passed as they all slowly started to nod off. Some time later Bjorn awoke with a stabbing pain in his stomach. It lasted a few seconds before fading. Looking around Meira and Alaric were both asleep laying on the ground near Bjorn. After a minute of nothing Bjorn began to relax. That was when the pain came back to him, it felt like someone took hot liquid iron and poured it onto the skin of his stomach, the burning sensation overpowered his mind and all he could feel was the burn. The burning sensation didn¡¯t just stay on his stomach though, it started to enter under the skin. Using his eyes he could see that he wasn¡¯t actually burning, and that the skin where the feeling was actually unblemished. Contrary to his eyes the burn began to drip down onto his organs from the skin. Rolling onto his stomach he started to puke immediately. Retching once, twice, three times, and then the pain started to subside. His vision began to clear, that was when he noticed a prompt in front of him.


    You have drunk the nectar of the death lotus. The death lotus is one of the few magical plants in the world that will kill everything from the smallest mouse, to the oldest dragon. You drank the purest form of the lotus¡¯s expression of death, it¡¯s nectar. Over the next 32 hours you will take your entire health pool of damage. This is to ensure death for all creatures. All healing effects and magics besides natural regeneration will not work on you for the duration of the death lotus¡¯s poison. If there is someone nearby who would grant it to you, you should ask for them to kill you. It would be a kindness in the face of what you are about to go through.


    Picking up his head he could see both Alaric and Meira sitting there with worried looks on their faces. He looked them straight in the face and said two words. ¡°Death lotus.¡± Meira¡¯s face fell at that, as he could see sorrow in her eyes. Alaric¡¯s expression became stoney.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry lad, there is nothing I can do to help you, I will miss you, I hope your next life isn¡¯t as terrible as this one was.¡±


    Meira didn¡¯t say a word, only a single tear fell from her face, she leaned forward and planted a single kiss on his forehead. That was when he screamed. He screamed so loud that he tore his vocal cords, the taste of blood flooded his entire mouth as his throat started to be filled with blood from his vocal cords. He started to cough up blood as his mind tried to retreat from the pain, to try to block out all of the sensory input his body kept sending to it. Unfortunately for Bjorn, the pain was so all encompassing that he didn¡¯t find the comforting blackness of being unconscious. Every time his world would start to go black around the edges and he was starting to welcome the black, a new way for his body to feel pain came back and would rouse his mind back from the brink, causing the entire process to start over again. The entire process lasted for a long, excruciating amount of time. There were moments where the pain would ebb for a brief moment, and in those moments his mind would clear enough to where he could focus on one thing at a time. It wasn¡¯t long before what he would focus on was his health bar. After the 4th or 5th cycle he gave up hope of surviving. By the 8th or 9th cycle he started to wish that it would end. By the 15th or 16th his health was starting to get low. And finally after 19 times of his world descending into misery his health was sitting at 3 hp. His mind cleared enough to watch his health slowly tick down. It dropped to two, and he grew frustrated that it wouldn¡¯t just end. The frustration lasted only a brief moment before it ticked down to one and then darkness overtook him.


    Blessed release what all that Bjorn felt when he woke up. But something felt off. He woke up? The fact that he was awake felt wrong¡­ But he couldn¡¯t quite say why it felt wrong. Not knowing why, he didn¡¯t actually care, he wanted his escape and so his mind slipped back into itself as darkness overcame him again¡­


    The next time his mind roused itself a little he could faintly hear voices.


    ¡°He is alive? How is that even possible?¡±


    ¡°... Care, at least we have hope.¡±


    ¡°He might not recover from this, death lotus nectar is said to kill anything in this world.¡±


    ¡°...Olvog, you might want to leave, otherwise your stench might just finish him off.¡±


    The darkness once again welcomed him with open arms.


    Rough hands gripped Bjorn just under his shoulders as he awoke. Opening his eyes blearily he looked up at whatever had him by the armpits. Alaric was dragging him across the ground with a grim expression on his face.


    ¡°Hey there cutie.¡± Bjorn said to Alaric. As he did so Alaric started and dropped Bjorn back to the ground, with a heavy thump Bjorn¡¯s body came to rest. Unperturbed by the rough handling he continued onwards.  ¡°To what do I owe the honor of being carried by one such as you?¡±


    ¡°By the stars!¡± Exclaimed Alaric. ¡°You are really alive. I mean I know you were alive, but you have recovered! The way that elf was talking about your mind we thought you¡¯d be nothing more than a vegetable for the rest of your life. Ho ho! I¡¯m glad to have you back!¡± He rushed forward and embraced Bjorn in a rough hug.


    Grunting at having a rather heavy dwarf throw himself at him, Bjorn awkwardly hugged him back. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you too.¡± Fearing the dwarf might actually kill him by his hug he took a look at his health and it was sitting at 25 out of 150. In a panic he shoved Alaric off the best he could. ¡°I¡¯ve been out for 24 days?!¡±


    Shaking his head. ¡°No that¡¯s the damndest thing, you¡¯ve only been out for 3 days. Your state was a sorry one to behold.¡± His face screwed itself up in anger. ¡°That damn Rret knew something was up, as soon as you started to convulse on the ground he and 15 of his buddies came and collected a large mining group of which Meira and myself were the first ones to be grabbed. He then made all of us pull a full day shift mining. Under the pretext of ¡®We are running low on Iron, you need to make yourself useful.¡¯ What a lode of crap.¡± A smile broke out on his face again. ¡°Anyways when we got back from the mining trip Meira and myself expected to find you dead. As we walked up to you we actually thought you were. Your limbs were sitting at awkward angles, you lay face down in the soil. You were laying in a pool of your own blood. But as we got near Meira said she could see your back moving. I thought it was just your body convulsing in death. But no, she pointed out that it was too regular and even for it to be death, it had to be breathing. So we rushed over and sure enough you were alive!¡±


    Alaric grinned down at Bjorn where he lay as if Bjorn had just played the biggest joke on the world. ¡°You being alive surprised us, but what happened next surprised us more. Over two days you went from looking like you were on death''s door to looking like you got run over by a wagon. You had a broken arm from your body pulling on itself. Meira said that you were experiencing so much pain that your muscles were literally pulling your bones apart. We didn¡¯t have anything to splint your arm so we just set it in place and made sure you didn¡¯t move so it had a chance to actually heal properly. And this morning I decided it was time to clean you up. You were covered in shit by the way. Anyways, when I was moving you over towards the water to clean you up your arm looked like it started to actually heal.¡±


    Still a little groggy Bjorn decided to pull up his notifications, it had been a while since he checked them, with a mental command he ignored any of the notifications that didn''t deal with his more recent ordeal, then with another command he read the prompts.


    You have ingested and absorbed a flesh abomination core and have gained some of its healing properties. Your health regeneration has increased from 1 hp per day to 2 hp per day.


    You have ingested and absorbed another flesh abomination core, because you have absorbed another core in such a small time frame the effects of the second on are boosted. Your base health regeneration has gone from 2 hp per day to 4 hp per day.


    You have ingested a substance of pure death right after ingesting a substance of pure vitality. Because of the nature of the vitality it has weakened the death lotus nectar ever so slightly, giving you the slightest chance of life.


    Congratulations by sheer dumb luck your body managed to regenerate 1 hp as your health total was about to hit 0, leaving you with exactly 1 hp. Your dumb luck streak continued by the fact that the vitality from the abomination core weakened the death lotus nectar just enough that you were able to survive.


    Because your body was a battleground for two such strong opposing energies your health regeneration has further increased, going from 4 hp per day to 8 hp per day.


    Looking up at Alaric Bjorn smiled as he said. ¡°Turns out I''m lucky, or something like that. You saved my life by not taking the abomination core. The strength from both of the cores was enough to weaken the death lotus nectar enough for me to live. If just barely. Also my health regeneration has increased because of this ordeal.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad your hair-brained idea to eat those disgusting blobs paid off somehow.¡±


    ¡°Where is Meira?¡±


    Once Meira¡¯s name left Bjorn¡¯s mouth Alaric¡¯s face fell once again. ¡°She is gone again. I¡¯m sorry lad.¡±


    ¡°She lost herself again?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    Heaving a great sigh Alaric started again. ¡°It was just yesterday. We weren¡¯t sure you would survive, but we wanted to give you a shot. Olvog the great big greedy bastard left his little palace and came over with all of his goons again. We were ready to fight them off, but one of them threatened to kill you if we fought back or if she didn¡¯t go with them. You have to know we had a chance against them if it was just the girl and I, but we had little chance if we were to defend you while trying to fight them off. I was willing to take that chance, but not Meira, she didn¡¯t want to chance it. So she went with them, they weren¡¯t kind to her, all of her clothes are ripped to shreds, she has bruises all over her body, and she is vacant again.¡±


    He was quiet for a long time, Bjorn didn¡¯t say anything because he could tell Alaric had more to say. Looking at his friend a single tear slid down his face and got lost in his beard. ¡°They were loud about it too. I could hear it from where I was at. I could hear her pleading for them to stop, but it only made them laugh and then it got louder. I¡¯d be surprised if all of the gnolls in the guard house could hear it. I could hear everything clearly, every word, every smack.¡± His voice became hoarse. ¡°I could hear her choke as they shoved something down her throat. When they threw her body out of their hut she was just as she was before.¡±


    The dwarf¡¯s voice trailed off. As more tears joined its kin sliding down the man¡¯s face. ¡°I wanted to do something, but before she left she told me that you were our best chance to maybe get out of here someday. I don¡¯t know what made her say that, but I believe her.¡±


    Silence fell between the friends as Bjorn began to work his way through what had happened while unconscious. The silence stretched for a long time, as it did Bjorn began to seeth. All of the emotions that had been pushed down since he became a slave started to boil up. His feeling of helplessness. The anger at the beatings he took, the anger at what Olvog and his mooks did to Meira. What started as anger soon turned into rage, the rage built until it died down. It settled into a cold fury.


    Bjorn spoke in an even flat voice. ¡°I am going to kill him. As soon as I am good enough I am going to kill Olvog, consequences be damned. I don¡¯t care if the gnolls kill me for it. That monster doesn¡¯t deserve to live any longer.¡±


    The conviction in his voice made Alaric look up at his friend, and in his eyes he saw pure determination. It was the type of determination that drove men to do great things, or die trying. ¡°Ay, I was hoping you¡¯d say that. Our time for revenge is upon us, as soon as you are good enough to stand and fight, I think we need to get our payback. The injustice of the situation has long since been overdue to be fixed.¡±


    The two men stood and took off to where Alaric had stored Meira for the time being. It broke his heart seeing her as she had been, especially after seeing a piece of her for the one day she was herself. All it really did was fuel the fire burning within him. Getting down on one knee he bowed his head to Meira and said under his breath.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you can hear me in the state you are in. I appreciate you being willing to give yourself up for me. Knowing full well that you might not come back from this. I promise you I will get revenge, and stop Olvog from doing this to you ever again. I promise you that if I survive after killing Olvog I will dedicate my life to finding a way to bring you back to us. Thank you.¡±


    Getting up from his kneeling position he turned back to Alaric. ¡°Alright, I think we should go mining, it is time to get away from this camp.¡±


    A whole week was spent mining, and staying as far away from Olvog as they possibly could. That time was spent mixed from trying to coax Meira back, mining, and even more training on how to actually fight. Albeit even with Bjorn¡¯s determination it was slow going, he was recovering from almost dying after all. Progress was still being made though. They were both counting down the days to where they felt like Bjorn was recovered enough for them to take on Olvog.


    At the end of the week they still planned on waiting, but Olvog had other ideas. After Alaric and Bjorn¡¯s act of defiance the last time Olvog decided he wanted to play with Meira they started to all join in on getting their plaything for the day. So it was little surprise when all 4 of the group left their hut and made a beeline straight for where Bjorn, Alaric, and Meira were situated.


    ¡°Move out of the way.¡± Shouted Olvog as he got closer to where they stood. ¡°I am taking that elf with me, don¡¯t even try to stop me.¡± By that time he and his goons. When neither of the two men moved, his face grew a ravenous expression. ¡°Dear, why don¡¯t you come with us? Some real men. You see, she isn¡¯t resisting. She must be fine with coming with us.¡±


    The only response Olvog got was a tightening of fists and both Bjorn and Alaric balled their fists getting ready for a fight. Seeing their reaction the three goons positioned themselves between Olvog and the angry men.


    It was Alaric who broke the tense silence, he spoke in a low even tone. ¡°I¡¯ll give you one chance to turn around and walk back into your hut. If you don¡¯t take the only hope I''m giving you, your blood will run before the day is out. Consequences be damned.¡±


    Olvog let out a laugh at that. ¡°What makes you think that you have any authority to give orders here? Don¡¯t you see everyone here.¡± Making a sweeping gesture to the huddled masses, all of whom had made a 20 foot radius clearing from where both the groups stood. ¡°They all learned the lesson for non compliance. Whether you like it or not, dwarf, I always get my way. You think you and your little child of a man scare me? Ha, don¡¯t make me laugh. We beat you last time, we will win again.¡± He paused and made an exaggerated face as if he was thinking. ¡°You know I think I¡¯ll make a lesson out of you for everyone here. I think this time I''ll do whatever I wish with your little elf over there for everyone to see. Gnurl over there has a bit of a taste for men as well.¡± he indicated the orc that was standing to Olvogs right. For his part the ore grew a wicked smile that said he wouldn¡¯t mind taking Bjorn for a spin. ¡°We find it unpleasant so we don¡¯t let him indulge. But I think we should let him indulge this time. Oh don¡¯t worry, the more you right back the sweeter it will be for Gnurl.¡±


    During the entire exchange the two groups slowly were edging towards each other, and By the time Olvog stopped speaking they were within striking distance. It was Alaric who made the first move, he took a lunging step forward and brought his leg down hard on the leg of the human, a snap could be heard as he crumpled over. And with that the calm before the storm ended. As the elf and Olvog charged at Alaric, the orc advanced on Bjorn with a wicked grin on his face.


    As the two groups came together in a clash. A large explosion shook the cave. Momentarily distracted, both groups looked around. In the distance at one of the entrances to the cave where the gnolls had built the stone gatehouse to defend the passage a cloud of dust and dirt billowed into the chamber. After a few seconds the sound of metal clashing on metal echoed through the chamber. Every so often the sound of some man screaming in pain punctuated the din in the distance. Once the dust settled a little from where he stood Bjorn could see purple figures pouring into the large cave that had been his home for the last 2 months.


    You may skip to the next part if you don¡¯t care about the skill progression.


    You have advanced your skill level in healing, reaching skill level 2. Wounds that you treat will heal 3% faster.


    As an alchemist you have many ways forward. One of which is by coming up with your own recipes. It is a long slow way to produce potions, but your abilities will actually become better because of it. For creating your own health potion you have gotten increased progression in your alchemy.


    You have advanced your skill level in alchemy, reaching skill level 13. Potions you make will be 13% increased effect and 26% increased duration of effect.


    You have advanced your skill level in Mining, reaching skill level 20. Rocks are 100% more likely to break from a solid strike. Your stamina drain while mining is decreased by 40%.


    Congratulations by reaching the novice threshold in mining you gain a perk! You gain a slight inkling on where to strike the rock for it to break apart easier.


    You have advanced your skill level in light magic. reaching skill level 6. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.


    You have advanced your skill level in water magic. reaching skill level 5. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.


    You have advanced your skill level in hand to hand. reaching skill level 7. Blows you land with bare fists and legs now deal 14% extra damage.


    Level up! You are now level 12, you have 3 attribute points to distribute.


    With the level up that came from fighting the flesh abominations Bjorn put 2 points into dexterity and 1 into Agility. Those stats were starting to lag behind.

 Chapter 13

    Not wanting to waste a golden opportunity Bjorn started to cast his spell while his back was turned towards the orc. As soon as the spell finished casting he whipped around and directed the stone to hit the orc. It shot away from where he was standing and flew straight into the orcs chest, and an audible crack sounded. The stone landed on the right side of the orc, his right hand immediately curled in to protect his now broken rib, and a look of anger spread across his face. Not wasting any time as soon as the rock started its trajectory he leapt forward, planted his foot sideways and kicked with all of his might into the spot the rock just landed. Luckily for the orc, and unluckily for Bjorn the act of the orc dropping its arm actually stopped his leg from making a solid connection. Using its left arm the orc trapped Bjorn¡¯s leg between his arms. Hefting Bjorn slightly off balance by his leg he did a quick spin and let go sending Bjorn flying, and then skidding on the ground after he landed.


    Hearing the crunch snapped Alaric out of his stupor of trying to figure out what actually was happening. He turned with a manic grin on his face and threw a punch at the elf, dropping him with a sucker punch. The elf fell, but he wasn¡¯t knocked out. With the hit Olvog snapped out of his stupor and turned and threw a wild haymaker at Alaric, who deftly caught the punch and executing a two step turn threw Olvog over his shoulder. The human who had the broken leg tentatively got up on his feet and rushed forward at Alaric. The kick Alaric landed on the human was a quick powerful kick meant to break bones, which had mixed results. For one the man¡¯s movement was hindered, but it hadn¡¯t been enough to fully incapacitated him. What probably happened was the kick had enough force to break one of the two bones in his lower leg. Turning towards the rushing human Alaric set his feet to meet the rushing man but was brought up short. Looking down the elf had latched himself onto Alaric¡¯s leg, which slowed his movements just enough for the human to plow into the dwarf and all three fell in a heep.


    Rushing forward the orc charged on Bjorn. From where he lay he oriented himself towards the orc and took up the defensive position Alaric showed him. As the orc neared he reached into his clothes and produced a crude knife. It looked more like a shiv than it did a knife. It looked like a spike off of a pickaxe that got rubbed down into a point. From where he lay Bjorn could tell that the shiv was sharp enough that it could easily stab into his body. Making a snap decision he cast, cast stone again. As the orc fell on Bjorn he tried to stab Bjorn the best he could, as for Bjorn he tried his best to control the shiv arm, which he had mixed results in. With the knife in his right hand Bjorn did his best to control that hand. Using his left the orc threw a punch that landed on Bjorn¡¯s head dazing him for a second, but Bjorn¡¯s hand did not relax on the hand holding the shiv. Using the moment of distraction the orc switched the shiv from his right to his left hand, and bringing his body close stabbed towards Bjorn¡¯s ribcage. Which sank easily in between his lower ribs on his right side.


    From where he lay tangled in a pile of three bodies Alaric tried his best to fight back, but as odd as it sounds, his best advantage was distance. Although Alaric was a good scrapper he had formal training on how to fight multiple opponents from a standing position. It was a losing battle; his two fists, in comparison to the 4, just weren''t enough to compete. They quickly gained the upper hand and got Alaric on his back. Olvog had recovered from the throw and slowly got back to his feet, seeing Bjorn with a shiv in his ribcage, and his other two goons winning against Alaric he was in no rush to get back to Alaric. So he turned his back towards Bjorn, who would be dead soon, and pulled a second shiv and started to walk towards Alaric. From where he lay Alaric could see the shiv in Olvog¡¯s hand, and did some quick calculations. They would lose, Once he got stabbed it would be harder to fight back and he was already losing to the two. His mouth thinned to a line as he continued to struggle, getting a good grip on the human¡¯s collar he wasn¡¯t able to push him off.


    As soon as the shiv entered his body Bjorn used his right hand to trap the orc''s left hand stopping him from withdrawing the shiv. The orcs'' face grew savage as he knew it was only a matter of time now. Leaning even closer he spoke into Bjorn¡¯s ear. ¡°Even with you dead it won¡¯t stop me, I have well over 12 hours for your body to fully cool. I will still get my pound of flesh from you in the end.¡± The overconfident orc shouldn¡¯t have been so. As the orc finished his statement Bjorn took his left arm and jammed it into the spot the stone had hit. With their close proximity it was just pure luck for him to actually hit it. He could feel his strength start to wane, as it started to become harder to breathe. Luck was on his side, as his stiffened fingers drove right into the spot where the stone had landed. When he felt the orc stiffen from the shooting pain in his side Bjorn made a gamble and used his cast stone to aim at the orc¡¯s head. The stone shot down and made a connection with the back of the orc¡¯s head stunning him. With a mighty shove he rolled the orc over so he was on his back and Bjorn was on top of him. Relaxing his right arm he withdrew the shiv and turned it towards the orc. The vacant stunned look past off of the orc¡¯s face as the shiv sank into his eye socket. Hitting bone Bjorn put his weight on the hand carrying the shiv, as the orc¡¯s strength rapidly left him the pressure the shiv made on the eye socket quickly grew as there was a moment of hesitation before the bone gave out and the shiv sank fully into his brain cavity and the orc went limp.


    As Olvog drew closer he was oblivious to the plight of his orc mook, if he was aware he probably would have turned towards Bjorn and finished him off. But all of his time being the head dog in the camp had made him arrogant and disregarded Bjorn as a threat. And so he stalked towards Alaric. From where he lay Alaric resigned himself to dying here, at least it was a good reason to die. He knew he couldn¡¯t count on Bjorn for help, after all he was ten times the fighter his friend was. The last time he saw Bjorn the orc was on top of him and had shoved the shiv into Bjorn¡¯s side. But his determination to take whatever he could from these monsters who took what they wanted made him struggle onwards. When Olvog got in striking distance he looked down at Alaric. ¡°I thought by the end of the day my blood would run. I have to admit I didn¡¯t believe you, now that I finally get to end you, and your little pet human, I can agree you made my blood run. I am thrilled that your little resistance is finally over.¡± Leaning down he thrust the shiv at Alaric.


    The entire time he was fighting with the two men on the ground he was trying to push them off of him. When Alaric switched the direction of his force the human was caught off guard and got pulled further on top of Alaric, directly into the path of the falling shiv. Which promptly sunk deep into the human¡¯s back, The strength of the human lessened by a large degree. Shouting with anger Olvog withdrew the shiv and grabbed the human by his back, yanking him off of Alaric and threw him to the side. The man flopped uselessly to the floor and tried to rise, and failed, he stopped moving where he lay.


    Laughing Alaric taunted. ¡°You stupid cunt, how does it feel to have killed one of your own men.¡± A snarl was all the Olvog had in reply as he raised the shiv to stab downwards again. Olvog stiffened as the shiv that Bjorn had retrieved pierced his back. Standing ten feet away Bjorn didn¡¯t waste any time and started to cast, cast stone for the third time. A look of horror crossed Olvog¡¯s face as he said. ¡°You¡¯re a spell caster?¡± He didn¡¯t get a chance to say anything more before the newly formed stone flew at Olvog.


    In a move the surprised both Bjorn and Alaric Olvog deflected the stone with his shiv. As Olvog started to try to close the distance between him and Bjorn, Bjorn backed away and started casting cast stone again and again. Trying not to get too far away from Alaric Bjorn traveled in circles. For his part now that Bjorn had Olvog distracted all Alaric had to deal with was the elf, his fighting experience and higher stat pool gave him quite the advantage. It didn¡¯t take long for Alaric to maneuver the elf in front of him and trapped his arms against his body with his legs. Placing his hands on either side of the elfs face, one in front and one behind, he pulled quickly in opposite directions, there was an audible snap as the elf¡¯s struggling went limp. Throwing the elf off of him Alaric stood and quickly took off after Bjorn as Olvog. Even with his best attempts they had traveled well over 300 feet away from where Alaric had been laying.


    By this time the sounds of battle off in the distance had grown closer, they were running out of time, who knows what will happen if whatever is killing the gnolls got to the slave camp. Bjorn¡¯s mana pool was getting close to being depleted, a splitting headache was overtaking him, still gritting his teeth he pushed through it and cast his spell one more time. This being his 13th time casting cast stone, his mana pool having 17 left, the headache got worse. Throwing this stone at Olvog he dodged this tone too. Out of all 10 castings he did not a single one hit its target, a few he dodged, but the majority of them got deflected by the shiv. The shiv looked to be almost useless now, it had lost its point, and the metal had bent backwards to the point where it was almost touching his arm.


    Seeing Bjorn stumble, and with his movements becoming more disorganized and the spells coming out slower, Olvog smiled. ¡°Your magic is almost out, what is going to stop me when you have nothing else to defend yourself? Hehehe.¡± His chuckle was that of someone who took delight in others suffering. Trying to cast his cast stone one more time he failed, Bjorn couldn¡¯t keep his mind oriented on the mana flow enough for the spell to fully complete, it did take some of his mana, but not all of it. Bjorn stumbled again as the headache became a piercing pain that shot back into his brain. Coming to a stop he set his feet and raised his arms. ¡°Foolish, I am going to enjoy this.¡± Said Olvog.


    The look of surprise on his face would have been comical if Bjorn wasn¡¯t distracted by the headache. Olvog¡¯s feet got sweeped out from underneath him and Alaric grabbed his body making sure he landed on the shiv sticking out of his back. Olvog hit the ground hard and the shiv got shoved all the way through his body and it protruded out the front on the right side of his torso. Olvog went into shock, and he just lay there, still breathing, slowly and laboriously. With a smile Alaric raised his foot and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to enjoy this.¡± Repeating Olvog¡¯s words back to him the same way he just said it to Bjorn.


    Bjorn called out. ¡°Wait, I think I deserve to be the one to end him.¡±


    After a brief pause Alaric nodded and lowered his foot. ¡°Be my guest.¡±


    Bjorn maneuvered himself to Olvog¡¯s head, looking down at the piteous hobgoblin. Raising his foot he paused before saying. ¡°This is for Meira.¡± As his slammed his foot down on Olvog¡¯s skull as hard as he could. The hobgoblin¡¯s head sandwiched between the stone floor and Bjorn¡¯s foot did not give way and bounced, Olvog¡¯s body went rigid as it reacted to try and protect the head. Unfortunately it didn¡¯t actually move, his body disobeyed the orders of his brain. Raising his foot he brought it down again, and again, and again. On the fourth slam there was a crack has Olvog¡¯s skull gave way and Bjorn¡¯s foot pushed the broken piece of skull into Olvog¡¯s brain. And still Bjorn didn¡¯t stop, he got a sick pleasure out of seeing the hobgoblin¡¯s body twitch as his foot came down. With all the time Bjorn spent down here shoeless the bottom of his feet had thick tough calluses. It was probably what saved him from cutting himself on the shards of bone from Olvog¡¯s shattered skull. Even after Olvog¡¯s body stopped twitching and there wasn¡¯t much left to Olvog¡¯s head Bjorn didn¡¯t stop stamping. All of the anger, and shame over the last few months came flowing out of him as he continued to stamp down. Tears were flowing freely down Bjorn¡¯s face.


    Eventually Alaric grabbed ahold of his friend¡¯s shoulder and said. ¡°I get it my friend. But we need to get Meira and get out of here. If I was to guess from the sounds of battle and how close they have gotten the gnolls are losing this fight, and I don¡¯t want to find out how whatever those creatures are treat slaves.¡±


    Nodding in agreement Bjorn took a step away from the corpse of Olvog and turned his back on him. The two of them took off at a run heading back to where Meira was huddled on the ground. As they were running they saw the body of the human mook moving. ¡°Huh I guess he didn¡¯t kill that one.¡± Said Alaric as he moved over to the human who was feebly struggling to pull himself back to their little hut. Towering over the struggling man Alaric looked down at the human and said. ¡°You don¡¯t deserve it, but I¡¯m going to end your misery. I am in a bad mood, and I can¡¯t let that little shit stain Bjorn think he killed more of you than I did.¡± The man made no reaction to Alaric¡¯s words, so he bent down and quickly snapped his neck. Standing he took off heading towards Meira again and Bjorn soon followed. When they hauled her up onto her feet and took off towards the gate to their enclosure. The walls around the slave camp were 12 feet high, out of Bjorn¡¯s jumping range.


    ¡°I¡¯ll put my back to the wall and you run at me, step on my hands and I''ll push you up to the height.¡±


    Nodding in agreement they set up, running at Alaric Bjorn soared as he threw him in the air. Flying well over the 12 feet necessary for him to make it over Bjorn caught the lip of the gate and swung one leg over. From his vantage there were no gnoll¡¯s in sight. Quickly shifting his weight over he lowered himself till he was fully extended and then dropped the remaining feet to the ground. On the other side of the gate he tried to lift the wooden beam that held the gates closed but it was heavy. ¡°Hurry up Bjorn, we need to get out of here.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Bjorn called back at his impatient friend. Setting his feet and placing the beam on one shoulder he heaved with all his might and it still didn¡¯t budge. With a thought he pulled up his character screen and saw that he had leveled up from killing Olvog. Without a moment of hesitation he dumped all three points into strength. He felt his body grow larger, and at the same time his muscles grow denser. Trying again he set his feet and heaved. This time the beam slowly slid free of the bars holding it in place, not able to hold it any longer. He dropped the beam and it fell free of the bars, but it dropped on the ground in front of the doors.


    From where he stood he could hear Alaric trying to shove on the door but the beam stopped it from sliding. ¡°Just a second.¡± Called Bjorn as he situated himself on one end of the beam, squatting he got one arm in each side of the beam and lifted, crab walking to the side it swung free of one of the doors. Dropping the beam he rushed over to the now clear door and grabbed ahold of it pulling on it the door swung open.


    ¡°Nice work Bjorn.¡± Alaric said as he led Meira out of the slave camp. ¡°Which way now?¡±


    Looking around frantically Bjorn had no idea. ¡°We can¡¯t go that way.¡± He said as he pointed towards the gnoll town. ¡°Either the creatures, or the gnolls will kill us. So it looks like we have to travel that way.¡±


    Nodding the party took off at a speed slightly faster than a walk as they started running away from the fight. Once they made it past the slave camp the back wall became clear. ¡°Into the mines.¡± called Bjorn as they turned their trajectory heading towards the open cave entrance.


    ¡°Good thinking. It is like a maze down there, we can easily find places to hide down there where no one will be able to find us. And on top of that there are weapons down there we can use. Heading down the mines they traveled about halfway to where the slaves would be working and settled into a side tunnel. They only had to wait for an hour before the sound of many feet tramping through the cave could be heard. The sound came from below them. ¡°The latest mining group.¡± Bjorn whispered as the sound grew louder. They lay in wait for the group to pass them and for the sound to fade to nothing before they took off down the mines again.


    Making it down to the bottom of the mines they found the entire place deserted. ¡°Huh. I would have thought they would have kept someone down here all the time.¡± Mused Alaric as he walked over to the pickaxes. Soon they were both armed with pickaxes. Searching the guard post they found a few portions of bread and meat, they also found a wooden shield and a hammer, and a pot filled with a salve that after identifying will increase the recovery rate, and finally some bandages. Which they immediately used to treat everyone¡¯s wounds. Dropping his pickaxe Alaric armed himself with the shield and hammer. Other than that there were odd nicknacks, but nothing that would be useful. So they settled in to wait.


    Three rather uneventful days passed as they waited, they would have waited longer but by the end of the first day they had eaten through all of their stocks of food. It was hunger that drove them to the gnoll city, two days without food was doable, but they figured that three days was enough for whatever attack had either left, or grown complacent. So they headed back with a bit of trepidation. As soon as they made it back to the main entrance to the mines they saw the sight of a husk of a city. There had obviously been a fire set in many of the buildings because many of the buildings had collapsed roofs. The fires had to be individually set because the buildings were made of stone. In between the slave encampment and the mine entrance there lay the 10 gnoll guards and 20 or so of the slaves. Which didn¡¯t account for the 100 slaves that were down in the mines. They lay in wait for over two hours trying to see if there was any movement from inside the city. During which they hadn¡¯t seen any movement of any kind so they figured it was probably safe enough.


    Moving forward the place closest to them was the slave encampment so they searched there first. Coming around the corner of the open gate, one of the gates had been torn at one of its hinges and hung at an angle, the other had been blown completely off. Looking inside they found dead gnolls, obviously they had used the slave camp as a last ditch effort to defend, even though the walls built around the camp were not really defensive they probably tried to funnel their attackers into the entrance to give them more of a chance. They also found well over 100 dead slaves, again not quite enough to count for the 250 or 300 slaves that were at the camp all the time. There were also a few of the dead attackers as they drew closer Alaric said one word. ¡°Drow.¡±


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    The creature on the ground had the same body proportions as an elf, they were tall though not as tall as Meira, slender, and looked graceful. Their facial features were chiseled and somehow sleek all at the same time, the combination was surprisingly alluring. The main difference was their skin was a pale shade of purple and they had long white hair tied high on their heads. They all had that, male and female alike. ¡°What are the drow? Just purple elves?¡± Bjorn asked.


    Shaking his head. ¡°Drow feel like they are the superior beings, they are arrogant and oftentimes willing to take whatever they want, whenever they want. They feel like they are entitled to whatever interests them. Like many things down there they are ruthless, most drow won''t kill you on sight though. They will evaluate you, if you don¡¯t measure up to whatever their skewed standard is, that is when they will kill you. If you do measure up they might fight you, or maybe they will trade with you. Don¡¯t let it mislead you, you are still a lesser being. I can only think of one person I¡¯ve ever met who claims to have gained the drow¡¯s respect. After meeting the woman I am inclined to believe her, if I was more of a man myself maybe she would have considered me her equal, instead she laughed at me when I tried to ask her out.¡± Alaric was silent for a moment. ¡°That memory still stings a bit. A man¡¯s gotta try. Anyways, if you ever meet a drow you¡¯ll likely end up dead. Especially considering what a pathetic excuse for a man you are.¡± He ended with a smile.


    ¡°Hey, this pathetic excuse for a man saved your life. Thank you very much. So what does that say about you?¡±


    ¡°Pfft, I was just having an off day, give me a full night''s rest and I''d have killed all 4 of them without your help.¡±


    ¡°Sure you could have, whatever you say bud.¡±


    With his last comment Bjorn¡¯s mind started to churn at the change in demeanor while he was enslaved. Going from being okay with killing creatures, to now having his own part in killing multiple people in rather gruesome ways. The leap from one to the other was surprisingly easy, and oddly enough, the thought didn¡¯t scare Bjorn really at all. And now he had just made a joke about how he killed 2 more men while standing in what most places on earth would consider a war crime. The absurdity of the situation was not lost on him.


    ¡°Hey, you alright?¡± Asked Alaric, all traces of a smile had left his face.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine. Let¡¯s find whatever would be useful and leave this place behind.¡±


    After a moment Alaric nodded and said, ¡°Alright, where do we start?¡± Both of their eyes fell on the little shack that was still standing. Simultaneously they both said. ¡°Not there.¡± With a smirk on both of their faces they turned back around and all three of them started heading towards the guard house. Inside they found a large amount of gnoll and drow bodies. Taking it for what it was they started looting. The army had probably taken most of the really good stuff back with them, but what was left behind was better than what they currently had. Soon they had found enough clothes from the drow to fit both Bjorn and Meira fairly well, and they both had 3 sets, dressing himself and Meira with the least blood stained clothes he sat the other two sets aside for now. They had also found two different pairs of leather boots that would fit both his and Meira¡¯s feet, quickly donning both they went back to looting. Unfortunately for Alaric none of the elves were both small enough, and wide enough to fit his bulky frame.


    Quickly they left their makeshift weapons behind and had more fitting weapons. Bjorn got himself a nice ornate bow with a quiver, not knowing what Meira would use for a weapon he picked up a second one off of another drow, and plenty of arrows for both of them. Alaric settled on a large round shield and a hand ax with a rather wicked looking head. Bjorn also picked himself up a sword, With his sword came a belt so seeing how he was already carrying one he threw another one on for Meira if she wanted it. They found plenty of sheaths and all sorts of different sized knives and daggers, they both strapped multiple on themselves, under the pretense that ¡°You never know.¡±. Bjorn found a set of chainmail off of a decapitated drow that would fit him, after trying it on though decided he didn¡¯t like the weight of it on himself, leaving it behind he kept searching. Soon he came across a set of ringmail, which was a set of leather armor with multiple small metal rings affixed to the outside forming a pattern that should block most small blades. The weight wasn¡¯t too much so he decided it was good enough and donned it.


    Once both men were kitted out the best they could be they started walking down the tunnel heading towards Dekxot¡¯s office. In this hallway there was a larger presence of drow in the dead then there were gnolls. The heavy door to Dekxot¡¯s office had been blown open, peering into the room they her body lay torn in half, with her lower body laying on the ground and her upper body on top of her desk.


    ¡°Damn shame.¡± Commented Alaric. ¡°She was the kindest gnoll I have ever met. If there were more like her, maybe there would be less aggression between her race and mine.¡± Dropping to one knee he bowed his head to pay his respects to her. After he got up and immediately started searching her room.


    ¡°Well that didn¡¯t take you long.¡± Remarked Bjorn. Alaric just ignored him as he continued to look around the room, clicking his tongue.


    ¡°Ah ha!¡± exclaimed Alaric. ¡°Quickly come here and help me.¡± Bjorn walked over to where Alaric was standing over a stone set in the floor. ¡°This is a cover.¡± Looking at the stone it looked like it was all one stone and there was nothing to really make Bjorn think that it actually wasn¡¯t just apart of the stone flooring.


    ¡°How do you know? It looked just like a normal stone floor to me. Are you sure you aren¡¯t still loopy from our fight earlier?¡±


    ¡°Are you questioning my stone shaping prowess?¡± Before Bjorn had a chance to interject again Alaric powered on. ¡°Of course you are, you are a dick. You see there, there, there, and there.¡± Alaric said as he pointed to each of the different corners of stone. ¡°The grain of the stone isn''t exactly right, the coloration is off.¡±


    Bjorn got down on his hands and knees and got a closer look at the stone, from where he was the stone looked just like normal stone to him. ¡°No, I don''t see.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s because your a dumb ass, the stone rotates.¡± He placed his thumbs on either end of the stone and turned his thumbs, the stone underneath rotated as the rest of the stone remained in place. He rotated it to about 45 degrees before it no longer rotated, lifting his thumbs the small stone circles rotated back and fit seamlessly with the stone around it again. ¡°Stop standing there gawking, get down here and help me get into this.¡± Bjorn, who was already on his knees, just gave the dwarf a flat look and set his thumbs to the corners of the stone opposite of where Alaric was kneeling and waited. The dwarf put his thumbs to the other side and then counted to three. On three they both rotated, and this time the sections of stone rotated past the 45 angle, when it got to 90 there was a click and the stone lifted upwards by about half an inch. Placing their hands on either side of the stone they lifted straight up, the stone was surprisingly heavy, but it lifted free just fine, revealing a cubby. Inside the cubby there were three books, two vials, a ring, and two different pouches. So Bjorn started using his identify Ability on all of the contents.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Book of arc lightning


    </td>


    <td>


    Air magic. Level 56 required


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Rare


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    You lack the skill level to learn anything about this spell. Increase your magic level to learn more.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    You lack the required level to learn this spell. Maybe if you didn¡¯t spend so much time playing in the dirt you would have been able to learn this spell.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Book of weak bone mend


    </td>


    <td>


    Life magic. Level 16 required


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    You lack the skill level to learn anything about this spell. Increase your magic level to learn more.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    You lack the required level to learn this spell. I would mock you a second time, but I feel like it would be pointless.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Simple Leather bound book


    </td>


    <td>


    A book


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Common


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Seriously it''s just a book, open it up to find out more.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The ring was a simple band of copper, with elaborate carvings that looked like rope strands woven together. While holding it in his hand there was a faint thrum coming from the metal, something he hadn¡¯t noticed before with his other magical gear.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Ring of salesmanship


    </td>


    <td>


    Magical ring


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    When wearing this ring prices will be 15% in your favor whenever you are bartering for a price.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The first of the two vials was just a small vial, one of the smallest vials Bjorn had ever seen. Inside the bottle was a small portion of liquid, roughly the size of three drops. The liquid was a silvery blue color. It also was emitting a soft silver fog that would roil up, and then settle back down and reinfuse into the liquid. On the outside of the vial there were small magic looking glyphs engraved into the glass.


    <table>


    <thead>


    <tr>


    <th>


    Bottled mentality


    </th>


    <th>


    Potion


    </th>


    <th>


    Rarity: Legendary


    </th>


    </tr>


    </thead>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Bottled mentality is a hard thing to make, it is made by literally siphoning someone''s consciousness out of their body. The energies are then condensed into a liquid and then purified so all that is left is the mental energy. These mental energies are immensely beneficial to anyone¡¯s mental strength and fortitude.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The second vial was more the size of an Erlenmeyer flask. Inside the second vial was a roiling cloud of pale red mist.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Trapped Agony


    </td>


    <td>


    Ingredient


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Epic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Through labor extensive means the pain and agony of a person are drawn out of them and then trapped into this bottle. If uncorked without proper precautions the agony will be released and will try and find a new body to enhabit.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Completely forgetting about the bags of coins for the time being Bjorn looked at Alaric and said. ¡°I think we just found a way to help Meira.¡± As he held up the smaller of the two vials.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s bottled mentality.¡± replied Bjorn excitedly.


    There was a few seconds of silence as Alaric just kind of stared and Bjorn. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± He asked kind of dumbly.


    Shooting Alaric a look of annoyance. ¡°Shut up and you¡¯ll see.'''' He walked over to where Meira stood, he gently lifted her chin up, then opened her mouth. Gently holding her head back in that position with one hand he used his teeth to uncork it, and took the liquid and poured it into her mouth, once it was in he closed her mouth and held it closed for roughly 30 seconds.


    You have inhaled the fumes of mentality, it is a pure expression of mental energy, you feel reinvigorated, for the next 3 days your mana regeneration is increased by 300%. You also gain plus one to intelligence, and two to wisdom.


    ¡°This should work, just by breathing in the fumes of the liquid gained me three mental stat points!¡± exclaimed Bjorn excitedly. All he got was a nod in reply from the dwarf. They didn¡¯t have to wait long before Meira¡¯s eyes lost their sheen and came into focus.


    ¡°What the..?¡± She said before her eyes lost their focus again and started moving side to side. ¡°What did you use on me!?¡± She exclaimed. ¡°Oh my god.¡± She further exclaimed with her eyes coming back into focus she first affixed her attention on Bjorn, and then Alaric, then back to Bjorn. ¡°I can¡¯t decide which one of you to kiss first.¡± Apparently making up her mind she rushed forward and planted a rough kiss on Bjorn¡¯s mouth. Her soft lips stayed there for a few seconds, then pulled away, turning around she bent down and did the same for Alaric. Bjorn¡¯s mind went blank at the kiss, so he just stood there dumbfounded.


    ¡°Now look at what you¡¯ve done Meira, you broke the kid, it was probably his first kiss.¡± Alaric jeered at the slack jawed stare he was giving Meira. His comment had a reaction on both of them. For Bjorn it made his jaw shoot closed so fast a clack could be heard from his teeth coming together. Then it made his face blush a vibrant red. For Meira it made her face and the tips of her nose and ears go red as well.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t my first kiss.¡± Bjorn said in a way that wouldn¡¯t convince Alaric otherwise.


    Trying to brush past her reaction to Alaric¡¯s words she plowed ahead. ¡°Whatever it was that you gave me increased my intelligence and wisdom by a good margin, my charisma a little bit, and permanently increased my mana regeneration. Whatever it was, it was probably too good to be used on me.¡±


    Trying to also move on Bjorn replied. ¡°Nonsense, it wasn¡¯t too good to be used on you. We need you to get out of here.¡± All Alaric did was just stand there and smirk. ¡°I-i-i mean we don¡¯t NEED you, it would just be nice for you to come along under your own power.¡± The backtracking did nothing but fuel the fire that was Alaric¡¯s smile. Looking at Meira there was something in her eyes, it was gone too quickly before Bjorn could register what it was. ¡°Anyways, let¡¯s get going. But first we have some clothes for you.¡±


    They quickly got Meira caught up on everything that had happened, she was an attentive audience as she picked through the gear that they found on the dead. She oooo''d and awe¡¯d at the right parts in the story. When they talked about the fight with Olvog and his subsequent death her face broke out into a grin. ¡°I¡¯m glad you took care of him, he deserved worse than what he got.¡± In the end she ended up with a bow, a magical staff, and a rather form fitting set of leather armor that left little to the imagination. She turned down the offer for the sword, but she did get two different style daggers which went onto her belt.


    From there they started ransacking the rest of the guardhouse, in one room they found packs and tools that would be useful on the road. Rope, needle, thread, hammers, scissors, tinderbox with flint and steel, and waterskins to name a few. They got everything that they would need for exploring. Next they raided the kitchens and got more than enough hard travel food to last them a few weeks on the road. After the kitchens they went to the armory, which was mostly empty. Then onto the barracks, finding all sorts of other useful pouches with all the different knicknacks they could want. Lastly they went to the healers room.


    Inside they found the dead gnoll which poisoned Bjorn with the death lotus nectar, and Rret. Upon finding them he spit on both bodies and whispered under his breath. ¡°Bitches.¡± Then they ransacked what was left of the healer¡¯s stores. Many of the herbs in there were one¡¯s Bjorn had never seen or even heard of. He found himself an alchemy set to replace the one he lost, and plenty of glass vials. After he got the set in the pack he proceeded to fill the rest of it with alchemy ingredients he found. Then he looked around for a recipe book, he was sure the old witch had one, but he couldn¡¯t find it anywhere. The last thing they did there was look around for potions, most of the stock of what was in there had been taken. They did get themselves a handful of vials which they split up and put into pouches for the time being.


    After going through all of the guardhouse they decided they had stayed entirely way too long, who knew when something would be back, or if something new would come. So they started making their way out of the city. As they picked their way through the corpse riddled streets Bjorn used WAILA on all of the rings he could, he stopped whenever he found a magical ring and picked it off of the finger before moving onwards. Meira and Alaric stopped and waited for Bjorn initially, but after the 7th time they just kept moving forwards, and let Bjorn catch up.


    The group were making their way towards the exit that had been blown open when Alaric let out a startled cry, which made both Bjorn and Meira go on alert. Meira drawing an arrow and Bjorn drawing his sword. But Alaric wasn¡¯t dropping into a fighting stance so they relaxed. Following his gaze there was another smaller camp in the middle of the city. ¡°Not for nothing, but I''m willing to bet that was a dwarf encampment.¡± He said as he started walking towards it. Following him they walked through a smashed stone wall. Inside they found what looked to be a stone workers shop, there were chisels and hammers all over the place. There were also tons of rough stones, half finished stones, and fully cut stones. There were only 3 dwarf bodies in the entire encampment. There were more tools laying around than could be used or needed for 3 dwarves.


    ¡°I knew it, I knew they had to have dwarf slaves somewhere down here, gnolls are terrible stone workers, all of this.¡± Alaric gestured to the surrounding destroyed and crumbling stone city. ¡°Had to be made by someone. And now I know it was in fact dwarves. It¡¯s a pity. I wonder what clan they were from.¡±


    They did a quick search through the dwarves workshop, upon finding nothing of worth they kept moving onwards. Soon making it up the stairs leading to the way out of the cave. Standing at the top they took a look down at the ruins of the city that caused all three of them so much pain, and for at least two changed their viewpoint on the world.


    ¡°Where should we go now?¡± Asked Alaric.


    ¡°I think I could go for an open sky right about now.¡± Replied Bjorn. Meira quickly agreed with Bjorn.


    ¡°Alright, I might be able to lead us out of here. But before we go I have one final thing to do.¡± Turning back around to the gnoll settlement he hacked up a loogie and spit it down at the remains, before turning back around and heading down the tunnel.


    The three companions traveled through the tunnels in companionable silence for most of their trip. Each of them had different things they had to work through mentally and so conversation didn¡¯t flow often. It took them three days to find their way back to the surface, all of which were mostly uneventful. On the second day they had come across a slime big enough to engulf the entire tunnel, instead of trying to make their way through it they backtracked and went a different way. Each time they decided to stop for the day they took turns keeping watch, not that it mattered overly much. It was about halfway through the day when they got back to the surface. Making their way through a stalactite and stalagmite riddled tunnel they rounded the corner and there was an opening in the rock face directly in front of them. Making their way forward they went through the tunnel entrance and straight into a downpour. As they stood there getting soaked by the rain none of them complained, They all stood there in the rain, faces turned up, and breathing in the rich air. They were free.

 Chapter 14

    ¡°Man, we are a bunch of dumbasses.¡± Said Alaric as all three are just standing there in the rain, and just like that the moment passed. ¡°We are just standing here in the rain, getting soaked.¡±


    Bjorn and Meira just slowly looked at Alaric. Giving him a flat stare. ¡°Thank you for that bud. I really appreciate you ruining my moment.¡± The sarcasm was dripping from Bjorn¡¯s voice. The moment that felt so right a few seconds ago now felt wrong. ¡°Damn it Alaric you dick, now it just feels wrong.¡± Bjorn turned around and walked back into the cave entrance. The sound of his retreating voice could be heard over the sound of rain. ¡°Now I¡¯m going to just sulk in this cave until the rain is finished.¡±


    Meira followed Bjorn right after she smacked Alaric on the back of his head. ¡°What? I¡¯m just telling the truth. Gah, fine, you''re right it was a dick move. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Alaric called to his friends as he started following after them into the cave.


    They spent the rest of that day sitting in the cave just watching the rain. To pass the day Bjorn spent his time identifying gear and items.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Drow Longbow


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Common


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight 12 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 178/195


    </td>


    <td>


    Damage: 6-8


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    The longbow of the common drow foot soldier. Adds plus 1 to both accuracy and damage.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    High steel longsword


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Common


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 8 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 203/219


    </td>


    <td>


    Damage 7-9


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    A sturdy solid high steel longsword. Adds plus two to damage.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Leather Ring mail


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 15 lbs


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 196/243


    </td>


    <td>


    Defense: +8(+9 max)


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    A simple set of leather armor further strengthened by having rings of metal attached to the outside of the armor.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Drow arrows of +1


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Common


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: .25 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 5/6


    </td>


    <td>


    Deals +1 damage


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    That was most of his basic gear. After his gear he started identifying his pouch of rings. There were a few of note, but for the most part the rings gave small stat pool increases.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Ring of Blocking


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: .2 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 7/7


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    When blocking with a shield your defense is increased by +2


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Ring of flowing waters


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: .2 lbs


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability 8/9


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Increases mana regeneration by 25%.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Ring of the unhinged alchemist


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Rare


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: .2 lbs


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability 13/14


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Increase the effect of any poison made while wearing this ring by 15%.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Quickly he passed out the ring of flowing waters to Meira, and the ring of blocking to Alaric, and with a smile he donned the ring of the unhinged alchemist. Through testing it seemed like he could gain the benefit from having 8 rings worn at the same time. With his ring of the unhinged alchemist, and ring of salesmanship worn he donned 6 other rings of differing strengths, he added plus 53 to his health, plus 17 to his mana, and plus 23 to his stamina. Taking what he had left he let Alaric and Meira each grab whatever rings they wanted from the pool. In the end Bjorn had 6 rings left, all fairly weak with heath, stamina, and mana increasing effects.


    Next he looked through the two bags that were in the bottom of the hidey-hole. Inside the first bag it was filled with coins, 34 gold, 92 silver, and 74 coppers, split three ways it worked out to 11 gold, 64 silver, and 24 coppers each, well they needed to find a way to exchange one of the gold for silver and then each would have an equal share. The other bag held a small selection of gemstones, which they all agreed that Bjorn could hold onto until they made it to a place that could appraise them.


    The last thing that they had gotten from the gnoll town was the leather-bound book. Opening it up there was a problem immediately. Whatever language it was written in, no one knew how to read it. It was safe to say it was written in gnollish. So for the time being they stored the book in Alaric¡¯s sack.


    The next morning the rain had finally lifted, so stepping out of the cave again they looked at their surroundings. They were in a forest, all around them were tall deciduous trees. Looking around they couldn¡¯t see anything that would let them know where they were. Which probably had more to do with the dense canopy over their heads of the leaves of the trees weaving together.


    With no way to tell which way led to civilization they just started to wander. Spending the better part of the day moving through the trees, and disturbing small creatures they weren¡¯t in any hurry to try and get somewhere. They were well stocked, and had nowhere to go. They just enjoyed their freedom for the time being. That evening they stumbled upon a small pool of water at the base of a waterfall. Above them there was a 30 foot cliff. Deciding it was as good of a place as any to stop they started setting up a campsite for the night. After a fire was made, food started being cooked over the fire.


    Meira started rummaging in her pack. ¡°Ah ha!¡± She exclaimed as she pulled a bar of soap out of her pack. ¡°I don¡¯t know about you guys, but I think a bath is in due order.¡± Looking over at her companions, she wrinkled her nose. ¡°On second thought, after my bath I would highly recommend you also take a bath.¡± With that declaration she stood and started walking towards the pool.


    An hour later Meira came waltzing into camp with her clothes slung over one arm and the bar of soap in her other hand. The sound of her walking back to their campsite made Bjorn and Alaric turn to see what was making that noise. What greeted them was the view of a stunningly beautiful elf girl naked. Before her bath they could tell she was attractive, but underneath the layers of dirt and grime that had been caked onto her body while a slave had done a lot to cover up her beauty. With all of that gone though, she was a vision of perfection, she had smooth flawless skin, small round breasts, a flat stomach, and curvy hips. Her face had gone through a bit of a transformation as well, with all the grime wiped off of her face her vibrant green eyes stood out on her smooth angled face.


    Needless to say both men sat there staring at the naked goddess that just walked into their camp. ¡°Oh please.¡± Meira said. ¡°It¡¯s not like I have anything to hide from you two. You both have seen my body naked on more than one occasion, and my clothes were dirty, so I washed those as well.¡±  She walked over to a low hanging branch and set the clothes on them to let them start drying. Walking over to her pack she started pulling some of her spare clothes out of it. ¡°But if you would prefer, and if it would stop you from staring I could cover up.¡± She said with a wry smile.


    Both men started speaking over each other. ¡°No it¡¯s alright, you don¡¯t have to get dressed.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get where Bjorn gets the gall to stare at you naked like that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a lovely night, are you sure you won¡¯t get too warm putting your clothes on?¡±


    With a chuckle. ¡°Nice try, I already gave you more than you deserve.¡± Meira said as she started tugging clothes on. After she was fully dressed she threw the bar of soap at Bjorn. ¡°You smell the worst. You next.¡± Bjorn grabbed the bar and started walking away. Meira called after him. ¡°Don¡¯t forget a change of clothes, I don¡¯t want to see your skinny ass naked.¡±


    With a hurt pride Bjorn turned back around, digging in his pack he grabbed a second pair of clothes, stood and started making his way to the waterfall. He didn¡¯t make eye contact with either Alaric or Meira the entire time as he left camp. As he made it to the waterfall he quickly stripped down and taking the advice of many people just dove into the water. As soon as his head surfaced he took a quick breath, the water was frigid. Standing in the water it was deep enough to come to his pec muscles.


    By the time Bjorn made it to the waterfall and got himself clean it was full on night. But tonight it wasn¡¯t entirely dark. For there were 5 moons in the sky tonight and the combined light from all 5 moons was enough to illuminate his surroundings. 3 of them were waxing, 1 was waning, and the last looked to be a full moon. Spending a few minutes looking up at the sky he just lay there in wonder. There were hundreds of thousands of stars in the sky, these stars were not the same ones he was born with. None of the constellations he was used to could be seen, there was no obvious north star. But it was a wonderful view.


    After he had his fill of the starry sky Bjorn started to make his way to the shore, when he had almost made it something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Turning he saw a soft green glow emanating from the water. Turning back towards it he put his head under the water and looked at what was making the light. It was a small stone. Moving towards it he grabbed a hold of the stone and brought it above the surface of the water.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Earth Stone


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 1 lbs


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    This stone emanates an earth attuned power. It is a common ingredient in making earth based potions, and focuses for staves, increasing earth based spells.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    With his new found prize he made his way back to shore and quickly washed his clothes, donning his clean and dry ones he made his way back to the fire. Walking into camp Alaric spoke up.


    ¡°What¡¯s that there in your hand?¡±


    ¡°Oh it¡¯s an earth stone, apparently it¡¯s a good focus for earth based spells. I found it just below the waterfall.¡± Taking the hunk of soap he threw it at Alaric. ¡°You''re up next.¡±


    With a grumble Alaric got up and made his way towards the waterfall dragging his feet the entire way. After Alaric¡¯s footsteps and grumbling faded away, the camp was silent.


    ¡°Where are you from?¡± Asked Meira, breaking their silence.


    ¡°I¡¯m from a small town, far far away from here. Some place I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever be able to get back to.¡±


    Her next question started almost before Bjorn finished speaking. ¡°Why don¡¯t you think you¡¯ll ever be able to get home?¡±


    ¡°That is a complicated question with many different answers. I don¡¯t think I am from this world. That¡¯s not true, I know I am not from this world.¡± Bjorn told her about his experience dying, and meeting a being that is beyond explication. ¡°When I woke up in this world I was younger, I am currently¡­¡± Bjorn quickly pulled up his character sheet. ¡°19. Sometime when I was trapped as a slave I must have had my birthday. I must have spent over a year in this world already. That is crazy to think about. I have learned so much since, and changed so much over this last year.¡± Bjorn trailed off towards the end of his last sentence, and remained silent for a while. ¡°It makes me worried about how much this world will change me in the end. If my past self saw me today, would he recognize me? Will I recognize myself in the future? Am I losing who I am in this world?¡±


    After what felt like ages Meira replied. ¡°You are changing that is for sure, if you were able to go through the things we just went through and not change, I don¡¯t think I could trust you. Change isn¡¯t a bad thing in and of itself. I think over the last year you are learning who you are. Adversity reveals who we truly are underneath. I don¡¯t know what your world is like, but this one is a hard world, filled with hard truths. Are you afraid that when all of the layers are pulled away you won¡¯t like what you find in the core?¡±


    Bjorn nodded. ¡°It is a scary thought, can you live with who you really are? When I was 16 I watched my entire village get slaughtered by a horde of goblins. My mother tied me up and gagged me while she hid me under the floor to our house.¡± Her voice grew husky. ¡±I watched them behead my father, and rape my mother over, and over, until her lifeless corpse lay broken on the ground, and they continued to use her body. I struggled against my own bonds and soon was free, I wanted to run out and try and stop them, but I couldn¡¯t move. Watching that pushed to that breaking point, and I learned who I was. When I was younger I had grand ideas that I would right all of the injustice in our world. But when I was faced with an opportunity to try and stop it, I couldn¡¯t move. I struggled with my own identity because of it. I found that the person I truly was, was not actually the same person I thought I was in my head.¡±


    Meira trailed off, and just sat there quietly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Meira.¡± Bjorn had an overwhelming urge to put an arm around her to comfort her, but then he envisioned her blank stare that she had less than a week ago. It made Bjorn realize that a man¡¯s touch was probably the last thing she wanted right now. So instead he sat there feeling useless.


    ¡°You are right of course.¡± Bjorn picked up the conversation again. ¡°The world I came from was a safe world. We had tamed it. We still died, but we had safe places to sleep at night, I never had to worry about someone breaking into my house and killing me. The biggest thing I had to fear were other humans, I never had to fear animals or creatures. We didn¡¯t have monsters, the scariest thing we had were bears, or moose. And because of that I was soft. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I knew how to work, I am not now nor have I ever been afraid to work. But in my day to day, I never had to worry about death, or killing. I had never killed an animal before I came to this world. We didn¡¯t even have magic.¡±


    ¡°What was it called, where you are from?¡±


    ¡°Earth. We called it planet earth. What is this one called?¡±


    ¡°It is called the Eld. I don¡¯t know where the name comes from, or who even named it at the beginning, but everyone knows it as the Eld.¡± Their conversation stopped and didn¡¯t pick back up. Alaric came strolling back into camp a few minutes later.


    ¡°Ah, that feels better, the first time in over a month where my taint didn¡¯t smell worse than my feet.¡±


    ¡°Dude, I didn¡¯t need that visual.¡±


    A broad smile crossed Alaric¡¯s face. ¡°Ah come now, I¡¯ve taught you how to fight, you know what it smelled like down there.¡± A look of disgust crossed both Meira¡¯s and Bjorn¡¯s face. Which just made Alaric chuckle. ¡°Anyways, I was thinking. What is our plan?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Asked Meira.


    ¡°You know, we were only really together because of our desire to fight back against Olvog, and then to escape from the gnolls. Now that we have accomplished that, what¡¯s the plan? I don¡¯t have anywhere I really want to go back to, but if either of you want to go your own way it won¡¯t be breaking my heart.¡±


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    It was Bjorn who spoke up first. ¡°Since I have come to the Eld I have only ever met 1 person who didn¡¯t want to kill me, or take advantage of me, or want to eat me. Now that we are free, if you guys don¡¯t have any issues with it, I was planning on sticking with you.¡±


    ¡°On a completely unrelated note. Hey Bjorn, do you want to go with me into the woods over there? What did we do with that butcher¡¯s knife?¡±


    ¡°Ha ha, very funny. I am serious though, the only person who didn¡¯t try to kill me was in turn killed by a mauler.¡±


    Meira spoke up. ¡°A mauler? I am sorry, if it was a fully grown one she probably didn¡¯t suffer.¡± Bjorn shook his head. ¡°That is a small mercy, there are many worse ways to die. As for me, I haven¡¯t really put down any roots over the years, I have always been a bit of a wanderer. It would be nice to wander with friends, instead of on my own.¡±


    This time it was Alaric¡¯s turn to speak. ¡°Then it¡¯s settled, we stick together. Oddly I do think we have a better chance to stay alive if we stick together. The next obvious question to ask is, where do we head now? Anyone have anywhere in particular you¡¯d like to go?¡±


    Both Meira and Bjorn just shook their heads. ¡°Alright, just wander then, that works for me. I guess first things first, tomorrow we should find out where we are. And then from there we can find out where we want to go.¡±


    Standing up Bjorn said. ¡°That sounds great to me. I¡¯m going to head to bed, wake me when it¡¯s my turn to take watch.¡± As he turned he tried to hide the irritation on his face, and in his voice. It wasn¡¯t fair to the dwarf, but Alaric¡¯s cheerful nature grated on Bjorn just at this moment. Bjorn had a lot on his mind, and had a lot to think about, and something about the jovial Alaric annoyed Bjorn. So instead of letting it out on the dwarf he stalked off to where he set up his bedroll. Laying down he pretended he had fallen asleep but he just lay there awake.


    It was around 4 hours later when Alaric came over to wake Bjorn up for his watch. Little did the dwarf know but Bjorn hadn¡¯t actually gotten any sleep, so he instead got up and set to his watch. Soon the sound of Alaric¡¯s breaths slowed down and became a steady rhythm. Bjorn settled into a nook of a tree away from where his two friends were asleep. And spent the next 4 hours battling his own demons again. After 4 hours he got up to wake up Meira, settling down into his bedroll, sleep finally found him. It was a fitful sleep.


    The next day when everyone was up and ready Meira climbed one of the large trees disappearing into the canopy. After a few minutes her form came scampering back into view as she quickly descended the tree again. Quickly and deftly she soon landed back on the ground next to the two men. ¡°I can see the serrated mountains off to the south. Forest to the east and west. And the restless volcano to the north. So I think we are on the edge of Escar, in the summergate woods, as long as I haven¡¯t missed my mark.¡±


    Seeing a frown upon Bjorn¡¯s face Meira further elaborated. ¡°Escar is a mostly human kingdom of moderate size, it has 7 or 8 different large cities, and well over 100 different settlements. If I was to guess it has close to 100,000 residents in it. If we want to head into Escar we should head north.¡±


    Bjorn just shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t really have a preference.¡±


    ¡°Alright to Escar we go then.¡± Chimed in Alaric as he shouldered his pack and shield and started walking northward. The next three days were pleasant, the weather was warm, the sky clear after the rainstorm, and with no rush to be anywhere the three friends moved along at their own pace. The time was good to start to mend the soul.


    On the fourth day they came to a large river over 100 feet across that cut right through the center of the forest. Instead of trying to cut across the river they decided to start heading downstream heading northeast, hoping to find a place that it would be easier to cross. It was around mid day when the river started to narrow and up ahead they could see a bridge spanning the river. As they drew near the bridge, the trees around them started to visibly thin. Soon they could see a village ahead of them. As they drew closer the other bank became clearer to see as well, and on either side of the river there were buildings. The bridge was around 40 feet from one side of it to the other. There weren¡¯t really any defensive structures around the small town.


    A small man came out of an equally small house, saw them and raised a hand in greeting. Calling out, ¡°Ho! there!¡±


    It was Alaric who responded. ¡°Hello master gnome!¡±


    At the sound of shouts many of the townspeople stuck their heads out of windows, or doors. A few children came running across the stone bridge connecting the town. By the time they made it to where the gnome had first spotted them a crowd of 30 people were gathered around the three friends. The crowd had a wide array of races in front of them, most were human, but there were elves, dwarves, gnomes, and even one human with a tail and cat ears. When he used his identify ability on the girl the race was anthropomorph.


    It was this girl who stepped forward and introduced herself, ¡°Hello travelers, welcome to Leif¡¯s crossing. Don¡¯t ask who Leif is, Darick over there is the one who got the long straw and got the name our town. My name is Aiko, and I am more or less the acting mayor for the time being. What brings you to our peaceful town?¡±


    The three friends exchanged glances, and it was Bjorn who spoke up. ¡°I am not entirely sure that our story is something you want to know, or even one you want your kids to hear.¡±


    Aiko¡¯s face grew guarded at Bjorn¡¯s words. ¡°We out here are made from sterner stuff that I think you give us credit for. And that is not just us adults, our kids as well. If you don¡¯t wish us to drive you from our peaceful town we will hear your story.¡±


    Bowing his head, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to offend, our story is not one for the faint of heart. We are less than a week away from being enslaved by gnolls. You are the first people I have seen in over two months who haven''t tried to kill, rape, torture, or beat me. For one of us, less time, and for the other considerably longer time. If you wish us to move along we will gladly, but we haven¡¯t had a full night''s rest, or been truly warm at night for a long while.¡±


    As she heard the word gnoll Aiko¡¯s face grew worried, then as she listened to the rest of Bjorn¡¯s brief recounting it slowly turned from worry to sorrowful. ¡°I truly am sorry for what you have had to endure, you of course are welcome here, and I think we will be able to find places for you to sleep this night. Come, follow me.¡±


    Aiko led them through the small town to a house slightly larger than the rest. Opening the door she gestured for the three of them to make their way inside. Walking through the door they were greeted by a nice, clean, cozy room, with a small table set in the center. The floor was made of a smooth light colored polished wood. Around the table there were several small woven bags that looked to be filled with something soft. Once again gesturing to the table the three friends hesitated. Aiko looked at them in puzzlement, then she looked down at their feet and their trail stained boots.


    Rushing onwards. ¡°There is no need to worry you may keep your shoes on, please sit, I¡¯ll make you something to drink.¡± She turned and left the room through one of the two side doors.


    Looking again down at his feet and then at the polished floor, Bjorn decided to disregard his host''s words and took his boots off, both Meira and Alaric followed suit quickly. Maneuvering over to the table they plopped down onto the sitting furniture, and sunk into it. His body began to relax as Bjorn¡¯s lower half became enveloped in what felt like a much softer bean bag chair. The seats were short enough that he had to sit with his legs crossed in front of him. Alaric was able to stretch his legs out in front of him, when he tried to sit cross legged he looked like a child sitting on top of a bed. His mood got worse when Bjorn pointed out that fact to Alaric.


    Aiko came back into the room with a tray and teacups on the tray. Taking one of the seats she poured a cup for each of her visitors and then situated herself back down blowing softly on her tea before taking a drink of it.


    ¡°So, now that we are situated, and have something to drink, if you don¡¯t mind I would like to hear the rest of your story.¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡± Chimed in Alaric. As he started telling the story from his point of view. With Bjorn cutting in every once and a while to correct Alaric¡¯s more outrageous embellishments. Meira sat there and didn¡¯t contribute much to the story, as her contribution wasn¡¯t much until the end.


    One of the suns had set hours ago and the second was nearing the horizon when the story was through being told. ¡°Wow, you three have lived through more in the last two months than most people do in their entire lives. For all of that I do not envy you. You of course are welcome to stay here for the night.¡±


    Meira interrupted. ¡°Actually if you don¡¯t mind I would like to stay here for a few days. You see I am a spell caster and the gnolls when they captured me inserted an item into my body that drains away my mana.¡± Meira gestured towards her solar plexus. ¡°I would like to have it removed, it will take a few days for me to recover enough to travel if that is okay with you.¡±


    Aiko sat there in contemplation for a few minutes. Meira continued on. ¡°Of course we won''t be a drain on your resources, we don¡¯t expect to stay here for free, both of my travel companions are strong and hearty men, I have little doubt that they would not be willing to help out.¡± She could see that Aiko was starting to waver. ¡°And Bjorn is trained in Alchemy, I think he would be able to source plants in the surrounding forest that would help speed up my recovery.¡±


    ¡°Alright fine, you can stay, but we expect you to help out with whoever needs it for the few days you are in town. I also expect you to take care of this matter yourself, we don¡¯t have any healers in town. I would imagine that my people watching you dig something out of your body would take issues with it. I can¡¯t allow it to happen inside the town limits. If you agree to all of the above you are welcome to stay until you are recovered enough to move along. You are not able to stay longer than 5 days, if you are still in town at sundown on the 5th day we will drive you from our town.¡±


    ¡°Alright, you have a deal.¡± Bjorn said.


    Aiko nodded, stood and pointed to the other door. ¡°You are welcome to stay in that room, it is normally my room, but it''s the only room we have that isn''t taken. We are still a fairly new town so we haven¡¯t built much that isn¡¯t essential.¡± When she finished speaking she gave the three a small bow with her head and then turned on her heels and walked out of the room.


    ¡°Strange lass.¡± Commented Alaric as soon as the front door closed. ¡°Why do you think she put a limit of 5 days?¡±


    ¡°Who knows? But I am not going to question it, I think this is the best place for us to get me my magic back. Bjorn, would you mind hunting around and seeing if you can find anything to make a healing potion from?¡±


    ¡°For sure.¡± Bjorn replied. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do. I think the sooner the better, when do you want to take it out, Meira?¡±


    ¡°I agree, the sooner the better, let¡¯s plan for tomorrow at midday, does that give you enough time to find ingredients and start working on making me a healing potion?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t make any promises, but I can see what I can do, at the very least there is a good chance I can find a herb that will increase your healing.¡± Replied Bjorn.


    ¡°That sounds like a plan to me.¡± Meira said as she stood up. ¡°Well boys, we have a big day ahead of us, I am going to head to bed, I think we should still set up a watch. I want to trust these people, but we would be fools to do so after one day. I¡¯ll take the middle one, Bjorn, you should take the last watch.¡±


    Alaric also stood. ¡°I agree with your points Meira, I¡¯ll take first watch and wake you up when it is time.¡±


    Raising the three friends all walked into the room that Aiko indicated. It was a small room, surprisingly tidy. Inside the room there was a single bed, and a few wooden shelves with all sorts of knick knacks on it. Taking out his bedroll Bjorn set it out at the foot of the bed and lay down to sleep. Meira took the bed and Alaric sat down with his back to the door.


    The night passed without incident, and after waking up his two friends Bjorn took to the woods surrounding the town. He ended up finding a few different herbs that had healing properties. With his herblore given to him by Medera he knew that two of the herbs he found could make a basic healing ointment when combined. It wasn¡¯t great, but it was better than he hoped. Taking those two herbs he set to making a healing ointment for Meira, by the time he was done with collecting herbs and making the ointment it was almost time for them to meet.


    Collecting Meira he found out that Alaric got roped into helping a farmer in the fields during the day so it was just Meira and Bjorn. During his explorations he found a small clearing not too far away from town that would work fairly well for whatever they had to do. Leading Meira to it he could tell she was nervous. Meira was silent the entire walk even after a few attempts to get her to engage. Her eyes were downcast and never looked up at Bjorn. And lastly she kept fidgeting with her right hand, sometimes it would be clutching the hem of her shirt, other times she would grab a leaf off of one of the trees and start to shred it.


    Bjorn stopped and put his hand on top of hers. ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay, I will make sure you live through this.¡±


    Her eyes were kept downcast. ¡°How do you know? It is right below my diaphragm, if something happens I might suffocate due to my lungs no longer working.¡± At the end of her statement she looked up into Bjorn¡¯s eyes and he could see that she was crying.


    Looking down at her Bjorn was overcome with a want to protect this woman. Letting go of her hands he wrapped her in his arms. ¡°Meira, I promise you that no matter what happens I will do everything in my power to make sure you live through this experience. We got out of the gnoll camp together, I won¡¯t let this glade be where you die.¡±


    Meira didn¡¯t pull away, or even resist; she let herself be hugged, and after a brief pause she hugged Bjorn back. ¡°Thank you, I trust you.¡±


    They stayed like that for a few minutes, Bjorn realized that he, in fact, quite enjoyed hugging Meira, and he also found that his words were not empty words, he would do anything to make sure Meira didn¡¯t die.


    The moment passed and they pulled away from each other, Meira used her hand to wipe the tears away from her eyes and nodded. ¡°Alright, no sense delaying. So the plan is to make a cut roughly in line with where the stone was put, and then I am going to need you to pull it out of me. I am not strong enough to go digging into my own flesh. Like I said, I trust you Bjorn, fully. My life will literally be in your hands.¡±


    She walked to the center of the clearing and fell into a kneeling position. Then she removed her leather chest piece, and after her shirt. Exposing her breasts to Bjorn again. The scene would be erotic but the seriousness of the situation pushed any thought of that from his mind.


    Once she was bare again she pulled one of her daggers that sat at her hip and placed it right below her sternum. ¡°Are you ready?¡± She asked.


    Bjorn walked in front of her and knelt, placing one hand behind her neck he readied his other hand, and then nodded. ¡°Here take this.¡± Said Bjorn as he pulled out a measure of river moss, ¡°it will taste like dirt but it will help a little.¡± Meira took it and quickly ate the moss. After she ate the moss Bjorn took a deep breath, settling his nerves. ¡°I am as ready as I''ll ever be, let¡¯s do this. On the count of three. One. Two. Three!¡±


    On three Meira took her dagger and plunged it into her own body right below her sternum, the blade sunk three inches into her chest before coming to a stop. As the blade plunged into her body she tensed up as she took a quick shallow breath. A small grunt escaped her lips as blood started to well up from where the dagger penetrated her body. As fast as she could she started moving the dagger side to side trying to make the wound larger. Pulling the dagger out of her body it clattered to the ground as she let go of it.


    Without hesitation as soon as the dagger was out of the way Bjorn inserted his index finger and thumb into the wound, staunching the flow of blood a little bit.  Hot warm blood coated Bjorn¡¯s hand, gritting through it he pushed further into her body. Meira screamed in pain. Steeling his resolve Bjorn pushed on. He could feel something round and hard against his fingers, working around each side of the object Bjorn squeezed and started to pull. Meira collapsed, fortunately she went limp backwards. With Bjorn¡¯s other hand on the back of her neck he was able to hold her upright as he withdrew the object. His hand came free and in it he held a small stone the size of a large marble. When his hand came free, Meira woke back up. She was bleeding profusely from the wound in her chest and she was starting to grow pale. Setting the stone aside Bjorn quickly picked up the thread and needle that they prepared and took a quick look at her eyes. She had a distant look in her eye, like she wasn¡¯t able to focus on anything. Focusing back on her chest he began to stitch her wound back together, doing small loops he quickly made it all the way across the wound and pulled it tight, she didn¡¯t react. There was a lot of blood on the ground and all over Bjorn.


    The stitches didn¡¯t stop the flow of blood, but it did slow down the bleeding immensely. Reaching for her neck he placed two fingers right below her jawline. There was a pulse, but it was weak. With nothing else he could do he just sat there and held her. When the bleeding did stop she was a pale white, and wouldn¡¯t move on her own, she still had a pulse though. Gingerly he picked her up and walked towards the stream that was nearby. Setting her down he took a spare bit of cloth and used it to wash the blood from her body after washing the blood from himself. Moving her back to the clearing he put some of the healing ointment that he made on her wound and then put her shirt back on and wrapped her in a blanket that they borrowed from Aiko¡¯s house without asking. Tucking her away with her back against a tree Bjorn took his alchemy set and set to make a healing potion.


    During his search that morning Bjorn found most of the ingredients that were needed for one of the more basic healing potions Medera had taught him how to make. All that he was missing was a bit of snap grass. So he started trying to make that healing potion but substituting the snap grass for different healing herbs. It wasn¡¯t until his 4th attempt at making that potion where he finally had some success.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weak healing potion


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Common


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: .7 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    A healing potion that is on the weaker side. Restores 36 health over an 8 hour period.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    After his success he dropped his alchemy set on the ground and rushed over to Meira, she hadn¡¯t moved the entire time he had been working on making the potion. Tilting her head back he poured the potion into her mouth and held it closed. As soon as he saw her neck move in a swallowing motion he let her go.


    Now that she had a healing potion in her body Bjorn wasn¡¯t quite as worried as he had been. Walking back over to his alchemy set he set to make the potion again, even though it was starting to get late. It was dark by the time he finished the second dose of the potion, he had to cast his simple light spell to let him see what he was doing for a good portion of the brewing process. Putting the potion into a vial he set to packing up the rest of what he gathered today. As he was walking over to Meira to take her back to town he remembered something. Turning back around he walked back over to where they had removed the stone and started searching through the grass where he dropped it. After a bit of searching he found it.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Mana Absorption Bead (inert)


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Rare


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: .4 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    When this bead is inserted into someone¡¯s body and powered by a common level soul it will drain up to 15 mana per minute from the host. The bead will stay active and won¡¯t require any upkeep until it is removed from the host body. If you wish to reactivate this gem you must reinsert it into a body and expend a common level soul.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°Soul gem huh?¡± Bjorn said under his breath. ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask about that later.¡± Pocketing the bead he walked over to Meira, picked her up and started walking back to town. They made it there without incident. The town was quiet as everyone was in bed. Making their way to Aiko¡¯s house Bjorn pushed open the door, Alaric was sitting at the table. As soon as the door opened his head shot around and looked at the now open door, his face was filled with worry. As soon as he saw his friends his face relaxed.


    ¡°I thought the worst. When you hadn¡¯t come back after sundown I feared she didn¡¯t live through the ordeal.¡±


    Walking past Alaric and into the room with the bed he set her down in the bed, and made sure she was situated. ¡°It was a close call, but she will pull through. I think.¡±


    ¡°I wish you had told me where you were doing it. I finished helping the farmer around 7, and all I could do was sit around and wait. Near sundown I tried looking for you guys, after sundown and I still didn¡¯t find you I decided to go back and wait, figuring if I didn¡¯t see you guys by morning then I¡¯d go look for you again.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that was a boneheaded move. Sorry Alaric.¡±


    ¡°I figured either she didn¡¯t make it, or you two decided to spend some quality time together, if you get what I mean.¡±


    That got Bjorn to chuckle. ¡°I wish, but no, strictly business. Although for her to remove this bead.¡± Bjorn pulled it out of his pocket. ¡°She did have to take her shirt off, and I did get another good look.¡±


    Shaking his head. ¡°Some men have all the luck. I figured that she was still alive, if she was dead you would have come and got me. Well I am tired my friend so i''ll head to bed, you don¡¯t mind keeping watch do you?¡±


    ¡°Not at all, go ahead I¡¯ll wake you up when it¡¯s time to switch.¡±


    Alaric got up from where they sat at the table and went into the room they were sharing, laid down, and went to sleep.


    Alone with his thoughts he started to think about what happened that day. All of his stress and worry from the day seemed silly, in the end all of that didn¡¯t help the situation. The relief he felt was palpable. Once the sense of worry was gone all that''s left was relief and satisfaction. He was proud of how he reacted. Proud of the help he provided to Meira, and proud of how he handled the whole situation. Instead of freaking out he was calm, calculating, and acted.


    The next morning Meira was still out of it, but she did wake up, she regained part of her color but she still looked weak and needing rest. So Bjorn decided to make himself useful around town. In a call back to his earlier days in the eld he helped the town turn the grass paths into stone paths. Three of the villagers set out to collect small flat stones, and Bjorn and another villager then dug up the ground and placed the stones. After the stones were set they took sand from the river bank and placed it in between the stones on the ground, it was slow but satisfying work.


    On the third day Bjorn fed Meira another healing potion, and then helped out in a wheat field. Pulling stones from the field, pulling weeds, and help dig a watering trench. It was tedious and slow, but there was something about the work that calmed Bjorn. The farmer was more than willing to have the help, and was not afraid to talk. He spent the entire day telling Bjorn all about farming. That evening Bjorn made another healing potion for Meira.


    On the fourth day Meira was feeling well enough that she got out of bed and started helping out around town as well. Her work was simple, she helped clean, or she helped with the wash, or she fed animals. Bjorn and Alaric spent the day farming. The town was pleasant, and by the end of the fourth day they quite liked the townsfolk. At the same time most of the townsfolk were starting to grow fond of the trio as well. But knowing there was a deadline they still prepared themselves to move onward. They spent that evening finding small things to trade, talked to people, and just all around enjoyed the company.


    The morning of the fifth day, instead of waiting for Aiko to send them on their way they decided to move on themselves. It wasn¡¯t until mid day before they left, there was a whole round of goodbyes, and well wishes. The townsfolk made them promise that if they ever made it back to this part of the summergate woods again. To which the friends heartily agreed. The townsfolk did tell them about a larger city to the north called Vanta. With no other leads they decided to take off towards the north heading to Vanta.

 Chapter 15

    It was on the second day after they left Leif¡¯s crossing that they stumbled upon a road. The entire time they were walking they were trudging through the underbrush and the deadfall from the tree¡¯s of the forest. Due to their lackadaisical speed it took them entirely way too long to get there. Between Meira not being full strength, and their general disinterest in getting anywhere in any amount of time it was pleasant. The friends talked about small nothings, Bjorn learned more about the Eld, and the way society had been structured. Alaric and Meira both learned more than they cared to about earth. Some of Bjorn¡¯s stories sounded too farfetched to be true. Regardless of their opinion on his obvious lies, they still listened anyway.


    The road they stumbled upon was more or less just a dirt path that had been beaten into the ground around them and the trees, and foliage were cut back 5 feet on either side of the small dirt path. It came in from the west, and then shot off heading north. Based on what Aiko and the villagers said, if they followed this road for two days they would near Vanta. Heading off towards Vanta they continued with their lazy pace and made it there in 4 days. As they grew near Vanta the woods around them started to thin, and they started to pass different travelers more and more frequently. At first it was just a single boy of about 15, then it was a wagon, then it was an entire pack train of 12 horses. As the people traveling about grew denser Alaric started running interference and keeping them back from the group. It was near the end of their trip when Alaric cuffed a boy on the side of his head and scolded him for trying to pickpocket Bjorn. As they traveled along the road it changed from at first just a dirt path in the middle of the forest, to now, a full 20 foot across road with hand picked stone that had been set into the ground. The stone was either cut, or had been worn down over time because the road was smooth, level ground.


    On the last day around midday they were walking along the road, when a small hill could be seen before them. As they were walking up the hill they could already see the smoke plums from the fires that were ever burning in the larger city. By the time they made it to the hill the forest around them had cleared the land they were walking through was mostly flat, cultivated, farm land. They had left the forest early on the last day of their trip. Cresting the hill they had a view down to a large city, from where they stood they could see the city easily took up over 10 square miles. Up until now the largest settlement Bjorn had seen was the gnoll encampment. In that camp there were easily over 800 or 900 gnolls that were living there. Before them the city could easily have over 20 or even 30 thousand residents. Around the perimeter of the city was a large stone wall. In the middle of the city another larger stone wall split the city into two different rings. Against the outer stone wall there were many different temporary living structures.


    The road they were on slowly sloped downward following the curve of the hill they were standing on, following it all the day down to a large open gate on the south wall. The road was busy with people coming and going from Vanta. The people moving on the road were from all walks of life. There were men and women with slumped shoulders who had been beat down over the years of hard labor work. Others were clad in light to heavy armor carrying weapons. Wagons of varying makes moved down the road, some looked like merchant wagons, others were laden with farm goods. Some rode horses, all from small ponies to large wide warhorses. There was even a carriage being pulled by two horses down the road. And ever present there were men and women clad in a uniform, there was one group of 20 marching up the road, and 10 more were standing guard at the gate to the city doing basic screening as travelers and workers passed them. The crowd of people slowly filtered towards the right side of the road heading into the city.


    Joining the crowd they slowly made their way through the crowd heading for the main gate. It took a better part of half an hour to get up to the gate heading into Vanta. When they got to the gate one of the guards walked up to them. When he got there he looked the trio up and down and said a single word. ¡°Papers.¡±


    Looking back and forth to each other it was Alaric who spoke up. ¡°Papers? What papers?¡±


    ¡°You need papers to walk about the city so heavily armed.¡± He said as he looked the group up and down.


    This time Bjorn spoke up. ¡°Where do we get these permits?¡± Bjorn got the mental image of a medieval DMV and shuddered.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to send one of our guards with you and he will take you to the proper place to get that taken care of. Hey Manny!¡± called the guard over his shoulder. ¡°Get your sorry butt over here!¡±


    A young man who looked like he hadn¡¯t even started shaving came running up to the guard, his armor was entirely way too big for him, his chainmail hauberk came down to his knees, his belt tail was comically long, and he constantly had to lift his helmet up so that he could see out from under its visor. ¡°Yes, sergeant?¡± he said with a salute.


    The sergeant gave a half assed salute back. ¡°I need you to take these people to the office of arms regulations. They don¡¯t have the papers necessary for them to carry their arms in town.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir. Alright can you follow me please? Right this way.¡± Manny made a gesture that indicated they should follow him through the gate.


    ¡°After you take them there don¡¯t dally, I need you back here you hear? If I catch you slacking off again I¡¯ll send you out with a border patrol squad.¡±


    The young man completely ignored his sergeant. He deftly wormed his way through the throng of people all while making sure his charge didn¡¯t get lost. They followed him down a large street and then down a smaller less packed street. Lastly Manny turned a corner and before them was a large impressive stone building with intricate scrollwork cut into the stone. Apparently this world had over the top impressive government buildings as well. Walking up to a massive double door Manny placed his hand on one of the doors. From his stature and the size of the door there was no way that he would be able to move the entire door. Just one of the doors was over 15 feet tall and 7 feet wide. Manny then gave a little half hearted push, and Bjorn¡¯s first assessment was right.  Neither of the large double doors swung open, instead what had seemed like flawless wood broke apart. A section of wood the size of a human swung backwards, and Manny stepped through. The section remained open as Manny beckoned them through. Stepping through the new entrance Bjorn took a look back at the door he had just walked through, and on the back side of the door he just walked through there were a bunch of hinges set into the wood all of varying sizes. There were 5 sets of hinges in total. The other door had no such thing as hinges.


    The interior of the building had a wide open floor plan, with many exits from this main foyer, all of various sizes. The smallest one was no taller than a foot, with the largest being the same size as the front double doors. Once inside and the door shut behind them the general din that had assaulted them since entering the city was gone, and a relative quiet settled over the room. The room was quiet enough that they could hear the sound of a quill scratching on a piece of paper.


    In a low voice, Manny said. ¡°We are going up those stairs, and then it¡¯s the first door on our left.¡± Walking across this quiet room the sound of their boots striking stone reverberated throughout the entire room. It was surprisingly jarring. The group made it up the stairs and then navigated their way to the door that Manny had pointed out. Through the door there was a small waiting area, with multiple desks separating the room into two halves. On their half there was a series of empty benches lining the walls. On the officials half there were shelves filled with books, scrolls, and loose papers. There was a single door leading out of the room, no doubt leading to even more shelves filled with more useless paraphernalia. The desks were currently empty.


    ¡°Alright this is where I leave you, these fine ladies will take care of you I¡¯m sure.¡± Before turning around and leaving at a pace that was not quite a run, but still faster than a walk.


    ¡°Is it just me, or did you guys see fear in his eyes?¡± Asked Meira watching the door slowly swing closed behind the guard.


    ¡°Most definitely fear.¡± Agreed Alaric.


    They sat there twiddling their thumbs for over an hour before an old decrepit looking woman came walking through the door with the assistance of a walker in front of her. At the pace she was moving she would be easily outrun by a slug.


    Alaric leaned over to Bjorn and said under his breath. ¡°Did they give us a bag of bones? I think I could knock her over with just my breath.¡±


    Not able to restrain herself, Meira also leaned over, ¡°Alaric, with your bad breath you could knock anyone over with just your breath.¡±


    After an excruciating amount of time the lady made it to one of the seats behind one of the decks and turned towards the trio said in a surprisingly loud voice. ¡°Next!¡±


    It was Meira who got to her feet first, but she wasn¡¯t quite expecting Bjorn to actually be the first one to make it to the desk. He sat down in the seat right in front of the old lady, before Bjorn was able to even get a word out the old lady cut him off.


    ¡°What can this bag of bones do for you?¡± She said this as she made eye contact with Alaric. They held that eye contact for a few seconds before Alaric averted his gaze.


    Trying not to look at the small ball of unwavering bureaucracy, Bjorn spoke up. ¡°We need to get permits to carry weapons in the city. The guard at the gate had one of his subordinates escort us here before leaving us here with you.¡±


    ¡°Permits you say? I think we can serve you. The lady slowly turned around and scooted her chair up to a bookshelf and grabbed a stack of papers from one of the lower shelves and pushed off the shelf gliding back over to the desk she sat down at. Quickly and efficiently the lady sorted out three small stacks of papers. Looking back at the group, ¡°It will cost you 1 silver coin per month, for a year that will cost you 16 silver.¡± She paused speaking for a second, indicating to the coin pouches that each of them had tied to their waists.  ¡°I need you to sign here and here.¡± She pushed a small ink well with a quill at them. ¡°If you lose your papers you have to come back here and talk to me to buy another one.¡±


    Sitting there expectantly she stopped speaking, taking the cue Bjorn pulled up his coin pouch and started pulling out 16 silver pieces, the other two were right behind him. After placing them on the table the old lady smiled and gestured at the inkwell, picking up the quill Bjorn dipped it before quickly signing his name in the two places indicated by the lady. Meira signed her name next, and lastly Alaric. Once it was done the lady took the stack of papers back and took the top sheet of each pile and reaching under the desk brought up a pinch of fine blue powder, and then sprinkled the powder on the page. The powder sparkled briefly before sinking into the page. After that was done with the page she handed all three of them to Bjorn.


    ¡°There you go, remember if you lose them you have to come back here to get another. Oh yeah one final thing, if any of the city officials, yes that includes guards, you must present the papers, otherwise you face either jail time or hefty fines.¡±


    ¡°Wait, that¡¯s it? Just like that, we give you money and we get our permits?¡±


    The lady got a confused look on her face. ¡°Yeah that¡¯s pretty much it. What were you expecting?¡±


    ¡°I was expecting to have to be shoved around through seven different departments only to eventually get sent back here, and I was expecting to have to wait for multiple hours at each department.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about the wait, I was at lunch, how long were you waiting for?¡±


    ¡°Over an hour, but that is besides the point, this entire situation was faster and easier than I expected it to be.¡±


    The old lady put a smile on her face. ¡°I don¡¯t know how it works where you''re from, but we pride ourselves for not wasting your and our time both. So yeah, you are good to go.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± was all Bjorn could say to her last commit as he just stood there dumbfounded. Meira grabbed Bjorn by his shoulders and started to steer him towards the door. Making their way back to the large open area, and then down the stairs.


    ¡°How does the government work back on earth Bjorn?¡± asked Meira


    ¡°They seem very dedicated to wasting everyone''s time and wasting everyone¡¯s money on top of it.¡± Bjorn then started to tell them all about the DMV, and the Registrar''s office, as they made their way to the door. On the backside of the double doors where they came through there were multiple handles at different heights. Grabbing the one a little above waist height and pulling the human sized door swung inwards letting them out into the afternoon sun.


    Clapping his hands together Alaric spoke up. ¡°Well now that we got that taken care of, what do you want to do?¡±


    ¡°I have a bit of free cash, I would like to find either the mage section in town or a magic shop.¡± Meira said.


    ¡°Seconded.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I want to go to the metal working section of town, how about we meet up at the Crowing Rooster later?¡± Before they left Leif¡¯s crossing Aiko suggested the Crowing Rooster to Alaric as a place to stay when they made it to Vanta.


    Nodding in agreement Meira replied. ¡°That sounds good to me, let¡¯s try to make it there by suns down.¡±


    After walking back to the main thoroughfare they made their way to a crossroad. Grasping each other by the forearm in farewell Alaric went one way and Meira and Bjorn took off the other way. They started heading towards the center of the city, Meira figured that any sort of mage shop would be closer to the center of the city. After all people who can do magic are typically a rarity, from his understanding, with enough time and in some cases money anyone could gain access to magic. It was almost unheard of people being able to learn more than 4 schools of magic. So Bjorn already having access to three different types of magic was surprising.


    ¡°You know.¡± Meira said. ¡°Most people in the Eld spend their entire lives wishing to learn magic, and struggle to obtain the ability to cast spells. Within a year of coming to the Eld you now have access to 3 schools of magic. You are weird, and in this case an extreme outlier.¡±


    Meira¡¯s comment made Bjorn curious, and so he asked about how long people normally live in the Eld, of course assuming that they made it to old age and that is what leads to their death. As it turned out most humans lived to the end of the same life expectancy as those back on earth. It wasn¡¯t unheard of for humans to live past 100 years. Elves had longer life expectancy, they would live to normally around 150 years. Dwarves lived to around 120 years. The longer life expectancy had some tradeoffs, elves and dwarves had a harder time at procreation than humans did. It normally took longer for them to fully mature, but the first 16 years of their lives they all matured at roughly the same speed. Which led Bjorn to his next question.


    ¡°Meira, how long is a year here?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? How long is a year? It is the length of a year.¡± Meira retorted with a sly smile on her face, it wasn¡¯t a full smile, her mouth turned up slightly at the corners.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Sighing at her mocking tone, and her barely veiled sarcasm. ¡°You know what I mean, how many days are there in a year? Back on earth we have 12 months in a year, and there are 365 days in a year most of the time.¡±


    The sly smile started to stray into a mocking one. ¡°Most of the time? You don¡¯t know how many days there are in a year back on earth. I didn¡¯t realize that you were so oblivious.¡± Bjorn just gave her a flat stare. ¡°Fine, there are 512 days in a year, and 16 months in a year. So that means there are 32 days each month.¡±


    Doing some quick mental math Bjorn realized that the average life expectancy on The Eld for humans would be the equivalent as someone making it to 140 years old back on earth. Meira would live until she would be over 210 years old if she was back on earth. Bjorn was quiet for a bit as they were walking through the streets, occasionally stopping someone to ask for directions.


    ¡°Your world is oddly in line with the number 2.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Meira.


    ¡°Well for starters there are two suns, there are 8 moons, at least as far as I''ve seen. 32 hours in a day, 512 days in a year, 16 months in a year and 32 days per month. So many things in the eld are based around twos. I find it weird.¡±


    It took a while for Meira to reply. ¡°You¡¯re right, I hadn¡¯t noticed that, it is kind of weird how many things end up dealing with twos. But that is not something I think is worth dwelling on, it¡¯s just the way the world is, why should we question what is obviously a part of the natural order?¡±


    ¡°I disagree with that, we shouldn¡¯t just blindly accept the things around us, I think it¡¯s important to understand why things happen, and for what reason.¡± Pulling out a copper coin Bjorn held it out and dropped it. ¡°Why is it when you let go of things they fall? I know the answer and it is gravity, there is a force in this world always pulling objects towards the center of our planet. There is a certain blissfulness that comes from understanding the world around you.¡±


    ¡°Call the pull whatever you want to, the world around us is the way it is, I can¡¯t change that as much as you can. Why should we care for the reason nature acts in a certain way? It doesn¡¯t matter, does that knowledge help you eat? Does it help you survive? Does it help you win a fight? I know that when you drop something it will fall, just like I know that when I push against something it moves. For me the reason behind it doesn¡¯t matter. All I care about is that the world continues to function the same way it did yesterday, and a year ago. When the rules of nature change then it will end badly for me.¡±


    ¡°I guess that is a fair point, but aren¡¯t you curious?¡±


    Stopping in the middle of the street, Bjorn kept walking a pace or two before he noticed that Meira had stopped. Turning around he looked Meira in the eyes. ¡°Honestly? No, I am not curious at all. Besides, I think we are here.¡± Meira made a gesture with her head pointed behind Bjorn to an open stone archway.


    On either side of the stone archway there were two different stone gargoyles standing guard. Through the archway there was a stone path snaking through a well manicured lawn with large standing tree¡¯s Bjorn had never seen before. The large courtyard had several paths banching off leading to different buildings. In the center of the courtyard a single white tree stood in a fountain, deep royal purple fruits hanging down off of the branches.


    As they walked towards the stone archway the two gargoyles came alive, the sound of stone grinding on stone sounded through the street as they moved in the way of the path. ¡°Halt, only members of the mage guild are allowed to enter.¡± Both of the gargoyles had stone poleaxes in their hands that they pointed towards Meira and Bjorn. Which stopped them in their tracks.


    ¡°How do we get admittance to the mages guild? We both can cast spells.¡±


    One of the gargoyles pointed towards a small building to the side of the stone archway.


    ¡°Oh okay thank you.¡± As they were walking towards the building a small rumble could be heard behind them. Turning around they saw both the gargoyles had shifted back into position on either side of the entrance and stopped moving again. Walking into the small building it was a single room building, running down the center of the room there was a counter with a single old green skinned orc standing behind the counter. His absolutely massive fangs almost stabbed into his eyes when his mouth was closed.


    ¡°Oh your new faces, welcome and come in, shut the door.¡± The interior of the room was a pleasant cool in comparison to the heat out in the street. Stepping inside they closed the door. ¡°What can I do for you guys?¡±


    It was Meira who spoke. ¡°Good day, is this the mage guild?¡± The orc nodded in assent. ¡°We are both mages, and was wondering if we could join the mage guild. So what are you expected to do to join?¡±


    A smile fell across the orc¡¯s face, with the size of his fangs the smile looked more like a snarl then it did a smile. ¡°Congratulations, that is quite an accomplishment in and of itself. All you have to do is prove your magic abilities. You have to be able to cast a spell that has a skill level of at least 40 to join. If you have the skill level but don¡¯t know a spell that is level 40, I have a spell book of each type of basic magic. Each will cost you 75 gold to purchase to attempt to learn the spell. If you like, can I provide you with a list of spells that I have for sale?¡±


    Bjorn felt his stomach drop at the value required to purchase a spell necessary to gain admittance to the mage guild. Let alone the skill level requirement to cast the spell. He looked over to Meira and raised a single eyebrow. She in turn gave a small shake of her head. Her message was clear, ¡°I can¡¯t cast any of the spells.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately.¡± Meira started, ¡°We can neither afford, nor can we cast a level 40 spell. Would it be possible to purchase something from the magic guild? We don¡¯t need full admittance, we just want access to the grounds so we can buy some spells and gear.¡±


    ¡°Again, unfortunately I can not allow you to enter the guild grounds unless you can cast a level 40 spell in any of the basic elements. So by extension, I can¡¯t let you enter to buy spells and gear. What I can do though is offer you the chance to come back here when you are able to cast a level 40 spell and sell you the spell necessary to join the mage guild.¡± The orc said with a repugnant smile on his face. ¡°Now is there anything else I can help you with?¡± The firm but polite dismissal was hard to miss.


    ¡°No, thank you for your time.¡± Bjorn said as he and Meira turned and made their way to the door. Once the door has shut behind them Bjorn just blurted out. ¡°Well that was a waste of our time.¡±


    With an accepting look on her face Meira replied. ¡°Yes, yes it was. But that is the way of the world, knowledge is something widely guarded, and it always seems to be less guarded to the wealthy.¡± With a sigh she turned back the way they had come and called back. ¡°I think we should see if we can find any magic stores on our own.¡±


    Following her they spent the better part of two hours and several copper coins in an attempt to gain knowledge of a place to buy magical gear and spells. No one either seemed willing to share that information or had no idea if there was a magical store, but they all seemed more than eager to take their coins.


    As the suns were starting to near the horizon they agreed that a warm meal and a mug of beer would be very much appreciated at the moment. So they made their way towards the crowing rooster. It was full on night by the time they found their way to the inn. Pushing open the door they were greeted by a warm common room painted in bright reds and pinks. A rather powerful and intoxicating or repugnant smell, depending on who you asked, dominated the room. Inside the common room of the inn there were tables filled with men and women of all different races. The wait staff were all men, very attractive men. The outfits that they wore were of questionable modesty at best.


    Making their way inside they spotted a table off to the side of the common room, making their way over and they dropped into the seats. After a few minutes one of the Elf men made his way over to their table. He was tall, lean, and well defined, having a soft face he had a half smile on it as he started to speak. ¡°What can I get for you?¡± The amount of eye contact the elf made with Bjorn with that smile made him uncomfortable.


    Meira saved Bjorn, ¡°We have been traveling on the road for a few days, made our way over here from Leif¡¯s crossing. So a hot meal and a few rooms would be nice.¡±


    Looking at Meira for the first time since the elf made his way to the table he addressed her. ¡°Food I can do, if you want to organize lodging you¡¯ll have to find Pearal behind the bar, he owns the place.¡± Pausing for a few seconds he gave Bjorn a very obvious look up and down. ¡°I¡¯m assuming you¡¯d like something to help wash down your food?¡± Meira nodded. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get that for you right away.¡± As he turned and walked away from the table, to say he sashayed would be entirely accurate.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll go organize some lodging for us.¡± Bjorn stood and made his way through the crowded room towards the bar. Many of the bar staff gave Bjorn a little too much attention for his liking. Once at the bar he waited a few minutes for Pearal to make his way back behind the bar. The bar had a raised section underneath for patrons to rest their feet on while leaning on the bar. Which is exactly what Bjorn was doing when a hand slapped his ass with substantial force before the hand stayed there and lingered.


    With indignation Bjorn turned towards the owner of the hand ready to defend his honor when a voice accompanied the hand. ¡°Now that is a fine ass, It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen a man in here who has the look of a traveler.¡±


    Fully turning towards the speaker Bjorn was surprised to see a woman standing there with short horns sticking out of her head with a spade headed tail peeking out from behind her shoulder. Her skin had a faint red tinge to it. Her hair was shoulder length, and dark. Throughout the day he saw a few others of this species, but never for long enough to use his identify on them. The woman was shorter than Bjorn by at least a head, she had a lithe athletic frame, but from the way her clothes fit her she looked ready to spring into action at any moment. Bjorn used WAILA on the woman.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tayla May


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Tiefling


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 34


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 21


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Tieflings are the unholy mix between humanoids and demons. Tieflings have gained a bit of the demons heritage, because of that at the age of 15 they automatically gain access to the spell: create fire. They also gain 1 point in intelligence and 3 free points per level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Her pretty, narrow, angular face had a very lecherous look on her face as she stared at Bjorn as if he were a piece of meat, and she was a starving kid. ¡°Come now, why do you look surprised? How much for you to take me to bed tonight?¡±


    Bjorn just stood there in shock, in both of his lives he had never met such a forward girl, and on top of that he had never had such an attractive girl offer to pay him to have sex with her. Luckily for him he didn¡¯t have to stand there long before Pearal came walking around the corner out of the back room. Seeing Tayla¡¯s hand on Bjorn¡¯s butt he looked at her and said. ¡°Tayla, I¡¯m sorry, but he isn¡¯t apart of the wait staff, if you want a tumble with him you¡¯ll have to use your charms this time.¡±


    As soon at the words were out of his mouth Tayla drew her hand back quickly, and quickly came out with a lame excuse for her behavior and turned around and left. Before she fully turned around Bjorn was pretty sure he saw a darker shade of red color he cheeks before she made a hasty retreat.


    Pearal chuckled. ¡°That one is a lusty one, here almost every night¡­ Anyways, what can I do for you?¡± he said as he turned towards Bjorn.


    Watching Tayla¡¯s form retreat back into the crowd and to a table in the corner appreciatively as he watched her hips sway. Regretfully he pulled his eyes away from Tayla before turning back to Pearal. ¡°I would like to rent two rooms, one for my elf friend over there, and one for myself and a dwarf who will be joining us eventually.¡±


    Pearal looked back and forth between Bjorn and Meira before saying cautiously. ¡°Would your second room need a second bed? Or will some of your party be sharing beds?¡±


    It was Bjorn¡¯s turn to blush as he thought of sharing a bed with Meira. ¡°We will need three beds, in two rooms. I think my elf friend doesn¡¯t want to have to stay in the same room as two men again.¡±


    Nodding in understanding Pearal continued. ¡°I can understand, if you want we can get you three rooms that way all of you have your own space, having a little bit of personal time is good for the soul.¡±


    ¡°Yeah it would be, but I don¡¯t even know what you charge, and I have a suspicion that I wouldn¡¯t be able to afford three rooms, two will be good enough for us.¡±


    Pearal gave a good full belly laugh, ¡°If that isn¡¯t true enough, that¡¯s fine, how long do you plan on staying? It will cost you 10 coppers per night per room.¡±


    Bjorn took out a silver coin from his purse before setting it onto the bar top. ¡°Very well. If you go back to your table I''ll send Apaar back to your table with your food and keys. Try to enjoy yourself tonight.¡±


    Making his way back to the table Bjorn quickly filled Meira in on what happened which got a chuckle out of her. Soon after their server dropped off two hefty portions of a stew that was on the pot, along with fresh warm bread, and two large tankards of a strong ale. After their meal and around an hour of small talk the door opened letting Alaric into the room. After a quick sweep of his eyes he landed on the table with Bjorn and Meira. Working his way over to the table he got waylaid by one of the serving men, a dwarf. From where they stood the server was complimenting Alaric¡¯s beard while trying to finger the end of it. By the loud expletives coming from Alaric¡¯s mouth he wasn¡¯t about whatever the server was trying to sell.


    Finally freeing his beard from the server''s grasp Alaric made a bee line for their table, shoving a chair out of his way while on the way. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is about this place but it makes me uneasy.¡±


    Bjorn quickly agreed. ¡°I don¡¯t know what your problems are, but I actually quite like this place, and its aesthetic.¡± Commented Meira. Soon Alaric had his dinner and his drink and his outrage was starting to simmer into a low anger. Their evening was all around mostly pleasant, by the time it was about time to start their way upstairs, all three of the friends were pleasantly tipsy.


    Getting up and making their way upstairs, the tiefling from earlier stopped Bjorn as he was at the back of the pack. She had occupied a table by the stairs heading to the second level. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind I would like a word with you before you head to bed.¡±


    Alaric and Meira stopped at seeing Bjorn getting waylaid. ¡°It¡¯s alright guys, I¡¯ll be up in a bit.¡± Meira turned and started up the stairs, Alaric got a grin before winking at Bjorn and giving him a thumbs up before following suit. Taking one of the empty seats near Tayla, they sat in silence for a few minutes, Bjorn watching the tiefling intently, and Tayla trying not to make eye contact with Bjorn.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Abruptly asked Bjorn, in an not entirely kind tone.


    The steel in Bjorn¡¯s voice made Tayla flinch, ¡°Look, I am sorry for grabbing your ass earlier, I thought you were one of the wait staff, you have a soft face, and your figure is very pleasant. You aren¡¯t too large, you aren¡¯t too pretty, you have the look of a man who does anything that he needs to to survive, the look of a man who makes me weak in the knees. I also didn¡¯t know you had a woman, and for that I am sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to step on any toes.¡±


    The way she said that last bit made Bjorn think she was insinuating that Meira was Bjorn¡¯s woman. ¡°Her? No, god no, I wish, but no, I¡¯m not that lucky.¡± This made Tayla look up at Bjorn quizzically. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what though, I will forgive you for your transgression if you make me two concessions. First, you have to answer a question that has been bugging me all night. What is this place?¡±


    Tayla¡¯s face broke out into a massive grin. ¡°You don¡¯t know? You are staying here and you don¡¯t know?¡± Then she broke into full on laughter, the kind of pure unfiltered laughter that ends with someone struggling to breath, and snorting. ¡°Oh boy, did someone play quite a joke on you then. You are much more innocent than you look if you haven¡¯t quite worked it out yet. This is a whore house.¡±


    This got Bjorn confused. ¡°What do you mean whore house? Where are the women at?¡±


    That question brought a whole new round of laughter which left her face a deep shade of red from a lack of oxygen. ¡°You do realize that there are other kinds of whore houses right? The crowing rooster is an all male whore house. That is why most of the people here are gay men, and obviously women who tend to have more lust than the average. I approached you because it isn¡¯t unheard of Pearal getting some of his servers to dress in certain ways to attract a wider range of men and women to his establishment. He used to have one of his men dress like an explorer, the man lost an eye on the road and it helped sell the appeal. He left over a month ago, and I thought Pearal brought in a new server to fill that role.¡±


    The more Tayla spoke, the more concerned Bjorn got, soon he was as pale as a ghost. It all finally clicked for him, all the attention he was getting, the off feeling he was getting from the place. All of the stares, glances, and the winks. It made a shiver run down his back briefly. It took Bjorn a few minutes to realize that Tayla had stopped speaking and was watching him intently.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Was his response. ¡°Do you mind if I have a little of that?¡± He pointed to the glass in front of Tayla. She shoved the glass towards Bjorn, picking it up he took two long swings of a disgustingly sweet drink. Setting it down he composed himself. ¡°Alright, that, I was not expecting.¡±


    ¡°Obviously.¡±


    ¡°Anyways moving onwards. My second request comes in two parts. First, have you spent much time in Vanta?¡± She nodded. ¡°Do you know where I could find magical gear and spells outside of the mages guild? I am a magic caster, and would like to try and buy some more spells, but unfortunately not having a skill level of 40 in a school of magic, or being extremely rich. I am not able to get access to the guild. Meira and myself spent the better part of today trying to find someplace that would sell spell books but we had no luck.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what, what''s your name by the way?¡±


    ¡°Bjorn.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what, Bjorn, I¡¯ll do you one better. Why don¡¯t you meet me here tomorrow morning and I¡¯ll take you and your lady to a place where we can get you some spell books. They might not have what you are looking for, but they are the best in town that I know of to get your spell books outside of the mages guild.¡±


    ¡°That would be awesome, we might have to have the dwarf tag along as well.¡±


    ¡°Not a problem.¡±


    ¡°That works for me, in that case I forgive you for your transgression.¡± Standing he made his way around the table placing one hand on its surface and leaning down towards Tayla, placing his mouth right by her ear he said. ¡°It was quite flattering.¡± Before making his way for the stairs as well.


    ¡°If you want, my offer is still on the table!¡± exclaimed Tayla to Bjorn¡¯s retreating back. She didn¡¯t see it but this time it was Bjorn¡¯s turn to blush.

 Chapter 16

    The next morning as they made their way into the common room to get some breakfast Alaric gave Bjorn an all knowing grin as he saw Tayla was sitting at a table, she was in the same style of form fitting clothes that she wore last night. The only difference was that she had a hood on. The garment barely covered her shoulders, and had a hood that could be drawn to cover her face. When she saw them enter the common room she stood from her seated position and raised her hand as if to call to them. When she was standing they could see three separate blades attached to her body. There were two shorter knives that were sheathed behind her back with the hilt barely sticking out from her narrow waist on either side, and the third one was a larger, and longer blade in a leather sheath strapped to her thigh.


    ¡°Good morning, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve actually been introduced properly. My name is Tayla May, I am happy to make your acquaintance.¡± She said as he dropped her head in a bow.


    ¡°Meira.¡± She said curtly.


    ¡°Alaric, It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you miss, I assume Bjorn gave you his name last night.¡±


    ¡°That he did, he also asked me to take you to a magic shop, if that is something you all are interested in? Of course if you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll gladly have some personal time with Bjorn.¡± Tayla said with a wink.


    ¡°I thought you couldn¡¯t find spells in town unless it was with the mage guild?¡± Meira raised her eyebrows, momentarily losing the light scowl she had been wearing since the conversation started.


    A mischievous grin slid onto Tayla¡¯s face. ¡°You can find anything in town if you know where to look, and are willing to pay a price.¡±


    Meira grabbed the two men and pulled them aside, and started speaking under her breath. ¡°Alright, do we really want to trust this girl? I mean look at her!¡± The trio gave Tayla a quick glance, and her different attire. ¡°She is obviously a thief. That hood is good for hiding her identity and easy to lose in case she is getting chased. Her weaponry are small, easily maneuverable weapons, perfect for sneak attacks. Her outfit is tight, and doesn¡¯t restrict her movements at all. Are we really going to trust a thief we just met to not lead us into a den of other thieves? Or stab us in the back? Or lead us to her friends, mug us, and then stab us in the back?¡± She looked back and forth between Bjorn and Alaric with a look of consternation on her face.


    ¡°You make some solid points¡± Alaric began.


    ¡°Thank yo-¡±


    ¡°Her clothes do show off a surprisingly perky set of breasts.¡± Alaric¡¯s gaze was locked onto Tayla¡¯s outfit and form.


    With a sigh she turned towards Bjorn, and saw his gaze lingering a little too. ¡°You too? Fine! But if we get stabbed I will be the first one to say I told you so.¡±


    They made their way back to Tayla who had been standing there with a grin on her face. ¡°Did you make up your mind? Are you really going to trust me?¡± As she said that the grin turned a little devilish looking. ¡°I assume so seeing how you came back, let¡¯s get some food real quick and then make our way into the city to get you some magic.¡± As the other three took their seats Meira left to find Pearal to get them some food, not long after she returned with bread leftover from dinner last night and a plate with hot sausages on them. Wrapping the sausage with the stale bread, the grease from the sausage soaked into the bread softened it making a wonderful breakfast.


    Making their way out onto the street outside the crowing rooster Tayla started heading into the city running parallel between the two walls, moving in a clockwise direction. The day was still early in the morning and the streets were mostly empty. This early in the morning they didn¡¯t want to be the ones to break the peace that had covered most of the city so they filled the silence with quiet small talk. It was Tayla who did most of the talking, just filling them in on the workings of Vanta.


    ¡°Hey Tayla, what¡¯s inside that second wall? I tried to get through the gate and they wouldn¡¯t let me through yesterday.¡± Called Alaric as quietly as he could and still be heard from the back of the pack.


    ¡°I¡¯m not surprised you had issued getting in, I am more surprised you didn¡¯t get a beating for even trying.¡± This assertion caught all of their attentions, before they were half listening to Tayla¡¯s babblings as she talked. Feeling rather than seeing she had their undivided attention she kept talking. ¡°Inside the second layer of walls is where the truly powerful in Vanta live, it¡¯s where the rich, the strong, and where the city lord and his family live. And surprise surprise they don¡¯t like to mingle with us common folk very often. As a matter of a fact I would be surprised if many of them haven¡¯t left the inner city for many years. The city lord owes fealty to the king of Escar, but with Vanta being closer to the border of the kingdom the royalty of Escar tend to leave us alone here. Because of the lack of supervision the city lord has gotten lazy and lax with upholding the law of Escar. Because of his lack of care he doesn¡¯t fulfill the law requiring him to hear out anyone who wishes to speak to him, at least once a week. So now the guards at the gate keep us common folk out of the upper reaches of the city.¡±


    ¡°So why are you surprised that I didn¡¯t get beat by the city guards?¡± Asked Alaric.


    ¡°Simple, seeing how they don¡¯t let you in to see the king, and seeing how there aren¡¯t many people enforcing the laws, including the guard¡­¡± Tayla had stopped moving and was staring at Alaric as she was a mother scolding an unruly child.


    ¡°I get it now, most of the guard beat those getting anywhere near the inner city.¡±


    ¡°Spot on!¡± Exclaimed Tayla as she turned away and kept walking down the street. ¡°Of course the guards still uphold most of the laws, they just have gotten a little lax on some of the ¡®less important¡¯ ones¡± as she said less important she threw up her hands and did the air quotes, that was common back on earth.


    ¡°Hey! You guys do that too.¡± as he pointed at Tayla¡¯s hands. Which caused her to stop in the middle of the motion and dropped her hands to her side in embarrassment.


    Clearing her throat she moved on with her unending babble of commentary. The city of Vanta seemed to have one street that was the main street running through the outer ring, with other major roads that intersected with the main one allowing travel further in and then out of town. There were many offshoots and alleyways off of the main street. After half an hour of walking the city had started to fully wake up and people were starting to make their way onto the streets making the road go from pleasant to annoyingly crowded.


    ¡°Keep your hands on your purses.¡± Called Tayla. ¡°There are plenty of street urchins that would gladly rid you of the burden that is carrying your money.¡±


    Following her suggestion they continued onwards, eventually Tayla took a side street stepping away from the bustle of the street and onto a less well traveled section. The road ended up branching twice more and ending with a set of stairs going downwards, and ending with a heavy wooden door with metal banding to reinforce it.


    ¡°Oh come now, that is an obvious trap.¡± Commented Meira.


    ¡°Suit yourself.¡± Replied Tayla in a slightly snarky tone walking down the stairs and then opening the door. Behind the door there was a soft white light emanating from inside the tunnel. Bjorn and Alaric both looked at Meira.


    ¡°Fine, we can follow this obvious thief, into this obvious trap.¡± The group followed Tayla with Alaric in the front, Meira in the middle, and Bjorn bringing up the rear. All the while as they were heading down into the earth Meira muttered under her breath. Occasionally words could be picked out. ¡°Show you. Listen, me. Small breasts. Dumbasses¡±


    They followed Tayla down the stairs into the earth. The stairs opened up to a long tunnel illuminated by the same light as the stairway. The tunnel had a wide walkway on either side and a channel running down the middle which was flowing with a foul smelling brown liquid. Turning left they started down the tunnel. Soon they came to an intersection and followed one of the intersecting paths, and then another, and another. All the while Tayla kept up her inane babble. It didn¡¯t take long for all three of the friends to be hopelessly lost in the tunnels. Just when they were starting to exchange glances and were going to confront Tayla there was a door built into the side of the tunnel that they could have sworn wasn¡¯t there a second ago.


    ¡°This is it.¡± She said as she walked up to the door, and knocked on it. Two rapid knocks, followed by 3 slow ones, and finally 3 rapid knocks. A small window opened up in the door where there hadn¡¯t been one before and a woman¡¯s face popped out of the window, looking up and down the tunnel. She gave the group a long intense look.


    ¡°Who are the new faces Tayla?¡±


    ¡°Hi Gene, they are some people I found last night looking at buying some spells.¡±


    The lady whipped her head back to the group, this time her eyes settled on Meira. Giving her an appraising look. ¡°The elf has promise, the dwarf can¡¯t cast with a shit, and that human is less than useless. Very well, if you must you can come in. But make sure they don¡¯t cause any trouble Tayla, if they do you will be held responsible for it.¡±


    ¡°You have my word.¡± Tayla replied calmly as the sound of locks being thrown sounded, door opened up revealing another short hallway, on the other side of the wall there was a small out cove which held a table and a chair. Once they made their way inside the door the lady closed the door behind them and threw several locks back into place. Tayla ushered them down the narrow short hallway. At the end of the hall it opened up to a large man made cavern. It was a large hole in the ground, it looked like a staging area for the repairs, and building the sewer system. The entire room was three stories tall, with a large open area in the middle. Along the outside of the room there were small stores built into the rock. With bridges built over the center of the large room making it easier to get from one side to the other.


    ¡°Welcome to Vanta¡¯s black market.¡± Said Tayla. ¡°Years ago they were looking for a place to house the black market, but we couldn¡¯t find anywhere. Someone ended up stumbling upon this place that was empty, and covered with so much dust that it had to have been abandoned for years. This room was actually infested with a nest of stone burrower spiders. And they lost many people to clear it out. But ever since they cleared the spiders out they haven¡¯t had any issues.¡± Tayla started moving further into the room slowly. The room was by no means packed, but it did have plenty of people milling about.


    Making her way towards the stairs she continued. ¡°This place is by invite only, you have to be accompanied by someone who is welcomed here, or get yourself welcomed.¡±


    ¡°How would we do that?¡± Asked Meira.


    ¡°You have to pay to get access, there is a stall down at the ground floor that you have to pay 1 gold to get permanent access to this area.¡±


    That elicited a whistle for Alaric. ¡°1 gold is a hefty sum to pay to get access to the black market.¡±


    ¡°You are right of course, that is quite a bit of money, but it is the only place where you are able to liquidate certain ¡°Questionably acquired goods.¡±¡± Tayla said as she used air quotes again. ¡°They don¡¯t pay you the same as what the item is worth, but if you are sitting on something that does you no good, might as well turn it into cash. And in some cases it is your only choice to really fence items.¡±


    They made their way down to the floor level, and there were a good number of stores there. Moving around the area a few stores stood out, but Tayla directed them to one store in particular. It was a small store tucked away in the corner with a single slightly overweight man sitting behind the counter. As they entered his store he perked up and greeted them.


    ¡°Ah hello! My name is Chet. And welcome to Chet¡¯s magic book emporium, I promise all of the books here are exactly what they say they are, if not I guarantee you your money back. What can I do for you today?¡± The interior of the store was small, with Chet and the 4 patrons it was crowded. It was just a narrow outcove in the wall, behind where Chet was standing there were 3 book shelves filled to the brim with spell books. There had to be over 100 to 150 books on the shelves.


    Tayla was the one to start speaking first. ¡°Hey Chet, these guys.¡±


    Meira cut her off. ¡°My friend, and I. '''' As she indicated towards Bjorn. ¡°Would like to try to learn some of your spell books. I have level 31 in air magic, and I also have level 16 in water magic. I know 7 spells. On the water side I know Create water, Ice shard, and Water Breathing. For air magics I know weak haste, Errant wind, Weak Lightning bolt, and Levitate. What do you have that I could learn?¡±


    ¡°You already have such an impressive list of spells you are capable of casting, I think I have a few other spells that would be of interest to you.¡± Chet quickly and quite efficiently explained what he had and how the spells worked. He had 9 other spells that Meira had the ability to learn.


    ¡°How much do you charge per Book?¡±


    ¡°Ah that is a much more difficult question, I believe the going rate for spells is 1 gold per level for the first 10 levels, after that it goes up from there. I have to acquire these spells at great cost to myself and those involved, so because of that I will charge 1 gold and 50 silver per level of the spell for the first 10 levels. I can see that the price is a little too rich for you, but I assure you there isn¡¯t much I can do for that. Spell books are heavily regulated here in Vanta, the mages guild has a bit of a stranglehold on that market here. You either need to be exceptionally rich, a noble, already well versed in magic, or stupidly lucky and be born to a member of the guild already. They don¡¯t take kindly to people sharing the knowledge that they view as their knowledge. So because of that they put a stop to anyone trying to disperse the knowledge of how to cast spells.¡±


    Meira¡¯s face scrunched up at hearing the price tag to the spell books. Doing some quick mental math she settled on one spell, Weather shield. It was a 5th level spell so it cost her 7 gold and 50 silver in the end.


    Before she finalized the sale Bjorn stepped in. ¡°I have water level 5, earth level 3, and light level 6. What do you have that I can learn?¡± After relaying his three spells Chet gave Bjorn a few options. Bjorn settled on two spells one was the light bolt spell that he failed to learn from the skill book before, and the second one was a level 2 water spell called: Light rain. The entire price ended up being 16 gold and 50 silver normally, after Bjorn¡¯s discounts from his ring and trading skill that dropped to 13 gold 77 silver and 75 copper. The oddest thing was when purchasing the books Chet didn¡¯t even try to haggle the price one way or the other, as soon as Bjorn asked for the price Chet did some quick mental math and gave that answer. Accepting the offer the lions share of the money came from Bjorn, he paid 8 gold and 40 of the silver, the rest came from Meira.


    Giving Bjorn a grateful look they collected their money and passed it over which Chet accepted graciously before a sweep with his hand and the coins disappeared from the counter in front of him. Handing over the three books, Meira quickly opened her book up and watched as the book rapidly started to turn its own pages, a blue light poured out from the spell book and into her eyes. Her hands dropped away from the book as soon as the process started. The book stayed suspended in air as the process happened. When the book finally slammed shut after a third of the book ran through it crumbled into dust and one last larger mote of light was left over from the dust of the book which also went into her eyes.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Congratulations on learning the spell.¡± Chet said to Meira. Looking at her she had a bit of a dazed look in her eyes as she stood there. ¡°I think you are next young master.¡± He said towards Bjorn.


    ¡°I think you are right, but I also think I¡¯ll wait to learn these spells. Thank you for giving us the chance to buy these magic books.¡± Bjorn said as he gave Chet a small bow with his head.


    ¡°Of course sir, you are welcome back here anytime! My stock of spell books is constantly changing so don¡¯t hesitate to come back and see what else I have in stock.¡± Chet replied with a slight bow in return.


    By the time they finished the exchange Meira had snapped out of her daze and was fully cognizant of what was happening around her, so she followed after. Bjorn left his pack back at their rooms in the Crowing Rooster so they started searching for a bag that would hold his spell books. They spent the better part of the day searching through the various black market stalls. Throughout the day the group stopped here and there and picked up small knick knacks and various other useful items. Getting closer to evening they stopped at a leatherworking shop that was also dug into the stone walls surrounding the building. On the inside a surprisingly young woman stood behind her counter. She had all sorts of leather products and tools all over the inside of her shop. Behind the woman the back wall of her shop was covered in shelves, on the shelves there were a bunch of leather pouches and bags. A few of them were open holding different color powders, the most common colored powder though was a fine pale blue powder. Another group of shelves held pale purple and blue Octagonal prisms ranging in sizes from the size of a quarter to the size of an apricot.


    Not able to contain his curiosity Bjorn just blurted out. ¡°What are those prisms?¡± Pointing at one of the small purple objects.


    The young lady who was busy punching small holes into a piece of leather stopped what she was doing and looked over at what Bjorn was pointing at. ¡°Those?¡± After getting a nod from Bjorn in confirmation she continued. ¡°Those are filled soul stones.¡±


    Remembering something about the mana absorption bead he pulled it out of the pouch on his waist and identified it again. And there it was, ¡®If you wish to reactivate this gem you must reinsert it into a body and expend a common level soul.¡¯ It was the second time he had heard of these objects, and so it was time to get some answers. ¡°I have never seen one of those before. Do you mind filling me in on how they work?¡±


    The woman kind of scoffed at Bjorn before returning to her work. They stood there in silence for around 20 seconds before the lady stopped what she was doing and looked up at Bjorn quickly before dropping her eyes again. She did a double take. ¡°Is that a mana absorption bead in your hand?¡±


    ¡°Yes it is.¡±


    ¡°Would you be willing to sell it?¡±


    Alaric spoke up, ¡°I don¡¯t know about that lad, this girl has been pretty dismissive and almost rude to you ever since we walked into her shop. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth it to give her something so valuable as your mana absorption bead.¡±


    The woman¡¯s face scrunched up into a scowl and then she snapped back. ¡°He asked me an extremely stupid question, any person who has any sense a dog has, knows how they work.¡±


    Bjorn put his hands onto the table keeping a good grip on the bead and leaned in. ¡°Humor me.¡±


    Her eyes darted between the bead, Bjorn, Alaric, Tayla, and then back to the bead before sighing. ¡°Alright fine, I will explain about soul stones. Afterwards would you sell me that bead in your hand?¡±


    ¡°We shall see.¡±


    Setting the work she was holding in her hands aside she fully turned towards the group. ¡°Soul stones are a natural occurring mineral out in the world. They can also be made through magical means. They are stones that have the ability to trap the soul of a creature when it dies inside itself instead of the soul leaving the body and dissipating out into the ether, and doing whatever souls do after death. There are different grades to souls, petty, weak, common, uncommon, strong, unusual, special, great, and grand. I have heard rumors of there being stronger souls but I have never encountered them, nore have I met someone who has.¡± She paused and saw an expectant look on Bjorn¡¯s face.


    ¡°Soul stones are used for enchanting, I know a thing or two about enchanting. On the basic level you can only ever use one soul stone per enchantment. Eventually that can change, each level of soul provides a certain strength to the enchantment. If you don¡¯t know what you are doing you can fail your enchantment and waste the soul and soul stone in the process. You can also overdo the strength of soul that you use for enchanting and that will destroy the item you are trying to enchant. So as an enchanter you have to balance between not strong enough and too strong. It is a fine balancing act and if you aren¡¯t careful you can end up dead.¡± After she finished that last sentence she stopped and sat there as the silence grew. ¡°Well? Is there anything else you¡¯d like to know?¡±


    Bjorn let the silence grow. ¡°Can you only trap the soul of a common level creature inside a common level soul gem?¡±


    ¡°No, a common level soul can fit inside any soul gem of higher level. That is a waste though, due to the fact that the higher level soul gems have to be made from rare materials and gem stones. It is also important to note that a weaker soul gem can never fit a stronger soul inside of it.¡±


    Alaric cut into her explanation. ¡°How do you capture a soul?¡±


    Annoyance quickly flashed across the youths face before she was able to hide it. ¡°There is a magical spell called soul trap, every single school of magic has access to that spell. It is widely accepted that life and death schools of magic have the strongest variants of the soul trap spell. Now can we get to the price of selling me that bead?¡±


    Bjorn thought he tortured the arrogant little twat enough, and relented. ¡°What do you have to trade for this item? I don¡¯t want to sell it for money, I will only accept something of equal value. This bead is the only way we have to restrain a magic user. So with that all known what do you have?¡±


    The woman started showing off item after item all of which seemed lesser than the bead. Armors, bags, other restraint items, all made out of leather. The defeated look in her eye just kept growing and growing as they turned down item after item. Finally she pulled out a small chest and set it on the counter. Pulling out a key from around her neck and set the key in the lock. She turned it left and then right and then left again, there was a click as the lid to the chest popped up. Setting the key aside she lifted the lid off the chest and reach inside and pulled out a single small leather bag.


    With interest at her methods to protect this bag, Bjorn used his identify on it.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Portable Pocket


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Epic


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 1.1 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    This is a space folding bag. It is the lesser known, and weaker variant of a bag of holding. As you put items into the pocket the bag will not grow in size. It has no weight diminishing properties, and it only has a finite amount of space. This is a soul bound item, meaning it can only be accessed and used by those that this item is soul bound to.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    He had to have this item, but he wouldn¡¯t let the trader know that, after all, the only reason he had gotten this far in the trading was her blunder. She let all of the party know that she wanted and even needed the mana bead. So Bjorn made a show of looking the item over and setting it aside. And started to shake his head. ¡°No, this is just a simple leather pouch.¡±


    She immediately got defensive. ¡°This isn¡¯t a simple leather pouch, this is a portable pocket.¡± There was a small intake of breath behind Bjorn, but he didn¡¯t let himself get distracted. ¡°It just looks like a leather pouch because you aren¡¯t soul bound to the bag. This is a wonderous item that as long as there is still space it can fit any item in it. Pulling up a large wooden cutting board she angled it above the opening of the bag and set the corner in it. The board was able to fit easily inside of the bag. The board was easily 5 or 6 times larger than the entire pocket, passing it over to Bjorn he inspected the interior of the bag and it was empty. Handing it back she put her hand into the bag and retrieved the cutting board easily. ¡°You see what I mean, it isn¡¯t just a simple leather bag, how about it, would you trade the bead for this bag?¡±


    Bjorn made a big show of trying to decide if it was worth the trade. By the time Bjorn spoke the woman had a bead of sweat slowly sliding down her forehead. ¡°I will sell you this bead for that bag, and for 3 gold coins on top of that.¡±


    Without hesitation she said. ¡°Deal¡± before producing three gold coins from somewhere and handing over the bag and reaching out her hand for the bead.


    ¡°Na-uh, I am not handing the bead over until you show me how to soul bind the bag to myself.¡±


    Licking her lips she the got the distant look in her eye, the one that was starting to look familiar of someone digging through their own menus. A small stream of pure white liquid poured out of her left arm right above her wrist. The stream started to hover above the bag and a pearl white bead the size of his thumbnail formed from the liquid. After it finished forming it hung in the air suspended. Reaching out the trader took ahold of the pearl and held it out to Bjorn.


    Once his fingers touched the pearl he received a prompt.


    Would you like to become soul bound to this portable pocket? Yes/No?


    Mentally clicking the yes prompt the small orb began to break down into the same white liquid and it sank into his left wrist. Once all of the liquid fully sank into his skin a new icon appeared at the edge of his view in the shape of a bag. Before he had the chance to open it up the trader dove at Bjorn¡¯s hand and snatched the mana absorption bead from his hand. Not resisting, he let her take it.


    ¡°Out of pure curiosity, why did you want that bead so strongly?¡±


    The woman had a savage grin on her face. ¡°Oh, I have an ex-boyfriend that I caught cheating on me, as a spell caster it is how he makes his living. So with this bead I can get my revenge on him. I¡¯ll make sure he loses his ability to cast spells.¡±


    Alaric let out a soft chuckle. ¡°My pa always said to avoid spurning a woman, you never know what they will do to get revenge. You are case and point.¡±


    The woman¡¯s smile was starting to make Bjorn a little uncomfortable so they decided to leave. After they were out of the shop Bjorn took his two spell books he had been carrying with him and put them into the sack. When he did so the icon on the edge of his vision grew a little more opaque and a window popped up in his vision, it was a 7 by 20 grid. When the book was inserted into the grid each book took up exactly two slots in the grid system. Seeing the two books disappear into the small bag brought a smile to Bjorn¡¯s lips, he finally had an inventory and no longer had to continue to cart his pack around with him.


    ¡°Is there anything else you''re looking for down here?¡± Asked Tayla.


    After a few moments of Bjorn, Alaric, and Meira just standing there looking at each other, Meira spoke up. ¡°I guess not, do you mind leading us back up to street level?¡±


    With a bit of pep in her step Tayla took off first. ¡°Of course, I will gladly take you back.¡± They made their way back up to the top floor and then down the corridor. When she got to the guard post the same lady was there, after opening the doors Tayla took the lead again. After getting out of the door she looked over her shoulder and said. ¡°Thanks Gene.¡± and started back the way they came. As they passed each of the friends said their thanks as well and followed after Tayla.


    Once they had traveled a good 100 yards or so Bjorn looked back the way they came and couldn¡¯t see the door in the hallway behind them. Asking Tayla about it, apparently they put up some illusion magic and then enchant stones that grant immunity to the illusion. If the stone gets close to the spell it briefly dispels the magic for everyone within a 10 foot radius from the stone.


    Tayla made her way through the tunnels with an uncanny accuracy and in no time they were back up at street level, making their way back to the Crowing Rooster for the night. The common room was the exact same as it was the night before, filled to the brim with patrons and tons of attractive men all over the place. They had to actually stand for over half an hour before they were able to get a table. During that half an hour Tayla had to fend off several different servers that came over trying to see if she wanted ¡°Anything¡± at all. Each time they did Tayla¡¯s already red face grew a shade darker. By the time a table had cleared up her cheeks were almost a dark maroon color.


    Once they were seated and had food coming, Meira spoke up. ¡°So Pearal wasn¡¯t joking when he said you were a regular here. Quite popular with the men it seems.¡±


    That assertion brought a scowl to Tayla¡¯s face and it grew quiet until their dinner showed up. Spending the rest of the evening in companionable silence, they all drank their beers.


    ¡°Thank you for taking us into town and to that place.¡± Alaric said to Tayla.


    ¡°Yeah thank you, it was invaluable to us.¡± added Bjorn.


    The tenseness between Meira and Tayla was so thick it was palpable.


    ¡°Hey Meira, what does the magic spell you got today do?¡±


    Turning towards Bjorn. ¡°It is called water shield, and it is a spell that lasts an hour, the cost isn¡¯t all that high, all things considered. For 10 mana I can cast it on anyone I wish to, and it condenses the water out of the air, creating a small 5 foot shield around the target. The shield protects the target from wind, cold, heat, other water, and small insects.¡±


    ¡°So what you are saying, is now you have a way to stop me from getting a bug bite forever? What is your mana regeneration now?¡± Alaric asked Meira.


    Giving a pointed look at Tayla before answering. ¡°Yeah I now have a way to get bugs to avoid you. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem to cast a few times a day.¡±


    Once the dinner arrived Bjorn ate his as quickly as he could and then excused himself heading up to the room. Upon making it into his room he shut the door and pushed one of the beds in front of the door before pulling out his two spell books. With his lack of luck the last time he tried to learn Light bolt he decided to start there.


    This spellbook contains the spell Light Bolt, it is a level 4 light spell. Would you like to attempt to learn this spell Yes/No?


    Setting the Light rain spell book aside, Bjorn opened up the Light bolt and mentally clicked yes. The pages began to fly, the book crumbled and he gained access to all of the information necessary for him to cast the spell.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Spell: Light Bolt


    </td>


    <td>


    Cast time: 3 Seconds


    </td>


    <td>


    Components: Verbal, Somatic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Range: 300 feet.


    </td>


    <td>


    Duration: Instantaneous


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana cost: 24 points


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Creates a beam of light that travels the distance to a target instantaneously dealing light based damage.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Easy, straight forward, and pretty self-explanatory. Having another offensive ranged spell is nice. Curious on how exactly it will work, and what light based damage would look like. Instead of letting his curiosity get the better of him Bjorn opened his second spell book and started reading.


    This spellbook contains the spell Light Rain, it is a level 2 water spell. Would you like to attempt to learn this spell Yes/No?


    Once again mentally clicking on yes the same routine happened again. And once again Bjorn got a great window.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Spell: Light Rain


    </td>


    <td>


    Cast time: 3 minutes


    </td>


    <td>


    Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Range: 50 foot radius


    </td>


    <td>


    Duration: 30 minutes


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana cost: 62 points


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    When this spell is cast the perfect amount of water needed for a plant to grow is provided for it to thrive. Providing a 5% boost to the yield of the end product. This effect can stack up to 20 times providing up to a 100% boost to the yield of the crops or herbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Useful, but not really useful yet. Still the way he figured it, any way he could train his magic skill levels was good practice. More magic, more versatility, more better. Chuckling to himself thinking how stupid he is. Something Slammed into the door to the room. Bjorn dropped into an defensive stance and reached for the sword on his hip.


    Cursing could be heard on the other side of the door. ¡°Bjorn, I need you to open this door. Whatever you did sure worked but I need you in the taproom NOW!¡±


    It was Alaric, the seriousness in his voice could be easily heard from the otherside of the door. Rushing over he grabbed the bed by the bedframe and drawing his sword threw open the door. Running headlong into a surprised Alaric.


    ¡°Now now, calm down. We need you down there, but I don¡¯t think there is a need for that.¡± As Alaric pointed towards Bjorn¡¯s sword. Sheathing his sword Bjorn followed Alaric down the stairs taking two at a time. Entering the taproom it was surprisingly silent, the entire room was either looking or pointedly not looking at the table the friends occupied previously. Following the gazes Bjorn saw a young boy sitting at the table with Tayla and Meira. Bjorn recognized him immediately.


    ¡°James, what are you doing here?¡± Called Bjorn as he made his way over to the table. James looked exhausted and worn. He had a panicked look in his eyes, upon seeing Bjorn the panic lessened, but it was still there.


    The boy blurted out. ¡°Bandits attacked Leif¡¯s crossing.¡±


    (You may skip to the next chapter if you don¡¯t care about skill gains.)


    You have advanced your skill level in trade, reaching skill level 4 and 5. Items you buy and sell prices will be 2.5% more in your favor, this also includes bartering.


    You have found an item someone needed even when they themselves didn¡¯t know that they needed it at first. You have gained extra progress in your trading skill.


    You have traded something where the value of the items weren¡¯t close to equal, and you were on the better end of the trade deal, because of that you have gained further increased progress in the trading skill.


    You have advanced your skill level in trade, reaching skill level 9. Items you buy and sell prices will be 4.5% more in your favor, this also includes bartering.

 Chapter 17

    A clamorous din burst forth from the table as everyone except for James started speaking. Each of them started asking all sorts of questions, it was obvious that James was getting overwhelmed by all the questions. It was Alaric who got the pandemonium to stop. ¡°Alright boy, tell us everything.¡±


    ¡°They killed some of us, and took others as prisoners. When the attack started Aiko grabbed me by my arm and told me to find you three in Vanta at the Crowing Rooster and beg for you to return and save our people. After that she shoved me away and I hid in the bushes. From there I saw three separate men jump her, she wounded one of them before they restrained her. They took her and around 15 other villagers. I wanted to do something, but I just didn¡¯t know what to do. I watched the bandits round my family up and put collars around their necks and chain them together before tying their hands up and leading them into the forest. After that I snuck away and started running to Vanta. I got to town less than half an hour ago. Thankfully you all were here.¡±


    Now that James¡¯s story had been told the questions started up again. Meira put out a hand to calm everyone down. ¡°Alright everyone, one question at a time, I¡¯ll go first. How long ago did this happen?¡±


    ¡°2 days after you left Lief¡¯s crossing. I ran here as fast as I could.¡±


    Bjorn was next. ¡°How many bandits were there?¡± As James started to answer Bjorn flagged down one of the servers and motioned to get the kids something to eat and drink.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, probably no more than 30, and no less than 15.¡±


    This drew uncertain looks from the friends. ¡°I don¡¯t know if the three of us could handle that, we can sure try though.¡±


    Tayla spoke up. ¡°4 of us.¡± This drew a scowl from Meira and she took a breath to speak. Tayla cut her off. ¡°You don¡¯t like me, and I don¡¯t care about that. What I do care about is helping innocent people. I may be a thief, you are right about that, but there are lines you don¡¯t cross. I¡¯m sorry James but your family will most likely be sold as slaves, I will not stand for that.¡±


    The conviction in Tayla¡¯s voice was strong enough to stop Meira in her tracks, who sat there for a few seconds as they looked at each other, one processing what she just heard, the other daring anyone to refute her right to come along. In the end Meira closed her mouth that had been hanging open, determination set in her eyes, and she gave a nod.


    Turning back to James it was Tayla¡¯s turn. ¡°Do you have any clue as to where the bandits camp would be?¡±


    Shaking his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know where exactly the camp is, I do know that the bandits came from the south and then took off back to the south, so somewhere over there I would guess.¡±


    By this time the server came back to the table with food and drink for the kid. The taproom had been quiet throughout the entire story. Looking around there were many people who were sitting there looking and straining their ears to try and eavesdrop on the conversation at the table.


    James attacked his food with wild abandon scarfing it down as quickly as he could. Once he was finished he took a long drink from his cup draining it. Setting the cup down he stood. ¡°So let''s get going.¡±


    Meira put her hand on James¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Hold on, we can¡¯t rush off just yet. For one the suns are down so the front gate is closed, we won¡¯t be able to leave town until the sun rises in the morning. So we have some rooms, and you looked like you couldn¡¯t last on your feet a minute longer. We will leave in the morning, we have some things that need to be organized first. Alaric, would you go down to the gate and see if you can get us horses. Bjorn I want you to go into town and see if you can find anything else that would be useful for us. Tayla, since you are coming with us you need to be ready by the morning. I am going to go down to the guardhouse and let them know the situation and see if they can do anything.¡±


    James looked like he was going to protest. But the calm nature and unwavering command in Meira¡¯s voice stopped any arguments dead in its tracks. With nods of agreement they all split and went their separate ways. Bjorn went into the city trying to find an apothecary. Alaric went down to the gate to find them mounts. Meira took James upstairs, and Tayla wandered off as soon as she got outside of the door.


    Running through the streets Bjorn stopped occasionally to get directions to an apothecary. Once he was directed to it the front door was closed up tight. It took well over 10 minutes of banging on the door before a tall thin man answered the door with an annoyed look on his face. After Bjorn¡¯s quick and dirty description of the situation the look of annoyance left and one of concern replaced it. Bjorn quickly purchased a few health, stamina and mana potions, that when he identified them they were labeled as weak potions. The weak potions were still strong enough to do their job. He purchased herbs that would be useful for making other potions and medicines. He even purchased the recipes for weak health stamina and mana potions that took local ingredients. Lastly he bought a few vials of a weak poison. The entire lot cost him 2 and a half gold and a few coppers. The man didn¡¯t try to haggle and neither did Bjorn.


    With his purse considerably lighter he stuffed all of his purchases into his portable pocket and started to head back to the inn. Once he returned the taproom was considerably quieter, most of the patrons had filtered out. Pearal was behind the bar. ¡°You are the first one back.¡±


    Nodding in acknowledgement Bjorn headed over to the bar. ¡°We will need food and drink for at least a week of travel.¡± Before he had even finished speaking Pearal had set a bag on the counter that was bulging with foodstuffs.


    ¡°I already took the liberty to get you food that would keep on the road. Inside there are apples, trail bread, dried meat, nuts, and plenty of water for your trip. Is there anything else you can think of that you''d need?¡±


    Shaking his head Bjorn reached for his purse, Pearal stopped him. ¡°I won¡¯t have any of that now, I like most of my staff and patrons overheard your conversation, you weren¡¯t really trying to keep it quiet. And what you are doing is for a good cause, I am no fighter, but I would like to do my part.¡± Pearal also reached under the counter and pulled out a purse that when dropped on the table made a satisfying clink of metal.


    The purse was full of copper coins. Taking its contents and dumping it into his portable pocket he found that the copper coins actually took up a single slot inside the pocket, looking at the slot the count was 60 coins. Looking back up at Pearal. ¡°Thank you, you are a good man. If you don¡¯t mind, I would like to stay down here and wait for the rest of my party.¡±


    ¡°You are welcome, your kind words are not lost on me. And of course you may stay down here as long as you need.¡±


    With that Pearal went back into the back room, Bjorn grabbed the sack that he set on the table and put its contents into the portable pocket. Sitting down he got ready to wait for the rest to join. Meira was the first one to return. She sat down next to Bjorn with a huff.


    ¡°I talked to the guard and let them know the situation, they said they would let their commanders know, but we shouldn¡¯t count on the help of the guard or the army. They were rather pompous and kind of blew me off after they told me that they would tell someone the issue. It was actually Manny, the kid who helped us into the city, who told me that last part. He wished he could do more but the city guard are just that, to protect the city. The Army of Escar has a garrison here,  but it¡¯s just a token force; they patrol the roads but they don¡¯t do much actual peacekeeping work. Mostly they fight monsters and creatures that threaten the safety of travelers on the road. The army sends out patrols of 10 to 15 people and has less than 100 soldiers stationed here.¡± She set her head in her hands and ran her fingers through her hair. In a quiet voice she continued. ¡°I don¡¯t know if we will be able to save them, they outnumber us almost 4 to 1 on James¡¯s low estimate.¡±


    Reaching out, Bjorn untangled one of Meira¡¯s hands from her hair and took a hold of it. ¡°I know the odds aren¡¯t in our favor, but we will try our best.¡± He squeezed her hand, she looked up and met Bjorn¡¯s eyes. He could see the faintest hint of tears in her eyes.


    ¡°Thank you Bjorn, you are right.¡± He briefly got the feeling like he should kiss her. They stayed like that for a few seconds before she pulled her hand away. ¡°Well I am going to head to bed, we will want to get up early in the morning.¡± She stood and started for the stairs. Looking back she gave Bjorn a warm smile before ascending to the second level.


    Kicking himself for not stopping her or doing anything, Bjorn sank back into his chair and waited for Alaric and Tayla. He didn¡¯t have to wait overly long 15 minutes or so later Alaric came through the door.


    ¡°Well I got us 4 horses, all with tackle. The man said he will make sure that the stable hand has the horses ready by first light. It cost us a pretty penny, it was a gold and a half each for the horses, and 25 silvers for the saddles, bags, bit and bridle. I hope he chokes on the money, he could sense my urgency and fleeced me. How did your errand go?¡±


    ¡°It went well, I¡¯ll pass stuff out on the road, and I¡¯ll see what I can make if anything, I suspect we will do some heavy riding to get there.¡±


    ¡°That we will. Have the other two made it back yet?¡±


    Bjorn quickly filled him in on what Meira had said. Which caused Alaric to spit on the ground. ¡°I would say I am surprised but honestly I¡¯m not really surprised. Government agencies are worthless.¡± After everything had been shared around they fell quiet waiting for Tayla to return. After an hour of waiting they decided to no longer wait.


    ¡°Pearal!¡± called Alaric. It wasn¡¯t Pearal who came out from the other room, it was one of his servers. Tossing the server 2 coppers. ¡°If Tayla comes back tonight, can you show her up to our room?¡±


    ¡°Sure I can do that.¡± The attractive human said. With that assertion they mounted the stairs and made their way to their room and went to bed.


    Early the next day Bjorn woke up a little groggily, opening his eyes he saw Alaric standing over him, with a devilish grin on his face. ¡°What?¡± Bjorn asked. That was when he realized there was something draped over his chest. Sitting upright he got out of bed quickly to see that Tayla had climbed into bed with him that night and was snuggled up to him.


    ¡°Gah!¡± exclaimed Bjorn. She sat up in the bed and yawned while stretching her lithe body out. ¡°Tayla, you can¡¯t just climb in bed with me.¡± She clothed in her customary outfit at this point, tight fitting simple clothes. This time though she was wearing tight leather straps that wound around her body emphasizing certain parts, but still protecting the most important parts of her body. In one of the straps other pieces of leather were used to make holding pouches for throwing knives that were easy to access as they were tied across her chest. This time she had another dagger to match the one she had the day before, and she still had her two smaller knives that crossed her back.


    Looking pointedly down at Bjorn. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like you have much to complain about.¡± That lecherous look on her face again.


    Trying to advert the attention away from his manhood Bjorn walked over to his pack and started taking items out of it and putting them into his portable pocket. After he was done he turned back to Alaric and Tayla. Both of whom were standing there with a grin on their faces as if they just played a joke on him. Which they probably had.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m going downstairs, let''s get going.¡± Bjorn said as he walked out the door, his face burning.


    Once down in the taproom both Meira and James were waiting for them. Alaric took the lead and quickly led them to the southern gate where four horses were saddled up and ready to ride. The four quickly mounted up, James rode with Alaric for the time being. They made their way to the gate and waited for the large wooden gates to swing outward. Their waiting didn¡¯t last long, within 10 minutes of waiting a large contingent of guards came out of the gatehouse to the side. Calling up there was a grinding sound as they put their shoulders against the wood and started to push. As the gate swung open a guard came up to the group.


    ¡°Papers?¡±


    With a sigh of exasperation they handed over their permits, the guard took his time looking at each one before handing them back and directing them through.


    Heading through the gate they started at a light trot before bringing it up to a canter. Knowing they would be riding all day they didn¡¯t push themselves or their horses too hard immediately. At the beginning Bjorn struggled, the ride was bumpy and jarring. Trying to move forward in the saddle didn¡¯t help, and moving back also didn¡¯t help. Over the course of an hour Bjorn had found a spot in the middle that wasn¡¯t too bad. That piece of information ended up costing him a considerably sore ass.


    Meira pulled her horse up alongside Bjorn. ¡°You dunce, stop just sitting there and use your legs.¡± Before she pulled forward again.


    Taking her words to heart Bjorn started to use his legs in the stirrups to lift and cushion his fall, so his body stayed roughly in place and the horse is the one that moved underneath him. He basically used his legs as shock absorbers while on the horse. This gained him a prompt.


    You have gained the skill: Horseback riding. Oftentimes it is required to move from place to place and you need to get to the destination fast. You have begun your journey in mastering that travel not under your own power. Master Horseback riders can ride their mounts, and make it so to the mount it doesn¡¯t feel like they are not even there.


    Once he gained the skill something in his mind just clicked and it became easier to maintain his balance and center on the horse.


    Tayla called out. ¡°Finally.¡± As she edged her horse up to a gallop quickly taking the lead. The rest of the party followed suit, and soon they were flying across the ground. The miles flew by. After another two hours of riding the road grew near to a stream. Slowing down they dismounted to let their horses get a quick drink, but also to stretch their legs. Making sure their horses didn¡¯t drink too much water James switched saddles and joined Tayla on her horse. And once again took off riding, their trip back to Lief¡¯s crossing was a long day. The entire trip they rode in silence. There was an unspoken worry that permeated the air, James wasn¡¯t forthcoming with who was killed, who was injured, and who was taken. As they rode on memories of their time with the villagers plagued everyone but Tayla, who didn¡¯t know anyone they were riding to save, kept her peace respecting the others.


    Bjorn got a few skill levels in horseback riding but he ignored them as they rode not wanting the distraction. As they rode an anger settled in Bjorn¡¯s stomach at the pure injustice of the situation, these were nice people, they didn¡¯t deserve what happened to them. But even with the anger of the injustice it was really the anger at what the bandits were doing to the people they took away. It was the anger at the thought of the kind welcoming and friendly villagers being taken advantage of, their helplessness fueled his anger. Those thoughts drove him onwards. The memory of his helplessness was like a bed of coals that got added to whenever his mind remembered. This situation lit those coals and now a raging inferno engulfed his being.


    It was late in the day when they came out of the trees and could see Lief¡¯s crossing for the first time, the small town looked decrepit. Many of its houses had either some burn damage on them, or were completely gone. The stone bridge spanning the river was intact, and on the other side the buildings were in a similar state. It was eerily quiet. Pulling their horses to a stop Bjorn dropped out of his saddle. ¡°Wait here I am going to scout.¡± As he dropped into stealth. Tayla also dropped out of her saddle and soon Bjorn lost sight of her as well. Moving slowly through the underbrush Bjorn made his way around the perimeter of the village. From his vantage he couldn¡¯t see inside the burnt out buildings, but the entire village looked dead. Making his way back to the horses Bjorn came out of stealth.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything. Let¡¯s make our way into town, I suggest we leave the horses here with James.¡± Alaric and Meira quickly dropped out of their saddles and they gave their reigns to James. Slowly moving forward with Alaric in the lead, Meira in the middle, and Bjorn in the back. They all readied their weapons. Alaric had his ax and shield held in front of him in a posture that looked relaxed. Meira held her staff in one hand, and Bjorn had his bow in his hand with an arrow nocked. Moving into town slowly they didn¡¯t see much.


    As they made their way to the bridge a snap behind them made them turn around. Behind them stood 10 people all with makeshift weapons in their hands. They stood there with threatening body language.


    One of the larger men, an elf,  who was left came forward and raised his pitchfork in the trios direction. ¡°Why did you lead the bandits to our town? And why are you back?¡±


    The vehemence in his voice took Bjorn by surprise, the last time he heard this man speak his tone was one of joviality and kindness. Alaric was the one to respond. ¡°Look Nasir, we had nothing to do with this. Aiko sent James to Vanta to get us and ask for our help.¡±


    The look of aggression on a few of the villagers'' faces turned to a look of uncertainty. Nasir didn¡¯t waver though. ¡°For over a year we haven¡¯t had any issues here, and within a week of you showing up we get attacked, slaughtered, and abducted. What are the odds of that happening? I think you told them where to find us. We took you in and helped you while you were trying to heal Meira. Why would you do this to us?¡± as he took a step towards Alaric.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Meira stepped forward and put herself between Alaric and Nasir. ¡°Look Nasir, there has been a misunderstanding, why don¡¯t we just drop our weapons and talk about this like civilized people.¡± Kneeling she softly put her staff on the ground and raised both of her hands standing up.


    Her actions further brought the villagers to her side. From where she stood she could see a few starting to nod, that was when Tayla made her move. Dropping from stealth she had a dagger to the neck of the woman off to Nasir¡¯s right. ¡°Drop your weapons.¡± She called.


    This did not help at all, For a second Nasir stood there before making up his mind, he charged towards Alaric, pitchfork leading the charge. Resolutely he directed Meira to stand behind him with his ax head before setting his stance and raising his shield. Nasir¡¯s pitchfork was aimed right for the center of Alaric¡¯s chest. Angling his shield the pitchfork glanced easily off his shield and continued upwards over Alaric¡¯s head. Stepping forward inside the range of the pitchfork Alaric stomped down hard right on Nasir¡¯s foot. Nasir doubled over as he dropped his pitchfork and reached for his now injured foot. As his face was going down it met the flat side of Alaric¡¯s ax on its way up. The combined momentum of Nasir¡¯s face and Alaric¡¯s ax was enough for a crunch to sound, as all of that momentum was focused on Nasir¡¯s nose. Causing him to stand up right and reel backwards. Unfortunately for Nasir Alaric¡¯s foot was still planted firmly on Nasir¡¯s, and so he fell backwards not able to take a step back to stabilize himself.


    Looking around at the villagers he saw that the rest of them had more sense than Nasir did, and had stood down. Meira¡¯s face grew red. ¡°Tayla, let her go. We are here to help, not hurt.¡±


    Seeing Meira¡¯s reaction, Tayla let the woman go and the dagger in her hand quickly disappeared. ¡°Sorry¡± she said before slinking over to the rest of the group.


    ¡°Alright, obviously the situation is tense, let''s all calm down and talk about it rationally. Tayla, would you be so kind to go and grab James.¡± Bjorn walked over to the now unconscious Nasir and took a look at his face, his nose was broken, causing it to sit cockeyed on his face. Placing a finger on either side of the break he quickly applied pressure on either side. There was a soft crunch as his nose sat back in place. The action was enough to return the unconscious man to the awakened world.


    Still a little groggy, Bjorn got Nasir into a seated position before pulling out a healing herb from his pocket. Forcing Nasir¡¯s mouth open he stuck the herb in and closed it. Barking a command. ¡°Chew this and swallow.¡± before barking and pointing at another villager. ¡°You go find Nasir a chair to sit on, he will want to sit for a bit before his head clears. And you!¡± He pointed to another villager. ¡°Give us a run down on who died, who is injured, where they are, and where you think the bandits are. Go!¡±


    The girl he pointed to was one of the women Bjorn hadn¡¯t really talked to while they stayed here. She was a young girl around maybe 17 or 18. She spent most of her time in the fields with her father. The news was not good news, out of the 52 villagers who inhabited Lief¡¯s crossing, 11 had died. 16 were abducted. 8 more were injured, 3 of whom wouldn¡¯t likely recover. Leaving 17 alive and unhurt, 4 of which were children too young to do anything of use, and 3 were elderly who also couldn¡¯t do much to help. That meant that the 10 who stood up to the party when they made it to town were the only ones healthy enough to do anything. They were keeping the injured in Aiko¡¯s house. Aiko herself was taken by the bandits. Halfway through the rundown James had entered town with the horses in tow. When the villagers laid eyes on him they all visibly relaxed just a little bit.


    ¡°Show me.¡± Bjorn commanded the girl. She took him to Aiko¡¯s house, inside the first room was one of the elderly women who was keeping an eye on the wounded. The room was crowded by the 5 people who were wounded. They sported bandages that covered parts of their bodies that were blood soaked. Most were on non life threatening parts, one guy had a bandage around his head. ¡°Take me to the most wounded.¡± So they took him into Aiko¡¯s bedroom. Inside were the last three. One he had a gash in his belly and his intestines were hanging out. Another had a large cavity in his chest where ribs were supposed to protect the vital organs that were actually caved in. The last one had lost an arm and was still slowly losing blood.


    Quickly moving to the man with the lost arm, he knelt down and pulled a healing potion from his bag, uncorking it he poured it into the man¡¯s mouth and got him to swallow it. His pale complexion started to go away as he started to regain some color. Moving on to the next guy with the caved in chest he debated on what to do. Not being any real healer he moved on to the last person, the one with the intestines hanging out. Not knowing what to do he just moved. Grabbing ahold of the intestines he started trying to put them back into the wound. Once they all were inside he turned to the old woman. ¡°I need a needle and thread, and I need it now.¡± She turned around and left the room, less than 10 seconds later she reentered the room and handed over a needle and thread.


    Turning towards the girl who stood there wide eyed and had the same pale complexion the armless guy had. He said. ¡°You can leave, I am going to sew him back together and you don¡¯t want to watch this.¡± She turned and fled the room. Looking at the old lady she set her jaw. ¡°Alright then.¡± Threading the needle he tied a knot in the end of the thread and quickly started pulling the skin on the belly back together. Once he was done he pulled another potion from his inventory and poured it down the man¡¯s throat before standing.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know what I can do to save that one.¡± He said as he pointed to the man with the caved in chest. ¡°And there is no guarantee that this one will survive.¡± Pointing at the man who¡¯s belly was cut open.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. You did more than I could have. Even if one of them lives, you did good work.¡± When he first entered the room the only one who was making any sort of sound was the one with the crushed chest. A wet sucking sound was all that could be heard from his corner. The sound grew weaker as Bjorn had done his work. There wasn¡¯t much sound at that point.


    Looking at the old woman she just nodded. Stealing his resolve he walked over to the man, drew his dagger, and then plunged it into his side. It sank in easily all the way to the hilt. The blade punctured his heart and the sound stopped.


    Bjorn stayed there and his head sunk until it was sitting on the man he just killed, and he cried. A prompt popped up in front of his eyes.


    For your part in slaying level 6 Human Male you have been awarded 190 (base 152) xp.


    Level up! You are now level 14, you have 6 attribute points to distribute.


    A small part of Bjorn broke at that. He just laid there and cried for over an hour. What got him out of his slump was a weak voice behind him. Turning around it was the man who had lost his arm. Walking over to him he looked at the stump. The cloth wasn¡¯t slowly dripping blood anymore. Taking a bit of a gamble he started to unwarp the stump, what greeted him underneath was a scabbed over stump. ¡°It¡¯s alright, don''t move.¡± Bjorn said to the guy who looked back at him and nodded before slumping back to the floor.


    Clearing his head he left Aiko¡¯s house, by this time the villagers and the rest of his party had made a small camp of sorts. Walking over to it they were all around a fire. Meira was the one who looked at Bjorn. ¡°Will they make it?¡± she asked as she handed over a bowl of food.


    ¡°Out of the 8, one of them already died, the other two more seriously wounded will make it, and the other 5 have nothing life threatening.¡± Taking a seat he started to eat as the camp conversed about what happened.


    ¡°They took most of our food stuff, luckily for us it is mid summer and we hadn¡¯t taken in the crops yet, so we didn¡¯t have much to begin with. It will be hard between now and harvest, but once we get to harvest it should be easy.¡± The lady that Tayla had put her dagger to earlier said.


    ¡°If we can get the rest of your people back we will also get you your food.¡± It grew quiet for a moment after what Meira said.


    ¡°What is your plan to do that?¡±


    Alaric shifted from his seated position, pulling a rock out from underneath his butt, and threw it away. ¡°In the morning we will start searching for the bandits camp. James said they walked back into the forest to the south. The way I figure it, a large group of people moving through the woods will leave some sort of trail for us to follow. You all know this area better than we do. If we could get one of you to join us as a guide that would be greatly appreciated.¡±


    Nasir stirred from where he sat with his head leaned back. ¡°I can go with you.¡±


    ¡°Ha! Fat chance of that, with your nose in such a state you''re more likely to spot a bird than you would a path for us to follow.¡±


    Nasir started to protest but the woman cut him off. ¡°He is right Nasir, relax it would be better if you were here to help organize the cleanup and rebuilding of the village. Everyone here knows you are a better builder than you are a tracker.¡± Her words mollified him and he settled back. ¡°Kallie, on the other hand, is one of our best woods women.¡± As she gestured to the young girl that Bjorn bossed around earlier. ¡°Don¡¯t let her age fool you, she has soft footfalls in the woods, and seems to be able to find a trail that is weeks old. She can even take my hunting bow, she is a fair shot with it.¡±


    After a few minutes of sitting Meira spoke up. ¡°You are welcome to join us if you want Kallie. I trust the words of your fellow villagers. We would welcome your help in retrieving your friends.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for taking me with you.¡± She said with a small curtsy. ¡°I won¡¯t let you down.¡±


    ¡°My only concern.¡± Spoke up Tayla, ¡°Is that what we are going to do is not going to be a pretty thing. We will kill, maim, and probably torture the men who did this to you. Do you have the stomach for it?¡±


    Kallie made eye contact and held it with Tayla. ¡°I am willing to do whatever and see whatever it takes to bring my friends and family home. I have no doubt that I would be among the prisoners if I hadn¡¯t been foraging in the woods. If you will let me, I will be the one doing the killing, maiming, and torturing.¡± The unwavering gaze throughout her speech convinced Tayla that she would, and could handle it.


    ¡°Alright, If some of you could, we should set up some sort of perimeter tonight.¡±


    A few of the villagers volunteered for watch duty tonight. Kallie piped up. ¡°What about the army of Escar, or the guards in Vanta? Is there a chance we get help from them?¡±


    Shaking her head, ¡°There is little chance of that, the guard itself doesn¡¯t leave the city, they are glorified peacekeepers. As for the army, I have it on good authority that they likely won''t help.¡±


    Her statement made a low grumble pass through the assembled people. ¡°What''s the point of us paying taxes if we don¡¯t get defended by the kingdom?¡± One of the people who volunteered for watch detail said.


    ¡°I am on your side here.¡± Said Alaric. ¡°Bloody dirty greedy officials. If they could find a way I have no doubt they would try and extort money from the dead.¡±


    ¡°They do.¡± Said Meira. ¡°At least in most places I¡¯ve been. There is a death tax.¡± More grumbles passed through the assorted races.


    ¡°Well,¡± She continued. ¡°I for one am tired from riding today, I will head to bed.¡± As she stood up there was a chorus of agreements as others stood to get ready for the night. Meira walked over to where Bjorn sat. ¡°Are you alright? You didn¡¯t have anything to add to that discussion, and earlier I could hear the anger in your voice when we made it to town. Both are not like you.¡±


    It was a long moment before he replied. ¡°I will be fine. I have work to do tonight, make sure that no one puts out the fire.¡±


    Meira stood there for a moment looking down at Bjorn. ¡°Alright, try and get some sleep tonight, I worry for you, I am here for you. We have another long day ahead of us tomorrow.¡± A grunt was all she got in reply. As she walked away what Bjorn didn¡¯t see was the concerned look on Meira¡¯s face.


    That night Bjorn spent his time brewing more potions, before he left Vanta he was able to get 5 healing potions. With two of the weaker ones already used he wanted to make more. As he set up his alchemy kit by the fire people started to trickle out in ones and twos. Tayla was the last one to leave the fire. She sat by Bjorn as he worked brewing potions. She didn¡¯t try to engage Bjorn, instead just sat in companionable silence. Eventually she too left the campfire. Once again alone Bjorn lost track of time in his brewing. The entire time he was trying to craft his healing potions he continued downwards that dark hole. Picturing the screams, the horror on everyone¡¯s faces as they watched their loved ones be cut down right in front of them. As the pictures just played again and again in his head the grew angrier and angrier, until there was no anger left, only resolve.


    Congratulations you have uncovered one of the core tenets of your being. Not many people ever get to know themselves well enough to uncover a tenet. That tenet is vindictive. You see the injustice of the world and it doesn¡¯t sit right with you. So instead of letting the injustice go unanswered you have to do something about it. You will do anything to get the revenge you think you deserve. You gain an additional 15% damage against someone who has hurt you or someone you care about in the last 10 seconds. If that loved one is killed this damage is increased to 25% to that person or thing until they are killed. Additionally when this 25% is in effect, you deal 10% less damage to anyone or anything not involved with their deaths. This effect only will trigger if you know who it was that is responsible for the death.


    Bjorn read through the prompt in front of him multiple times, letting it sink in, and then read it again. Instead of dismissing it he left it open so he could read it whenever he wanted while he worked on his brewing. Which had success. He ended up brewing 3 more healing potions.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Passable Healing potion


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Common


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: .7 lbs


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    This healing potion when ingested will prove the imbiber with 61 hp over 15 seconds.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Bjorn used the potion recipe he got from the apothecary, it took some expensive herbs to make, and the recipe said it could make up to 10 doses at once. The man warned Bjorn about doing so. The more skilled the alchemist the easier time they had increasing the size of their batches. As the batch size grew the difficulty actually grew exponentially, and Bjorn was glad he decided to only do 3, as towards the end the brew got a little out of hand. Luckily due to Bjorn¡¯s level 10 perk he was able to save the brew and bring it to a success in the end. But that failure weakened the potency of the end product.


    When Bjorn was finished with his potions he quickly decanted them into vials and then packed up his supplies. It was well into the night when Bjorn finished his brewing. Dowsing the fire he unpacked his bedroll and laid down to sleep.


    The next morning this time it was Meira who woke Bjorn up. ¡°I see you did get some sleep.¡± She said in a low tone.


    ¡°Just a wink.¡± Looking at his internal clock he had gotten 4 hours, if he was on earth time he would be fine, but here in the Eld he probably had a good 24 to 28 hours ahead of him before he was able to get sleep again. Still tired and a little groggy he finished packing up his roll. By the time he was finished it was still just Meira and Bjorn. Grabbing her by the arm he pulled her toward him so he could speak in her ear. An involuntary gasp escaped her lips before she could help herself.


    Realizing his mistake he let go of her arm. ¡°Sorry.¡± He said in a tone that matched her earlier speech. ¡°I just wanted to give you these.¡± Bjorn pulled 2 of his best healing potions, 2 of the 4 mana potions, and 1 of the mana potions and handed them over. When she felt the cold of the glass in her hand she relaxed and her eyes softened.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± She said after stowing the potions they both stood there close to each other. She reached out and took ahold of Bjorn¡¯s hand causing him to look up into her eyes. ¡°I am serious Bjorn, you aren¡¯t quite being yourself. If you want to decompress, let me know.¡±


    Tayla came slowly walking into the campsite. ¡°Morning.¡± She said as she slowly walked through, heading for the river. As she was walking right past the two of them she looked at their hands, made eye contact with Bjorn and gave him a rye smile.


    They quickly broke contact and stood there not looking at each other. It was Bjorn who made the first move. ¡°Well let''s get Alaric and Kallie.¡± Bjorn went one way and Meira the other without another word to each other. After they were all up and around the remains of the fire from last night, Bjorn passed around the remaining potions. Everyone including Kallie got a health and stamina potion, he kept the two mana potions for himself. After everyone was sure they were ready they took off heading south.


    It was fairly easy to find a trail and follow it to the south. As they guessed it was fairly easy to track the large group that passed through the forest. Kallie was as skilled a woods woman as the town said she would be. Throughout the day she corrected their path multiple times, and even directed them around larger issues. She would stop them and make them wait as bears, or trolls would pass along their path. She even had them skirt around a stone golem that was sitting in the middle of a clearing.


    Early in the day she showed the group what they were looking for and what exactly a sign of people traveling through the woods would look like. She was very thorough. ¡°That.¡± She said as she pointed at a piece of moss on a rock. ¡°Was disturbed by the passing of people. If you look closely you can see where the underside of the moss is a different color from the top.¡± When she pointed that out Bjorn got another prompt.


    You have gained the skill: Tracking. You have started to learn how to follow those who don¡¯t want you to. Every creature leaves some sign of its passing as it moves through the world. You have started to learn and recognize these signs. It is rumored that masters of this skill can even track a bird as it flies through the air. Although, I doubt you will ever even get close to that.


    Once he finished reading the prompt the forest around him took on a different color as paths started to glow slightly in his vision. Checking with Kallie, Bjorn learned that the colors designated the different types of animals, and the brightness of the glow determined how long ago the creature passed along the path. The artificial help with the tracking helped. But apparently it was rather unreliable at the beginning, as he got better, and gained more skill levels in tracking the artificial help would get more and more reliable.


    Once again it took the better part of the day to travel through the forest. As it was nearing evening Kallie came back to the procession. ¡°I killed a man.¡± she stated calmly. Taking a moment to look her over, her build was leaner, but at the same time she had grown taller, and filled in with taut muscle. Using his identify on Kallie.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Kallie Kamps


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf, Half-Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 6


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Half races are an oddity in the Eld. Sometimes they get the racial traits of one parent, sometimes both.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°I believe you.¡± Said Bjorn, he couldn¡¯t help shake how different her appearance was, he had just seen her less than 15 minutes ago. ¡°Magic.¡± Bjorn thought to himself as she shook his head.


    ¡°Where was he? What race was he? Do you think he was a scout? Were you spotted?¡± asked Alaric in a quiet voice in rapid succession.


    ¡°Just up that hill. Human. Yes. And no.¡± She replied just as fast as Alaric had asked. ¡°Follow me, and try to be as quiet as you possibly can.¡± She quietly and quickly made her way up the small hill she had indicated earlier. The others of the group followed along behind at a close distance. Cresting the hill they got a good look at the man Kallie had killed. He had a well built frame, and looked to be in his middle years. He was armed with a bow and a dagger, with no real armor to speak of, just a thin cloth shirt. An arrow was sticking out of the side of his neck. The other thing that they noticed was the small ruined castle in the clearing below the hill they stood on. With men patrolling the broken walls.


    ¡°I think we found them.¡± Said Tayla.


    (If you don¡¯t care you may skip to the next part.)


    You have advanced your skill level in trade, reaching skill level 10. Items you buy and sell prices will be 5% more in your favor, this also includes bartering.


    Congratulations by reaching the novice threshold in Trade you gain a perk! This perk will work in tandem with your ability. When you identify items you will be given a rough value of the item.


    You have advanced your skill level in Horseback Riding, reaching skill level 3. You decrease the rate at which your mount''s stamina will decrease by 3%.


    You have advanced your skill level in healing, reaching skill level 4. Wounds you treat will heal 5% faster.


    You have advanced your skill level in alchemy, reaching skill level 14. Potions you make will be 14% increased effect and 28% increased duration of effect.


    You have advanced your skill level in alchemy, reaching skill level 13. Potions you make will be 13% increased effect and 26% increased duration of effect.


    You have advanced your skill level in tracking, reaching skill level 2. The tracks that creatures leave as they travel through the world make just a little more sense to you.

 Chapter 18

    ¡°I think you might be onto something.¡± Replied Bjorn. His comment gained him a slight glare, but he paid it no mind. His mind went other directions. To call the building in front of them a castle wasn¡¯t entirely correct. It was more like a stone fort. It had low stone walls around it each no taller than 10 feet tall. With his body being enhanced over what his human body could do back on earth Bjorn could easily get to the height to grab ahold of the lip of the stone wall. From their slightly elevated position he could see that the walls had crenellations only on the outside of the wall. So if they took the wall there would be no cover from down in the yard. The walls themselves were crumbling, it looked like there were 3 sections where the walls had collapsed and gave easy access to the interior of the compound. Unfortunately the bandits seemed to have piled stone in two of the entrances to make it harder to gain access. The compound itself was located in a large clearing in the forest, with small hills surrounding the entire clearing.


    There were different levels to the wall, the 10 foot section and another that was around 15 feet tall. The lower section held 6 different buildings. They couldn¡¯t see into the taller section, but from where they stood they could see a roof of a building that was tall enough to be taller than the upper section of stone. There only seemed to be one entrance into the taller section, and it was only accessible from the inner courtyard.


    There were no signs of any of the villagers. From what they could see on the walls of the compound there were 18 bandits patrolling the walls. If they were any good there would be another 4 or 5 bandits as scouts outside of the walls.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s make a plan.¡± Bjorn said. ¡°First things first, we should scout around the perimeter and make sure there aren¡¯t any more scouts around.¡±


    ¡°Consider that done.¡± Tayla said. ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem for me.¡±


    ¡°Would you like some help?¡± Asked Kallie.


    The question made Tayla shake her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Kallie, you are well on your way to being able to hold your own. But in this case you would just slow me down, and be more of a risk than an asset. I appreciate the offer, but I got this.¡±


    ¡°Alright, with that taken care of, we should come up with a plan in case something happens and Tayla gets spotted.¡± Meira picked up where Bjorn left off. Her comment brought a snort from the tiefling. With a look of annoyance Meira continued. ¡°Anyways, I think it would be best for us if we retreated and regrouped. We are not in a position currently to fight the 18 bandits they have on the walls, let alone however many there are left inside. Tayla if you could it would be great if you could bring one back alive, if you can¡¯t though, don¡¯t worry too much about it.¡±


    ¡°That is a good idea, we should be able to find some useful things out of one if I can, if I can¡¯t capture one without raising the alarm I will do so.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I think I have something that could help with that.¡± Bjorn pulled out a vial and threw it over to Tayla. That is the paralyzing poison, I picked it up from the apothecary before leaving Vanta.¡±


    Meira looked at Bjorn. ¡°Why would an apothecary sell poisons? And to top it off, why would you ask for a poison of that sort, or why would you buy one.¡±


    ¡°It is actually surprising how close a medicine is to a poison. Most medicines are actually poison, just in small enough doses to not cause harm. As to why I would buy such a poison, I would think that is obvious. Just in case we find ourselves in a situation just like this.¡±


    Alaric couldn¡¯t help himself and leaned in. ¡°I think he was going to use it on Tayla tonight. That way he wouldn¡¯t have to listen to her babble, or worry about waking up next to her again.¡±


    Meira¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly at Alaric¡¯s comment, and Tayla grew her customary shade of red at this point. ¡°I think it would be best if something happens, we meet at the clearing where we ran into that golem earlier.¡± Meira continued pretending that Alaric hadn¡¯t just butted in.


    ¡°Nice and tactful.¡± Alaric commented. His comments earned him a swat from Meira. Chuckling to himself he moved out of easy striking distance.


    Nodding, ¡°Let¡¯s start there, Tayla go do your work. If the alarm is raised we will harass them and retreat back into the woods.¡±


    The tiefling got a bloodthirsty smile and as they were watching her she took a few steps back into the foliage of the surrounding forest and then she disappeared. With nothing else to do so far they settled down to wait.


    Not wanting to sit by idle, Bjorn pulled up his character screen. With his 6 free points to do with as he wished Bjorn decided to put 3 into agility, and 1 point into constitution, dexterity, and charisma. While waiting they also stripped the dead bandit of his gear, all of which went into the portable pocket, they then pulled the dead body down the hill and hid it among some bushes.


    It took Tayla three quarters of an hour to finish her task and then make it back to the group. ¡°There were only 3 of them, I killed two, and as I was moving in to take the last one he turned around. Making a snap decision I killed him instead of trying to catch him and keep him alive. Oh and I think I found us a better vantage point. So if you would be so kind and follow me.¡±


    They followed Tayla around the outside of the clearing and to a hill almost directly across from where they first laid eyes on the stone fort. This hill was slightly taller, at the apex of the hill there was a large Boulder there. It was tall enough that they had to boost Tayla up. After she was up there she called down. ¡°Come up here.¡± It took some work, but they were able to get everyone on top of the rock. It had a flat surface at the top with enough room that all 5 could lay down with no issues.


    From their new vantage point they had a good view of the rest of the compound. Inside the taller section there were a bunch of cages that they could tell held the villagers. They could see another 6 bandits standing guard around the cages. There was only the one building in the taller section of wall, but the building looked to be excessively large. It was easily 4 stories tall.


    ¡°That makes 24 bandits, I bet there are easily double that many inside the buildings. I don''t think we have a chance in a straight fight.¡± Bjorn said with a look of consternation on his face. ¡°I still think we need to do something.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡± Said Meira, ¡°I think our best chance is to attack tonight and try to smuggle the villagers out.¡±


    ¡°Yeah but look at their defenses, we have a better chance sneaking into the king''s bedchambers.¡± Replied Alaric.


    They spend an hour talking and hashing out a plan of attack. As they neared a solid plan there was a commotion down in the camp. The suns were right on the horizon when the commotion started. A group of three bandits left the large building and started making their way towards the cages. From where they lay they could hear voices drifting up from the fort, but they couldn''t really make out what was being said. The guards ended up opening up a cage and went inside, soon they came back out with a person in tow. It was a little hard to make out from where they lay but it was pretty obvious it was Aiko. It would be hard to miss the ears on the top of her head.


    ¡°That''s Aiko.¡± Kallie said through her clenched teeth.


    The bandits stayed there talking to her for a brief bit before the trio who started the commotion grabbed her roughly and tied her hands together before starting to head through the inner section heading for the outer section. By this time the suns had fully gone down and the bandits lit torches and placed them all over the compound. They were making their way towards a building that they hadn''t seen anyone go into or out of in all of their time watching. When they got to the door the bandit standing behind Aiko pulled her close to his chest before groping her chest quite violently, and then pushing her through the door.


    With steel in his voice, ¡°I think they mean to rape her.¡± Said Alaric.


    Alaric¡¯s words reignited the fire in Bjorn¡¯s belly. ¡°We can¡¯t let that happen, we have to go now.¡±


    Kallie put out her hand. ¡°We have to wait.¡± Her assertion drew a look from all of the party.


    ¡°Why would we wait?¡± Bjorn said testily.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t asked you for much since I have joined you. But I am telling you now, we have to wait. We can get into position but we need to wait at least 40 minutes.¡±


    Her request made Bjorn¡¯s blood boil. ¡°You are young, I don¡¯t think you know what exactly it means to be raped.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Bjorn, you are wrong. I am a woman. We understand, we all understand. Aiko is a strong woman and she will be fine, but if we make our move now we will likely all die. We have to wait.¡±


    Meira put her hand out. ¡°Bjorn, you need to calm down. She is right, we all know what it means. And if she is insistent that we need to wait. I am willing to trust her, if you won¡¯t trust her, at least trust me. Please.¡±


    ¡°Alright, if you trust her, I am willing to trust as well. So we have 40 minutes. We should get into position, and, slight change of plans, we need to get Aiko first.¡± Everyone nodded in agreement. Backing slowly up they shimmied their way down the rock. Making their way slowly through the surrounding woods and back to the north side of the fort, right by where there was a section of destroyed wall. They laid in wait.


    In those 40 minutes nothing had changed in the guards patrolling the walls. The section that they were at was the least well guarded section, it was on the north eastern side of the fort. There was only one guy who got close to the crumbled section. The other two broken wall pieces were closer to the raised section of wall, making it more likely for them to be spotted when scaling those sections. So they lay there in wait.


    At 5 minutes before the agreed upon time both Bjorn and Kallie started to creep they way closer to their chosen point of attack. The guards had torches in their hands, which helped them see in the night and illuminate anything. But at the same time it was actually a hindrance. The light from the torches destroyed their night vision and it made it almost near impossible for Bjorn and Kallie to be spotted in the night. They crept to within 100 feet of the guards patrol path, and waited for him to make his way back over. Once there they prepared their bows and waited.


    They didn¡¯t have to wait long, for they timed them getting in place perfectly. As soon as they both had their bows nocked and ready for the man to come back he made it to their section on the wall. His slow walk brought him to the edge of the wall, and he stopped. Before he turned around to make his way back, he stopped and leaned over the edge of the wall looking down into the dark. Using his torch he brought it over the crenellations. Bjorn and Kallie drew their bow back at the same time and both took aim.


    Bjorn barely breathed out, ¡°Now.¡± As they both let go of their arrows, and they streaked away in the dark. Both arrows flew true and struck the man, one in the chest, and one in the throat.


    For your part in slaying level 11 Half-Orc Bandit you have been awarded 446 (base 357) xp.


    As the man jerked backwards from getting hit by two arrows a dark form pulled itself onto the top of the wall and quickly ran to the orc. The form caught the torch from his hand and let the body finish falling to the ground. It slowly started to walk across the wall as the sentry had. Bjorn held his breath for a few moments expecting to hear cries of alarm. Luckily for them none came.


    Meira and Alaric came out of the dark moving slowly towards their ticket into the fort. He and Kallie joined them as they made their way to the base of the wall. As quietly as they could they started to scale their way up the piled crumbled stone. Once they pulled themselves up the section of wall they quickly made their way down into the lower courtyard. Where they stood there was no one, so they made their way over to the closest building as quietly as possible. From there it was easy to make it to the building they were heading to. It was only 2 buildings down.


    As they made their way from the first building to the second one Kallie froze in place. A look of pure terror and pain crossed her face. ¡°Time is up. Get there now.¡± She went from a hunched position to one where her back was arched to an unhealthy degree. There was a crunch as her arm moved, her skin started to roll as what was underneath started to reposition itself. ¡°GO!¡± She screamed at them.


    Not knowing what to make of this the remaining three friends all looked at each other before Bjorn and Meira ran towards the building they were aiming for. Alaric stayed behind with Kallie.


    On the run to the front of the house Bjorn stored his bow and drew his sword. Throwing open the door, there were shelves and shelves of flour, cheeses, and dried meats. Quickly moving inside and in-between the shelves they made their way to the back of the building. Halfway through the building the exact same crunching and popping sound that they heard from Kallie also came from the back of the building. Rushing the rest of the way, after the shelves was a small open area. The three men were all standing there with looks of horror on their faces as Aiko was writhing around on the ground, accompanied by the crunching and popping. It wasn''t just her moving her body around with her mouth open in a silent scream. It was her body actually also writhing, her arm way around 6 inches out of place, her shins had snapped and both of her feet were hanging forward at roughly the same degree. As they watched, fur started to sprout from her body in places where hair had no right being.


    Wrenching his eyes away from the horrid scene in front of him Bjorn maneuvered behind one of the men, the one who had his pants down around his ankles and was standing closest to Aiko''s body. Grabbing the man by the throat Bjorn thrust his sword through the man''s back, using his grip on the man as leverage. With the leverage and the force he stabbed with the sword easily penetrated the man''s body and stuck out the far side. Bjorn''s thrust ran right through the center of his back as the tip severed his spinal cord. All of a sudden Bjorn''s sword grew heavy as the man''s legs gave out and he collapsed paralyzed from the legs down. Out of the fight, but not dead. Dropping his sword, Bjorn pulled out his dagger. The other two bandits were distracted by the scene from a horror movie that was Aiko¡¯s body and didn¡¯t react right away to their fellow bandit being attacked.


    A blue white blur came hurtling out from being Bjorn and struck one of the other bandits. It struck him right in the middle of his side, the force of it knocking him back. It was a shard of ice easily 18 inches long and 4 inches wide. As it struck the man the impact site had small tendrils of frost build up around the wound. The magic that formed the ice started to dissipate quickly and the ice shard started to shrink at a noticeable rate. As it shrunk it allowed blood to start to flow out of the wound. The impact was enough to bring the bandits'' attention to Bjorn and Meira.


    They turned towards their attackers, for one it was a little too late as another ice shard quickly followed the first one, impacting near where the first one had. As for the second one he squared up to Bjorn, set his feet and raised his hands ready to receive Bjorn. Bjorn started to move forward with the dagger held in his left hand, with his right shoulder forward he adopted a stance similar to some military stances back on earth. When they got within striking distance from each other the bandit threw out a jab aimed for Bjorn¡¯s face. Ducking under the blow he stepped in closer. Reaching for the arm he realized too late that it was a trick. The bandit didn¡¯t actually commit to the punch, instead when Bjorn stepped forward the bandit planted his foot forward and got ahold of Bjorn¡¯s knife hand.


    Bjorn tried to pull his hand free, but the bandits grip was like Iron on his wrist. That one move was all it took for Bjorn to realize that he was actually way outclassed here. Not only was he outclassed as a fighter, but also stats wise. Taking his free hand he tried to punch the bandit. Who caught the blow and using his grip stepped even closer to Bjorn and threw him to the ground, as Bjorn flew through the air he had a second to regret his life decisions before landing flat on his back. Not stopping he didn¡¯t let his momentum stop, rolling at Alaric had taught him Bjorn was back on his feet quickly. When the bandit closed the distance Bjorn was ready for him. Stepping to the side he let the bandit slide past him and let the dagger trail across his skin.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    You have cut Level 9 bandit for 17 points of slashing damage.


    Not for the first time, and likely not for the last time Bjorn swore mentally at Charon for giving him the weak demerit. This level 9 bandit had the edge on Bjorn, in terms of strength, speed, and reflexes. And on top of it all Bjorn was also a spellcaster, so he had to divert his already precious attribute points into the mental stats as well. It was a stark reminder that someone who focused would be better in their respective chosen path on the road to power. His Weak demerit would give him the same effective stat pool as a level 12 human currently. Let alone one of the other races, such as elves, who got 5 attribute points per level.


    Continuing to swear under this breath Bjorn and the bandit stood there looking at each other. His train of thought at how much of an asshole Charon was made him realize how stupid he had been, he hadn¡¯t been using part of his combat abilities. Using the same tactic he had used underground he put his free hand behind his back and started casting a spell. Starting to cast his new spell, light bolt. Behind Bjorn¡¯s back a brilliant white light started to glow behind his back. In the low light of this room it stood out like a sore thumb. The bandit, wary at what his opponent was doing, stood there in a defensive stance.


    His folly nearly undid him. Once Bjorn¡¯s spell was almost completed he brought his hand out from behind his back and said the last word of the spell. A beam of pure white light shot forth from his hand and slammed into the chest of the bandit. Which quickly turned a bright red as the skin quickly went through the stages of a sunburn. At first it was red, then the red deepened. After that the wound grew small pouches under the skin which popped releasing a white fluid which soaked through the edges of the bandits clothes. When the beam hit his chest it quickly burned through the cloth shirt that covered it.


    The damage was devastating, as the beam of light ravaged the man''s body. All of that happened in a moment. The light was there and then gone, all that was left behind was the pocked skin of the impact site. Realizing his issue the man ignored his new injury and tried to tackle Bjorn to the ground. Closing the 10 feet between them in a second he dove into Bjorn, who wasn¡¯t able to get the dagger into position fast enough. As the two of them slammed into the ground the dagger went flying as Bjorn wasn¡¯t able to keep hold of it. The bandit started to rain blows down on Bjorn, who didn¡¯t have anything he could do to defend himself. All he could do was watch his health bar quickly fall down.


    All of a sudden the weight was gone, as the bandit was pulled off of Bjorn. It was hard to see as his vision was a little burry. Bringing himself to his feet, he swiped at his eyes trying to wipe the involuntary tears from his eyes. Once fixed the scene before him was no better.


    A large furry half human half wolf stood before Bjorn with its teeth sunk into the bandit¡¯s neck. The creature was over 7 and a half feet tall, with long powerful arms. The only word that came to Bjorn¡¯s mind was ¡®Werewolf.¡¯ And so Bjorn did what any naturally curious person would do in this situation he used identify on it.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Aiko


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Common Werewolf


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 29


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 18


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Were creatures come in all shapes and sizes. As a common werewolf they turn to every full moon, and when they do so their physical powers are increased. When a common werewolf is transformed they gain 1 point in strength, constitution, and dexterity per level. This stat increase is gained on top of their normal stat pool.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    He had so many questions, but now was hardly the time or the place to ask them. He also seriously doubted that in her current state that Aiko would be able to answer them. Using her hands she pulled on the bandit that was in her mouth as she pulled backwards with her head. There was a sickening wet tearing sound as the body was pulled free from the neck. The head of the bandit lulled to the side as a large chuck was pulled from it. Aiko dropped the body and the head lay sideways on his shoulder.


    Not really knowing what to do Bjorn found Meira and put himself between the werewolf and himself. Meira whispered into his ear. ¡°That is Aiko.¡±


    Reaching behind her he groped around until his hand landed on her dagger, pulling it free he put it between himself and Aiko. ¡°I know, if she attacks me, run.¡±


    After swallowing the piece of neck that she tore off Aiko dropped down on all fours and slowly moved towards the pair. As she neared she lowered her head presenting the top of it to Bjorn. Tentatively he reached out with his free hand and set it onto Aiko¡¯s head. Feeling her relax under his hand he quickly pet her head. Lowering Meira¡¯s dagger he got out of his defensive stance. Aiko raised her head and licked Bjorn¡¯s cheek, her tongue was long and shaped just like a dog''s tongue. The lick left a long bloody streak that ran along his face.


    ¡°Gross.¡± Commented Meira. ¡°Aiko, do you understand us?¡± Her question was met with a bob of the werewolves head. ¡°I am assuming you can¡¯t talk, is that the case?¡± Another bob. ¡°Alright, we are here to help save you, there are the three of us, and a tiefling named Tayla. Are you the only werewolf in the group?¡± Before Aiko responded, Meira continued onwards. ¡°No, you can¡¯t be. I am pretty sure that Kallie had started to go through the transformation process as well. Are you all werewolves?¡± Another bob. ¡°Well I am guessing that your fellow villagers are still locked inside the cages, let¡¯s go see if we can turn the tides of our fight.¡±


    The group turned to leave. Bjorn retrieved his dagger, and went to pull his sword from the bandit, only to find him still alive. His eyes were wide and full of fear as he watched Bjorn walk towards him from where he lay on the ground. Shoving the man mostly onto his belly Bjorn slowly pulled the sword free. Letting the man roll onto his back Bjorn positioned his blade above the man¡¯s face. ¡°I should leave you here to suffer until you die, but I can¡¯t just leave you here. And that would be a waste of experience. I want you to know before you die, I am glad that I get the chance to kill you myself. You do not deserve mercy, or love. You either raped Aiko, or were going to. And for that you earned what is coming to you.¡± Taking his sword he plunged it into the bandit¡¯s neck. There was an intake of breath as the body tried to save itself. Unfortunately for the man there was a whistle as the air escaped through the hole in the side of his neck. After he pulled the sword out there was a large arterial spray of blood. Bjorn stood there and watched as the spray of blood slowly lost its pressure and turned into a trickle of blood. Bjorn watched until he got the kill notification. The entire process took less than a minute. Turning his back he followed the two women out the door.


    The entire fort was a clamor of activity shouts could be heard from the walls, and from all around them. Before they went any further Bjorn drank his one health potion, as his health was down to the halfway point. Another werewolf came loping out from where they came from, with Alaric quick on its heels.


    Not stopping as he made his way to the three. ¡°Bjorn, Meira, Kallie is a werewolf!¡±


    ¡°We know.¡± Meira called back. ¡°I think the entire village is werewolves. We need to get to the cages and free the rest, if they stay locked in there the bandits will have an easy time killing the rest we are here to save.¡± Calling out at the top of her lungs, ¡°Tayla, make your way to the cages we need to release the villagers!¡±


    An arrow came streaking out of the night barely missing all of them. Drawing his bow Bjorn followed the trajectory of the arrow and found the bandit on the wall. Nocking an arrow he drew and loosed. Also barely missing the bandit. ¡°We need to move.¡± Bjorn said as the group started towards the gate in between the lower and upper section of the fort. As they were making their way towards the gate a few of the guards on the walls noticed the group and rained arrows at the group. Most missed, Alaric intercepted a good number of arrows with his shield. Only one made it passed and found its target. The arrow struck Kallie in the side, it was enough to wound her, but not stop her. All the while Bjorn shot arrows back at the bandits, with mixed results.


    About halfway to the gate a group of 5 bandits came out of a building, all in various states of readiness. Two were fully clad in leather armor and carrying spears. Another had a shield and was carrying an ax, but just wearing his normal shirt and pants. The last two were shirtless, hair all a mess, and had a sword, and a mace each. Upon seeing the two werewolves and the three newcomers they immediately charged forward for an attack.


    Kallie and Aiko wasted no time and also rushed forward for an attack. Meeting the group head on, Alaric also rushed forward, but was noticeably slower than the women so they had already slammed into each other by the time Alaric made it to the melee. Aiko slammed into the shirtless, mace wielding human bearing him to the ground. From there it was short work for Aiko as her claws dug deep gouges in the screaming man. Not daunted by the sight before him, one of the spear wielders charged forward and stabbed Aiko with the spear. It took her high in the chest and it struck with enough force to push her backwards off of the hapless man on the ground. The sword wielder grabbed his companion and started to pull him away from the fight.


    Kallie on the other hand was a little more reserved when it came to attacking the fighters, she got engaged by the ax wielder and the other spear wielder. They were doing a good job fending Kallie off, not leaving her with an opening to grab one of them or slash at one. Each of her attacks were caught on the shield of the ax wielder. The stalemate lasted until A brief, bright flash of light arched over the ground and struck the spear wielder. Meira cast her Weak Lightning Bolt spell. As Meira started to cast her spell the air got a heavy copper taste, which got worse as the seconds moved on. When Bjorn could swear he had copper in his mouth the feeling and taste disappeared and a brief bit of lightning shot out of her hand and into the spear wielder¡¯s body.


    When Alaric made it to the chaotic melee, he charged at the man trying to pull the other bandit to safety. Seeing the charging dwarf he dropped the crying bloody man and raised his sword to meet Alaric head on. Alaric leapt forward with his ax raised, in a bid to gore the man and end the fight. Unfortunately for Alaric the sword wielder was ready for Alaric and put his sword in between both of them directly into the path of Alaric¡¯s leap. With the sword in Alaric¡¯s path he would end up impaling himself on the tip of the sword, unfortunately for the sword wielder Alaric was prepared for it and abandoned his swing and brought his shield in the path of the blade. Quiet effectively knocking the sword out of the way all while Alaric¡¯s body slammed into the sword wielder and they both tumbled to the ground. Alaric was the first to recover and used his ax to swing down to the bandit who was trying to get to his feet. The man threw himself backwards and the ax instead of killing him on the spot instead dug into the meaty part of his thigh. From there the fight was a foregone conclusion. The bandit was wounded in such a way that he lost his mobility. Alaric was just fine. In the end Alaric killed both bandits, but not before the sword wielder was able to get a lucky strike on Alaric leaving a gash on his arm.


    Aiko howled in pain as the spear tip dug into her flesh, the spear wielder did not stop moving forward, he continued to push his spear into Aiko¡¯s flesh forcing her backwards until she lost her balance and fell backwards to the ground. Not wasting the opportunity he put pressure onto the spear and held the werewolf on the ground. He was ruthless, and entirely focused on Aiko, not noticing the rapidly deteriorating situation for him and his bandits, he just kept pushing into Aiko, as the spear tip also continued to sink into her flesh. That was until an arrow came streaking out of the night and slammed into the side of his head, and went limp. Without the strength behind the spear Aiko was able to tear it out roughly from her body and free herself. Bringing herself back to her feet she took a moment, standing there breathing roughly before she dove forward and latched onto the leg of the ax wielder.


    Screaming out in pain he tried to drop to his knees, but the strength of Aiko¡¯s bite onto his calf held that leg in place. Instead it looked like his free leg buckled and he fell to the side. Kallie lunged at the man, who in his pain dropped both the shield and the ax unintentionally, now disarmed he raised his arm to put in-between Kallie¡¯s mouth and his throat. Biting down she latched herself onto his right arm and began to pull. Aiko also started to pull. Their combined strength and pulling power was too much for the bandit to handle, and something gave. It was his shoulder, as his humerus came free of the socket the muscle that connected his arm to his shoulder was all that held the arm to the body. Soon that too wasn''t enough as there was a tearing sound and the arm pulled free of his body. The man¡¯s screams of pain didn¡¯t last long as Kallie went in and clamped down on his throat, silencing him forever.


    During this entire confrontation, which had lasted less than a minute at this time Bjorn continued to shoot arrows at the bandits on the walls. Luckily for him he had a stock of over 100 arrows in his portable pocket. But with his attempts to keep the archers from hitting the group he had burned through over half of his arrows. He was entirely focused on the archers, trusting in his companions to handle the group that blocked their path. That was until he heard a dog sounding whimper, looking briefly he saw the werewolf that was Aiko pinned to the ground with a spear protruding from her body. This angered him. Turning he drew an arrow and launched it at the man. His aim was true, and with the spear wielder towering over the stationary werewolf the arrow caught him in the side of the head, right by the temple. Causing him to go limp, not dwelling on Aiko, Bjorn turned back to the bandits on the walls and kept shooting.


    Meira for her part continued to rain hell down on the spear wielder who had engaged Kallie, she continued to alternate between Ice shard and Weak Lightning bolt. Each time the lightning bolt struck it would stun the bandit as the electricity would go coursing through his body leaving him wide open to the follow up Ice shard. It didn¡¯t take long for the man to succumb to the barrage of magical spells. Meira burned through hundreds of Mana points, but in the end she was the only one who had an easy time with her opponent.


    After the sounds of death subsided Bjorn spared a quick glance to the battle on their path, seeing that it was finished he yelled. ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡± And the group continued onwards. As Bjorn continued his barrage onto the walls he hadn¡¯t quite thought about it, but most of the arrows were coming from one side of the wall. If he wasn¡¯t so focused he would have noticed that Tayla was making her presence known and making her way along the wall killing the archers that were behind the group. For her the work was easy, she would stealth, slink towards the unwitting archers and sneak up behind them. From there she would quickly dispatch them with either slitting their throats, or with a stab to their back. Before dropping into stealth again and moving onwards. She had killed 4 of the defenders before one of the bandits noticed and brought her to attention to the rest. From there she had a harder time making her way along the wall. But she still did her job admirably, because of her they only had to worry about arrows coming from two directions. One was the opposite wall, and another was the archers on the wall in front of them.


    It didn¡¯t take them long to make it to the gate. Which was left undefended and open. Passing through the stone archway the cages holding the rest of the villagers were to their right. The grounds of this inner section had little in it. There was the large multi story building, the cages, and the rest of the grounds were an open courtyard. There were 12 bandits standing in front of the cages all equipped with bows who were trying to get organized. Inside the cages there were 15 werewolves all fighting against the metal bars of their cages, with little success.


    Not wasting any time they charged at the bandit¡¯s with their backs to the group. It was pandemonium again, Aiko and Kallie slammed into the backs of the bandit¡¯s raking them with their claws and biting. Alaric used his ax to start chopping into the backs of the bandits. Bjorn¡¯s arrows kept biting into the backs of the bandits, and Meira started casting Ice Shard over and over. The first 5 bandits fell rapidly before the other 7 realized they were being attacked. Once that happened shouts started to sound from them. As they scrambled to find weapons that weren¡¯t their bows. It didn¡¯t take long for the group to kill the last 7 bandits who were ill-equipped for close quarter combat.


    There were 3 cages holding 5 werewolves each, and each had a separate metal lock on it. ¡°Where are the keys?¡± Bjorn asked. And they looked at Aiko. Who shrugged. It was an oddly humorous situation, watching a werewolf shrug. Not able to help himself he laughed. Aiko just growled at Bjorn before slinking off looking through the bodies. Everyone started searching through the piled dead trying to find the keys. They were on a time crunch and they knew it.


    The main door of the keep opened up and fully equipped and armored bandits came pouring out of the entrance. There were the better part of 30 bandits who came spilling out. For the most part they were wearing leather armor, there were a good number wearing scalemail, and chainmail. But there was one bandit who was wearing a full metal breastplate over a shirt of chainmail. They were running out of time.


    The obvious bandit leader walked forward from the group forming up behind him and hailed the party who had wreaked havoc on his camp. He was larger, taller, and uglier than the rest of the group. Using his identity on him made Bjorn afraid.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Aaron Fitts


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half troll


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 39


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 29


    </td>


    <td>


    Profession: Warrior


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    No one really knows, or wants to know how half trolls are made. The size difference between a troll and their mate are often so large it''s a wonder that the smaller party doesn¡¯t die. But somehow it happened and made this creature standing before you. Half trolls gain 2 points to constitution, 1 in strength and endurance, and 1 free points per level. The genes of trolls are so powerful that they take over whatever race the other parent was. Because of that the half trolls charisma is permanently set to 5


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°Guys, what is a profession?¡± Bjorn¡¯s simple question was only met with swears.


    ¡°I¡¯m assuming because you asked the big ugly bastard is some sort of professed combat fighter.¡± Alaric asked as he stood, angling his body towards the half troll and stood there in a loose combat pose. To the untrained it looked like Alaric was just standing there casually, but closer inspection would reveal a different story. His weight was forward on the balls of his feet, his legs were bent, even though his posture was lackadaisical Alaric¡¯s eyes never left the half troll.


    The half troll walked forward towards the group, stopping over 20 yards away. Sweeping his eyes across the gathered few until his eyes landed upon Bjorn, and he smiled. ¡°Give up, you are outmatched, outnumbered, cornered. You have no hope for escape.¡±


    (If you don¡¯t care you may skip to the next part.)


    You have advanced your skill level in Stealth, reaching skill level 5. You will now be 20% harder to spot while stealthing.


    You have advanced your skill level in archery, reaching skill level 6, and 7. Damage from arrows you shoot is increased by 21% over base damage.


    You have advanced your skill level in swordsmanship, reaching skill level 4. Your attacks with swords now deal 12% more damage over base value.


    You have advanced your skill level in small blades, reaching skill level 2. Your attacks with swords now deal 4% more damage over base value. Additionally critical strikes done with your small blades will deal 2% more damage.


    Due to your constant inability to not get hit in a fight you have gained the new skill: Light Armor. Armor doesn¡¯t always have to be big and clunky, sometimes you just need an extra layer of skin that protects the more vital parts of your body. That is where light armor comes into play.


    You have advanced your skill level in archery, reaching skill level 8, 9 and 10. Damage from arrows you shoot is increased by 30% over base damage.


    You have reached the milestone going from a beginner to a novice in the skill: Archery. You have gained a perk: You may now invest some of your stamina into your shots to increase their accuracy.

 Chapter 19

    ¡°You may be right, but that doesn''t mean we will.¡± Bjorn called back.


    ¡°Fool, you are hopelessly outnumbered, what do you hope to accomplish here? Why throw your life away? If you surrender there is a chance you can eventually get free, but if you fight you are sure to die. Of course we will have to kill the product that surrendered, I don''t have much that can restrain them. We don''t have a chance to really capture them.¡±


    During his rant Meira turned her back towards the bandits and started to make hand gestures into the night, in the hope that Tayla could see them and understood what was trying to be conveyed. Slowly making her way to Bjorn she leaned in and whispered in his ear. ¡°Keep him talking.¡±


    With a barely perceptible nod Bjorn called over again. ¡°Just like that you are going to let us get out of it? Will you let our friends live if we surrender, I am convinced I can get our werewolves stand down.¡±


    A vicious grin crossed the half troll''s face. ¡°Just like that I will not kill you, you will still end up slaves, but don''t think for a second you will be getting free. And as for your werewolves, unfortunately we are still going to have to kill them, someone needs to pay for the pound of flesh you have taken from us. I am pretty sure at least one of you is a spellcaster, I¡¯m betting it is the elf, you all will fetch a better price than the werewolves. Besides, it''s been a while since I''ve tasted werewolf, and magically I now have the chance to eat some.¡±


    ¡°You make some compelling offers but I''m afraid we will have to decline, we will not stand by as we watch you kill Aiko and Kallie.¡±


    ¡°Very well you have signed your own deaths.¡± The half troll raised his hand, as he did there was a creak that passed through the camp as the bandits all collectively adjusted their grips on their weapons, or the leather of their armor creaked, or as they tightened their grips on their shields.


    Meira gave a panicked look to each of her group. ¡°Hold up.¡± Alaric shouted. ¡°I challenge you.¡± As he held his ax up to point at Aaron. ¡°To single combat, to the death. If you win the rest of us will surrender, if I win you let us and all of the werewolves free.¡±


    A silence fell across the camp as everyone was holding their breaths waiting for the troll''s response. The silence stretched for a painfully long time. ¡°That is unless your troll heritage makes you too much of a coward to accept.¡±


    That last insult did the trick, the troll''s face screwed up in rage as his mind started to work through the insult. ¡°Very well, I accept. Your death won''t be quick, or painless.¡± As the troll started to cross the no-man''s land in between the two groups, stopping in the middle in between the two groups.


    Bjorn stopped Alaric as he started walking forward. ¡°What are you doing? He will kill you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank you for your faith in me. You''re probably right, I won''t likely win, but what I can do is buy us time which in this case is a precious commodity at this point¡± Alaric pushed past Bjorn and made it a few paces before turning back around and walking backwards for a few steps. ¡°Besides I might surprise you, I have a few tricks up my sleeves.¡±


    Aaron was standing there cracking his neck as Alaric slowly made his way forward. The half troll was almost double the height of the dwarf. It was almost comical seeing a dwarf stand up to this monster of a humanoid when the dwarf barely came up to the troll''s belly button. The 4 and a half feet compared to the 8 feet of the half troll made Aaron dwarf the dwarf. Alaric didn¡¯t seem daunted by the creature in front of him.


    As Alaric drew near he heated his ax and shield, which made the troll grin even larger. The half troll un slung a massive two handed battle ax from his back. With a half hearted swing he planted the head of the ax in the ground letting it stand there on its own.


    Kneeling down the troll grabbed a handful of loose dirt before standing and rubbing his hands together covering them in the dust from the dirt. ¡°Are you ready to meet your maker dwarf?¡±


    ¡°I think you may be overconfident.¡± Alaric shot back. ¡°I would ask if you were ready to meet your maker but I have a feeling you already have a rather intimate knowledge of your maker.¡± There was a stunned silence as the more quick witted bandits understood the implications. But Aaron just stood there looking confused. ¡°Alright you dumb brute, I am saying you have sex with your own mother.¡±


    The look of confusion turned into one of rage in a moment as Aaron bellowed a war cry at Alaric. The troll took two steps forward, hand clasping onto the handle of his battle ax and in one fluid motion the ax swung in a deadly arch aimed at Alaric¡¯s shoulder.


    If it was a lesser man on the other end of the swing the fight would have been decided right there, luckily for Alaric and his companions he was no such man. Bracing his feet against the ground he raised his shield to eye level and angled it ever so slightly upwards. When the battle ax made contact with the metal shield there was a loud clang of metal on metal as the ax slid upwards, deflected by the angle of the shield.


    Trying to take advantage of this opening left by the over extension Alaric stepped in to take a swing at the troll. It was a motion that he had practiced countless times and had used to end many fights early. Only to be met by the knee of the troll. It made contact with Alaric¡¯s face, knocking him backwards and off balance, tumbling backwards and coming to a stop.


    Aaron''s swing continued its upward trajectory as the follow up kick landed on Alaric, sending him head over heels. Once again planting his foot Aaron finished the move by taking a step which made him rotate the whole 180 degrees putting the ax behind him as the ax soon followed Alaric downwards in an arch that would leave the ax buried in Alaric''s chest.


    Because of several years of training Alaric didn''t let himself stop as soon as he registered that he was flying backwards. Not giving himself the time necessary to get his bearings straight. As soon as his back hit the ground he used the momentum he already had from the kick to roll to the side just barely missing getting hit by the ax. Continuing that momentum he used it to regain his footing and ended up facing the half troll again.


    A sneer crossed the troll''s face. ¡°Not bad for a dwarf, not many would be able to survive an attack like that.¡±


    ¡°All dwarfs are taught it isn''t the size that matters, it''s how you use it. Wait, that came out wrong. They taught us that bigger doesn''t always mean better¡­ Damn it, that also came out wrong, what I''m trying to say is your slow and easy to predict with your size. I think it''s safe to say you aren''t winning in the size department.¡± Alaric insulted looking slightly downwards.


    Bellowing in rage Aaron came at the short annoying dwarf again. Who for his part kept up the train of insults even when dodging life threatening attacks.


    This continued on for minutes, it was clear to everyone involved that the half troll had the upper hand, he outclassed Alaric to such a degree that Alaric rarely had a chance to be on the offense. When he was able to get past the troll''s defenses the armor the troll was wearing did its job to an infuriating degree. Alaric was not able to puncture the metal with what few strikes he was able to land skirting off the metal of the chest piece or slid along the metal rings of the chainmail.


    On his end it wasn''t pretty, Alaric took many blows from the troll, some landing solidly, others glancing blows, but the metal of Alaric''s chainmail was enough to stop some of the more deadly strikes from the war ax. On one particularly close strike the head of the ax caught a piece of the mail that was already bent from a previous strike and it tore the shirt open from shoulder to arm. Leaving a shallow cut along behind.


    Alaric''s shield could almost no longer be called a shield, it was originally a concave piece of metal that was strapped to Alaric¡¯s arm, now it was more a flat piece of metal, starting to get closer to a convex shape. It was this piece of metal that would be the impotence of Alaric''s downfall. After a rather violent swing from Aaron''s ax, that was caught by his shield, it left Alaric off balance, planting both hands on the ax Aaron pushed forward with his ax like a spear. The large end of his battle ax pierced through the weakening metal and stabbed through into Alaric¡¯s arm.


    This was the first solid hit that Aaron was able to land on Alaric. Gritting his teeth he flexed the muscles in his forearm holding the ax head strong in his arm. When Aaron went to withdraw his ax Alaric came with. Which surprised the half troll, so much so that it gave Alaric his first real chance to get a solid hit in. Drawing his arm back he swung it at the half troll with enough force to go right through the chainmail on Aaron¡¯s sleeve. The angle of the chop and the force of it was enough to rent a hole in the mail and embed the ax into Aaron¡¯s arm.


    Relaxing his muscle he tried to pull himself off of the spike at the end of the ax head. Unfortunately the close proximity was enough and Alaric¡¯s movement was hindered enough that Aaron was able to grab ahold of Alaric¡¯s head with one oversized hand. In a motion awfully similar to a football player spiking the football he threw Alaric at the ground head first with all of his might. Alaric landed head first, and bounced once, before coming to rest 5 feet away and lay unmoving.


    The sight of their leader thoroughly handling the dwarf made the bandits cheer. Laughing and drinking in the adulations of his men Aaron did a small victory lap around Alaric¡¯s unmoving body, before he walked over to where his bloody ax lay. He pulled Alaric¡¯s ax out of his bloody arm and threw it aside. The wound on the half troll''s body started to visibly heal in front of their eyes. Picking up his own battle ax walked back over to Alaric, raising his ax above his head. Aaron looked over at the party wanting to relish the looks of horror on their face as they watched him embed the ax into Alaric¡¯s body.


    What he didn¡¯t expect to see though was an arrow streaking through the air before it hit the half troll in his raised arm. As the smile faded from Aaron¡¯s face a look of pure rage took its place. ¡°You have shown you have no honor, attacking me after I have beaten your dwarf friend. You have broken his word.¡± Half turning to address his men. ¡°Men, capture the lot of them, I don¡¯t care about the value, I am going to torture them all and make the human watch.¡±


    A collective shout escaped the waiting bandit¡¯s throats as they started walking towards the group menacingly.


    ¡°Tayla, if you were going to do something now would be the time.¡± A clatter sounded out behind him. The sound was so unexpected that it made Bjorn pull his eyes from the group of salivating bandits slowly making their way towards him. The sight that greeted him was one that was also unexpected, but very much welcome. All three of the doors to the cages holding the Werewolves in were open, and the werewolves came pouring out.


    The cheers of excitement and jeers died in the throats of the bandits. To all it seemed the world had come to a standstill, as the bandits all collectively stopped in their tracks in fear. To Meira, Bjorn, and Tayla they stood there watching Alaric¡¯s body hoping for some sort of sign he was alive. The peace held for a long moment. It was Alaric¡¯s arm shifting on the ground that broke the standstill, and pandemonium ensued.


    Most of the bandits were torn between running away from the werewolves changing at them, and attacking the werewolves. Unfortunately for the bandits their uncertainty gave the werewolves a chance to close the distance and attack the front ranks of the bandits. The uncertainty further helped the werewolves as a third of the bandits turned to run.


    Stepping over Alaric''s body the half troll moved forward to meet the oncoming werewolves. ¡°Come on you lazy bitches, fight back!¡± Aaron exclaimed as he took a swing at a werewolf. ¡°If any of you run away I will personally hunt you down and kill you myself.¡±


    The clash between werewolf and bandits was no where near balanced, with the group of bandits running away the numbers were a lot closer to being even. In an even fight the pure stat advantage of the werewolves was enough to overpower the bandits. Their only saving grace was Aaron.


    If Bjorn Meira and Tayla decided to stay out of the fight the bandits probably would have won, as the half troll was a one man army all on his own. That wasn''t even a thought that crossed their minds though. As the melee started Bjorn called out to Meira and Tayla. ¡°If you can, distract the half troll, if you can''t try and get Alaric out of there and back on his feet. I think I have something that just might tip the scales of the fight in our favor.¡±


    ¡°With pleasure.¡± They said in unison. Making eye contact with each other they stared at each other for a few seconds before rushing off to fight the half troll. Meria started casting her weak lightning bolt spell, and Tayla moved in close to Aaron before pulling a knife from her bandoleer and throwing it at him with surprising accuracy.


    For his part Bjorn pulled a vial from his portable pocket and started to coat the heads of his arrows in poison. He also coated a dagger with the same poison.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weak earth Bain poison


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Common


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 1 lbs


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    This poison does 13-17 earth based damage per second for 20 seconds.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Once they engaged the half troll he switched his focus onto Tayla whos attacks seemed rather ineffective against the heavily armored and fast healing troll. He was outclassed in speed. Tayla moved through the air with a speed that was unattainable back on earth. She moved with speed and accuracy outpacing anything Bjorn had ever seen.


    Not to be outdone, Meria cast her lightning bolt spell, with her hands being covered in a pale white light she moved through the intricate hand gestures with ease. As her mana bar dropped the air got the same coppery taste and feel right before she completed the spell. When the spell finished the arc of lightning shot forth from her hands and slammed into the metal of Aaron¡¯s chest piece. In this case the metal of the breastplate worked against him as it absorbed the spell and amplified it, shocking his entire body instead of just a localized spot. Causing his body to freeze in place for 2 seconds.


    Using the opening the momentary stun on Aaron provided Meira began casting a different spell. Again light covered her hands as she moved through another quick movement of hand gestures this time Tayla shone briefly before the light faded.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Spell: Weak Haste


    </td>


    <td>


    Casting time: 3 seconds


    </td>


    <td>


    Components: Verbal, Somatic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Range: 30 feet


    </td>


    <td>


    Duration: 5 minutes


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Cost: 17 Mana


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Increases target¡¯s movement speed by 5%. This spell has a 5 minute cooldown before you can cast it again.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    This Tayla used her new speed to its full ability, pushing her body farther and faster than she had before she moved in and slammed one of her daggers into the half trolls neck.


    Even with all that it wasn''t enough, the professed warrior recovered from the stun faster than Meira expected and snatched at Tayla who had to dive backwards to avoid getting snatched by the trolls large hand, leaving her dagger in place.


    The warrior stood up to his full height, grabbed his chest piece and pulled. The groaning of leather could be heard throughout the battlefield before there was an audible snap and the piece of metal fell to the ground. After that he grabbed a hold of the dagger in his neck and with a jerk yanked it free from his neck. The wound left behind started to quickly close itself.


    ¡°We need to find a way to overcome his natural healing.¡± Meria shouted over the sounds of bandits clashing with werewolves.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°I have a few fire spells that might work.¡± Tayla called back.


    An arrow flew through the night and sank into the now bare chest of the half troll. ¡°I have poison, it might help.¡± Bjorn said as he joined the fray.


    For the first time that night the half troll felt pressured, and because of that he activated one of his warrior talents.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Unbreakable Will


    </td>


    <td>


    Activation time: Instantaneous


    </td>


    <td>


    Cost: 31 Stamina


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Cooldown: 5 minutes


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Due to your indomitable spirit you will feel 30% less pain for the next minute. That includes any current pain you are feeling or pain you suffer during this duration.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    It wasn''t a good situation, looking at his bandits they were holding their own, but they were slowly losing the fight, if he didn''t do anything the werewolves would overwhelm the bandits who decided to stay and fight. He had to do something about the group. He pegged either the human or the elf to be the easiest to kill so he started there.


    Lunging forward he activated his second talent of the night and shot across 40 of the 50 feet separating him from Bjorn and Meira in around a second.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Talent: Lunge


    </td>


    <td>


    Activation time: Instantaneous


    </td>


    <td>


    Cost: 35 Stamina


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Cooldown: 3 minutes


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Once activated, travel 40 feet in target direction in a second.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Moving faster than even Tayla was able to move. Once he landed he went towards the elf, figuring she would be the easier target due to her lighter armor and her magic staff.


    His rapid advance at Meira made her choose to abandon her lightning bolt spell and start to take evasive maneuvers. Suffering a slight backlash from her spell fizzling it slowed her movements down ever so slightly. Which allowed Aaron to land a solid hit on her, sending her back and sprawling.


    Tayla tried to catch up but she wasn''t fast enough. Bjorn on the other hand loosed another poison soaked arrow into the back of the troll, before dropping his bow, pulling his sword, and charging at the back of the troll.


    Before the half troll had a chance to capitalize on Meira''s state the second arrow slammed into his back almost point blank. Which caused him to turn around and face the charging human. Preparing his ax he raised it in defense of the overhead swing Bjorn was trying to execute.


    The swing came down on the haft of the ax. A look of surprise crossed Aaron''s face. ¡°Weak.¡± Was the only word he breathed out before he turned the block into an overhead swing aimed at separating Bjorn in half.


    His time training with Alaric paid off, because after his swing was blocked instead of standing there he already started to withdraw. May a time Bjorn had made that mistake and been hit upside the head by Alaric. That training saved his life. As the ax swung down into the position Bjorn had just been he had moved to the side. The force and speed of the swing still surprised Bjorn, as he barely moved out of the arc of the ax.


    As the ax swung down and planted itself into the ground a hand shot out. As the warrior watched Bjorn¡¯s movement he realized his strike would miss and abandoned the ax all together, the momentum still carried the ax into the ground and it embedded itself into the dirt. With his hands free he reached out at Bjorn and caught the human by the neck. Easily lifting the 180 lbs. man off the ground, and began to squeeze.


    At first Bjorn¡¯s started to see stars from the lack of blood making it to his brain, and then his vision started to become blurry. He tried to fight back, using his sword he tried to swing it down on the half troll but he caught the hand quickly disarming him. Tayla caught up and started to attack the half troll again. When she did so he let go of Bjorn¡¯s struggling arm and started to defend himself from her attacks.


    As Bjorn¡¯s vision started to darken, and his attempts to fight back became weaker, he tried one final thing. Pulling the poison soaked dagger from his waist he stabbed it at the warrior. It plunged into the body and his fingers felt wet as his world turned to black.


    When he came to next all he could tell was that he was alive. The next thing he noticed was a pounding headache. Opening his eyes he looked around expecting to see bars. But instead he saw walls and bodies laid out around him. From the soft moans that permeated the silence Bjorn figured he was in some sort of infirmary.


    Sitting up he saw that he was laying in a low bed, and above the bed a water skin hung. Sitting up and grabbing it he drank his fill pushing through the hammering in his head. Then laying back down he fell asleep again.


    The next time he was awake, Meira was sitting on the bed next to him. ¡°Hey, you made it.¡±


    Hearing his voice her head snapped around and then a bright smile that lit up the room crossed her face.


    ¡°That is a smile I never want to lose.¡± Bjorn thought as he did nothing but just stare at Meira¡¯s exuberant expression.


    ¡°Hey.¡± She said, jostling him out of his revelry. ¡°I asked you a question, how are you feeling?¡±


    Bjorn did a metal check. ¡°I don''t feel too bad, I hurt but it isn''t terrible.¡± Looking down at his health bar it was around 3/4ths full. ¡°What happened after I fell unconscious? I''m assuming we won due to the fact that I''m not in a cage right now.¡±


    ¡°Yeah we won, and I think we have you to thank for that, that stab into the half troll was enough to make him retreat. I think the poison started to do its work. After you stabbed him he threw you away from him taking the dagger with you. We are assuming that the accumulated poison was enough to overcome his natural healing. That and Tayla cast a fire spell burning the wound and keeping it open.¡±


    Pausing she looked up and when Bjorn turned his head he saw Tayla standing there in the doorway leaning on it. ¡°Between the two the half troll came back to his senses and got what he could of his bandits and retreated into the keep. From there it was just a matter of time before the villagers pushed all the way in and killed the rest of the bandits. They tried to barricade themselves in but it didn''t work. The rest of the werewolves finished the bandits off, taking care of the troll as well.¡±


    Once she stopped talking Tayla stepped in, And took up the tale.¡± Once they finished off the bandits that stayed most of them slunk off into the woods tracking down the rest of the bandits that fled the battle. They assured us that they killed all of the bandits. A few of the villagers didn''t come back until late the next day, but all who left to hunt down those who had ran returned.¡±


    ¡°I don''t see Alaric, where is he at?¡±


    ¡°He woke up yesterday, and didn''t want to lay in bed any longer. He stated that it would ¡®reduce his effectiveness.¡¯ In what I don''t know, but based on the looks he has been giving some of the women, it is in a more intimate way.¡± Tayla rolled her eyes as she said that. ¡°Regardless, it seems to me that he is having a hard time. Which I''m sure you''ll understand when you get out of here.¡±


    ¡°Well I see no reason not to find out now.¡± Bjorn said as he started to climb out of bed. Upon sitting up he realized that he was shirtless. Looking around he found his portable pocket and quickly remedied his half nakedness. The room entered into a hallway, with multiple doorways leading off of the hall. ¡°Take me to Alaric, please. Oh how long was I out for?¡±


    ¡°Two days.¡± Remarked Tayla.


    The girls who were close on his heels started to lead the way to an open foyer and from there down a set of stairs. At the bottom it opened up to a large communal area where most of the saved villagers were at. Out of the 16 villagers that were captured 8 of them were sitting around in the room, half of them were women. All of them were mostly naked. All except for Alaric. Who was surrounded by villagers as the group talked.


    ¡°Why are they naked?¡± Bjorn asked dumbfounded.


    ¡°Yeah that is why I said Alaric seems to be having a ¡®hard time¡¯¡± Tayla said as she elbowed Bjorn¡¯s side. ¡°Turns out when werewolves transform any clothes they are wearing usually shreds due to their bodies growing in size. Who knew.¡±


    As they were standing there at the top of the stairs, Aiko spotted the group and stood up from her spot at the table and rushed over to the bottom of the stairs, her long bare legs carrying her over, her tail swishing out from behind her back as she ran. The commotion drew the attention of the rest of the group, who all quickly rushed after Aiko all in similar states of undress.


    When she got to the bottom of the stairs she knelt down and bowed her head, with the rest quickly following suit. ¡°Thank you for coming to our aid, we thank you for saving us. If not for you I have no doubt we would have all died when we transformed into our true forms. We can not thank you enough, if there is anything you want don¡¯t hesitate to ask, if we can we will do everything in our power to help you get it.¡±


    Bjorn, who was blushing at the sight of 8 mostly naked people running over to him, got a grip on himself. ¡°First off, stand up, there is no need to stand on formality here, we are all friends. Secondly, where are your clothes?¡±


    Aiko stood up at Bjorn¡¯s request but her cheeks were a rosy color, embarrassed at her state of undress. ¡°We scrounged through the camp trying to find clothes, these bandits had little extra clothes, I don¡¯t think they were overly rich. They sure were a large group though. Turns out most of their clothes got ruined by our claws and bites.¡±


    Alaric pushed through the crowd and made his way up the stairs stopping in front of Bjorn. They stood there staring at each other for a few seconds before Alaric pulled Bjorn into a hug. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you lad. Good job out there.¡± Alaric¡¯s head was bandaged in strips of colored cloth.


    ¡°How''s the head? You had me worried there for a moment, after Aaron spiked you and you didn''t get up I thought you might be dead.¡±


    ¡°Ha, it was not even close. It will take more than that to stop me. Let me tell you I have a hard head. Well I guess most dwarves have hard heads. But mine is especially hard, when I was younger I wanted to see how many times I¡¯d have to hit my head to break a rock.¡±


    ¡°You know that explains a lot.¡± Meira quipped from the back.


    Alaric shot Meira a dirty look. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, forget I said anything. Aiko, do you want to step aside into a room again where we can talk? I¡¯m sure Bjorn has questions and I know there are things you¡¯d like to fill him in on.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I think there was a mostly clean room on the third floor with not too bad chairs. Follow me.¡± Aiko made her way to the third floor with the other 4 following behind, once on the landing she went down one of the hallways and took a door on the right. Inside was a cozy room with 6 chairs inside around a small table.


    Once they were all seated, Aiko led the discussion. ¡°I want to apologize for not telling you about us being werewolves. Our kind doesn¡¯t have the best reputation. And as you can see with us being captured, we aren¡¯t really the best fighters and aren¡¯t the best at defending ourselves when we are in our human forms. We do make up for it with our raw attributes when we transform, but we are mostly helpless the rest of the time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright Aiko, you have nothing to apologize for. I understand you wanting to keep that a secret. Is that why you were so adamant on us leaving town by the 5th night.¡± Meira said.


    ¡°That is in fact the case, it was a full moon that night, and because of that we wouldn¡¯t be able to keep our secret without either forcing you into joining us, or killing you. Many of our brethren have a hard time restraining themselves at night when in our true forms and because of that we are normally killed on sight. If word got out about our little town the soldiers of Escar would quickly come down and put an end to us.¡±


    ¡°Fair point.¡± Said Bjorn. ¡°You have nothing to worry about Aiko, your secret is safe with us. Right Tayla?¡±


    She sat there surprised to have been singled out the way she was. ¡°Look.¡± She started directly at Bjorn. ¡°Tieflings are generally not accepted in society as well. It has to do with our heritage. Tieflings are the spawn of demons and other humanoids. Because of one half of our heritage we are vilified and are not welcome in most places. That is why I am a thief. You have nothing to worry about, your secret''s safe with me.¡°


    Hearing everyone agree to keep their secret Aiko¡¯s body relaxed, she didn¡¯t realize she was tensed up hoping to hear what she did. ¡°Thank you everyone, I truly do appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°I do have a question for you though.¡± Alaric began. ¡°If you are a werewolf, how often do you change?¡±


    ¡°That is a good question, we are only common werewolves. As such we change every full moon, as you can guess seeing how we have 6 moons it happens quite frequently. There are other were-creatures who are tied to a specific moon. For example I do know of a werecat race who is tied to Aiger and as such only transforms when Aiger is full. They also have some awfully powerful air based abilities because of that connection.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you''re telling me that the moons have affinities?¡± Bjorn said disbelievingly.


    ¡°Not just the moons. There are 8 bodies that move across our skies. Each one is tied to a basic element. Our suns are tied to fire and light. Sol is the reddish one, and is tied to fire. Polaris, the pure white sun is tied to light. You also have Aiger the yellow moon, who is tied to air. Umbriel, the black one, is tied to darkness. Rhea, the green one, is tied to the earth element. Ida, the moon of water. Diana, is the moon of life. And lastly Mortum, the purple moon, who is representative of death. Unfortunately for us, as common werewolves we don¡¯t get any of the benefits from our specific moons. Instead we just change at every full moon.¡±


    ¡°My next question is, why did you say we had to leave down to remove that mana absorption bead from me?¡± Meira asked.


    ¡°That one is also straight forward, the smell of blood can drive us mad. Many of our young haven¡¯t learned how to control their impulses. So we wanted you out of town so the smell of blood wouldn¡¯t affect our children. And yes we are all werewolves, including our children.¡± After a minute with no other questions forthcoming. She continued. ¡°What are your plans going forward? You of course are more than welcome to stay with us, and if I was to guess there is a lot of work that needs to be done around town. It is also early fall, crops are going to need to be brought in soon. With this attack unfortunately we are going to be short on manpower, having you around would be a great help.¡±


    They all sat around looking at one another having a silent conversation. ¡°Yeah we will gladly stay around and help around town. Tayla you are also welcome to stay and help, but there is no pressure to do so. I don¡¯t know your situation back in Vanta, but your welcome to stay.¡± Bjorn said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll gladly stay and help. I have nothing pressing that needs to happen back in Vanta, nore do I have anyone I need to get back to.¡°


    ¡°It''s settled then, once Laine, Jaine, Zaine, and Paine are well enough to walk we will head back home.¡± Tayla gave Aiko a questioning look. ¡°They are siblings.¡±


    There came a light knock on the door as one of the men poked his head through it, his eyes settling on Aiko. ¡°Aiko, they are back.¡±


    ¡°Thank the heavens, if you¡¯ll excuse me.¡± Aiko got up and started heading for the door. Watching her walk away gave them all a view of her nice round ass, and the bushy tail that came out just above her ass crack.


    Meira smacked both Bjorn and Alaric. ¡°Stop staring.¡± As she stood to follow after Aiko. They followed her back to the first floor and saw two of the villagers carrying large bundles on their backs. Once they set them down they started unpacking them. Packs and a pile of clothes got unloaded and soon handed out to everyone who quickly stripped in front of each other and got dressed in their own clothes.


    ¡°They don¡¯t seem to have much of an aversion to nudity.¡± Commented Alaric.


    ¡°It makes sense. If they transform at least 6 times a month, that would be a lot of clothes that they would go through. So the night before they transform they all strip naked to save their clothes. Over the years they are bound to have all seen each other naked at least once due to situations. So why would it matter to them.¡± Tayla remarked.


    ¡°You have a point lass. Well if we are to stay in town and help them with their rebuilding efforts I guess we will eventually have to get used to it. I guess we should help them sort through the keep here and organize what is worth taking back, and what is worth leaving.¡± Alaric started down the stairs.


    ¡°You guys go ahead, I think I¡¯m going to go see what I can do to help the aines heal faster.¡± Bjorn broke off from his friends and headed back to the room he woke up in this morning.


    In the end it took 2 extra days for all of the villagers to be back on their feet. As it turns out injuries suffered while in werewolf form transferred over to their human form. When they transformed back it seemed that the wounds weren¡¯t as serious as they were as a werewolf. In the end they got the better end of the stick, only two of the villagers died. As compared to the 61 bandits who died at the camp. The increased stats of being werewolves were overwhelming. Every single one of the werewolves had some sort of injury on their bodies though, many could walk but it was still a struggle, and they were moving with a limp.


    During the two days of prep before heading out they were able to burn and bury the bodies. All of the bandits ended up in a large mass grave that took roughly a day of digging to make. Each of the villagers who died ended up in their own grave. When a werewolf dies in werewolf form they stay in that form, so moving their oversized bodies and digging holes big enough for them was quite the ordeal. There was a little service for the deceased. The second day was spent sorting through the camp, and finding anything of use.


    There was a huge stockpile of useful tools, weapons, and armor that would come home with them. There were also quite a bit of foods, supplies, and goods that also would come back, but not all at once. They assumed it would take 3 different trips to bring it all back.


    Taking what they could, and with the portable pocket being excessively heavy, they took off for Lief¡¯s Crossing. Due to the weight Alaric and Bjorn took turns carrying the heavy bag. Alaric carried it more than Bjorn did, but they still took their turns. Due to them being slowed down from members being slow, and their heavy packs it took them another 2 days to make it back to Lief¡¯s Crossing.


    There were many hugs and tears when they made it back to Lief¡¯s Crossing. Loved ones reunited and tears for those gone were common. A surprising amount of the hugs and tears were thank yous for the now quartet of friends. The next day was spent reconnecting friends and families and doing some repairs on the city.


    The day after, the quartet and a few of the villagers made their way back to the fort with the horses in tow this time, and with Bjorn¡¯s portable pocket significantly lightened from the load it carried. They got most of the gear and food, enough for one more light trip. The entire trip lasted 2 days round trip.


    Once it was decided that there wasn¡¯t any need for the horses Bjorn, Meira, Alaric, and Tayla made their way back to Vanta to sell the horses, they didn¡¯t quite get their money¡¯s worth back, but they were able to recoup some of the cost of the horse and the tackle, before leaving Vanta and heading back to Lief¡¯s crossing. With the group making some purchases that the townspeople of Lief¡¯s crossing wanted or needed, the entire trip took 5 days round trip to make it to Vanta and back. During those 5 days there was a full moon, which made them think of the townspeople and worry about what was happening in their lives.


    Making it back to Lief¡¯s crossing they settled in to help rebuild and better the small community that took them in.


    (If you don¡¯t care you may skip to the next chapter.)


    You have advanced your skill level in archery, reaching skill level 11, and 12. Damage from arrows you shoot is increased by 36% over base damage.


    You have advanced your skill level in Light Armor, reaching skill level 2. When wearing light armor your defensive value for the light armor is increased by 2%.


    You have advanced your skill level in small blades, reaching skill level 3. Your attacks with swords now deal 6% more damage over base value. Additionally critical strikes done with your small blades will deal 3% more damage.

 Chapter 20

    On the first evening after they returned from Vanta Aiko pulled them aside, right after the evening meal. ¡°We have talked about it and we would like you to have these.¡± She placed a few bundles in front of the group. By the looks of it each of them had their own bundles.


    Alaric was the first to open his bundle, inside was a smaller shield and the battle ax that the bandit chief had been using. The small shield had two leather straps on the inside used to strap the smaller shield to his arm fully freeing his hand. The ax also had its handle shortened so that Alaric should be able to use it, even with his shorter body.


    Meria opened her package and inside was a new set of clothes that had hooks set into the chest and back. There also were two small metal breast pieces that hooked onto the clothes, affixing it in place.


    Inside Tayla''s package was a single dagger. It was long and had a kris knife style blade. Along the edge of the double sided blade it was serrated.


    For Bjorn there was a belt, and a set of bracers. The belt was made from what looked like simple leather. The bracers also looked of simple make, but they had intricate engravings in the surface of the metal. Upon closer inspection the engravings depicted a farmer in a field of wheat with a scythe, harvesting his wheat.


    (Insert an item description for all above described items.)


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    War-ax of the Goblin Warchief


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Rare


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 19 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 291/308


    </td>


    <td>


    Damage: 14-19


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    After many years of constant battle this ax has been soaked in the blood of it¡¯s foes. As such it has gained a passive enchantment, gaining a 5% damage increase versus any humanoid non-goblin race.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Chestguard of The Forgotten Mage


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Rare


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 8 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 186/383


    </td>


    <td>


    Armor: +9 (max 14)


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    The Order of the Forgotten Mage was a dominant force a long time ago. This is a relic left over from an age passed. How it has lasted until today is a mystery.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Dagger of Bloodletting


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 3 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 118/147


    </td>


    <td>


    Damage: 9-11 (max 11-13)


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    The different style of blade has increased cutting capabilities. Increased the effects of any bleed effect by 15%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Sustenance belt


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 1 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 97/101


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    While wearing this belt you need 10% to eat, drink, and sleep to survive


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bracers of the angry farmer


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 3 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability 79/91


    </td>


    <td>


    Armor: +5 (max 6)


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    While wearing these bracers all farming based activities will be 12% easier to complete.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    They each stood there admiring their gifts. ¡°Thank you.¡± Meira spoke for all of them.


    The only exception to that was Bjorn, who stood there staring at his new bracers wondering why a community of farmers and builders would give away a magical item that increased the ability to farm. On top of that why would there be an enchantment increasing farming on a set of bracers clearly meant for fighting.


    ¡°That''s the best part.¡± Aiko continued. ¡°We aren''t done with the gift giving, we would like to build you, or help build you a home that is yours. We would like some input on it. But we have also decided that it should take priority in the reconstruction process.¡±


    ¡°We appreciate your offer, but there is no need for us to be given special treatment. Although we will gladly take you up on the offer for a home, we don''t think it is important enough that we put the rest of the reconstruction process on hold.¡± Bjorn said.


    Shaking her head, Aiko continued on. ¡°Although you think you are right. We however do not think so. Without all of you we would have ended up dead without your help. So we should give you special treatment. Also our offer isn''t entirely altruistic, for we were hoping to make a building large enough to hold a number of us just in case we aren''t able to repair or rebuild most of the houses by the time winter hits.¡±


    After some discussion between they group they decided to agree, from there they hashed out all of the details necessary for how the building would be built. After the agreement Aiko left.


    ¡°Well, I better go help out with clearing away the burnt sections.¡± Alaric said as he got up to leave. Walking towards their small camp on the edge of town to store his new gear.


    After a few minutes of silence Tayla also stood sheathing her new knife before coming up with a lame excuse and also leaving.


    Just leaving Bjorn and Meira, who sat in companionable silence for a while. ¡°I was wondering. Why did it take me so long for me to get the light armor skill?¡± Bjorn broke the silence.


    His voice kind of surprised Meira, like she was deep in thought. ¡°That probably had something to do with you not having a full set of light armor equipped. I don''t know this for a fact, but it took me a while to get the light armor skill as well. But looking back on it I think I didn''t get the skill until I took some damage in combat while wearing a full set of light armor.¡±


    Silence permeated the camp again. ¡°Why don''t we have any scars? If I was back on earth and I took as much damage as I have I would have scars to show for it in the end.¡±


    ¡°We do have scars, at least we can get scars. And I think it has to do with how healing works. I think our bodies remember its peak form, and it always tries to get back to that state. I have met plenty of people who have scars.¡±


    ¡°When I first told you I was not from this world, you weren''t surprised. Why didn''t that surprise you?¡±


    Meira turned her eyes to meet Bjorn''s and she held them for a long while. She held them long enough for Bjorn to become uncomfortable and lowered his eyes. ¡°You are weird, you are not like anyone I have ever met. To top it all off you know nothing of our world, of magic, of how to take care of yourself. Something about you didn''t add up and it made me figure you weren''t from the Eld.¡±


    ¡°That''s just it, you weren''t even bothered by the fact that there is other intelligent life in the universe, or that I come from an entirely different planet. Back on earth if we found out that another intelligent species existed there would be pandemonium.¡±


    ¡°Everyone knows that there is other intelligent life in the universe, what a silly notion. But you are right, it is no surprise because there is summoning magic. Sometimes a summoning goes wrong and someone from a different plane or world, or reality gets summoned to our world from where they are from. You not being from here isn''t some new idea.¡±


    Her words cut into Bjorn¡¯s pride a bit. She had basically told him that he is not special at all. He had always known deep down that he was just another person. But some small part of him held hope that he was unique, that his situation was something different. But no, he was just another cog in the machine, he was just another person.


    ¡°Hey Meira.¡± Bjorn said after a while of introspection. ¡°I am pretty sure that I came to this world not from a summoning circle. I died on earth and the next thing I knew I was in a white place as a ball of light. There I met a being that directed me and helped me choose who I am, he called himself Charon. Do you know anything about him, or of creatures like him?¡±


    Meira had to think on that one for a bit. ¡°No, I have never heard of any creatures like this Charon you talk about. Nore have I ever heard of someone dying and coming back as a ball of light, and then choosing who you will be in the Eld. Honestly the entire thing kind of sounds made up.¡±


    Her answer took Bjorn down an entirely different train of thought. It made him start to think about the words Charon said and how it affected the world on a larger scope. ¡°Meira, how old is the Eld?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Escar is a fairly new kingdom based on what I know. At least 2,000 to 5,000 years old. Laolin, one of the major elven kingdoms, is at least 50,000 years old. There are libraries that are in the capital that are dated at least 50,000 years ago. So it is at least that old.¡±


    ¡°Lanolin you said?¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°No Lanolin is an oil secreted by sheep to make their wool last. Laolin is the name of one of the elven kingdoms. Don¡¯t get that confused.¡± Meira chastised.


    ¡°Okay okay, settle down¡­ You know it makes me wonder, Charon told me that this world had recently started being seeded. At least 50,000 years is not recent. If we take into account how long the sentient races struggled to form some sort of level of technology, and to form societies. That estimate can easily double, if not triple. So how is 100,000 years on the low end guess ¡®recently started¡¯?¡±


    Plowing onwards Bjorn continued before Meira had a chance to answer. ¡°Then again, he did tell me he was immortal, and to an immortal 100,000 years must not be long. Someone once told me that the galaxy I am from is over 13 billion years old. So what is 100k in the face of billions.¡±


    They both grew silent again as they started to contemplate the vastness of time and scope of beings like that existence. Bjorn was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he was startled back to the present by a rock hitting him on the cheek. Giving a slight glare, Bjorn looked at Meira.


    ¡°I asked you a question.¡± Seeing Bjorn gave no sign of hearing the question she repeated. ¡°What do you want to accomplish in this life?¡±


    The scope of the question threw Bjorn off. What did he want to accomplish? Ever since he came to this world he hadn''t had the chance to slow down. He had kept moving from one problem to another problem. And when he did have some down time he spent it learning skills he had never known or understood back on earth. He and been flailing around trying to survive in a world where he didn''t have the skill to survive. After thinking on the answer he only had one to give. ¡°I don''t know.¡±


    Nodding Meria took his answer better than he expected. ¡°I think you should spend some time thinking about it. Everyone should know what they wish to do, and where they want to go. Help them find what drives them.¡± With those words of advice she stood and left the camp leaving Bjorn by himself deep in thought.


    The next morning Bjorn was up before anyone else in camp stirred. So he quietly left camp and made his way into the woods heading for the clearing he had gone to with Meira to remove her mana absorption bead. Off to one side of the clearing there was a fallen log right next to a tree. The positioning of the two made a sort of chair. Moving over to the two pieces of wood Bjorn sat and continued his thoughts on what Meira had asked him last night.


    What did he want to accomplish in this life? What a broad question. With many right answers, and few wrong ones. Did he want fame? No, not really. Back on earth he had met a few famous people and their lives seemed almost to the point of misery. That wasn''t a drive. Did he want power? Again not really, so far he had accumulated power because it helped him stay alive in a world bent on killing him. Power was nice and all, but it isn''t want drove him onwards. He liked powers ability to let him wake up every morning and continue living, but he didn''t get it for the sake of accruing power.


    Maybe he was tackling this issue from the wrong angle, what did he like doing? So far he had the most fun with his friends, he also enjoyed doing his alchemy, but the most enjoyment he got was through his use of magic. There was something oddly satisfying and cathartic with watching the world around him be affected and shaped by his use of magic. So is that one thing that drives him, A desire to learn more about magic and gain new magical skills? Again the answer was really no, magic was awesome and he felt like a part of him would be missing without magic, but it wasn''t what was driving him forward.


    Ultimately magic was a tool to be used, that thirst for knowledge was there but it wasn''t a true driving force. Did he want more? Of course he did, who wouldn''t want to watch stone dig itself from the ground and shape itself like it was liquid before shooting at high speeds and causing damage at whatever was hit. That power was awesome and amazing.


    Was it alchemy then? The growth and learning about the world was wondrous, it was awesome watching the potions that he made have a tangible effect on the world around him. It would never grow old watching a wound that would have been fatal back on earth heal almost at a visible rate because of his potions. The feeling of being dead tired at the end of a day, where it feels like you can''t continue but drinking the stamina potion reversing that effect and energizing you was something that can''t be explained logically. Out of everything that he had tried so far in the Eld alchemy was his favorite. There was something just inherently gratifying in watching the fruits of his labor provide tangible benefits to the people he has come across.


    Through it all, the only thing that has kept him going was his friends. Without Alaric he probably would have died again, being slaughtered by the drow when they invaded the gnoll stronghold. Looking back on who he was before Alaric got captured he doubted they would have kept him alive. He was a shell, a husk of a man. Olvog¡¯s ability had almost completely shattered Bjorn¡¯s psych but the cantankerous dwarf snapped him out of it and brought him back to a normal state of mind. Since then he would have died again at the hands of the flesh abominations, and again probably by the hands of Olvog and his henchmen.


    In the last few months of his life he had gained two people he would and could trust fully, with a third working her way into the group. They have helped each other, and they have grown together. At this point there didn¡¯t seem like much that could separate the three of them.


    Not knowing exactly where he wanted to go but having an idea he made his way back to town. Upon nearing town the sounds of work could be heard echoing through the woods, saws, hammers, and loud voices carried through the trees. Exiting the trees the town was abuzz with people working industriously trying to repair their town. Walking through the hustle and bustle of town there were many warm welcomes and smiles. Bjorn sought out Meira to give her an answer. He had no issue finding her, she was in a garden trying to see what plants that had been trampled in the raid could be saved.


    Walking up behind her Bjorn called out. ¡°I have an answer for you.¡±


    Turning around and looking up. ¡°Oh?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Mind you, not a full answer. I have ultimately decided that there are three things that matter the most to me and what I want to work toward. First is I would like to learn more about magic, and gain new magical spells. They have been instrumental in saving my life up to this point. The second thing, I would like to keep working on my alchemy skills. I have been able to save our lives with my potions. Before I was a slave, a woman named Medera taught me what I know about alchemy. Our work helped hundreds of people¡¯s lives, either easing pain, or a herbicide, or something to help people make it through the day. I would like to become a better alchemist. And lastly, you guys. I wouldn¡¯t be here today without all three of you. I don¡¯t really care where I go, and what I do as long as it involves you.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    As Bjorn was talking a small smile crossed Meira¡¯s lips, as he talked it grew into a half smile, then a true smile. ¡°I am glad you have thought about it. I don¡¯t think you should know your exact path, or where you are going to end up. But I do think everyone should have some sort of bearing to their lives. Thank you for being willing to share your current bearing with me.¡±


    From there they went their separate ways, Meria working in the garden and Bjorn joining the clearing force. By the time they stopped for dinner that evening there was an impressive pile of wood set aside to be used as firewood, as the charred parts of the wood made it useless for anything but.


    They all met back up for dinner that evening. While eating their meals Tayla spoke up. ¡°I have qualified to get my profession. I was thinking of getting it tonight.¡±


    Both Alaric and Meira gave their congratulations, Bjorn on the other hand was only filled with questions. ¡°What do you mean you are qualified? Also what is a profession?¡±


    With a laugh Tayla spoke up. ¡°I sometimes forget you are not from here. To qualify for a profession you have to meet two requirements. For a combat focused profession you need to be level 20 and have at least 40 skill levels in a related skill. For me that fight brought me to level 22, and it took my stealth skill to level 40. Making me able to acquire a rogue profession. As for what a profession is, think of it as another way to get stronger.¡±


    Alaric took up speaking from there. ¡°And for non combat professions you need to reach a personal level of 10, and a skill level of 40 in whatever skill you want to make your profession.¡±


    ¡°You keep saying your profession, are you able to have more than one?¡±


    ¡°Kind of.¡± Meira cut in. ¡°You are only able to get one profession at personal level 10, or 20 depending on which type of profession you gained. From there every ten levels past the threshold you either get an option to specialize or gain a second profession.¡±


    ¡°Now I can see your next question already.¡± Alaric stopped Bjorn. ¡°The benefit of a profession is to be able to gain talent points per level that can be spent on passive and active talents associated with your profession. You only ever get a set amount of those per level, so sometimes I''m better to specialize, others it is more important to take a second profession. There is no right answer, each profession has their own unique benefits so it''s a case by case basis.¡±


    ¡°So what you are telling me is that these professions are important, and help you grow. You are also telling me that once the choice has been made it is impossible to go back?¡±


    Tayla thinned her lips and moved her head from side to side. ¡°For the most part, yes, they are permanent. With all things though there are always ways to remove your own profession, or have it forcibly removed. It is hard, and I have never heard of someone doing either though. Impossible is such a strong word, I would be hesitant to use it. The ability to strip a profession is only a rumor though. I can''t confirm or deny it.¡± Looking at the other two they nodded in agreement.


    ¡°So if the threshold of gaining your rogue profession was level 20, what happened to those talent points that you missed out on by being level 22 before gaining your profession?¡±


    ¡°To be perfectly frank, I don''t know.¡± Tayla answered. ¡°But I guess we are about to find out.¡± with that answer she set down her plate and mentally clicked yes on her prompt. Her whole body began to glow as she started to slowly float upwards as the glow intensified. Soon she shone like a beacon in the night. The effect lasted a minute before the glow began to fade as she slowly floated down until her feet were planted solidly on the ground. The glow fully faded as she got the same distant look in her eye that Bjorn had started to associate with reading prompts.


    They all sat there looking at Tayla expectantly until Alaric couldn''t hold it in any longer. ¡°Well?¡± He asked


    ¡°Give me a minute.¡± Was her only response as she held that distant look in her eye.


    Her little light show drew the attention of the townsfolk as they started to gather round. A few of the bolder ones came up to the group asking questions, they started to answer until Aiko came through the crowd.


    ¡°I am assuming one of you just got a profession, based on the light show and the crowd of people surrounding you.¡±


    Nodding Bjorn pointed to Tayla. ¡°that we did, it was Tayla. She was the one who gained the profession, you are now in the presence of a professed rogue. At least I think it is rogue, that is what she told us she qualified for.¡±


    Looking her up and down. ¡°Congratulations, I do want to remind you that even though you saved his town, if items start to go missing you will be the first person to be suspected.¡±


    Tayla''s eyes came back into focus and she settled on Aiko, then she got an affronted look on her face before claiming. ¡°Are you suggesting I steal? I would never! You have besmirched my honor Aiko!¡±


    ¡°uh, huh. Well see to it that items don''t start to go missing by you or by anyone else.¡± Aiko said before turning around and walking away, villagers in tow. Some willing others with a swift kick in the rear.


    ¡°I am serious.¡± Tayla said to the remaining friends. ¡°I would never steal from them, they don''t have enough of anything that has any worth at all. Now there is a dwarf I know who has a probably really expensive ax. Him on the other hand I might steal from.¡± As she finished her comment she was met by loud protests from Alaric.


    ¡°So how about it? Did you get the talent points for your levels over 20 or not?¡± Bjorn asked.


    Tayla got that distant look again. ¡°Yes I did, I got 20 talent points to spend where I want.¡± After a few minutes of staring off into the distance her eyes focused again. ¡°Hey Bjorn, would you do me a favor, and fire an arrow at me?¡±


    ¡°Why would I do that? Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yes I''m sure, I have something I would like to try. Come on, take a shot.¡± Tayla then stood and walked around 50 feet away before stopping, turning back around and facing the group.


    ¡°Alright, you asked for it.¡± Bjorn stood, retrieved his bow from the portable pocket, drew an arrow, and aimed at Tayla''s leg. ¡°Ready?¡± Bjorn asked


    When she nodded in reply Bjorn sucked in a breath, and used his level 10 archery perk. He held the arrow trained on her leg and held it. As such his stamina bar in the side of his vision began to drop, not rapidly but fast. After three seconds of holding he had used over 10% of his stamina, and so he loosed the arrow.


    It quickly streaked through the air crossing the distance between Bjorn and Tayla in a second. She was faster. As soon as he let the arrow go she was already moving, and as such the arrow shot through the air and stuck in the ground, missing Tayla entirely.


    ¡°Well now, that is a neat trick.¡± Alaric said coming forward. ¡°What is that one called?¡±


    Grinning ear to ear, Tayla walked back over to the group. ¡°It is called uncanny dodge. It is a passive talent that allows me to know when someone is about to shoot an arrow at me, giving me a base 10% chance to dodge projectiles. It says that the dodge chance is variable, so I''m assuming that if I am not aware of an opponent the chances go down, but at the same time if I see the opponent and know its coming that chance increases.¡±


    ¡°That is awesome, what else did you get?¡± Bjorn asked.


    Shaking her head. ¡°Nothing, I didn''t get another talent, that talent cost 15 of my 20 talent points. I have a few other options, but I think I''m going to keep it to myself. Don''t want to spoil it when I get another talent in the future.¡±


    That night after they had finished with their work during the day Bjorn sat by himself with his character sheet open.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Bjorn Ward


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    age:19


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Hp:213(53)


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina:193(23)


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana:187(17)


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 14


    </td>


    <td>


    Stats from items (*)


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Strength:22


    </td>


    <td>


    Constitution:16


    </td>


    <td>


    Dexterity:16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Agility:17


    </td>


    <td>


    Endurance:17


    </td>


    <td>


    Intelligence:17


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Wisdom:15


    </td>


    <td>


    Charisma:15


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Abilities


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Increased growth


    </td>


    <td>


    Skilling Prodigy


    </td>


    <td>


    WAILA


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Disadvantage


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weak


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Synergy


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Latent potential


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Skills


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Alchemy: 14: 36%


    </td>


    <td>


    Archery: 12: 34%


    </td>


    <td>


    Bowyering: 2: 00%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Beast Master: 2: 3%


    </td>


    <td>


    Beast Master: 2: 0%


    </td>


    <td>


    Cooking: 7: 89%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Construction: 2: 0%


    Road building: 2: 33%


    </td>


    <td>


    Hand to hand combat: 7: 86%


    </td>


    <td>


    Healing: 4: 48%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Herb-Lore: 13: 10%


    </td>


    <td>


    Horseback Riding: 3: 56%


    </td>


    <td>


    Leatherworking 3: 36%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Light Armor: 1: 47%


    </td>


    <td>


    Mining: 20: 90%


    </td>


    <td>


    Small blades: 3: 56%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Stealth: 5: 70%


    </td>


    <td>


    Survival: 5: 19%


    </td>


    <td>


    Swordsmanship: 4: 41%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Trade 9: 92%%


    </td>


    <td>


    Woodcutting: 1: 86%


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Perks:


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Alchemy 10: 50% less chance to fail potion creation


    </td>


    <td>


    Archery: 10: invest stamina into shots to increase their accuracy.


    </td>


    <td>


    Herb-lore 10:Can see 2 potential uses upon consuming any herb.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Mining 10: Increased knowledge on where to strike rock.


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    It was pleasant to see his own industriousness written plainly out for him in the form of his personal levels and skill levels. It was also a bit troubling, as most of the experience that he had gained came from all of the people and animals he had killed. The amount of blood that was on his hands would have been enough to disgust his old self. ¡°I think I would be considered a mass murderer.¡± Bjorn thought to himself with a light chuckle at the darkness of the thought.


    The only thing that he wasn''t sure what to do with was the 9 free points he had gained from leveling. After giving it some thought he ended up putting 3 points into constitution, 2 into dexterity, 1 into agility, 2 into charisma, and lastly one point into strength.


    As much as he didn''t want to he felt like he needed to put more into his physical stats. The last few fights he has been a decent all-rounder, but when it comes to a straight up fight he is lacking in all areas. He will always have less points than everyone to distribute but his interaction he had with the bandit who was lower level than Bjorn being able to overpower him was unsettling. It was also becoming apparent that he would have to play a more active role as a front line fighter.


    Tayla wasn''t a stand and fight kind of girl, her best chance to stay alive was to not get hit. Alaric was the current most crucial role in the team, he could stand there and take a hit and keep going, his skill with fighting was the backbone of their fighting group. Meria had long range magical damage covered; she was the support damage in the back who needed to be protected so she could do her job. The only one without a solid role in the team was Bjorn.


    He played Jack of all trades filling any role that was needed. The flexibility he had was useful to compliment any one person''s position. But when it came to each different role he fell short in every single one. Ultimately the most important role the group had was Alaric¡¯s role. Tayla would be overwhelmed by numbers. One or two solid hits and Meira was out of the fight. If Alaric wasn''t there to draw their attention the group would fail in a fight.


    As such Bjorn put more of his points into physical stats in case something happened to Alaric. Figuring that was the most important role to fill if something happened. Besides it would help to be more athletic in the coming month of helping build the town back up.


    The next few days were spent in the woods helping a few of the villagers pick the trees that they wanted, cut them down, de-limb them, cut them down to a more manageable size and then drag them back to town. His work cutting down trees netted him another skill.


    You have gained the skill: Woodcutting. You have started on your journey to make sure no wood ever stands in your way. There are few building blocks that are as essential to society, wood is the most common of them. Cutting down a multiple thousand pound piece of wood might lead to injury, but what the heck, if you need it you need it.


    The next few days from there were spent cutting the bark off of the trees and setting up a rather elaborate rig. Using 3 men and 3 women they were able to lift one of the logs up off the ground and place it on two different x shaped stands that were driven into the ground. The two stands were connected in the middle with two different long square pieces of wood, which were also affixed to each other. These pieces of wood were used to bring the x shaped stands closer together and move them further apart, raising and lowering the log. Next to the log running parallel to the log were two other pieces of wood shaped in the shape of a long letter n.


    Once the contraption was fully prepared they drew out a long double sided saw, and started to cut the wood into planks. The entire contraption was rather ingenious, it allowed the villagers to move the log to the height that they wanted to be able to cut whatever thickness of board they wanted. They could also use it to cut the boards into any angular shape they wanted. The two pieces of wood that ran parallel could be used as guides to make sure that the wood was cut straight and not get warped boards.


    After each board was made they moved the wood to either a long table or a few sawhorses. After they were there a few of the more skilled carpenters then shaped the wood closer to what shape they needed for the building they were building. The accuracy of what they were doing was impressive. They didn¡¯t have any nails, or screws, really any modern fastener. Instead they used cleaver cutting, shaping, and wedges to lock the wood pieces in place. As such the rebuilding process was moving forward, but it was still slow going. Especially seeing how they started work on Bjorn, Meira, Alaric, and Tayla¡¯s home first.


    The structure that was being built was an impressive structure. It had 6 separate rooms, 4 of which were bedrooms. The other two were one as a communal space, and the last as a kitchen and dining area of sorts. The entire process was rather intensive. As Bjorn was out gathering trees, a few of the other villagers and Alaric were tasked with setting up a foundation for the building. They dug down until they found rock on key points of the building. From there Alaric and another villager who had some experience doing masonry work began to cut sections of the rock out that the wood for the foundation would fit into.


    Tayla who was a city girl and not very well versed in the construction process got roped in by a few of the older folks to start working on rendering a sort of stain to help preserve the wood. The process of rendering it seemed not too intensive, but took a long time to do so. One of the older women rolled out a large metal cauldron from inside her house, they built a fire and set the cauldron over it. First they started with water bringing it to a boil. From there they threw in chunks of animal fat, herbs by the handful, and the only thing Bjorn recognized, a section of black tar ivy. From there they had to stir it for hours, every few hours they added another handful of herbs. Around the 6 hour mark someone came and took over for Tayla letting her take a break. The entire process took 3 days to render down the substance.


    Once everything was ready they dipped the wooden foundations in the liquid, the dark tar looking liquid bubbled up onto the wood. Once on the surface it roiled, making it look like it was boiling. After it settled down the substance sank into the wood''s surface leaving the entire piece of wood looking the exact same as it did right before it got dipped. Once complete they let it sit out for around an hour before placing the wood snuggly into the rock that Alaric made. From there it was a simple matter to backfill around the foundations.


    ¡°That was all a bit extreme.¡± Bjorn commented to Zaine.


    ¡°Oh contraire. I think it was exactly what we needed. We wanted to make sure that the house would stand up to the test of time. Unfortunately untreated wood rots away in around a decade. So by taking these steps we have ensured that the house should stand past that. Of course that implies that no outside force causes the house to burn down, or be destroyed. But what we did here should slow down the rotting process by at least 50 years.¡±


    The next few days from there were used for making planks necessary for framing in the floor. On the second night after they got the frame in place it was a full moon. The villagers turned and had a rather sleepless night. All in all it was a rather uneventful night. Due to young werewolves having issues restraining their desire to eat they set up 2 full time adults to watch over the non-werewolves and intercept any of the youngsters who tried to get a little too friendly.


    The next day after the transformation the entire town was in a state of torpor. Not much got done due to the fact that most were trying to recover from the transformation. Apparently the act of their bodies growing and then shrinking was a wholly unpleasant experience. Most of the town walked around town looking like they were sporting a gnarly hangover.


    It was on one of those kinds of days that Aiko was working next to Bjorn. ¡°Hey Aiko, why haven''t you guys built some sort of defense?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well, from my understanding you all have lived here for at least 4 years, in those 4 years you haven''t built some sort of defensive structure. No ditches, no moat, no wall, not even a basic tower. Why not? I would think that it would help incase of what happened.¡±


    ¡°Well up until the bandits attacked our only threat was monsters and creatures. Most monsters and animals have better survival instincts and senses than humanoids. As such they can sense what we truly are. Leading to most monsters avoiding the village of werewolves.¡±


    ¡°But in the grand scheme of things around 90% of the time you are actually humanoids and not the werewolves.¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°That is true, but up until a week ago it didn¡¯t matter. We are for sure going to put more effort into some sort of defensive structures, at the very least some sort of lookout tower. I also think it would help us out if we decided to have a few of us dedicated to learning how to fight.¡±


    ¡°Yeah that would probably be for the best, I bet if you asked Alaric he would gladly teach you.¡± Bjorn remarked.


    After a few minutes of working in silence, Aiko spoke up in a nervous tone. ¡°You know, if you guys plan on staying around here, we would gladly turn you into werewolves. If of course you wanted us to do so. If you don¡¯t it is no big deal, all of you are welcome to stay even if you don¡¯t accept our offer.¡± Aiko¡¯s body posture, and hunched shoulders were a paragon of uncertainty.


    Bjorn could tell that this offer has been weighing on Aiko for the last few days. ¡°I can¡¯t speak for everyone, but I would rather not be a werewolf.¡± Her body drooped a little at hearing his words. ¡°I do appreciate your offer though. There is nothing wrong with you being werewolves. I think for myself, I would rather not change. You gain extreme power while in werewolf form, but I think the drawback is something I don¡¯t want to deal with. Besides I expect if I became a werewolf my budget for clothes would sky rocket. And I am too broke to be able to afford new clothes.¡± He finished with a smile.


    As he spoke, Aiko¡¯s posture straightened out, and there was a visible relaxation in the skin around her eyes.  Doubly so after Bjorn made his joke. ¡°Thank you for your kind words, and the offer is always on the table.¡±


    With that they both set back to work. ¡°Hey Aiko, when you say you could turn us into werewolves, how does that work?¡±


    ¡°That one is pretty simple actually. From my understanding Lycanthropy is a curse, and that curse is carried and spread through our saliva. So all we would need to do is bite you on one of the full moons and then on the next full moon you would turn into a werewolf for the first time. That first night we would make sure that no one other than us are around, because you lose all control of the first transformation, and you would go feral. Not to worry though, it only happens on your first transformation. Every other time passed that the desire to consume and kill is still there, but very muted. To the point where I have never seen any adult lose their control.¡±


    The rest of the day was spent with some of the more experienced carpenters teaching Bjorn about jointery. He didn¡¯t think that it would matter all that much, but the carpenters kept an eye on Bjorn as he worked, and boy did he make mistakes. It was around every 4 or 5 minutes that someone would correct the way Bjorn held his chisel, or the position and angle at which he used it to smooth and cut the smallest part of the wood. The guidance paid dividends, because it allowed Bjorn to quickly gain skill levels in carpentry. why haven''t you guys built some sort of defense?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well, from my understanding you all have lived here for at least 4 years, in those 4 years you haven''t built some sort of defensive structure. No ditches, no moat, no wall, not even a basic tower. Why not? I would think that it would help incase of what happened.¡±


    ¡°Well up until the bandits attacked our only threat was monsters and creatures. Most monsters and animals have better survival instincts and senses than humanoids. As such they can sense what we truly are. Leading to most monsters avoiding the village of werewolves.¡±


    ¡°But in the grand scheme of things around 90% of the time you are actually humanoids and not the werewolves.¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°Again you are spot on Bjorn, but the thing is most creatures have an inane sense of their strength in comparison to what the strength of their opponents are, and as such they know generally which fights to take, and which ones to run away from. As for us we are fortunate that they typically think we are the same power level we are when we are transformed.¡±


    ¡°But you see that¡¯s the thing I don''t understand, for the most part you are just as weak as a normal human, or whatever race you are. Why would they feel something different?¡±


    Aiko said something in a language that Bjorn didn¡¯t know. But by the inflection and tone on her comment it was something along the lines of ¡®Lord help me¡¯ ¡°I don¡¯t fucking know Bjorn, I don¡¯t know how animals and monsters feel. I just don¡¯t know.¡± Aiko snapped out. ¡°Stop asking the exact same question 4 different times just worded differently.¡± After her outburst she stood, looked at Bjorn and turned around and stomped away.

 Chapter 21

    They all fell into a routine working on building their home. Roughly 25% of the town was dedicated to building the new construction. That added up to 8 or 9 villagers at any given time. That number fluctuated sometimes all the way down to 4 or 5, and some days up to 15 to 16 people. With 4 children and 3 elderly it was a good sizable chunk of the working force dedicated to building the house. The rest were spread out doing the many small tasks needed to keep a small farming town running. Bjorn was the only one who consistently worked on building the house. Alaric spent his time going between building the house, helping in the fields, training the 4 villagers who stated that they wanted to learn how to fight, repairing the roads, and doing some stonework.


    Tayla spent most of her time in the woods with a few of the younger villagers, the ones who spent their time hunting, and exploring the surroundings. During the weeks that followed their fight to free everyone Tayla and the hunters grew close. They taught her many things about woodcraft, and tracking, and how to survive on the land. In turn she taught many of the hunters how to move more silently, how to defend themselves with their small weapons, and how to better stalk people or monsters.


    Meira headed a trip back to Vanta to sell of the weapons and gear that they took from the bandits, which took up around a week to do so. They sold the gear and with the money bought supplies that the town would need. Salt, pepper, ropes, a new loom, iron and steel tools, new draw knives¡­ The list was intensive. In the end they bought entirely way too much for the 5 of them to carry so they splurged and bought a horse and cart to bring everything back to Lief¡¯s crossing. Other than that Meira had quiet the affinity for plants and herbs. So she also helped out with the farming and care of plants, she also spent a good portion of her time the various gardens doing all the various tasks to help the garden grow.


    All and all life was pleasant as they found a place into the populous of Lief¡¯s crossing. The town took them in just like they said they would. As such their little community flourished as Bjorn got his first taste of a community since coming to the Eld. Of course the people of Nontorum welcomed him, but he didn¡¯t belong, he was still just an outsider. It was the first time he felt like he belonged in over a year and a half. It was a wonderful experience and one he didn¡¯t realize just how much he missed that feeling. The only bur in that feeling of belonging was on the nights where there was a full moon they would lock themselves in Aiko¡¯s house to avoid the chance of one of the young werewolves trying to kill them.


    It was a month and a half into them joining the community of Lief¡¯s crossing when the crops were finally ready. On the day of harvest everyone stopped what they were doing and helped out in the fields. The entire process took another week and a half to harvest all of the crops and bring them into town. During which time the mostly completed structure that was going to be their house sat neglected.


    Over the course of the harvest one of the spells that Meira knew came in handy. Her levitate spell was a godsend.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Spell: Levitate


    </td>


    <td>


    Cast time: 15 seconds


    </td>


    <td>


    Components: Verbal, Somatic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Range: Sight


    </td>


    <td>


    Duration: Channel


    </td>


    <td>


    Cost: Variable 3-150 mana per second


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    You can levitate any item you can see. The items weight is limited to 50 lbs. And move the object at a speed of a walk. You may expend extra mana to affect multiple objects within close proximity to one another. This spells mana cost is further increased by the distance the object or objects are from the caster.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The pure versatility and usefulness of the spell could not be overshadowed. Even with the 50 lbs. limit, and the speed limit she could do it almost all day. Paired with her carrying and hauling as well she did the work of three people by herself. Most of the crops that they brought in were not overly heavy, but most of it was awkward to carry. There were only so many burlap sacks one person could carry before it just became impossible to move them without dropping one.


    Meira¡¯s second ability was called flawless concentration. Normally when casting a channeled spell you were rooted in place, but Meira¡¯s ability allowed her to focus on a channel spell while also allowing her to move around as well.


    Overall the harvest, and moving of crops, and then storing crops took over two weeks to accomplish, and that was with everyone working on bringing the crops in. During that time many of the villagers filled the party in on the ins and outs of farming. All the various different kinds of crops, how to plant them, how to care for them, how to harvest them and finally how to store them.


    Between the work, and the detailed explanation Bjorn gained a new skill.


    You have gained a new skill: Farming. One core part of life is consuming something else for energy. As a farmer you have learned how to tame the land and different plants to provide an easy form of food for yourself and those around you.


    Congratulations you have advanced your skill level in farming, reaching skill level 2¡­ and 7. Crops and herbs that you cultivate from a sprout have 14% increased yields.


    One secret Bjorn kept to himself was the effect of the bracers that the townsfolk had given to him, as such they were constantly surprised by his apparent talent with farming. No matter what task he did he was able to do it ever so slightly faster than what they expected. Gaining him alot of praise.


    After those two weeks they set to finishing the building, at least on the outside. The amount of people dedicated to the construction waned as many were dedicated to preparing the harvest to be held over winter. That was where Tayla and Alaric went, while Meria and Bjorn helped with the construction. Once again the utility of Meria''s levitate spell could not be overstated. With her magic and the labor it took another 2 weeks to finish the exterior of the building.


    Of course work wasn''t all that they did, as much as they would have liked to have a finished product a large portion of their free time was dedicated to other things. Bjorn got back to his evening runs, and through conversations with Meria he learned she actually spoke orcish as well as elvish. As they worked on the house and in the evening Meira started to teach Bjorn how to speak orcish, and elvish.


    She also started to teach Bjorn how to cast weak haste. The lessons were just as frustrating as his lessons with Medera had been, but in this case Meira was considerably more patient with Bjorn''s constant fuck ups.


    Alaric spent his time either working, or teaching the villagers how to fight. The cantankerous little dwarf could be almost malicious as he trained the villagers, many of them got their asses handed to them by the dwarf, even though they normally had a foot and a half on Alaric at the very least.


    Outside of training and working he spent a lot of time with all the different people in town. It was quickly becoming apparent that they cared for Alaric as a whole more than anyone else in the party.  As such they kept him on his toes with jokes, comments, idle chit chat, or stories.


    Listening in, Bjorn learned a lot about Alaric, where he came from, what he has done in his life, and about the various different cultures of dwarf societies in the serrated mountains. Alaric was born into a small mining village in the outskirts of the dwarven kingdom named the Iron fists. As it turns out Dwarven kingdoms are usually broken into the various different clans that have spread so large that they take up vast distances.


    With growing up in the outskirts of the kingdom there was little aid from the more established parts of the kingdom. So the village had to fend for themselves. Fortunately for the village many of the dwarves there had lived hard lives as it was, so it was just the way of life for them. At a young age Alaric was taught how to fight by his elders. Every single person in the village knew how to fight, it was the only way to ensure their survival.


    It was their way of life, and as such the villages often times form real tight knit communities that trust each other explicitly, and distrust outsiders. It is not unheard-of for dwarves to shun any outsider this includes other dwarves, and even sometimes their own clans.


    It was the gnolls who captured him, it was a normal mining expedition that his village was going on collectively, only leaving a token force behind to defend their home. They had broken down a wall and into another tunnel. On the other side was a large party of deep gnolls. It was heartbreaking listening to Alaric talk about how any of his family who resisted were unceremoniously cut down by the gnolls, over half of the expedition died and the other half taken as slaves. From there he was split from his family and then ended up in various different gnoll settlements until he met Bjorn and Meira.


    When asked if he wanted to find his family he answered ¡°I would, but it has been over a year, and the survival rate of gnoll slaves is low. I would be surprised if out of the 70 of us taken as slaves there was more than 5 of us left alive.¡±


    As for Tayla she was like a fish out of water, growing up in the streets of Vanta she had always been another face in the crowd. Being in Lief¡¯s crossing was amazing for her and at the same time terrifying. Growing up in Vanta it was easy to blend in and not be singled out. While in Lief¡¯s crossing there was no anonymity. The community helped her greatly, but some days she wished she was just a face in the crowd.


    Her low cut and tightly fitting outfit, as well as her flirty and friendly behavior made her popular with the men in town. But at the cost of causing the women disliking her. She seemed to be determined to make her way through all of the single men in town. All except for Alaric. Including Bjorn, she continued to pursue him with a determination that would cause most to blush. Much to her chagrin though Bjorn rebuffed her time and time again.


    One oddity was Meira, her hostile and cold attitude towards Tayla had turned and they were starting to become fast friends. It was starting to become apparent to everyone except for Bjorn that Meira had a bit of a crush on him. Which oddly enough didn''t impact her opinion of Tayla. Every time Bjorn rejected Tayla''s increasingly bold advances did nothing but make Meria fonder of Bjorn.


    By the time their home was finished and the crops were processed and stored it was nearing middle fall. And with over half of the buildings in town out of commission because of the raid. Most of the townsfolk started to work on repairs in earnest. Many long days were spent repairing what they could of the town before winter hit. It didn''t help that out of the month they lost at least 9 days a month getting prepared for the full moon, and then recovering from there.


    At least being because each moon wasn''t on a one month cycle. Many of them had longer or shorter cycles. On top of that with the two suns in the sky many of the moons had full moons faster than what was expected. For the air moon, one month it was full 3 times. Some part of the villagers could tell when a full moon was going to happen and so they had to prepare for it in the evening. As such it took a while for anything to get done. There were obvious benefits to being a werewolf, but there were drawbacks that weren''t quite as readily apparent.


    As it stood by the time the snow hit half of the houses that needed to had been repaired. The winter was long and cold, and cramped. With the town not being fully intact by the time the snow hit many people had to cram into each other''s houses to protect themselves from the weather.


    Bjorn, Meira, Alaric, and Tayla''s house was used as a common hall, with almost ten people crammed into the building it was tight, but the large spacious rooms were perfect for people to meet. Bjorn and Alaric shared a room. Meria and Tayla both had their own. They also would have shared a room, but Tayla''s night time activities made it hard to sleep in the same room. The last room was used for one of the families in town. Extra blankets were hung from the ceiling to help separate the large dinning room for more privacy.


    All the while during the winter Meria tried to teach Bjorn air magic with no success. On the other hand they had success teaching him elvish and orcish. Alaric got in on the lessons and taught Bjorn how to speak dwarvish and common better.


    You have learned the language of elvish to a basic level of understanding.


    It is hard to believe but your mental capabilities is enough for you to learn 4 languages. You have learned Orcish to a basic level of understanding.


    Bjorn also dedicated a few hours of his day every evening to training, two days a week he worked with his sword with Alaric. On another one of the days they worked on hand to hand combat. Two of the days he worked on his archery, firing arrows over and over into trees and targets. Whenever one of his arrows broke he would save them up until he had enough that it would take an entire day to create new shafts and then attach the fetching and arrowheads to the new shafts.


    Every single day at the end of it Bjorn would spend it expending all of his mana to train his magical skills. For most of these days he would be alone in his practice, every once and a while Meria would join him to casting spells until her mana would come close to bottoming out. The intense headache that came from a lack of mana never went away, but it was becoming easier and easier to ignore and push through it.


    It was on one of the days that Meira was trying to teach Bjorn air magic when she got fed up and gave up on teaching him. ¡°I have seen more aptitude in a slug for air magic than you apparently have.¡± before walking away. That was the end of the magic lessons between the two of them. Their evening training sessions continued even after her outburst.


    Using his new found spare time Bjorn started working on his alchemy again. His ingredients were limited, when the bandits raided they had burned the small hut that the village used to store their herbs. Which also held their seasoning herbs. Apparently the bandits couldn¡¯t identify which herb would kill them and which herb would be good in a stew so instead of trying they just lit the entire building on fire. Taking the issue out of everyone¡¯s hands.


    Months started to blur together as they continued to live in Lief¡¯s crossing. Their routine was great for giving Bjorn a bit of normalcy that he has been missing ever since he came to the Eld. It was great to slow down and go from one crisis to another. The break did wonders for his mental state. It was hard for his friends to tell based on the situation they had met him in, but for Bjorn it was apparent how his new life was affecting him.


    Normally he was rather carefree and easy going. But ever since he came to the Eld the joy in his life had been eroded, he caught himself constantly having negative thoughts. He had been on high alert, jumping at every little sound. When people came to him he would unintentionally keep looking at their hands, preparing for them to attack him. He was like a bowstring pulled tight, ready to be set off and loosed on whatever threatened him next.


    But the people of Lief¡¯s crossing had none of those instincts. They were happy, and cheerful. They laughed, and cared for each other. Never once did Bjorn see any of them jump. Nore did he see their expressions break and fall, what he had grown to expect to see on faces of someone who was hurting, or in mourning. That laughter and joy did wonders to disarm Bjorn and he started to see the beauty in the world again.


    Sometime a few months into winter everyone began to talk excitedly about next week.


    ¡°What is everyone excited for?¡± Bjorn asked one day while he and Zaine were doing some work on one of the houses that had been slightly burnt in the bandit raid.


    ¡°It¡¯s a new year.¡± Zaine answered. Seeing Bjorn¡¯s slightly confused face he continued. ¡°Every year many of the enlightened races come together and celebrate a single day of the year. The new year is the only holiday that is universal with many of the enlightened races. Each different race has their own historical days that they celebrate, but everyone puts aside any differences to celebrate the coming of a new year.¡±


    Kallie walked into the building in the middle of Zaine¡¯s explanation and started to eavesdrop halfway through. When Zaine said ¡®everyone puts aside any differences¡¯ Kallie¡¯s face scrunched up in anger. ¡°Not everyone, those filthy goblins don¡¯t put aside any difference.¡±


    Zaine gave her a stern look. ¡°I said enlightened races, goblins can hardly be counted as enlightened. They can¡¯t even be counted as a race, they are a rodent.¡±


    His words seemed to mollify Kallie, but only confused Bjorn. He couldn¡¯t help himself and had to ask his next question. ¡°What do you mean by enlightened races? And why don¡¯t they count as enlightened?¡±


    ¡°We call any race that gets along with each other as a whole enlightened.¡± Zaine said. ¡°As a general whole humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, sprites, halflings, anthropomorph, orcs races like that are considered enlightened races. They are the races that are able to live together in relative peace. Other races like orks, goblins, trolls, drow, nagpas, hobgoblins, and the such are considered fallen races. Of course there are outliers in every situation but as a general rule they don¡¯t mess well with others in living situations.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Wrapping his head around the blatant racism he was hearing come out of Zaine¡¯s normally reasonable mouth threw Bjorn for a bit of a loop. ¡°Wait, why did you say orcs twice for both the enlightened and the fallen races?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say the same thing twice.¡± Zaine continued. ¡°I said Orcs, and then Orks.¡±


    ¡°You are saying the same word.¡±


    ¡°It might sound like it, but I am not saying the same thing. Orcs are large, green, strong, and generally friendly creatures. Orks are large, tan, ugly, savage creatures. They are not the same thing.¡±


    Zaine¡¯s explanation did nothing but cause annoyance and confusion in Bjorn. ¡°Well if they are two different things, and different races. Why give them the same name?¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t have the same name though, they are orcs and orks. One with a c, and one with a k.¡±


    ¡°Gah! Who came up with this stupid naming convention? So which one is the good orc?¡±


    ¡°The one with the c.¡±


    ¡°So the one with the k are the bad orks?¡± Both Zaine and Kallie nodded in agreement. ¡°Whatever dumbass came up with that needs to be fired.¡± Bjorn ranted at the idiocy of the naming convention.


    Standing there watching Bjorn seethe, Kallie waited for the rage to dissipate for a bit before speaking. ¡°Well as Zaine was saying, we are celebrating the new year, so we will have food, dancing, tales, and drink. In many small communities people go all out for these celebrations. As such there is normally a cooking competition, that is what the buzz is all about, everyone is trying to figure out what they are going to make for the competition.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I guess that makes sense, am I going to be expected to provide something.¡±


    Shaking his head, Zaine spoke up. ¡°No, I think Aiko was going to ask you to be one of the judges this year. It would not be fair for you to submit your own food with you being a judge and all. That happened one year, and it turned out to not be a fair competition when one third of the judges had a bias.¡±


    ¡°Yeah it was not fair at all, especially when Borus bribed Jaine to vote for his food as well.¡± Kallie said, once she was done speaking she fell quiet and her face fell. Borus was one of the villagers who died in the raid. Clearing her throat she continued in a husky tone which quickly cleared up. ¡°Anyways we all decided not to let that happen again. I expect this one to be more personal, as normally there is a community component and a family component. Well seeing how we have less living space I expect there to be more community and less individual family.¡±


    ¡°That is fair.¡± Bjorn agreed. ¡°How do you know that the event won''t be ruined by a full moon?¡±


    ¡°Ooo. That is a good question.¡± Kallie said. ¡°It wasn¡¯t until last year that I thought to ask that one.¡±


    Zaine cut in. ¡°It is really a simple question, but doesn¡¯t seem straightforward. In all of my life the day leading up to the new year through the day after I have never experienced a full moon. And even though I don¡¯t really want to admit it, In the last 35 years I have been a werewolf. It has never happened. To mean that says it can¡¯t happen.¡±


    Zaine¡¯s answer made Bjorn think. ¡°I believe you. It does make me wonder as to why though. Logically speaking it shouldn¡¯t be possible. With the two suns shining on the 6 moons it should be at least possible for a full moon to fall on a new year sometime.¡±


    The entire next week the town was abuzz with activity as people made decorations, and prepared for the celebration. Strings of rope decorated with bits of colorful dried flowers, or other plant material were hung out all over town stringing the houses together. The snow in between the houses were cleared away, and a large fire pit was dug for a fire. Houses were also a flurry of activity as people cleaned, or started preparations on their food submissions.


    The day before was when most everyone did the cooking for their meals. That night every single house had a glow coming from either outside, or through the windows. A few of the homes were lucky enough to have internal stoves, most had to deal with a firepit inside or outside of their house. Not that the firepit inside the houses was a big deal, it was what was commonly used to heat the interior of the house. There was one house that had a fist sized stone that constantly radiated a soft heat that they used to warm the inside of the house. When Bjorn found that out he used Identify on the stone.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Fire stone


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 1.8 lbs


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    This stone emanates a fire attuned power. It is a common ingredient in making fire based potions and focuses. This stone also outputs a constant pleasant heat.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The morning of the festivities everyone was in high spirits. All of the kids were running around excitable as kids are. While all of the adults prepared a large breakfast. The day was clear, beautiful, and warm. Large snowflakes covered the ground, with the sky being empty, the light from the suns lit up their surroundings, making everything sparkle as the light refracted off of the bright snowflakes.


    The weather had been cold and the sky overcast making everything seem dreary for the better part of a few weeks. But on the day of the celebration the cold spell had broken and a pale blue sky greeted them. Some of the decorations around town caught the light and set different colors dancing across the ground as the hanging bulbs spun slowly from where they hung. A large area was cleared of snow in the middle of the town and long wooden benches had been built and set up along the outside of the clearing.


    The morning was pleasant, the food was a mixture of freshly baked bread, oats, and a strange fruit that came off of a common tree around the forest known as a squish tree. The fruit had green and purple flesh underneath the skin. The flesh was a mix of sweet and tangy, almost like tajin on an apple back on earth. When mixed with the oats for their oatmeal it sweetened like molasses. A common staple of new years parties, as Bjorn was told, due to the fact that the fruit ripened in the dead of winter. While everything else was dead, the squish tree was a vibrant green with its fruit hanging off the branches.


    Much of the morning was spent in pleasant conversations, with everyone in high spirits it set quite a festive tone for the day. Bjorn was just finished up a conversation with Jaine when Meira plopped herself down on the bench next to Bjorn.


    ¡°Good morning Bjorn.¡±


    ¡°Well, good morning to you too! You seem awfully chipper this morning.¡±


    Meira shot Bjorn a beaming smile. ¡°You are right, it is a wonderful day. The sun is out, the clouds have broke, the food is good, and there is good company. Why wouldn¡¯t I be awfully chipper?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s just nice. We of all people have less to be cheery about.¡±


    The smile kind of froze on her face, and then slowly faded. ¡°You know Bjorn, you have been focused on our past a little too much. I don¡¯t think it is healthy.¡±


    Bjorn just sat there for a second. ¡°How can you not think about it? How do you get past the horrors we have had to live through? I wake up in the middle of the night in cold sweats dreaming about the gnolls beating me. I even sometimes have dreams that they are eating me alive? How do I forget about that? How do I get past that? I mean look at all of the joy and happiness around us. Less than 4 months ago almost 20% of this village died from other people. Look at them now, they are happy.¡±


    Meira waited and watched Bjorn as he went through his little tirade. Towards the end he had started to raise his voice, to which Meira made a gesture and he lowered his voice again. Some time during his rant he had lowered his eyes. Once he finished he looked up and met Meira¡¯s eyes. In them he could see worry, compassion, but most importantly care.


    ¡°You bring up some good points Bjorn. Most of the people here in town have little reason to be happy, and to celebrate. If you have been paying attention over the last 3 months we have lived here, every single one of them has mourned, many of them are still in mourning. But today is a special day. The new year is a time to reflect and celebrate what has come to pass. I expect tonight when the drinks come out many tears will be shed in remembrance at the friends and family lost this last year. But here, and now, it is not the time for mourning. This morning is to celebrate what has happened, and that they are still here.¡±


    Meira stopped in the middle of her speech to take a long drink out of the cup she held in her hands. ¡°To these people live hard lives. Because of that they have a strong sense of purpose. Sure they may have lost a portion of their town, but the rest are still here and to them that is worth celebrating. This world is a hard world, I don¡¯t know much about your home, you don¡¯t talk about it much. But from what I can tell your world and your life before coming here was soft and it was easy. I guarantee you that these weren¡¯t the first that these people have lost, and I also guarantee that they won¡¯t be the last. When you spend all of your time dwelling on what happened in the past you miss the beauty of what is around you.¡±


    Meira gestured to the clearing, and the trees surrounding the town. The decorations and the light shining down making the ground sparkle, and all the different lights dancing across the ground. ¡°You miss all of this. I know it can be hard to do, but if you don¡¯t accept the reality of the situation you miss out on the life that you have struggled to obtain. I know that it is hard, but it is important. Not only for you, but for those in your life. If you spend your life angry and depressed it affects those around you, and it is not in a good way.¡±


    ¡°You are right, but I don¡¯t know how to do it.¡± Bjorn said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have an answer for you Bjorn. I don''t know what to say to get you to see the beauty in the world again. You don¡¯t have to worry about me or Alaric leaving you, we have a bond that I don¡¯t think can be broken. We have been through too much and suffered too much together for that. I do know that of all of us you are the one least accepted here in town, and there is a reason for that, Bjorn.¡±


    Meira held Bjorn¡¯s gaze until he dropped his eyes, from there they sat together in companionable silence for what felt like ages. Meira let him sit there, she could tell that he had a lot on his mind.


    Meira was the one who broke the silence. ¡°Does Earth have any celebrations like this?¡±


    ¡°Kind of, not really. We have a holiday called Christmas that has a little bit of this pageantry. A lot of people make a big deal out of it. They normally make it last a whole month. Usually two or three weeks before the day itself there is a thing called a stroll, and everyone gathers together in town and walks around town, there is food and drinks. You know, it¡¯s funny, Christmas was originally a pagan holiday. But there is a religious group known as the Christians who wanted to convert a large population, so they took over Christmas and said it was the day that their lord was born.¡±


    Bjorn scoffed at the thought. ¡°But anyways they took a lot of pagan practices and rolled it into their holiday. The day of Christmas itself is normally a family oriented time. From what I have seen so far pretty much all of the month leading up to Christmas is put into a single day. So kind of, but not really.¡± There was a pause in the explanation. ¡°You know, when I was a kid I was always super excited for Christmas, there were gifts that were given, and because of that and spending time with the family I was always ecstatic for it. As I grew older I started to hate Christmas because of what it started to represent.¡±


    ¡°Oh? And what was that?¡±


    ¡°I hated Christmas because it started to take over other holidays. There was thanksgiving, Halloween, and new years. Christmas kind of took all three of those holidays and wrapped them into one. Often time stores would put out Christmas decorations before even Halloween, which happened 2 months before Christmas. It ended up being shoved down everyone¡¯s throat because of all the stores pushing Christmas.¡±


    Meira started to move to stand, taking her now empty plate with her. ¡°You know, that sounds both equally amazing and terrible.¡± She kind of stood there for a second, the look on her face said that she wanted to say something, but didn¡¯t know how to say it. She took a deep breath and held it a second. ¡°You really should think about what we talked about earlier. I think it will help you in the long run.¡± After that she turned and walked away.


    Bjorn sat there by himself quietly slowly picking at his now cold food for over an hour. Aiko came over to him, sat down and spoke. ¡°Are you ready to be a judge? You look troubled, we can ask someone else to do it if you¡¯d like.¡±


    Hiding his expression he plastered a smile on his face. ¡°Yeah, I am ready and I can do it. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    They both stood and Aiko led him to her house, just outside her house they had moved her table outside and at the low table sat Tayla, and Kallie. Directing him to sit in between the two she ushered the first person to the table. It was Laine who had made a dish that looked like a tortilla, and had a spread that you were supposed to put on top of it. It was surprisingly sweet and the spread was a mix of sweet and salty, bringing the entire thing together.


    The next hour was spent with people bringing their dishes forward. Each different dish that was presented the cook gave a brief explanation of where it came from, its back story, what was in it, and how they made it. There were dishes ranging from sweet, to savory, to disgusting. Almost all of them were recipes that came from the cooks family passed down from generation to generation. Once everything was sampled the entire village had gathered. After the last dish was presented it was pandemonium as everyone tried to get a try of the dishes. It became a potluck style meal as everyone grabbed a little of whatever they wanted to try. One oddity was that almost every single dish was served cold. With the preparation process and the lack of infrastructure to keep food warm without cooking it further, almost everyone tried to make a dish that would taste good cold.


    By the time that everyone had their fill every single dish except for one was eaten. The dish was Alaric¡¯s dish, which was a mix between mushrooms, a common root, and what tasted like dirt. There were actually only three people who had some of his dish, those three were the judges. Once the winner was crowned everyone dispersed into groups talking. Laughter could be heard throughout the crowd.


    Alaric came up to Bjorn with a massive grin on his face. ¡°So what did you think of my dish?¡±


    ¡°It tasted like dirt. It tasted like you just walked out and got a pan full of dirt.¡±


    Alaric¡¯s smile just grew larger which made Bjorn suspicious of something. ¡°That is what it was wasn''t it? You just did that to get the judges to eat literal dirt.¡±


    The accusation made Alaric bust out laughing. ¡°You are nearly there, it was actually a fine mixture of clay, silt, and dirt. I just threw a few mushrooms I found while collecting the stuff in there to make it seem like it was an actual dish.¡±


    ¡°You''re a dick.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Alaric said as he clapped Bjorn on the back. ¡°It is good to see you smile though.¡± Alaric then walked off to the nearest group, as he joined the circle he said something making everyone look over at Bjorn, and then they all started laughing. Alaric then moved on to the next group. As he was walking he kept eye contact with Bjorn with a large shit eating grin on his face. Bjorn just shook his head and flipped his friend off.


    Unbeknownst to Alaric his actions didn¡¯t make Bjorn feel included, it actually made him feel isolated. With each new group that Alaric went to Bjorn just felt worse and worse. Every time they found out about his antics they would laugh at Bjorn¡¯s unfortunate situation, but they wouldn¡¯t interact with him. The feeling of loneliness just continued to build, until he felt like no one liked him. Meira¡¯s words earlier about being the least accepted weighed on Bjorn.


    Bjorn entered into a doom thought spiral. First he would like about all the small instances over the last few months where something felt a little off, or the conversation ended awkwardly. Then he would enter thinking about how what he said in the conversation probably negatively affected who he was talking to. From there it was a quick jump to think about how it affected their perception of him. Which further made him feel isolated and alone. Which made him question more conversations that seemed perfectly fine initially, but now maybe he was reading the person and the situation wrong.


    His negative thought spiral was unconsciously being projected into any conversation he had with villagers, or any group he joined. Which also led to more isolation, intentional or not. Soon no one was seeking him out for conversations, and he started to just go through the motions of the day. Going onto autopilot he followed as the village then broke up into smaller groups of families, or more intimate groups. After that they started heading towards the large fire pit that was in the town square as they lit the pile of wood inside.


    The fire quickly built until it was over 10 feet tall, they had cut different types of trees and interspersed them in the pile of wood. All of the different types of wood burned a different color. There were pinks, blues, greens, and purples that would sometimes flare up briefly before fading away, or would stay as a long burn and turn a section of the fire a brilliant baby blue for minutes on end.


    During the fire Bjorn sat by himself at the edge just looking into the fire. To anyone else it looked like he was watching the show in front of him in wonder, but in actuality he was barely seeing the display in front of him. He was stuck in his death spiral.


    Right when Bjorn had enough of being around people and was about to stand and head to bed the next section of the celebration started. People started to get up and hand out small items to each other. Bjorn didn¡¯t get a good look at what was happening, he was too distracted. Until Rose, the little 5 year old elf girl came up to Bjorn and presented him with a small dried flower. It had soft white petals which gave way to a vibrant almost neon green at the tips of each petal.


    Her gesture was so unexpected that Bjorn just sat there and stared for a second. Rose had a bashful look on her face as kids do, with her head tilted down but with her eyes looking at Bjorn through her eyelashes. They stayed there Bjorn sitting and Rose standing until she reached out taking Bjorn¡¯s hand and softly put the flower into Bjorn¡¯s turned up hand, she flashed him a genuine smile that only a kid can give before turning around and quickly running away. Leaving Bjorn sitting there staring at the slower in his hand.


    Next up was Paine, he walked over to where Bjorn sat and sat down next to him. Staring into the fire. ¡°We do this every year.¡± He said with a deep voice. ¡°And yet I never get tired of watching the colors dance in the flames.¡±


    His words jostled Bjorn as he drew his eyes away from the flower in his hand and started to actually see the colors dance into and out of existence in the flame. It was beautiful.


    ¡°Well.¡± Paine said. ¡°This is for you.¡± As he held out a small finely carved wooden figure, it was of a man holding a bow standing over a cowering woman and her child. ¡°I am not the best carver around here, but it is supposed to be you.¡± Paine said as he plopped it into Bjorn¡¯s other hand. He closed Bjorn¡¯s hand around the figure, patted the back of his hand a few times before standing and walking away.


    In the end he had 7 of the villagers who had made him or gave him some sort of gift. Each time it took Bjorn by surprise over and over again. Finally it was Meira, she dropped down next to Bjorn, leaning into him as they watched the fire. ¡°It is beautiful.¡± She said, ¡°It reminds me of home, we did this every year at the new years as well.¡± By this time the wood next to him and his hands were full of items given to him by the villagers.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really have much to give to you, I wasn¡¯t expecting this part of the celebration. So all I do have for you is this.¡± As she turned her head towards Bjorn and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. ¡°I know it is hardly enough to repay all that you have done for me, but it is all I have to give.¡± After she stood and left like the others had before her.


    Bjorn sat there for a few more minutes, stunned and touched by the care he was shown tonight. Stowing all of the items he was given inside his portable pocket Bjorn slowly stood and left the fire, heading back to the home that he and the town had spent countless hours building. Slowly he methodically made his way into the main room, bending down to take off his boots. The common room was empty, he walked into the room that he and Alaric shared. Walking towards his bed he collapsed into it. Not able to contain it anymore, Bjorn curled up into a ball and began to cry.


    (If you do not care about advancement you may skip to the next part)


    You have advanced your skill level in swordsmanship, reaching skill level 5 and 6. Your attacks with swords now deal 18% more damage over base value.


    You have advanced your skill level in alchemy, reaching skill level 15. Potions you make will be 14% increased effect and 30% increased duration of effect.


    You have advanced your skill level in hand to hand. reaching skill level 8. Blows you land with bare fists and legs now deal 16% extra damage.


    You have advanced your skill level in carpentry. reaching skill level 2¡­ 6. Durability of wooden items you build will be increased by 15%.


    You have advanced your skill level in construction, reaching skill level 9. Buildings you build will have 18% increased durability.


    You have advanced your skill level in bowyering, reaching skill level 2. The arrows and bows you create have an increase of 2% in quality.


    You have advanced your skill level in archery, reaching skill level 13. Damage from arrows you shoot is increased by 39% over base damage.


    You have advanced your skill level in light magic. reaching skill level 7. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.


    You have advanced your skill level in earth magic. reaching skill level 4. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.


    You have advanced your skill level in water magic. reaching skill level 6. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.

 Chapter 22

    The next morning Bjorn felt light, at some point in the night Alaric had made his way into the room, but Bjorn hadn''t woken up. Looking around from where he lay it looked like Alaric wasn''t wasn''t alone in the bed, with a rueful smile Bjorn got up and made his way out of the room as quietly as he could. Out in the common room there were many people sleeping in the pleasantly warm space. More than usual.


    Smiling to himself he made his way out and into the cold morning air. He was out earlier than anyone else. The town seemed dead as most people were sleeping off their celebrations from the night before. Not really knowing what else to do Bjorn took off on a walk. The fresh snow and snowshoes masked any sound of his passing. Allowing him to slip out of town like a ghost.


    An hour and a half later he made his way back into town, by then there were signs of life in a few of the houses. Small curls of smoke rose from chimneys that weren''t there when Bjorn awoke. One thing that Bjorn missed more than anything else was central heating. You either had to provide some way to heat the house, if that was through body heat or a fire, it didn''t matter, or you had to freeze.


    His conversations yesterday and the kindness he was shone lit a fire inside him. Meira was right of course, he no longer was living his life just for himself, he was now living it for his friends. As such the way he had been acting and feeling didn''t help anyone. And so he resolved to do better. Not knowing exactly how to do that he would at least try. Starting with his attitude. For the better part of his life Bjorn tried to be happy and easy going, trying to make other people''s lives easier and with just a little bit more mirth. Somewhere along the lines since coming to the Eld he had slowly started to lose that. To the point where he was depressed and tried to pass that depression onto those around him, intentionally or not.


    Steeling his nerves he started heading towards their most recent construction project. It was a young family''s home where the entire front half of the building had burnt down during the bandit raid. They had cleared away most of the burnt wood and were working on making a new support beam to hold one of the walls upright. Bjorn, instead of waiting for someone to come just picked up the draw knife and set to debarking the next section of wood that they would be using during the construction process.


    That first hour of work when no one else was working tested Bjorns new found resolve. The job was intensive enough to cause him to draw up a sweat at occasions, but not intense enough to maintain that level of exertion and so because of that he would alternate between being warm, and cooling down and getting chilled. During those times where he was the only one working and cold he would catch himself thinking negatively about the village. He would stop himself and redirect his thought process trying to change the way he viewed his situation. He wasn¡¯t forced to do this, he was doing this on his own, no one was forcing him to work.


    After the suns were truly in the sky did someone wander out and join Bjorn on the log, it was one of the old grizzled men who were teaching Bjorn how to work his wood. ¡°Didn¡¯t expect anyone to be out here.¡± He said in a voice that was a mix between a growl and a grunt. Looking at the log his eyes narrowed. ¡°This log had its bark on it still last night, how long have you been out here?¡±


    ¡°A few hours.¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯ll be, you are stupid. It was a cold one this morning. Why would you ever decide to come out here and work? On your own for that matter.¡±


    Bjorn set down the draw knife he was using to debark the almost finished top half of the tree, before turning towards the man. ¡°I couldn¡¯t sleep, so I decided to be useful, this house isn¡¯t going to build itself.¡± Bjorn said in a tone leaving little room for disagreement.


    ¡°Fair enough, no harm was meant. These old bones don¡¯t work like they used to. I appreciate a man willing to pull his own weight. Here help me rotate this log and I¡¯ll help you.¡±


    Soon both men were working on the log. This man was one of the more reclusive men around town and had been cold to everyone of the newcomers, that included Bjorn. Soon both men were methodically working towards the center for opposite sides of the tree, stripping the bark off one pull at a time. They worked in silence, but this was the first time that the man had decided to help Bjorn. Come to think of it, this was the first time Bjorn had seen the old man work at all, usually he just delegated the work out and stood there making fun of the way people were working.


    Even though nothing was said between the two men, some part of Bjorn felt that he had accepted Bjorn, even just a little. The grudging respect of someone willing to work even when no one else would, must have had something to do with that. The help the old man gave didn¡¯t last long before one of the women helped with the construction process. As soon as she showed up he walked over to her and handed the draw knife to the slack jawed woman. ¡°Here, this isn¡¯t going to pull itself. I want to get this log processed before mid-day, and it is getting close to it.¡± before taking his usual spot at the edge of the processing site.


    By the time they finished stripping the bark others had come over to join in. Soon they were well on their way to having the log turned into planks. With their combined efforts they had that section of log turned mostly into planks by mid-day with plenty of time to spare. The rest of the wood would be used to replace the support structure in the wall holding the roof up.


    Throughout the day they all worked 5 of the villagers in total, 6 including Bjorn. By the end of the day they were able to switch the burnt support beam out for the new one. It might have just been his imagination but it seemed like the people he was working with were friendlier than they have been. Taking it as a good sign he decided to do the same thing as today.


    Over the next few days he fell into a routine, showing up to work sooner than anyone else, trying to be happier, and stopping himself whenever he caught himself with a negative thought. With his sustenance belt it was easier to do so. This entire time he probably could have done so, but instead of getting up and being productive, he would lay in bed until Alaric got up, sometimes even staying in bed long after Alaric got up.


    He had little energy before the new years celebration, by all means he should have, he had plenty of stamina, had plenty to eat, and got plenty of sleep. But this was Bjorn''s first experience with depression. It sucked the energy and will out of him.


    Now instead of laying around Bjorn just did. He didn''t wait for someone to say something, or put off whatever he saw that needed to be done. Instead when someone needed to move a log he would just go do it. Whenever he wanted to train with his bow he would do it. Whenever he wanted to just go lay down he would force himself to run. Something amazing happened. As time progressed he would get the urge to laze around, but he wouldn''t indulge it. Soon that feeling of wanting to be lazy went away and he wanted to be helpful. When he would have been tired with no energy, now he was almost as energetic as Alaric.


    As time went on, by three weeks after the new years he was back to who he was before getting enslaved. By 2 months he was better, more productive, and more assertive than he had ever been in both, or if you looked at it, in all three lives.


    It wasn''t just his work ethic and energy that was affected, it was also his relationship with the town he resided in. They started to include him in conversations, they would seek him out, they even started to come up with inside jokes.


    Bjorn couldn''t see it. He didn''t understand what was happening to him. But this time spent helping out around Lief''s crossing was helping him heal. At the time of their freedom he was almost a broken man. Olvog¡¯s actions and his ability had more of an effect on Bjorn than he realized. Right after they got free he seemed fine, but at the same time he hadn''t realized how warped his perception of the world he lived in had become. As such he was starting to regain a sense of purpose in life and a sense of humor.


    It was near spring when something changed in their routine. It was mid-day working on a house on the far side of the bridge that one of the women he was working with said a single word. ¡°Spot?¡± That word was somewhere between a statement and a question.


    Looking up at her Bjorn followed her gaze which landed on a large shaggy looking dog. It easily came up to Bjorn''s waist while it was on all fours, the dog was at least 100 lbs. And covered in a thick shaggy coat of fur. It was a motley mix of white, black and brown. It stood on the edge of town with its tongue lolling out of its mouth.


    ¡°Come here Spot.¡± Called the lady as the dog dropped down with its tail wagging fiercely. It burst into a sprint barreling into the woman. The two went down in a puddle of women and dog, as the dog plowed into her. Excitedly licking the woman she giggled as she tried to push Spot off of her.


    Walking over to the two Bjorn looked down at the dog. ¡°Why is he called Spot? There aren''t really any spots in his fur.¡±


    Barely managing to extricate herself from the excited dog, ¡°Spot was found in the woods one day by Laine when he was a child. Being 5 or 6 at the time he had named Spot, Spot, because he was young and that was what he picked. By the time they both made it back to town she was answering to the name Spot.¡±


    Kneeling down Bjorn presented his palm facing upwards towards the excitable dog. ¡°Come here girl, let me pet you.¡±


    The dog looked at Bjorn wearily and slunk behind the woman, putting an entire body between her and Bjorn. The woman looked at Spot and shooed her away. ¡°Go on go, he is harmless, he won''t hurt you.¡±


    Slowly spot walked out from behind the woman and started to take tentative steps towards Bjorn. Making no move Bjorn waited for Spot to come to him, so he just kept his hand outstretched. Spot cautiously walked within a few feet of Bjorn and started to sniff at his hand. When Bjorn slowly started to move his hand to pet the dogs head she pulled back.


    ¡°Alright, that''s a no.¡± Standing upright, Spot retreated again. ¡°What happened to her? She wasn''t here last time we were here, and we have lived here the better part of 5 months, why haven''t we seen her?¡±


    ¡°A little over 8 months ago she saw a deer while out and about and took off after the deer. We haven''t seen her this entire time, I am honestly surprised to see her. We all thought she was dead. I got to go tell people.¡± She turned to go.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Bjorn''s word stopped her in her tracks as she turned back towards Bjorn, a question on her face but not voiced. ¡°You said Laine found her when he was 5 or 6, Laine is close to 50 now. Are you telling me this dog is over 40 years old?¡±


    She thought for a minute before nodding. ¡°That is exactly what I am saying, she is at least 40.¡± Before turning and heading off to find someone with Spot in tow behind her.


    Shaking his head, Bjorn went back to work. If they say the dog was over 40 years old he would just have to believe them. Even though it seems impossible from the perspective of earth animals, who was to say that would hold true for animals in a magical world.


    The days passed just the same as they started to become, they would work, train, eat, then sleep with nothing really breaking that rhythm. During that time Spot had started to trust and even like Bjorn, although originally suspicious, the dog warmed up to him fast. Bjorn didn''t play fair though, he had employed a trick as old as time and bribed Spot''s trust with food.


    On the third day after Spot returned something broke the rhythm that had befallen their lives. It was another full moon. At the start of the night it started to be exactly what they had come to expect when a full moon happened. The town had posted guards outside of the doors to Bjorn¡¯s, Alaric''s, Tayla''s, and Meira''s door to make sure none of the young werewolves tried to break in. From there the entire town stripped naked to try and save their clothes. The transformation was where things took a turn.


    The guys were in their room and the two girls in their respective rooms. Spot had joined the guys. When the now familiar crunching and popping sounds that signified werewolves transforming started to sound throughout town more familiar sounds accompanied the cacophony, only from within their room.


    Both men Watched in horror as  Spot''s body started to transform as well. Her back canine legs with the double knees straightened out forming a more human knee. Her front legs with their double elbows turned into a single elbow and lengthened until they reached her waist. Her long snout started to transform leaving behind smooth elven features. All of the fur on her body retracted into her skin leaving behind fine hair covering the rest of her, and long mixed color hair, the same color combination as her fur coat, that came almost to her waist. Standing upright her body shortened and her legs lengthened until she was in the shape and body proportions of a human. Her ears hand a long soft taper to points at the end, identifying her as an elf. She was around 5¡¯9¡± in height putting her just a little shorter than Bjorn. Spot now looked like a mid-aged elf.


    She stood to her full height looking around. Alaric stood there in shock at the sight of a dog turning into an elf. Bjorn on the other hand had the good sense to grab a blanket off of his bed and hold it out for the elf.


    She took it from him, wrapping herself up in the blanket giving a little shiver. ¡°I always forget how cold it can be without my fur.¡± She said as she took a seat on the bed. Her voice was light and soft, almost like it was carried on the wind.


    Alaric started stammering. ¡°Bu bu but, you a a are an elf. How?¡±


    ¡°I see that I broke Alaric. Yes I am an elf, actually I am what is known as a wereelf. Yes that is exactly what it sounds like. I am a dog most of the time but during the full moon I transform into an elf. As to how that is an interesting question, I don¡¯t fully know. When I was just a pup and Laine brought me back to the village I was just a dog. I was like that for a few years, a dog all the time. I always got really excited when the full moon happened because when they turned into werewolves they became like me.¡± She paused. ¡°Can you hand me some water? I am parched.¡±


    Bjorn handed her the water skin that was hanging by his bed. Spot took it and took a long drink from it. Handing it back over to Bjorn she continued. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s better. Where was I? Oh yeah! How I became a wereelf. I would get excited and play with the town, but mostly Laine. One time when it was a full moon we were playing around like we normally do, and I think he didn¡¯t realize what he was doing and bit down on me a bit too hard, wounding me rather badly. This was all before we lived in Lief¡¯s crossing. Anyways, after the full moon I was still wounded but thankfully they were able to save my life. I was hurt for a long while, months, or so I am told. But when I fully recovered the next full moon I changed into an elf.¡±


    ¡°We have a lot of ideas as to why I turned into a wereelf, but nothing for sure. It is not normal for animals that are wounded by werewolves to turn into werepeople, but thankfully I did. What I do know though is that it has given me an abnormally long life. Most of my kind die at the 12 to 16 year mark, not me. I am 43 and still going strong.¡±


    By the time Spot finished speaking Alaric had come out of the shock of Spot turning into an elf a little bit. ¡°Hey Bjorn, that ability of yours gives you a bit of a description of whatever you identify right? Why not use it on Spot?¡±


    ¡°That''s a great idea.¡± Bjorn agreed. Turning back towards Spot she had a concerned expression on her face. Before she could object though Bjorn used his Identify ability.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Spot


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Wereelf


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 43


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 12


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    A wereelf is a rare variant of the werewolf races. When werewolves change, sometimes very very rarely their bite can impart some of their non-animalistic genes into whatever they bite. Turing the other creature into a were-whatever the base race was. It is important to note that it doesn¡¯t have to be imparted to another animal. There have been cases where Wereelves actually are humans that turn into elves during the full moon. Wereelves gain any stat bonuses that elves have over their base races in addition to their normal stats.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°Huh, that''s odd.¡± Bjorn said as he read the character sheet for Spot. ¡°Turns out there can be anything. If an orc was a werewolf and bit me I could become either a werewolf or a wereorc. Turning into an orc during the full moon.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Asked Alaric. ¡°That sounds totally made up to me.¡±


    Spot nodded in agreement.


    ¡°I promise you, that is what WAILA told me.¡±


    ¡°Walaia?¡± Asked Alaric. ¡°What is that? There were way too many vowels in that for it to be a real word.¡±


    ¡°You know what it is. It is my identify Ability. It is called W.A.I.L.A. or WAILA. It stands for what am I looking at?¡±


    ¡°What kind of name is that? Should my indomitable will Ability actually be called CIMMAA? Or can¡¯t influence my mind about anything? What kind of dumb ass naming scheme is that?¡±


    Bjorn gave Alaric a look of consternation. ¡°How would I know, I wasn¡¯t the one who came up with the name for this Ability. I just get the benefits of it.¡±


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°I agree with Alaric, it is a dumb name.¡± Spot said.


    Bjorn then turned his look onto Spot, his face said you too? ¡°Wait hold that thought, Spot your name is Spot. Why haven¡¯t you changed it? I honestly find it weird thinking of you in your elf form as Spot.¡±


    Spot got an offended look on her face. ¡°Well that was quite rude. What is wrong with my name? I actually am quite fond of my name. It¡¯s better than Bjorn. Why should I change my name for your sensibilities? On top of that, it would just get confusing if my name just upped and changed.¡±


    This time it was Bjorn who got the offended look on his face. ¡°What is wrong with Bjorn? It¡¯s not my favorite but it better than it could have been. Besides I didn¡¯t get a choice in my name. Some dick of a god like being decided what to make me and gave me this name. My name before coming to the Eld was Christopher.¡±


    ¡°Stop being a little bitch. You will thank me later¡­ Pussy.¡± Charon¡¯s voice boomed in Bjorn¡¯s head. Making him instinctively droop his head and cover his ears.


    Alaric looked at his friend with worry, as he hadn¡¯t heard the voice. Spot was sitting there doing the dog thing when confused and tilted her head. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Asked Alaric moving closer to Bjorn.


    ¡°Yeah, I am fine. I just had a disembodied voice shout into my ear.¡± He looked at the two and their expressions hadn¡¯t changed. If anything they both looked more worried. ¡°Anyways.¡± he said trying to get them back on track, the silence between the three just grew as two were trying to figure out if the 3rd one needed help or not.


    Finally Alaric decided to comment in a flat voice. ¡°Your weird man.¡± Then the two just stared at each other for a few seconds. ¡°Anyways back on topic, ish. So you said ¡®some dick of a god like being decided what to make you.¡¯ What did you mean by that?¡±


    Bjorn then told the two of them how he came to be in the Eld, and how the being that called itself Charon decided to not give him a choice the second time around. He went into detail explaining his creation process and his brief life as an orc before burning to death.


    Both Spot and Alaric were good listeners never interrupting, gasping and oooing at the right parts, Alaric even got a few laughs in.


    ¡°You know.¡± Alaric started. ¡°I have heard tales of a being like what you described, I think they called it the curator. Of course there are fanatics out there that warship it.¡± There was a pause as Alaric took in a deep breath. ¡°Your story clears up a few things for me. As in why you were so helpless when I first met you. It also makes your general incompetence more understandable.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Bjorn said in a clearly sarcastic tone.


    Without missing a beat. ¡°You''re welcome.¡± Alaric said as he just kept speaking totally oblivious to the sarcasm. ¡°It also explains your lack of knowledge. I half way thought you were just a fool, but I guess I was wrong.¡±


    ¡°Are you quite done?¡± Bjorn exploded. Out of the corner of his eye, he could barely see Spot containing a smile. Her obvious effort to contain it made Bjorn look at her. Which caused her to steel her expression. When he looked back at Alaric, he had the most self satisfied, and devious smile on his face.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to have you back.¡± Alaric said, as he stood to head out the door. Alaric paused right as he passed Bjorn and patted him twice on the shoulder before walking out of the room. A few minutes later he came back with a glass filled with water. After draining it he gave a satisfied smack of his lips. ¡°Well as much fun as this has been, It is late and I am tired. I am going to go to sleep. Spot, as much as I appreciate a good naked elf lady in my bed I am going to have to ask you to move.¡±


    Spot stood with her cheeks and tips of her ears turning a brilliant red. ¡°Sorry, I am sure you both want some sleep, I will go sleep out in the living room. Unfortunately I will probably be back to my normal dog form when you wake up. We will talk again when the next full moon happens.¡± She turned and walked out of the door.


    Once Bjorn was done getting ready for bed when he went to lay down he noticed a lack of a blanket. ¡°Son of a bitch.¡±


    The next morning everything had returned to normal, all of the town folks were back to their humanoid shapes, and Spot was back to her normal dog appearance. Bjorn, Alaric, Meira, and Tayla made their way out into the common area to break their fast, each getting a portion of a biscuit with thin slices of cooked deer meat soaking into the bread.


    ¡°So¡± Tayla started. ¡°Unless my ears deceive me, last night I heard a girl''s voice coming out of the boy¡¯s room. Do you guys have something you¡¯d like to share?¡± A wolfish grin spread across her face as she looked at the other three expectantly.


    Tayla¡¯s words made Meira¡¯s brows furrow. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about a woman, I was in my own bed last night sleeping. Unless my guess is wrong it would have had to be you in there. Due to the fact that we are the only non werewolves in town.¡± As she spoke Meira started to look over the other three suspiciously.


    ¡°That¡¯s because there was a woman in our bedroom last night.¡± Alaric said confidently, not seeing the potential danger of the two women¡¯s ire. As he was saying that Spot slowly made her way around the group tail wagging as she tried to steal food off of their plates. ¡°It was Spot here.¡± He grabbed a piece of deer meat that fell out of his biscuit while he ate it, and fed it to Spot, who wolfed it down.


    Meira and Tayla exchanged a look before Meira spoke up. ¡°You are trying to tell me that Spot is able to speak in perfect common.¡± She gave Alaric a flat look challenging him to refute her.


    ¡°Ay, that is exactly what I am telling you. As it turns out she is a wereelf.¡±


    ¡°A what?¡±


    ¡°A wereelf, she is a dog by day and elf by full moon. It really is as simple as it sounds.¡± Alaric said the last bit with a large goofy smile on his lips.


    ¡°That sounds made up.¡± commented Tayla. ¡°It sounds like something you are saying to try and keep yourself out of trouble. I don¡¯t buy it.¡±


    ¡°No, I swear she is a wereelf. Bjorn¡¯s ability even told us that is what she was, that is were we got the name for it. I didn¡¯t believe it at first, but if I hadn¡¯t seen her transform in front of my own eyes I would still be skeptical.¡± The two girls just looked at him with unbelieving eyes. ¡°Fine, don¡¯t believe me. Just take Spot with you into your room the next time there is a full moon and you will see.¡±


    The next full moon they did just that, Tayla and Meira decided to share a room that night and they took Spot into their room with them.


    The morning after the two girls came out of their room looking sheepish. They sat down and started to eat both with their heads down and Alaric¡¯s gaze kept switching between the two. The silence lasted the entire breakfast with no one speaking. When the girls finished eating they sat there for a second.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry we didn¡¯t believe you.¡± Tayla was the first one to break the silence. ¡°You have to admit though, a dog that turns into an elf during a full moon does sound like something that isn¡¯t real.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh.¡± Said Alaric as he looked at Meira.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t believe you, and that I brushed you off every time you tried to convince me this last week and a half.¡±


    The look of smug satisfaction that got plastered on Alaric¡¯s face was quite the sight in and of itself. He looked like a cat that got the cream. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t quite hear what you said, can you say it again?¡±


    That got a dirty look from both women. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so smug about it.¡± Remarked Meira. ¡°Whatever, moving on. I have been thinking that winter is almost over. What do we want to do when spring comes?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Asked Bjorn.


    ¡°Well once winter is over we can move on, we can go do something, go explore. Or we can stay here and become more of a permanent part of town. I for one am open to whatever.¡±


    Her words took Bjorn by surprise; he hadn''t considered moving on, they had settled in and become a part of this society. The thought of up and leaving after putting down roots hadn¡¯t even crossed his mind.


    ¡°This topic has been weighing on my mind for a while now.¡± Tayla said. ¡°I like it here, but we will never truly be a part of this village as long as we don¡¯t become werewolves. It is hard enough as it is, trying to maintain our own independence. I mean they confine us to our rooms every full moon, even if it is for our own safety we don¡¯t have the freedom to roam around on those nights. That small lack of freedom has weighed heavily on my mind for the last few months.¡±


    ¡°Ay, I agree with you. I for one don¡¯t want to become a werewolf, I don¡¯t know about the rest of you.¡± Alaric paused briefly as everyone nodded in agreement. ¡°I have faith that no one here would ever intentionally turn us into werewolves, but it is only a matter of time before something happens and one of us accidentally gets bit. That is all it takes, one bite and we become werewolves. I think once the snow melts we should look to move on.¡±


    They all looked at Bjorn, as he hadn¡¯t contributed anything to this conversation. ¡°I was content to stay here and help out, it has been nice to have a sense of belonging, of helping everyone here. But with that being said, I also agree with everything that has been said. I don¡¯t like being confined to our rooms, I don¡¯t want to become a werewolf. But I also don¡¯t really want to give up what we have built here. There is still so much left to do. With that being said though, back on earth there is a saying that home is where the heart is. And for me my home is with all of you. So if we decide to move on I will join.¡±


    Meira sat there chewing on her lip while Bjorn talked. ¡°So, so far we have two votes for moving on, one that sounds like an abstain. I also agree that we should move on. I don¡¯t know where we want to go next, but I think we have overstayed our welcome here. I do agree with Bjorn though, there is still a lot that needs to be done here, and I think it would be rough for us to leave right away. I say we stay until the crops have been planted for the year and then we make our way onwards.¡±


    All around the group everyone was in agreement with Meira¡¯s suggestion. ¡°Alright that is settled then, after we finish with spring planting we will pack up and hit the road.¡± She was quiet for a few seconds like she was mulling over what to say next. ¡°I also think that we shouldn¡¯t tell everyone here until we plan to leave. It would just stress everyone here and give them ample time for them to try to convince us to stay.¡± Again everyone was in agreement.


    The next month blurred by as they were secretly getting ready to leave, but also trying to help out as much as they could before they left. By the time the snow had fully melted and it was time for spring planting a few in town had an idea of what was happening, but they didn¡¯t make a big deal out of it.


    They had gotten most of the town repaired by the time for planting. As more and more houses were being built more and more people moved out of the house that was built for the friends. With each completed construction project their house was getting emptier and emptier, to the point where Alaric¡¯s room was freed up and they only had one section of hanging blankets to give someone their own private space.


    This new free space gave them more ability to work on the interior of the building. When the suns went down they would work on putting in nice wooden floors, and then polishing it. Making their way through the house they started with the bedrooms and then worked their way to the kitchen/larder that was built.


    With Bjorn having his own space again he started to practice his alchemy once again. Before he had the space he could do so, but instead he hadn¡¯t been working on it. It was more out of respect for Alaric, the brewing process for potions didn¡¯t always produce the most pleasant smell. When they were building Bjorn¡¯s room they put in 4 different windows, all at different heights just to allow airflow to hopefully remove any offensive smells. Which made them have to take a trip into Vanta to purchase glass. Unsurprisingly no one in Lief¡¯s Crossing had neither the know-how nor the ability to craft glass. Once they got the panes back they had to custom make frames for the windows to sit in.


    Once the time came everyone took two weeks off from whatever they were doing to prepare the fields. They had to loosen up the soil, and then remove any large rocks. Once that was done they had to walk down the rows of the newly tilled field and place the seeds of whatever they were going to plant. After that they had to cover said seeds with soil. During the entire process they had to pull and remove any plant in the patch of ground that they didn¡¯t want to do. The entire process seemed simple but it was labor intensive and monotonous.


    As for what they planted, they planted a mix between wheat, cabbage, carrots, and corn where the plants that Bjorn knew. There were 11 different plants that they planted that he didn¡¯t know before coming to the Eld. Almost everything they planted they promised had some sort of edible value. The one thing that they planted that didn¡¯t have any nutritional value was a plant that they grew just for the plant fiber. It was a mix between flax and cotton. In town they had a spinning wheel that the carpenters had made, and apparently the stocks of the plant could be harvested and then dried. Once dried they would smash it up with a grindstone turning it into long thin strands of plant material. From there it could be woven into a thin thread or a thicker string. They then used it to make most of their fabrics.


    Once everything was officially finished when it came to planting their crops for the year they made their final preparations. The following day they told everyone they could find that they had an announcement that night, and that everyone should gather for dinner.


    At dinner Bjorn was the one who they decided should be the one to break the news. At first he was one of the least accepted of the group, now, he was the one who everyone liked. Alaric, Meira, and Tayla all had their own little clicks. Of course everyone liked them to some extent, but they had their small groups that they fit into the best. Bjorn didn¡¯t have a small group, he was one who fit into each group.


    Standing in front of everyone they looked at him with expectant eyes. ¡°I know this might come as a shock to some of you, and to others it was kind of expected.¡± He paused to take in a breath. ¡°But we all have decided it was our time to move on.¡± A low susurrus went rolling through the crowd as many started to talk to the people around them. ¡°As much as we would like to stay, and that we appreciate you all taking us in and letting us stay here for the winter. Also for helping us build a home in your town, I think we all knew that our staying here was always a temporary situation. The wider world calls to us, and we must answer the call.¡±


    Once Bjorn had finished speaking Aiko called out. ¡°When do you plan on leaving?¡±


    ¡°We plan on leaving at first light tomorrow morning.¡±


    This proclamation was met by an even louder buzz. ¡°Why so soon?¡± A voice called out.


    ¡°We thought it best to not sully our time here with the bittersweet tones the knowledge of our imminent departure would bring. As such we decided to keep it to ourselves, until tonight.¡±


    Aiko stood and walked over to where Bjorn was standing. As she walked to nodded over to where two of the men were seated, once they saw her nod they stood and walked away. She made it to where Bjorn stood, and took him into an embrace. ¡°We were glad to have you, and of course you are welcome back whenever you want. I do request that you keep our secret, well a secret. I don¡¯t doubt that you will, it is still just good to reiterate.¡± All 4 nodded in agreement. ¡°Very well, if we can¡¯t convince you to stay, at the very least we can take tonight and celebrate.¡±


    Once she finished talking the two men came back into the clearing carrying a large barrel. Quickly a table had been brought out and the keg was sat on it, they pulled a cork out and put a tap in its place. From there they laid it on its side and started to fill cups and tankards with drink and pass them out to the gathered people.


    Once everyone had their cups filled with a rich dark red liquid Aiko was the one who raised her glass, with everyone following suit. She didn¡¯t waste time with flowery words, or over complicating it. ¡°To our saviors, who without many of us would be dead or in slavery.¡± This was met with a loud cheer as everyone filled the dark with their voices. They drank deeply from their cups. A sweet cider flavor filled their mouths as they drank the liquid.


    From there the organization broke as everyone wanted to drink, toast, and thank their friends who were about to depart. The night quickly passed in a blur of faces, jokes, tears, and well wishes. As everyone wanted to get something in before the end of the night. Around half way through someone brought out a stringed instrument that looked surprisingly like an acoustic guitar, but sounded nothing like it. Someone else brought out a set of pipes and music began to fill the night air.


    Soon everyone was well into their cups, Alaric doubly so. When Kallie made her way finally up to Tayla, giving her a fierce hug. When she pulled away tears filled her eyes. ¡°Can I come with you?¡±


    A sad look crossed Tayla¡¯s face. ¡°I am sorry munchkin, I would like to say you could come with us, but I don¡¯t think what we will be doing will be the safest. Besides, they need you here. You are the best hunter in these woods, and they need your help to keep them alive.¡± Tayla begrudgingly nodded her agreement. ¡°Now don¡¯t forget what I taught you, it will come in handy I promise.¡±


    A tear-filled grin crossed Kallie¡¯s face as she nodded and pulled away leaving Tayla. Taking her place Aiko walked up to where Bjorn stood. ¡°I know you said first light, but by the look of things it might be later in the day when you leave.¡± She looked pointedly at Alaric who was well and truly drunk by this point.


    ¡°I think you are right.¡± Bjorn replied, slurring his words ever so slightly, as he wasn¡¯t too far behind Alaric.


    ¡°Come find me in the morning before you leave, I have something for all of you. Something I think you will like, and want to take with you.¡±


    ¡°We will, I promise.¡± Bjorn said. With his agreement she left to take part in the merriment that was taking place all around them.


    From there the celebration lasted long through the night. The next morning it was a little slow of a start. Even though they initially wanted to get on the road at first light it wasn''t until the afternoon before they were all ready to go.


    Keeping his word from the night before they found Aiko nursing a cup of tea and rubbing her head. As they filed into her house she perked up a bit. ¡°Ah good morning, as I promised I have something for you guys, it isn''t much but it should help.¡± She took a small bag from her waist and set it on the table it hit it with a satisfying clink of metal hitting metal.


    Taking the bag Bjorn opened it and found a few gold and several silvers inside. Closing it back up he set it down. ¡°I appreciate it but you guys need the money more than we do.¡±


    ¡°The hell they do.¡± Said Alaric as he reached out, snatching the coin purse and quickly squirreling it away.


    ¡°I am inclined to agree with Alaric.¡± Aiko started. ¡°You have done more than we can ever repay for us. It is the least we can do. On top of that you are always welcome here, and you will always have your home.¡±


    Meria looked at the rest of the group and then spoke up. ¡°We actually have been thinking about that, if you guys want. Anytime you have visitors you can rent out the space for them, giving you another small source of income, and that way the house doesn''t sit empty all the time.¡±


    Aiko raised an eyebrow at that. ¡°Are you sure?¡± when everyone nodded she continued. ¡°Very well, we will do just that. But if you are ever back in this area you are always welcome to stay here. Where will you go?¡±


    ¡°We were thinking of heading east from here.¡± Tayla said.


    ¡°Into the forest? That is awfully brave, but I have faith in you.¡± she paused for a second. ¡°Well we have kept you long enough, I wish you luck out there. And again, thank you for everything you have done.¡±


    After a final round of goodbyes they left Aiko''s house, by then a good number of the town had gathered around to wish them off. After more tears were shed the friend group took their leave heading east back into the Summergate forest. One final look back they saw everyone at the edge of town waving them goodbye as the trees started to block their view of the place they called home for half a year.


    (If you do not care about advancement you may skip to the next part)


    You have advanced your skill level in construction, reaching skill level 13. Buildings you build will have 26% increased durability.


    You have reached the milestone going from a beginner to a novice in the skill: Construction. You have gained a perk: Your knowledge of construction makes you more likely to see the weak points in a building.


    You have advanced your skill level in woodcutting, reaching skill level 3. You will do 7.5% more damage to trees and wooden objects.


    Congratulations you have advanced in the skill: Cooking, you are now skill level 8. Your attempts to make an edible meal have increased by 8%.


    Congratulations you have advanced in the skill: Alchemy, you are now skill level 16. Potions you make will be 16% increased effect and 32% increased duration of effect.


    You have advanced your skill level in hand to hand. reaching skill level 9. Blows you land with bare fists and legs now deal 18% extra damage.


    You have advanced your skill level in swordsmanship, reaching skill level 7. Your attacks with swords now deal 21% more damage over base value.


    You have advanced your skill level in carpentry. reaching skill level 9. Durability of wooden items you build will be increased by 22.5%.


    You have advanced your skill level in small blades, reaching skill level 4. Your attacks with daggers and knives now deal 8% more damage over base value. Additionally critical strikes done with your small blades will deal 4% more damage.

 Chapter 23

    Where they went first after leaving Lief''s crossing was the crumbling stone fort that the bandits called home. When they had nowhere they really needed to be and with them taking their time it took a full two days to travel from Lief¡¯s crossing to the fort.


    Taking a few days they explored around the fort. The entire vibe of travel was very lackadaisical. They had no goals, no where they wanted to really go. During their time at the fort they saw some interesting things, they found a small cave system that had a few animals. They also found a few small streams around, and even came across a few creatures they didn''t want to fight. Each time they did they would slowly make their way away from the creature before making a run for it. For the most part they weren''t pursued, only one came after, it was a large ball of fur called a ¡°fluffles¡±. Even though it seemed harmless and looked very cuddly Alaric and Meira warned Bjorn off of trying to hug the creature. Apparently it eats by absorbing creatures into its fur, and whatever is absorbed has never been seen escaping. The ball of fur chased them for less than 200 feet, after it saw that it couldn''t catch the group it gave up and moved away.


    After they explored the fort and were satisfied they started heading onwards moving more northward and westward. Traveling as true to the northwest as they could, but it was hard to do so sometimes. Oftentimes they had to backtrack or follow a river or large stream for hours as obstacles cut across their path. As a general rule though they moved northwest.


    The slow pace through the forest was slow for many different reasons. One was the fact that they had no desire to get anywhere. It wasn''t odd for the entire group to stop and lay out by the river for a few hours, or to stop and take a nap in a nice glade. The beauty of hiking through a forest in early spring with all sorts of flowers blooming everywhere could not be understated. The second reason was the fact that they were forging a new path through a heavily wooded forest with new underbrush growth everywhere. It was slow going, constantly having their clothes getting snagged by trees and shrubs.


    And another reason, although this one no fault of most of the party was Bjorn. With his rekindled love and desire to do alchemy he would slow down the group as he would stop to look at different herbs, or to collect different herbs. Almost each time he would contemplate using his herb-lore perk to find out the effects of different herbs through ingesting them. He did give into the impulse an embarrassing amount of times. He did so up until one plant known as the liquid mud gave him a bad case of diarrhea for a few days. Stopping all progress for the duration. Still he collected a surprising amount of different plants and in good quantities, all of which went straight into his portable pocket.


    One quirk of the portable pocket that he learned was that it had a preserving effect. Whatever state the plant was in when it went into the portable pocket it maintained when it was retrieved. Which led him to do the next obvious experiment. He tried to put an alive animal into the portable pocket, one afternoon he spent it making a rudimentary fishing pole. Then he used the pole to catch a fish, once it was in his grasp he tried to put it into the portable pocket, as it still squirmed to get free. The action gained him a new prompt.


    Your portable pocket does not have the requisite magic to allow you to store a living creature inside of it.


    As soon as the fish touched the entrance to the portable pocket it was like it hit an invisible wall. After trying a few other things with no success he finally found a solution to the problem. Once he killed the fish it went into the portable pocket with no issues. With other tests the fish also came out with the same freshness it had when it went into the portable pocket the first time.


    One of the last but certainly not least reasons for their slow pace was the rain. With it being early spring it was either every other day or every third day there would be a new rainstorm that would pour over the entire area making certain parts treacherous to traverse. For the most part it would rain for a few hours, but one day it rained long enough and hard enough that flooding was common. Luckily for the group they were able to find a cave high on a cliff face that was able to protect them from the rain. For the most part they would get caught in the rain. That is where Meira''s spell she picked up in Vanta became useful.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Spell: Weather Shield


    </td>


    <td>


    Cast time: 1 minute


    </td>


    <td>


    Components: Verble, Somatic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Range: Self


    </td>


    <td>


    Duration: 1 hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana cost: 35 points


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Cooldown: 55 minutes


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Creates a 4 foot invisible bubble around the caster that repels weather effects and small insects for the duration of the spell.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The area effect was small enough that it could fit 3 people in it if they squeezed. Every time she cast her spell she would cast it on herself. Because of that Bjorn, Tayla, and Alaric took turns being out in the rain getting soaked.


    At night at camp was the first time Tayla ever showed the fact that she could use fire magic. On days that it rained they would change into dry clothes, or dryish clothes and then they would give Tayla their wet clothes. Her hands would then be covered in an orange red light and produce a light heat. She then would pass the clothes in between her hands quickly drying the clothes.


    ¡°Every Tiefling has some sort of fire based spell when they are born. I was excited by my spellcasting when I was old enough to understand its importance. But I was bullied by the kids on the streets. For being a Tiefling. I quickly lost pride in my magic, and for who I was. When I grew older and became ameliorated to the words of my peers I stopped caring. I quickly learned that the flashy fire magic would be useless as a thief in most situations. I haven''t used much fire magic because of that. I am glad that I have a use for it now¡­ finally.¡±


    ¡°Well, we appreciate your magic now.¡± Said Meira as she huddled around their camp fire bundled up in a blanket. She wrinkled her nose. ¡°I hate wearing wet clothes.¡±


    ¡°I think we can all agree on that one.¡± Said Bjorn as he was working on cutting up the fish that he had stored in his portable pocket.


    Tayla sighed. ¡°You know, I have never really spent extended periods in the wild. It is surprisingly relaxing.¡±


    Alaric came back into camp with a bundle of wood that he collected. ¡°Yeah, it is. But doing it above ground is new to me.¡±


    ¡°You know, I have been curious.¡± Bjorn spoke up after a moment of silence. ¡°Does your skin darken at all?¡± He asked that as he was looking between Tayla and Alaric. ¡°I mean, For Meira her skin has gotten a little more tan, and I have gotten really tan. But Alaric you haven¡¯t gotten a tan at all. And Tayla, your skin is already red, do you get sunburnt? Do you get more red? When you tan do you become a darker shade?¡±


    Alaric chuckled, and Tayla looked a little taken aback. It was Alaric who beat Tayla to the punch. ¡°As far as I know most dwarves don¡¯t get any darker. I mean for the most part we don¡¯t spend much time out in the sun. We also don¡¯t really wear clothes that show off much skin.¡±


    Thinking back about it, all of Alaric¡¯s clothes were long. He had long pants, long sleeve shirts, and his boots came up to the middle of his shins. With his hair, he had long dark hair and a long bushy beard. All in all the only parts of his skin that were exposed to the air were his face and his hands.


    ¡°And as for Tieflings, I don¡¯t think it is possible to get sunburnt. Some of us have lighter or darker shades of red for our skin tone, but for the most part I think our skin gets tanner.¡±


    ¡°Huh, that isn¡¯t what I expected.¡± Time passed as everyone was in their own thoughts. That was until Bjorn gave a light chuckle.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Back on earth it was common for people to wear shorts, and short sleeved shirts. My tan is what is known as a farmer¡¯s tan and most people make fun of you if you had a farmer¡¯s tan.¡± Bjorn punctuated his words by raising up his shirt sleeve exposing the delineations between the pale skin of his upper arm. Which was in stark contrast to the coppery color of his lower arm.


    Tayla let out a low whistle. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think I have anything like that, see.¡± And she grabbed her shirt with both hands removing it. Exposing her entire upper body. Tayla was correct, the skin of her upper body was completely uniform. There were absolutely no tan lines.


    As Tayla sat there grinning fully exposed Alaric ogled her. Proud of herself Tayla sat there making no movement to put her shirt back on. That was until a blanket came flying at her from across the fire.


    ¡°Put those away. It is enough to make a woman jealous.¡±


    Meira¡¯s words brought a full bodied laugh out of Tayla. She threw the blanket back and then quickly put her shirt back on, eliciting a boo out of Alaric. Which earned him a dirty look from Meira, causing him to join Tayla in laughter. Not able to hold himself back Bjorn joined the pair in their laughter. Soon even Meira¡¯s stern expression softened and she joined in.


    After the laughter died down, Meira looked back to Tayla. ¡°You know I also envy how you never seem to get cold. I can¡¯t seem to get warm tonight.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s also a part of my heritage. Apparently demons have an inherent fire inside of them, and thankfully I have inherited it from them. I have never actually seen or even heard of a demon. So everything that I know is second hand.¡±


    ¡°I have heard of a demon, at least I think it was a demon, it was also kind of second hand. When I first came to the Eld, this dwarf hermit took me in and taught me alchemy and how to survive here.¡±


    ¡°She did a piss poor job.¡± Alaric cracked. His comment brought light laughter out of the other two.


    ¡°Hush you. It is in poor taste to speak ill of the dead.¡± His comment stopped all of the laughter dead in its tracks.


    ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t realize.¡± Alaric said.


    ¡°It is alright, that was over a year ago now. The wound is less painful than it was initially. But anyways there was a cave near us that was home to a necromancer who was possessed by a grimoire. After we were able to escape and kill the gnome we decided to burn the grimoire and when we did so I am pretty sure a demon showed up and promised that he would hunt me down and kill me for destroying his grimoire.¡±


    ¡°Do you remember his name? Did he tell you? And if he showed up, why didn¡¯t he kill you right then and there?¡± Tayla asked.


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t truly there; it was like a shadow that came out of the fire when we burnt the book. I can¡¯t remember, I don¡¯t think he said a name or if he did I don¡¯t remember it. Why is that bad?¡±


    ¡°Demonic beings are one of the most powerful existences on this planet, at least as far as I know. With one saying he would hunt you down and kill you does not bode well for your future. Luckily for us there aren¡¯t many demonic creatures on the Eld. I am pretty sure they aren¡¯t native to this plane, they have to be summoned here or they are powerful enough to break their way onto this plane by themselves.¡±


    Bjorn was quiet for a moment. ¡°Well, I am not going to worry about it. If it eventually hunts me down, that is a problem for a later day. For now worrying about it wont do me any good. Dinner is ready.¡±


    The fish that he had been preparing throughout the conversation was done, they each took a fourth of the meat from the fish and tucked in. Silence fell over the camp as they all attacked their portion of food with ravenous hunger.


    After everyone had eaten their fill they started to tuck in and get ready for the night, it was Bjorn¡¯s turn to take watch first. They had all come to an agreement where every night there would be three shifts of watch, with the last one being able to sleep through the night. So each person took three shifts before a full night''s rest. Tayla had just finished her 3 nights in a row so she was out. It was Bjorn¡¯s turn to take the first watch, this being his first shift in the series. With his belt of sustenance Bjorn was used to having less sleep, so this watch pattern didn¡¯t affect him as much as it did the other three. He could tell that the others were either; getting used to less sleep, or were getting more irritable from the lack of sleep.


    Once everyone tucked in for the night Bjorn walked a few steps out of the clearing, trying to find a long shadow to hide in that still gave him a view of camp and settled in for his watch. Activating his stealth he sat vigil over camp longer than his shift actually was supposed to be. Meira was up next and she was affected the most by the lack of sleep, it wasn¡¯t anything major, but he could tell her smiles didn¡¯t come quiet as easily.


    After an hour into what should have been Meira¡¯s turn, Bjorn walked back into camp and woke her. She quietly stood and stretched then gave Bjorn a frown. Over the last year Bjorn came to find that everyone in the Eld also had access to a clock and an interface.


    Meira walked over and whispered into his ear. ¡°You should have woken me up an hour ago.¡±


    Her actions and intentions were not meant to convey anything other than her message. But her closeness, and her warm breath in his ear made his heart skip a beat. It was a moment before he replied.


    Leaning in so his mouth was next to her ear he whispered. ¡°I could tell you needed sleep, and I have my belt of sustenance. So I took a part of your shift for you.¡±


    His declaration brought a thin smile to her face. Once again leaning in. ¡°Thank you, you didn¡¯t have to do that, we each have our burdens. I thank you for sharing mine with me.¡± Her closeness was making Bjorn¡¯s heart race. Once she finished speaking she took a step back away from Bjorn. As she was speaking to him she had placed her hand on the back of his upper arm. When she stepped away her hand lingered slightly, then it slid down his arm before breaking contact.


    She turned around and walked away. Bjorn watched her go for a moment before taking out his bedroll and settling in for the night.


    ¡°Get back ye beasty.¡± Alaric¡¯s voice came booming in, cutting right through Bjorn¡¯s sleep bringing him to full alertness in a moment. Bjorn¡¯s eyes shot open and took in his surroundings. The fire had died down, casting little light to their surroundings. It was early morning and there was the tall tale glow of light on the horizon, but not enough to illuminate the world yet. He could see the forms of Tayla and Meira doing the same thing he was doing. To one end of the clearing he could clearly see Alaric¡¯s form standing there with his ax and shield standing before a large dark shape.


    Without hesitation Bjorn cast simple light and shot it to the trees above Alaric¡¯s head. Illuminating his friend and the creature he was grappling with. It was a large toad-like being. It was covered in bone-like spikes. Its front legs were longer than the back legs, having it sit in a more upright position. The front legs ended in fists and coming out of the knuckles were more bone spikes, but these looked more like knives or daggers with their length. Its mouth was currently open and three whip-like tongues were whipping around trying to get ahold of Alaric. The erratic movement of the tongues made it hard to follow.


    Tayla was the first one to spring into action, leaping out of bed she shot into the new shadows that were cast by Bjorn¡¯s simple light spell, melding into them. Meira and Bjorn reacted almost at the same time. Meira grabbed her staff and as she stood she started to cast a spell, her hands wreathed in a soft yellow glow. Bjorn stood up and retrieved his bow. Nocking an arrow he sighted on the Toads mouth.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Meira¡¯s spell finished first. Alaric was wreathed in the same yellow light and his movements sped up a noticeable amount. Not wasting any time she started to cast a new spell. Bjorn¡¯s arrow came streaking through the night flying true towards its open maw. Before Bjorn¡¯s arrow could make contact Alaric¡¯s ax came down on one of the tongues, not severing it but damaging it. The toad recoiled faster than should be possible with the size of the creature and Bjorn¡¯s arrow slammed into the thick hide of the creature¡¯s neck barely doing anything.


    Tayla made her presence known as she appeared behind the creature slamming her dagger into his back near where its spine should be attempting to paralyze it. She was careful to avoid the bone spines on its back as she made her attack. Her attempts fell short though as the toad thrashed. Tayla was able to pull her dagger out of its back and started to retreat.


    She wasn¡¯t fast enough though, as four of the spikes shot out from its back streaking towards Tayla. Thankfully she was a professed rogue otherwise it might have just been the end for her. Her choice to purchase the uncanny dodge talent paid dividends as she was able to avoid three out four of the spikes. The last spike connected solidly though, as the spike shot into her lower arm piercing right through the middle missing both the radius and ulna, but getting stuck in her arm by the two bones. They are what stopped the spike from puncturing right through the entire arm.


    Making it back into the shadows she called out. ¡°Watch out, it can shoot those bone spikes.¡±


    ¡°We should consider retreating for the moment.¡± Bjorn called out as he pulled another arrow out and shot at the monster. ¡°We aren¡¯t equipped to fight this.¡± At first while they were traipsing through the woods they had been vigilant and worn their armor, but by now though they had decided it would be better to not bog everyone down by wearing the heavier metal and leathers.


    ¡°Ay.¡± Called Alaric back as he started to work his way back away from the toad. Which followed after him. Meira''s lightning bolt spell caught it square in the chest stunning it for a moment. The stun didn''t last as long as it should have, but when the toad recovered, fortunately for the friends the toad was slower than the group so they were able to extricate themselves. As they were backing out Bjorn recast his simple light spell and let it hang over his hand to give them light as they backed away. The only hiccup was the toad tried to get tricky and shoot its spikes at Alaric as he retreated. That was when they learned one of the tall tail signs of its spike shot. The skin around the spike would turn a dark shade of blue before being shot out at tremendous speeds. Alaric deflected two, Tayla intercepted one and Bjorn caught the last one in his leg. The force of the shot shoved it through to where the point was sticking out the other side.


    The new injury slowed them down, each new step shot a burning pain up through his leg, but with Alaric helping Bjorn they were still able to outpace the toad and make it into the forest. They traveled for a few minutes before stopping, Alaric set Bjorn down on the group and took a look at the spine and made a few clucking sounds.


    ¡°Alright, I am going to pull this out.¡± Alaric picked a stick up from the ground and held it in front of Bjorn¡¯s mouth. ¡°Bite down on this. On the count of three I will pull the spine out okay?¡±


    Bjorn nodded in assent. ¡°One.¡± And Alaric yanked for all he was worth, the spine quickly pulled free, what they didn¡¯t see was that the bone spike had put barbs into the meat of Bjorn¡¯s thigh and pulled a chunk of flesh with it while doing so.


    Bjorn¡¯s health began to tick down as a rather nasty bleeding debuff filled his vision. Doing some quick mental math though, the bleeding debuff would leave him with roughly a quarter of his health left. Knowing something like this was bound to happen eventually Bjorn pulled a strip of clean cloth out of his portable pocket and wrapped the bandage around the leg wound. Which made the debuff change, now he would be left with roughly half of his hp.


    Tayla was in much better shape, with how thin her arm was the foot and a half long spike had punctured through her enough that the barbs hadn¡¯t stuck into her skin. Instead of pulling it back out they were able to put enough leverage on either side of the spike using a large rock as the fulcrum. With a loud crack the barbed end of the spike came free, they were able to pull the rest of the spike back through the wound.


    Both Bjorn and Tayla took a healing potion, it wasn¡¯t enough to heal them immediately, but the slow trickle of health would pay dividends in the long run. Now that the spike wasn¡¯t in Bjorn¡¯s leg and with his increased pain tolerance he was able to stand freely on his own. He would be able to move, not overly quickly, but he could still move. Tayla favored her left hand over her right, but her injury wasn¡¯t debilitating.


    With that addressed they all started to pull out and don their armors. Bjorn¡¯s ringmail, Alaric¡¯s Chainmail, and Tayla and Meira both putting on their tight leathers. Both girls having no shame in stripping down to put on their leathers. Bjorn still felt a little self conscious as he took off his normal shirt to put his padded shirt on then the ringmail that went over it. Once Bjorn had his shirt on he caught Alaric with a smile on his face, which the women hadn¡¯t noticed. They both did stop in their half undressed states to watch Bjorn change, making him blush fiercely.


    By the time they were all kitted out again in armors there came a soft crashing sound from the way they came. All four exchanged furtive glances before they collectively made their way back from where they came.


    After less than a minute of travel they came across the toad moving in the exact path that they had taken to get away from it. All three of the toads'' tongues were out on the ground lapping up the dirt. It was eating the dirt that was infused with Bjorn¡¯s blood, they had left a trail of it while they ran away.


    <table>


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    <td>


    Name: Arrowhead Toad Fred


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    <td>


    Species: Arrowhead Toad


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    <td>


    Age: 4


    </td>


    </tr>


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    <td>


    Level: 14


    </td>


    <td> </td>


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    <td colspan="3">


    Arrowhead toads are feared hunters due to their sharp whip-like tongues, tough leathery skin, and their ability to shoot the bone spikes from their body. They will eventually grow the spikes back, but it is a costly task and a slow process. There are not many creatures out in the woods that would try to take down an Arrowhead toad by themselves, most pack animals avoid them as well.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°You know. I should really get in the habit of using my Identify ability right out of the gate. I probably could have saved us some pain seeing how it is called an arrowhead toad. It stands to reason that it probably would shoot its spikes out at us.¡±


    Alaric stopped and looked at Bjorn. ¡°Yeah, no shit.¡± he said as he moved to hit Bjorn upside the back of his head.


    The sound of the metal moving and their speaking was enough to alert the toad to its quarry being close and it stopped lapping up Bjorn¡¯s blood. The toad closed its mouth and settled one of its dinner plate sized eyes on the group before opening its maw again and letting out a sound that was a mix between a screech and a croak. The sound was loud enough that anything within a half mile would have heard it. It cut through the silence of the twilight.


    As the scroak appeared to be the toads battle cry it charged at the group. Its movements were a little weird though. The back legs of the toad were exactly like a toad, so it was trying to jump. With the long upper body and the long arms that ended in fists the arms kind of quickly ran across the ground making the jump last longer than should be possible. When the toads momentum finally ran out the lower half came slapping into the ground with a loud plop.


    The arrowhead toad crossed two thirds of the distance in two large leaps. Throwing his head back and sighing, Alaric started making his way towards the toad. As he walked towards the toad Bjorn threw his simple light at the toad, which struck it in the chest and stayed hovering a few Inches above its chest. Tayla melted into the shadows, Bjorn and Meira started to prepare. Bjorn, using his bow, trying to aim for the eye this time. And Meira, starting her casting of her lightning bolt spell once again.


    Once Alaric re-engaged with the toad he began his dance of trying to avoid the sharp tongue all while trying to find openings to attack either a tongue or the main body. For the most part he found success dodging out of the way, every once and a while one of the tongues would create a screeching noise as it scraped along Alaric¡¯s armor.


    Tayla started to use all of her throwing knives to try to make a more lasting effect on the toad. With the danger of the spikes she didn''t dare move close to attack and her ranged attacks had little effect. This was the exact type of matchup that Tayla struggled with. The large size mixed with the defensive nature of the creature made it harder for Tayla to find a way to be of use.


    The first real break the group got was with Meira''s lightning bolt spell. When she finally finished casting her spell the toad had a few minor cuts on its body from Alaric, and its hide was peppered by arrows and throwing knives. The arc of pure electricity shot into the toad, this time landing in its open maw the toad dropped to the ground body twitching.


    ¡°It''s still alive.¡± Meria called out. Unfortunately for Bjorn up to this point when the toads mouth was open and its tongues were flailing about, the toads eyes were either fully closed or partially closed. Instead of sitting still as its tongues tried to latch onto Alaric the toad''s body bobbed and weaved to try and avoid his strikes all while trying to get a better position to hit the dwarf. Now that its body was stationary and the eyes remained in the half-lidded state Bjorn had a clear shot at the eye. Not wasting his opportunity he drew, aimed, and loosed.


    The arrow went streaking away from the bow, it crossed the distance between the two in less than a second. At a distance of around 20 yards this shot was a piece of cake by this point. The arrow sunk into the soft flesh of the toads eyeball, and a clear viscous liquid came spilling out of the ruptured eye.


    The arrow came just in the nick of time, as the toad began to recover. As it was standing up Alaric got a final good hit in and was able to sever one of the tongues near where it came out of the mouth. Thick red blood came welling out of where Alaric cut off the tongue, coating Alaric as it sprayed out.


    Now blinded in one eye, and down one tongue the fight was starting to turn in their favor. The toad realized the situation it was in at the same time they did. So the fight quickly changed from the toad trying to take them down to trying to run.


    Once it recovered the toad did a desperation gamble as its entire body took on a blue sheen.


    ¡°Take cover!¡± Bjorn yelled as he dove to the side tackling her to the ground, he landed on the other side of Meira, she was dazed from a spell backlash. Wrapping his arms around her he hauled her body on the other side putting his body in between her and the toad.


    The toad released all of the bone spikes from its body all at the same time. Spikes shot in all directions coating the area in deadly projectiles. There was a small area around the toad that little could have survived, Alaric was one of those that could though.


    When the call for cover came out Alaric didn''t have time to retreat. Instead he fell into a kneeling position and using his shield to cover himself. When the spikes stopped shooting out his shield looked like it got into a fight with a porcupine. There were over 30 bone spikes that punctured his shield. Each spike had various luck with penetrating, there were countless that fell off without penetrating. Of those that punctured the shield most had a hard time making it through the double layered toughened wood. Less than a third fully made it through the wood. Two of the spikes made it fully through and into Alaric''s arm behind the shield.


    Bjorn and Meira were lucky, most of the spikes traveled harmlessly over their heads. And the ones that would have dug into Bjorn''s back were stopped by Alaric¡¯s shield. Tayla was no where to be seen, before the barrage she was behind a tree, it stood to reason that she took cover again.


    Once the whizz of deadly projectiles died down Bjorn opened his eyes and looked around. The battlefield was once again. Wreathed in a dull grey light. As the bone spikes passed through the ball of light they destabilized the magic holding the ball together and it winked out of existence.


    With how long they have been fighting for there was a soft light early morning light. The type of light were it was light enough to illuminate shapes, but not enough to make out detail. They could see that after the toads attack it stood there, trying to decide if its gamble paid off.


    Rising back to his feet Bjorn recast his simple light spell shedding enough light for the toad to see its attack didn''t fully work. When Alaric got back to his feet the toad fully went into retreat mode.


    ¡°The gall of this bastard.¡± Alaric said. ¡°Takes a cheap shot, and when it doesn''t work he does a runner.¡±


    From there the rest of the fight was a foregone conclusion, with the toad on the retreat and with most of its offensive capabilities expended. It still took almost half an hour for them to fully catch up and put the toad down, it wasn''t overly deadly, but its tongues still were enough trouble that they had to be careful.


    Once Tayla got careless and the toad actually threw a punch at her, which caught her high in the chest. High enough that the knuckle daggers didn''t dig into flesh, but it was strong enough to send her backwards. Instead of falling she threw herself backwards and did a back handspring. As she was rolling away one of the toads'' tongues lashed out and nicked her thigh leaving a long shallow gash in its wake.


    Other than that there weren''t any other close calls, the toad was surprisingly tough, it took many solid cuts and gashes to put the toad down, its hide was surprisingly tough and thick. By the time the toad succumbed they had fully blinded it and had removed all three of the whip tongues. What allowed them to take it down was in its blinded state it attempted to flee and did another full strength leap right into the side of a tree. There was a crunch as it did so and it never got back to its feet. It wasn''t dead, they had to pile on and attack it until it bled out.


    The fight wasn''t honorable, or glorious. Towards the end it was more of a mercy that it was a fight. The toad was mostly helpless at the end.


    Once the toad was dead. The first thing they did was address Alaric''s arm and Tayla''s leg. The worst injury Meria suffered was when she was tackled to the ground, she already had a bruise starting to grow high on her cheek. They had to pry the shield off of Alaric''s arm. After the barbs were removed from his arm as well bandaged up they bandaged his arm up. Tayla''s leg was easy and fast to heal, they cleaned the wound before bandaging it.


    They left Bjorn with the body to try and find anything of use from inside the creature. While Bjorn did the dirty work of sinking into the toad the rest of the group went back to collect their gear that was left behind.


    As they left Bjorn grumbled under his breath. ¡°Why don''t you do the disgusting job Bjorn? It makes the most sense for you to do it, Bjorn. You know that Identify ability will be super useful to make sure we don''t leave behind anything valuable. Assholes.¡±


    It was well over three hours before the rest returned to Bjorn. When they did return they found Bjorn covered head to toe in a mix of blood and mucus. In his exhausted state he didn''t care at all at what his body was covered in. During the fight they all had to use stamina potions to keep going, meaning Bjorn couldn''t use one to recover in his current state.


    ¡°What took you so long?¡± asked Bjorn.


    The tone of his voice and the flat look he gave the others made Meira flinch. ¡°We decided to stop and collect the bone spikes.¡± She said as they dropped 6 large bundles of spikes on the ground. ¡°What did you find?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Nothing of use, the hide might be useful for someone, but not us. The rest of the toad is just your standard meat.¡±


    Alaric dropped three coils of the tongue that they chopped off. Which Bjorn used his Identify on, same with the bundles of bone spikes.


    What came back was that both the spikes and the tongues were the only thing worthwhile. The spikes could be cut down and turned into arrowheads. While the sharp cutting edges of the tongue could be useful. Most of the tongue was soft and oddly elastic, every 5 to 6 inches there was a section that was sharp on one side of it and tough on the other.


    ¡°It''s a bit dark,¡± said Bjorn. ¡°But I think these would make for fantastic whips. I think the sharp edges would be great for digging into skin, latching and ripping as the tongue was removed.¡±


    ¡°Dark or not, that is exactly how the frog was using it. There are tons of ways that could have gone wrong for us.¡± Alaric said as he prodded the section of tongue on the ground with his foot.


    Nods of assent passed around the group. ¡°One thing is for sure.¡± Tayla started. ¡°I am not going to go anywhere with you looking and smelling like that.¡± she said as she gestured towards Bjorn.


    ¡°Oh really?¡± Asked Bjorn, as he turned towards Tayla. ¡°You were the one to suggest that I be the one to go through the corpse. You know Tayla, you always ask for a kiss or a hug. Why don''t I finally give you that hug you''ve been wanting.¡±


    Bjorn ran towards Tayla with his arms outstretched, which a high pitched shriek she ran away. ¡°Where are you going? You are the one who keeps begging me to hold you.¡± Bjorn called out to Tayla''s back as she ran away from the gore covered Bjorn.


    The subsequent shriek and run made everyone laugh as Tayla attempted to not get caught by Bjorn. The antics lasted a good while before Bjorn finally gave up and made his way towards the moving water he could hear in the distance. By now most of the gore had dried out and was caked to his skin.


    After Bjorn washed his body he got dressed and used a stick to pick up the soiled clothes that he didn''t want anything to do with. Making his way back to the group they quickly made a small fire and threw the gore stained clothes onto the fire. Watching them burn up was surprisingly satisfying.


    ¡°Well now what?¡± Asked Bjorn.


    ¡°We should make our way into a town.¡± Alaric said as he held up his shield. ¡°this thing barely covers anything anymore.¡±


    The thick wooden planks that made up the body of the shield were splintered. It also had large inch and a half to two inch holes that were peppered all over the surface of the shield. To further showcase what he was talking about Alaric put his arm gingerly into the leather straps that were used to hold the shield to his arm. When he had it affixed to his arm there were multiple places where Alaric''s bandaged arm could be seen through the holes.


    ¡°Doesn''t seem like it will do much.¡± Tayla commented.


    ¡°No it doesn''t.¡± Bjorn agreed. ¡°I do think we should find some sort of shelter though, although my leg will quickly heal due to my regeneration. Tayla''s leg and Alaric¡¯s arm will take a few days, if we move now it will only increase our chances of getting hurt.¡±


    ¡°That''s a great idea, I don''t think we should split up to find anywhere though. Tayla and Alaric, why don''t you two search up river and Bjorn and I will search down river, let''s meet back here by mid-day.¡±


    Tayla narrowed her eyes at Meira before turning and telling Alaric to join. With a smile and a shrug she and Bjorn started heading down river.


    They met back up at midday at the small river right near where the corpse of the toad sat. They kept their distance as they could hear the sound of tearing flesh coming from where the toad''s body was. After quickly sharing their findings in hushed tones the group made their way back up river heading to where Alaric and Tayla had found.


    It was a small sheltered clearing, with large rock faces covering three sides of the clearing, and a nice level path into the clearing. After some thought and preparation they set up a rope that was affixed to the ground, they thought that the rock faces would protect them from attack on three sides, making it easier to defend. If sometime attacked from the one open side and they couldn''t handle it they could escape up the rope.


    When everything had been all prepared they started to set up camp. In the middle of their clearing there was a small tree. Taking out some pitons they affixed them to the rock face, then they tied ropes going from the pitons to the tree. From there they used large leaves and branches to make a rough roof over their heads. Then they dug and built a decent fire pit. Lastly they sharpened some wooden spikes that they cut from small trees and placed them into the ground of the only easy way in and out.


    With everything ready they settled in for the night. They spent a little over a week there recovering. During that week it was surprisingly uneventful, they were lazy not doing much. By the time they agreed that everyone healed enough to move on, everyone was ready to be done with their camp. Recovering their ropes and packing up they set out to try and find population so they could hopefully repair Alaric¡¯s shield. The consensus was that they had spent plenty of time outside of shelter, it was time to have a roof over their heads.


    (If you don¡¯t care about advancement you may skip to the next part.)


    You have advanced your skill level in herb-lore. reaching skill level 15. The efficacy of plants and herbs you collect will increase by 45%.


    Congratulations you have advanced in the skill: Cooking, you are now skill level 9. Your attempts to make an edible meal have increased by 9%.


    You have advanced your skill level in light magic. reaching skill level 8. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.


    You have advanced your skill level in Light Armor, reaching skill level 3. When wearing light armor your defensive value for the light armor is increased by 3%.

 Chapter 24

    The next morning after everyone was awake an odd air hungover camp. No one wanted to take the lead. Sure everyone agreed the night before that it was for the best for them to move along and find a town, preferably a larger one so it would be easier to either get a new shield or repair Alaric¡¯s old one. But in actuality they were lost. As such they had no real clue where to go to find civilization. It wasn¡¯t a true loss, as they still had the normal landmarks around them.


    Because of them being lost, no one wanted to be the one who made the choice, not knowing if their choice would be a poor one. Leading to more pain, or even death in the group.


    ¡°Ah damn it.¡± Alaric cursed. ¡°Fine, if no one is going to step up and pick a direction, I guess I will be the one to do so.¡± Alaric stood up and shouldered his pack just walking in a straight line into the brush.


    The rest of the group just stood there watching Alaric make his way through the undergrowth, not truly watching Alaric though. As the underbrush that Alaric walked into was actually just as tall if not taller that he was.


    The other three stood there looking at each other. Eventually Bjorn shrugged and said. ¡°At least he had the good sense to follow the water, we are bound to run into something eventually.¡± As he was finishing his statement he also shouldered his considerably smaller, but not much lighter pocket, Bjorn started after Alaric.


    ¡°You dummies.¡± Meira called out. ¡°At least follow closer to the stream, the underbrush is less dense over there.¡± Lowering her tone she looked at Tayla. ¡°Sometimes I wonder if men even think at all before they act. Those two definitely don¡¯t.¡±


    As she was finishing speaking there was a loud splashing sound followed by a string of curses. ¡°Everyone watch out there is a small creek running through the underbrush that is surprisingly deep.¡± Everything fell quiet for a few seconds, the only sounds were of Bjorn also pushing his way through the underbrush. ¡°Hey Bjorn, do you mind giving me a hand? My foot seems to be stuck under this demandable log.¡±


    Meira and Tayla just shook their heads. ¡°Men.¡± they both intoned.


    The first few days after leaving their small makeshift campsite were relatively peaceful. They made slow, but definite progress forwards as they crunched their way through the underbrush that followed the stream. Their slow progress was due to the fact that the stream didn¡¯t follow the easiest path, it liked to meander and twist it¡¯s way through the landscape making its way generally downhill though. At one point Bjorn was pretty sure he saw the water flow uphill though. When he put the idea to the other three they came back with one answer. ¡°Magic.¡± Even with the slow progress they still traversed over 10 to 15 miles a day before stopping for the night.  By the end of the first three days the stream couldn¡¯t entirely be called that, as the stream had now widened leading to a small river 4 feet across that had plenty of water traveling through it.


    Intuiting that the bigger the waterway grew the higher chance they had to run into people they followed the river. It was almost a week after they made their way leaving their camp before they came across any signs of life. As there were clear signs that wood had been either harvested or cleared away alongside the embankment of either side of the river. By now the river had widened even further, making it almost 40 to 50 feet across. And from where they stood they weren¡¯t entirely convinced that it would be safe to cross anytime soon.


    It was the morning of the 8th day since setting out that they actually saw their first person. Well to be entirely fair, too many people. As a large flat bottomed boat floated lazily down the river from a larger fork that merged with the existing river. When they called out to the people on the boat the passengers just politely waved before continuing their journey down river.


    As it turned out that one boat was only the first one they came across, seeing two to three boats lazily running down river, or having teams of people on either side of the boat with large wooden sticks in their hands, as they slowly made their way back up river. The entire thing was oddly satisfying to watch.


    They stood there and watched as the teams of pushers would take their long wooden sticks, planting them into the soft mud of the river. Once they were inserted the entire group would strain against their wooden poles until the large barges would start to move under them. Once the ponderous crafts started to move the pusher¡¯s job became substantially easier.


    Luckily for the ones doing the pushing the river was wide enough that it was rather a slow moving river, leading to easy jobs just walking their way from bow to stern, over and over. Over the course of a few days they saw only a handful of boats. There were two large flat bottom barges used for transporting large quantities of goods. There was just the one boat with the passengers. And there were two smaller vessels which by the look of them, and the nets draped over the back, the last two boats were most likely fishing boats.


    Each time they saw a boat they tried to flag it down, and each time that they tried they were ignored, or just waved at as the boats continued their trek. The most people they saw were 11 people on one boat, it was the largest boat they had seen overall. They had 5 on each side walking the length of the boat with their poles, and one person standing on a raised platform, who looked to be steering the boat.


    Not ones to be daunted by them being continually ignored, the small group kept moving on. Even though they spent most of every day walking, their progress along the river was slow. This time it wasn¡¯t so much to do with the lazy and weird ways that rivers moved, no it was them coming across smaller rivers that met up with the one they were following. Even though the rivers were smaller, they were by no means small.


    Each time they came across a new river they would either need to try and cross it right there, meaning their clothes would get soaked. Or they had to follow the river upstream to find a better place to make their way across. Sometimes they found fallen trees, other times it was a nice shallow part of the river, they even came across a simple, rickety rope bridge spanning the water.


    It was the sixth boat that gave them luck in the end. As they saw a boat slowly making its way down the river they tried to flag the boat down. At the stern there was a single old elf who was working the rudder. Upon seeing their waving hands he started to angle the boat towards their side of the river bank.


    As he neared he called out. ¡°Oi there! Are you in need of a ride?¡±


    Tayla was the one to respond. ¡°That we do, if you were willing to give us one that would be greatly appreciated.¡±


    ¡°I might be able to, as long as you aren¡¯t trying to take my boat from me, I hate bandits. My last crew had the thought to take my boat from me.¡±


    Alaric laughed. ¡°That is a sentiment I can agree with, can¡¯t stand bandits.¡±


    ¡°Alright you seem nice enough, I¡¯ll bring the bow of my boat near the bank, you¡¯ll have to do the rest yourself.¡± During this entire exchange the boat had been floating lazily down river getting closer and closer to level with the group. True to this word the old elf was able to angle his vessel towards the shore and lightly bump into the side of the river. ¡°Quickly now, before we drift too far apart.¡±


    Leaping into action all four of them made it onto the boat fairly easily. Once everyone was on board the old elf once again angled the boat out back into the deeper parts of the river. The boat they found themselves on was a relatively small boat around 40 feet from bow to stern. The deck they were now standing on was filled with wooden crates two to three feet across.


    As they were navigating back to deeper waters the elf started speaking. ¡°Well now that you are on my ship I think proper introductions are in order. I am Jeb, and you are?¡±


    That last question wasn¡¯t directed at anyone in particular so Bjorn jumped in. ¡°Hi, I am Bjorn. The dwarf is Alaric. Meira is the elf. Which leaves Tayla being the tiefling. We are pleased to make your acquaintance.¡±


    ¡°Pleasures mine. You all are an odd looking bunch, what brings you out here? And why are you on the banks of the Hafbourg?¡±


    ¡°Hafbourg?¡± Asked Alaric. ¡°Is that the name of the river we are on?¡± The old elf nodded. ¡°As to what brought us out here. We started traveling west out of Vanta, going straight into the Summergate woods. We got tired of the city life, you know how it is. When you have a need to move, nothing will ever satisfy that need except for traveling.¡±


    ¡°Aye aye, aye aye.¡± Said Jeb. ¡°I understand that all too well, after all it is hard to stay in one place when you have a boat. After all, when the water starts to move you, it is foolish to fight the tide.¡±


    ¡°True words master Jeb.¡± Said Meira.


    Jeb scrunched his nose at Meira¡¯s words. ¡°Jeb will do just nicely, and I¡¯ll thank you for using it.¡±


    Bowing her head slightly. ¡°Sorry, Jeb, it¡¯s just my parents raised me a certain way, and it never hurts to be polite.¡±


    Jeb¡¯s face softened at her words, ¡°Aye, that is true. Sorry, I¡¯ve just been on edge lately. What with my crew trying to mutiny me.¡±


    Tayla picked up the line of questions. ¡°That is the second time you have said that now, has there been trouble on the water lately for you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, has there been. I was just coming from up river less than a week ago when the new crew I picked up in Pram decided they would be better at running my ship than I would be. Little did they know, I actually helped build this beauty. As such I know all of her dirty little secrets. Needless to say their attempted mutiny didn¡¯t work out so well for them, and they ended up in the river.¡±


    Jeb stopped in his tale to give a hearty laugh at that before he continued. ¡°As such I didn¡¯t let them back up on the boat, so they had no choice but to swim back to shore. The last I saw of them they were on the beach looking like drowned rats. Serves them right if you ask me, trying to take a man¡¯s livelihood from him.¡± Jeb¡¯s tone made a drastic change from jovial to very stern. ¡°Now don¡¯t get any funny ideas, I can promise you that no matter how good your plan is, if you try to take my boat from me you will end up with the same fate as the other 3 that tried to take it from me.¡±


    Raising her hands, Meira made to speak, but Tayla beat her to it. ¡°Trust us, we have no wish to take your boat from you. We are just glad to not be shoving our way through the fronds on the side of the river. We have been at it for almost two weeks now. I can speak for all of us here and say we are glad to be moving without having to walk there ourselves.¡± Tayla dropped her heavy pack down to the deck of the ship with a heavy clunk.


    ¡°That is too true.¡± Said Jeb with a chuckle. ¡°I have spent more than my fair share pushing through the underbrush along the river. I understand you all too well. Honestly me stopping to pick you up wasn¡¯t fully altruistic. Although I am quite the captain, it will still be hard to bring it into port at Blackrock Bay all by myself. So once I saw all of you on the bank back there I figured you might be helpful.¡±


    A look of puzzlement crossed Alaric¡¯s face. ¡°I have never heard of Blackrock Bay.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t entirely know why they called it a bay, as it isn¡¯t a bay at all. There are two major rivers that make their way through Escar. One is the Hafbourg river. The other is Sandbourg. Where they meet is Blackrock bay. As to why they call it Blackrock, that will be quite obvious when we get there.¡±


    ¡°How far out are we from Blackrock bay?¡± Asked Bjorn.


    ¡°If we keep up this speed, we should be there in 4 or 5 days. That being said, if any of you have any sailing, or boating experience we should get there sooner. As it stands I either drop anchor, or beach myself at night, that way I can prepare my dinner, and get a little shut eye.¡±


    Looking around at the prospective sailors all Jeb got was shaken heads. ¡°Well no worries, we can still teach you. That being said, no matter what we do, we will be stopping for night every time. We could probably keep going at night, but with the meandering path of the river I don¡¯t think we should do so. You never know when the ground will change, or if there is a log just under the surface for us to get caught up on. Anyways, go on, there is a small cabin in the front of the ship, go ahead and get settled in, I have a feeling that you will be riding with me for at least a few days. That is if you are wanting to go to Blackrock bay, although with where you were heading it seems like that is your only choice.¡±


    ¡°Blackrock bay sounds just what we were looking for.¡± Bjorn said honestly. ¡°To tell you the truth we didn¡¯t really have much of a plan going forwards, we were just kind of wondering. We met some trouble with an arrowhead toad a few days back and our gear is a little worse for wear.¡±


    To emphasize Bjorn¡¯s words Alaric pulled off his shield and held it up for Jeb to inspect. As he did so his eyes got increasingly large. ¡°By the look of these holes that arrowhead toad must have been quite a large one.¡± He gave the group another speculative look. ¡°You know, if the four of you could kill a fully grown Arrowhead toad I am not actually convinced I could get you off my ship. But you seem decent folk, no need for me to worry I guess. Go get yourself settled in, and if any of you want to learn how to drive a boat come back over and I¡¯ll give you a bit of a lesson.¡±


    They made their way forward on the deck of the boat picking their way through the forest of crates. When they made it to the front there was a small covered area. The deck of the boat was sunken under the covered area making it so the wooden roof was only 2 feet over the deck of the boat. There were a set of steps leading down into the small crew area. The crew area was a 4 feet wide, 6 feet long, by 5 feet high rectangle. Built into the walls on either side of the rectangle were small bunks filled with small pads that would make sleeping almost bearable, but not by much, as they would be sleeping on polished wood.


    ¡°Well, it ain¡¯t much, but it is still better than walking.¡± Meira commented as she set her pack down before going inside and taking a look around.


    ¡°You know, I am all for trusting this old elf, but I still think we should still do our rotation of keeping watch.¡± Alaric said.


    ¡°I agree.¡± Said Tayla. ¡°It was awfully nice for him to take us in and let us get a ride to Blackrock bay. But that doesn¡¯t mean we need to completely trust him.¡±


    After they were all settled and figured out the logistics of how they were going to keep watch Bjorn was curious, so we went up on deck and started looking about. The entire boat was 47 feet long to be exact, according to Jeb, and 12 and a half feet wide. It was a river boat, made to only survive in those conditions. Jeb was very proud of his boat, as he said so himself multiple times. The construction of the boat was reinforced at the bow of the ship to help it survive anything that it could run into while traversing the water. With a shallow keel it made it perfect for traversing either the larger rivers like the Hafbourg, or any of the other countless smaller rivers. As long as the river was wide enough to accommodate the ship it could traverse waters around 3 feet deep without issues.


    As it turned out Jeb didn¡¯t ever really shut up. He was true to his word, although his definition of a bit of a lesson differed greatly from what Bjorn¡¯s definition would be. It was surprising how knowledgeable the old elf was. That was if you could keep him on track, Jeb seemed to have a bit of a habit to wander with his lessons. He would talk for around a minute about something that was important to sailing, then he would wander off for up to half an hour talking about this or that, or telling a story.


    Jeb had been sailing ever since he was a boy, his father owned a merchant fleet on the coast before a series of bad luck and poor decisions picked Jeb¡¯s fathers fleet apart. Some boats were lost to sea, others to monsters from the deep. A few he had to sell off to help alleviate his business from hemorrhaging money. The rest of his ships were seized by Escar to help in their war with Cronkrum, a goblin country to the north of Escar. Where the rest of the ships were lost, they were used for troops and goods transport. Over the course of the war they were either lost to the goblins or sunk by them.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    To call Cronkrum a kingdom is a bit of a stretch. Goblin society is mostly governed by the strongest goblin, they are normally a fierce, combative race. They are prolific breeders so their population is always a problem. The best thing at keeping the goblin population in check is ironically goblins themselves. A goblin settlement is a rough place to live, there is a lot of stealing, fighting, and murder that happens. Mostly goblin society is dominated by one strong goblin, who takes control and then the rest kind of fall in line. At least the best they can.


    The entire space from the Restless volcano to the glistening sea was infested by goblins. Escar and Laolin came together to try and fight against goblins and eradicate them. But the war didn¡¯t go in either side''s favor. The goblin king, at least that is what he called himself, is strong enough that he was able to force a large portion of the goblins to fight for him. Hundreds of thousands of goblins made their way to the border between Laolin, Escar, and Cronkrum to fight for supremacy. The war still continues to this day, but neither side has been able to gain enough of an advantage to win out. The combined forces of Escar and Laolin are stronger as a whole. The goblins have taken an approach of quantity of quality, the endless waves of goblins make it hard to push into their territory.


    The war between the three countries was only one of the topics that Jeb covered. It took a while but eventually Bjorn learned how to keep Jeb¡¯s babble on topic. As such Bjorn gained a new skill.


    Congratulations you have gained the skill: Sailing, somehow. Through the incessant babble of a geriatric elf you have gleaned enough information to start to understand the workings of a ship, and how it interacts with the flow of water. You have started down the path that many have learned is the easiest and often most efficient form to transport goods long distances. Why carry heavy stuff when you can have water do that for you?


    Once Bjorn gained the skill of sailing it was easier for him to keep Jeb on track as the elf just kept on with his speech. None of the others had any interest in listening to Jeb and trying to learn how to sail, at least when it was Jeb that was teaching them how to do so. As such they left him alone on the back of the ship and they spent all of their time either down in the cabin or sitting out in the sun on the deck of the ship.


    A little annoyed at his traitorous friends Bjorn didn¡¯t mind too much as he listened to Jeb. There were many things about the Eld and the history of the planet that Bjorn didn¡¯t know. Jeb was more than willing to fill in. Luckily for Bjorn he didn¡¯t have to ask many questions to get the man to speak, in all honesty he didn¡¯t even get the chance to ask many questions, as the elf often ignored the questions and just kept monologuing about this and that. He was a font of knowledge, and he wasn¡¯t afraid to share his knowledge. It was arguable if the shared knowledge actually was knowledge, or if it was speculation, but either way Bjorn didn¡¯t mind.


    It wasn¡¯t until the third day that they were on the boat before Jeb let Bjorn have a hand at the tiller. Which didn¡¯t last long, around 30 seconds after Jeb relinquished control on the tiller he took it back from Bjorn. Citing some excuse to take it back for a while. Over the course of the day he would let Bjorn have control a handful of times. Each time he let Bjorn steer the ship longer and longer. By the end of the third day he let him control the ship for around 3 minutes at a time.


    Near the end of the fourth day Jeb let Bjorn have control for around 15 minutes at a time before taking it back. The entire process of steering the ship down this slow river was surprisingly easy, it was nice and slow in the middle and the water picked up speed near the edges so it naturally guided itself towards the middle of the river.


    Over the four days they came across other vessels, mostly fishing boats or hauling boats like the one Jeb had. There was one large obvious warship that they passed. It was a good sight larger than all of the ships that they passed, and from where they sat lower on the water they could see large weapons set onto the deck of the ship. On the back they had a catapult built into it. At the bow there was a large ballista that looked to shoot bolts at least several feet long. There were also a few smaller ballista built into the sides of the ship that could swivel and could shoot all along the side of the ship.


    As the day went on, on the fourth day the banks of the river around them started to rise, as if the river had once flown there and over time cut a large gouge in the land around them. Towards evening the banks of the ground surrounding the river were over 50 feet above them in height. As the suns were starting to near the horizon a large black object could start to be seen off in the distance.


    ¡°Yep, that is Blackrock Bay.¡± Said Jeb. ¡°I suspect we will be there by nightfall, the river is starting to narrow, and as such the water is picking up speed.¡±


    Jeb¡¯s prediction came true. As the suns made their way behind the horizon the large black mound started to light up with small lights. As they neared the mound true darkness was starting to settle over the land, tonight was surprisingly devoid of light as none of the moons had made it into the sky yet. What wasn¡¯t devoid of light was the land ahead of them. The river seemed to cut straight through the large stone outcropping. On either side of the river large pools of water were either cut into the stone or had naturally worn away creating large pools of slow water.


    Inside the pools docks were built and ships were moored. The docks were filled with light as large lights affixed to the large stone walls angled downward to give plenty of light to those on the docks. Also sporadically affixed to the dock itself there were lanterns that were producing less strong light.


    Angling them towards the northern side of the river Jeb was aiming for the docks that had more space in between each dock. ¡°Alright Bjorn, I need you to go to the bow of the ship and take the rope there, when I bring it in close I need you to leap across to the dock and use the rope to tie us off. We can adjust later. Tie it off just how I told you to do so.¡±


    Nodding Bjorn moved to the bow, with how little light there was aboard the ship Bjorn cast his simple light spell and set the light to float right above the bow of the ship. Jeb didn¡¯t make a comment for once about anything, keeping his mouth shut at seeing Bjorn cast light magic. Finding the rope Bjorn hefted it and readied himself to jump across and find the nearest mooring post.


    Once they were near Bjorn jumped across to the dock and quickly found the nearest mooring post. Deftly he tied the mooring line off, to hopefully keep the ship in place. Once that line was in place Alaric took another rope from the port side of the boat and tied it off just as the other one was to the bow of the ship. Then he threw the new rope to Bjorn, and quickly joined him on the dock. They made their way to the front of the dock and found another mooring post. Wrapping the line around the post once Alaric grabbed the line on the free end of the post and Bjorn the rope. Heaving together they slowly pulled the ship into the dock until the previous rope was tight. It was then a laborious process of tying off the rope that they used to hold the ship in place, moving their backup rope to a different post, and then going back to the rope at the front of dock and starting all over again.


    In the end it took over 15 minutes of work to get the bow of the ship to the front of the dock and tie it off, then they tied the back of the ship off to the dock. Only then did Jeb relax and make his way onto the dock.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised, I expect to see the dock master. Oh well, I guess we will have to talk to him in the morning.¡±


    At the end of Jeb''s sentence the large flood lights extinguished themselves sinking the harbor into partial darkness. The lamps spaced periodically out across the dock did plenty to allow them to see, just not enough to see everything.


    ¡°Those lights are the reason I am surprised, normally when the lights come on it is bright enough to wake her up, I guess not tonight though.¡±


    ¡°Jeb, why did they turn off?¡±


    ¡°Oh that, there is something that allows them to sense when boats are approaching, when they get near enough the lights turn themselves on. Once the boat has safely made it to port, or continued onwards the lights turn themselves off. It is some sort of magic that is above my head honestly. You should ask Bjorn, he might know. I saw him do some light magic there, there might be some overlap.¡±


    Shaking his head more for Jeb¡¯s benefit than the group''s benefit, as they already knew all of his magical capabilities for light magic. ¡°I don¡¯t know enough to even try to replicate that effect. I am very interested in how it all works, I guess I''ll have to settle for asking around later. Do you mind if we stay on the boat tonight Jeb? It is dark enough that I think it would be best that we search for other accommodations in town tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Of course you are welcome to stay, I don¡¯t think I could have gotten us to dock without you two.¡± Jeb indicated both Bjorn and Alaric. Jeb fell into an uncharacteristically silence. Bjorn was just about to ask him what was up when Jeb spoke up again. ¡°You know if you guys want I would be willing to give you a job aboard my boat. With my mutinous crew I am going to need a few more hands to help out around here. Bjorn, you seemed to come to sailing naturally, it would be a pleasure if you decided to stay on. I would pay you of course, that is if you were willing to do so.¡± Jeb started to look around between everyone hopefully.


    Everyone shared a glance, no one gave a hint one way or the other. Tayla was the one who conveyed her thoughts first, by giving an imperceptible shake of her head to all but Bjorn and Meira.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Jeb, I appreciate your offer but I think we will have to decline.¡± Meira said.


    Jeb looked a little crestfallen at the rejection, but not giving up hope he turned to Bjorn. ¡°If I can¡¯t get everyone to stay, how about you Bjorn? You seem interested in sailing, and I will even make you my first mate. I promise I will treat you fairly and pay you generously. What do you say?¡±


    Shaking his head, Bjorn gave his reply. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Jeb, but I can¡¯t leave my friends behind, we have been through too much, besides we count on each other for more than just our friendship.¡±


    ¡°I get it.¡± Jeb said sounded dejected. ¡°You can¡¯t split the party, it is a damn shame though. Well no need to dwell on it, I¡¯ll take care of everything else here, you all go get some shut eye, I expect you will have a lot you need to take care of tomorrow.¡±


    Giving Jeb their thanks they made their way to bed taking their normal shifts of watch. In the morning they were awoken to the sound of crates being moved around. Grabbing their gear they made their way back on deck where 8 men were on board all grabbing and hauling boxes around. Jeb stood at the helm of the ship talking to a man who had an official look to him. The man was dressed in some sort of fancy uniform and had an obnoxiously large hat on his head. They made their way through the boxes heading for Jeb.


    As they approached Jeb noticed them and his face lit up, before falling a little. ¡°I suppose that is you off then.¡±


    ¡°Unless you want us to stick around and help off load the crates.¡± Bjorn said.


    ¡°No, I appreciate it, but no. That is what the dock hands are for, they load and unload any goods off of the boats that put to dock. Thank you for your company.¡± Jeb said as he came down off of the raised platform and stuck out his hand for everyone to shake.


    ¡°You know Jeb, I never asked, what do you have in the crates?¡± Bjorn asked.


    A collective groan escaped the lips of the other three. ¡°It¡¯s no big secret, it is mostly food and bolts of cloth. You know I actually got the grain over two weeks ago up near Abbotsford¡­¡±


    As Jeb started into his tirade Meira, Alaric, and Tayla all started to take slow steps away from Jeb, as they did so Meira reached out and grabbed ahold of Bjorn¡¯s hand gently pulling him away. ¡°You know this sure is interesting Jeb, but I think it is best that we go, we have a lot to do today as it is.¡±


    Once Meira finished speaking her gentle pull turned into a full bodied pull. Chuckling to himself Bjorn allowed himself to be pulled away as they made their way away from Jeb, who for his part didn¡¯t even seem to notice the lack of the friends as he turned his attention onto the official standing next to him.


    ¡°I will not have you making us stand there listening to Jeb for hours again.¡± Tayla said as she got behind Bjorn and pushed him from behind.


    They made their way onto the docks, which now in daylight they could tell was situated into a natural cavern in the middle of the rocks. On one side of the cave a set of wide stairs had been cut into the cave leading up. From where they stood they got a good view of the other side of the river, which at this point was around 50 feet across. The other side of the river looked similar to the one they were docked at, the only difference was that the wharf had smaller spaces to accommodate more fishing vessels.


    They could also see that the river had cut a line right through the center of the surrounding stone. The river had made a 60 foot tall tunnel that ran straight through the interior of the surrounding rock. 40 feet above the water a large stone structure had been built; it had large stone pillars that ran down into the water at regular intervals. The pillars were connected by large stone arches and above those a large stone wall had been built. Above the stone structure was open sky.


    ¡°What do you think those are used for?¡± Asked Meira.


    ¡°Maybe it is used to help defend the port.¡± Speculated Tayla.


    ¡°Maybe, but why is it so wide, and there doesn¡¯t seem to be any parapets or anything at the top of the structure.¡± Alaric said.


    Bjorn started walking backwards while facing his friends, making his way to the stairs. ¡°I bet if we take those stairs we will be able to find out.¡±


    They made their way up the stairs which went up around 40 feet before leveling off and ting into a tunnel. The interior of the tunnel was lit up by small orbs that had been affixed to the ceiling which gave off a gentle white glow bathing the black stone around them, giving the tunnel a surprisingly welcoming feel. On one end of the tunnel led to a natural light, which came from the direction that would be back towards the river. The other end led to another set of stairs making its way up.


    Not waiting for the party Bjorn started walking towards the light. The tunnel widened as he went, which ended in the open air. In front of them was a large channel which water coursed through flowing downhill. When Jeb said that Blackrock Bay was where the two rivers met, he meant it literally. The Hafbourg ran east to west across the Summergate, while Sandbourg ran north south, and where the two rivers met was in the middle of Blackrock Bay.


    Sandbourg had over the years cut the large ebony stone outcropping in half right down the middle. With Sandbourg eventually cutting into the starting point of the Hafbourg. The structure in front of them had been built to stop the Sandbourg from pouring into the Hafbourg. Avoiding two different ecological disasters. The first one being that the now combined flow of both rivers would cause major flooding down river from the Hafbourg. The second is with Sandbourg¡¯s loss of flow the area where the river ran originally would slowly shrivel up and die from a lack of water that normally made its way down it.


    Where they stood they could make their way across the channel that spanned the Hafbourg or turn away and make their way to another set of docks carved into the rock. This upper section of the river had two different sets of docks carved into it. One upstream and one downstream of the bridge spanning the cavern below.


    Making his way towards the bridge Bjorn stopped at the apex of the tunnel and just stood there and took the sight. Everywhere they looked there was quite the sight to behold, one way they could see boats slowly making their way through the river below them. On another they could see boats making their way along the channel with (one of the suns) casting a weird color onto the water, which was sparkling. Looking up they could see myriad bridges spanning the large gap in between rock walls, which were pitted. It was exactly the type of thing he expected to see in a magical world.


    ¡°It''s really something to behold isn''t it?¡± Meria asked.


    Bjorn turned and saw her in her usual form fitting clothes as she leaned against the stone railing of the bridge they stood on. The light shining on her platinum blonde hair. The soft early morning light made her skin glow. He had been so enamored by his surroundings, that he had missed the most stunning sight of all. Meira. There was only one word that flashed through Bjorn''s mind. ¡°Beautiful.¡±


    The moment stretched into two, then three, and then 5 seconds. Then the moment passed as Meira turned to him. ¡°Bjorn, are you okay?¡± She asked with a slightly worried expression on her face.


    ¡°Yeah, yes I am.¡± Bjorn said. ¡°Sorry, I got lost there for a second.¡±


    ¡°Well I hope whatever you got lost in was worth it.¡±


    ¡°It was.¡± He replied simply.


    That was when Alaric and Tayla walked over from where they had been looking over the railing a small distance off.


    ¡°Hey, do you guys want to find our way to the surface so we can take a look at the town from up there?¡± Alaric asked.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Bjorn replied.


    They made their way back towards the stairs going up. They took them and the pathway forked a few other times each time they took the stairs leading upwards. As long as they stuck to the ideology that they would eventually hit the surface if they took the stairs, it was only a matter of time before that came true. As they made their way onto the ground level of Blackrock Bay. They were greeted by the sight of a bustling city built entirely out of the same black stone that the city was built upon.


    They stopped a few different people to get directions to the chasm cutting the city in half. Almost each time they did so the locals were more than willing to direct the 4 towards it. There was only one time where the man they stopped got angry at them and swore at them before bustling off.


    The sight from the top of the chasm looking down was just as impressive of a sight as it was from the bottom looking up. At the top of the chasm a mid chest level stone railing had been built to stop anyone from tumbling down. Unfortunately for Alaric he wasn¡¯t able to see over. He could see forwards just fine, but down was an issue that neither Meira or Tayla had. Meira was roughly the same height as Bjorn, and Tayla was only a few inches shorter. To rectify the issue Alaric jumped up clasping the railing with both hands and pulling the upper half of his torso onto the railing while his feet dangled uselessly below him, making him look surprisingly like a toddler.


    Once everyone was done gawking at the vista they found Alaric started. ¡°Well I think we shouldn¡¯t dally around here, let'' see if we can find someone to fix my shield.¡±


    Not even waiting for a response he turned and walked off. Shrugging they followed after the dwarf. Less than 30 seconds in, Alaric had led them into an alleyway, swearing he made his way back out, ignoring the snickering coming from his friends. As such the four made their way into the city.

 Chapter 25

    It took them around half a day to get the lay of the land. Blackrock Bay was unimaginatively named after the ebony black stone that the city was built upon. There was a large circular outcropping of stone that was what the city was built upon. It stood out starkly from the rest of the surroundings, as for the most part the land around Blackrock bay was all level ground. No one knew where the stone got there or how it got there, but a large stone, over a mile wide, had been placed or been pushed out of the ground. Once it was in place the rivers seemed to have cut their way over time through the center of the large stone.


    With the convergence of two of the major rivers that spanned Escar, Blackrock Bay had become a booming metropolis. The city of Blackrock Bay had become a center for trade, as a lot of the goods and wealth of the north western half of Escar had to pass through it. As such the city itself was made of finely cut stone, which seemed to come from the rock around the city, as the buildings matched the color of the stone perfectly.


    Even with the city cut in half by the ravine made by the Sandbourg running through the center of the city, that hadn''t stopped the industrious residents. The city itself was built into tiers. With 4 tiers to the city, the lowest one was the one where the friends came into. The lowest tier was used for low end residential. The next highest was used for commercial work. The next was for the wealthy. And the last being where a large defensive structure had been built. Unlike Vanta there wasn''t any segregation, as the low end residents were still fairly well off, being a part of a major trade hub. Besides being cut into 4 rings each with a defensive structure in between, the city was further complicated by the city being cut in the middle-ish.


    The Sandbourg River didn''t cut the city truly in half, in true water fashion it went wherever it pleased, which resulted in one half of the city taking up roughly 65% of the total landmass. The citizens also built a series of stone bridges spanning the ravine, with at least one bridge on either end of each level, often two or even three. The levels weren''t evenly built by square footage either, the bottom and middle sections were substantially bigger than the upper two sections. Out on the land surrounding the city itself were large sections of fertile farmland, which seemed to be heavily used as such. There were several large roads that led to the base of the city which were met with large gates and further had large thoroughfares that led deeper into the city.


    It was on one of those thoroughfare that the group found themselves heading further into the trade district, which was a smaller part of the commercial district. It was an odd assortment of standing stone and mortar buildings and haphazardly thrown up trade tents and awnings. The entire trade district was a large section of land, being almost 2 acres of space. It took around 10 to 15 minutes of looking before they found what they were looking for. There was a building by itself on the edge of the trade district that had smoke coming out of the roof of the building.


    Walking into the building they found an assortment of weapons lining the walls. As well as there being racks that occupied the floor, filled to the brim with weapons. There were also a few sections that looked to be covered in shields. As they entered the building a bell came ringing out from two different places, one right over their heads, and another from somewhere on the other side of a large arching doorway built into the building. The room took up the entire space of the building, there were two sets of stairs in one corner with a rope tied to a wooden support beam blocking off access to the stairs.


    The trade district was built right up against the side in between the residential and commercial districts. As such this building was pressed up against the wall separating the two areas. The doorway leading out of the room ran right through the wall connecting a building on either side of the wall. There was a constant ringing of metal on metal that reverberated through the stone passage between buildings that made no sign of stopping. Inside the large stone room the sound that reverberated through the building was loud enough that it started to make Bjorn¡¯s ears ring.


    There was a counter in between where they stood and the stone arch, and behind the counter sat a woman elf. She perked up at the new visitors and gave them a smile before standing up and walked towards the arch connecting the two buildings. As she made her way towards the ringing she reached up and pulled something from her ears. After a few minutes they could hear loud voices, shortly afterwards the elf came back. Giving an apologetic smile she just stood there waiting for the ringing to stop, but it continued on for a few more minutes before the sound stopped.


    The elf¡¯s smile grew, ¡°Hello, and welcome to Ella¡¯s emporium of gear and weapons. I am sorry for the loud noises, we don¡¯t get shoppers very often and Ella gets her work in whenever she is able to. My name is Yanda, what can we do for you?¡±


    Alaric stepped forward towards Yanda. ¡°Hello, my name is Alaric and I seem to have found myself in need of a shield.¡± As he finished speaking he unslung the shield from his back and set it on the counter between them. ¡°We got into a fight with a rather nasty toad and it did a number on my shield. I am looking to either repair this one or buy a new shield that would protect myself a little better. As you can see and probably guess, I have some concerns about this shield''s  ability to fully protect me.


    Yanda''s face became one of schooled professionalism as she took a look at the shield. ¡°You are right to worry.¡± She said as she picked it up. ¡°This shield is almost useless, and by the looks here whatever did this probably made it into your arm.¡± She looked from the shield to Alaric¡¯s bandaged arm. ¡°And it looks like I am right. You would have gotten stabbed 5 maybe 6 different times, depending on how long your arm is. I think we can help you, let me get Ella for you.¡±


    Before she finished speaking, a woman who was somewhere in the middle of a dwarf and a human for height. She had the characteristic grace of elves, while having the large frame of a dwarf, it was an odd mix. Her long black hair was braided and running down her back to mid back. She was wearing a sleeveless shirt which exposed well defined muscle. She didn''t have the characteristic thick arms that were normally associated with smiths, but hand long, hard, lean muscles. To top it off she had long tapered ears that poke out of her head helping keep her braid in place.


    Her appearance was such an odd grab bag of characteristics that Bjorn couldn''t help himself and used W.A.I.L.A. on her.


    <table style="width: 90.0081%">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 29.0705%">


    Name: Ella


    </td>


    <td style="width: 32.6143%">


    Race: Half elf, half dwarf


    </td>


    <td style="width: 37.9529%">


    Age: 37


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 29.0705%">


    Level 14


    </td>


    <td style="width: 32.6143%"> </td>


    <td style="width: 37.9529%"> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 99.6377%" colspan="3">


    Half elves and half dwarves sometimes get some of the characteristics of one parent, sometimes the other. Rarely do they get both from each parent. This is true for the inherent racial gifts of each race as well.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°Ah, welcome to my shop, I am Ella.¡± the woman said as she moved forward to clasp wrists with each of them. An odd quirk of the Eld was that everyone clasped wrists instead of hands in greeting. When Ella made her way to Bjorn her grip was firm, it was strong, he got the sense that if she wanted to she could crush his arm with her hand.


    After introductions had been made Ella turned and picked up the shield. After just looking at it for a few seconds she said. ¡°this shield wasn''t made for you, you got it off someone. And whoever it was made for, it wasn''t truly made for, it was mass produced, as if for an army.¡± Alaric gave a brief nod in assent to her insights.


    ¡°This shield is completely useless, and beyond repair.¡± As she said that she put her hands on opposite sides of the shield and with what looked like little to no effort she snapped the wooden part of the shield into two halves. The metal ring that held the shield together did its job kind of, as it didn''t snap but it did bend easily enough.


    ¡°What are you looking for in a shield?¡± She turned towards Alaric as she and him started talking about it. She asked him questions at a rapid pace, barely waiting for his answer before snapping into the next one. After 10 different questions she gestured for them to follow her, as she walked behind the counter. They followed her.


    On the other side of the arching stone doorway was a well stocked smithy. On one side of the room there was a large open forge, where a large man was standing at, working the bellows of the forge. There was a long piece of metal sitting inside the embers of the forge, which was slowly starting to change colors as it heated up. Right next to it there was a large anvil that was set to just about the right height for Ella. Along the wall behind the forge and anvil there were wooden pegs that had been set into the wall where all sorts of metal tongs, hammers, and different tools were hanging. On the opposite side from the forge there was a small room with a heavy door separating the two. Currently the door was sitting open and inside they could see coal piled high inside. Right next to the fuel room there was a large stone wheel that was suspended in the air by a wooden dowel running through the center. Below it were foot petals that were likely used for turning the wheel. In the center there was plenty of open space.


    Ella walked over to where the grinding stone sat and picked up a medium sized round shield off of the workbench there, tossing it over to Alaric. She walked over to the anvil and picked up a long poker made of iron.


    ¡°Alright, defend yourself if you can.¡± Ella said. Alaric was about to make a pithy comment but before he got the chance Ella sprung forward leaping at Alaric, poker raised high to bring down in an heavy overhand swing.


    Her sudden swing took Alaric by surprise, he had to cut his reply short as the poker was moving unnervingly towards his head. Not able to bring his shield up in time all he had time to do was shift his body to the side as the blow that would have landed on his head came in contact with his chest and belly instead. Staggering to the side when Alaric recovered his feet the poker was already on its way this time in a lunging motion aimed at goring Alaric. This time he was able to get the shield in the way and the poker''s tip dug into the thick wood. Ella smiled as she withdrew the poker and started again.


    They spared for a few minutes, Ella was surprisingly adept at fighting with a metal poker. Finally after a long clash she spoke out. ¡°Enough, you can put that down, I have a good enough idea.¡± To punctuate her words she set the poker down and turned her back to Alaric.


    She led them back to the shop side of the store. Yanda was sitting there. ¡°You are a surprisingly good fighter Alaric, not many can defend as well as you did against Ella''s barrage.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, I came by it honestly.¡± He replied, giving a small bow.


    ¡°We have a few options that could work with your fighting style.¡± Ella said, going straight back to business. ¡°But if you ask me, I don''t have anything that would fit you perfectly, maybe if you gave me two weeks I could come up with something.¡± As she said that her tone turned up slightly towards the end turning it into a half question. ¡°Let me ask you again, what do you want in a shield? Do you want something that will fit you perfectly, or something that is good enough?¡±


    Alaric was silent for a while, I think I''d like perfect, but I feel like perfect will cost a pretty penny.¡±


    She nodded. Alaric kept talking. ¡°What if I give you a rough cost and you do what you can for that. From what I''ve heard in town is that you are the best, and that skill comes at a price.¡± Once again she nodded in assent.


    With her assent the group started to talk amongst themselves. After a few minutes of deliberation Alaric turned back to Ella, who was starting to look antsy. ¡°Would one gold be enough to get it done?¡±


    ¡°I can''t make any promises, but I bet I can get close. Whatever I make for you I will keep it close to a gold¡­ not that I don''t trust you, but a gold piece is quite a sum of money.¡± she trailed off towards the end of the sentence.


    Realization at what she was getting at dawned on Alaric and he reached into his pouch. After a bit of rummaging he produced a gold coin showing it to her. And he took a step forward to place the coin on the counter.


    ¡°No, keep it, I will collect once the product is done. I just needed to know that you were able to pay the cost. With that settled, if you don''t have need for me, the sword I''ve been working on should have been ready for another around for a while now.¡± Before she turned to leave she gave a slight bow to the group before heading back to the forge. In short order the sound of metal on metal came ringing through the building once again.


    Yanda got their attention again. ¡°Is there anything else we can do for you?¡±


    ¡°Uh, I think we are good for now, thank you.¡± Bjorn said, everyone started filing out of the door, Bjorn bringing up the rear. Just as he was about to make his way out of the building a thought came to him, stopping he turned back to Yanda. ¡°We do have some parts that could be useful to people that we got off of a monster, is there a place we can go to sell them?¡±


    ¡°You might want to try the alchemy hall. I bet you''ll be able to get the answers you are looking for there.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Bjorn walked through the door letting it close behind him. When the door closed it did a good job of muffling the cacophony from the inside of the shop. Instead of metal clanging the sound was replaced with the sounds of a bustling trade city.


    ¡°Well we have plans to stay around for at least two weeks, what next?¡± Tayla asked.


    ¡°Hmmm, I think our next move should be to find a place for us to stay.¡± Meira said.


    ¡°That might be a good idea, I do want to see what I can do to get rid of these bone arrows from the toad, I am getting awfully tired of carrying them around.¡± Bjorn said as he stretched his back.


    The portable pockets'' ability to carry large quantities of bulky items was amazing. The downside to it was that anything that was too big to fit into their packs easily went into the portable pocket. Even though most of what went in was light weight stuff, the sheer amount of items that went into the bag was really starting to add up, and the weight was starting to get to the point where it was uncomfortable to carry.


    ¡°Alright, let''s find a place to stay and then we can do whatever we want.¡± Meira said.


    With no objections they started to find their way to boarding houses and inns. They passed a few on their way to the metal workers house. With no better information to go on they made their way towards one that stood out to the girls as they went. It was right around where they made their way into the commercial district.


    As they were traveling through the streets of the city Bjorn could see a large building standing by itself off in the distance. Based on the description he had gotten so far it was the alchemy hall.


    It was late afternoon, right in between lunch and dinner. Not really wanting to backtrack Bjorn stopped the group.  ¡°Hey, I think that is the alchemy hall, I think I am going to check it out, that way I don''t have to backtrack over here later today.¡±


    ¡°That is fair. Alaric, do you mind staying with him? I would like to go take a bath, and I''m pretty sure Tayla is in the same boat as me.¡±


    ¡°Sure, why not? It¡¯s not like I want to get clean too.¡± Meira gave him a flat look. ¡°Fine, fine.¡± He relented. ¡°I''ll go with Bjorn and look at plants that shouldn''t even exist and smell stuff that will make you retch just for being around it.¡±


    Tayla flashed them a beaming smile. ¡°Perfect then, we will see you back at the glittering goose. We will arrange the lodging for us for the next two weeks.¡±


    With that the two groups went different ways. Bjorn and Alaric started to pick their way through the streets packed with people. The building that Bjorn saw in the distance was the alchemy hall, and it was actually substantially larger than it looked from where they first saw it. The size of the building was misleading as it took them a long time to make it to the base of the hall. When they finally got there they stood at the base looking up, the building had to be at least 3 stories high, and that guess was based on the spacing of the windows. The floors had to be around 12 feet high as well, as the building was close to 40 feet tall at the peak.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Where the street met the hall there was a large open doorway leading into the building. Inside on the first floor it was a large open space, at least for the front half. Lining the walls and the inner three rows were a bunch of alchemy stalls. Each one was manned and those people were selling all sorts of different potions. Making their way into the interior they asked one of the stall owners where they could sell some stuff. He directed them to the back and through a doorway. The inside of the hall was packed with people, so picking their way to the back was slow going. Once there they found the doorway and went through. They walked into another room, this one a lot smaller, with a few doors leading out of the place. There were 7 different merchants all sitting behind their booths doing various tasks.


    Not sure which one to talk to, Bjorn just decided to try his luck with the closest one. ¡°Hi, I have some thing¡¯s I would like to potentially sell.¡±


    The man was a large overweight human, covered in large flowy robes which helped cover his excessive bulk, but wasn¡¯t able to ultimately do much based on his size. His appearance surprised Bjorn, as he was the first fat person he had seen since coming to the Eld. Looking up at Bjorn the man got an almost wicked grin on his face. ¡°Of course I would be willing to help you, what is it you have to sell? Also you have the look of someone new here, you aren¡¯t by chance a member of the alchemy guild?¡±


    Getting a flash of Deja vu, Bjorn replied wearily. ¡°I have an assortment of herbs, and I have a set of spikes that I got from an arrowhead toad that I would like to sell. I am not a member of the alchemy guild, does that matter?¡±


    The almost wicked grin changed from wicked to down right predatory. ¡°Of course it doesn¡¯t matter. It was more to sate my curiosity. Well take them out and let''s see what you got.¡±


    Bjorn started to offload a few of his various herbs that he collected on their journey, and he also took out a small bundle of the spikes. What then ensued was a rather fierce round of talking about the herbs, and haggling. While they were haggling about the price of things Alaric got bored and started to look around. He was about to head out of one of the side doors when one of the merchants stopped him and told him that those rooms were only for alchemy guild members. Not being one to push the issue Alaric made his way back and started to search the sellers.


    As it turned out the spikes weren¡¯t worth much when it came to alchemy ingredients. The herbs on the other hand were worth quite a bit more. Bjorn only sold off a portion of his herbs and a handful of the spikes. The combined total was sold for a little under a gold piece. Bjorn was satisfied with the results as he left to try and find Alaric, the man¡¯s smile started to turn towards lecherous with how creepy it was getting. Paying no more mind to the unsettling trader Bjorn made his way back out to the traders selling potions and goods. It took a little while to find Alaric as the man was shorter than the average person in the crowd by a large margin.


    ¡°Well did you do well?¡± Asked Alaric when Bjorn finally found him.


    ¡°Decently enough, how about you? Did you find anything worthwhile?¡±


    ¡°I did find a few cool nicks and bobs. Was there anything else you¡¯d like before we head out?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, two things. First I''d like to pick up a few more vials and maybe a nicer alchemy set. Second, I have a feeling I was just scalped by that trader. I want to see what it takes to become a member of the alchemy guild here before we leave. I still have a lot of herbs that I currently don¡¯t have a use for, I would like to sell them if I can, but not for the prices I just got.¡±


    ¡°Follow me, I saw a few selling what you are looking for. There was one I talked to briefly and she seemed a little more honest than the rest of these vagabonds.¡± Alaric led them through the crowd to a stall that had a woman dwarf behind the counter.


    As they neared, Bjorn could see exactly where Alaric was leading him. Bjorn spoke quietly to Alaric, ¡°I am sure the only reason you talked to her briefly was because of her looks.¡± Instead of answering Alaric just smiled. Bjorn didn¡¯t have much attraction for dwarves, but he had to admit, the dwarf lady was attractive.


    He was right in the end. The lady behind the stall had plenty of glass vials, and even a nicer alchemy kit. Bjorn bought over 100 vials, 4 large containers to hold liquids, and he got a rare level alchemy set, which was a bit of an improvement over his common rarity set. He got all of it for 29 silvers and 70 coppers. Leaving him with over a gold in silver coins. Once he finished trading, he asked her how to become a part of the alchemy guild. She directed them to a doorway set off to the side.


    Making their way to the door they entered a small office space, there were two desks up against one wall, which sectioned off an area that was filled with shelves piled high with paper, books, and scrolls. One was occupied by a species that Bjorn had never come across yet. The humanoid had dark blue skin. On the surface of his skin there were runes that were glowing in a soft orange. The runes slowly drifted across his skin in a mesmerizing way, creating intricate patterns. He had short cropped black hair that was peppered with streaks of white.


    When they entered and Alaric saw the man he took a soft rapid intake of breath, and held it for a bit. A soft word escaped his lips as he exhaled. ¡°Runic.¡±


    Alaric¡¯s reaction to the unusual person made Bjorn curious and so he used W.A.I.L.A. on the man.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Skarit.


    </td>


    <td>


    Species: Runic.


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 63


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 19


    </td>


    <td>


    Procession: Alchemist.


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Runic¡¯s are a rare and mysterious race in the Eld. Their powers are not fully known to any except those of their own race. What is known about them is that they have a predilection to runic magic, and everything that entails. Runics get 4 points to distribute per level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    You have become aware of a new area of study: Runic magic.


    Upon seeing Bjorn and Alaric enter the room Skarit raised his eyes. They were the same glowing orange color as the runes that were running over his skin. When one of the runes made its way across his eye the iris began to glow more intensely briefly before the rune moved on and his eye returned to its normal glow. His facial features and eyes were soft.


    ¡°Hello, and welcome, my name is Skarit. I can tell by your reactions you have never seen a runic before. It can be a little jarring, that is alright I am used to it. What can I do for you?¡±


    Bjorn stepped forwards. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my staring, but your skin is mesmerizing to look at. I would like to become a member of the alchemy guild here, and we were directed here.¡±


    Skarit¡¯s facial features changed from soft and welcoming, to welcoming and surprised. ¡°You are an alchemist then? That is good.¡± He reached one hand under the desk and grabbed a small clear crystal orb and set it on the table. ¡°Well come here.¡±


    Bjorn stepped up to the desk.


    ¡°Stick your hand on this orb. It has the ability to find out what your skill level in alchemy is, there is a lower limit that you have to be to be accepted into the guild.¡±


    Bjorn stuck out his right hand and tentatively placed his hand on the clear crystal ball. It was cool to the touch. When his hand came in contact with the orb a white mist began to fill the inside of the ball.


    The runic¡¯s face fell ever so slightly. ¡°I am sorry, but you don¡¯t have the required skill level to join the alchemy guild. There is a base requirement of a skill level of 25 to join. I bet that if you keep practicing you will be able to join eventually.¡±


    The kindness in the tone of the old alchemist made the news a little less disheartening. ¡°That¡¯s alright, thank you for considering me.¡±


    Bjorn turned to go, but Skarit spoke up. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, what is your skill level in alchemy?¡±


    ¡°16.¡±


    ¡°Really? You honestly aren¡¯t that far off, if you practice you will get there. What potions do you know how to make?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t really had much formal training, a little over a year ago I was saved by a woman who was an alchemist, and she taught me a bit. I know how to make health potions, mana potions, stamina potions, I know a few different recipes for each one. I have made a few weak potions from scratch. I also know how to make a smattering of pain medications, and a few other healing ointments.¡±


    Real surprise crossed the alchemist''s face. ¡°That is quite impressive, I don¡¯t think you understand how rare it is to even know that much.¡± He looked around conspiratorially making sure that no one was watching. He turned to Alaric, ¡°If you could do me a favor, master dwarf and close the door.¡±


    Alaric walked over to the door that they had left open when they entered the office and closed it. When the door closed Skarit reached into a pouch at his waist and pulled out a small object that Bjorn didn¡¯t get a good look at. He reached out to make it look like he wanted to shake Bjorn¡¯s hand. Bjorn reached out to shake the runic¡¯s hand. When he did, the small object entered Bjorn¡¯s possession. Understanding what the runic was trying to get at, instead of looking at it right away Bjorn quickly put it into his portable pocket.


    ¡°Look, I wish I could make an exception, but there isn¡¯t much I can do.¡± Skarit said. ¡°If you practice I am sure it won''t be long and you can join our ranks. If I was to give you any advice, it would be for you to pick up a few new recipes out there.¡± He gestured to the trade hall. ¡°If you can afford them, that is. One of the best ways to progress as an alchemist is to make new potions. I would suggest going to Penny, Kenny, or Lenny. They have the best recipes, and they sell them for the more fair prices.¡±


    ¡°Penny, Kenny, and Lenny? Are they siblings?¡±


    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know, but I doubt it. Penny is an elf, Kenny is a sprite, and Lenny is a human. I don¡¯t know exactly how the characteristics are passed down from parent to child, but I think due to their different heritages they are most definitely not related. I do find it a little odd that their names are so similar, and that they are all in the same field as well.¡±


    The runic started to angle his face and gave a small nod as if to say time to get going.


    Alaric picked up on it. ¡°Come on Bjorn, it is getting late and we need to meet up with the girls, besides, it is time to take a bath. I feel like I can taste my stench.¡±


    ¡°That is a fair point, I wasn¡¯t going to say anything about it though.¡± Skarit said. ¡°Farewell sirs. When you get level 25 in your alchemy skill, come back here and I will be waiting.¡±


    Once they made it back out of alchemy hall and were on the streets they started their way to the glittering goose. After they made it a good distance away from the alchemy hall Alaric turned to Bjorn. ¡°So what did he give you? I didn¡¯t get a good look as it transferred hands.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t entirely know, I didn¡¯t really look, I got the impression that he wasn¡¯t supposed to hand whatever it was over to me.¡± Bjorn mentally opened up his inventory, which was attached to his portable pocket. Mentally he hovered over the slot that the item was in.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Book


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 1.1 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    It''s a book, if you are really curious as to what is inside of it, why don¡¯t you open it and find out instead of reading this description.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°Well I can say with absolute confidence that it is a book. Not quite sure what its contents are though.¡± Bjorn reached into the portable pocket and retrieved the book. It was a small black leather-bound book. It was around 3 inches across and 5 inches tall, and closed by a leather cord. Unwrapping the cord he opened up to the first page and started reading.


    After the first page he said to Alaric. ¡°I think it is a book filled with alchemic recipes.¡±


    Alaric whistled. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about the price of such a thing, but Skarit. That was his name wasn¡¯t it? He made it sound like alchemic recipes cost a pretty penny, if he gave you a book full of them that is quite the gift he gave. I wonder why he gave it to you for free, I got the feeling like he wasn¡¯t supposed to give it to you at all.¡±


    ¡°I got the same feeling, like him sharing the book was taboo. I wonder if the alchemy guild here is the same as the mage guild was in Vanta. Trying to restrict how much information made it to the masses.¡±


    Bjorn began leafing through the book as they walked. It was a small book, it only held 7 potion recipes. There were the stock standard health stamina and mana potions. As it turned out there were many different ways to accomplish the same end result. The pages dedicated to those potions used ingredients that were more local, as well with brief descriptions of what they looked like and where to find them. The book also gave a detailed recipe on how to make a stronger variant at the cost of rarer and more potent herbs.


    There was also a recipe for a potion called a danger sense potion. The brief description said that the danger sense potion would increase one¡¯s ability to sense danger. That name was spot on.


    The next potion was one of a fast acting paralyzing poison, something back on earth they would identify as a neurotoxin. Instead of doing permanent damage to someone¡¯s nervous system, it only briefly paralyzed in the area of administration and did a constant health drain while also affected by it. The next potion was the antidote to the previous poison, it also gave a brief immunity to the effects of the poison.


    The last potion in the book was called a minotaur''s strength potion. The description said that whoever drank the potion would have the effect of their strength attribute increased by a flat 10 for a minute. Once the effect wore off the person¡¯s strength would be decreased by 10, regaining one point per day until the strength returned to its initial value.


    As they walked Bjorn read off the effects of the potions to Alaric. He also gave the detailed descriptions.


    ¡°Honestly they all sound useful, your healing potions have been a little lackluster as of late.¡±


    ¡°Hey, at least it¡¯s better than nothing.¡±


    ¡°I never said it wasn¡¯t. I am just pointing out a fact. Also personally, I don¡¯t know if the minotaur¡¯s strength one is worth it. You basically cripple yourself for 10 days for 1 minute of a power boost.¡±


    ¡°Yeah but if 10 points of strength is the difference between life and death, that is a sacrifice I would make every single time.¡±


    Alaric thought for a second. ¡°Yeah, I guess you are right. If it was a life or death situation I would probably use it. But the uses of the potion are actually quite limited. If I had one when we were fighting that ugly troll bastard I would have still lost, and even if somehow I was able to manage a win I would have been weakened and the rest of the bandits would have killed me.¡±


    ¡°Fair fair, I am still going to make one for you though as soon as I find out was a wartgnat is.¡±


    They kept up the conversation while they walked, it wasn¡¯t long before they made it to the glittering goose, by then it was getting close to mid evening. As they opened the door a welcome sound of merriment and laughter came spilling out of the open doorway. Once inside the room it was quick to find Tayla and Meira sitting at a table with mugs of a light amber liquid inside. They looked fresh and clean.


    Meira wrinkled her nose at the approaching men. She threw them a key from a safe distance. ¡°You are in room 6 upstairs, go drop your bags and talk to Kent at the bar, he will see you to the baths. They also have a laundry service here. We put some clothes that should fit you in your room, on the beds.¡±


    They turned to go. ¡°Before you go, did you find what you were looking for Bjorn?¡±


    ¡°Yes, kind of. And at the same time I found more. I will fill you in after the bath.¡±


    Alaric and Bjorn didn''t pay much attention to the tap room, instead just heading to the stairs making their way to their room. Once there they dropped their packs and removed their dirty clothes for them to be collected and washed. The thought of the bath was a welcome thought so they quickly made their way downstairs, grabbing the new clothes that the girls had got for them on the way out.


    Kent at the bar was a jovial giant of a man. Who was pouring beers and drinks for people. When they asked about the bath he directed them out a side door and to a room quite similar to what Bjorn found in Nontorum. The major difference was this bath house was quite a bit nicer than the one he went to in Nontorum. It was a large open area with multiple doors leading off of the chamber. There was a room separate from the bath itself for them to strip down and leave their clothes behind. There was more than enough space for Alaric to use his own room.


    Bjorn plunged into the bath, letting the warm water seep into his body and start to relax him. Once he was finished washing, he hit a nob and the water drained. Once the dirty water fully drained something happened with the controls that Bjorn didn''t fully comprehend, and the bath quickly began to fill with warm water again. Where before the water had a slight sheen of soapy water. This time the water was clear of regular warm water. Once the tub filled fully the room began to fill with a light steam, turning the room into a bath sauna mix. He could feel all of the stress, worries and tension leave his body as he soaked in the relaxing environment.


    He stayed like that for over an hour before he decided it was time to get out. When he left the bath and made his way into the middle room he found that his dirty clothes were gone. Figuring they must have taken them to get washed he paid them no mind.


    Where Bjorn started to take issue was with the clothes that the girls had provided him. His shirt was a cr¨¨me white and made out of a soft stretchy material. The shirt itself wasn''t the issue, it was the cut of the shirt that he took issue with. When he pulled the shirt on his torso it turned out that they had picked a shirt at least a size too small for what he liked. The new shirt fit him like a glove, it also was cut low in the front. The front of the shirt was a v neck that was cut down to almost his belly button.


    The pants were also of the same type of material, and were a soft gray color. The pants were also cut a little too close to the skin for his liking, especially the high crotch area. Between the high crotch, tight butt area, and the pants hugging his legs almost like a pair of leggings, there wasn''t much modesty left.


    The entire ensemble was tied together by a pair of gray slippers, his leather boots being nowhere in sight. Swearing at the nerve of the women he walked out of his room to bump into Alaric. Who was also as elegantly and flowery dressed.


    Alaric was wearing a flower print shirt that had a strong flower perfume wafting off of it. They had given him a pair of shorts that came up well past his knees. He looked like an overweight tourist who didn''t care that they had gained 50 lbs. in the last year and still thought they were fit with a six pack.


    By the look on his face he was fuming. ¡°They took your clothes to be washed too?¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°Aye. And those daft bints gave me this ridiculous outfit to wear. I swear, when I get my hands on them they are going to regret it.¡±


    Making their way back to the main lobby of the inn they started to draw a lot of attention. Thinking it was because of their outfits they made a beeline for the table that Meira and Tayla were sitting at barely containing smiles at their appearances. Tayla''s lecherous eyes strayed up and down Bjorn more than a few times as they made their way across the filled room.


    They made it to the table and as Alaric started to inflate to chew them out an oddly masculine hand snaked around Bjorn''s waist resting on his pelvis, entirely too close for his liking. Looking behind him there was a large rough sailor looking man standing right behind Bjorn. Quickly surveying the room he noticed that every single of the servers were men, and most of them were dressed in a similar fashion to both he and Alaric.


    A deep voice spoke out from behind Bjorn. ¡°Hey there big boy, how much for me to take that sweet ass up stairs with me for the night?¡±


    He tried to extricate himself from the sailor hanging on quite firmly. As he did so he looked at the women who were now full of pure unadulterated mirth. ¡°God damn it, again?¡±


    (If you don''t care you may skip to the next part.)


    You have advanced your skill level in trade, reaching skill level 11. Items you buy and sell prices will be 5.5% more in your favor, this also includes bartering.

 Chapter 26

    Underneath the streets of Blackrock Bay was an extensive series of service tunnels and sewage channels. Over the history of the city the tunnels had been excavated to provide services that the city so badly needed, as well as serving to provide stone for the city''s construction effort. With how elaborate the system had grown over the years there were many parts that had been abandoned due to redundancy.


    It was in those tunnels that two teen lovers found themselves. Jerrit, the guy, had convinced Olivia to come down into the tunnels to explore. They were making their way through the well lit tunnels talking and being generally flirty while holding each other''s hands.


    ¡°You know you''ll have to meet my mom eventually.¡± Oliva said. Jerrit made a dismissive tone. ¡°Oh come on now, it won''t be that bad.¡±


    ¡°I am still worried she won''t like me, after all I am sleeping with her daughter.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but she doesn''t know that, she will like you, I like you, so I promise she will too.¡±


    Jerrit stopped Olivia and pulled her into a hug. ¡°Oh you like me do you?¡± He asked in a playful tone.


    ¡°I guess you''re alright.¡± she jabbed back.


    ¡°I''ll tell you what, I will meet your mom if you do something for me right now.¡± The inflection on his voice left little to Jerrit''s meaning.


    ¡°In your dreams, these tunnels rarely have people in them, but that doesn''t mean they aren''t down here.¡±


    ¡°Oh come now, you know you want to do it just as badly as I do, it is after all, why we came down here.¡±


    It was Olivia''s turn to give a playful smile. She shoved Jerrit back and took off at a sprint down the tunnel calling back over her shoulder. ¡°Catch me and I''ll do it.¡±


    Jerrit smiled and took off at a sprint after her. He was in better shape than most his age. A lucky encounter had given him a level and he put those points into his physical attributes. He was an uncommonly good looking teen for his age, which is what allowed him to catch Olivia''s eye. The beautiful young human was the envy of most kids their age, and quite a few older. She was naturally gifted with beauty and speed. As such she was able to out pace Jerrit. She moved just fast enough to stay ahead, sometimes getting so close Jerrit almost caught her. Giggling and laughter echoed through the tunnel as a game of cat and mouse ensued.


    Olivia created some distance between her and Jerrit as she rounded a corner. In the tunnel ahead of her it traveled forward for a short distance before turning again. In the wall to her right though there was one of those tunnels that had been left abandoned.


    Making a snap decision she sprinted up to it and then ducked into the tunnel, stilling her breath as she waited for Jerrit to catch up so she could jump out and scare him.


    As Jerrit rounded the corner into the straight section of the tunnel he took off down it at a more moderate pace. All of a sudden he stopped as an unusual sound could be heard from the tunnel ahead of him. There was a thud that sounded like a body hitting stone, and then a sliding sound came down the tunnel.


    ¡°Olivia?¡± He called out, when no response came he started forward again this time a lot more carefully. ¡°Olivia?!¡± He called out again, this time more urgent. He made it to the tunnel which was dark, the long time of unuse making it so the lights had been forgotten about and gone out.


    Being a human himself he wasn''t able to penetrate the darkness of the unused tunnel, so he quickly went to the end of the tunnel. Rounding the corner it was a long empty hall, guessing she had gone down the dark tunnel he made his way back to it.


    Steeling his nerves he started making his way down the tunnel. 5 feet in he wasn''t able to see anything. Swearing at his stupidity he went back out to the main tunnel. The magical lanterns that lined the tunnels weren''t permanently affixed. They were placed in such a way that they could be removed, replaced, or repaired. Grabbing one of the lanterns he started making his way down the tunnel again.


    The entire tunnel was covered in a thick layer of dust. Holding the lantern up high hoping to illuminate what was ahead of him. What it did illuminate though was a large disturbed patch of dust. Leading away from the dust were two trails leading further into the tunnel. ¡°Olivia?¡± He asked, trying his best to keep his fear out of his voice. When no response came he started to make his way down the tunnel following the drag marks. As he walked and the light behind him from the tunnel shrunk his fear only grew.


    There was a small skittering sound that made Jerrit freeze in place, and in that moment he made a split section decision to run. Turning back to make it down the tunnel something heavy hit him from behind and he felt something bite into his body. He let out a scream of pain and terror all at the same time. Unlucky for him nothing caring was near to hear his screams as they echoed through the cave.


    The next morning as Bjorn and Alaric made their way to the bar they were still dressed the same way they were the night before. They weren¡¯t able to retrieve their clothes last night as they hadn¡¯t been finished yet. After the incident with the sailor they had made their way to bed before anything could happen. As such they were both famished as they skipped dinner to avoid getting ogled at.


    As they made it to the bar Kent was behind it still, it didn¡¯t seem like he moved much from the night before. ¡°I am sorry about those outfits. They promised they weren¡¯t going to use them for any nefarious reasons. I figured they would take one of my guys upstairs and ask them to wear the outfits. I think your laundry is done, wait here, let me go check.¡± Kent left the room and came back a few minutes later carrying two sacks. ¡°There you boys go, that should do it. If you want to go upstairs and change I will make sure you have a breakfast for kings when you come down.


    They made a hurried retreat away from the bar, sacks of clothes in hand. Making their way upstairs they quickly changed into their more normal clothes. Once changed and their clothes stored they refilled the sacks with the ludicrous outfits the girls picked out for them before returning to the tap room. This time when entering the room Meira was sitting at a table. They made their way over to where she sat, taking seats near her, they set their bags on the table.


    Alaric sat there glaring at her. ¡°Are you happy with yourself? He asked.


    ¡°Hmmm? Oh yes, quite.¡±


    ¡°You know that could be considered cruel.¡± Alaric accused.


    His words seemed to fall on deaf ears and she was smiling from ear to ear, barely containing laughter. ¡°Oh come now, it wasn''t that bad. Besides I figured while here in town you could make some extra money. At the very least it was worth what we paid to see you dressed like that.¡±


    It might have been Bjorn¡¯s imagination, but it seemed like she was talking to just Bjorn when she said that. ¡°I am with Alaric on that one, how would you like it if I gave you the choice to be paraded through the room either naked or in your underwear?¡±


    ¡°Oh now that sounds fun, if that is what you want me to do, I''ll do it just for you.¡± Tayla''s voice came drifting through the almost empty room. Her voice was dripping in her exaggerated sultry tone she liked to use to flirt.


    Ignoring her, Bjorn pushed on. ¡°Besides, did it have to be another cock house? I find it hard to believe that you didn''t know by the time that you had paid for the rooms.¡±


    ¡°We found out as soon as we entered.¡± Tayla said. ¡°Besides who are you to begrudge us some eye candy from time to time.¡±


    Their conversation was interrupted by Kent bringing out 4 laden plates piled high with food. It was egg, sausages, bacon, biscuits, and warm slices of bread coated in butter. ¡°There you go.¡± He said as he set down the plates. ¡°I am assuming you don''t want those.¡± He asked as he pointed at the two bags. Which they both shook their heads at. ¡°Thank you, I''ll leave you to it then. If any of you want more there is plenty left over.¡±


    One nice thing about their time out in the woods, with the changing shift of keeping watch they required less sleep than most for them to function. As such they were the first ones up, making them almost the only ones down there. Kent was the only other person around.


    ¡°Yes I can begrudge you some eye candy, I had an overly drunk sailor get awfully handsy with me last night. How would you like it if the roles were reversed.¡± His words had adverse effects on the two girls. They both shivered but for different reasons. Tayla shivered in excitement at the thought of someone doing what they wanted to her in a public space. Meira shivered at the memory of her time back in the gnoll encampment.


    ¡°I am sorry Bjorn, I think you were right and that was a little heavy handed of us. I hadn''t thought through the ramifications of my actions.¡±


    Tayla booed Meira. ¡°Party pooper, giving up like that?¡±


    The look Meira shot Tayla could have cut glass. Meira''s look wasn''t lost on Tayla, she also saw Bjorn''s dark expression and Alaric''s normally ever present smile gone. Feeling the vibe change she changed the subject. ¡°Anyways, we have at least two weeks here, we are paid up. What do we want to do while we are here?¡±


    ¡°I''d like to explore this town a little bit more, see what other wonders I can find while we are here.¡± Bjorn said after a pause.


    ¡°I don''t have much of anything I''d really like to do.¡± Said Alaric. ¡°I guess it would be cool to take a deeper look into what this town has for sale.¡±


    They all looked at Meira whose expression had gone into a thousand yard frown, caught up in her own world. They waited, and she didn''t speak up.


    Tayla decided to fill the growing silence. ¡°Growing up in Vanta, I have always been a thief. I think I''ll spend some time out and about in the streets, seeing what I can find out about the comings and goings of this town. If anything I bet if I find the black market there will be plenty of interesting things to find there.¡±


    Bjorn gave her an inquisitive look. ¡°Are you sure there will be a black market? There seems to be plenty of money to go around here. I can''t imagine there being much need for one in such a prosperous city.¡±


    Tayla gave Bjorn a look that said ¡®honey please.¡¯ ¡°I''m going to let you in on a secret. There will always be a black market. Every city of sufficient size will have one. There will always be a need for items to be sold outside of the law. Especially in a trade city such as this.¡±


    ¡°Alright I bow to your wisdom.¡± With the conversation done they all quickly finished eating before heading out into the city. As soon as they left the tavern, Tayla broke off and headed off into the city, going and doing whatever she wanted.


    That is exactly how they spent the better part of 5 days. Bjorn, Meira, and Alaric would spend time exploring the city, there were a lot of small cool nooks and crannies to look at. One day they found a small secluded courtyard to sit at and have lunch. Another day they were able to make it to the upper level of the city and explore, surrounded by large impressive buildings. Each day they would make their way into the city to see what there was to see, and each time Tayla would break off and make her own way into the city.


    It was on the fifth day that they found out about a public library. Bjorn was excited to be able to read all the little things that the rest forgot to mention. Conversations with them were oddly infuriating at times. As came with the territory, a new world with new customs. Who was to blame them for forgetting to mention that sprites and goblins were racial enemies, or that elves and sprites didn¡¯t get along even though they both wanted to preserve the forests and had a natural connection to them. All the small nuances of society were the details that were constantly overlooked in conversation.


    So they made their way to the library. It was a public space, but they still charged a small price for everyone who wanted to enter. It was as small of a fee as they could make it, a single copper gave you access to the entire repository of learning for the day. For the group it didn¡¯t seem like much, a single copper was chump change in comparison to what they had managed to obtain over their exploration. The average unskilled laborer made a silver a week.


    The standard week was actually another annoying oddity of the Eld for Bjorn. Instead of earth''s standard 7 day week, in the Eld the week was actually 8 days. It made it easier to remember what day of the week coincided with the numeral counting, but their use of the same term for a different amount of time was annoying to keep track of. With 8 days in a week, 4 weeks in a month, and 16 months in a year for a total of 512 days.


    With all of that said, it was hard for an average person to spend almost 10% of their weekly earnings on a visit to the library. As such, when they paid their copper a piece they were surprised to find the library mostly empty.


    The library itself was a massive two story building, with the center of the building open to the second level. On the first level there were bookcases built into the walls, with even more stacks of bookcases filling up the center of the room. The second floor of the large open space was filled with chairs, tables, and reading nooks.


    Once they were inside they each grabbed a book, and made their way up to the second floor to see what they had found. That was when they realized another major problem. Bjorn couldn¡¯t read. So far all the various languages he had learned to speak he hadn¡¯t come across any chance to actually read. The spell books apparently didn¡¯t count as the knowledge held within the pages was magically imprinted into his brain, and he didn¡¯t actually read it at all.


    Bjorn¡¯s inability to read was the next project Meira decided to tackle. As Meira and Bjorn sat around a table and she tried to teach him how to read, Alaric sat at the same table reading. After three hours of Alaric listening to Meira sounding out words of Bjorn as she followed along in the book, Alaric was about to lose his mind.


    ¡°Gods damn it Bjorn, I have seen dwarf children smarter than you. I can¡¯t take it anymore. I am going out, s-ee y-Ou b-a-ck at th-e inn.¡± Alaric sounded out his last sentence the exact same way Meira and Bjorn were doing. In the middle of his outburst he stood up and grabbed his book. Once he finished mocking Bjorn he turned and made his way towards the stairs. At the top of the stairs they had someone stationed for people to leave their books there. Turns out they don¡¯t trust people to put books back in the correct spot.


    Meira and Bjorn just sat there shocked at Alaric¡¯s outburst. ¡°What''s gotten into him?¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Come on, let''s keep working.¡±


    They spent the rest of the day slowly teaching Bjorn how to read common. They would have kept at it if it wasn¡¯t for one of the librarians kicking them out as the sun started to near the horizon.


    Back at the inn they found Alaric sitting by himself with a tankard of beer in one hand, looking sullen. As they approached Alaric had to fend off another overzealous suitor.


    Bjorn slid into the empty seat next to Alaric. ¡°You okay bud? That outburst was a little out of character for you.¡±


    Alaric heaved a big sigh. ¡°Yeah, I am fine. I don¡¯t know what came over me. Maybe I am just stressed from this town, I don¡¯t know what it is but something just doesn¡¯t feel quite right. I think once we get my shield from Ella, we should find the first ride out of town.¡±


    Bjorn and Meira just looked at each other. ¡°If you think that is what is best, then yeah I am all for it.¡± Meira said.


    They settled in to eat their evening meal. Halfway through Tayla slid into the seat next to Meira. ¡°Guys, there was a murder in town today.¡± All three gave some variation on a surprise. ¡°I don¡¯t know all the details, but I heard on the streets today that an elf was found dead around noon today. Again, I didn¡¯t get all of the details, but apparently the body was messed up quite badly. I think we should lay low for the time being.¡±


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°Where was the body found?¡± Asked Meira.


    ¡°It was found somewhere in the residential district. It was an older woman. It sounded like whoever did it to her tore her open.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean tore her open?¡± Asked Alaric.


    ¡°Once again I don¡¯t have all the details, but from what I heard it sounded like she was missing a large section of her chest. And on top of that it looked like she had been dead for a while. Apparently her skin complexion was ashen gray. Like she had no blood left in her body.¡±


    ¡°Should we do something?¡± Alaric asked. ¡°It doesn''t feel right, just leaving it be.¡±


    Bjorn put down his fork and leaned back in his seat. ¡°What can we do? It sounds like there isn''t much detail to go around. Besides, the city guards are there for a reason. Them doing something is their job, not ours. I say let''s leave it be.¡±


    ¡°I agree with Alaric, there must be something we can do.¡±


    Bjorn turned his head towards Meira. ¡°I disagree, so far it is only one person who has died. Let''s leave it to the city officials whose job it is to find out what happened. Besides if we go poking around we are more than likely to become suspects. We are just some average people in their eyes, some new to town average people. The death just so happened to happen after we came to town, we have been seen all over the city. We have no one in the city to vouch for us. We would be any investigators number one suspects.¡±


    ¡°Regardless, I don''t think this city is entirely safe. I think we shouldn''t walk around unarmed anymore.¡± Tayla said as she started to scan the room with her eyes.


    Alaric''s face was one of someone who had bit into some meat and all he got was gristle. ¡°It still doesn''t feel right leaving it to someone else to find out.¡±


    ¡°I agree with Bjorn, he made some valid points.¡± Meira said. ¡°We are suspicious. On top of that if we actually start to carry our weapons we will become doubly so. I do agree with Tayla though, we should carry some sort of defensive weapon.¡± She paused and gestured around the room. ¡°Some of the people here have some sort of belt knife, so I think we should not go above that for the time being. This murder might be a one off thing.¡±


    Alaric winced at the end statement. ¡°I don''t know, something in my gut tells me this isn''t the end, but just the beginning. Also why did you have to go and tempt fate like that. Now for sure it isn''t going to be a one and done type of deal.¡±


    Bjorn stood. ¡°And with that decided I am going to go to bed, I will see you in the morning.¡± He said to the girls as he gave them a slight bow before heading up the stairs.


    The next day Bjorn''s and Meira''s plan was to go back to the library and keep working on Bjorn''s reading skills. Alaric was going to explore the trade district, trying to discreetly find out more about the murder. And Tayla was going to do whatever she had been doing.


    As such, when they went their separate ways Meira and Bjorn told them to stay safe. It wasn''t an overly large distance from the glittering goose to the public library, at least as the bird flew. To cross that distance though they had to go through two separate walls, and cross 3 bridges to get there in a decent amount of time. It took a little over three quarters of an hour to cross that distance.


    As they walked the city felt off. There was a subdued calmness that had fallen over the streets that weren''t there before. There were fewer people out on the streets and people talked in more subdued tones. The booming metropolis was still a large city that had a lot of industry that needed to be done. But today on the streets there were less people.


    Once they made it to the library it was even quieter than usual. The librarian behind the counter took their coins. ¡°I didn''t think we would see anyone today, what with that poor woman yesterday, still it is early in the day.¡±


    Bjorn perked up at the comment, feeling like he might be able to find more out about it he pressed a little. ¡°I heard a few rumors about that last night, that can''t be true though right? What are the odds of a body going unnoticed for a few days in a city like this?¡±


    The portly librarian shook his head. ¡°As far as I can tell it was real. I don''t know how it is possible for the body to go unnoticed, as you said. That isn''t the only unsettling news though. For the last few days there have been people going missing.¡±


    The librarians saw their disbelieving looks. ¡°Believe me, I didn''t believe that one either. But it keeps happening.¡± He reached under his desk and pulled out a small stack of papers. ¡°These are the list of missing persons according to the duke.¡±


    By the thickness of the stack there were at least 20 different names, pictures, and brief descriptions of each missing person. ¡°How new are these?¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°These are all of those who had missing person reports filed with the city guard. All of these are no older than a week.¡± Just then another librarian walked through the door, an older wizened man. He shot the librarian they had been talking to with a disapproving look. ¡°Anyways, thank you for your patronage, you may enter.¡± The dismissive tone of the librarian gave little room for interpretation and they made their way into the library.


    They spent the entire day working on Bjorn¡¯s ability to read again. It was hard, the common language had 37 characters to learn, and their combination led to sounds that were nothing close to English. Trying to learn a new set of rules as well for how the language worked was difficult but not impossible. By the time they were kicked out of the library he was starting to get the hang of it.


    Making their way through the streets heading back to the Glittering Goose everything was still. The normal hustle and bustle of town was gone. In its place an unsettling quiet had settled over Blackrock Bay. On their walk they only saw ten people, and those ten were a patrol of guards. As the guards passed Bjorn and Meira they gave them a suspicious look before continuing on.


    When they opened the door to the Glittering Goose the taproom was dead. Where there were normally 30 up to 40 people in the tap room, now there are only 5. Tayla and Alaric were two of them.


    Bjorn made his way over to where they sat and sat down next to Tayla. ¡°The city is dead today, any idea why?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, two more were found dead today. Both in similar states. There was a large empty cavity in their chests.¡± Tayla said. ¡°The city is scared, there is not enough information going around, and what is going around is the bare minimum. The city is on lockdown, the city guard is limiting travel to the day and they are suggesting that you don¡¯t go anywhere alone.¡±


    ¡°That is sound advice. If we can, I would like to go back to the library tomorrow with Bjorn, I think he will finally be able to fully read common tomorrow. Today he was able to read a few words without having to sound them out.¡±


    Alaric turned to Tayla. ¡°You have been awfully quiet about what you have been up to.¡±


    ¡°I noticed that as well.¡± Tayla replied. ¡°What about it?¡±


    They sat there and glared at each other. ¡°Alright, Tayla you don¡¯t have to tell us if you don¡¯t want to, but it would be nice. Alaric, stop trying to push her into something she doesn¡¯t want to do.¡± Meira chided. ¡°If you are both amenable to it I think you both should go together tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± They both said simultaneously. Unable to help themselves they both started to smile.


    ¡°Alright with that settled, I also think we should arm ourselves a little better tomorrow. I don¡¯t think we should get fully kitted out, I still think we would stand out a bit too much. But it would be foolish to ignore the fact that so many have been found dead. Bjorn and I found out today that people have been going missing with surprising regularity as well. I think they are related.¡±


    That got Tayla¡¯s attention. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard anything about that. How many have gone missing?¡±


    Meira and Bjorn filled them in with what they found out from the librarian today.


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± Tayla said. ¡°I can honestly say I wasn¡¯t expecting anything of the sort. So far there are at least 20 people missing and 3 people who have been killed. I am willing to bet everything I have that whatever is responsible isn¡¯t a person, but a monster.¡±


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°Well those 20 plus people have all gone missing within the last week, according to your librarian. In small groups that would be one thing, but that many within a small time frame, that screams monster to me. I also find it hard for one person to most likely kill 23 people in a week and get away with it, especially in a city as large and densely populated as this one.¡±


    ¡°All valid points.¡± Alaric said. ¡°On top of that the fact that the missing people are still in fact missing. To me that is the biggest indicator that it isn¡¯t a person.¡±


    ¡°It could still be one, back on earth we had plenty of serial killers who were able to rack up that many kills.¡±


    ¡°But here is the kicker. Were they able to kill that many in a week and still remain at large?¡± Asked Meira.


    Bjorn frowned. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so, I don¡¯t know for sure, but I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    Alaric looked at Tayla and got a mischievous look on his face. ¡°You spent today investigating the murder weren¡¯t you?¡± Tayla all of a sudden had plenty of very interesting things to look at that weren¡¯t Alaric. ¡°That is what I thought. Tomorrow we are going out into the city together, and we are going to see what we can find.¡±


    Meira frowned. ¡°I could have sworn that we agreed to not look into the murder last night.¡± This time Tayla had a hard time meeting anyone¡¯s eyes. ¡°And yet you seemed to have disregarded what we agreed upon.¡± She paused and glared at Tayla for a long few seconds before sighing. ¡°Oh well, nothing to be done about it now. If you are going to look into it you should be careful. Both of you. We still have no idea what is responsible for the murders.¡±


    Alaric gave her a beaming smile. ¡°Of course we will be careful. Besides I doubt there are many things in town that could really give us a run for our money. On top of that Tayla is a professed Rogue, that has to count for something.¡±


    ¡°That is true. Today I spent the entire day making my way around town and I had no issues. No one suspected a thing.¡±


    ¡°There may not be many, but I recall a half dwarf half elf that gave you a run for your money less than a week ago. I bet if she had a real weapon and wanted to hurt you, you would struggle to survive.¡±


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s hardly true. She is working on making me a shield, why would I hurt her before she made it for me? She is a competent fighter. I will give her that, but Ella is a smith first and foremost.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Alright. Just be careful, I''d hate to lose you, or have to hunt you down tomorrow.¡± Meira said. They both promised.


    ¡°With that settled again. I am off to bed. My head hurts from our work today. I will see you all in the morning.¡± Bjorn said as he left the table, stumbling up the stairs slowly before making it to Alaric and Bjorn¡¯s shared room. He crumbled into bed and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.


    The next morning Bjorn was the first one up. He made his way down to the tap room and sat there waiting for Meira to join him. She was actually the next one down the stairs. She walked over to where he was sitting, he stood and they made their way towards the door.


    ¡°Hey wait.¡± Kent called out. The entire time Bjorn sat in the tap room he hadn¡¯t noticed Kent behind the bar. ¡°Come over here, I want to talk to you.¡±


    Meira and Bjorn looked at each other before making their way over to where he stood. ¡°What¡¯s up Kent?¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°I just want you guys to be careful out there. I know you had nothing to do with these murders, but the town is on high alert. The city guards are spooked, they don¡¯t know what to make of it. But you guys are new to town, the murders started happening after you got here, you don¡¯t really know anyone.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for pointing that out Kent.¡± Meira said and turned to leave.


    ¡°Wait, I just want you to be careful. Besides the city guard there is a murder on the loose, just stay together, and watch your backs.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your concern.¡± Bjorn said. ¡°I promise we will do our best to come back alive and not in jail tonight.¡± With that they made their way out the door and started walking down the deserted streets heading for the library.


    If they thought the night before was eerie they were mistaken. When the day before there had been fewer people in the streets, today there was no one. It was quiet, empty, and just felt wrong. As they walked through the streets they caught multiple people staring out their windows watching Meira and Bjorn walk. Each time the residents of Blackstone Bay were caught they would quickly pull the curtains or the shutters of the windows closed.


    Today they decided to take the longer way to get to the library. It took over half an hour longer to get there, but the streets they traveled were wider. They figured that the added chance of seeing danger before it got them was worth the trade off of more time out on the streets. As such they only had to cross 2 instead of the 3 bridges. As they walked they ran into multiple contingents of guards roaming the streets. Luckily none stopped them.


    The same was true when they got to the first bridge. The second bridge though, the guards stopped them and held them there for over an hour questioning them and their motives. They only let Meira and Bjorn go because they sent guards to the library to fetch a librarian. When the fat man who had checked them into the library the day before came waddling into the guardhouse he quickly confirmed the pair''s story. It wasn¡¯t far from the guard house to the public library, but still the city guard sent two men to escort the trio back to the library. As they walked, the librarian and the pair made small talk, the guards were stoic and refrained from talking to anyone.


    Once inside the library the guards quickly made a hasty retreat. ¡°You two are either exceptionally brave or exceptionally stupid to make your way here today. We were actually going to close the service for the day, figuring no one would make their way here. I was actually in the process of locking up when those guards came and got me. Today you are welcome to use the facility for free and take as long as you like. I am in no rush today.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Meira said. ¡°I didn¡¯t catch your name yesterday, what was it?¡±


    ¡°Tuck.¡± he replied.


    ¡°Thank you Tuck, it is nice to meet you, I am Meira and my companion is Bjorn.¡±


    Tuck gave a small head bow to the two of them before busying himself with picking up a stack of books and starting to organize them on the shelves.


    Meira and Bjorn made their way upstairs and started going over reading common again. Finally after 3 hours all of their efforts paid off. Bjorn got a prompt. Meira¡¯s perspective was almost the same as when he learned spoken languages, but instead of his ears glowing slightly it was his eyes.


    You have gained the ability to read and write common to a competent level.


    With their success they were overjoyed and decided to cut it short today, and start to make their way back to the Glittering Goose. They packed up, bid Tuck goodbye and made their way out back onto the streets. They were making their way back when a light rain started to fall on them. Meira started to cast her weather shield spell when Bjorn stopped her.


    ¡°Here in town no one knows that we are spellcasters, I think it would benefit us if we kept that secret to ourselves. Anyone watching would be able to see the small bubble around you where the rain just won¡¯t go. The effect is obviously magical.¡±


    Meira nodded her head. ¡°That is a good point, let''s hurry, the streets are giving me the creeps.¡±


    They took off at a light jog heading back, this time they were able to make it through both checkpoints easy enough. The guards saw them earlier and remembered them, as they had passed less than a quarter of a day ago.


    As they were making their way into the lower residential district it was nearing noon. As they were around halfway through the residential district Meira stopped him.


    ¡°Look over there.¡± She said as she pointed down an alleyway where there was a single elf standing still in the middle facing towards the street they were jogging on.


    ¡°What do you think we should do?¡± Asked Bjorn.


    ¡°As long as she stays over there we should let her, if she comes towards us I think we should prepare for the worst.¡±


    ¡°I think we should go.¡± Bjorn said.


    ¡°But what if she is the killer, in comparison to the average citizen here we are stronger. Even some of the guards we are stronger than.¡±


    Bjorn chewed on his lip a little. ¡°I still don''t like it, I think we should go.¡±


    The entire time the two had been talking the elf lady was standing there in the middle of the alleyway shoulders slightly slumped, with a slouched posture.


    ¡°Why not use your identify ability on it?¡±


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Joanna


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Common Elf


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 22


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 3


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Often considered the fairer races, elves are long lived, and have a predisposition towards nature and magic. Elves gain +2 to dexterity and +1 to charisma, they also gain 2 free points to distribute per level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°Well whatever is going on I don''t think we have to worry about her, she is only level 3 after all.¡± Bjorn said.


    Meira nodded. ¡°Still something feels a little off, I think we should be weary but we should check it out. It could be another dead body.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let''s go.¡± Bjorn said as he reached into his portable pocket and retrieved his bow and quiver, slinging it across his back. Then he reached in once again and pulled his sword out this time. Once his preparations were completed, he nodded at Meira and took the lead.


    They both slowly walked towards the elf woman calling out to her.


    ¡°Hey, we aren''t here to harm you, why don''t you come over and join us?¡± Bjorn called out. No response.


    ¡°It is awfully dark and dreary in the alleyway there. Why not join us out in the street, we can have a conversation there.¡± Meira tried, no response.


    They continued to slowly inch forward. They went from twenty paces away, to ten, to five, the entire time no response.


    They stopped 5 paces away, standing there looking at the top of the elves head as her head was slumped. The way she was slumped they couldn''t make out her face.


    Suddenly the elves'' right arm jerked upward, the sudden movement made both Bjorn and Meira jump back a few paces. The arm hung there for a second, she rotated her arm briefly before the arm dropped and hung limply at her side. Soon her left arm followed suit doing the same as her right, the motion wasn''t as alarming as it had been the first time. Still they didn''t walk closer.


    After the woman just stood there not moving, Bjorn and Meira looked at each other. ¡°Are you alright, miss? I have a few healing potions I am willing to share. We can get you to a healer.¡± Bjorn asked.


    They stood there looking at the elf for over a minute waiting for some kind of response out of her. When nothing came Bjorn began to inch forward again, sword raised in between the two.


    The sound of pounding footsteps behind them made them turn around quickly. It was Alaric and Tayla running down the alleyway to get to Bjorn and Meira.


    ¡°Get back and away from her!¡± Alaric called out forcefully.


    Unfortunately their entrance surprised Bjorn and he had let his guard down briefly. Something shot forth from the elf woman''s chest, as her corpse collapsed uselessly to the ground. The only thing Bjorn saw was many limbs before the monster slammed into him.

 Chapter 27

    Bjorn crumbled to the ground as an extremely heavy force slammed into his side. As he fell, all of his countless hours practicing with Alaric paid off. As he fell his muscle memory kicked in and he twisted in the air automatically and landed on his back in a defensive position with the monster on top of him. The first thing he saw were two massive fangs snapping at his face trying to stab into his body. Thrusting his arm up he was able to get his forearm between the section of its head and its body.


    The next thing that he noticed was the eyes. 8 cold black eyes looked down on him as the massive spider tried to plunge its fangs into his body. 6 of the 8 legs raked at Bjorn''s body digging its claws along his sides, superficial cuts began to appear on the sides of his body.


    Alaric and Tayla sprinted as fast as they could trying to get into a position where they could help. But the alley was long enough and they were just far enough away. Instead, Meira was the first one to come to Bjorn¡¯s aid. As she cast her arc lightning spell. The lightning bolt shot forth from her hand and slammed into the large red spider that was on top of Bjorn. The lightning slammed into the spider charing the blood red carapace that covered the body. The electricity of the lightning bolt traveled through the spider and into Bjorn.


    Bjorn''s vision went fuzzy and the pain from the cuts on his sides subsided. In the bottom corner of his vision a little round icon appeared. When Bjorn focused on it the icon grew in size.


    You are dazed for the next 10 seconds.


    Around the outside of the icon was a solid line that started to shrink like a minute hand running around the clock. A small number appeared reading 9 seconds. All Bjorn could do was watch the number start to shrink. At 4 seconds he could feel a faint tugging sensation on his back. The time passed excruciatingly slow, the ten seconds felt like two minutes as the adrenaline running through his body warped his perception of time.


    When the timer hit zero it was like the entire world just snapped back into focus. His vision cleared, he could finally see the battlefield again. Tayla and Alaric were both close fighting back the large spider, while Meira had Bjorn by the collar and was pulling him away from the fight.


    The spider, now that Bjorn was able to get a good look at it, was large. From the tip of its front legs to the tip of its back legs, it was over 6 feet tall. With a body close to 3 feet long. Its body was the crimson of blood. Now that he was able to see it closer the crimson was the blood from the corpse that it came out of. The limbs that were striking at Alaric and Tayla were white underneath all of the gore. It was hard to tell, but there might also be some black spots.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: N/A


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Hijacker spider


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 4 months


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 19


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    The rare Hijacker spider is a vicious stealth hunter. They like to infiltrate communities of creatures, kill one of their members, and steal their body. These spiders feed on the bones inside of the body. Once the bones have been liquified and then drunk they use their limbs to mimic the movements of the species they have taken over. They then use the meat suit to get near their next prey, using the species'' sense of community to get close enough to abandon their meat puppets and attack their next prey.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Bjorn had a brief thought of the annoyance of having to read the entire prompt about the spider. As he had thought, that the prompt in the middle of his vision ballooned in a split second covering his entire vision before fading so his vision was clear. The benefit to that was he gained all of the relevant knowledge in a split second.


    ¡°They feed on bones.¡± Bjorn called out. ¡°I think you will have to use crushing attacks to try to disable it.¡± As he called out he used his hands to motion to Meira that she could let him go. When she dropped him he continued to speak as he got to his feet.


    Alaric¡¯s ax head skidded across the head of the spider. ¡°Easier said than done, I will try.¡± Alaric called back, his voice sounding strained.


    The alleyway was wide enough that both Alaric and Tayla were able to attack the spider from the front simultaneously, the drawback was that it was narrow enough that Bjorn and Meira were effectively useless unless they wanted to try and hit the creature without hitting a friend. Unfortunately, the odds of hitting a friend were quite high.


    ¡°Retreat.¡± Tayla called out. ¡°Try and get it to the street.¡±


    Slowly at first her and Alaric took a step backwards, then another. The spider followed after, it was denied a meal, and then hurt by the lightning, it wasn¡¯t going to let the party go. They made it half way back onto the street, before Alaric created enough space that he was able to make an hasty retreat down the alleyway.


    The spider was faster than Alaric though, and as he created the distance the spider took a lunging leap at him. Meira was faster than both, a large foot and a half long shard of ice came hurtling down the corridor and slammed into the spider, narrowly missing Alaric. The ice shard was heavy enough and had enough speed to knock the spider back, but did little damage overall. Seeing his opening Alaric was able to make it out of the alleyways mouth before the spider caught up.


    They positioned themselves on either side of the alleyway, Meira and Alaric on one side of the alley, and Tayla and Bjorn on the other side.


    The spider came bursting out of the alleyway and immediately lunged at Tayla. Who nimbly dodged out of the spider''s path. It landed on the ground in between Tayla and Bjorn. Turning it tried to attack Tayla again.


    As it did so a beam of bright light shot forth from Bjorn''s hand slamming into its abdomen. As soon as he had created distance he started casting his light bolt spell, finishing the casting as the spider took its lunge at Tayla. The bright light did no perceptible damage.


    The spider''s speed was considerable, before Tayla could fully recover from the lunging attack the spider had turned around making a second attack at Tayla. Fortunately for her, she was not alone. Alaric placed his body between Tayla and the spider and it slammed into haft of Alaric¡¯s ax. Locking the two into a contest of strength.


    Tayla recovered and moved to hit the spider. Seeing the lack of damage Bjorns spell had done, and how little Meira''s ice shard spell did, he decided to forgo the light spell again and the bow. Instead he opted to try his cast stone spell, he began casting.


    ¡°Get down.¡± Meira cried as he finished the casting on her arc lightning spell for the second time. Trusting their friend Tayla and Alaric dove to the side to get out of the way, as a beam of electricity shot from her hands slamming into the spider. There was another small Thunder clap as it shot between them breaking the sound barrier.


    This time instead of fully immobilizing the spider it only affected the side of the body that was struck. When hit the four legs on that side of its body contracted rolling it onto its side. Soon after a small black stone came hurtling out of the air slamming into the spider''s hard carapace. A resounding crack could be heard echoing over the once quiet street.


    You have struck, hijacker spider with blunt force damage, dealing extra damage. You have dealt 37 points of blunt force damage.


    ¡°Guys it is weak to blunt force attacks. Stop trying to cut at it.¡± Bjorn called out as he absorbed the knowledge included in his prompt in a split second, once again not having to read what it said. He filed the experience away for later.


    Now recovered Alaric stood over the flailing spider. Its uncooperative legs hindering its movement. He looked down on the blood drenched spider with disdain as it tried rather ineffectually to turn towards the dwarf now towering over the spider. Its curled legs being under its body its four remaining legs had pivoted the body so the mouth was facing Alaric.


    He raised his large heavy ax over his head and brought the blunt end down on one of the 4 remaining moving legs. There was a loud snap, like the sound of a breaking bone as the leg broke in half. A wicked grin crossed his face as he brought the ax up again and swung down once again, severing one of the spider''s legs.


    The spider recovered and gained mobility with its previously hindered legs and was no longer at Alaric¡¯s mercy. But with two of its legs severed its mobility was greatly hampered.


    Tayla was mostly useless, but she was able to get a few lucky hits in, her daggers cutting into the new stumps or segments of the spider''s carapace where it looked weaker. Meira used a combination of her haste spell and her arc lightning when it came off cooldown. And Bjorn kept peppering the spider with his cast stone spell.


    The spider would have taken any one of them down one on one. Its thick natural armor and natural weapons would have been more than enough to take any one member down. But with its speed and mobility reduced from the missing limbs, and with the fact that it was 4 on 1 the spider stood little chance. So they slowly picked it apart until its mangled corpse lay in front of them, tucked up next to the building. The blow that finished it off was a strike from Alaric¡¯s ax, slamming into its head splitting it open. A thick gray liquid oozed out of the opening.


    ¡°I feel so useless.¡± Tayla said ¡°The last three fights we have been in I haven''t been able to contribute much.¡±


    ¡°It''s alright, that fight was mostly Alaric and Bjorn anyways. All I could do to it was stun it or slow it down occasionally. On top of that I''m pretty sure my lightning spell is what made us have to recover Bjorn from under the spider.¡± Meira said.


    Alaric swung his ax trying to dislodge the liquid stuck to his ax head. ¡°We are all suited for different types of combat. I do good versus monsters, because most of my time growing up we were trying to protect myself from them. Meira does well versus monsters and humanoids, but not to the same degree. You excel at fighting humanoids that none of us can match. And finally Bjorn kind of fails at fighting everything.¡±


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    ¡°But his versatility is what keeps him alive, he can go wherever we need him to go so we can keep him alive. All while finding a way to be kind of useful at the same time.¡±


    ¡°You know I am right here? I can hear you mocking me.¡± Bjorn said in a voice dripping with indignation.


    ¡°Unfortunately I am serious.¡± Alaric said in a somber tone. ¡°Think back to every single fight we have been in since we have traveled together. You have almost always either gotten injured, lost the fight, or ended up with the enemy on top of you. Don''t get me wrong, you are getting better, but you still have a long way to go my friend. It isn''t mocking when I am speaking the truth, and sometimes the truth hurts.¡±


    Their conversation was cut short by the sound of heavy boots slapping into hard stone at a rapid pace.


    ¡°Do we run?¡± Meira said after a few seconds of the sound wafting towards them.


    ¡°No.¡± Tayla said. ¡°We did nothing wrong, we caught and killed what has been causing the murders. If anything they should thank us, I assume we will be taken in to be questioned though. So we stick around.¡±


    Less than a minute later 10 of the city guards came flooding around a corner and ran straight up to where the 4 were standing, drawing weapons and forming a loose circle around the smaller party. They were all clad in simple chainmail shirts, with a small metal cuirass over it. They all carried halberds, on their hips they had swords, or shorter axs. They also had simple open faced helmets.


    One of the guards had a slightly fancier cuirass and his helmet had a little plumage on top of it, he stepped forward breaking the loose circle. ¡°Drop your weapons.¡±


    Looking back and forth to each other, Meira nodded, and everyone dropped the weapons they had visible, having to unsheath a few in Alaric¡¯s case as he dropped multiple knives on top of his ax.


    ¡°Slendor, Verrick, gather their weapons.¡± Two of the guards, one a human, one a dwarf, came forward and started to collect their various weapons, holding them in awkward bundles in front of them. Once the two guards were back behind the formation he once again addressed the group. ¡°We heard loud rumblings coming from this area, explain yourselves.¡±


    Bjorn decided to take the lead, as Alaric¡¯s face started to turn red with anger. ¡°We were on our way back from the public library when we noticed an elf lady standing in the alleyway staring down the corridor, so we investigated. That was when that spider burst forth from her body and attacked us. You heard the tail end of our fight.¡±


    When Bjorn mentioned the spider he pointed it out to the sergeant there was a collective gasp that escaped the guards almost simultaneously. Apparently in their rush they hadn¡¯t noticed the spider''s corpse that was up next to a building.


    The guard sergeant was apparently not a trusting man. ¡°So you say. Your story sounds not very plausible, who has ever heard of a spider inside of a body. I think we just caught the killers boys.¡±


    Alaric couldn¡¯t hold it back anymore.¡±Are you retarded? Can¡¯t you see that the spider is covered in blood? It¡¯s a damn sight more than plausible, it is the truth. It¡¯s not our fault that you haven¡¯t the sense that a small child has. Anyone with a shred of intelligence would be able to see that much. If you are having a hard time with problem solving our friend Meira¡­¡±


    Alaric¡¯s tirade was cut short as two of the city guard piled on to him and started to struggle to get Alaric down. Seeing the guards struggle, two more joined the fray. Between the four of them they were able to get Alaric face first onto the ground and his arms behind his back. One of the guards produced a short coil of rope and quickly tied his hands together behind his back.


    ¡°You see men, admission of guilt. If they weren¡¯t guilty they wouldn¡¯t have fought back. Take them with us to the guardhouse. We will throw them in jail until the captain can figure out what he wants to do with them. You and you, collect that spider. And Hallie, go collect that poor woman''s body. It would be disrespectful to leave her like that, especially after these villains have mutilated her corpse.¡±


    When Alaric went down Bjorn took a half step forward. Tayla put her hand on Bjorn, and did a small shake of her head. So the other three watched Alaric get detained. Once he was fully detained the guard started to haul Alaric off. The others followed along calmly. They were led through the streets until a large three story building loomed ahead of them.


    The contingent went through the front door. Inside was a large foyer with multiple doors leading out of the room. It was packed with guards. They were rather unceremoniously searched, stripped of anything of worth, tied the same way Alaric was and then led through a series of doors which led to a set of spiral stairs going down. The four were led down the stairs by two guards, the stairs traveled down for a good 20 to 30 feet before leveling out. There was a large heavy wooden door with multiple locks on it in the middle of the hallway. There was a guard stationed at the bottom of the stairs, when the saw the group coming he stood from his stool situated to the side of the hall and walked up to the door. Taking out a set of keys he inserted a different key into each lock turning them, when three of the four locks had been unlocked he stored his keys and pulled the door open.


    Inside the door was a large dark room with metal cages built into the walls. There were 10 cages in total, with only one occupied. The only light source in the room was the magical lights that were affixed in the hall. The guards took one of the lights, leading the group inside. They ended up locking them into their own cages. Once each of them were in their cages the guards quickly left, leaving them in complete darkness. From where they were locked up they could hear the three locks reengaging.


    Soon all the sounds had gone and silence reigned, only then did Bjorn break the silence. Casting his simple light spell he shot it to let it hang above their heads in the center of the room. The light from the sphere was blinding in the pitch black that the room had been.


    Tayla drew in a breath to speak. ¡°Real smart move there Tayla.¡± Alaric snapped before she could speak. ¡°Let¡¯s stay around, we just killed the one responsible for the murders. They will probably reward us. My ass.¡±


    ¡°Stop that Alaric.¡± Meira snapped. ¡°That is not fair and you know it. She was right, staying around was the smarter move. We were just unlucky enough that the guards who came to us were apparently lacking in their intelligence stat.¡±


    ¡°Still we are in.¡±


    Meira cut him off with a barking tone. ¡°It was a call you agreed with, It made the most sense. You are now being cruel for no reason to Tayla, she doesn¡¯t deserve that. I am sure she is already beating herself up over our current situation.¡± They all looked over to where Tayla sat with her back to the bars of her cage. Her head drooped and her shoulders slumped in defeat.


    Trying to cut off the line of conversation Bjorn spoke up. ¡°Well regardless of who is at fault, we are still in our current situation. What do we do?¡±


    Alaric gave out a small chuckle. ¡°What can we do? We are currently locked inside cages in the basement of the guardhouse. You saw those protections. If we were able to get out of these cages, they had 4 locks on the doors.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°They only used three.¡± Bjorn cut in.


    ¡°Ay, they only used three. I think that 4th lock is a decoy lock. Making it so you have to match the right key to the right lock on the right day. I think each key is probably randomized per day. There were 16 keys on that key chain. I also think that the amount of locks needed to open the door is probably randomized as well. All of that is hearsay anyways, as the locks are on the other side of that rather sturdy looking door. We don¡¯t have access to them to break out anyways. On top of that you saw how many guards we were paraded past. There had to be at least 50 of them. So even if we do manage to get out of the cages, and then past the doors. We have to fight past 50 guards before they are able to get reinforcements all without any of our gear.¡±


    Bjorn was quiet for a moment. ¡°Well when you put it that way, yeah it doesn¡¯t seem like we can really do much.¡±


    ¡°I think our best course of action is to go along with whatever happens. I would like to think that eventually this will get to the captain. We will have to put faith in the fact that the captain is probably less of an idiot.¡± Meira said.


    ¡°Fat chance of that. What kind of competent captain of the guard would put that idiot in charge of people¡¯s safety and life.¡± Alaric said, spitting on the floor as he did so.


    One thing that had caught Bjorn¡¯s eye as he was roughly shoved into his cell was that one of the cells was full when they entered. Looking over at it there was an old decrepit human man squatting in one corner of his cage. ¡°Hey, my name is Bjorn. How long have you been in here?¡±


    The old man hadn¡¯t moved at all since they entered the room, instead as they started to talk between themselves he had started mumbling incoherently under his breath. As they talked he had slowly gotten louder. Occasionally they were able to make out a few words. ¡°46. Aloent. Geal. 1. Intruders.¡± over half of what he had said loud enough for them to hear weren¡¯t in any languages that they knew.


    When he was addressed by Bjorn his words became loud enough for them to hear. But every 5th word that he said was in a language they collectively knew. So far he had talked in dwarvish, elvish, common, and orcish. At least those were the ones that they were able to identify.


    ¡°Eh, he is cracked in the head. Let¡¯s ignore him.¡± Alaric said before sitting down in his cell to sulk.


    The room fell silent for over an hour. It was hard to keep track of the time passing. If it wasn¡¯t for the clock in the corner of Bjorn¡¯s vision it would have been impossible. It was quiet, still, and once Bjorn let his simple light spell elapse without recasting it the entire room was in complete darkness.


    A small quiet voice broke through the silence. ¡°My entire life, I have been on the wrong side of the law. The one time I thought for sure that we would be in the clear this is where we ended up. I am sorry guys, I should have trusted my gut. I knew better, but I still decided to stay. This won¡¯t ever happen again.¡±


    Alaric was the one to speak up first. ¡°Meira was right, I was being rough on you for no reason. It was the smart and right move to make. I am sorry that I lashed out at you like that.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t your fault.¡± Meira said.


    ¡°You know, on Earth there was a saying. ¡®Innocent until proven guilty.¡¯ That saying means exactly what it sounds like. I seemed to have forgotten where we were for a moment. Here it seems to be ¡®guilty until proven innocent if you can.¡¯ There were alot of problems on earth, but unfortunately the Eld has more, and the problems here are more severe. You have nothing to be sorry about Tayla, we all made a choice. Now we are paying the consequences of that choice, even if it is unjust consequences.¡±


    They all fell silent again. After another span of time Bjorn decided to start training his magic, after all they were locked up in a dungeon. There wasn¡¯t much his magic could do for him. So he started to cast his simple light spell, he waited until the 10 minute duration was about to elapse, and he would cast the spell again. He currently gained mana at a rate of 1.5 mp per 10 minutes. Which was honestly pathetic. But with his mana regeneration and his mana pool he could cast the spell 28 times that way before his mana pool was empty enough to where he couldn¡¯t cast the simple light spell again. Giving them a little over 4 and a half hours of light before Bjorn had to wait for his mp to regenerate enough.


    It took almost 19 hours for Bjorn¡¯s mana pool to fully regenerate. As his mana pool started to near the bottom he got a headache, as the mana pool grew nearer the bottom the headache grew worse and worse. Making it harder and harder to concentrate. Figuring it was a good way to train, Bjorn continued to cast the simple light spell every time he could. The headache made it hard enough to concentrate that he actually failed to cast his spell multiple times. Each time he failed he still lost the mana the spell would have normally used on a success.


    Still he pushed on, if he was going to keep being a spell caster he would have to learn how to fight through the headache. An entire day passed like that with nothing really happening. Twice during the day the door opened to the jail and food and water was brought in. The first time they came in they brought a bucket for each of the prisoners.


    It was early on the next day when something changed, the door swung open and admitted 5 guards. They walked up to each cell and opened up the door. ¡°Come with us.¡± The one who stayed by the door said. ¡°The captain wants to see you.¡±


    They followed the guards up through the guardhouse and threw a series of doors before they came to stop before a large heavy wooden door. When they knocked on the door a deep voice could be heard through the door. ¡°Come in.¡±


    They swung the door open and led the 4 inside. There was a large desk up against one side of the wall with multiple bookshelves piled high with books and scrolls. Sitting behind the desk was a mountain of a man.


    He looked up at the assembled party and frowned. ¡°Gillan, why are they in such a state?¡± The tone was one of military efficiency, cutting through everything to show his displeasure.


    The guard who spoke earlier snapped to attention upon hearing the tone. ¡°Uh, sorry sir, you said you wanted to see these prisoners, so we went and got them before bringing them here.¡±


    The human guard took a deep breath sighing, before using both his hands to rub at his temples. ¡°First of all Corporal Gillan these 4 are not prisoners, nor should they have ever been some. Second of all Corporal Gillan, when I asked you to bring them to me I didn¡¯t mean it had to be immediately. Thirdly Corporal Gillan, I don¡¯t want you to ever bring dirty people before me again.¡± Each time the captain said corporal Gillan they could see the man visibly shrink.


    The dungeon they were kept in was covered in a thick layer of mud and grim, after their extended period down in there the clothes they were wearing were covered in caked dust and grime that would be difficult to remove.


    ¡°So Corporal Gillan, I want you to take these people to the bath house down the street, take a few guards to help. I want you to find new clean clothes to give to them. I want you to take those filthy clothes and burn them. And then I want you to bring them back to me. Lastly Corporal Gillan, you shall be assigned to guard duty on the walls for the remainder of this span. You also will be assigned to latrine duty that will be set to start as soon as you finish your first assignment. Are we clear?¡±


    The fully wilted guard snapped back to attention before saluting. ¡°Yes sir!¡± He said in a powerful voice.


    The captain then turned his eyes back to the four filthy people standing before him and his eyes softened. ¡°I am truly sorry for the way you have been treated, you don¡¯t deserve it. You have my promise that you are not in trouble in any way, and we will do whatever we can to reimburse you for the way you have been treated. Dismissed.¡±


    As they turned to leave he said. ¡°Oh, and after the baths return all of their items to them.¡±


    This got another salute from the guards before they led them out of the captain''s office. ¡°This way.¡± Corporal Gillan said and led them down another hallway, they soon came to an obvious stock room. They waited outside as he went inside and retrieved a large sack. They then followed GIllan out of the guard house and then down to the public bathhouse. They were followed by two guards. There were two males, including Gillan, and one female guard. Once inside the public bath house the guards quickly ushered them past the lady behind the counter in the lobby. The two men took Alaric and Bjorn down one hallway and into a changing room, Tayla and Meira followed the other female guard.


    Once they stripped down the remaining guy took their clothes and stepped out of the room. Gillan led them through a different door and into a large room with a large pool in the center of the room. Inside there were 3 other naked men in the process of washing themselves.


    ¡°Go ahead and take your time, we will be waiting for you in the changing room with your change of clothes. Over there on the wall.¡± Gillan pointed to the opposite side where there were multiple small outcoves built into the wall. ¡°You will find any type of soap you will need to clean yourself.¡± He turned to go before thinking better of it. ¡°For what it is worth, I am sorry for how you were treated.¡± He gave a small bow of his head before he turned and left through the door he came in through.


    Alaric let out a low chuckle. ¡°Well that was unexpected, and I can¡¯t say I am not angry at our treatment. But this has been a welcome turn of events. Come on, let''s get cleaned up.¡±


    During the bath Bjorn took great care to clean out the small wounds that were mostly healed on his sides by now. Once he was finished he found another outcove that was stocked high with clean white bandages, he quickly wrapped his torso in them, hopefully avoiding any extra disease from the conditions they were just in.


    An hour later Bjorn and Alaric made their way back to the waiting lobby wearing their new clothes. The fabric of their new clothes were softer and finer than what they had been wearing before.


    Soon the women joined them in the lobby. They made their way back to the guardhouse. This time they were led to a small room set off to the side, inside the middle of the room was a table piled high with all of their various tools, weapons, and items that they were carrying on their person. They quickly got suited back up and rearmed, nothing seemed to be missing. After they were rearmed Gillan led them back to the captain.


    This time when they entered the captain had his back to the door as he was looking through one of the shelves. ¡°You may go Gillan.¡± He ordered without turning around.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Gram Craigshoof


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half minotaur, half centaur


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 51


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 37


    </td>


    <td>


    Profession: Warrior


    </td>


    <td>


    Specialization: of the bull


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    As a half race, you sometimes get the characteristics from one parent, and sometimes the other.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    When Gillan left the room Gram grabbed something off of the bookshelf and turned around taking a seat at his desk. ¡°I once again apologize, I don¡¯t think we have been properly introduced, my name is Gram Craigshoof, and you are?¡±


    ¡°Tayla.¡±


    ¡°Bjorn.¡±


    ¡°Alaric.¡±


    ¡°Meira.¡± They each said respectively.


    ¡°Well met. It has come to my attention that you all fought a spider yesterday, and were able to kill it. Do you mind giving me your side of your story?¡± Bjorn took a half step forward and retold the event exactly how he remembered it. Only being interrupted by the rest when Bjorn got to the part where he was Dazed.


    ¡°Ah, this all makes more sense now. You said it was a hijacker spider. Have you any experience with these creatures before?¡± When Bjorn shook his head Gram got a confused look on his face. ¡°How do you know that it is called a hijacker spider then?¡±


    Bjorn smiled. ¡°I am sorry Gram but that is a rude question.¡±


    ¡°So it is an ability then. Some sort of identifying ability I am assuming.¡±


    Bjorn¡¯s smile widened and he nodded. ¡°That is correct. I do have one question myself though. So my ability tells me that you are a half minotaur half centaur. How is that possible? And how are you a human?¡±


    Gram gave a small full bodied laugh. ¡°Now that one was a rude question.¡±


    ¡°Tit for tat.¡± Gram¡¯s smile turned slightly confused. ¡°You ask a rude question, I figured it was only fair for me to ask one as well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair. Seeing how I have the answer to my question and you still don¡¯t it would be unbecoming to not answer you. Very well, my mother was a centaur, and my dad a minotaur. When they had me I came out as a normal looking human, but it quickly became apparent that I had more minotaur in me than centaur. As I grew rapidly and to proportions not normal to humans. I guess I was lucky in a sense, I got the human half of my mom and the Human half of my dad. My sister was less lucky as she got the more animal half of both.¡± He stopped speaking and was silent for a bit. Gram shook himself out of whatever track his mind was going down. ¡°But even though she can¡¯t really speak, she does have a great personality. It does make it hard for her to find a date though.¡±


    ¡°Anyways, enough about my history. We do appreciate you taking down this spider. Since you killed the spider we haven¡¯t seen anymore murders. I am inclined to believe that the hijacker spider was the one responsible for killing dozens of people across the city.¡±


    ¡°That''s good, I am glad we could be of service.¡± Meira said.


    ¡°Yes, that service is actually what made me want to talk to you. When I heard about the spider I went to investigate personally, of course my sergeant didn¡¯t tell me that he took you into custody, all he told me was that the spider was found and killed. It appeared he was trying to take credit for your work. Rest assured, that man has since taken your place. We locked him up for his crime, actually he was locked in the same cells you were just in.¡± He paused speaking and sat at his desk, he opened up the parchment that he had in one hand. Picking up a quill he quickly scratched a few lines down.


    ¡°Sorry, I had a thought and had to write it down before it left me. Anyways, during my investigation I learned what my former sergeant had done and who was really responsible for the kill. Your rather public fight actually was in your favor, as many of the residents nearby watched your fight. I made a report to the duke about my findings. Which brings us to the crux of me actually finding out your state. The duke asked me to bring you four and the dead spider to the palace.¡±


    He paused waiting for a response, when none were forthcoming, Gram started again. ¡°Of course you don¡¯t have to, you have done a service to us in Blackrock Bay, and we have only repaid you with suffering. I do think that you going to the palace with me will be for your benefit though. If you decide you want to leave that is understandable and you are more than welcome to do so.¡±


    They all looked at eachother, Alaric shrugged. ¡°All right, we will go with you. I am willing to put my trust in you Gram you seem like a decent fellow.¡±


    ¡°That is settled then, we shall leave immediately, follow me.¡± Gram rerolled up his scroll and threw it into a bag at his hip. As the mountain of a man walked around the desk his size became more apparent. He walked past Bjorn, the tallest in their group, and the man dwarfed Bjorn. Gram had to be at least 8 and a half feet tall. When he was on the other side of the room it wasn¡¯t as prominent as this furniture was built for someone his size. He actually had to duck to get through the door.


    As they made their way into the large open room that was the entrance to the guardhouse a small contingent of guards stood there. When their captain walked into the room they snapped to attention. They made their way past the guards, as they moved past them the 6 guards turned and followed them. Just outside the door a small flatbed cart sat with two more guards stationed at the front. The shriveled up spider''s corpse sat on top of the cart.


    Once Gram made his way past the cart he turned up the street making his way deeper into the city. Right behind Gram was Bjorn and his friends, then the cart, and lastly the 6 guards taking the rear position in their column.


    It took a while to make it to the center portion of the city. It was slow going due to the cart being very slow. The road was mostly flat, but the guards pulling the cart had to pull it uphill the entire way. Every ten minutes they had to stop to let the guards change out who was pulling the cart. Each time they did the guards pulling the cart would be breathing really heavily, and covered in sweat.


    When they made it to the highest ring of Blackrock Bay they turned down a side street. During their time here they had thoroughly explored the entirety of Blackrock Bay. At least of what they had access to. The upper ring was further split into two additional separate parts, there was the small section that the public could access, and then the place where the palace grounds were built on. To further complicate things, the line cutting Blackrock Bay in half also cut right through the center of the palace.


    There was a short wall separating the palace from the rest of the upper level. Apparently they didn''t put much effort into protecting the palace from attack, figuring that if the palace was under attack the rest of Blackrock Bay was already screwed. So the ruling family had instead put the effort into protecting the rest of the city.


    As they were walking down the streets of the upper level Gram ducked into a smaller side street. Ducking wasn''t an exaggeration of explanation, he had to duck to get through the opening. There was a 8 foot tall arch covering the entrance to the street. On the other side it opened up allowing freedom of movement for the whole party again.


    Soon they came to a small side gate in the wall to the palace. The main entrance that they had previously explored was grand and intimidating. It had large and fancy scroll work cut into the stone. This one looked more like a large wooden door that would be used to access a wearhouse. It was 9 feet tall and 7 feet wide. There was a single guard standing there on the street side of the door.


    When he saw the party coming he called up. ¡°Open the gate, it''s Captain Gram.¡± Following the words there was a heavy thunk from the otherside of the gate and then the doors began to swing inwards. On the other side there were 4 men pulling on chains that had been set into the wood of the gate. Two more guards rushed out of the now open doors to the palace and quickly replaced the two current guards pulling the cart. The current guards looked to be relieved to let their duty go to someone else.


    He turned to the bedraggled men who had accompanied them. ¡°You may take a rest at the guardhouse here for a bit before returning to your post in the lower city.¡± All 8 men stood tall and saluted. He then turned to the party. ¡°Well, I think it is about time for us to meet the duke. If he isn''t otherwise engaged.¡± He turned and walked through the open gate, with the others following. Once everyone was through the gate the 4 men pushed the gate closed again, and then set a large wooden beam in place to lock the gate.


    On the other side of the gate was a long covered tunnel leading deeper into the palace. Not 10 feet into the tunnel there was a wooden door set into the wall that the cart pullers turned and headed into.


    Gram stopped for a second. ¡°El, could you send someone to let the duke know we are here.¡± The last man saluted before turning into the room and shouting Gram''s order into it. The large man just shook his head and sighed. ¡°I could have done that.¡± He muttered under his breath just barely loud enough for Bjorn to hear it. ¡°Oh well, come, follow me.¡±


    They followed Gram through a short series of tunnels that eventually ended in a large doorway. He pushed open the door and stood aside. ¡°After you.¡± He said as the remainder of the column and the cart made their way inside the room. It was a fair sized room, large enough to fit everything and everyone inside with little to no issues.


    They only had to wait a few minutes before another door opened and three people entered, the one on the right was an older elf woman, her face showing wrinkles and grey hair. It was odd, she was the first old looking elf in the Eld Bjorn had seen. The one on the left was an abnormally tall gangly looking human. In the center covered in a deep Rich red and blue outfit walked a person who barely made three feet tall.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Duke Dornan


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Gnome


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 61


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 41


    </td>


    <td>


    Profession: Mage


    </td>


    <td>


    Specialization: Geomancer


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Gnomes are naturally gifted with their hands. They are also normally described as cunning and crafty. They gain 1 point in dexterity, and intelligence per level, they also gain two free points to distribute per level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    As he entered Gram dropped to one knee and bowed his head. ¡°Greetings Duke Dornan. This here is Tayla, Bjorn, Meira, and Alaric. They are the one who killed the creature.¡± The sight was comical, as even in his kneeling position the giant of a man that Gram was, was still taller than Dornan standing at full height. Gram''s thigh muscles were almost the same size as Dornan.


    ¡°Welcome Gram, and thank you for bringing them and the creature to me.¡±  He turned to the group who hadn''t kneeled at the duke''s entrance. ¡°It''s alright no need to stand on formality, come now Gram stand. Do you mind telling me the story of how the four of you came across this thing while the city had been on lockdown, and a no travel order had been, well ordered?¡±


    The fact that the duke hadn''t told Gram to stand and pretend that formalities were irrelevant until the others clearly weren''t going to follow wasn''t lost on Bjorn. This time instead of Bjorn recounting the story Meira spoke up filling Dornan in. As she spoke the tall gangly human and Dornan both made their way over to the spider''s corpse and started to inspect it. Halfway through the story they had to pause for a bit as the prodding of the spider released a rather fowl stench.


    When she finished speaking Dornan turned towards Gram. ¡°Have you found out if there are more of them? Or if this creature was responsible for all the killing?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know my lord, I am inclined to believe that this spider was the only one responsible. As since Alaric and his companions have killed this one we haven''t had any other dead bodies show up.¡±


    As he finished speaking the door burst open and a red-faced man rushed into the room. ¡°My lord, we found another one dead, this time in the upper residential district.¡±


    Dornan turned towards the newcomer, and Gram just threw his head back and let out a little ¡°fuuuu-¡±


    (If you don''t care, you may skip to the next part.)


    You have advanced your skill level in earth magic. reaching skill level 5. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.


    You are now level 15, you have 12 (base 16) attribute points to distribute.


    You have advanced your skill level in light magic. reaching skill level 9. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.

 Chapter 28

    ¡°Speak plainly.¡± Duke Dornan ordered.


    The heavily breathing soldier took one deep breath. ¡°We found a new body less than half an hour ago, it was right by the public library. It was just like all the others.¡±


    ¡°No bones?¡± Dornan asked.


    ¡°Yes sir.¡±


    As soon as the guard said by the library Bjorn got a terrible feeling deep in his gut. ¡°What race was the body?¡± his mind went automatically to the rotund human librarian tuck.


    All eyes fell on Bjorn, after a moment the guard looked back at Dornan, who made eye contact and nodded. ¡°She was an orc.¡± At that proclamation the knot of worry in Bjorn¡¯s stomach came undone.


    Dornan gave Bjorn one more sidelong look before going back to his guard. ¡°How was the reaction?¡±


    ¡°The public is worried, but the aristocracy don''t care much. I still think the public is in support and trusts you though. So it seems to be stable for the time being.¡±


    Dornan sighed, ¡°That doesn''t surprise me, why would the aristocracy care about a few dead peasants. Thank you, you are dismissed.¡± The guard saluted and left the room nearly as quickly as he entered. He turned towards Bjorn. ¡°When he said it was near the library you looked worried, is there a reason for that?¡±


    Bjorn shook his head. ¡°It is nothing really important, up until a few days ago I didn''t have the ability to read. There was a friendly librarian named Tuck who was there and talked to us. When I heard the location I was worried it would be him. But fortunately Tuck is a human, and obviously she was an orc so no chance.¡±


    The duke nodded slowly. ¡°Makes sense.¡± He then turned towards the tall lanky man. ¡°What do you make of it Nick?¡±


    The lanky human who had been poking and prodding the spider looked at his lord. ¡°Its exoskeleton seems to be made up of bone. Gram if you would come here please?¡±


    Gram walked over to where Nick was standing next to the spider. ¡°If you would be so kind as to try and break this spider''s leg.¡±


    The giant of a man took one of the spider''s legs in both of his hands and attempted to snap it off, to little success. He tried again, the large muscles in his arms bulged and veins stood out at the strain he was putting in, but still nothing. Next he placed the leg on the end of the cart, he looked at Alaric. ¡°Hey Alaric, would you come here and hold the corpse in place to make sure it doesn''t move?¡± Alaric waddled over and placed his weight on top of the spider. Gram then used all of his weight trying to break the leg with the edge of the cart as a hinge. After a few seconds of pressure there was a snap and the leg broke free right at the edge of the cart.


    Nick held out his hand and Gram placed the spider''s leg in his hand. Bringing the broken piece of the leg to his eye he inspected it closely. ¡°Ah ha!¡± He exclaimed and walked over to where Dornan was standing, stooping low he pointed at a point on the leg. ¡°If you see here the structure of this shell is the exact same as how our bones are structured. My working theory is that these spiders inject a venom that liquifies the bones and then it drinks that fluid to fuel itself. It makes sense, seeing how every corpse we have recovered didn''t have any bones in its body. At least none that we could find.¡±


    Dornan shuddered. ¡°Gross. Anyways Gram I''m going to pretend that you hadn''t just finished telling me that you think that there was only one spider. It is quite obvious that there are multiple. Come to me in an hour in my war room. We shall discuss this further.¡± He turned towards the group standing there. ¡°I thank you for the part you played in letting us find out what has been going on. If there is anything you''d like as a reward let me know and it shall be yours.¡±


    Meira, Alaric, Tayla, and Bjorn all stood there not knowing what to do.


    ¡°Come on, there must be something you wish for a reward.¡±


    ¡°Well.¡± Born started tentatively. ¡°I am a new mage, and I have access to the schools of earth, light, and water magic.¡±


    ¡°Done, I will find someone to teach you some new spells, if that would work for you?¡±


    Bjorn nodded. ¡°That would do perfectly fine my lord.¡±


    ¡°Please, my duke is fine.¡± Dornan said as he looked at the other three.


    ¡°I have knowledge of the air and water magic.¡± Meira said.


    Dornan raised his eyebrows. ¡°Really? There are two of your group who are spellcasters. That is rather unheard of. Very well I think I''ll be able to find someone willing to share spells with you.¡±


    Alaric looked at the diminutive lord and said. ¡°I have a feeling like we will need to fight more of these spiders, I think our part isn''t done yet. As your man over there, Nick was his name I think, surmised they had a rather tough exoskeleton. I could do with a new war hammer. Or something of that type.¡±


    Dornan laughed. ¡°I think we can accommodate that, although I don''t think you''ll be the one to have to fight these spiders. If that is truly your wish though we shall accommodate.¡±


    Alaric nodded his head.


    ¡°Very well, i''ll arrange a few for you to pick from.¡± He looked at Tayla who was looking rather uncomfortable. ¡°And what can we do for you my dear?¡±


    ¡°Money.¡± Tayla said plainly with a quiet tone.


    ¡°That is a simple request, there already was a cash reward for whoever helped get to the bottom of this. Are you sure you don''t want something else?¡± The duke asked.


    Tayla just shook her head. ¡°Very well it shall be done. Jenkins!¡± The duke called, and a guard entered the room. ¡°Do you mind taking these people to the west wing?¡±


    ¡°Yes my lord.¡± The guard said, before turning to the four friends. ¡°Come with me if you will.¡±


    Bjorn looked at Gram who just smiled and gave a small nod. Deciding to continue to put his trust into the guard captain he followed after the soldier, with the others not far behind.


    The guard led them through the tunnels and to a set of stairs, which they took. The stairs were ornate and stood out as they were made of a white stone instead of the oppressive black that everything else was made out of in Blackrock Bay. They followed the stairs up, as they went the stairs became more ornate, and fancier. The stairs led to a large open courtyard.


    It was like they stepped into a new world, the ever present black stone was gone. Even the streets that were made from polished black stone were absent. The courtyard was more of a garden, large bright colorful flowers flooded the beds that dotted the grounds. The stone of the area had been dug up and replaced with dirt and grass. Running through the center of the grounds were multiple elaborated designed and colorful paths. In the grounds there were large odd trees. There were trees that had leaves of all different colors, there were whites, and reds, and blues, oranges and finally greens. There was even one tree that was a rippling rainbow. As a light breeze blew through the courtyard its leaves shifted colors in the wind going through all of the different shades of the rainbow.


    ¡°Oh, wow.¡± Bjorn said simply at the view of the well cultivated and maintained flowers and trees.


    The guard who was in the lead looked back at Bjorn, and followed his gaze. A smile crossed the stern man''s expression. ¡°Yeah it is quite a sight to behold isn''t it?¡±


    Bjorn just nodded dumbly as he could figure out where to look next, causing his eyes to just dart over the scenery. The rest joined Bjorn in taking in the beauty of the courtyard.


    ¡°Working here you eventually become ameliorated to the grandeur of this place. Thank you for reminding me.¡± The guard said. After a few minutes of letting everyone gawk at the view he decided they had delayed long enough. ¡°Alright, let''s go, it won''t do for us to get caught out here. After all, you aren''t quite guests yet, and I can''t just let you wander around.¡±


    Jenkins led them through the flowerbeds heading towards the large multi-story building in front of them. This section of the palace was in the shape of an u, and as such technically if they were facing 3 of the cardinal directions the building would be in front of them. Each side of the large u had multiple doors leading into the gardens. They made their way towards the very lowest section of the u.


    They made their way to one of the largest sets of doors built into the building, passing many well dressed people and guards making their way through the gardens. The large arching doorway was left wide open, giving them easy access to the interior of the building. Once again they were in large vaulted hallways that felt more like tunnels.


    Jenkins led them to the left, then the right, then another right turn, then a left turn. Soon they were all thoroughly lost and had no sense of direction left. Finally Jenkins led them to a spiral staircase going up. Taking them two at a time he led them up. This time as they entered they came out into a large hallway with large windows letting all of the exterior light in. Warm afternoon sun came pouring through the windows, out of the windows they had an amazing view looking down on Blackrock Bay, with the serrated mountains off in the distance, and miles upon miles of well cultivated farmland stretching between the two landmarks.


    This time Jenkins didn''t stop and led them to a doorway in the hall, opening the door he ushered the friends inside. It was a rather cozy study and sitting parlor mix. There was a desk off to one side of the room with quill, ink, and paper sitting atop it. On the other side of the room there were multiple couches arranged around a short table with decorative flowers set into it. On one wall there was a large bay style window that led to a balcony looking down on a different courtyard.


    ¡°I will let them know where you are. It is a good afternoon, I assume you are hungry so I will send someone around with food for you. If you need anything you can flag down one of the servants or guard if you see them in the hall. Please stay put, while everything is arranged for you.¡± Jenkins gave a small bow before backing out of the room.


    Once the door closed Meira turned towards Tayla and smiled. ¡°I must apologize, you by far made the right choice by wanting to stay around. I am sorry for not suggesting it myself. To me this sight, view, and location was worth all the time he had to sit down in the dungeon.¡±


    Tayla gave a small half hearted smile in return before fidgeting uncomfortably and taking a seat on one of the couches.


    ¡°I agree, I''m sorry Tayla.¡± Alaric said.


    Bjorn walked around behind her and gave her a reassuring squeeze on her shoulders. Tayla''s hand absently traveled to where Bjorn''s hands sat. ¡°Thank you, all of you. Your words mean the world to me. I have never truly had friends, and I feared my words would drive you from me. Truly thank you.¡±


    It was multiple hours before anyone came to check on them. It was a servant who came in and brought them food. ¡°I am sorry for the delay, some new information came to light and the palace has been awash with activity.¡± The servant looked around before leaning in and speaking in a low voice. ¡°I think it has something to do with the murders.¡±


    ¡°Ah, thank you, do you have any idea how much longer we will have to wait?¡± Meira asked.


    ¡°Hopefully not too long.¡± The servant said as he finished up, standing there waiting by the door, looking expectantly.


    Getting what he was waiting for Bjorn spoke up. ¡°Thank you, that will be all.¡± The servant bowed and left them in the room alone again. The food was plain but good, it was sandwiches with a surprisingly sweet and savory sauce. They all ate in silence. Over the next few hours they talked about small inconsequential things.


    ¡°I''m getting a little tired of waiting.¡± Alaric said. ¡°I can''t say I am pleased with this town, first we get stares, then we get arrested and put into jail, next we get summoned to the palace, and now we are stuck here.¡±


    As Alaric had been complaining loudly Tayla had wandered over to the window that looked down into the courtyard. ¡°Hey guys come and see this.¡± She said as she made her way to the door and then out onto the balcony.


    They joined Tayla on the balcony and got a better look into the courtyard below. Instead of being a garden this one looked to be more of a marshaling yard, it also was smaller than the first one they saw. The marshaling yard was full to the brim with men suited up in armor, most of them carried halberds and spears. There were a few with hammers and swords. Out of the 150 or so guards in the courtyard there were 30 or so of them that had bows or crossbows, to top it off there were 5 that were carrying staffs or wands and wearing robes to top off the magical look of them.


    ¡°I wonder what they are getting ready for.¡± Tayla commented. When she finished with her comment a familiar face walked into the clearing, as he did the entire group of milling guards snapped to attention. Off to one side of the yard there was a small raised dais, something only large enough to fit 3 maybe 4 people if they squeezed. The walking ball of muscle slowly made his way up the stairs to the platform.


    Gram stood before the assembled troops. His normal sky blue uniform that signified the city guard had been replaced with a full set of metal armor. He had a chainmail shirt on with a cuirass over it. He had a combination of gauntlet, bracer and paladin on one arm, the other had a gauntlet and bracer. On his legs he wore a set of greaves and then metal plated boots. Strapped to his back he had an absurdly sized sword, it was over 7 feet tall, and the blade itself was nearly 4 to 5 inches wide. The entire ensemble was painted a mix between the sky blue that was the guard¡¯s colors and the same black color as the rock they were living upon.


    As he stood there surveilling the troops arrayed before him his eyes briefly drifted upwards. He saw the four friends standing on the balcony looking down on the parade grounds, and smiled.


    Gram raised his hands with the palms facing downwards, the low murmur that came from the field of men talking amongst themselves died down. ¡°My fellow guardsmen, I am sure you have heard the talk around town, about the murders. We all live here and we all feel what has happened to our home. I hate what we have become, I hate how everyone here is living in fear, I hate how our town feels dead.¡±


    He paused to let the words sink in. ¡°I am sure you are wondering why you have been gathered here today. I have good news for you, as of a few hours ago we have learned what has caused the murders.¡±


    A low susurrus rippled through the crowd. Gram once again raised his hands, getting the crowd to settle again. ¡°There is a certain species of spider known as snatcher spiders that are attempting to insert themselves into our society and kill us. Thanks to certain members of our community here at Blackrock Bay, we know about them.¡± As he said that part he gestured to where the 4 friends were standing on the balcony looking down. All 150 pairs of eyes turned around and trained upon the group. Not knowing what to do Bjorn waved briefly, as everyone else stood there stoically.


    ¡°Once we knew about them and found out their names our very own Sethrax took the time to dig into the duke¡¯s personal library to find more information about these spiders.¡± As Gram started speaking again all the eyes returned to the stage. ¡°He was able to dig up a very crucial detail. These spiders are hive creatures, and seeing how we have only come across the smaller spiders, that means that there is a queen somewhere around here in town that we need to hunt down.¡± When he was talking about the size of the spiders a door opened in the palace and two men came out pulling the cart with the dead spider on it.


    Seeing the size of the spiders, multiple of the guards shied away, one brave guard shouted out. ¡°That is a small one?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that is a small one. I promise you that the queen will be much larger than this one. With the infrequency of spiders we have come across, we should still be in the early stages of an infestation. If the description of snatcher spiders can be believed then the queen spider will be well over 15, maybe even 20 feet long.¡±


    All of the whispering that was going through the crowd stopped at that last statement. Everyone stood there in stunned silence as their minds tried to grasp at the sheer scale of the spider.


    Once again Gram put his hand up. ¡°If the described size is accurate there is only one place it could be without us having found it so far. That is down in the sewers. That is our mission today, we will be going into the sewers to see if we can find where the spider queen is at. If we can find her it is our job to kill her as well.¡±


    From where they stood they could see the guard assembled coming to attention. They set their weapons, stood up a little straighter, and were just a little more still. Throughout Gram''s speech he could see guards setting their resolve. It happened in ones and twos, but by this point almost everyone was determined to accomplish the mission set out for them.


    ¡°In 45 minutes from now we will finish forming up and make our way towards the entrance to the sewers in the palace district. We will have a smaller force of axillary units that follow along behind us and be posted at each tunnel we search as we make our way down. Anything you need to get ready at that time please do so. If you aren''t back here and at attention by then you will be considered a deserter. Dismissed.¡±


    Gram made his way down into the crowd which parted for him like wheat parting before the farmer, and he entered the palace through a door below their balcony. Most of the troops stayed where they were and talked amongst themselves. Only a few broke ranks and made their way into the palace as well.


    ¡°Well that was unexpected.¡± Tayla said. ¡°What do we want to do?¡±


    Alaric scoffed. ¡°I want to be rewarded and then be done with this palace. I want my shield to be done and we can leave this damnable rock.¡± Once he finished he made his way back into the room.


    ¡°Well he is awfully grumpy.¡± Bjorn said. Once Alaric was back inside and the door closed.


    ¡°True I don''t blame him though.¡± Meira said. ¡°I have a sneaking suspicion that the reason we have had to wait was because of this excursion. They probably have diverted their resources to preparing instead of taking care of us. Which don''t get me wrong, I don''t blame them.¡±


    Tayla pushed herself off of where she had been leaning. ¡°It is still frustrating though.¡± and she made her way inside to join Alaric. Leaving Meira and Bjorn alone.


    Meira slowly made her way over to where Bjorn was leaning, looking over the assembled troops. ¡°Is it weird that I kind of wish I was down there helping?¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°Not at all, ever since I have met you, you have been in the thick of whatever has happened. You have gotten used to being a part of events happening around us. First with Olvog, then with Lief''s Crossing. Now that events are happening and you have no part in what happens, some part of you just feels like it is wrong.¡±


    ¡°I just don''t like this feeling of helplessness.¡±


    ¡°Through all of our shared experiences, I have learned one thing, Bjorn. You are a good man, and good men hate to feel like they are unable to help.¡±


    Bjorn gave a heavy sigh. ¡°I guess you''re right. There isn''t anything I can do, I just wish there was something I could do.¡±


    ¡°The only thing I can think of is you need to get stronger. To the point where everyone knows it. That way when something happens they come to you looking for your help.¡± Meira gave Bjorn¡¯s hand a reassuring squeeze before she too left Bjorn standing there looking over the gathered crowd.


    Getting stronger. How is he supposed to do that? There is only so much he can do. And to top it off Charon screwed him over, this wasn''t his first time being angry with the God like being and it certainly wouldn''t be his last. For what felt like the millionth time he swore at Charon for giving him the weak disadvantage. He would gladly take the 15 extra stat points he hadn''t gotten because of it. Speaking of, Bjorn pulled open his stat points.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:Bjorn Ward


    </td>


    <td>


    Race:Human


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    </td>


    <td>


    age:19


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Hp:243(53)


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina:193(23)


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana:187(17)


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    Stats from items (*)


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Strength:23


    </td>


    <td>


    Constitution:19


    </td>


    <td>


    Dexterity:18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Agility:18


    </td>


    <td>


    Endurance:17


    </td>


    <td>


    Intelligence:17


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Wisdom:15


    </td>


    <td>


    Charisma:17


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Abilities


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Increased growth


    </td>


    <td>


    Skilling Prodigy


    </td>


    <td>


    WAILA


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Disadvantage


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weak


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Synergy


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Latent potential


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Skills


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Alchemy: 16: 36%


    </td>


    <td>


    Archery: 13: 34%


    </td>


    <td>


    Bowyering: 2: 55%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Beast Master: 2: 3%


    </td>


    <td>


    Carpentry: 9: 98%


    </td>


    <td>


    Cooking: 9: 89%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Construction: 13: 81%


    Road building: 2: 33%


    </td>


    <td>


    Hand to hand combat: 9: 71%


    </td>


    <td>


    Healing: 4: 48%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Herb-Lore: 15: 15%


    </td>


    <td>


    Horseback Riding: 3: 26%


    </td>


    <td>


    Leatherworking 3: 36%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Light Armor: 3: 47%


    </td>


    <td>


    Mining: 20: 90%


    </td>


    <td>


    Sailing: 1: 12%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Small blades: 5: 56%


    </td>


    <td>


    Stealth: 5: 70%


    </td>


    <td>


    Survival: 5: 19%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Swordsmanship: 7: 41%


    </td>


    <td>


    Trade 10: 11%%


    </td>


    <td>


    Woodcutting: 3: 86%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Perks:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Alchemy 10: 50% less chance to fail potion creation


    </td>


    <td>


    Archery: 10: invest stamina into shots to increase their accuracy.


    </td>


    <td>


    Construction: Knowledge on weak points on buildings.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Herb-lore 10:Can see 2 potential uses upon consuming any herb.


    </td>


    <td>


    Mining 10: Increased knowledge on where to strike rock.


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Magics:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Light Magic: 9: 13%


    </td>


    <td>


    Earth Magic: 5: 92%


    </td>


    <td>


    Water Magic: 6: 98%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Dark Magic: 1: 0%


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Spells:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Purify Water


    </td>


    <td>


    Light Rain


    </td>


    <td>


    Weak Desiccate


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Cast stone


    </td>


    <td>


    Bark Skin


    </td>


    <td>


    Simple Light


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Light Bolt


    </td>


    <td>


    Strengthening Light


    </td>


    <td>


    Encroaching Dark


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Blind


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    (Digging back through the story so far Bjorn actually has the points of being level 19. If I ever polish it up and turn it into a book I will correct the stats up to this point. As it stands I can¡¯t be bothered and you have already read to this point, so going forward I will correct it.)


    With that taken care of, Bjorn started to give the courtyard more of his attention. By now most of the troops had returned from whatever they were doing and had fallen back in line. With the 45 minutes almost elapsing Bjorn decided to just sit and watch a while longer. The bravery and honor that the guards had was commendable. They all knew they would be risking their lives, and they had a chance to not come back. Yet every single one of them had returned by the time Gram came back into the courtyard.


    Mounting the stairs to the raised dais three at a time Gram stopped at the top and looked down at his assembled troops. Seeing everyone in their assigned spots he just smiled out at his troops. For their part they stood there at attention not moving a muscle looking back at Gram, grim determination set on their faces.


    ¡°Now is the time. Let us reclaim our city and make it safe for our children once again.¡± Gram bellowed at the top of his lungs. ¡°FOR OUR FAMILIES, FOR OUR HOMES, FOR ESCAR!¡± Each proclamation was met by the assembled men hitting the ground with the butts of their weapons. At the end of Escar the troops all filled the open space with the sound of their voices repeating the end of Gram¡¯s statement. ¡°For Escar!¡± Escaped from each and every one of their throats.


    As the call was taken up, Gram leapt down from the dais slamming into the ground in front of his troops and started walking to the far side of the marshaling yard heading towards the gate. The assembled troops marched after him, their metal clad feet slapping into the rough stone under their feet. In practiced order they filed after Gram, marching out of the palace walls.


    The sound of shouting brought the rest of the group out, they all stood there watching them march off into the city. ¡°Well that was impressive.¡± Alaric said in a sarcastic tone, before turning around and heading back inside. Giving each other a look they all followed Alaric back into their gilded cage.


    It was night by the time there was a knock on the door. ¡°Come in.¡± Meira called out. The door swung open revealing 4 people. There was a tiefling, a human, and a dwarf, they all were wearing loose flowing robes of different colors. The last member was one of the servants that could be seen bustling about, he was easy to pick out by the uniform every other servant was wearing. He came in pushing a cart laden with plates piled high with food.


    The servant bowed deeply. ¡°My lord duke Dornan wants me to convey his apologies for the wait. We have a good idea of where the spiders are coming from. As such they thought it was best to try and take care of the problem as soon as possible. The palace has been a flurry of activity as everyone got ready for the expedition to wipe the monsters out. On top of bringing you what was promised, I have also bought you dinner. Dornan also asked me to prepare you each a room for the night, he wants me to extend a welcome for you to stay here tonight.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Convey our gratitude to your lord.¡± Bjorn said diplomatically, avoiding answering either affirmative or negative to the offer of the rooms for the night.


    The elf lady stepped forward and gave a small bow. ¡°My name is Imeral, my lord has informed me on the part you have played in our response to the spider threat. I want to express my gratitude. He also instructed me to teach you up to 4 spells, I can teach both air and light magic.¡±


    The tiefling stepped forward, also giving a small bow. ¡°I was also instructed to do the same. Although Imeral misspoke. We were instructed to teach you both 4 spells between the three of us. I am proficient in dark and fire magic.¡±


    The dwarf was a gruff looking man. While the other two robes were pristine and looked brand new, the dwarf¡¯s robes were smeared with dirt and grim, and his robes had a few holes in them. ¡°They are passable, if you want to learn the real spells I am your man. I know earth, life, and water magic.¡±


    ¡°Excuse you. You are barely a mage at all, I can think of at least 5 other people in this palace I would ask before you for magical instruction. And three of them learned how to cast spells two months ago.¡± The tiefling said.


    ¡°Seconded.¡± Imeral said.


    ¡°Oh please. You are just jealous because I am able to teach three different schools of magic while you are stuck to two.¡± The dwarf said.


    The servant''s eyes got a hollow look. It didn¡¯t look like this was his first time listening to the mages bicker. ¡°Please, restrain yourselves. You are here to provide a service.¡± The servant begged.


    ¡°That is right, unlike the other two of my peers, I am here to do a job, and I won¡¯t fall into your petty squabbles. Now your name is Bjorn, isn''t it?¡± The dwarf said, shamelessly blaming the other two for the fight he started.


    ¡°That is right.¡±


    ¡°My lord Dornan told me that you are one of those who can cast magic here.¡± Bjorn nodded affirmatively. ¡°Would you be willing to share what types of magic you know so that way we can find what we are able to teach you?¡±


    Bjorn filled them in on his schools of magic he can cast, and he also told them his skill level with each school of magic. To avoid them having to ask the same question of Meira she also gave the relevant information.


    ¡°Ha, I see you are a man of culture, knowing two of the best classes of magic. I think I can help you with your earth and water magic. I know one spell that you would be able to learn from me for each. If that works for you.¡±


    Bjorn nodded and the dwarf stepped forward, placing one hand on Bjorn¡¯s forehead, and one on his chest right above Bjorn¡¯s heart. Bjorn had to tilt his head down so the dwarf didn¡¯t have to stand on his tiptoes to accomplish the feat. He then spoke a single word. ¡°Awaken.¡±


    The eyes of the dwarf began to glow, one a rich green color, the other a vibrant blue. The color started as a glow that originated at his irises and soon the color began to leech into the cornea of his eye, soon the dwarf had two solid orbs of color in his eyes. The glow intensified and shot out of his eyes and the beams of color met Bjorn¡¯s eyes, sinking into him.


    Bjorn¡¯s mind went blank for a heartbeat before all of a sudden he knew!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">


    Spell: Bark Skin


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Cast time: 2 second


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Components: Verbal, Somatic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">


    Range:5 feet


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Duration: 10 minutes


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Mana Cost: 15 mana


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">


    Cooldown: 7.5 minutes


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Level: 5


    </td>


    <td colspan="2"> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="6">


    Effect: Toughens your skin, granting you +5 to your natural armor. This effect can stack with any other armor you wear. Provides you with a 5% movement speed debuff on top of the increased natural armor.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">


    Spell: pitiful Desiccate


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Cast time: 4 second


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Components: Verbal, Somatic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">


    Range:150 feet


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Duration: Channel


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Mana Cost: 10 per second


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">


    Cooldown: 30 seconds


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Level: 6


    </td>


    <td colspan="2"> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="6">


    Effect: As long as you are channeling this spell you will slowly remove any water on or inside of a body. Highly affected by resistances. Once the channel has started you have to maintain your concentration.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The short man just stood there grinning like an idiot up at Bjorn. ¡°That wasn¡¯t so bad was it?¡± When Bjorn¡¯s only response was a shake of his head the dwarf¡¯s grin grew. ¡°I knew you could handle it.¡±


    Imeral stepped forward. ¡°You fool, you didn¡¯t know that his mind could handle taking two spells at once. What would you have said to Dornan if you made him braindead because of your little experiment?¡±


    ¡°Wait, that was a chance?¡± Meira asked as she settled a glare on the dwarf.


    ¡°There was a real chance at that.¡± Imeral said. ¡°If your friend didn¡¯t have a high enough intelligence stat then the two spells would overload Bjorn¡¯s mind and basically turn it into a paste, making him little more than a shell of a person. There isn¡¯t any life magic that I know of that can repair that kind of damage to the brain. Kronk made a gamble with your friend¡¯s life.¡±


    ¡°What? It turned out alright. Look at him, he is fine.¡±


    All eyes turned to where Bjorn was kneeling, sometime during Imeral¡¯s explanation Bjorn dropped down to his knees and no one noticed. ¡°I will be fine.¡± Bjorn said, pushing himself up to his feet. Everyone gave Bjorn a weary glance. ¡°I promise. I will be fine.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I will trust you. Let¡¯s do one or two of my spells next.¡± Meira said.


    Imeral gave Kronk a withering stare. ¡°I got this one, step back your ass.¡± Meira and Imeral stepped up to each other and Imeral did the exact same thing as the dwarf did. Placing one hand on Meira¡¯s chest and the second on her forehead. ¡°Look into my eyes.¡±


    Meira met her eyes and they stared into each other''s eyes for a long moment before Imeral spoke. ¡°Let the powers within me kindle your spark.¡± As she finished her almost ritual sounding sentence the same thing happened to Meira that happened to Bjorn.


    From where he stood Bjorn watched Imeral¡¯s eyes take on a pale yellow glow that started with her irises, soon dominating her entire eye. As the glow grew it also grew in strength. Soon there were two beams of light pouring out of Imeral¡¯s eyes and into Meira¡¯s eyes. As the beams held steady pouring into Meira¡¯s eyes two small orbs of condensed pale yellow light left Imeral¡¯s eyes and shot into Meira¡¯s eyes.


    When the second orb finished sinking into Meira¡¯s eyes the light quickly faded, and she staggered back a few steps before she steadied herself and stood at her full height. ¡°That feeling isn¡¯t the most pleasant. I see why Bjorn had issues with it.¡±


    The tiefling smiled. ¡°That is exactly what I have heard, I fortunately have never been on the receiving end. From what we can tell the negative effects of the spell transfer are significantly diminished with an increased intelligence stat. I am guessing that your intelligence is a lot higher than Bjorn¡¯s is. The spells that were transferred to you were higher level, and as such they have a worse impact on the receiving party.¡±


    Tayla frowned. ¡°So does that mean that you just gambled with Meira¡¯s life as well? You had no idea what her intelligence stat was, she could have easily had as strong or worse of a reaction, just like what Bjorn did.¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡± Imeral cut in. ¡°When we connected I could feel her large mana pool. On top of that the higher your skill level in the school you are learning from, the less you are affected. As such with her skill level of 32 and with her large mana pool there was no risk to her life. Those two factors were more than enough for me to understand that I could pass two spells alone instead of the one I was planning on initially.¡±


    ¡°I was a little dizzy at first, but now I feel perfectly fine.¡± Meira said. ¡°Kronk get over here and teach me two spells. Bjorn doesn¡¯t look like he has fully recovered.¡±


    Hearing his name and the vehemence in Meira¡¯s voice the dwarf snapped to attention and quickly came over to where Meira was standing. He stood before her with a sheepish look on his face, and for her part Meira was glaring down at the dwarf. He cleared his throat. ¡°Um, well I need you to lower your head or kneel down so I can accomplish that task.¡±


    Meira stood there unchanging glaring down at him. Sighing she got down on her knees so that her head was almost level with the top of the dwarfs head. Kronk reached out and placed his hands the same as he did with Bjorn. ¡°Awaken.¡±


    The same thing happened once again, vibrant blue light came pouring out of the dwarves'' eyes. As the light intensified a grin crossed his face and one of the eyes quickly changed from a vibrant blue to a rich golden light. Once again two orbs left Kronk''s eyes and made their way into Meira¡¯s eyes.


    When the light faded Meira didn¡¯t seem to be affected by the transfer this time like she did previously. Instead of smiling like Bjorn thought she would, Meira had a frown on her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say a word a fist came rocketing out from behind her and connected with the dwarves face. Kronk went flying and Alaric followed the falling body.


    Standing over the now unconscious body Alaric had his hands clenched into tight fists. Startled exclamations came out of everyone except for Alaric. Ignoring the questions Alaric grabbed the unconscious Kronk and hefted the rotund man, walking over to the door he shoved it open with his foot and the door swung outward. In a move that Bjorn saw Alaric do once before, his friend threw the limp body out into the hall the exact same way he had to Olvog¡¯s minion.


    Turning back around he saw everyone standing there watching him slack jawed. ¡°What? I didn¡¯t like how he kept doing little experiments without asking. If I understand what just happened he taught Meira life magic without her consent. I won¡¯t put up with that shit.¡±


    They all still stood there in stunned silence. ¡°Fair enough.¡± The tiefling said. ¡°He deserved it, I am just sorry it wasn¡¯t me who taught him a lesson.¡± She stepped forward and held out her hand helping first Meira to her feet, and then to Bjorn. ¡°I feel like I haven¡¯t been able to do anything this entire time. I understand that you know earth, light, and water magic. So my fire and dark magic doesn¡¯t do much good. But if you want to I will gladly teach you either dark or fire magic. I know it will be your fourth magic class, but between you and Meira you will now have access to all but fire and death magic.¡±


    Bjorn thought about her words. ¡°That is a well structured argument. I have actually given it a little thought for the last few months, and I think I like the thought of dark magic. If you want, I will take you up on that offer and learn dark magic from you.¡±


    The tiefling smiled. ¡°Of course, this won¡¯t take long.¡± In a ritual that was becoming very familiar by this time she placed her hands and spoke her words. ¡°Today I awaken your dark magic. Arise my student.¡± A sinister lack of color came out of the tiefling¡¯s eyes. Instead of a glow it looked like a void of color and light came pouring out her eyes and long thin black tendrils came out of her face and latched onto Bjorn¡¯s.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">


    Spell: Encroaching Dark


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Cast time: 1 second


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Components: Verbal, Somatic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">


    Range:10 feet


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Duration: 5 seconds


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Mana Cost: 9 mana


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">


    Cooldown: 1 minute


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Level: 1


    </td>


    <td colspan="2"> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="6">


    Effect: Summon a small cone in front of you devoid of light for the duration


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table style="width: 90.0081%">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 31.109%" colspan="2">


    Spell: Blind


    </td>


    <td style="width: 28.8625%" colspan="2">


    Cast time: 1 second


    </td>


    <td style="width: 39.8917%" colspan="2">


    Components: Verbal, Somatic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 31.109%" colspan="2">


    Range:20 feet


    </td>


    <td style="width: 28.8625%" colspan="2">


    Duration: 15 minutes


    </td>


    <td style="width: 39.8917%" colspan="2">


    Mana Cost: 12 mana


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 31.109%" colspan="2">


    Cooldown: 10 minutes


    </td>


    <td style="width: 28.8625%" colspan="2">


    Level: 1


    </td>


    <td style="width: 39.8917%" colspan="2"> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 99.8632%" colspan="6">


    Effect: Affected target is affected by the blindness debuff for 15 seconds.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    This time instead of the light pouring into Bjorn in quick succession, the two were connected for over 5 minutes by the light coming off the tiefling. When it faded Bjorn stood there.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t too bad, why didn¡¯t it affect me like it did with Kronk?¡±


    ¡°That is because Kronk transferred all of the information magically as fast as he could, the way that he did it overloaded your brain briefly, I took my time transferring you the spells. We were connected for over 5 minutes.¡±


    ¡°5 minutes? It felt like 5 seconds, if that.¡±


    She smiled. ¡°That is because your mind was preoccupied absorbing all of the relevant information on how to cast the spells. You didn¡¯t divert the brainpower necessary to sense the passing of time.¡±


    The servant who stood off to the side of the room the entire time trying to avoid being noticed made his presence known. He stepped forward and bowed to the two remaining mages. ¡°Thank you, you have fulfilled what you promised to Duke Dornan. If you will excuse us, we have other matters to attend to.¡±


    Not missing the polite dismissal, the tiefling and Imeral started towards the door. About halfway to the door Imeral stopped, it looked like she was deliberating for a few seconds. Coming to a decision she turned back around and walked up to Bjorn, quickly placing her hands in the normal positions she spoke her words and soon Bjorn learned another new spell.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">


    Spell: Strengthening light


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Cast time: 6 second


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Components: Verbal, Somatic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">


    Range:200 feet


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Duration: 15 minutes


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Mana Cost: 36 mana


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">


    Cooldown: 30 minutes


    </td>


    <td colspan="2">


    Level: 8


    </td>


    <td colspan="2"> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="6">


    Effect: The light is able to be manipulated at the will of the caster while in contact with the caster. The ball of light will hover 3 inches over whatever object it is attached to, by default it is attached to the caster. The spell can travel up to 200 feet once it is detached from the caster.  If the ball of light collides with any surface while it is traveling it will adhere to that surface for the duration of the spell. During the duration of the spell the effect of the strength attribute is increased by 3%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Smiling, she turned on her heels and walked out of the room. Before the door fully closed they could hear her voice ring out through the hall. ¡°You, come here and take this idiot back to his rooms. He has a lot¡­¡± Her voice was cut short as the door swung closed.


    ¡°Sorry about them, they are a bit eccentric. But I do promise they are some of the most knowledgeable mages we have here, excluding my lord of course. Now on to the next part.¡± The servant put a hand under his shirt and quickly retrieved 4 small sacks. Taking them from his hand one at a time he handed them over to each of them. Tayla got a sack that was larger and heavier than the ones Bjorn Meira and Alaric got.


    ¡°This is the cash reward for services rendered. Tayla you also have extra in your bag to fit with your request. With that settled there is only one thing left to do. Alaric you were promised a war hammer. I have instructions to take you and only you down to the armory after your meal and let you pick one within reason. Unfortunately your choices are less than they would have been a day ago with the expedition, but I am sure we can find something that you are happy with. So if you wish I can show you all to your rooms for the night before taking Alaric down to the armory.¡±


    Bjorn looked at Alaric, seeing how he was the only one who vocalized his not wanting to stay in the palace. Alaric shrugged. ¡°That would work nicely, thank you.¡±


    ¡°Very good sir. Don¡¯t let me stand between you and your dinner any longer. Please eat your fill, I will be waiting just outside the door. When you are finished, open the door and I will show you to your rooms.¡± The servant bowed deeply before backing out of the room.


    They ate their dinner quickly and then met the servant outside. He started leading them through the lower sections of the west wing until they came upon another elegant staircase leading upwards. He led them through the halls to a large double door. Pushing the door open it led to a large open room with four doors leading off of it. The center room had multiple couches, two different types of tables and multiple bookshelves filled with books. There were multiple busts, and other oddities sitting on the small table in the middle of the couches.


    ¡°There you go. Each of these doors leads to a separate bedroom. Fill free to take whichever one you want for the night. In the morning we will bring you food. Alaric if you would follow me, I shall lead you to the armory. Sleep well, I will see you in the morning.¡± He bowed to the remaining three and then ushered Alaric out of the room.


    Exploring around they were in a room that still overlooked the marshaling yard, but it was now higher up in the massive building. In the common room there was a balcony overlooking the yard. After some exploration and small talk they all started to head to bed. Tayla went first, when Bjorn insisted on waiting for Alaric to come back Meira talked him into going as well.


    Inside the room there was a large spacious bed filled with some sort of down. Laying down in the bed felt like he was being hugged by a cloud. It didn¡¯t take him long to drift off to sleep.

 Chapter 29

    The next morning Bjorn was the first one up, making his way into the common area he found a different servant standing there with a cart right next to him. ¡°Ah good morning sir, would you like some tea to start you off?¡±


    Still a little groggy from one of the best nights of sleep Bjorn had in a long while he nodded and plopped down on one of the couches. Soon the servant walked over with a cup of tea in his hands, setting it down in front of Bjorn. ¡°Would you like your tea sweetened?¡±


    ¡°Maybe, give me a second.¡± Picking up the steaming cup of tea Bjorn blew on it before taking a tentative sip. A rich spiced and somewhat fruity flavor coated his mouth. Giving an appreciative grunt Bjorn set the cup down. ¡°No thank you, that is absolutely wonderful. I don¡¯t think you realize how long it has been since I have had tea.¡±


    ¡°Excellent sir, would you like for me to prepare you breakfast as well?¡±


    Bjorn thought for a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t think so, at least not yet. I think I will wait for my friends to join me before I think about food. If you don¡¯t mind though, I think I will have a look at the books that are on your shelves and find something to read while I wait.¡±


    ¡°Very good sir, and there is no rush. I am here to provide for you until you wish to leave the palace. Also of course you are welcome to anything in this room, they are yours for the time being.¡±


    Bjorn spent some time looking through the bookshelf and eventually settled on a book. Sitting down to read he slowly drank his tea. Whenever it got close to being empty the servant would come and refill Bjorn¡¯s teacup. With Bjorn¡¯s belt of sustenance it was a while before everyone else joined. Alaric was the first one up, then Tayla, lastly Meira. When each person joined Bjorn the servant came over and presented them each with tea, which they all took graciously. Bjorn was a good way into his book before everyone joined. The book he had settled on was a historical record of some man named Sir Konrad and his exploits.


    When Meira finally joined Bjorn closed his book and breakfast was served. They had a meat, cheese, and some odd plant omelet for breakfast. When they finished eating Bjorn turned to Alaric. ¡°So what did you end up getting? Are you happy with what you got?¡±


    Alaric gave Bjorn a genuine smile, a bit of leaf caught in between his front teeth. ¡°Yes I am, I am happy indeed. Let me go get it to show you.¡± When Alaric returned from his room he had a large plain looking hammer in his hand.


    Bjorn frowned and used W.A.I.L.A. on the hammer.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Glass Warhammer of beast slaying


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Rare


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight 9 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 593/594


    </td>


    <td>


    Damage: 19-23


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    This rare glass war hammer is enchanted with a static enchantment giving it a permanent 10% damage to beasts. This excellently crafted warhammer has the added bonus of being able to grow or shrink its shaft allowing it to be wielding dual-handed or single handed.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Reading the description he had to admit the hammer was impressive, letting out a little whistle he looked back up at Alaric, his smile was just as large as it was when he first brought it up. ¡°I haven¡¯t even shown you the best part yet.¡± Alaric placed one hand near the head of the hammer and twisted. The hammer was initially a one handed hammer. When Alaric twisted his hand the shaft of the hammer grew, it grew to a little over 5 and a half feet tall. Around a foot taller than Alaric himself.


    ¡°I am able to decide if I want to use the hammer one handed or two handed. With the amount of time it takes to change between the two I should be able to easily change mid combat if I practice enough.¡± To prove his point he grew and shrunk the shaft a few times.


    Meira leaned over and whispered something into Tayla¡¯s ear which got a giggle in response. ¡°What?¡± Alaric asked.


    ¡°Oh it was nothing.¡± Meira said in a voice all too sweet for it to be the truth.


    Either ignored the tone, or he was too enamored by his hammer. Either way Alaric just beamed like a kid who got a gold star as he played with his shaft. Bjorn just shook his head and tried to finish his meal.


    Unfortunately he wasn¡¯t able to finish his food before they were interrupted. From their sitting room they could hear a grinding sound come from the marshaling yard. Confused, Bjorn got up from his meal and walked over to the balcony. From where he stood they had a better vantage of the main gate leading into the palace grounds. What he saw disturbed him.


    On the day before, the large guard force looked so intimidating. Today though, the column looked almost pathetic. In the lead again was Gram, but his armor was covered in blood, had chunks taken out of it, and some pieces were missing all together. His left arm was in a makeshift sling and was tied to his body. From where he stood Bjorn could clearly see that there was something wrong with Gram¡¯s left arm. The sling was attached at Gram¡¯s wrist, the rest of his forearm going from the wrist to his elbow had created a parabola shape.


    The rest of the troops looked no better. Out of the 150 who left the day before less than 50 of them were on their feet. Between them they had 20 or so litters filled with bodies, which Bjorn couldn¡¯t tell if they were alive or not. Every single one of the soldiers had some sort of bandage on their body, or were covered in some sort of liquid. Either the red of humanoid blood, or the same color that came out of the spider when Alaric was able to break off its leg segments.


    ¡°Guys, come look.¡± Bjorn called out. Curious at the tone in which Bjorn said that everyone quickly left their food and joined Bjorn on the balcony, the servant even left his post to see what had drawn their attention.


    Upon seeing the state of the returning men Alaric let out a string of profanity that would make a sailor jealous. ¡°I knew this wasn¡¯t going to be easy. I think we should get out of the palace, they will have a lot to take care of, they don¡¯t need to worry about us as well.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡± Tayla said.


    Bjorn looked over at the servant. He had turned pale as a ghost. ¡°What are we to do? If the guard failed we are lost. We will have to abandon Blackrock Bay, at least until one of the armies from the fight with Cronkrum will have to come and clear this infestation. That will take months for them to get here, that really isn¡¯t an option.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that they failed?¡± Bjorn asked.


    The man pointed down at the returning small army. ¡°Look at them, does that look like they are returning in triumph?¡± He let out a joyless laugh. ¡°No, they failed to eradicate the spider menace.¡± the servant trailed at the end of his speech. Taking a deep breath he schooled his expression, and his practiced professionalism returned to his voice. ¡°I am afraid that Sir Alaric is right, it would probably be best if you left the palace. That being said until otherwise stated you are welcome to stay. As I haven¡¯t heard one way or the other you are welcome to stay.¡±


    They all exchanged a glance. ¡°We appreciate it, but I think it would be for the best if we took our leave.¡± Meira said.


    ¡°Very good madam, Whenever you are ready I will escort you out.¡±


    With nothing else really that they needed, and with nothing to collect they followed the servant as he led them through the maze-like hallways of the palace. As they were making their way to the gate the entire palace was ablaze with activity. Servants and guards were running through the halls. Sometimes they were running, others they were carrying laden packs of goods, they even passed one who was pushing a cart full of blood soaked bandages.


    In short order they were led back to the same side gate that Gram had led them to the day before. Bowing to them the servant turned around and walked back into the palace, once he passed the gate the guards pushed it closed again and a heavy thunk could be heard as the gate bar was dropped back into place.


    ¡°Well, now that we have been forgotten by those more important than us. Want to go back to our inn and have a beer?¡± Alaric said.


    Meira gave him a sidelong glare.


    ¡°What? It¡¯s not like the town is overly lively, I doubt there is much we can do in town. My bet is that most of the stores will be closed for the day, might as well get drunk.¡±


    ¡°I think we should go check on your shield first. I know she said two weeks, but with everything that has been going on Ella might have tried to rush your shield.¡± Bjorn said.


    ¡°That works for me. To Ella¡¯s first, then drinks!¡± Tayla said in a half cheer.


    ¡°Alright, I''d be a fool to push against the tide.¡± Meira said as she turned down the street and took off heading towards the commercial district. It took them little time at all to make it to Ella¡¯s weapons and armor emporium. When they made it to the door it was locked tight. Not overly surprised at that they turned to leave.


    ¡°Wait, do you hear that?¡± Bjorn asked. They all froze, straining to hear what it was that Bjorn was pointing out. After a few seconds the sound came again. It was the sound of metal ringing on metal. Pushing his face against the glass of Ella¡¯s building he could barely see inside, but he was able to make out the orange and yellow glow that indicated the forge on the other side of the wall.


    ¡°She is in there alright.¡± Bjorn said. ¡°Let¡¯s go around to her store from the residential side, I have my doubts that she will be able to hear our banging no matter how hard we try.¡±


    It took the better part of 2 hours to find their way to Ella¡¯s shop from the residential side. The downside of the lower class residential district was the fact that there was little planning that went into laying out the streets. They would be traveling right next to the wall separating the two districts when all of a sudden a building would be in their way and the street they were traveling down angled away from the wall. They got lost quite a few times on top of the weird layout of the streets.


    In the end they hired one of the only people they saw out on the street. They came across a small emaciated boy who looked like he hadn¡¯t spent a night indoors in over a year. The kid was more dirt than child. At first he was weary of the group talking to him. When Bjorn offered him 10 copper to lead them to Ella¡¯s they could see the greed in the child¡¯s eyes. He would have offered the kid less, but after seeing the state the kid was in Bjorn figured the child had more use for the money than he did.


    The child had them in front of Ella¡¯s within 10 minutes of them hiring him. When it came to paying the kid Bjorn fished out the 10 copper, and he retrieved a full loaf of bread from his portable pocket and handed it over. The urchin snatched the food and coins out of Bjorn¡¯s hands and quickly ran away heading back the way he had come.


    Bjorn watched the retreating form of the child. ¡°I just feel bad, I wish I could do more.¡±


    ¡°You did more than most.¡± Alaric said. ¡°What you gave him was almost as much as he would make in half a year begging and stealing.¡±


    Tayla gave Bjorn an appraising look. ¡°Alaric is right. When I was growing up on the streets of Vanta I wish just one person showed me as much kindness as you showed him today. Honestly if someone had I likely wouldn¡¯t be standing here with you today.¡± She stopped speaking and slid closer to where Bjorn was standing. ¡°You know if you want to leave Meira, I would make sure you were very satisfied.¡± She said that last part in a sultry voice, her spade shaped tail poking out from behind her back and softly caressing Bjorn¡¯s cheek.


    Bjorn took a step back and got a panicked look on his face. ¡°What do you mean leave Meira? Her and I aren¡¯t together.¡± He stammered out his cheeks a pure beat red color. ¡°Not that I would be opposed to it, I mean she is gorgeous, but any man would want that. I just wouldn¡¯t want to make things awkward.¡±


    Tayla had a wicked grin on her face as she looked back and forth between Bjorn and Meira who were both standing there awkwardly and blushing profusely. ¡°Sure sure, say whatever you like. Let¡¯s just call it women¡¯s intuition.¡±


    Alaric walked over to where Bjorn stood and patted him on the back. ¡°I am sorry my friend but you fucked up today.¡±


    ¡°What? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. One day you will understand. Until that day comes though I have a shield I need to retrieve.¡± Alaric turned towards the door, walked up and knocked loudly. To no response. His timing was terrible though, as when he started to knock the sound of metal striking metal rang out from inside the building, The din was considerably louder from this side of the building. Waiting for the sound to die down Alaric knocked a second time.


    ¡°Hold your damn horses, I will be right there, there is no need to make such a racket.¡± Ella¡¯s voice rang out through the door. True to her word it didn¡¯t take her long to make it to the door. Flinging it open she looked down at the group as a heat wave bellowed out from behind her. The heat overpowering the still slightly chilly air from the early spring. ¡°Ah, it has been a few days, I was wondering when you¡¯d make it back, come in come in.¡±


    Sliding past her they filed into the forge one at a time, once they were all fully inside Ella swung the door closed and locked it. Turning back towards the party she pointed a finger at Tayla. ¡°You, two things. One: don¡¯t steal anything, I know the look of a rogue when I see one. I don¡¯t have Yanda around today to keep an eye on you. Two: you are a tiefling, I want you to work the bellows while we are talking. I know it doesn¡¯t seem fair, but you are the one who can handle the heat the best. Snap to it.¡±


    As Tayla rushed to follow Ella¡¯s snapping orders Ella walked over to where the other three were standing. ¡°What can I do for you? If you have come for your shield it isn¡¯t finished yet.¡±


    ¡°We actually came here for the shield or to check on its progress, I know you said it would take you two weeks and we are at a little over a week, but we wanted to see how it is coming along.¡± Alaric said plainly.


    Nodding her head. ¡°That is fair, fortunately for you I put in a few extra hours over the last week. It will be ready tomorrow. I figured with what all has been going on around town with the murders and such that you would want your shield sooner.¡±


    Bjorn cocked his head at her choice of words. ¡°Murders? Do you not know what has been going on?¡± Ella shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much of this they want us sharing around, but I don¡¯t see a reason to keep it hidden any longer.¡± And so Bjorn told her everything they had learned about the snatcher spiders and how the city guard seemed to have failed in their attempt to wipe the spiders out.


    Ella frowned. ¡°And how is it that you know all of this? There hasn¡¯t been anything coming down from the palace, and I haven¡¯t seen anything publicly posted on any of the bulletin boards.¡±


    Alaric let out a chuckle. ¡°Ha! It¡¯s because our friend Bjorn here has a hard time keeping anything from getting their fangs into him. So we were the ones to find out about the spider menace, and because of that we ended up spending the night at the palace last night as a reward for bringing the danger to the duke''s attention. So that is how we know about the failed attack on the spider queen.¡±


    Ella was quiet for a few seconds. ¡°So if what you told me was true, I should be making this shield for Bjorn and not you.¡± She delivered that line with such a deadpan straight face that Bjorn couldn¡¯t tell if she was serious or if she was mocking him. ¡°Regardless, I think I have something that could work for you Bjorn, letting you defend yourself a little better.¡±


    She turned to walk away but stopped dead in her tracks looking down at Alaric¡¯s waist. ¡°Let me see that.¡± She said pointing to where Alaric had slung his new war hammer. Shrugging he handed it over. Giving the hammer a once over she held it out in her hand, scrutinizing it. One detail that Bjorn missed the first time he looked at the hammer was that the head was actually made out of a rippling rainbow metal.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Hey Ella, what type of metal is that?¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t actually metal. It is a super tough material called glass. But it isn¡¯t like the type of glass that you see in my windows.¡± She picked up a long iron rod that was sitting on the ground near the anvil. Placing the hammer down she took a step back, raising the metal rod high over her head she brought it down with as much force as she could generate. Seeing her actions Bjorn took a small involuntary step forward. When the rod came in contact with the head of the hammer the metal rod bent in two different places. First was where it came in contact with the glass hammer head, the second was halfway down the shaft as Ella¡¯s swing continued moving, bending the rod instead of stopping her.


    Dropping the now useless rod she picked the hammer back up and walked over to where Bjorn Alaric and Meira were standing. ¡°See, I put all of my strength into that blow, and yet the head is still unblemished. I have no idea how to work glass, and there aren¡¯t many who do. It is a technique that is used to forge it. Those who do know rarely share their knowledge with anyone else in the craft.¡±


    ¡°If it is rare to find a crafts person who can work with glass, how did it end up here?¡± Meira asked.


    ¡°There is a smith in Law who is able to craft using glass.¡±


    Bjorn gave Meira an inquisitive glance. ¡°Law is the capital of Escar.¡± Meira said.


    ¡°Yes. If there was even a slim chance of me learning how to forge with glass, I would sell my shop here and move to Law, just in an off chance. But alas, he isn¡¯t taking on any new apprentices, at least the last I heard of it. As it stands though, you have a well crafted hard to damage war hammer that will be able to help you in your upcoming fight with the spiders.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if we will be fighting any spiders.¡± Alaric said.


    Ella let out a full bodied laugh. ¡°Of course you will. I fought you Alaric, and your fighting style says one thing about you. You care for those around you, that is further reinforced by you buying a shield from me. You want to protect, and what better way than to throw yourself into the fray. I find it hard to believe that someone like that will just sit by and let this city become overrun with snatcher spiders. So tomorrow you will come here, get your shield, pay me for it, and then find a way to help with this spider threat.¡±


    Alaric frowned.


    ¡°Thank you for your words. Let¡¯s leave her be, let her finish Alaric¡¯s shield. Besides standing in this hot room, I need a drink. Come on Tayla.¡± Bjorn said.


    A look of relief crossed Tayla¡¯s face. The entire time they stood there talking to Ella Tayla had been working the bellows on the forge without complaint. Upon hearing his words Tayla abandoned her post quickly and was actually the first one out the door. ¡°Come on, that beer sounds nice.¡± She called back over her shoulder at the other three.


    By the time they all had piled out onto the street Tayla was already a good 300 feet ahead of them, walking backwards while watching the door.


    When they made it back to the inn and made their way through the front door Kent was standing behind the bar in his customary spot cleaning a glass. When he saw them it looked like years of worry left his face. The worry lines and winkles disappeared, being replaced with a beaming smile. ¡°Ah, welcome back! I thought you had either met the same fate as everyone else in town, or you had run off. I am glad to know that you are alive, and that you haven¡¯t decided to run away. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable, what can I get you?¡±


    They had their pick of the litter in the empty taproot. They picked out a table in the middle of the room. Sitting down they ordered their drinks, Kent quickly brought their orders over. Setting them down at the table Kent went back to the bar returning with another mug.


    Sitting down with them he turned his head towards Meira. ¡°All of this talk about murders and death is bad for business. Ever since the first one not many have wanted to chance their lives for a drink and a tumble.¡±


    ¡°I hadn''t even thought of that. As you said, I haven''t seen anyone really other than us here. At least for a few days.¡± Meira said.


    ¡°True true, true true. It isn''t only that, most of my guys make little money from me, they usually make their money from the services that they sell. Well with no patrons they don''t come into work. With no servers people don''t come in to buy. It is a vicious cycle.¡± Sighing deeply Kent took a swing of his drink.


    ¡°Well don''t worry you haven''t lost us yet.¡± Tayla said. ¡°I can always hope that your workers will come back.¡±


    Kent gave her an assessing look. ¡°Is that the case now? Come to think of it, you were the only one of any of you to make use of our services. If you want I bet I could get one of my guys here if there is a guarantee of making some money.¡± He trailed off turning the statement into more of a question.


    It was hard to tell if Tayla was blushing based on her already red skin, but by the way she averted her eyes told the story of her being embarrassed. ¡°N-no thank you.¡± She stammered out.


    ¡°Tisk. It''s a pity, I could use the money, and I know they could too. Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah. So with no workers comes no patrons, and with no workers those who have been staying in the inn left, all except for you that is. Most of them got scared by the mood in town and scampered off. For you staying around I thank you. Your first round is on the house.¡±


    A broad smile crossed Alaric¡¯s face. ¡°Well we were planning on doing nothing else but sitting here and drinking. Unless you have anything better to do your welcome to join us.¡±


    Kent picked his head up and looked around his establishment. ¡°Let me check with the other patrons first.¡± Calling out in a booming voice. ¡°Does anyone need another drink?¡± When all his question was met with was silence he turned back to the group. ¡°Looks like we can do that. Come now let me buy us a bottle.¡±


    The rest of the day was filled with drink, food, and good stories. The friends talked about their adventures before and after meeting each other. The entire time Kent listened intently, he was a good audience, gasping at the right parts, and laughing when he should have. For his part Kent filled them in on a myriad of stories of his time owning the Glittering Goose, and his life up to that point. It was a good, fun loving day filled with much joy, they weren''t interrupted by anyone coming in. It was late into the evening when they finally decided to call it a night.


    It was well past noon the next day when Bjorn got up from his bed. Still a little dizzy from how drunk he had gotten last night, he stumbled his way down into the taproom.


    ¡°Ah good morning.¡± Tayla called from the table she and the other two sat at.


    ¡°Morning.¡± Bjorn grumbled as he made his way towards the table. Looking around a little bleary-eyed ¡°where''s Kent?¡±


    An almost litigious smile crossed Tayla''s face. ¡°Last time I saw him, he was still naked sleeping off his drink from last night.¡±


    ¡°You know that brings up a good point, you weren''t in your bed when I went to bed, and you most definitely weren''t when I woke up. Where were you last night Tayla?¡± Meira asked.


    ¡°Oh you know, I passed out on the floor over in that corner.¡± She blatantly lied. ¡°Had a bit too much to drink and didn''t fancy taking the stairs.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh.¡± Alaric said. When Tayla wouldn''t meet anyone''s eyes he continued. ¡°Well if he isn''t going to get up and make breakfast I''ll make it.¡± Standing up from his seat Alaric made his way into the kitchen and soon the sounds of cooking could be heard echoing through the mostly empty building.


    Bjorn just sat there in agony, trying to figure out what was a greater threat. The bright light filtering through the large windows, or the loud sounds coming from the kitchen. Either way both made his headache worse.


    It was almost an hour before they saw any signs of life from Kent. He slowly made his way into the common room and stumbled to the table they all sat around. Dropping into his seat he groaned. ¡°I don''t know what happened to me last night, but every part of my body is sore.¡±


    ¡°I think we know what happened to you.¡± Meira said. Her words caused Tayla to quickly placed her hand over Meira''s mouth to silence her next words.


    ¡°I''ll give you three hints.¡± Bjorn said, picking up where Meira was cut off. ¡°It was red, it is in this room, and it rhymes with sayla.¡±


    Tayla gave Bjorn a betrayed look. ¡°What? So you fucked the inn keeper? So what? As long as you both had fun, who cares?¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°I think it is more about her honor. Or about propriety. No woman wants it to be known that she slept with her host. Even if I occupy more women here than most of my servers.¡±


    Tayla''s head snapped towards Kent, all looks of betrayal and hurt gone, in its place it was only anger. ¡°So let me get this straight. You not only slept with me last night, you apparently forgot it happened, and to top it all off you openly admit to sleeping with multiple women.¡±


    Smiling at himself, oblivious to her obvious anger. ¡°Yeah, that sums it up quite nicely. Oh and don''t forget that you were the one to ask for it. And to top it off I am pretty sure you have had quite a few more partners than I have. There were things you did that I haven''t done with anyone. That thing you did with your tail.¡± Kent was cut short as a 110 lbs ball of woman shot across the table to silence him.


    Alaric made his way out of the kitchen 5 plates piled high with food. ¡°Hey, enough playing around, I just spent an hour making a meal for us. You and Kent can go for another round after we eat. You will not be letting your meal go cold.¡±


    Kent looked sheepish and they could actually tell that Tayla was blushing as her already red face turned an even darker shade of red. They both sat at the table and dug into their food. As Bjorn made his way through the mountain of egg and sausage on his plate his queasy state started to go away, it also helped alleviate some of the effects of his headache.


    Soon they made their way through their meals. Kent stood up. ¡°You took care of cooking for us, I will do the cleaning. What are your plans for the day?¡±


    ¡°I am supposed to go pick up a custom made shield today. Other than that I don¡¯t know, we might try and skip town. We have done our part here.¡± Alaric said.


    Kent¡¯s easy smile slid off his face. ¡°I can¡¯t say I am surprised, I will still be sad to see you go. If you want I will refund you the 4 more nights that you paid for.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright, you can keep it.¡± Meira said. ¡°Thanks for putting us up and being welcoming.¡±


    He bowed his head and left with the plates. Standing Alaric spoke. ¡°Well there is no need to wait, let¡¯s go get my shield.¡±


    They made their way out of the inn and started the long journey through winding streets. A little under an hour they made it to Ella¡¯s shop. Without the need to pay for a guide this time. Walking up to the door Tayla pushed on it and it swung open. For the first time they had come to Ella¡¯s shop the forge was cold. The interior was silent.


    ¡°Hello?¡± Tayla called. ¡°Ella? Yanda?¡± Silence. Getting an uneasy feeling everyone drew their weapons. They also fell into their usual configuration, Alaric in the lead, Bjorn and Tayla a few steps behind and to the side of Alaric and Meira in the back, forming a small diamond. Walking through the forge the interior of the building was cold without the blazing heat coming from the forge. Thoroughly searching the forge it was devoid of life. Forming back up they made their way through the arch and into the store. Which was also devoid of life, leaving the only place left to explore being the stairs leading down.


    They made their way over to the stairs slowly. Looking down the stairs led to a door, on the underside of the door they could see a faint light. Alaric looked back, and Meira nodded at him. With a sigh Alaric slowly made his way down the stairs Bjorn and Tayla following behind him. Reaching out with his free hand Alaric placed it on the door handle. He raised his hammer and pulled it open.


    Light flooded into the stairwell. On the other side of the door was a room with multiple workbenches with various tools arrayed around them, on them, and on the walls behind them. The other half of the room was filled with boxes that were laden with weapons, tools and armors. Next to one of the workbenches stood Ella.


    Hearing the door open she snapped around hand going to a belt knife she had, in one fluid motion she pulled it and dropped into a fighting stance. Seeing the party she relaxed. ¡°Damn it, don¡¯t scare me like that.¡±


    ¡°Scare you like that? Don¡¯t scare us like that.¡± Alaric said. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear, there is a spider threat here, and you were the one who didn¡¯t answer when we came into your store. We automatically thought you were dead and we would have to probably fight another one of those damn spiders.¡±


    She scoffed. ¡°Well I¡¯m not a spider, and actually I did hear about that last night. A flier got posted on the bulletin explaining the threat, it also called anyone in town over level ten or had some fighting experience to help deal with the spider threat. Looks like you¡¯ll have to fight the spiders anyways, even if you wanted to leave town. It¡¯s a good thing that I made this shield for you, if there are any other weapons or armor you need I¡¯ll sell them to you for a discount of course. After all, they will be used to defend the city that I love.¡±


    ¡°Wait. You are saying that the city is creating a militia and then they are drafting everyone in town who can fight to join?¡± Bjorn asked incredulously.


    ¡°Yeah that is pretty much what it is.¡± Ella said. ¡°Anyways go upstairs and wait, I¡¯ll be up in a few minutes with the shield and you won''t be disappointed.¡±


    They made their way back up into the forge, after a few minutes they could hear Ella¡¯s heavy boots on the stairs. When she came around the corner she had an odd shaped shield in her hands. It was the shape of an oval on the bottom half, and on the top it had three points, one on either side of the shield and one in the middle. The material in between the points created a shallow parabola. There was a thick band of pearly white metal that ran along the exterior of the shield. In the middle was a wood that Bjorn had never seen before.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Ronnel shield


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Rare


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight 14 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 398/398


    </td>


    <td>


    Defense: 15


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    This shield is made out of a rare self healing wood. It was made specifically to be used by Alaric of the serrated mountain dwarves. As such its defensive capabilities will increase for him by 20% it will also increase his block skill by 5 skill levels just for wielding this shield.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Walking forward she handed it over to Alaric. ¡°Put it on, let''s see how it fits you, I think it will be about perfect.¡± On the back side of the shield there were multiple leather straps that could be used to lash the shield to Alaric¡¯s arm, it was made in such a way that it protected all of Alaric¡¯s forearm and half of his upper arm when it was lashed in place. It was also short enough that when in place it left his left hand open, not restricting his range of movement at all.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Ella asked.


    ¡°Hmm, it is weighted almost perfectly, I like the range of motion it leaves me with. The shape is a little odd though, what is with that?¡± Alaric asked.


    ¡°When we fought you liked to tuck your left arm while evading attacks, so I figured it would be better to make a shape that still allowed you to do so while not impending your dodging. On top of that there were a few times where you moved like you wanted to catch my hand, each time you stopped yourself in the middle of your motion and either evaded the swing or caught it on the shield. Based on that I figured you actually wanted your hand free while fighting. It looks like I made the right choice anyways, now you are able to use your new hammer in its two handed form more often without worry.¡±


    Alaric thought for a moment. ¡°It sounds like you know your stuff, you are right at least about the free hand. I was taught how to fight with a buckler. I can¡¯t say you are right about pulling my arm in for dodging, but I will trust your judgment.¡±


    ¡°The edge of your shield is made of pure moonstone, that and the material of the shield itself is where the largest part of your money went. That wood is actually rare, it comes from the ronnel tree. It is a tree that is known for its difficulty to cut down, it has fast regenerative properties. Its wood is also fairly hard to work with because of that. Any damage done to the wood itself should slowly fix itself, it might take a few days but it should repair itself.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for it, I don¡¯t know if it''s worth what you said it is, but I did promise you payment. I will take your word as a craftsperson that you haven¡¯t taken advantage of me.¡± Alaric said.


    ¡°She didn¡¯t.¡± Bjorn said. ¡°It does exactly what she says it will, and it is made out of what she says it is made out of. That is for sure ronnel wood.¡±


    Ella turned towards Bjorn and gave him an appraising look. ¡°You know what ronnel wood looks like? Impressive, I¡¯m sorry, I dismissed you as someone unimportant when I saw you. You have my apologies.¡±


    Ella¡¯s words got a few brief laughs out of Meira and Tayla. Bjorn shot them a dirty look which shut them up. ¡°Be that as it may, Alaric you have nothing to fear.¡± Bjorn said through gritted teeth.


    Alaric pulled his coin purse from his belt and pulled out a single gold coin. He flicked it at Ella, it arched through the air and was deftly caught by her. Quickly she made the coin disappear. ¡°I will ignore you questioning my character, I am glad it is up to your satisfaction. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I need to get home to Yanda. I only came in today because you were going to be here to pick up the shield.¡± As she was speaking she was deftly maneuvering the party out of her shop.


    When they were all on her doorstep she shooed them to get them further away from the door. She followed them out of her shop and closed then locked the door behind her. Unceremoniously she pushed herself past the friends and made her way down one of the alleyways out of the small square.


    ¡°Well now that we got your shield, do we want to try and make our way out of town?¡± Bjorn asked. ¡°I don¡¯t fancy getting drafted into the defense of Blackrock Bay.¡±


    ¡°I second that.¡± Tayla said.


    It was over an hour to get back to the Glittering Goose and retrieve the rest of their stuff. With heavy packs on their backs they said their goodbyes to Kent and made their way through the streets. For the first time in days there were signs of life in the streets of Blackrock Bay. There were a few heavily armed citizens walking through the streets, going this way and that. For the most part it looked like they were making their way towards the guardhouse in the lower ring.


    Walking right past it they made their way down to the gate. To their dismay though the gate was closed and there were 10 heavily armed guards standing in front of it. As they approached the guard with the fanciest helmet raised his hand. ¡°Halt.¡±


    They complied, stopping in the middle of the street 20 feet away from where the guards stood with their hands on their weapons, which weren¡¯t drawn yet. ¡°State your business.¡± he continued.


    ¡°We are trying to leave town.¡± Alaric said, stepping forward putting himself between the guards and the rest of the party. He had his new shield strapped to his arm but had it down at his side for the moment.


    Shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but there had been a no leaving order that came down from the duke himself this morning. If you had left yesterday we wouldn¡¯t have stopped you, but unfortunately we aren¡¯t able to let you pass. You look like capable warriors though, if you report to the guardhouse I am sure someone there might be able to help you.¡±


    Meira stepped forward. ¡°We aren¡¯t from here, we don¡¯t live here, we were just passing through. We heard of your conscription, and we have no obligation to fight for this town. We just want to peacefully leave and put this all behind us. Your problems are not our problems.¡±


    A sympathetic look crossed the guard''s face. ¡°Be that as it may, I have strict orders to not let anyone pass me. I also have orders to direct anyone who might be able to fight to the guardhouse. As a matter of a fact I was also ordered to have someone escort you there.¡± The guard made a gesture with his hand and two of his guards stepped forward.


    ¡°If you would follow me, we will get you to the guardhouse and we can sort this out. I am sure Captain Gram will be able to find a task for you. After all, if you have the strength you have an obligation to defend those who cannot.¡± The gnome guard said. Her and her partner started to direct them back into the city.


    The guard they had been talking to called after them. ¡°I am truly sorry for this, but I hope together we can get past this trial and emerge victorious!¡±


    Slowly dragging their feet they followed after the gnome, heading back into the city making their way towards what felt like their doom.

 Chapter 30

    When they walked through the main doors into the guardhouse it was a flurry of activity. Uniformed guards and plain clothed civilians were going every which way throughout the building. They stood there watching the chaos for a few moments before the gnome guard pushed her way to the front and started to direct them forward. She led them through one of the side doors and down a less busy hallway. From there she led them to a set of stairs leading up and then around a corner and opened a door.


    Directing them inside they were in a small room filled with chairs, around half of them were filled with civilians who looked similar to Bjorn and his friends. Out of the twelve chairs in the room, 7 of which were filled with people. Two held humans, one was an elf, there was a dwarf, a hob-goblin, a sprite, and lastly a gnome.


    They eyed the newcomers as they filed in and each took a seat. ¡°Wait here, someone will come talk to you shortly.¡± the gnome said as she closed the door. The action looked a little funny, as the door was made the dimensions that would fit a human comfortably, she had to reach well above her head to grab ahold of the handle to pull the door shut as she left.


    They sat in silence for a good 10 minutes before one of the humans decided to speak up. He was large, brawny, and knotted with muscles. His dark skin was on full display as he wasn''t wearing much in the way of clothes, further emphasizing his intimidating statue. ¡°So were you guys drafted too?¡±


    Three separate people answered the question. One was the dwarf, Meira and then the sprite. The hob-goblin who was sitting off to the side of the room said nothing. The chairs were arrayed in a rough half circle around the middle of the room, with the open end facing the door. The hob-goblin had picked up his chair and moved it into the corner of the room, where he sat with his back to the corner, not meeting anyone''s eyes.


    ¡°What do they want with us?¡± the sprite asked.


    ¡°It''s obvious.¡± the other human remarked. ¡°They want us to join the fight between Escar and Cronkrum. Why else would they bring us all here? And while locking down one of the largest trading hubs this side of the kingdom.¡±


    Tayla laughed at that. ¡°We will be fighting a battle, just not for Escar or Cronkrum.¡± Her outburst made the others turn their eyes towards Tayla. ¡°I guess you haven''t heard yet. Well two days ago the city guard made their way into the sewers below the city to try and wipe out a spider infestation. But they were met with defeat. They brought us all here to bolster their numbers to try and attack the spiders again.¡±


    The sprite spit on the floor between her and the hob-goblin. ¡°No matter what they want, and how they ask or tell me to. I will not fight side by side with a hob-goblin.¡±


    ¡°Why? What is wrong with hob-goblins?¡± Bjorn asked?


    The hob-goblin in the corner of the room spoke in a quiet voice. ¡°I am just a trader, I don¡¯t want to fight.¡±


    The sprite didn¡¯t acknowledge that the hob-goblin spoke. Instead she turned her angry sneer towards Bjorn. She looked him up and down and by the look on her face she was left wanting. ¡°If you don¡¯t know why hob-goblins should be hated, you are too na?ve to be in this room. They are vile, hateful, and despicable creatures. You should consider yourself lucky that you never had to learn the hard way why they should be hated.¡±


    Her rage-filled xenophobic struck a cord deep within Bjorn. His anger started to build quickly as she spewed one racist thing after another directed at someone who didn¡¯t want to be in this situation as much as the rest of them. In a low growl Bjorn spoke. ¡°You better stop talking before something happens you will not like.¡±


    She was oblivious to Bjorn¡¯s tone, or his threat. Instead she continued speaking. ¡°The whole lot of them are no good, their only use is to kill or to enslave. Which is what we should do to this one.¡±


    That last sentence was enough. Bjorn flew out of his chair and crossed the distance between himself and the sprite in a matter of seconds. As he flew he drew back his hand and when he was in front of her he swung at her head with all of his might in a heavy backhand. The blow connected with a resounding crack as the sprites diminutive body was sent flying a few feet away and came to a stop as she skidded on the ground.


    Unfortunately the distance that she got from Bjorn was not enough. As she came to a stop Bjorn vaulted over to where she lay on the ground raising his fist he brought it down on her. There was a resounding crunching as his fist came in contact with her body.


    You have dealt 49 blunt force damage to sprite woman.


    Raising his hand for a second swing, he was stopped by the two human¡¯s in the room. They came flying out of their seats once the shock of what was happening wore off. They caught Bjorn and drug him off of the sprite''s body.


    The one who spoke earlier spoke once again. ¡°Be still, I have no love for what she was saying. She was out of line with her words, but you also were out of line with your actions. She has gotten more than what she deserved. Let it go.¡±


    Relaxing a bit. ¡°I believe our group has more reason to hate hob-goblins than any one in this room. One was the source of our torture and strife for months. He beat me, he beat Alaric, and he raped Meira there for who knows how long. It didn¡¯t stop when we were captured, and who knows how long it happened before we were captured. I hold no love for hob-goblins, but she had no right to try and belittle our experiences. I know what kind of atrocities their kind can cause.¡±


    ¡°I hear you, and I understand, but let it go. She was an intolerant ignorant fool, it isn¡¯t worth taking her life over that though.¡±


    After a bit Bjorn nodded and relaxed the rest of the way. When he did, the other two human¡¯s relaxed as well. Looking down on the sprite''s unconscious body he turned and walked back over to his seat. As he left Meira took his place, she shot him a worried look and then took a knee beside the body. A warm golden light covered Meira¡¯s hands as she cast her brand new healing spell for the first time.


    The golden light coated her hands and formed a small ball in between her hands. When it was the size of an apricot it dripped off of her hands and onto the sprite woman. When the light came in contact with her skin the ball took on the look of water as it coated her entire body. After a few seconds of the coating on her body it sank into her skin and they could see her labored breathing slowly start to become steadier.


    When Bjorn got back to his seat he sat down. Alaric leaned over to him, ¡°I would give you a solid 8 out of 10 on the first back hand, and then a 7.5 out of 10 on the follow up swing. It was a little sloppy, try rotating your hips more when you strike into your foe, that should give you the strength you need to finish the fight easier. All in all I¡¯d say it was the best hit I have ever seen you make. It¡¯s too bad it was actually a sucker punch of sorts, and that it was against a woman two thirds of your height.¡±


    Standing back up she walked back over to where the other two were sitting, taking her seat next to Bjorn. ¡°Are you okay?¡± She asked


    ¡°I''ll be fine, I don''t know what came over me, it was like all of the pain and rage that we had to put up with while under the thumb of Olvog came back to me. I never thought I''d hit a woman, but for a second I was back in that camp, and instead of doing nothing I felt like I had to do something.¡±


    Just then the door opened and they got a nice view of an extremely large chest. Then the person ducked and they saw Gram as he ducked through the door.


    ¡°We will talk later.¡± Meira whispered to Bjorn.


    When Gram straightened up, his eyes panned across the room, and came to a stop where Bjorn, Meira, Alaric, and Tayla were sitting. As his eyes fell on the group he looked to have aged 5 years in a matter of seconds. His easy smile lines looked like age wrinkles, and his posture became a little more slumped. His eyes then drifted down to where the unconscious sprite lay.


    ¡°What happened to her?¡± Gram asked.


    ¡°She talked shit, she got hit.¡± The smaller of the two humans said.


    ¡°Which one of you was the one who hit her?¡± Gram''s voice was one of a clipped officer dressing down his soldiers.


    The dark skinned man stood up. ¡°We all did, she was saying something rather unladylike to the hob-goblin in the corner. So we decided to teach her a lesson.¡± His posture was daring Gram to challenge his story. His dark eyes locked onto Gram''s and held steady.


    ¡°Well no need for all of this, someone get in here and remove this sorry excuse for a woman.¡± Gram called out. Two guards came into the room, one grabbed her by her arms, the other by her legs. They then carried her out of the room rather unceremoniously and closed the door behind them as they left.


    Gram stood there looking down on his new conscripts and took a deep breath and slowly let it out. ¡°Oh well, so as some of you already know there is a spider menace that is plaguing our city. We need to take care of it before the entire city is lost.¡±


    The dwarf spoke up. ¡°Our city? I am not from here, my partner and I are just traders, why are we forced to help?¡± When he said my partner he made a gesture towards the hob-goblin sitting in the corner with his eyes downcast.


    ¡°You enjoy being able to trade here don''t you? Do you enjoy the services we provide here? You enjoy the fact that we provide access to the glistening sea and all of the trade that flows through there don''t you? We have provided you with income, and sheltered your kind in times of need. And today when we ask for your help in return you balk. Ha! Your selfishness makes me laugh.¡±


    As Gram spoke the dwarf sank further and further into his seat, at the end of the tirade he wouldn''t even look at the mountain of a man.


    From there Gram gave them a brief rundown on everything that they knew about the snatcher spiders and a brief explanation of what happened so far. ¡°When we attack the spider''s nest we spend the majority of the day searching for the nest. When we thought we found it we decided to make an attack. That was a mistake, we weren''t prepared. Up to this point we thought that there were no more than 15 to 20 spiders. Our assumption was dead wrong.¡±


    Gram paused for a second before continuing. ¡°We quickly made our way into the nest of the spider''s. They put up a token effort in stopping our advance. When we made it into the first open cavern there were only a few spiders. Their resistance and the small amount of them we saw emboldened us. So we followed them further into the nest, our confidence was what led us into their trap. When we broke into the second cavern they sprung their trap. The second cavern used to be used to get to different layers of our sewer system; we were on a catwalk that was large enough for 4 or 5 of us to stand abreast at the same time. They hit us hard.¡±


    Gram had started to pace halfway through his explanation. ¡°The spiders fell on us from above us, they also attacked from below us. That wasn''t the hard part, they also came spilling down. The tunnel we had just traveled down. They effectively trapped us. Our ranks were in shambles, our magic casters were almost useless, our archers were useless in the close quarters combat we found ourselves in. One thing we found out is that a single bite is enough to immobilize the area but. Their venom devolves bones, so you will feel the area a bit, it won''t hurt much, but you will quickly lose control of the area or part of your limb.¡±


    Gram held up his arm, the one that had been in a sling when Bjorn last saw him. ¡°We quickly realized that we were in a losing position and we needed to get out of there. My men were falling like flies, so I made a snap decision and ordered them to protect the front while I moved to the rear to try and clear a path for us to retreat. In the fight one of the bastards sank its fangs into this arm. Within 5 minutes my entire forearm bones were gone and my arm became useless. Fortunately for us, by the time I lost control of my arm I had cleared a path back to the first room. By that point we probably had lost a third of our entire force. That was when they sprung their second trap.¡±


    ¡°We burst into the first chamber and as my men were running for the exit spiders came raining down from the ceiling again, sinking their claws into our flesh. That was when we were really in trouble. We were losing men left and right as we ran for the exit. It was chaos, when the spiders would drop down in the middle of our ranks any sort of defensive line quickly fell apart. We were saved by the quick thinking of one of my mages. He gave himself potion sickness and crippled himself to get us out of there. He cast a spell he called scorching ray, which allowed him to channel mana into the spell to spray a torrent of fire from his hand. He drank three mana potions so that he could keep up the constant stream of fire allowing us to escape. With his flames burning the spiders on the ceiling it slowed them enough for us to dispatch the spiders in our midst and retreat. Once back in the tunnel heading towards the sewers I was able to hold the spiders back until they stopped coming at us. We retreated from there.¡±


    ¡°How do we beat them?¡± Alaric asked after an uncomfortable pause.


    Gram picked his face up looking at Alaric. When he did so they could see the anguish on his face. ¡°There is supposed to be a snatcher spider queen and she is supposed to be significantly larger than the rest of the spiders. Before you ask, no I didn¡¯t see anything that matched that description.¡±


    The hob-goblin spoke up for the first time in a surprisingly deep voice. ¡°You said that these spiders feed on your bones. How are there so many? How do they get the necessary amount of food to grow?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know the answer to that fully, by our count before this failed attack they had taken at most 36 people, between the murders and people who have been reported missing in the last month. That shouldn¡¯t be enough to support the numbers of spiders we saw yesterday. What we think happened though is that they came up from underground. This city is old, and there is no telling how extensive the sewer system is. It would not be surprising for the spiders to have found a way into our sewer system and make it their home. I know for a fact that there are large areas of the sewer system that have been abandoned.¡±


    This entire story Bjorn was transfixed by a single part of Gram¡¯s story. ¡°You said you were bit on your forearm, and when I saw you back at the palace your forearm looked like a wet noodle. How did you regrow your bone?¡±


    Smiling Gram replied. ¡°I believe you have met the mage responsible for healing my missing bone, or bones as he said.¡±


    Bjorn just gave a puzzled look back.


    ¡°Kronk.¡± Seeing the puzzled look deepen. ¡°You know the little bit of an asshole dwarf mage who taught Meira how to cast life magic.¡±


    Understanding dawned on Bjorn¡¯s face. ¡°Little bit of an asshole? That is the understatement of the century if I¡¯ve ever heard one.¡±


    ¡°It still makes no sense, how are the spiders surviving and by the sound of it thriving on such a small amount of food?¡± The hob-goblin asked, more to himself than to anyone in particular.


    Sighing Gram looked back at the orange skinned monstrosity of a humanoid. ¡°We don¡¯t know, but I have my suspicions. There was a warren of kobolds that had taken up residence under the city years ago and have been a nuisance for the last 5 years. I think that the spiders might have taken over the warren and fed on the kobolds exterminating the issue. Once their food source ran out they made their way into our sewer system to start all over again. I don¡¯t know for sure but that is my guess. By the end of today we should know for sure though, as we sent scouts down to the warren to see what we can find.¡±


    ¡°When is the next attack on the spider nest?¡± Tayla asked.


    ¡°We are spending the next two days finding everyone who can fight and then we are making sure they are equipped for the fight. On the morning of the third day we are going to attack the spiders. So you will have two days to get prepared, equipped, and any last minute training you want to get in.¡±


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°I have a question.¡± The large dark skinned human said. ¡°Why are you the one giving us this briefing? You are the captain of the guard, I would have thought that you had more important things to do instead of telling us what is happening and filling us in.¡±


    ¡°Simple.¡± He pointed to where Alaric, Bjorn, Meira, and Tayla were sitting. ¡°It¡¯s because of them.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°They were the ones who found out about the threat the spiders posed so when I was given a list of names of the people brought in for trying to leave town I decided to give you the story of what happened and give you the best information I can.¡± He turned to address the four friends. ¡°I can not stress enough how grateful I am for your contribution. Unfortunately I will have to ask you to contribute once again.¡±


    Alaric looked at Gram skeptically. ¡°What is our role in this fight going to be?¡±


    ¡°I am going to assign the 9 of you to aid one of our pinning forces. What I mean by that, we have a good idea of the total area the spiders have taken so far. There are 6 different passages that we know of that lead to that area. We have 5 smaller forces set to make sure that the spiders don¡¯t get out and attack us from behind or are able to get away. Your job will be to help one of those 5 forces. You shouldn¡¯t deal with the brunt of the attack, but you will still most likely see action. I will pass you off to one of my corporals and they will decide how it will be best to deploy you. Luckily for you, I will assign you to corporal Jenkins, he is the one I trust the most. He won¡¯t carelessly throw your lives away.¡±


    ¡°When can we leave?¡± The dwarf said.


    ¡°When the spider menace has been dealt with. Not before, we need all hands on deck to give us the best chance to quash this incursion.¡±


    ¡°Will you provide us with weapons that we can use against the spiders?¡± Tayla asked. She pulled one of her wicked looking daggers from behind her back. ¡°The last time we fought one of these spiders my daggers were basically useless. Their armor is made out of bone, I need a weapon that can do crushing damage to be of any use in this fight.¡±


    ¡°Although this city is better stocked than most cities. We still only have a limited supply of weapons that can crush. I will see what I can do, but you should make plans to provide a weapon that is usable, just in case I can¡¯t provide you with anything that will help.¡±


    Gram looked around and saw that there were no other questions he continued speaking. ¡°With all of that out of the way, I will leave you to it. You will have access to the training grounds. Wait here and I will have someone from your assignment come and collect you, they will provide you with identification that will give you access to the training grounds, as well as the armory. If I was able to provide you with a weapon that would work against the spiders, go there and the armorer will outfit you the best he can. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me as I said I have somewhere I need to be.¡± With that he turned and walked out of the room leaving the 9 newly minted soldiers behind.


    They sat in silence for a minute before Alaric decided to break it. ¡°Well I think you all have figured this out by now, but my name is Alaric, I am a close quarter fighter who specializes in defense.¡±


    ¡°I am Meira, I am a spell caster who is proficient in Air magic, I also am decent with water magic, and just recently learned how to cast life magic.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Rick, my friends call me Rickie.¡± The large chocolate colored man said. ¡°I am also a decent front liner, I specialize in dealing damage quickly. I am a professed Barbarian.¡±


    ¡°My name is Chase. I mainly carry stuff for Rickie, but with our travels I have picked up a few things about fighting. I am no good with a bow, but I can hold my own with a shield.¡± The other human who had been sticking close to Rickie.


    ¡°Well I am not much of a fighter, but I am a halfway decent alchemist. And an alright shot with a bow. Not quite a professed alchemist yet, but I am able to make some interesting potions, I can try and make us a few that will give us an edge over the next few days. Oh, my name is Alya.¡± the elf said.


    ¡°Tayla. I am a professed rogue, and as such I specialize in quick kills and stealth. This type of situation is actually what I struggle with the most.¡±


    Meira nudged Bjorn. ¡°Alright, you can cut that out. I am Bjorn, I am a bit of a jack of all trades, but master of none. I don¡¯t have any specialization, I do make up for it with utility though. I can handle myself in close quarter combat, I am a rather decent shot with a bow, and I have access to earth, water, dark, and light magic.¡±


    His list of available magics made Rickie give a little whistle. ¡°That is an impressive range of capabilities you have for yourself.¡± Bjorn nodded in thanks.


    ¡°Hi, my name is Laurel. I honestly have no idea why I am here, I am not a fighter by any means. The only thing that I am halfway decent at is setting traps.¡± the gnome said.


    Lastly the dwarf spoke up. ¡°I am Bente, and this is my trading partner Rypley. We really have no idea why we were drug here. We are food traders who were caught in town at the wrong time. The only thing we have going for us is that we are level 10 and 11 respectively.¡±


    Rickie stepped towards the dwarf and set his heavy hand on his shoulder. ¡°Not to worry, we have a pretty wide range of abilities, so you should have nothing to worry about. On top of that it sounds like we won''t be near any of the major fighting. So that is more of a reason we will be fine. I think the 7 of us who can fight plus the guards will be able to take care of you.¡±


    The dwarf looked up at the large man and smiled. ¡°Thanks, I think I needed that. You''re right, I think I''m worrying for nothing.¡±


    From there they broke into speaking tactics, and finding out how everyone fights. They spent hours breaking down their actual skills, what they can provide to the team, and how they will be able to contribute.


    After everyone got a feel of the specifics of what everyone is capable of they broke into their smaller groups. The exception to that was Bjorn, he went over to Alya the elf and they sat together and talked about alchemy. This continued for a while until the door opened again and a small human entered with his head held high.


    ¡°Hello I am Corporal Jenkins, you will be assigned to my section of the assault. We will meet back here in three days'' time, until then you are free to do what you will to get ready.¡± he took 9 small badges from his pocket and handed them to the closest person, who was Laurel. ¡°These badges will get you access to the training grounds and the armory to outfit yourselves. Don''t forget to do that, no matter what you do don''t be late, we will meet at 9 in the morning. The operation is supposed to start at 11 in three days.¡±


    ¡°What will happen if we aren''t here in three days?¡± Chase asked.


    Jenkins turned towards Rickie''s shadow and spoke directly to him. ¡°If in three days you are not here the guards will be given a likeliness of you and then they will have strict orders to capture you and imprison you. Where you will rot in our dungeons for either 10 years or the rest of your life. Needless to say I wouldn''t go missing. That is all, you are free to go.¡± Finishing his statement Jenkins turned and walked out of the room leaving the rest of the group sitting there in silence.


    ¡°Well, I guess we will see everyone in the morning, shall we just meet in front of the guardhouse here?¡± Rickie asked.


    A chorus of agreements spread through the rest of the group. Nodding Rickie and Chase were the first to leave. With Bente and Rypley following not too far behind them.


    Bjorn turned back towards Alya. ¡°There is an inn called the Glittering Goose, if you want to meet us there I am sure that the owner will let us use the kitchen to make some potions. If you are looking for a place to stay you can go there and the entire place is empty.¡± Bjorn said the last part of his speech to the rest of the room.


    ¡°I have a few things to get before I go, but I will meet you there.¡± Alya said before she too left the room.


    ¡°Well I guess let''s go.¡± Tayla said and stood up and left the room. They said their brief goodbyes and followed after her.


    With nothing else to really do or anywhere to really go they made their way back to the Glittering Goose. Kent was surprised to see the group and let them have their rooms back without having to pay. If Kent had been surprised by their story of how they got roped into fighting for the city he sure didn''t show it. What he did do though was offer to let them stay for free if they came back from their mission.


    A few hours after they got settled in Alya came through the door and she and Bjorn made their way back to the kitchen. They were right Kent had no issues with them using the kitchen. So the two alchemists spent the rest of the day slowly brewing potions.


    The next morning they got up early, at some point during the night while Bjorn and Alya were brewing potions Laurel found her way into the inn and she and Alya ended up spending the night. So when everyone was up the 6 of them made their way towards the guardhouse to meet up with the rest of their party.


    When they got there Chase and Rickie were both standing there waiting. This time Chase had a large tower shield in one hand and a small gladius style blade strapped to his hip. Rickie was dressed nearly the same with bulging muscles standing out on his bare chest. They only had to wait half an hour before the hob-goblin and the dwarf joined the.


    Once everyone arrived they took off through the streets towards the training grounds, which was on the far side of the commercial district. It took them a while to make it there, only getting lost once.


    It was a stark difference from the days before. The streets were abuzz with activity again as the citizens of Blackrock Bay prepared to go to war with the spiders. The quiet city was instead filled with people trying to make some last minute preparations. There were many parties happening, townsfolk trying to send off their family members who were going to fight. The weapons, armor, potions, and enchanting stores were packed with people trying to find that edge that will let them come out of this alive.


    As the ragtag looking group finally found the city training grounds they approached what looked like the main entrance. It was an open air field in the middle of the commercial district. Surrounding the field was a wall around 5 feet tall. Patrolling around the outside were retired guards or retired soldiers. They were the trainers keeping an eye on the flurry of activity that was happening on the other side of the small wall. The field was around 400 by 500 feet across, and the entire area looked to be full with people training.


    There were people drilling on how to wield and swing a weapon. There were others in one on one lessons with their own personal trainers. Others were in group lessons. Finally there was a large section of the field dedicated to sparing. There were many one on one fights, and then there were large brawls as one group took on another. The largest of the brawls was at least 40 people strong, with multiple trainers circling the chaotic brawl.


    ¡°Well this looks like a wagon wreck.¡± Alya said.


    ¡°No, not at all.¡± Rickie said. ¡°It looks like home.¡± As he said that last part he had an extremely creepy smile on his face.


    They made their way through the front gate. When they told the worker that they were a newly assigned team and they were there to work on their teamwork, the worker directed them towards the sparring area. As they pushed their way through the assembled crowd they often had to side step to avoid training groups or people running through the chaos. That changed when they made it to the sparring area, instead of side stepping training groups they had to side step around bodies being thrown back and forth across the field. There was even a point where Alaric had to intercept a flying man that way his body wouldn¡¯t slam into Laurel. The woman who sent the man flying was beaming as the trainer started to berate her for her lack of control.


    They eventually found a relatively quiet area in the training field and lay claim to the spot. After a few minutes a trainer pushed his way through the crowd and walked up to the group. ¡°Well what are you standing there for? Drop down and give me 30 pushups! Don¡¯t just stand there looking at me, you heard me! GET YOUR ASS ON THE GROUND!¡±


    There was something in the confident tone and the cadence of the voice. All 10 dropped down to the ground and started doing push ups. The similarity to all the videos Bjorn had seen of drill instructors working his new recruits made Bjorn let out a little laugh.


    ¡°Oh you think this is funny do you? Well sissy boy, why don¡¯t you tell me why your sorry asses are in front of me.¡± The trainer said as he squatted next to Bjorn.


    Taking a page from earth Bjorn yelled back. ¡°Sir, we are here to give us a better chance to not die in our fight versus the spiders the day after tomorrow sir!¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯ll be, I think I can help with that.¡± The instructor dropped his commanding tone as soon as he heard Bjorn¡¯s response.


    The day that followed could either be described as tortuous hell or the best day they ever had, depending on who you talked to. For Bjorn, Rickie, Alaric, Chase, and Tayla the day wasn¡¯t too bad. For the other five the day was grueling, but for Meira it wasn¡¯t near as bad. Her months hiking and going through the wilderness had shed any fat she managed to gain over the winter and lean muscle replaced it.


    The day started with the trainer talking through their various combat abilities, which took less than 15 minutes, each question was short, clipped and left no room for any flowery speech. He was able to get all of the information that he needed as rapidly as he could. From there he set up various sparring matches so he could see everyone¡¯s fighting capabilities. That took another hour. Bjorn managed to land himself right in the middle of the pack, losing to Alaric, Rickie, Chase, Tayla, and embarrassingly Meira. He was able to beat the others surprisingly easily, except for Laurel. She was a little menace, she was surprisingly hard to get a hold of, his only saving grace was her small statured made it so she couldn¡¯t produce much force and as such couldn¡¯t really do much.


    After they spared The trainer called another one over and they broke down into smaller groups and talked about the shortcomings and where they could improve. Then they drilled, and then they spared again. The cycle happened countless times, at least who would count how many times they lost to the girl they had a crush on? They only stopped the training because the sun was nearing the horizon. The trainers wouldn¡¯t even let them stop to eat. Every so often a child would come by with a bucket and a ladle, passing out water to the tired fighters. This was the only reprieve they got. When they finally thought they were free the trainers made them run three laps around the entire training field. All while yelling at them for being pathetic.


    Exhausted and starving they made their way from the training grounds. The suns were close to setting so they decided to take the long walk back to their inn. This time only Bente and Rypley split off going their own way. All 8 of the party members ended up at the Glittering Goose that night. Flopping into tables Kent quickly got them food and drink. He told them that seeing how he had no idea when they would be back he just made a stew. Letting them eat their fill they all sat around talking. Meira was so worn out from their day that she fell asleep right next to Bjorn. Smiling, he carried her to her room and put her to bed before making his way to his bed and falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.


    The next morning Bjorn got up and made his way into the taproom. Being the first one up he decided to not waste any time and made his way into the kitchens and started working on brewing some potions. He started by working on brewing some danger sense potions. The last time he and Alya brewed they had made 4 doses of the potion. It was a slow process, so by the time Alya joined him in the kitchen he wasn¡¯t even halfway through the prep stage. Having her skilled hand at alchemy made the process go that much faster. Instead of taking most likely the entire day it only took half.


    When they were starting to titrate the ranarr extract into the dwarf weed tea Alaric poked his head into the kitchen. ¡°Hey some of us are going to try and hit the armory today. Is there anything you¡¯d like for me to get you while we are there?¡±


    Bjorn thought for a moment before replying. ¡°Yeah, if you can get some sort of basic shield I think that would be awesome. I would like to have a thick piece of wood in between me and those fangs if at all possible. Also I think if you can find some kind of arrow with a heavier tip that would be helpful. That way my bow might actually be useful in the upcoming fight.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really have anything that can keep me out of the fight, and I don¡¯t have much skill with a bow. If you could somehow get me a crossbow that would be great. If not some arrows like what Bjorn described would work.¡± Alya said.


    ¡°Alright, I will see what I can do.¡± Alaric said before leaving them to their alchemy.


    Once they finished making their newest dose of danger sense potions Alya and Bjorn split off. They both made another batch of healing potions. By the time they finished it was late evening. Washing up and cleaning the kitchen they made their way into the front room. Upon seeing them vacate the kitchen Kent made his way back there to make dinner.


    Most everyone had made it back by the time Bjorn and Alya finished. Meira, Alaric, Chase, and Laurel were still missing. But they weren¡¯t missing for long and a half an hour after they sat down the 4 came through the door with heavy packs. They were able to procure a crossbow and multiple bolts for Alya, they found light leather armor for Laurel. Unfortunately they weren''t able to get Bjorn a shield, and they got Tayla a set of small heavy hammers. They also produced 2 bundles of arrows that had heavy blunted tips. Each bundle held 100 arrows. Bjorn quickly opened the bundles and put them into his portable pocket. Every 25 arrows took up a 2 by 1 slot inside his inventory, taking up a sizable chunk of his remaining space.


    Tayla scrunched her nose up at the brutishness of her new weapons but she put up with them. Soon Kent brought food out for everyone and they ate their fill. Just as some were about to head to bed Kent brought out a small cask he had behind the bar.


    ¡°This is a special drink, I don¡¯t have much. It is a mead from my home. 10 years ago it was ransacked and Codley who brewed this stuff died. I have never tasted its equal. I have three left, and I want to share one with all of you. Tomorrow you will go fight a horde of spiders, and I hope that all of you will return. In case you don''t, I want tonight to be a night worth living.¡± With that he tapped the cask and poured out a rich burgundy colored mead. He filled a tankard for everyone before pouring one for himself. ¡°Here is to your continued survival!¡± Kent cheered before taking a drink of his cup.


    Everyone echoed Kent¡¯s statement and drank from their cups. A rich taste of fresh mountain strawberries filled Bjorn¡¯s mouth. The taste was such a jolt that he had to stop. It had been over two years since he had tasted strawberries. The sounds of joyous laughter and stories filled the air around Bjorn, but he was lost in his own world. The taste of his favorite fruit was enough to dig up memories of home that he had pushed down.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Meira asked him.


    Her soft voice brought Bjorn back to the present. ¡°Yeah, I am okay.¡± As he said that he wiped a tear away from the corner of his eye. ¡°I just miss home. This mead tastes like home. It brought back memories I hadn¡¯t thought about in years.¡±


    Reaching out, Meira put her hand over Bjorn¡¯s where it sat on top of the table and she squeezed, leaving it there on top of his. Her show of support touched Bjorn and the two of them sat quietly while everyone else enjoyed their night.


    A few hours later people finally decided to turn in for the night, deciding they needed to get some rest before tomorrow. They started to trickle out in ones and twos. Bjorn and Meira left in the middle of the pack making their way up the stairs slowly. When he made her stand she withdrew her hand and moved to join him. On the second floor landing they slowly made their way down the hall in companionable silence.


    Meira¡¯s door was closer to the stairs than Bjorn¡¯s was, so when they got to her door they stopped. Reaching out tentatively she brought Bjorn into an embrace. Her warmth and soft body pressed into his. They stood there holding each other for a few seconds before withdrawing. ¡°You know I am here for you right?¡± She said.


    A half smile crept onto his lips. ¡°I know, and I am grateful. I don¡¯t think I would be this good without you. Thank you.¡±


    A heartfelt smile spread onto her lips. ¡°Good night Bjorn.¡± She then turned and made her way into her room. Bjorn lingered there for a while before making his way to his room and fell into bed. Darkness quickly overtook him as he fell asleep.

 Chapter 31

    The next morning they made their way to the guardhouse early, making sure they made it there well before they were required to be there. When the party rounded the corner and the guardhouse came into view, they saw an awe inspiring sight. Before them there were hundreds of people in full battle gear moving with purpose. Some were moving to their assigned groups, while others seemed to be running last minute errands.


    Making their way through the crowd they made it inside the guardhouse. Through the doors was a large open area which was normally filled with tables. Those tables were either pushed to the side or removed entirely, as the room was now devoid of furniture. In the place of the tables the room was filled with people. The large 100 by 45 room was filled to the brim with more people in various armors and welding various weapons.


    Making their way through the room, they climbed their stairs and entered their assigned gathering room. The much smaller room had a continent of guards in it. There were 20 of them all wearing their normal uniform of a chainmail shirt, plate mail cuirass, greaves, bracers and an open faced helmet. 19 of the guards stood in a 5 wide formation with 4 in the front row. Corporal Jenkins stood at the front of the contingent and was inspecting his troops. When the door opened allowing the motley crew into the room the guards standing at attention didn¡¯t even look.


    Jenkins on the other hand turned to face them with a small frown on his lips. ¡°Why aren¡¯t most of you in your armor?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t need to be ready for another 45 minutes, so no need to be uncomfortable. We will put our armor on when the time gets closer.¡± Rickie said moving to a wall and plopping down with his back to the wall.


    Jenkins looked at the rest of the party as they moved past his neat formation. ¡°He has got a point.¡± Bjorn said before joining Rickie against the wall.


    The corporal just put his head in his hand and muttered something under his breath. He was far enough away, and spoke quietly enough that Bjorn couldn¡¯t hear him from where he sat, back to the wall. But he was fairly sure he heard ¡°give me strength.¡±


    ¡°Fine, but make sure that you are ready when it strikes 11, we are supposed to move out then.¡±


    ¡°Will do, I will personally make sure that they are ready.¡± Meira said while giving Rickie a charming smile.


    Returning the smile Jenkins got back to inspecting his men. They, for their credit, hadn¡¯t moved a muscle during the entire exchange. A half an hour past without so much as a hint of Bente and Rypley. During that time the guards alternated between Jenkins fussing over small things of their formation, and him talking quietly to one of his men. The party sat in one of the corners and talked amongst themselves.


    When it got to 15 minutes before the determined departure time they stood and started to don their armor. Bjorn helped Alaric get into his scalemail and tie his bracers in place on his forearms. Alaric tied up Bjorn¡¯s ringmail and helped him secure his quiver in place. The rest of the party was helping each other into their gear. Meira slid into her leather armor with grace. Tayla came wearing her leathers. Chase put on a chainmail shirt and used a belt to hold it in place, he held his massive tower shield in one hand, a small mace attached to his belt. Laurel was small enough that she slid into her armor with ease, and she didn¡¯t need help tying it in place. Alya didn¡¯t have any armor as it was, instead she did have a heavy padded shirt that she used. Lastly Rickie stood just as bare chested as he had the day before apparently not having any armor of use.


    As for weapons Alaric had his new hammer in one hand and strapped his new shield in place on the other arm. Meira hefted her staff leaving her other hand free to cast her spells. Tayla had added two holsters to her belt with her two shorter hammers on her hips. She still had her two daggers poking out of her back. Bjorn slung his bow on his back and hung his sword on his belt. Chase had his tower shield and mace. Laurel didn¡¯t have any weapons, but she did carry a small sack, she had chase bring a larger sack which he carried over his shoulder. Alya carried her crossbow lightly in one hand and on her hip she had a quiver filled with more. Lastly there was Rickie, who had a massive greatsword that was strapped across his back, the sword was easily 8 feet long. Which didn¡¯t look massive when in comparison to the huge muscle bound man who carried it.


    When everyone finished suiting up it was 5 minutes to their departure time. Jenkins looked over to the party. ¡°Where is the other dwarf and the hob-goblin?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know.¡± Alya replied. ¡°We haven¡¯t seen them since the day before yesterday. We spent the day at the training grounds, we might have scared them off that day.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡± was Jenkins only reply. They stood there waiting until the time elapsed. 30 seconds before they were supposed to set out the door opened, letting in Bente and Rypley. They were wearing a matching set of heavy plate armor. They both carried large kite shields and had single handed war hammers on their belts.


    ¡°Glad you decided to join us, It would have been a shame to have to make the town hunt you down. Well, now that we are all here we should make our way down into the sewers.¡±


    With practiced discipline the guards made their way out of the room one by one. Following close behind the remaining 10 made their way out and down the stairs. When they made it back to the large gathering area it was near half full. With how big the room was there were still well over 150 people standing in the room.


    Making his way forward towards where Jenkins was leading the group Bjorn started to walk in step with Jenkins. ¡°Hey what happened to all the people that were in here?¡±


    ¡°Most of them have already deployed down into the sewers. We will be heading down on the far side of the city.¡± The way he said that last part made it obvious he didn¡¯t want to be bothered by Bjorn. So he dropped back and walked with his group.


    It was a little under an hour to make it to the far side of the city and to the large set of stairs that led down into the sewer system. They entered a small building that its only purpose seemed to be to keep rain from going down into the sewers. From there it was a confusing jumble of turns, tunnels, and stairs. They for the most part made their way deeper, but occasionally they had to move higher before going to a set of stairs leading further downward.


    ¡°If Alaric, Meira, Tayla, and Bjorn hadn¡¯t vouched for the fact that there is an issue with some spiders I would think they are taking us down into the sewers to kill us and take all of our stuff.¡± Chase said.


    ¡°Right? It seems awfully suspicious that they have been leading us down like this without telling us our end destination.¡± Rickie said.


    ¡°Stop your chatter, we are almost there.¡± One of the guards said.


    They finally entered a long tunnel. The entire time there were small balls of light that sat affixed to the ceiling directly above their head periodically. The tunnel they entered was large and had a channel running down one side of the tunnel, it was filled with a slowly flowing brackish brown colored liquid. As they were traveling the lights were set in different frequencies. The tunnels they passed through that were larger and saw more traffic had the lights closer together illuminating the tunnels. The smaller less used tunnels were darker as they had less lights dedicated to it. Sometimes the lights were so far apart they were walking in complete darkness for a few seconds before they saw the next light in the tunnel ahead of them. In those instances Bjorn cast his simple light spell, he gave one to Jenkins at the front of the column, and carried one himself at the middle of the conscript forces.


    The large tunnel they were standing in ran off straight in both directions. On the left side the continuous tunnel of black stone was broken by an out cove dug in the rock. From where they stood they could see a small camp had been set up in the out cove. Jenkins led the way towards that small camp. The out cove was medium sized, it was large enough to hold all 30 of their force with a little room to spare. There were already 5 other guards who were in camp. The area was situated with 20 tents, an area where a cook fire was set, and there was a hand drawn cart laden with supplies.


    When they rounded the corner the 5 guards who had been posted there snapped to attention and saluted. ¡°Sir! There has been no movement from the spiders. We have not seen any hide nor hair of them since we have been stationed here.¡±


    ¡°Very good.¡± Turning towards the conscripts. ¡°5 of the tents are yours. You will be up against that wall, and you will have to sleep two to a tent.¡±


    Frowning Alya spoke up. ¡°Why do we have tents? How long is this supposed to take?¡±


    ¡°At least two or three days. We don¡¯t know how long exactly, but last time we rushed into the fight and paid the price. Not this time, this time we are going to go slow and take our time. Go ahead and get settled, we will set up a watch detail.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have fighting capabilities, but I am able to set traps. I brought a bag of them. When will we be able to set them up?¡± Laurel said.


    ¡°I was not informed of this, we hadn¡¯t any plans for you to set up any traps. You won¡¯t be able to set them up. We don¡¯t know what or who is coming through, I don¡¯t want any of our friends running into them.¡± Corporal Jenkins said.


    Obviously upset at Jenkin¡¯s decision. ¡°I am sorry, but I disagree. We don¡¯t know if our allies will be coming through, but the odds of them making it to us through this tunnel is slim. Wont any information come through a runner by any of these tunnels?¡±


    ¡°They will, but I still don¡¯t want to take the chance, on top of that we don¡¯t know how far into the tunnels the spiders are. Because of that your traps are an unnecessary risk. I won¡¯t risk my men.¡± Jenkin¡¯s said.


    Rickie was starting to get on board. ¡°But you won¡¯t have to risk your men, we will go with her to protect her. You won¡¯t have to risk any of your guards.¡±


    Before Rickie finished speaking Jenkins was already shaking his head. ¡°You are under my command, so you are my men. I will not risk your lives just for something that might pay dividends. No, the risk isn¡¯t worth the potential payoff.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know when they will break through the spiders. By the time they do so we will probably be the last ones to find out. We are on the far side of the main army. You said so yourself when we were down here. If the spiders were to flee they would flee directly into us, I would much rather they be weakened by our traps before they make it to us.¡± Bjorn said.


    ¡°No, and that is final, I don¡¯t want to hear any more of this. Set up your camp and we will take care of the watch. Everyone must be ready to be called at any time. Dismissed.¡± Jenkins turned and walked into the largest tent letting its flap close behind him.


    A slightly awkward air fell over camp as the guard was split between wanting to follow Jenkin¡¯s orders, and wanting to set up the traps, as they thought that they made a few good points. Either way nothing actually happened. The guards started to set up their camp. The conscripts didn¡¯t have much to set up. They paired off: Meira and Tayla, Bjorn and Alaric, Rickie and Chase, Alya and Laurel, and lastly Bente and Rypley.


    Once they stored their gear Bjorn started to hand out potions. They had 8 danger sense potions. They also had enough potions for each person to have at least 2 health potions, and a stamina potion. They hadn¡¯t spent any time crafting mana potions, as the only ones who could cast magic in camp were Bjorn and Meira, and they already had several mana potions each from their own personal stores. They also made two doses of the minotaur''s strength potions. Those went to Alaric and Rickie. The last unique potion that Alya and Bjorn brewed was an enlarging potion. That potion ended up going to Rickie as well, as he was already the largest. Everyone agreed it should go to him as a force multiplier. The last thing that they spent the last two days brewing was a generic antidote potion. One dose went out to everyone.


    Their actions of passing out potions hadn¡¯t gone unnoticed to the guards. It wasn¡¯t long before Bjorn and Alya got a summons to the center tent. When they entered the spacious tent had a single large table in the center, and off to one side they had 3 chairs set up. On the table was a detailed map of the sewer system. It had the area that the operation was happening in in excruciating detail. What Bjorn said was right, based on the map laid out in front of them they were almost exactly across from where the main army was set up at. They could see the other 4 entrances and they had small squares on the table to signify their forces. From the map the engagement area had a large almost circular ring of tunnels that connected the 6 entrances together.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Bjorn asked curtly.


    Frowning at Bjorn¡¯s obvious lack of deference to Jenkin¡¯s post he spoke up. ¡°My men told me that you are passing out potions. Do you have enough to pass out to my men?¡±


    ¡°No, we do not have enough.¡± Bjorn said shortly once again.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t have enough then we will have to confiscate them. And I will be the one to decide how the potions are allocated.¡±


    Alya put her hands down on the table. ¡°You will do no such thing. These are potions that we brewed with our own hands to give us the best chance to survive. We will not be sharing them with you just because you said so. We are already here against our will, you don¡¯t want to compromise your ability to do your mission just to flex your power do you?¡±


    Jenkin¡¯s put his hand to his forehead and started to massage his temples. ¡°I think we misunderstand each other. I don¡¯t care about my power. If there was someone who would be better at my job I would gladly give up my position if it gave us a better chance to get through this. I promise you, when I said that you are now my men I meant it. If any one of my soldiers had something that could be shared to give all of us the best chance to survive I would do the same thing to them. My goal is to complete this mission with the least amount of losses possible.¡±


    Sighing, Jenkin¡¯s dropped his hand and made eye contact with Alya. ¡°How do you expect me to react when I hear that my subordinate is intentionally withholding something that could potentially save the lives of the rest of my men? But I was working with limited knowledge. When you were on your small tirade you let it slip that you brewed the potions. Is that correct?¡±


    Jenkin¡¯s words disarmed the anger that Alya felt. ¡°That is correct, we both are alchemists, and yes we know how to make healing potions.¡± Bjorn said, putting his hand on Alya¡¯s shoulder. When he did so she relaxed and withdrew her hands from the table then she took a step back.


    ¡°What would it take for you to be able to make potions for my men? I don¡¯t know how much time we will have, but I would like for you to make enough healing potions for my men to each have one. I have had them in the past in combat. I used to fight in the 4th Escarian army. Many of my men lived by a potion at the right time, closing up some of the more serious wounds. Other times it was all that was needed to make the difference, lessening a wound letting them fight on. Stamina potions would be good, but the healing potions are the more important ones.¡±


    The corporal¡¯s words gave them pause. Making eye contact Alya nodded to Bjorn. Nodding back he set his jaw. ¡°We will make these potions for you under one condition.¡±


    ¡°And what is that?¡±


    ¡°You have to let us set up Laurel¡¯s traps, she isn¡¯t a fighter, and I can promise you that she wasn¡¯t lying to you. We spent two days ago sparing and she lost every single fight that she was put into. Having her here in camp will be more of a hindrance than a help, unless you let us set up her traps. I hear your concerns, but the danger to our allies is limited, and we only really have a chance to benefit from it. If you won¡¯t let us set up the traps then I will also accept you letting her be dismissed from this fight.¡±


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Jenkin¡¯s was quiet as he thought about Bjorn¡¯s words. ¡°Fine, very well. You can set up the traps, but like how you had conditions, I also have conditions. You are allowed to take up to 5 of you. Either you or Alya are allowed to go, not both. We can¡¯t risk losing both of our alchemists to the spiders. Secondly, if you run into any resistance you need to retreat. And Thirdly, if she is able to, you have to set her traps up far enough away that they have no chance to hurt our troops, but close enough that you can easily retreat back to this position. Can you agree to that?¡±


    ¡°I can.¡±


    ¡°That works for me.¡± Bjorn said.


    ¡°Very well, then I ask again, what do you need?¡±


    So they laid out what all they needed to make enough potions for each soldier to have at least one healing potion. Herbs, vials, tools, and what they need in their workspace.


    ¡°Very well, I will put in a request, there should be a runner here in less than half an hour. With the rate the requests have been processed so far it will take roughly 8 hours for the supplies to make it here. Will that be enough time to set up your traps?¡±


    ¡°Honestly we don¡¯t know. We just trust Laurel to have our backs. We didn¡¯t know her before we were roped together a few days ago.¡± Alya said.


    ¡°Alright, get it done. When you leave can you send Tommin in. He is the guy standing outside of the tent.¡±


    As they left they sent the guard into the tent. From there it didn¡¯t take long to get back to where everyone else was sitting.


    ¡°So how did it go?¡± Meira asked.


    ¡°Surprisingly well.¡± Alya replied. ¡°At first he wanted to take our potions and redistribute them, I ¡°accidently¡± let it slip that Bjorn and I are alchemists and his tune changed rather quickly. He let us keep our potions in exchange for us to brew potions for the guards.¡±


    ¡°Another benefit that we got out of him is that Laurel you can now place your traps. We can send no more than 5 of us to protect her as she does her job. I think it should be Alaric, Meira, Rickie, Chase, and myself. The way I see it, if we send our best fighters we have the best chance to be able to return in case something does happen. Alaric, Rickie, and Chase are for sure, they will be able to hold back any attacks as we withdraw from the enemy. Meira as well, because of her spell casting, she is the only one who has the ability to stun the spiders. Lastly I think I should be the last one because of my spell casting and with my archery.¡± Bjorn said.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to convince us. We trust you and I think we are all in agreement.¡± Tayla said. Her assertion was mirrored by everyone in the group.


    ¡°You have sound reasoning. But even if you didn''t, your friends trust you, so that is good enough for me.¡± Rickie said, dropping his bunch of bananas that he called his hand on Bjorn¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Laurel, how long will it take you to set your traps?¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°If it was just me, probably all day, but if anyone else knows how to set a trap it will probably take less time.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I am willing to learn.¡± Bjorn said.


    After a moment of no one else responding Laurel nodded. ¡°Well it is better than nothing, so I will take it. We should get going, the sooner we start the sooner we can finish.¡±


    Saying a quick goodbye the 6 stood and made their way towards the entrance to the tunnel. There were 4 guards standing there looking down the tunnel. It was illuminated by the same glowing lights that illuminated the tunnels so far. The lights were placed only 150 feet down the tunnel and then past that, it was dark.


    As they approached two of the guards dug into a crate that was to the right of the tunnel and pulled out two more of the lights, handing them over. ¡°Good luck.¡± the guard said.


    The lights Chase and Alaric now carried were small fist sized orbs that emitted a soft blue glow. They were able to cast light 25 feet before the light faded enough to not be able to make out anything past it. So with a little trepidation they made their way into the dark.


    Traveling slowly forward they walked for around 10 minutes until they got to a point where the wide tunnel narrowed. The tunnel they were talking down was basically a large square, 10 feet by 10 feet wide. Where it narrowed the tunnel turned into 8 feet by 6 feet, large enough for two of them to stand side by side.


    ¡°This should work.¡± Laurel said and she dropped her pack. Chase, who had also been carrying a large pack for laurel, dropped his as well.


    Meira took the orb from Alaric and walked towards the entrance and studied the wall for a second orb in hand. She then reached out and touched the orb to the wall and let go, the orb stayed in place stuck to the wall. Stepping back she smiled. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure exactly how they got them to stay in place, but I figured our tunnel had to have something that would serve the same purpose as everywhere else down here.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Laurel, instruct me.¡± Bjorn said.


    Bending down she opened up her smaller bag and pulled out a hand powered drill and held it up to Bjorn. It was normal sized in Laurel¡¯s hands, but once it was in Bjorn¡¯s larger hand it looked like a kids toy. Next she pulled out a few different sized hammers and chisels. ¡°Alright, first thing we have to do is make it so the trap will be anchored, if we don¡¯t when something runs into the triggering mechanism then the trap won¡¯t go off. Sounds pretty straight forward right? Well it kind of is.¡±


    Laurel then took the hand drill from Bjorn and started to tunnel into the rock face, quickly making a few holes on the lower side on either side of the tunnel. Next she dug into the bag and pulled out a metal canister. She also pulled out a spool of a thin metal wire. Going back to her first bag she pulled out a small leather sack. Inside the sack were metal pitons.


    On the bottom side of the canister was a piton attached by 3 inches of wire. Taking the piton she put it into one of the holes that she dug. Once it was attached to the wall she tugged on it a few times to make sure that the piton was holding. Happy with her work she pulled out a set of pliers from her tool bag and used them to bend a few tabs on the top of the piton down onto the wire. She then took the piton and secured it to the second hole, which she tugged on the wire to make sure it wasn''t going anywhere.


    Next she took wire and walked over to where the canister was set and while keeping tension on the wire she put it into a slot in the canister. Using her pliers she bent more metal wings down holding the wire in place. Finally she cut the wire off at the spool. The entire process took around 10 minutes to do. What remained was a barely perceivable tripwire that spanned the entire tunnel.


    ¡°So this is a fire based trap. When the tripwire is tripped then the canister will shoot out a highly flammable gel and gas at the same time. After three seconds it will send a small spark which will ignite both the gel and gas burning everything within a 10 foot radius. This is one of my 5 types of traps that I have made, let¡¯s go through the other 4 and then I will watch you set one up and see how you do.¡±


    They spent the next hour and a half going through the other 4 traps, she had an acid trap, lightning trap, chilling trap, and finally a poison dart trap. As she explained the setup process to each of them Bjorn listened the best he could. All while trying to avoid being anywhere near the traps that they have already set up.


    Not every trigger mechanism was a tripwire. Each one had a different trigger mechanism and they were set up differently. The acid trap had a small barbed cable that dangled down from where they set it into the ceiling and anything that ran into the cable caught the barbs and pulled down on the string to trigger the trap. The poison dart trap was motion activated, anything that passed 4 feet in front of where it was set would trigger the trap, setting off it and shooting out a deadly poison tipped dart. The lightning trap had a pressure sensor, so when it was stepped on it would release a powerful electric shock damaging and stunning anything that stepped on it. Lastly the chilling trap also was triggered by a tripwire.


    The way that Laurel set up the traps was sinister. She would set them up in such a way that when someone would trigger a single trap they would often trigger at least one more. That way if the first trap didn¡¯t do it¡¯s job, the second or even third one will finish them off.


    After an hour of them working Bjorn got a new prompt.


    You have gained the skill: Traps. Some people set up traps to protect their stuff. Others set them up to weaken their enemies before they fight them. There is one more group, and those are cowards like you. They set their traps to avoid fighting all together.


    An added benefit of all the traps that they set. Bjorn¡¯s trap finding skill also increased several times.


    Congratulations you have advanced your skill level in Trap Finding. You have reached level 4 in trap finding. You have a 10% increased chance to spot traps.


    Over the 10 hours that they spent setting up traps in the tunnel they didn¡¯t see any signs of spiders. Everyone stayed on guard though. They had no idea when exactly the spiders would come down this tunnel or if they would at all.


    When they finished up with the trap setting they packed up their tools and taking their bags made their way out of the tunnel back to where the guards were waiting. Before they left Bjorn looked back taking in their work. He was bringing up the back of the pack, and with him having light magic they gave the two lights to Alaric and Chase again.


    The tunnel behind him, the pitch black tunnel was awash in red lines. From each of the traps that they set there was a small red light that spanned the tunnel from where the trap started to where it ended. ¡°Hey Laurel.¡± Bjorn called, his words stopped the column and they all turned back to where Bjorn was standing. ¡°It''s alright guys, I just have a question for Laurel.¡±


    His words made everyone visibly relax and Laurel made her way over to where Bjorn was standing looking back. ¡°Do you know why there are red lines in our tunnel?¡±


    A look of confusion briefly crossed Laurel¡¯s face before understanding dawned on her face. ¡°I am assuming you have gained some sort of perception skill, is that the case?¡±


    ¡°Yeah trap finding.¡± Bjorn said.


    ¡°That is what the lines are, you have spotted the trap and so the triggering mechanisms are highlighted for you.¡±


    ¡°But won¡¯t it trip others off about the traps? If someone has trap finding as a skill won¡¯t our triggering mechanisms tip them off on our traps.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No, by the way I understand it. Just because you have trap finding as a skill doesn¡¯t mean that all traps will be highlighted. When you look at the trap the red lines will only appear if you are able to spot the trap. If you don''t, your skill won¡¯t do you any good. Because of your skill though you will have an advantage over anyone who doesn¡¯t. If you spot the trap or the triggering mechanism it will likely show you both the trap and the triggering mechanism making it easier for you to avoid both and safely disable them.¡±


    ¡°Ah thank you, but the fact remains, if any of the spiders have a trap finding skill then these traps will be useless.¡±


    ¡°If they have a trap finding skill then yes. But I doubt that they will.¡±


    ¡°So you''re saying that spiders, who are famous for building nests that are basically one major trap won¡¯t by default have some sort of trap finding skill.¡±


    Laurel was quiet for a moment. ¡°I see your point, and I now feel foolish for suggesting that they probably won¡¯t have a skill like that. I would like to formally retake my foolish statement.¡±


    Bjorn smiled. ¡°That is fair, alright let¡¯s make our way back to camp. I have potions to brew for the greedy guards.¡± That got a laugh out of everyone. So they made a hasty uneventful retreat back to camp.


    When they rounded a corner and could see the camp¡¯s light at the end of the tunnel a shout echoed down the tunnel. ¡°Corporal, there is a light coming. If I was to guess it is our saboteur expedition.¡±


    As they got close the small light off in the distance in the tunnel grew and soon they were able to make out shapes against the light. When they left there were 5 guards stationed at the tunnel entrance. There were well over 20 men across the entrance to the tunnel. The soldiers were decked out in their armor and held all of their weapons at the ready and stood their ground. It looked like a motley crew of men. Even though all of their armor was almost the exact same they had all different kinds of weapons. There were 6 different kinds of weapons being brandished. Swords, hammers, spears, halberds, ax¡¯s and finally pikes. There didn¡¯t seem to be any real rhyme or reason as to what any given person had.


    Bjorn mentally chuckled at the sight. Even though the force before them was formidable. If the same force had been on earth during the medieval period they wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance. A Lot of armies that had success were all armed with the same type of weapons and they presented a unified front. Even though each one of these guards would most likely win in a one on one fight or even a two on one fight, the likelihood of winning in a straight up fair number fight seemed slim. The only thing they had going for them was that the people of this world would all be considered world class athletes back on earth.


    ¡°Halt, state your name.¡± The voice they heard earlier came echoing down the tunnel again when they were roughly 100 feet from the blockade.


    Rickie bellowed back. ¡°We are the saboteur team back from our mission. It was a success, if any of the spiders come that way we should get a heads up by the sound of the traps getting set off.¡±


    There was a brief silence before the guard called back. ¡°Alright, you may come forward, let us get a good look at you.¡±


    The entire thing felt like a show. They were close enough that everyone could see that they were indeed the party returning. Regardless they made their way forward moving up to the blockade.


    ¡°I am sorry, we can¡¯t be too careful.¡± The guard said when they were within 5 feet of each other. ¡°I also am under orders that we need to see each of you stripped down to make sure that there aren¡¯t any spiders hiding within your bodies. Don¡¯t worry it doesn¡¯t have to happen here, but everyone will be accompanied by at least two guards into a tent to be inspected.¡± He paused for a second and looked Rickie up and down. ¡°Uh, that is everyone except for you Rickie. Your already basically naked, so we can tell that you aren¡¯t infected.¡±


    Alaric chuckled. ¡°That is fair, besides I am pretty sure the only monster that you need to worry about with Rickie is the one between his legs.¡±


    The guard they were talking to stood there dumb founded for a second Before Bjorn decided to break the silence. ¡°Well with that unwanted mental picture. What are we waiting for, let¡¯s get going.¡± Bjorn¡¯s words broke the stillness that filled the room and smirks and chuckles could be seen and heard sporadically in the assembled host in front of them.


    Clearing his throat. ¡°Yes, let''s.¡± and the host opened up a hole big enough for everyone to come into camp. Slowly, one by one they went into a tent and got checked out, making sure that there weren''t any wounds on people''s bodies. When all the guys were searched the two male guards came out of the tent and two of the female guards went in to check the women. Once everyone got the all clear tensions died down and people started to slowly dispersed throughout camp, leaving only 5 people on watch again.


    Meira was the last to be checked and she came out of the tent followed by the two women guards. ¡°So why did we have to do this? We were able to talk to you, if the spiders hijacked our bodies then we wouldn¡¯t have been able to talk to you.¡±


    The half elf guard smiled back at Meira. ¡°Trust me, I am with you, I find it stupid. But Jenkins is convinced that if the spiders are intelligent enough to take your body and puppet them, then they could be intelligent enough to learn how to speak as well.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°I know it sounds far-fetched, and Corporal sent his idea up the chain trying to make sure that everyone takes the same precautions that we are. Captain sent back a message saying that nothing in the records suggests that the spiders are able to do that, and his suggestion is a little outlandish. But the Corporal insists that we take those precautions.¡±


    Meira shrugged. ¡°Well it isn¡¯t that bad of a precaution. All it took me was showing some skin to you, it¡¯s no big deal.¡±


    ¡°Exactly my thought. Although the messengers really complained when they came into camp and they were subjected to the same treatment. Same thing happened when the supply train came to camp. Honestly though if he doesn¡¯t stop with the full body searches then he will become the laughing stock of the guard. People will talk and everyone thinks that it is ridiculous.¡±


    As they talked, Meira and the guard walked together through camp and ducked into a tent together. In the meantime Bjorn was already around the fire with Alya and they were working together to brew more potions. This time everything they worked with was supplied by the city guard instead of out of their pockets. Which worked out in their favor, they basically got free alchemy training.


    It was exactly a day since they moved down into the tunnel when another set of runners came into camp. They brought news that everyone is now in place and all preparations have been made, and that the assault will begin in one hour. After they delivered the message the runners left the camp heading to the next camp.


    When the runners left everyone got ready and stood ready. Jenkins doubled the amount of people standing guard. After the time came and went there was no change at their camp. Eventually Bjorn and Alya got bored of standing around waiting and went back to doing alchemy.


    10 hours after the assault began Alya and Bjorn finished making at least one dose of potion for everyone. So they passed out all 30 potions one to each of the guards, the remaining 5 potions went to Jenkins for him to pass them out how he saw fit. They were lucky, during the entire brewing process they only lost one batch of potions. They lost it early in the brewing process so they lost little time. It only took 6 batches total to brew the 30 potions that they made.


    In the middle of making a set of stamina potions for the guard a piercing shriek echoed through the tunnel. Coming from the direction of the spider¡¯s lair. The shriek was accompanied by a low electronic thrum. After a second a loud bang echoed through the tunnel.


    The loud sounds made everyone stop what they were doing and stand in place, no one really knowing what to make of the sound. Everyone expect for Laurel that is. Her tiny voice soon could be heard through the silence that followed. ¡°That was the sound of my Lightning trap. What are you all standing around for? That sound means the spiders are coming, or at least one of them did. Let¡¯s go! Get ready!¡±


    The gnome¡¯s voice broke the fragile silence that had settled over the camp, and everyone burst into action. Soon the camp became a flurry of activity as everyone tried to prepare for a fight. There had previously been 5 guards who stood guard at the tunnel entrance. Soon everyone made their way to the tunnel entrance in ones and twos as people had been in different states of readiness.


    It didn¡¯t take long for everyone to be standing at attention waiting for the spiders to attack.

 Chapter 32

    It was quiet, almost too quiet as everyone stood at attention waiting for the sounds of more traps being set off. You could almost cut the tension with a knife. Standing near the back of the crowd with Meira, Bjorn could feel the apprehension that invaded the group. No one had any idea what exactly they would face here. The only one¡¯s in camp who had fought the spiders before were Bjorn and his friends. Everyone else didn¡¯t know what to really expect to come down the tunnel. They had all been briefed on what to expect, but there was a massive gap in knowing what to expect and having experienced the ferocity of the snatcher spiders.


    The way that the group was lined out was with all 25 guards in three lines across the tunnel entrance. The first row all had large heavy tower shields presenting a unified shield wall. The row behind were the guards who had longer handled weapons, they were the ones with the spears, halberds, and poleaxes. The next row back were the guards who had the shorter handled weapons, such as the maces, axs, and swords. Second to last was the line of conscripts. This line consisted of Rickie, Alaric, Chase, Bente, and Rypley. Their job was the fill in the line if there was ever a breach. The last line was less of a line and more a blob, it consisted of Tayla, Bjorn, Meira, Alya, and Laurel. Tayla¡¯s job was to make sure nothing unexpected happened to the magic casters and ranged damage dealers in the back.


    They all stood there and waited, and waited. 15 minutes passed without another sound coming from down the tunnel. Laurel pulled lightly on Bjorn¡¯s pant leg. Understanding what she wanted Bjorn slowly took a knee allowing Laurel to whisper into his ear. ¡°I know that my traps killed something for sure. I got experience, at least enough to get me a level. That wouldn¡¯t have happened if my traps hadn¡¯t been successful.¡±


    Bjorn whispered back. ¡°That is good to know, thank you. You should go and share that with Jenkins, I have a feeling he would want to know.¡±


    Laurel gave a quick nod before she made her way through the gathered host towards Jenkins. He was standing in the middle of the arrangement, In the third row, and almost in the middle of that third row.  When she got to him she did the exact same motion to Jenkins that she did with Bjorn. To his credit, instead of blowing up at Laurel, Jenkins knelt down and put his ear within easy speaking distance for Laurel. After almost a minute of speaking back and forth the man stood while Laurel made her way back to where the backline stood.  Bjorn and Laurel briefly made eye contact before she averted her eyes and returned to staring down the passage.


    At the half an hour mark the tension was starting to die down and people were standing to relax a bit. Jenkins turned back and made eye contact with Bjorn. ¡°Captain gram told me you have access to light magic. Do you have any spells that can light up further down the tunnel?¡± In the quiet of the room Jenkins had to speak in almost a regular speaking voice to be heard.


    ¡°I have one.¡± Bjorn replied.


    ¡°Would you give us some extra light down this tunnel.¡± Jenkins said in a tone that was almost a request, but was more of a military command.


    Disregarding the obvious command in Jenkins voice Bjorn began casting his simple light spell. When the pale glow faded and a ball of light had taken its place Bjorn held it aloft. The extra light from the ball of light wasn¡¯t enough to illuminate the rest of the tunnel, but that wasn¡¯t what Bjorn was hoping to accomplish.


    Instead he drew his arm back and did a small flicking motion to get the ball of light to separate from its place, suspended 3 inches over Bjorn¡¯s palm. In doing so the ball of light dislodged itself and flew down the tunnel in an almost perfectly straight line. The flicking motion was entirely unless Bjorn was able to control where the orb moved to with a thought of his mind. But some small childish part of his mind did the action anyway because Bjorn felt it looked cool. It in fact did not look cool.


    The orb traveled its 150 feet and stopped moving, instead being suspended in the middle of the cavern. Due to supply issues and the short amount of time they had to get ready for this operation the camp only really had enough lamps to provide 100 feet of light down the tunnel. Jenkins asked for more lamps, but his request was denied, stating that other more critical areas needed the lamps.


    Having the extra 50 feet of illumination helped give them an idea of what was happening. Which was nothing. Unfortunately for the contingent the tunnel traveled a ways further before it turned.


    And so they waited, after 10 minutes the spell''s time elapsed and the tunnel once again plunged into darkness. Once the light spell ran out of energy Bjorn cast his simple light spell again, and then again after 10 more minutes elapsed.


    Finally after the fourth time casting the same spell Jenkins grew impatient. All together they had an extra 6 of the wall mounted magical lamps. Jenkins had them passed out to the third line of soldiers and then had them hold the lamps above their heads.


    ¡°Alright, let''s head down the tunnel and find out what that noise was.¡± Jenkins'' voice once again sounded loud in the still underground.


    As the first line started to pick up their massive tower shields a thought crossed Bjorn¡¯s mind. ¡°Corporal, why don''t I cast my simple light spell and have the orbs affixed to the front of the shield wall?¡±


    Jenkins paused for a moment before turning towards Bjorn. ¡°That is because I had no idea you could affix your spell to an object. If you would be so kind as to do so. I would greatly appreciate it.¡±


    The ranks of troops split to let Bjorn make his way towards the front of the line. ¡°I also would appreciate it if you would let me know about any potential use your magics have. I am not a spellcaster, so I don''t know how your spells work. I would order you to give me a detailed list of what your spells can do, but as I understand it that would be extremely rude.¡±


    ¡°I will try to be more forthcoming with any benefit I can provide.¡± Bjorn said with a touch of anger in his voice. He was annoyed at Jenkins'' reaction to Bjorn¡¯s assistance. After all, first he was basically press ganged into helping the city fight off the spiders, next he was given an ultimatum to either brew potions for the guards or they would take all of the potions from their group. They would have plenty of success in doing so, as the guards outnumbered them two and a half to one. Then lastly Jenkins gave Bjorn attitude for coming up with a solution that gave them a better chance to spot any rogue spider they came across.


    It was at that moment that Bjorn vowed to himself that if he had the chance to save Jenkins'' life he would not do so.


    With Bjorn''s internal thoughts unbeknownst to Jenkins he continued. ¡°Hurry up, we don''t know if something is crawling along the passage towards us.¡±


    His words had an effect on Bjorn as he stood there and grounded his teeth. Bjorn quickly applied 4 balls of light to the 7 shields that comprised their front line. After he moved back to his position in the formation.


    The way Bjorn moved back into position drew Meira''s attention. She could see his angry expression, the clenched fists, his tight back, and the slow deliberate way he walked. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Meira whispered to Bjorn when he retook his place next to her.


    Through clenched teeth he replied. ¡°Later.¡±


    With their formation being able to see better Jenkins gave the order to start advancing down the tunnel. Slowly they made their way forward, making sure to not drop their guard whatsoever. As they advanced every person was on edge as they scanned the darkness in front of them, or they scanned the walls and ceiling for any tell tale sign of a spider.


    Their movement forward was almost excruciatingly slow. What took them ten minutes of light walking before now took them half an hour. Three times they stopped so Bjorn could refresh the lights on the front of the shield wall. All the while everyone was on high alert.


    When they got to the tunnel where Bjorn and Laurel boobytrapped he cast another simple light spell and sent it careening down the tunnel. Near the end of where they laid the traps something had changed. On the ground lay a spider''s corpse. It lay on its back and had 5 legs curled up towards its center. The remaining three legs laid scattered across the ground periodically. This spider was larger than the one that Bjorn, Alaric, Meira, and Tayla had fought, by a good margin. The first spider they fought was 3 feet long from head to spinners. This one was 4 and a half feet long.


    Everyone stood there in silence looking at the spider. While they looked past and saw no spiders further down the tunnel they decided to make their way back to camp. Just as slowly as they had moved forward they made their way backwards one slow step at a time.


    When they made it back to camp Rypley had an idea. ¡°Why don''t we put one of our spare lamps at the corner of the tunnel. That way we get ourselves an extra 150 feet of vision.¡±


    Jenkins only had to think about it for a second before he ordered his men to leave one of the lamps behind while they made their slow retreat. ¡°Good idea, I don''t know why I didn''t think of that. Honestly foolish of me. Must be the lack of sleep.¡±


    Shaking in anger Bjorn was about to say something when Meira''s hand reached out and she placed it on his arm. ¡°It''s okay, later.¡± before she used his arm to guide him back further into camp. They found a secluded corner in camp and Meira sat with her back to the wall. She then motioned for Bjorn to sit next to her.


    ¡°Alright what is going on with you?¡± Meira asked. ¡°You slapping out that sprite, then you getting mad at Jenkins. What is happening? You normally aren''t so angry, you normally are a happy person.¡±


    The silence between the two grew as Bjorn started to work through things mentally. She neither pushed or prompted Bjorn any further, trusting him to answer when ready. ¡°I don''t fully know why I am losing my temper lately.¡± Was his only reply.


    ¡°There is something going on in your mind that is affecting you so negatively. I want to know what it is and how I can''t help.¡±


    Taking a deep breath Bjorn let it out slowly. ¡°I still don''t know, but I guess it has something to do with how helpless I feel. Don''t get me wrong this world is a wonderful place, but I keep finding myself in positions where I have little control over my life.¡±


    ¡°Like how we were basically forced to be here and aren''t allowed to leave?¡±


    ¡°That is exactly like what I am talking about. I don''t care about the city, I don''t care about the people here. Why do we have to be here and help them save this city? Blackrock Bay was only a means to an end. Why do we have to stay and help defend them?¡±


    ¡°We have to because they hold the power.¡± Meira said.


    ¡°And there lies the issue. For the first time in my life I have some measure of power. I have magic, I have strength that I never had in my past life, and I have skills that I never had. I never knew how to fight, I never needed to do so to survive.¡± Bjorn broke off his rant and sighed. ¡°I guess I am just mainly frustrated at the fact that even though I am the strongest I have ever been, it still isn''t enough.¡±


    They were sitting side by side and looking forward, Bjorn turned and looked directly into Meira''s eyes. ¡°I swore when we got away from the gnolls that we would never be slaves again. Tell me, how is this any different than being slaves?¡±


    Meira thought about it. ¡°I don''t know, some part of me deep down says that it is different. I just don''t know how to put that difference into words.¡±


    ¡°I don''t think it is any different. Sure we have our magics, and our weapons, but we aren''t free to do with them what we want. Sure we could leave, but I am not confident that we could find a way out of here before we were caught and killed or imprisoned. So leaving isn''t an option, so we just have to stay here and fight for a city with no promise of being compensated?¡±


    ¡°I guess so.¡±


    ¡°That doesn''t sit right with me, if they expect us to fight for their city they should reward us. That isn''t the case.¡±


    Bjorn put his back to the wall again and fell quiet. Meira filled the gap. ¡°they did compensate us, you and I both got more spells. Our spells would have cost us each several gold which we don''t have. Tayla might with her extra money, and Alaric got his awesome hammer.¡±


    ¡°True, but that wasn''t a reward for us to fight down here, that was a reward and apology equally. The reward for giving them the means to know about the snatcher spiders, and to apologize for how we were treated for us revealing the danger. No, our pay wasn''t out of anything they feel they owe us, it was to make them feel better about their actions.¡±


    ¡°You have a point, but can you honestly say that without our participation then less people will die? I can honestly say that Blackrock Bay has a better chance to survive with us here. I personally don''t want to condemn the thousands that live right above our heads to death because we didn''t want to fight a few spiders.¡±


    ¡°You are right, with us here some people are less likely to die, but that is because we take on that risk in their stead. Is our lives worth losing just to slightly increase the chances of the town above us surviving? I don''t have an answer, I wish I did, but I don''t.¡±


    Meira laid her head back against the wall they were sitting against. ¡°I don''t have an answer for you, only you can answer that for yourself. As for me personally, I am happy to make that choice. Almost everyone who is down here has made that choice and they are happy with it.¡±


    ¡°That''s just it, if they had presented me with the choice I think I would have been fine making it, and I would have made the choice to leave. The only reason we tried to leave was because of Alaric. If the choice wasn''t made for me, I think I would have been fine being down here, but as it stands we don''t have that freedom. Because of that we are more or less slaves.¡±


    ¡°That''s fair, but why is Jenkins the center of your anger? He is just trying to do his job.¡±


    ¡°It is the way he is going about doing things. I am angry at him because of the ultimatums he has given us. ¡®Either hand over all of your potions or we will take them.¡¯ The only thing that stopped him was Alya, and that was because she let him know that we can make him some. But it didn''t truly stop him, it turned his ultimatum into brew us some potions or we will take your potions. He is a little tyrant and I hate them. If he had asked, maybe I would have made him potions without it bothering me. But so far he seems to be going about everything in such a way to belittle us.¡±


    ¡°I understand that, it feels like he doesn''t respect us and just views us as a tool.¡± Meira commented.


    ¡°Exactly! He is a little tyrant that has been giving power over us without our consent and he seems to be exercising that power in such a way to alienate us. His men are nice in their own right, but Jenkins treats us as if we are expendable, and that we are lesser than anyone else down here.¡±


    ¡°We did try to leave town after all, when we knew we weren''t supposed to do so. Because of that we had to be escorted to the guardhouse to ensure our cooperation. I have little doubt that he knows about that and views us as lesser because we were trying to run in his eyes.¡±


    ¡°And that aggravates me, we shouldn''t have to cooperate. We are being forced to help defend something we don''t care about. We have no vested interest in seeing this city survive. Because of that we are being punished by someone given temporary power over us. His choice to treat us as a stain he has to live with is completely unjustified.¡±


    ¡°Yeah I agree, it isn''t fair, but it is how things are playing out. All we have to do is endure it and survive, as we always have.¡± As she said that her hand fell on top of where Bjorn''s had been laying uselessly at his side. ¡°When this is all over we can leave and move to bigger and better things. We have each other as we always have, I know Alaric feels the same, and I am almost certain Tayla does as well. She may have her issues, but I think she finally feels at home with us. I think it is something we all have been searching for, just a place to belong.¡±


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°Thank you for listening, you don''t know how much it means to me.¡± Bjorn said as he pushed himself onto his feet and held his hand out for Meira to take. ¡°Come on let''s go see what they are up to, they probably are getting into some sort of trouble, at least if i know Tayla she is.¡± Meira took his hand and he pulled her to her feet, they then started walking back into camp while talking about small things.


    The next two days drug on. Bjorn¡¯s time was split three ways, brewing, eating, and sleeping. Alya and Bjorn started working on making stamina potions for each of the guards, again at the ¡®request¡¯ of Jenkins. They were once again told to brew potions or they would take all of the potions from the conscripts. So not really given a choice they started the brewing process for stamina potions. When he wasn¡¯t brewing he ate and then slept. He and Alya staggered their sleep by about 10 hours. That way one of them was always making potions.


    They were fortunate because of their alchemy abilities. Jenkins had everyone else take turns watching the tunnel in 8 hour shifts. Each shift consisted of 5 people, usually a mix of guards and conscripts. It was never all 5 conscripts at the same time. Jenkins made sure that each shift had more guards then not. In this case everyone was assigned a shift all except for Bjorn and Alya, the corporal decided that their skills were ¡®better suited elsewhere¡¯.


    Twice each day a pair of runners would make their way into camp and would give a progress report. The main force was fighting against the spiders and were slowly making headway. The spiders were surprisingly proficient in military tactics. Instead of throwing themselves fully into the fight they would fight until tired or wounded and then retreat if they could. The exact same thing that the humanoids did as they tried to advance further into spider held territory. According to what they knew about the spiders their actions were highly unusual, by all accounts they were normally unthinking beasts that would throw their lives away trying to kill their opponents if they were caught outside of a body.


    Stories came through the runners of people fighting who got drug into the spiders camp and within an hour were seen trying to sneak through the humanoid combat line to sow chaos. Each time the spiders failed to succeed with that gambit. Instead when they came within easy ambushing distance the spiders would often burst forth from the bodies trying to attack and take down their assailants.


    They also brought news that of the side tunnels three had been attacked so far. Two were successful in stopping the spiders from breaking free. One was unfortunately lost, and today they broke a small group off of the main army to reclaim the tunnel and search the surrounding tunnel to find any stragglers. In the evening of the second day word came down that they were able to retake the tunnel and re-secure it. The small garrison was a total loss, they were also stationed with 30 people and by the description they think every single one of the bodies was accounted for. The difference between the bodies found and what the spiders normally did made chills run down their spines.


    Normally the spiders inject a venom that liquefies their prey¡¯s bones and then they drink that slurry. This time the corpses were actually torn apart, and small chunks of flesh could be found scattered all over camp. They were not able to find any trace of bone though, so it was hard to tell how many bodies they actually found. The sheer brutality of the scene was hard to look at. At least that is how the messenger described it.


    Each time the runners showed up they went into the tent to be briefed by Jenkins on the situation of the camp. They would disappear for 15 minutes to half an hour each time as they exchanged reports, and gave out messages. When they left they normally left the tent putting papers into their satchels. Apparently they were requests for additional supplies or additional men.


    The worst part of all of this was always being on high alert. It didn¡¯t matter what they were doing, every single unusual sound set everyone on edge. It didn¡¯t matter if you were quietly eating, or in a quiet conversation with someone else, or even relieving yourself. They were in an intense cave system under the ground, that was a recipe for odd sounds to sound periodically. Each and every single time the sound of rock hitting rock, or there would be a groan, or even the sound of something scraping on something everyone in camp would snap to attention. By the end of the third day people''s wits were starting to fray from the constant vigilence.


    On the second day a guarded wagon made its way into camp and started offloading food and other supplies. They offloaded enough food to feed the 30 plus strong force of militia, more herbs, more lamps, and a hundred other small things that they needed in camp to survive. All in all they took roughly half of all of the boxes that filled the back of the wagon.


    One thing that was a surprise was Rickie. As it turned out he actually was quite a proficient chef. Most of the food that they ate was dried, hardtack. When the wagon came into camp on the second day one of the boxes they offloaded was a large cauldron and spices. It was rather unexpected, as they figured that it would be useless in camp. Rickie proved everyone wrong though, that night he set to making a rather savory thick stew that everyone got a large portion of. Most everyone ended up wanting seconds, Rickie was prepared for that outcome, making more than enough for everyone. The only ones who didn¡¯t get a second helping were the people on duty watching the tunnel. As it turned out the people of the Eld understood that overeating led to drowsiness.


    For the first time in two days everyone slept easily that night. With their bellies full with delicious stew it didn¡¯t take long for most everyone to drift off to sleep.


    Loud snicks and cracks of thunder echoed through the halls as everyone jolted awake early in the morning on the third day. Inhuman wails echoed soon after. Groggily Bjorn slowly sat up, he had been in a deep restless sleep when the sounds stirred his consciousness. It took a second for his head to clear and for him to register what that sound meant.


    In a flash he was at full alertness as he looked around trying to see if anyone else needed to be awakened. Bjorn shared a tent with Alaric who was already stumbling to his feet trying to grab his shield and hammer from where it lay next to his bedroll on the cold hard stone.


    One thing that Jenkins had ordered was for everyone to be ready at all hours of the day. Because of that order everyone had to wear their armor at all times. At first it was an annoyance, as Bjorn wasn¡¯t use to wearing the slightly bulky and heavy ringmail. By the time the third day rolled around though he was considerably more used to moving around in the unwieldy armor. So when he rolled out of bed he barely even noticed anymore.


    Pushing himself to his feet Alaric had grabbed his shield and hammer. With his hammer in his belt he had moved to strapping his arm into his new shield. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t dilly dally.¡± Alaric said to Bjorn as he flailed around trying to untangle himself from his bedroll. Alaric¡¯s words were punctuated by the sound of the traps continuing to be set off.


    Finally free Bjorn and Alaric made their way out of their tent and joined the stream of people pouring towards the tunnel entrance they were guarding. Rather quickly everyone had made it into place and they stood there at attention ready for whatever came their way. The sounds of traps being set off and the accompanying sounds of suffering just made everyone more and more apprehensive.


    When the sounds ceased to echo down the tunnel Jenkins thinned his lips and barked an order. ¡°Hold steady, I think this is it. I think they are going to try and break through finally.¡±


    Even though his words seemed obvious to everyone standing there his calm voice had an effect on his troops. As his words sounded out over the frightened guards Bjorn could see them standing straighter and squaring their shoulders. There was a sense of calmness that radiated off of Jenkins.


    Jenkins looked around at this assembled force and eventually he locked eyes with Bjorn. When he did, a notification popped up in the middle of Bjorn¡¯s vision.


    You have been invited to join war leader Jenkins warband. Do you wish to join? Yes/No.


    Unsure of what was happening Bjorn mentally clicked yes. As he did so Bjorn¡¯s vision completely changed. In the lower right hand of his vision Bjorn saw 10 names with his being at the very bottom of that list. A few other notable people who were on that list was Jenkins himself at the top of the list. To the left of his name was a little star symbol. Others were Bjorn, Meira, Rickie, and Tommin, Jenkins right hand man in camp. The other 5 people on the list were other guards that Bjorn hadn¡¯t really taken the time to get to join their names, so he wasn¡¯t able to put faces to the names he saw. Most people had a symbol next to their name, Bjorn did not.


    Warband leader Jenkins has assigned you to the role of scout. Do you wish to accept this role? Yes/No.


    Mentally clicking ¡®yes¡¯ the lack of a symbol changed and Bjorn got an eagle eye symbol appeared next to his name. When the symbol appeared next to his name Bjorn¡¯s vision changed once again. Now when he was looking he was able to see the names, and levels of each person in the warband. Looking at his surroundings he noticed that each of the warbands members had a green outline surrounding them, with Jenkins having a purple outline.


    Turning toward Meira he was about to ask a question when she put one of her fingers to her lips. ¡°I¡¯ll explain what I know about the Warleader skill to you later.¡±


    Once again Bjorn¡¯s vision changed slightly as a small winged staff appeared next to one of the band members'' names. When it did, the names in the lower right hand corner of his vision all gained a full small red bar next to their names. Once again when he looked at individual members of the warband the same red bar appeared over their heads matching the small one in the corner of his vision.


    ¡°It¡¯s their health.¡± Meira said quietly as understanding dawned upon her. She was undoubtedly correct as Bjorn looked around.


    You have been affected by your Warleader''s aura. His aura has a calming effect on all of those affected. Your nerves have been settled and you have a 20% increased chance to keep your cool in high stress situations.


    Everyone who is not within the warband, but is instead within its sphere of influence of the aura will benefit from a lesser effect of the aura. Instead of a 20% chance, they will only have a 10% chance.


    So many questions flooded through Bjorn¡¯s mind. Just when he thought they were getting used to the oddities of this world something else comes along and upends his understanding. Once again Bjorn was struck by how video games like this world was at times.


    Soon the screeches and the loud noises of the traps being set off stopped. ¡°Everyone be ready!¡± Jenkins called out.


    They stood there in silence for around 5 minutes before they started to hear a slight skittering sound. The slight sound suddenly grew in intensity and it was getting louder, fast. Everyone prepared for the fight they knew was finally coming and set their weapons. The first line set their shields, the second line rested the shafts of their weapons on the shoulders of the soldiers in front of them, allowing their spears and halberds to rest on top of the shield wall as well. The remaining lines all hefted their weapons, everyone was present.


    ¡°They made it through the traps.¡± Laurel called out. ¡°I stopped getting experience. Either the force stopped coming, or they triggered all of the traps.¡±


    As she spoke Bjorn looked down on the gnome woman. Before his very eyes he could see her body change slightly. She grew slightly taller and her almost lanky frame filled out slightly. He could see her arms and legs grow tight as her muscles became leaner. Finally her entire body looked to become lighter as she looked to become lighter on her feet and slightly more graceful.


    The quizzical look Bjorn gave her made her dart a quick glance at him before her entire focus returned to the roof of the tunnel as she couldn¡¯t see over all of the larger people arrayed before her. ¡°I gained two levels.¡± She stated simply.


    This was the first time Bjorn saw for his own eyes as people allocated their stat points from their level ups. For a lack of a better term, it was amazing to watch someone else¡¯s body change so rapidly and dramatically that he was able to see it with his naked eye. He absently wondered if that was what he looked like when he allocated his stat points as he turned his attention back to the tunnel.


    They didn¡¯t have to wait for long before spiders came spilling out from around the corner. They were running on every available surface, the troop of soldiers stood in horror as they watched spiders come by the dozen.


    ¡°Hold steady.¡± Came Jenkins'' calming voice.


    Soon Bjorn started to focus on individual spiders to use his identify ability on them. When he did so each individual spider would become outlined in red, and the level of the spider would be on clear display.


    Jenkins quickly gave Bjorn a surprised look, but he didn¡¯t notice. He was focused on the incoming wave of spiders.


    Meira was the one to draw the first blood. She started to cast a spell that she hadn¡¯t cast before. As she started to chant a pale yellow glow surrounded her hands and her eyes changed color to match the same yellow glow. Her entire eye became the same color as the glow that filled her hand. As the chant continued a thin layer of mist started to condense around her hand. Above her hand a small ball the same color started to condense. The mist was being drawn into the ball creating a swirling vortex look. When she finished her chanting she pushed her hand forward and the ball shot forth from her hand. It traveled down the hall and when it neared the end of the tunnel the ball abruptly stopped as if it ran into a wall. From there the ball rapidly expanded and soon it covered the entire tunnel in a thick mist.


    Something didn¡¯t quite feel right to Bjorn, he wasn¡¯t able to put his finger on it at first, but soon he understood it. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and he could feel the static electricity start to build in the air.


    Once the ball was on its way Meira quickly followed it up by casting a second spell, this one was faster to cast and soon she finished. Just when Bjorn began to feel the static build up a shimmering wall of pure condensed air sprung up in between her first spell and the blockade. Effectively blocking off the tunnel and cutting off the stream of spiders momentarily.


    As this was going on their few other ranged fighters didn¡¯t stand still. Alya shouldered her crossbow and began to shoot her heavy blunted bolts at the spiders. She wasn¡¯t a good shot but it didn¡¯t matter in this situation as the amount of spiders made it almost impossible for her to miss.


    Bjorn also hadn¡¯t been stationary. When the sound had stopped Bjorn had cast a new spell for him, bark skin. He cast it upon Rickie as the man¡¯s almost naked body looked like a prime target for the spider''s fangs to sink into. With the spell still having a two and a half minute cooldown he waited for the spiders to come into view.


    As soon as he saw them round the corner Bjorn began to cast another new spell. A small ball of white light streaked with a vivid red condensed around his hand and he shot it into the ceiling above their heads, aiming right for the middle of the blockade. The white and red ball collided with the ceiling and stuck fast, bathing the surrounding area and everyone in it in its soft reddish light. Everyone got a prompt.


    You have been bathed in a strengthening light. The effect of your strength attribute has been increased by 5%


    As he watched it seemed like everyone¡¯s muscles grew ever so slightly as the ball of light bathed the area in its pale light.


    Immediately after finishing his strengthening light spell Bjorn began casting a third new spell. He mentally targeted one of the spider''s in the lead and started chanting.


    Half way through the chant Meira''s first spell started to come to fruition. On the far side of her condensed air barrier the cloud of mist that had disbursed started to condense again. As the mist was being drawn back into the center the static electrical feeling in the air intensified. Then lightning bolts began to shoot out of the ball of mist slamming into the spider''s lining the walls of the tunnel.


    By then the spiders were almost upon them. The spiders that were on the ground slammed forward into the shield wall stopping their progress forward as the men behind the shields braced against the ground to absorb part of the charge. The second line right behind the shield wall used their own bodies to brace the men in front of them and take the rest of the charging force. The spiders on the walls and ceiling weren''t really stopped.


    To combat the spiders on the walls the second line moved their spears and pikes to stab at the spiders above their heads, stopping their momentum. So far the third line was basically useless as they stood there trying to help where they could. But unfortunately with their shorter weapons there wasn''t much they could do to help so far.


    Bjorn''s third spell finished casting as a light blue tendril started to drain out of the spider his spell was targeting. The tendril made its way through the melee and ran straight towards Bjorn''s outstretched hand. The channeled spell of weak desiccate started to rapidly drain Bjorn''s mana pool. When he started casting his third spell his mana pool had already almost been dropped by a third. Now as he drained the water out of his victim the bar started to plummet.


    After 7 seconds of channeling he finally saw results. By the 5th and 6th seconds the steady stream of water leaving the spider turned into a crawl. At the end of the 7th second one final glob of water made its way out of the spider''s husk. Once the last bit of water left the spider''s body its desiccated body fell to the ground with a thunk, falling on top of the spiders that were assaulting the shield wall.


    Although his new spell was certainly effective, it was infeasible to use it multiple times during this fight. His mana pool was already under a third after casting only three spells. With it taking 7 seconds to dry out the spider fully he didn''t want to continue using that spell. Mentally Bjorn swore he would start dedicating more of his stat points to his mental skills. Sure he could use one of his mana potions to regain his lost mana. But he didn''t want to use up his once a day potion just yet.


    Resolving to save that limited resource Bjorn began to cast his cast stone spell. Bjorn chucked a few of the newly formed stone orbs that made their way out from the stone in the walls around them. The stones had a much greater effect on the spiders for less of a mana cost. Even though each stone he cast didn''t kill a spider it did do considerable damage. The bone-like nature of the spider''s carapace made the blunt force trauma from the stones considerably more effective. Each stone that landed either greatly wounded the spider or it crippled it. Making it easier for those on the ground to finish off the wounded spider.


    For the moment it looked like their line would hold. The moment Bjorn had that thought everything changed as spiders started to sneak past the line of pikes and spears. Fortunately the shield wall held strong. Two spiders broke through and dropped down on top of the second line''s heads.


    When the two great Dane sized spiders dropped down into the midst of the second line chaos briefly ensued. The pike wall briefly broke letting 3 more spiders slip through and into their ranks. Fortunately the 3rd line did their job, they quickly filled in the spaces that the spiders created and a furious melee sprung up.


    This didn¡¯t bode well for their chances to win the fight. Less than a minute in and spiders were already amongst their ranks. Regardless, the third row of guards quickly fell on the spiders that got through. Angered by his inability to do anything Rickie abandoned his spot in the 4th line and moved into the third line. The entirely too large human took up too much space and so he decided to remedy the crowding issue.


    One large hand fell onto the back of the neck of the nearest guard and he clamped down. In a feat of impressive strength Rickie picked the man up by his neck using only one hand. He then threw the man he was holding backwards into the spot he just vacated and quickly he fell onto the spiders that made it through.


    The berserker was a sight to behold. He wielded a massive two handed great sword but with the way that he swung the lump of metal it almost looked weightless. The lump of raw iron that Rickie called a sword swung deadly arcs at the spiders. Up until this point slashing damage did little damage to the tough spiders. Somehow Rickie turned his slicing weapon into a crushing one, all while using the cutting edge of the sword. He quickly cleaved through two of the 5 spiders that had made it through the line.


    Just when things looked to be heading back towards the manageable side everything changed once again. Thick white strands shot out from further down the cave and slapped into whatever it touched. The ends of the strands had to be covered in some sort of adhesive because wherever it touched the web stuck in place. The web itself wasn¡¯t that restrictive yet, and was manageable to deal with. Instead of trying to slow down their opponents the spiders began to drag the webs back in.

 Chapter 33

    At first the spider''s tactics with their webs caught the group off guard. That was how they had their first casualty. For the most part everything that had gotten tagged by the web was only hit with one strand. One of the guards with the heavy tower shields was hit by 3 stands. The combined pulling strength of the spiders was enough to pull the guard''s shield and the guard attached to it up and towards the spiders pulling him from the ceiling.


    Unfortunately for the guard the shield was firmly attached to his arm. Making it so even if he wanted to release the shield he wasn¡¯t able to. So he was pulled off the ground and out of formation. As he was pulled out of the shield wall the spider mass that he was tasked at keeping back found their way around the thick wood and started to sink their fangs and claws into the guard. His heavy metal armor did quite a bit to save him, but with the sheer number of attacks there was little he could do to stop it.


    The cuirass did its job well, it blocked almost all of the attacks that landed on his body, but the chainmail shirt underneath didn¡¯t fare quite as well. The spiders hooked barbs at the end of the legs were able to catch onto a link and then tear the shirt apart. The chainmail shirt also didn¡¯t stop the fangs as they punctured right through the chainmail. The small knife-like fangs sank deep into the soft flesh underneath and injected their venom into his veins.


    Before he was 10 feet away from the defensive line his once normal body quickly turned into jelly as the ridged bone structure that held it together melted away. By the time the shield made it to where the spiders were dragging it his now structureless body and slid loose of the straps and the body plopped onto the ground where it lay there unable to move.


    Meira and Bjorn tried to help the man, as they both cast spells towards the group of spiders that were dragging the man upwards. By the time their spells were on their way the man was already lost.


    With a new hole the spiders started to push their way into the gap, a few quickly slipped past the defense and turned towards the shield bearers on either side of the hole. Rushing forward Alaric slammed his body into the hole that was now created by the loss of the shield bearer. His bull rush attack slammed into three of the four spiders that got through and shoved them back through the hole. With a shout he used his new shield to plug the hole.


    As the fight continued the guards really showed their training and how it was paying off. Even though their individual strength was less than most of the conscripts their cohesive strength was more than than the conscripts could produce.


    Of the 25 guards only 2 of them were profession holders. With the conscripts also having two, they gave the guards a run for their money. One of the guards was a warrior and the other a fighter. Even though Bjorn didn¡¯t quite understand the distinction between the two they were obviously a force to be reckoned with. The warrior seemed to be focused on shields as he was front and center in their formation holding back the largest mass of the spiders.


    Even though he was unflagging with his task it wasn¡¯t the only thing he and his shield bearers were doing. Each of them were equipped with short maces or short one handed hammers. Their entire task was to hold the line and to hit at any spider part they could see trying to make their way past the shield wall. Many legs and heads were smashed by the shield wall whenever a spider tried to pry its way past the wall. The warrior was a force that didn¡¯t seem to be stopped. Scattered on the ground around him were the broken limbs of the spiders. He even managed to kill two spiders who had made their way over the wall in front of him. All while not giving up a single step to the onslaught.


    The fighter was one of the halberd wielders. He had even more success in killing spiders than the warrior did. His long handled weapon swept in deadly arcs across the walls and the ceiling. Everywhere it looked like a spider was going to make it past his weapon was there to push them back, land a crippling blow, or even land a killing blow.


    Even with everyone doing what they could to slow the tide there were just too many to stop and keep out. Spiders were slipping through in ones and twos. Roughly half the time the spiders made it through they tried to launch themselves at Bjorn, Meira, or Alya. Fortunately for them Tayla always intercepted the lunging beast. Her two small hammers weren¡¯t anywhere close to her desired weapons but in the hands of a professed rogue they were deadly. Her speed, agility, and grace was a sight to behold. It was almost beautiful. As she fought it looked like the fight was almost choreographed. She was always exactly where she needed to be to stop the spider¡¯s attack, and yet somehow she was also able to dodge the attack.


    The true powerhouse of this fight though was Rickie. The professed barbarian was a pure force of nature. His two handed sword cleaved through the spider indiscriminately. Of all the spiders that made it through their defensive line Rickie was personally responsible for killing over 30% of them. Even though it seemed like folly for the barbarian to fight in such close quarters with his bare chest, somehow he didn¡¯t seem to be affected by the spider¡¯s venom. Time after time the spiders would sink their fangs into Rickie¡¯s flesh. And time after time he seemed to just shrug off the effect and power on fighting. By Bjorn¡¯s estimation Rickie had been bitten nearly as much as the guard who died had.


    Spiders started to fall by the half dozen, but it came at a cost. The shield bearer wasn¡¯t the last person to fall on their side. The humanoids were coming out on top. By his estimation so far they were killing 10 spiders for every humanoid that they lost. Unfortunately the spiders had extras to lose. There were still a good 50 spiders on their side of the wind barrier.


    The clash of metal and bone exoskeletons made a deafening roar. It came as a surprise when he heard a voice inside his head. ¡°My wind barrier is about to fall. Get yourself ready.¡± It was Meira''s voice. He could hear it clear as if she was whispering into his ear.


    ¡°Thank you for buying us time, Meira.¡± Jenkins'' voice came back in a reply. ¡°If you get bit by one of the spiders, drink your health potion immediately. Its healing properties will help counteract the potency of the venom.¡±


    The sound of men assenting echoed through Bjorn¡¯s head. The effect was still a little disorienting. Instead of letting it both him he just continued to draw arrows back and fire them into the crowd of spiders. Looking into the corner of his vision his mana pool was almost to the bottom. Fortunately for him over the last few months he had pushed himself time and time again to the near bottom of his mana pool. As such he was used to the splitting headache that came from his near empty mana pool. Making a snap decision he drew his mana potion and drank it. Once he downed his mana potion he also pulled out a stamina potion and drank that down.


    His quickly depleting mana pool and stamina pool started to steadily climb back up. Although it wasn¡¯t overly tiring to continuously draw his bow and fire, he had spent a good portion of his stamina on his level 10 archery perk. As he held the bow at full draw he was able to spend some of his stamina points into his shot. The effect from that was whatever he was aiming at came into sharp focus. When he focused on a spider he was able to zoom in on it, for a lack of a better term. The zoom made it significantly easier to figure out where exactly he wanted to shoot. The perk made each of his arrows significantly more effective, but at the cost of quickly depleting his stamina pool.


    A splitting sound sounded through the tunnel as Meira¡¯s air barrier shattered under the combined attacks of the spiders on the other side. A lightning bolt shot through the newly opened tunnel and slammed into the back of the spider host, charring and killing a spider right-out. The remainder of the spider attack poured through the now open tunnel. Meira¡¯s summer storm and barrier spell slowed down and wreaked havoc on the spiders trapped further down the tunnel. The barrier lasted no more than a minute and a half, but it did its job.


    Spiders once again came spilling into the open tunnel that the fight was happening in. This second wave wasn¡¯t as large as the first one was, but it would still be enough to overwhelm the defenders if nothing changed. The combined force of the first and second wave was still well over 100 spiders left to fight.


    Jenkins'' voice cut right through the sound of battle and everyone was able to hear him clearly. ¡°Fall back to the camp. If that host hits us we will crumple and we will be crushed under the weight of the spider''s bodies.¡±


    Quickly the whole host started to steadily fall back. Even though they didn¡¯t have far to go it still took almost too long to make it back into the open area that was their camp. The guard and conscript combo didn¡¯t want to give up too much ground too fast just in case the spiders were able to overtake the small armies front lines in their retreat. When they made it into the open cave they spread out creating a small semicircle around the entrance.


    Honestly this retreat was a blessing and a curse all at once. They now had more area to fight in, and with their superior armor it played to their advantage. At the same time it also gave the spiders more area to attack the humanoids. They gained Alaric and his fancy new hammer. In the previous configuration he wasn¡¯t able to do much to fight, he was mostly relegated to holding the defensive line. Now with the extra space he was wielding his hammer with deadly efficiency.


    As he fought off two spiders all at once he switched the hammer in between its two states fluidly. He would block a spider¡¯s raking attack with his shield while swinging at the other spider with his hammer, slamming into its leg snapping it cleanly off. In the middle of that swing the hammer¡¯s shaft elongated and Alaric gripped the other half of its shaft with his other hand. In an odd looking spinning attack he was able to block one spider, attack the other, and then attack the first spider again all in one fluid motion. The heavy hammer slammed into the spider from the bottom and with a crack sent it flying up into the air. Where its almost dead corpse intercepted a stone that Bjorn had cast at a different spider on the ceiling.


    A mental message echoed in Bjorn''s head. ¡°Meira, can you cast that lightning ball spell again?¡± Jenkins asked.


    ¡°No, it is on cooldown.¡±


    Jenkins swore mentally, but with the link they apparently shared it came through and everyone could hear it. ¡°What about you Bjorn? Any area spells?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Was all he was able to say before the flood gates opened and the spider horde finally came flying out of the tunnel mouth. Over a hundred of the bone white spiders came out of the tunnel and immediately went on the offensive.


    There hasn''t been much time to fully prepare for the spider onslaught. The lack of time led to everything turning to chaos as humanoids clashed with spiders. The three to one odds weren''t in their favor but the humanoids weren''t immediately lost.


    They had a few things that balanced out the fight. The first thing was their gear. Almost every single one of the humanoids were clad in heavy armor that did much to lessen the damage that they took. The guards doubly so, as their standard armor they were assigned was almost perfectly suited for this combat. The plate mail chest pieces were the perfect defense against both the slashing and the piercing attacks of the spider''s claws and fangs. The chainmail shirts protected against the slashing from the claws all while not limiting their movement.


    The second thing that helped tip the scales in their favor was their 4 profession wielders. The two guards worked as a team and their teamwork was a force multiplier. Each alone was enough to take on and kill multiple spiders each. But together the spiders didn''t stand a chance. Rickie was almost a one man army. The pure physical strength he wielded was enough to easily crush each spider. Add to that the sheer number of spiders he didn''t have to try hard to kill a spider. Each one of his reckless attacks didn''t have much accuracy as he gave that up to do more damage. And to top it off he seemed to be immune to the spider''s venom. Even though Tayla wasn''t a conventional fighter her dexterity based build made her a menace to the group of attacking spiders.


    The third thing was their magic casters. By this time Meira had already burned through her prodigious mana pool and had drunk the strongest mana potion they were able to get their hands on. Her lightning bolts and ice shards each wrecked havoc everywhere they landed. Her healing magic was surprisingly effective as well. Whenever she saw someone get bit or cut badly she would cast her only healing spell. It didn¡¯t immediately fix the issue but it often turned a dire situation into a more manageable one. Bjorn had saved just enough mana to cast another one of his new spells. When the spiders were almost to the opening Bjorn began casting his first dark spell.


    The 1 second cast time passed in a blip. The somehow dark light but not light enshrouded his hand briefly before condensing on his palm. Throwing forward his palm a shroud of darkness sprung forward encasing the entire entrance of the tunnel in a cone devoid of light. The 9 mana cost ended up draining his MP to the near bottom of his pool, leaving him with 16 mana left. The darkness effect didn¡¯t last long but it was effective.


    When the spiders slammed into the brief area of pure darkness it disoriented the ones in the lead and let the ones behind ram into them, slowing down and confusing the charge. With the sheer numbers of the charge the disoriented ones still got pushed through into the cavern. Instead when they were pushed into the cavern they took a few seconds to reorient themselves before attacking.


    The last thing that the humanoids had going for them were Bjorn¡¯s and Alya¡¯s potions. Many of the defenders were only on their feet and still fighting thanks to their potions. Many of them drank their healing potions almost immediately when they got bit. It led to limbs that would have been useless from the bites instead becoming just a minor injury. The affected area then actually had the bone underneath become almost brittle. The weak bone structure was still preferable to complete uselessness. The stamina potions also played a large role, as many of the humanoids had skills that drained their stamina.


    But even with all of their advantages the sheer number of bone white spiders was almost overwhelming and the fight quickly broke down into chaos. The rough semi circle quickly turned into small pockets of defenders trying desperately not to die. One such pocket had Bjorn, Meira, Alya, Chase, and Alaric in it. The initially had Rickie as well but during the fight he very quickly waded through the horde and fought on his own.


    Bjorn quickly abandoned his bow and magic for his sword to help defend the two ranged fighters. They backed up to one of the corners and had the two girls against the wall with the other three forming a rough circle around the girls. As they retreated backwards and Bjorn was switching his fighting style he cast his last spell for the fight. He recast barkskin, but this time he targeted himself. The reduced movement speed would suck but in this target rich environment he figured the added natural armor would offset any benefit he would gain from having an additional 5% movement speed. In such a fight he was guaranteed to take hits.


    The room they were in was spacious, it had 15 feet ceilings and plenty of room for 35 people to live and each have their own personal space, kind of. What was nice during the wait now was more of a liability. The space gave the spiders plenty of room to attack from whatever angle they wanted to.


    ¡°Meira, Alya, we will protect you from anything on the ground, your job is to make sure nothing comes at us from above.¡± Chase said as he set himself up in the most exposed position. Alaric had a wall and chase on either side of him, and Bjorn had the same.


    ¡°You got it.¡± Was Meira¡¯s only response as she started casting her healing spell on Alaric. Once again the effects were wondrous. The dwarf had taken a long gash along his right side during that last fight. Alaric¡¯s resilience was impressive, as even with the long gash he wasn¡¯t letting it show that it bothered him. Meira¡¯s spell started to fix that issue though.


    As he watched Alaric¡¯s side which was rent open and was pouring blood started to slowly knit itself back together. It was happening fast enough that Bjorn could see it happening in real time. Alaric tilted his shoulders to the side making the injured side slightly shorter. ¡°That itches.¡± He said scrunching up his nose.


    That was all the time they had before they were set upon by the spiders. It was hectic, Chase and Alaric did their best to fight off the spiders while trying to kill them. All Bjorn was focused on was not dying, he didn¡¯t even really care about trying to kill the spiders. He used his sword and his fist to try and keep them at a distance which worked surprisingly well. The extra reach he had with the sword kept the spiders on the defensive. He was honestly thankful that the spiders had below average intelligence. If they had been smarter they would have realized that all they had to do was charge Bjorn and he would have been easily overwhelmed.


    While Bjorn was at a standstill with two of the spiders Chase and Alaric were proving their worth as they were able to not only fend off the large creatures but even get decent damage against them. Chase was surprisingly adept at fighting against large numbers of opponents. Although Bjorn hadn¡¯t really seen him fight more than one person he was able to match Alaric evenly when they spared. He knew exactly what to do with his shield and how to position himself as he fought. He effortlessly flowed in between attacking and defending all while facing against the larger number of spiders. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    For the moment they held out and it looked like they were going to be just fine, when a few things went wrong all at once. One spider larger than the rest came barreling through the spiders attacking the small group. Instead of trying to fight Chase fairly it slammed into his shield bearing both of them to the ground. Watching Chase fall to the ground distracted Alya from the spider she was shooting her crossbow at, which had been dangerously close to making to them over the ceiling. It quickly crossed the remaining distance and dropped into the middle of the small group. At the same time webbing shot out of the crowd and hit Bjorn¡¯s free arm. The web immediately pulled tight and the force surprised Bjorn and pulled him off his feet causing him to crash to the ground.


    Making a split second gamble, Meira started to cast a spell again, a spell with a long casting time. Alaric saw Chase fall but not Bjorn. Trusting in the man to handle his situation Alaric continued to fight off his spiders and occasionally he would throw an attack at the ones trying to push into the gap that Chase falling made. The spider who fell into their midst turned on Alya and lunged at her. And finally the spiders who were attacking Bjorn fell on top of him raking him with the barbs on the bottom of their legs.


    It was the first time during this entire fight that Bjorn had taken damage. The pair of spiders quickly and efficiently cut long lacerations into Bjorn. Their powerful legs cutting through the toughened leather that made up the ringmail. Their legs found the spaces in between the rings sewed into his mostly leather armor. The combined toughness of his armor and his barkskin is the only thing that saved his life.


    Bjorn was so distracted with him trying to protect himself from the spiders that he lost track of the fight. The combined weight of the two spiders was too much for Bjorn to handle and he was struggling to push them off to little success. All while they continued to rake their hooks across Bjorn¡¯s skin. One thing he was able to do was stop them from biting him. He was able to get one arm underneath the section where the spider''s head met its sternum and was keeping its gnashing mandibles away from his body. The other spider was trying to get to Bjorn¡¯s throat but the first spider''s body was in the way stopping it.


    With his free hand he reached into his portable pocket and pulled out a dagger. With the close proximity he pointed the tip of the dagger towards the sternum of the spider and stabbed upwards. The trust was stopped by the heavy bone plating on the spider. Pulling his hand back to stab he was starting to grow weak. His health bar was quickly dropping as both of the spider''s claws kept digging into his skin.


    With a yell he stabbed the dagger forward again this time trying to put as much force as he could into the blow. Again the dagger was stopped by the armor. The sense of weakness quickly grew as Bjorn felt the strength leave his body. His health pool continued to plummet, and was starting to near the bottom. But regardless he struggled on.


    Suddenly the weight on Bjorn was lessened as Chase grabbed ahold of the spider on top of Bjorn with two hands and heaved, throwing it away. The spider flew a few feet and slammed into something in the air stopping its momentum and dropping to the ground.


    With all the new real estate the second spider lunged towards Bjorn¡¯s throat. Too weak to stop it he resigned himself to death. Chase didn¡¯t care about what Bjorn had decided to do, and he brought his mace against the spider sweeping it aside as well. Moving forward he brought the mace down on the first spider crushing it. He then made quick work of the second spider.


    ¡°Meira drop the air barrier.¡± Chase¡¯s voice cut through the darkness that was starting to overtake Bjorn. ¡°I have 40 seconds left on this potion and I want to make the most of it.¡±


    Bjorn¡¯s mind started to wander, the lack of oxygen it was getting causing him to almost forget the situation he was in. His momentary confusion didn''t last long as Meira cast her weak slow heal spell on Bjorn before returning her attention to the fight going on around them.


    The healing magic was nothing short of a miracle as his lacerations began to knit themselves back together.


    You have been affected by the spell weak slow heal. You will regain 20 health over the next 20 seconds.


    The spell weak slow heal has had a stabilizing effect on your condition, the health loss from your bleeding effect has dropped from 8 per second to 1 every 4 seconds.


    The switch from about to bleed out to will slowly bleed out was enough to bring Bjorn back to the present situation. Digging into the pouch on his belt he felt a prick on his finger. Pushing through the stabbing sensation he fumbled around until his hand closed on a round piece of glass. Pulling it free he briefly saw red and he pulled the cork with his teeth and let the liquid inside pour into his mouth.


    You have drank a healing potion, you will gain 97 health back over the next 30 seconds.


    The magical properties is his healing potion started immediately working on returning his body to full health. A few things became clear to Bjorn immediately as his vision cleared up.


    The first thing was most of the red he had seen on the vial was his own blood. It ran in streaks down the outside of the vial in his hand eventually pooling on the bottom and then dripped off onto the ground. Upon closer inspection he noticed that the blood originated from his hand. His hand itself had several deep gashes that were letting the blood flow freely. At several places on his hand he had glass shards sticking out of the cuts.


    Resigning himself to investigate later his first priority was to remove the glass, which he did, wincing each time a shard was removed. Every time he removed a shard the area it was just in began to itch as his hand started to knit itself back together with the healing magic coursing through his body.


    The next thing he noticed was the two spiders that had gotten the better of him laying on the ground at his feet dead. Each with a different section of their bodies crushed by extreme force.


    Then he looked up from their corpses and he saw very few spiders remaining. There were almost equal numbers of spiders and humanoids facing off against each other. As he watched the spiders started to retreat and clump up near the entrance they had attacked from. Once they collected they collectively turned and ran back the way they came. During their collection and then retreat the humanoids had managed to catch and kill almost half of the remaining number.


    They had won.


    It was a messy and bloody battle. At all points during the fight every single one of the humanoids were either attacked, pressed, bit, or wounded by a spider. In the end most of the humanoids were bloody and weary, but they had won. Over the last ten minutes the defenders were able to either kill or push back the attacking spiders. They paid dearly for their attempts though. As less then 15 of the original attack force escaped back down the tunnel.


    On the defenders side they paid dearly as well. Of the 25 guards only 14 remained, sadly Jenkins was among the living on the guards side. Bente was likely dead as his head hung awkwardly off to the side of his body where it lay against the wall with two vicious looking bite marks in his neck.


    When Rypley saw this he was distraught and before anyone knew what was happening or what he was doing Rypley had removed his helmet and drew his knife. Sticking it up to his throat he pushed into his neck and pulled sideways, viciously slitting his own throat. His body fell to the side and was quickly bleeding out.


    Tayla stood next to the dying man and seeing the light starting to leave his eyes she knelt down and in one fluid motion drew the thin knife that was still sheathed on her thigh. She plunged the tip of the knife into his eye socket. A thick, clear, jelly-like fluid spilled out of his eye socket and dripped onto her hand as she had plunged the knife all the way up to the hilt in his eye socket.


    The rapid chain of events surprised all who were standing there. It was Bjorn, Laurel, and two of the guards. Alya was also there, but she wasn¡¯t really standing there. When the spider made it through to the back lines it had latched onto Alya¡¯s leg, and injected it with venom. It then bit down on her several times continuously injecting its venom into her leg. After the fight they brought her with them as they were exploring the camp. They set her against the wall before Rypley killed himself. Because of that her leg was sitting at an awkward angle underneath her body with her right knee touching her butt cheek.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Bjorn asked rather aggressively to Tayla.


    She pulled her dagger free of the corpse and wiped it on Rypley¡¯s clothes. ¡°He took his own life, I just hastened his end. He wasn¡¯t going to be able to survive that cut. All I did was make sure he died instead of suffering. Besides, it would be a shame to let all of his experience go to waste. So I made the call.¡± She replied to Bjorn¡¯s accusatory tone with ice in her voice. ¡°If you have an issue with that we can talk about it later.¡± She turned on her heels and walked back towards the largest clump of the dead.


    The conscripts came out lucky as they only had the two losses. For the most part the guard had taken the brunt of the attack. Of the remaining 14 guards 3 of them were wounded enough to where they would be useless in a fight. With Bente and Rypley also dead that brought their fighting force down to 19 of 35 to start. Further Alya¡¯s leg was useless so she also wouldn¡¯t be much use in a fight, and lastly laurel was useless in a fight to begin with, so they only had 17 of the 35 that started the fight left.


    Thanks for the war party Bjorn was able to keep an eye on how people fared during the fight. Of the initial 10 in the war party 6 of them remained alive.


    Once the dead had been counted and the spiders started getting removed from the fighting area they set up the guard rotation again. This time they set the guard detail up at the elbow in the tunnel. They stole a few of the magical lights from around the camp and set them up illuminating the tunnel.


    Even though everyone was dead tired, work still had to be done. They put 4 of the healthiest survivors on guard duty. The next 4 had orders to sleep and they would be the backup guards. The remaining 9 were dedicated to piling up the dead, both their companions and the spiders.


    It was draining work, both physically and emotionally. It was difficult to cut off their emotions and move their dead friends. That was why for the first time Jenkins had none of the conscripts on guard duty. It was the only mercy he could give to his platoon.


    He had only two of his guards help handle the dead. Jenkins also regained a small amount of Bjorns respect. He didn''t shirk on his duties, up until this point he had been coordinating the camp and hadn''t even pulled a single guard shift. But when manpower was low he spent his time helping.


    Between Jenkins'' help, his two guards, and the 6 remaining conscripts they were able to clear all of the dead from the camp and from the tunnel up to the checkpoint. It took them several hours to do so. Their total count was 129 dead spiders and 13 dead humanoids. A good number of the dead spiders were actually in the tunnel where Meira had locked them in with her spell. Of the 129 dead 33 of them were found by the spell''s effective area.


    Although he didn''t want to, it would be foolish to leave items on the dead. Alaric, Rickie, Chase, Jenkins, and Meira all were able to convince Bjorn to take some of the gear off of Rypley. The hob-goblin''s size and stature was close enough to Bjorn that it would fit reasonably well. So Bjorn took Rypley¡¯s padded undershirt, his breastplate, his greaves and finally his shield.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    High Steel Breastplate


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Common


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 9 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 263/297


    </td>


    <td>


    Defense: 11-12 (12-13 max)


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    A well crafted high steel breastplate.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    High Steel Greaves


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Common


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 2 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 197/213


    </td>


    <td>


    Defense: 7-9


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    A pair of well crafted high steel greaves.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Wrought Iron Shield


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Common


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 10.6 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 169/221


    </td>


    <td>


    Defense: 5-7 (7-9 max)


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    A shield made out of the normally soft wrought iron. Made for trapping attackers'' weapons.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    For the moment all of the gear ended up in his portable pocket, which was near full. Another mystery Bjorn wanted solved was where the broken glass came from. Upon closer inspection all but two vials in his potion pouch broke. When the spider pulled him off his feet and onto the ground he must have landed on the pouch. It was made out of thick milled leather which explained how he didn¡¯t get stabbed. The milled leather made it pliable enough that it was able to change shape and keep the potions from running into each other. But with its thickness the leather was tough enough to hold up to the glass shards.


    Needless to say the potions that were formally in the pouch were lost. The potions itself were coating the front of Bjorn¡¯s armor as the small leather pouch was not water tight. Around 40 percent of his total potion stock was in that pouch. The rest were inside his portable pocket. With a sigh he removed the leather pouch and let it drop to the ground. The next time he walked over to collect a body the pouch was gone.


    Once they were done removing all the bodies they awoke the 4 guards that were sleeping and set them to the watch. Gathering the four other guards, everyone slowly and silently made their way into their tents. Normally there was some talking as they went about their day. Not today it was dead silent as everyone made their way to bed. Most took their armor off and set it on the ground, still covered in blood, viscera, and grim from the fighting.


    Collectively those not on watch all fell asleep over the span of 5 minutes. Even though sleep was fast to take them, it was not a restful night. Nightmares of what they saw and did plagued everyone in camp.


    When Bjorn next awoke the camp was still quiet. His body ached as he slowly made his way onto his feet. Stretching and yawning he took a look at his disgusting armor. Then he looked at Alaric¡¯s armor, which was even worse. Not only did his chainmail shirt have several holes in it, it also was covered in more strange liquids than he was entirely comfortable with.


    With another yawn he picked up his armor from where it sat on the ground and started heading towards the channel their camp was situated around. They had been getting their fresh water from an underground spring a few hundred feet up the tunnel. The connecting tunnel and large room they were situated in was probably built with this spring in mind. Bjorn didn¡¯t truly care for the reason that the cave was built, just that it was built.


    Leaving camp and heading for the spring he quickly scooped up a barrel and walked the distance to the spring. Once there he dipped his bucket into the small fountain that had been built into a small alcove in the wall and started to clean himself, his weapons, and his new armor that was coated in Rypley¡¯s blood.


    The mundane motions of dipping a rag into the water then washing the blood and filth off was calming. Even though he was dead tired he still slept fitfully. Yesterday was Bjorn¡¯s first time in a larger scale battle. In all of his fights in the Eld nothing has prepared him for what he saw.


    In the moment when he saw Sain get pulled out of the shield wall and was unceremoniously killed Bjorn felt fear. Up until that point he had been feeling almost untouchable. In the middle of 34 other heavily armored people ready to kill whatever came his way he felt safe. That illusion was quickly dispelled and fear began to set in. Every time he saw another one of his allies fall never to get back up again a sense of dread built. He hadn''t realized how intense it was getting due to being in combat and adrenaline coursing through his body helping him ignore it.


    Last night when he stopped for the day that sense of dread came in full force and made it hard to sleep. Each time he closed his eyes he could see the great dane sized spider''s head mere inches away from his face. When exhaustion took him he was plagued by nightmares of being torn apart, or being unable to move as they started to take over his body. The final dream he had before he just gave up on sleep was of the spiders injecting their venom and then pupating his body, only he was still alive as the spider inside of him moved his body for him.


    His dreams and thoughts of them plagued his mind as he went through the motions of cleaning up and doing minor repairs where he could. Once he was finished with his gear he cast purify water on the bucket before heading back into camp.


    Placing his gear next to the tent he entered it and found Alaric still asleep. Next to his bed was all of Alaric''s gear. Bending down he quietly took Alaric¡¯s gear and made his way slowly out of camp again. He then repeated the process he had done with his own armor, only for Alaric¡¯s. The entire process took longer this time as cleaning chainmail is surprisingly difficult to do. He didn''t have the required materials to fix the holes in Alaric''s chainmail so he just cleaned it for now. The hammer was a surprise though, as the handle was completely clean. Just to make sure he increased and decreased the size multiple times and each time the long handle was spotless.


    When he made his way back into camp with Alaric¡¯s gear there were a few signs of life in camp. A few of the members of the little force were up and moving about. Depositing Alaric¡¯s gear Bjorn stood and made his way back into camp, he saw someone he wanted to talk to.


    Tayla was kneeling on the group in front of the tent she and Meira shared with her back to Bjorn. As he neared she spoke to him. ¡°What do you want, Bjorn?¡± she was talking in the same icy tone she had used with him the day before, she also hadn''t turned around to see who was approaching her.


    Instead of replying he dropped to his knees behind her and wrapped his arms around her. When she felt his arms wrap around her she tensed up. Bjorn could feel her tight body ready to spring into action.


    ¡°I am sorry. You were right to do what you did. I was in the wrong, I shouldn''t have talked to you the way I did. You didn''t deserve that, you were providing mercy. Emotions were running rampant through my body, I haven''t ever seen so many of the people I know die so fast.¡±


    He could feel her tense body relax in his arms. ¡°I forgive you.¡± Was all she said as she leaned her head back against his chest. They stayed like that for a few minutes before she pulled away. ¡°It would be best for Meira to not see us like this, she normally isn''t a jealous person, but I think she would kill me if she saw you holding me like that.¡±


    ¡°What? What are you talking about?¡± Bjorn asked.


    She turned and gave him a look he wasn''t able to identify what it meant. ¡°It''s nothing.¡± She then took something from the bag in front of her and stood and started walking off. When she got a few feet away from him she turned back and threw a small bar of soap up into the air, letting its simple arch land right back into her hand. ¡°I am going to go clean myself, if you want you can clean my front for me. I''ll need your firm hands to clean my breasts.¡± Her normal sly, flirtatious, impish grin returned to her face.


    Bjorn''s mind was reeling at Tayla''s words. ¡°What did you mean though?¡± He called out to her retreating back.

 Chapter 34

    While everyone had been sleeping off the attack the normal runner group came into camp. Almost everyone slept through it, they did wake up Jenkins from his nap through. Before he allowed himself to sleep he had filled out a detailed report of the attack and several different requests. One of them being a reinforcement, as he didn¡¯t think they would survive another attack. Another request he put in was for a cleanup crew to be dispatched to remove the dead, both the dead spiders and the dead defenders. Others included transport back to the surface and healing of their more wounded, including Alya.


    By the time Bjorn had awoken and started his cleaning and apologizing stent the runners were long gone carrying the requests off to the main army. All they had to do was wait for their reinforcements. They were in a precarious situation. With everyone injured or hurt in some way shape matter or form, the fighters who could still fight were in rough shape. If another spider group attacked, one even half the strength of the attack the day before they all would likely die.


    When Meira left her tent she started to make her way towards Bjorn, who was outside his and Alaric¡¯s tent, and started to cast a spell, causing her hands to be covered in a warm gold light. When he saw her he started smiling, when she started to stalk towards him though with her hands covered in magical light the smile started to fade. He rose to his feet and took a step backwards while holding both of his hands up towards Meira. ¡°Woah, hold it. I am the last person you should heal.¡±


    Upon hearing his words she stopped in her tracks letting the golden light fade from her hands and a slight frown spread across her face. ¡°And why is that? I will heal who I please, and I say it is important to heal you.¡±


    ¡°Think about it. There are plenty of people here who are hurt and would benefit greatly from your healing magic. Although I am hurt I stand at the back and fight from the back. My injuries are less important than those on the front line. On top of that I have my increase healing speed, or did you forget that I regain 16 health back per day. I am already on the mend. There are way more important people to heal than me in my current state.¡±


    Meira¡¯s frown turned into one of resignation. ¡°Fine, you make a few good points, You are right of course, I will go heal those who need it in a moment. But first, how are you doing today?¡±


    ¡°I am doing good.¡± He was going to say more but he cut himself short when he saw the flat look Meira was giving him.


    ¡°You just saw your first real battle in this world, unless I have missed my mark. That experience shakes most people. So I will ask again, how are you doing?¡±


    Bjorn waited a moment before replying. ¡°Honestly? Not good. It was hard, and last night just as hard but for different reasons. I think I will be fine, I just need a little time.¡±


    Meira¡¯s expression softened. ¡°I understand, I promise you, I understand. I am going to heal what I can, then I will come find you and we can talk more.¡± She walked forward and embraced Bjorn for a few moments before letting him go and turning around heading towards their small designated field hospital.


    Bjorn watched her walk away, his heart fluttering briefly at the remembrance of her warmth.


    ¡°Are you ever going to make a move?¡± Alaric''s voice came from inside the tent.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Bjorn asked Alaric as the dwarf pushed his way out from inside the tent. He stood in the middle of camp shoe-less and shirtless. The muscle bound dwarf briefly arched his back as he stretched.


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious. You like her, she likes you. Why don¡¯t you make a damn move already and stop making us watch you who awkwardly dance around each other.¡±


    Bjorn looked over towards his friend. ¡°What makes you so sure she likes me? Also, didn''t anyone ever tell you it¡¯s rude to eavesdrop on others'' conversations?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t anyone ever tell you it was rude to talk at full volume right next to where someone was sleeping?¡± Alaric retorted just as fast as he heard it. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s obvious to everyone but you apparently. Trust me, you won¡¯t regret it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. You can keep saying that but until you provide me with concrete proof I won¡¯t believe you.¡±


    ¡°You''re a dumb-ass. That is never going to happen. I was just trying to help you, take it or leave it, that is up to you.¡± Alaric said as he started walking towards the small natural spring, shoes in one hand, and a large bar of soap in the other.


    ¡°Tayla was going that way to take a bath of sorts, if you hurry you might be able to catch her.¡±


    Once Alaric was fully out of sight Bjorn began to contemplate on his words. Meira? Like him? Preposterous. She was so beautiful, wonderful, and full of life. Why would she like someone like him? No, it makes more sense that Alaric was just messing with him. Yeah that has to be the case.


    During the day they all pitched in to help make the camp someplace worth living again. They repaired tents torn up by the spiders. Washed the blood off from the hard stones. They also spent time working on cleaning up bandages for all the various wounds.


    While everyone not on watch was busy cleaning Jenkins set Bjorn to check on the alchemy supplies. Most of the herbs that Jenkins requisitioned were still fine, and the alchemy set he had got was a little beat up, but for the most part things weren''t overly damaged.


    Bjorn found their small crate filled with potion vials, which gave him an idea. Taking the box he walked over to the pile of spiders and started to take a closer look at the dead monsters. The spiders varied in size, some were the size of a loaf of bread, while the largest were over 5 feet long in the torso. Other than their unusual size they have the same body proportions as a normal spider. Their bone like carapace was actually not bone like, but was bone. Looking closer at the carapace on a few of the dead spiders it had the same bone structure as normal bone. The hard solid outside and a porous interior. The interesting part was the fact that all of the internal part of the carapace was porous.


    The two things Bjorn was inspecting them for were their legs and their fangs though, specifically he was interested in the ends of their legs. After feeling the effect of the hooks he wanted a closer look. What he actually found was that the front two legs ended in points, the next four ended in small hooks, and finally the last two ended in two small points that with some effort were able to close, they were blunted and looked more like a robot arms hands. The back two legs were likely used to clamp onto things.


    Each spider had two large fangs that ranged in size from 2 inches long to almost 7 inches long. They also came down to sharp points almost like a dagger. When he was looking closer at the tip of each of the fangs a small hole resided there. That hole was actually what he was looking for. Taking one of his vials he placed it against the hole and tried to push up, which awarded him with absolutely nothing. Next he tried pulling down on the fangs which also was an exercise in futility.


    Slightly stumped Bjorn sat back and swore. He pulled one of the spiders out from the piles of bodies and using a stone on the ground next to him brought it down on the top of the spider''s head. A resounding crack flooded the cave, but the head was still intact. Raising the stone he brought it back down and the crack sounded again. This time though the bone of the skull gave way and a thick viscous liquid spilled out.


    The sound brought attention his way, one of the guards came over and looked down at Bjorn. ¡°Hey Bjorn. Uh what are you doing?¡±


    As he asked his question the guard visibly flinched as Bjorn stuck his hand into the mess of meat and fluid that was the inside of the spider. ¡°I am trying to extract the venom from these spiders. I was thinking that it would be something useful to have, I might find a way to weaponize it against our foes. Afterall their venom breaks down bone, and their carapace is made out of bone.¡±


    ¡°Understandable, but why are you sticking your hand into the spider¡¯s body?¡± As the guard asked his question, Bjorn pulled out a large chunk of meat and threw it onto the ground. The guard gave Bjorn a disgusted look and took a step back.


    ¡°I can¡¯t seem to figure out how to get the spider to release its venom from the outside. So I was hoping that if I could find out from the inside then maybe I could make it release its venom from the outside.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Best of luck to you, I¡¯ll leave you to it. A word of advice, before you come back into camp you should wash yourself. The spider''s guts isn¡¯t a lovely smell.¡± The guard said before making a rather hasty retreat.


    ¡°Thanks, I''ll keep that in mind!¡± Bjorn called after the retreating form.


    It took him a while but eventually he was pretty sure he found where the venom glands were located inside the spider. He had to cut out parts of the meaty interior. He was pretty sure he had to cut out a part of a throat, and cut the central nervous system and a few other important parts of the spider before he found what he was looking for. There was a small sack that when he put pressure on it venom came out of the holes in the fangs.


    He noted where the pouches sat in the spider and moved that one aside for now. Pulling another spider out of the pile he flipped it over exposing the underside of this spider. It had died from its exoskeleton being punctured. All 8 of the spider¡¯s legs were curled up like they normally do when dead. As it turns out spiders actually don¡¯t have any muscles to extend their legs. Their entire body is a hydraulic system and they push a liquid inside their bodies to extend their legs.


    Bjorn put his hand against where the sac should be inside the spider and pushed. Which was a practice in futility as the bone exoskeleton was strong enough that Bjorn wasn¡¯t able to make an indent whatsoever. After a little more exploring on the underside he found a small section of the spider where its bone carapace was a little bit weaker. Making a fist he pushed into the soft spot. That did the trick and venom began to bead up at the end of the spider''s fang.


    Walking back over to his box he bent down to grab his first vial, that was when he remembered his hands were still covered in the spider¡¯s goo. Swearing to himself he made his way to the spring and quickly washed his hands removing any of the spider¡¯s gunk from his hands.


    He then spent the remainder of the day slowly collecting as much of the spider''s venom as he possibly could. He was able to get a respectable haul. Most of the spiders had been crushed to get the killing blow and when he tried to retrieve any of the venom it didn¡¯t work. So his choices for collecting venom were limited. Still he made out like a bandit.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Snatcher Spider Venom x29


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 0.2 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Uses: 1/1


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    The venom of a snatcher spider. Snatcher spiders are known for two things. One is their hunting methods. The second is for their venom. If the venom is injected into the body the bones in that area will break down. The spiders then drink the slurry that is left in the bones place to feed.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The next thing Bjorn did was he wanted access to the webbing. Digging into the abdomen of the spider it was the same usual shape as a normal spider. Making his way down to the butt of the spider he inspected it closely. There were two 3 inch points coming directly out of the end of the butt. The spinnerets were less like sharp points and more like barbs running the length of them.


    The spinnerets are actually where he found his first soft spot on the outside of the spider. A tough skin covered a fist sized hole. The skin was made of multiple layers of the same tough skin, it was most likely that the spiders pulled the layers back to shoot out the webbing. Using his knife he cut away the layers of skin revealing a small cavity inside the spider. Reaching inside he felt around until his hands came in contact with a sac. Slowly and gently he started to pull the sack out of the monster.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Snatcher spider silk gland


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 1.1 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Uses: 4/5


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Although I shudder to think how you were able to retrieve this. All arachnids have the ability to make spider silk of some kind. Snatcher spiders are no exception to this. This silk gland has the ability to make a strong, lightweight strand of spider silk. Every use of this item can make up to 5 feet of spider silk.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    As gross as it was reaching inside the cold corpse of the spider, Bjorn thought it was entirely worth it to find the silk gland. Not sure what he could use it for he stored it on top of a shirt he laid down. Once again he got to work trying to harvest as much of the silk glands as he could. He was mostly successful. Each spider had a silk gland, but not all glands were created equal. Some had only a single use and others had up to 8. All in all he was able to retrieve 53 of them.


    Setting them to the side for the moment he next moved onto the tips of each of the spider''s legs. The knife-like points were surprisingly sharp and had good penetrating power. More than a few sets of armor had holes in them that matched the bottoms of these legs. Setting to it he found where the tips of the legs were attached. The area where the tips met the legs was segmented. Taking his dagger he put it right on the connection point and pried with it. With a pop the sharp points came loose. Once again he went through the spiders and took as many as he possibly could. Looking at the segment it was almost perfectly shaped for an arrowtip.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Snatcher spider arrowtips x122


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: .05 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 5/5


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    These natural arrowtips are surprisingly sharp and strong. If they are fashioned into arrows they will likely provide either a +1 or a +2 to damage.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    At first he also thought that maybe the hooks would be of use as well. Upon closer inspection he wasn¡¯t able to find a way to retrieve the hooks without breaking them. Still he was quite happy with his haul. Taking a step back he looked down on the value of goods he was able to pull from the spiders. It was quite an impressive haul, and no one wanted to take advantage of it.


    With his portable pocket being almost full he was hesitant to fill it with more stuff. So instead Bjorn pulled out a small leather pouch that he had in there. He quickly filled it up with the arrowtips and set it aside for now. Now what to do with the glands. He didn¡¯t want to waste them, but he didn¡¯t have any way to really preserve them outside of the pocket. They were organic material after all, Bjorn had no doubt in his mind that given enough time they would spoil. With a sigh he stuck one into the slot that the empty leather pouch filled previously. It went in there without a hitch and a number 1 appeared in the lower left hand corner. Soon he put an additional gland in and the number jumped up. Quickly he loaded the 53 into his pouch, they ended up taking up three slots in his quickly diminishing pouch space.


    Not realizing his folly he tried to stand up, but was unable to do so. That was when he realized his mistake. Even though the portable pocket was amazing at fitting many items into its normally small space it didn¡¯t diminish the weight whatsoever. With his newest haul he added well over 75 pounds of crap. It was no wonder he was having issues standing up. It did take some effort, but he was eventually able to stand up. His strength of 23 was barely enough to hold him and his new loot and allowed him to walk. He slowly stumbled back to camp.


    Setting down his crate of venom he also set the portable pocket down with a loud thump as he dropped it to the ground. With his entire day of cutting open spiders he was tired, but his hand was still covering his spider guts from when he removed the glands. Once again he made his way to the spring to wash up and clean his dagger. After he made his way back to his bunk and fell asleep.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    That night something that hadn''t happened so far did. Jenkins had one of the watches consisting solely of conscripts. Meira, Alaric, Chase, and finally Rickie were all assigned to a single shift. Taking it as Jenkins showing trust for the first time spirits were high that night.


    Bjorn woke up in the middle of the night to the sounds of unfamiliar voices and creaking wood. With the situation still being tense Bjorn still slept in his full combat gear, which with the inclusion of the chestplate made sleeping not entirely comfortable. Rolling out of bed he made his way out of the tent, and was greeted by the sight of 30 new people he hadn¡¯t seen before. 15 of them were wearing the usual armor and gear of the guard, while the remainder were dressed in more casual clothes.


    The more casually dressed people were accompanied by 3 small wagons. The small wagons were all empty. As he watched they started to load up their dead into one of the wagons, at the same time they also started loading up the dead spiders and the wounded, each into their own wagons. The wounded wagon didn¡¯t have many on it, as during the last day another one of the guards died from his wounds even with Meira¡¯s healing magic and several healing potions.


    Bjorn watched as they loaded up Alya. While she was sitting there she took a look at her surroundings. When she saw Bjorn her face lit up and she waved at him. He waved back, and then she beckoned him over.


    Making his way over to where she was sitting she reached into a pouch in her pack and pulled out a small book handing it over. ¡°I don¡¯t know if this will be any use to you, but it is a list of all of the alchemy recipes I know. I spent all of last night making a copy of it just for you.¡±


    Reaching out he took Alya¡¯s book and without looking at it put it away in a pouch. ¡°Thank you, I am sure it will come in handy.¡±


    Alya¡¯s smile turned into a sad smile. ¡°They told me that they think they can fix my leg, but it might take a while. Right now I am low priority in getting healed. I was told that all of the decent healers are down with the main force. So I don¡¯t think I will make it back down to the fight, stay safe. I want to be able to see all of you at the end of this.¡±


    ¡°You have already done more than anyone could ask for. Your healing potions ended up saving many of our lives. Thank you. You are the reason we are all alive right now.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t sell yourself short. You have just as much of a claim to saving everyone as I do. We worked on the healing potions together, don¡¯t forget that.¡±


    ¡°That is fair.¡± They stood in silence for a moment. ¡°Well, best of luck to you. If we make it through this I promise we will stop in and see you.¡± They briefly embraced. As Bjorn stepped away he couldn¡¯t help but look down at her leg. It was sitting normally, at least for the first time. Then it was shaped like a U, ending up with her foot being behind her body. Trying his best to suppress a shiver at the sight he made it way back to his tent.


    What he didn¡¯t see because he left before he could was Laurel getting loaded up as well. Apparently Jenkins decided that she wouldn¡¯t be much help in any future attacks, her traps had done their job. With her no longer having any more traps she wasn¡¯t of use. Turns out what she said about not being a fighter held unsurprisingly true. Jenkins determined that she was more of a liability now than an asset.


    Inside he sat down on his small bed and pulled out the book that Alya gave him and began to leaf through it. From the contents of the book Alya was a significantly better alchemist than she let on. Quickly counting up she had written over 100 different recipes for a bunch of various potions. Sitting down he started to read through.


    Several hours later someone knocked on the tent wall. ¡°Bjorn, are you in there?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Corporal Jenkins would like to see you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be there shortly.¡± Bjorn called back quickly, putting away his book and notes. Shoving his way out of the tent he saw one of the new guards standing there.


    ¡°Come with me.¡± He said and started walking towards the center tent.


    Shaking his head he started to follow after the man. They quickly made their way to the command tent. The guard lifted the flap to the tent permitting Bjorn access to the interior. The inside of the tent looked much like it did last time Bjorn saw it. The main difference was the disheveled look. Last time Bjorn was inside the tent it was fairly organized, this time it looked like a strong wind went through. Papers were scattered about, there was dished piled up, and the center table which had a map of this section of the sewers was covered by reports, ink, and various small items.


    ¡°Ah, Bjorn, come in.¡± Jenkins said as Bjorn was already inside the tent. Instead of saying anything he stayed silent. ¡°I am not going to beat around the bush. We went through almost all of our healing potions. I would like for you to brew more, now that Alya isn¡¯t in camp I don¡¯t expect you to make one for everyone. But I think focusing on brewing more health potions should be paramount.¡±


    Bjorn stayed quiet. ¡°I do want to thank both you and Alya for your efforts. If it weren¡¯t for your potions our casualties would have been entirely too many, I fear we wouldn¡¯t have made it out of here. Well that is everyone except for Rickie, he seems to only be strengthened by the spider''s bites. I don¡¯t think he would have gone down that easily.¡±


    Sighing, Bjorn finally broke his silence. ¡°I agree that more health potions is important. So I will try my best to brew more of those. But I did have an idea.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Please share.¡±


    ¡°I was wondering why the spider venom doesn¡¯t affect themselves. As far as I can tell whenever a spider bites someone the venom attacks their bones and starts to break them down on the molecular level.¡±


    ¡°Molecular level?¡± Jenkins asked, confused.


    ¡°Ah, that''s right, you wouldn¡¯t know. Basically it turns our bones into a liquid state then they drink it. They then use the bone slurry to grow their exoskeletons and make it tougher. So my question is, if their bodies are made out of our bones then why doesn¡¯t the venom have the same effect on them that it does on us.¡±


    Jenkins sat there thinking. ¡°You bring up a good point, I hadn¡¯t even thought about that. Where are you going with all of this?¡±


    ¡°I think that if I am given some time I might find a way to make the spider venom work on the spider''s bodies. I don¡¯t know for sure, but I think it will be worth it. If we can find a way to weaponize their own venom against them it will make it easier for us to fight back.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. I agree that it might be worth looking into. But I also think that our soldiers'' lives are more important than some extra damage. So I would like for you to focus on making more health potions. If you get to the point where you have brewed at least 20 more health potions I would say it is worth looking into.¡±


    A frown crossed Bjorn¡¯s face. ¡°Ah, I see that you aren¡¯t happy with my thinking. How many spiders do you think you¡¯d be able to kill with your poison? Conversely, how many do you think you could save with your healing potions? Is it worth losing a man just in the off chance that you could kill a few more spiders. You have to look at it from my end. Your potential poison could make some people extremely good at killing spiders, but there is no guarantee that you¡¯d be able to find a way to weaponize the venom. At the same time your healing potions can almost guarantee one of my men¡¯s lives. Even if you don¡¯t think so, you and your friends are included in that count. I personally would rather your health potions over a better way to kill.¡±


    ¡°20 potions could take me the better part of 2 days if I don¡¯t have any failures.¡± Bjorn said. ¡°You are right, I don¡¯t like it, but I can see where you are coming from. Do you think we will be here for two more days?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately I think we will be. Things slowed down again. We were finally making good progress towards the center of the spider''s nest when we ran into spiders that were larger than we have so far. These spiders are easily up to 8 or 9 feet long through the body, and from the reports I am hearing their size matched their length. This isn¡¯t anything we had thought would happen. Based on the description we got from our books, these spiders are something else entirely. There was no mention whatsoever about these damn spiders growing this large.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I will focus on making healing potions on the condition that when I am done I have free reign to brew whatever I want to brew.¡±


    ¡°You have a deal. I promise you that when you finish I will not ask you to brew anything else. I also promise that I will not put you on guard duty the entire time you are brewing.¡± Bjorn nodded and bowed his head slightly, turning to leave Jenkins spoke up again. ¡°Oh, and I will put in a good word for you when this is all done, I will make sure you are put down for increased compensation.¡±


    With that Bjorn turned and made his way to his small alchemy area and started the slow process of brewing healing potions. He dedicated his entire day to brewing healing potions, with various success. He was able to brew 9 potions, some with higher potency than others.


    Around halfway through the day Alaric and Meira came over and had a seat next to Bjorn while he brewed.


    ¡°If I knew this is what we would be doing here I would have suggested we leave Blackrock Bay.¡± Alaric said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to us. You might be frustrated at our circumstances but you are glad we ended up here. You are glad that we are here to help in this situation.¡± Meira shot back.


    ¡°Yeah you¡¯re right, I am glad to be here and help save people. I still just wish we weren¡¯t forced into it. I do think that if we had managed to escape town and found out about blackrock bay getting overrun later I would have regrets.¡±


    ¡°That is because you are a good man deep down.¡± Bjorn said.


    ¡°Thank you, I try to be.¡±


    There was a brief lull in conversation. They sat there in companionable silence as each of their minds wandered.


    ¡°Hey Meira, what was that warleader thing that you told me you''d tell me about later?¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that. I don¡¯t know exactly how to get the skill, but I do know that it can be powerful. Basically you are able to form a party and you then get a bunch of benefits for the entire party. Like for example when Jenkins gave you the scout role. You used your identify ability and then the results of that got transmitted to everyone. We all could see the highlighted spiders and we could see the levels of the spiders as well. From what I understand there are a ton of roles that you can unlock. But I don¡¯t know how to unlock different roles.¡±


    ¡°There was someone back in my village who had the warleader skill.¡± Alaric said. ¡°From what I was told, when you form a party and kill things you get points to unlock and upgrade things. He didn¡¯t tell me everything, just a small amount. There is a zone that you are able to influence. He called it his sphere of influence.¡±


    Bjorn furrowed his brow when Meira talked about gaining skills. ¡°You said you don¡¯t know how to get the skill, what does that mean?¡±


    Understanding dawned on Alaric¡¯s face. ¡°No one ever explained it to you, did they? Well there are certain parameters that you have to meet to gain every skill. Some of them have several different ways you can gain the skill. Some of them can be as simple as hit a thing with a sword gives you the swordsmanship skill, others that I have heard of I can¡¯t even begin to guess how you would gain the skill.¡±


    ¡°Alaric¡¯s exactly right. Many people in the Eld have dedicated a good portion of their life into trying to figure out the ways to unlock skills. With some or no success. I am not sure exactly why, but most people in the Eld don¡¯t like to share information.¡±


    ¡°I think I understand.¡± Bjorn said. ¡°Knowledge is power. If you know how to obtain a certain skill, or brew a certain potion, or even make a better metal. It gives you an edge on your opponents, that edge then can grow and lead you to victory. This world had a very heavy might makes right mentality. So why would you share whatever you learn with your potential future enemies? Why would you give them another weapon they could use against you in the future? It makes little logical sense to share information with those around you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah I guess that makes sense,¡± Meira said.


    ¡°Actually, I bet it isn''t limited to just skill unlocks. It is the same reason that Magic isn''t shared. I mean look at what our spells did, hell exclude me, look at what Meira¡¯s spells did. The mages decided to share with her 3 new spells and they were the most impactful thing in that spider raid. One spell killed the most spiders out of all of us. Another slowed down the spiders attack, without that spell we would have lost there is no doubt in my mind that is the case. Lastly her healing spell saved countless lives and let us fight on. It¡¯s also why people don¡¯t train other people''s skills. That is why the public library is so weird to me. The entire city of Blackrock Bay is willing to share its knowledge with anyone who wants it.¡±


    Nodding Alaric spoke up. ¡°You are absolutely right. Blackrock has the first public library I have ever seen. I have heard about others but this one is the first I have personally seen. From what I have heard most areas that have libraries restrict who has access to it.¡± Alaric stopped with a contemplative look on his face. ¡°This city''s public library played a huge role in our fight. Going off of what Bjorn said with knowledge is power. Without the knowledge we wouldn¡¯t have known what we were fighting against, and we also wouldn¡¯t have known anything about the snatcher spiders. All we would have had to go on was Bjorn¡¯s ability, and even that didn¡¯t give much.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, which is why I am surprised with how free people have been in this city with their knowledge.¡± Bjorn said. ¡°So far they have given free access to their library. They have taught both Meira and myself several spells each which have paid dividends several times over. And then they have given me several different recipes for potions that have done their job so far. Even today Alya gave me a recipe book that has well over a hundred different potions in it. Most of them aren¡¯t going to be useful, but they might be in the future.¡±


    ¡°Alright you sold me on it.¡± Meira said. ¡°I see why you say that and what you mean by knowledge is power. I think you are absolutely right as to why knowledge isn¡¯t shared around, it is a powerful tool and weapon both.¡±


    After that there was a brief lull in conversation before they started talking about small unimportant things as companions often do. When Bjorn went to reach for something and winced, Meira noticed.


    ¡°What hurts?¡± She asked.


    ¡°My many cuts aren¡¯t fully healed yet. My increased regeneration is working, but my body isn¡¯t fully healed yet.¡±


    Her eyes widened. ¡°Oh, I am so sorry, I forgot to come back to you and use my healing magic on you. Here let me cast my spell on you.¡± Her hand was surrounded in a warm golden light as healing magic left her body and flowed into Bjorn¡¯s. The magic did its work exactly as it was supposed to and the wounds on his body started to knit back together and scabs began to fall off. Her magical spell recovered 30 health over 5 seconds, with a 5 minute cooldown it wasn¡¯t fast, but it was still faster than his regeneration and had less drawbacks than drinking a healing potion. After her round of healing it brought him up to 208 out of his 253. When the spell''s cooldown elapsed she cast it on her again.


    ¡°Thank you. That should be enough.¡± Bjorn said.


    They then began to talk amongst themselves again. After an hour or so they got called away to do some menial task around camp, leaving Bjorn by himself with his alchemy set again. It took Bjorn the 20ish rough hours left in the day to brew his 9 healing potions.


    The next day Bjorn spent the entire day brewing while the new guards began integrating into camp. Bjorn got a new slew of men and women he was having a hard time remembering the names of. So instead of dedicating the mental energy into remembering he decided to just brew. Throughout the day he slowly ran through all of his notifications that have been piling up over the last day.


    You have advanced your skill level in: hand to hand combat. reaching skill level 10. Blows you land with bare fists and legs now deal 20% extra damage.


    Congratulations you have gone from a beginner in hand to hand combat to a novice. By doing so you have gained a perk. You may invest stamina into a punch to increase the damage of a single hit. The damage scales off of how much stamina you invest capped at twice the damage.


    You have advanced your skill level in alchemy, reaching skill level 18. Potions you make will have 18% increased effect and 36% increased duration of effect.


    Due to your constant running away like a little bitch you have gained a single point of endurance. Your efforts are so pathetic that you couldn¡¯t even gain more than that.


    You have advanced your skill level in swordsmanship, reaching skill level 8. Your attacks with swords now deal 16% more damage over base value.


    Due to your inability to not get hit, your skill level in Light Armor, reaching skill level 6. When wearing light armor your defensive value for the light armor is increased by 6%.


    Congratulations you have advanced your skill level in traps, reaching skill level 2, 3¡­ 6, 7. All traps you set will be 17.5% harder to find.


    Level up! You have reached level 17. You have 6 (normally 8) skill points to distribute. (again he is still 2 levels of stat points over where he should be, I won''t distribute stats this time, if I ever release this as a book I will fix it then.)


    You have advanced your skill level in Water magic. reaching skill level 7. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.


    You have advanced your skill level in Earth magic. reaching skill level 7. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.


    You have advanced your skill level in Dark magic. reaching skill level 2. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.


    You have advanced your skill level in archery, reaching skill level 15. Damage from arrows you shoot is increased by 22.5% over base damage.


    You have advanced your skill level in herb-lore. reaching skill level 17. The efficacy of plants and herbs you collect will increase by 51%.


    One thing that did confuse Bjorn about his skill gains was how he got his Herb-lore up. Everything else made sense, but not Herb-lore. Thinking about it the only thing that made sense was when he was collecting the venom. But it wasn¡¯t a herb so why did his herb-lore increase when he collected none plant based materials. He guessed that it would include any alchemical ingredient that he gathered himself, but wasn¡¯t entirely sure. The benefit he got from leveling also gave credence that it should only be for herbs. Looks like he would have to ask Alya if they ended up surviving this ordeal.


    On the morning of the third day runners came into camp once again, which at this point had become routine. This time something felt different though. As the runners came into camp they seemed almost elated, they made their way into camp and ran straight for Jenkins tent. Once they were inside the state in which they entered camp quickly made its rounds and people were talking excitedly.


    It was a few hours before they came back out of the tent, usually they were inside the tent for 30 minutes to an hour max. Once they left the tent they took off at a sprint heading for the next camp.


    Jenkins came out after them and gave an order. ¡°Everyone, collect by the entrance of the tunnel in 10 minutes. You have that time to collect everyone, make sure we are all there.¡± After his command he ducked back into the tent.


    Everyone who heard quickly trickled around the tunnel. Bjorn upon hearing made his way over there slowly as well. By the time he made it there everyone except for Rickie of their little group had made it. As they slowly trickled into the predetermined area small segregated parties started to form. They were divided into three groups, it was the old unit under Jenkins command, the new unit that showed up as their reinforcements, and finally the draftees.


    When half the time elapsed and Rickie was still nowhere to be seen Chase went to go find him. Right before Jenkins deadline expired Rickie and Chase walked into the clearing, coming from the spring. Rickie was wet up to his elbows leaving little wonder as to what he was doing. He was doing the dishes from their last meal. They joined Bjorn, Meira, Alaric, and Tayla.


    After the elapsed time Jenkins came back out from his tent and walked over to where everyone had gathered. All together they stood 32 strong, still three less than what initially set up camp at this tunnel entrance. What they traded in numbers they made up for with fighting capabilities. As every single one of them have been tested in battle against the spiders. The reinforcements had been broken off from the main army and sent over. They had arguably more experience against the spiders than anyone else from the initial group.


    ¡°We have gotten new orders.¡± Jenkins said. ¡°As of tomorrow they will be assaulting the room that is connected to our tunnel. Our orders are to make our way through our tunnel and meet up with the main force to either help and attack the spiders from two different sides, or to crush any spider we come across on our way to join with the rest of the army. They expect that fight to take a toll on our forces so they will begin the attack right at midday. We are to set out once everyone has had a chance to get a full night''s rest tonight. That is all.¡±


    ¡°What about the camp?¡± Asked one of his guards.


    ¡°We are to leave everything behind that isn¡¯t of vital importance or that doesn¡¯t give us an edge in the fight. So make any preparations you need to before we set out in the morning.¡±


    With that Jenkins left to make his way into his tent to do just as he ordered. There was a brief lull and then a burst of motion as everyone burst into action to follow Jenkins orders. Tomorrow they were joining the fight for real.

 Chapter 35

    The camp was abuzz with activity as everyone was trying to figure out what to bring and what to leave. Bjorn already knew what he was going to bring so he decided to take his time and try to figure out the venom issue. Walking back over to his now all too familiar alchemy corner he took stock of what he had. There were 2 crates full of dried herbs, there use to be three but he and Alya had used it up. On his way over he had stopped at his tent and retrieved his portable pocket.


    He set out a blanket and started to unload all of the herbs he had access to. Handful after handful of herbs came out of his portable pocket and got laid right next to the herbs from the crates. It was a respectable haul. Out of the 40 sum odd herbs he had laid out in front of him he knew uses for a little over half of them. Next he pulled out his vials of venom and set them neatly on his blanket. Finally Bjorn picked one of each of the unknown herbs and set them to the side in a small pile.


    Not really knowing where to start he just stood there and stared down at the herbs. A knot of dread settled in his stomach. He knew what he had to do, but he didn¡¯t want to do so. He wasn¡¯t sure how long he stood there trying to work up the courage before he finally started to move.


    Instead of walking towards the blanket he turned on his heels and tried to find Meira. It wasn¡¯t overly hard to find her as she was in her tent with Tayla. When he walked over her head slowly swung in his direction, their eyes met briefly and a smile spread across her face. ¡°Hey, what can I do for you?¡±


    Swallowing past the lump in his throat he asked his question. ¡°Hey, I have an idea that might give us an edge in the coming days, but I need your help. Will you come with me please?¡±


    Meira and Tayla exchanged a quick glance. ¡°Of course, whatever you need.¡± She stood and followed after him. They walked back over to where the blanket was laid out. As they walked she could feel his mood and didn¡¯t speak. Once they stopped in front of the blanket she followed his gaze down. ¡°What do you need my help with?¡±


    Bjorn filled her in on his conversation he had with Jenkins, and how he thinks that there should be a way to weaponize the venom against the spiders. ¡°Yeah, that makes sense. I hadn¡¯t even thought about that, so what is your plan? Where do you start in making such a poison?¡±


    ¡°That is where I need your help. I don¡¯t know enough about the ingredients in front of me, there is a chance that I waste valuable alchemy ingredients while trying to make this poison. So I need more information.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but how do you get that information? I don¡¯t know anything about the various effects of herbs. I am useless for you in that regard. So I will ask you again, what do you need my help with?¡±


    With a small sigh Bjorn answered. ¡°You see, when I got level 10 in my herb-lore skill the perk I unlocked will give me the information I need. There is a drawback though. I have to ingest the herb to learn of two of its uses. So what I need your help with is healing me if I take any damage.¡±


    Realization spread across her face as she understood what Bjorn intended to do. ¡°No, that is crazy. We have seen what that venom can do if it is localized. You want to drink the venom and let it spread across your entire body. It could melt all of our bones, turning you into a puddle. Is that really worth a small chance to kill spiders easier? You have told me how hard you had to work to come up with a healing potion when you fell off that cliff. Do you really think you have a chance to work out a poison in such a short time?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I think it is worth it. Meira, I am tired of losing every single fight I get in. I want to be of use.¡± Bjorn stopped speaking and threw his head back looking up at the ceiling. ¡°I don¡¯t see how I can survive this conflict without it. The only two times I fought these spiders I have gotten heavily injured both times. The first time I managed to have the spider land on top of me and sink its claws into my body. And then the second time I somehow found myself in the exact same position. I would have died if it wasn¡¯t for that asshole dwarf teaching you life magic. I don¡¯t want to make all of you save me every single time we have to fight.¡±


    Meira put her hand on Bjorn¡¯s arm. ¡°I understand where you are coming from. You were a soft person, this is a hard world. That combination doesn¡¯t lead to an easy life. But is poisoning yourself the day before we go into a fight really the best way for you to contribute? I don¡¯t think it is. I don¡¯t want to stand here and watch you poison yourself, think about everyone else. Do you think Alaric, Tayla, and myself will fight as well if we don¡¯t have you by our side?¡±


    Bjorn let out a small chuckle. ¡°If anything I think you¡¯ll fight better if you don¡¯t have to watch over me while we fight? Besides I think between my increased regeneration, and a healing potion, and your life magic it won¡¯t matter. Three different sources all healing me, It will probably be enough to make sure that I don¡¯t die, or even be crippled from our attempts.¡±


    ¡°I know for a fact I won¡¯t fight near as well as I could if you aren¡¯t by my side. I can say with a guarantee that the same is true for Alaric and most likely Tayla. Even if you don¡¯t think so. There is something to be said about trust in a fight. I trust all three of you, I trust that you will watch my back. Without that trust I can cast my spells without worry for my safety, That isn¡¯t something that I can do with anyone else here. I know that if anything gets near me all three of you will stop it before it can hurt me.¡±


    ¡°Also don¡¯t sell yourself short.¡± Meira said. ¡°You did almost as much as Alaric in that fight, and on top of that you did more than most of the guards. Your ranged damage did tons in slowing down the spiders and preventing them from taking many of the openings they made in our lines. Also your magic made a difference as well. Your strengthening light spell seems small, but when it is spread across so many people it is massive. It was the right spell for the right occasion. Just like my summer storm spell. The only reason it did what it did was because of the right spell when the conditions were just right. You killed more spiders than Chase, than 95% of the guards.¡±


    ¡°I still think it is a risk worth taking.¡±


    ¡°You are being blockheaded, you still want to take a chance with your life with no guarantee. You might be right, you might have a chance to survive, but is it worth the risk to your life? I don¡¯t think it is. You are precious to me, I don¡¯t want to lose you.¡±


    ¡°I know. But this is something I have to do. You are asking me not to risk my life to give us a better chance. If we are being honest, I am not that much of a fighter. Sure Alaric has done a great job getting me ready to fight, but my combat usefulness isn¡¯t in the strength of my arm, it is in what I can provide to all of us to prepare for a fight. You asking me not to risk my life is asking me to take a greater risk later.¡±


    This time it was Meira who sighed. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to convince you otherwise will I?¡±


    ¡°No, you can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I will help. I disagree, and I don¡¯t like it. But I can¡¯t stop you, so I will help and heal you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I am not going to start with the venom though. That pile there is all herbs. I don''t know what their effects are, so that is where I am going to start.¡±


    ¡°Alright, if you need my healing either say so or if you fall to your knees I will take that as confirmation that you need my healing.¡±


    Bjorn knelt down and picked up one of the herbs on top of the pile. Standing up he plucked a small amount off of it and made eye contact with Meira. She gave him a nod and he threw it into his mouth and quickly chewed the small amount and swallowed. The portion he plucked off was barely enough for him to feel it in his mouth. And nothing happened.


    Meira looked at him expectantly. ¡°Well?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Nothing, I don¡¯t think it was enough of the herb to be considered a dose.¡±


    ¡°So that means we can¡¯t get away with a small amount of your venom. Did you not know that?¡±


    ¡°Not really, no. So far the only time I have used this perk is when I wasn¡¯t able to do anything in the small valley. At that time I didn¡¯t care, I just ate large mouthfuls at a time.¡±


    ¡°Well shit. Alright, no getting around it, I guess try again.¡±


    Bjorn this time picked up the same herb, it had three distinct stocks that all originated from the still intact roots. It had thin green leaves in clusters of 4 that were offshoots from the main branch. Plucking one of the clusters of leaves he threw it in his mouth, chewed briefly and swallowed. This time a prompt popped up in the middle of his vision.


    You have ingested Razor Leaf. You get the faint sense that it would go great into a sharpness potion. It could be used in making a local anesthetic.


    Razor Leaf imbues you with a sense of sharpness. Any blade attack you make for the next 10 seconds has increased effect.


    ¡°Well? Anything this time?¡± Meira asked.


    ¡°I found out some of the uses of the herb. It can go into a sharpness potion and make a pain killer. I hope they all go this easy.¡±


    They in fact did not go that easily. Of the twenty sum herbs he ate most of them were benign. But there were a few that didn¡¯t go too well. One of them induced vomiting. Luckily for Bjorn he had a bucket nearby he could puke into instead of puking all over his neatly arrayed herbs. He was entirely sure that the herb caused people to puke due to the prompts he got telling him it was one of its effects. If not for that he would have thought that the combination of herbs eaten in quick succession would have caused the puke. After all a large amount of undigested herb ended up coming back up and in the bucket.


    Puking was one of the more mild reactions. One made him feel like there were things crawling underneath his skin. One of the herbs had a calming effect and increased hunger when smoked. It was nice to know that even the Eld had essentially weed. The worst herb reversed the growth of his fingernails. It was excruciating to feel his nails pull back into his skin and expose the sensitive flesh underneath.


    Finally they were down to just one left to do. With trepidation Bjorn picked up the final vial. This entire experience had not been a pleasant one. So far Meira had seen Bjorn in several different situations he would rather her not. But he was still glad to have her present while he did this. Her presence had a calming effect on him.


    ¡°Alright, are you ready?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I still advise against this course of action, but yes I am ready.¡±


    Nodding Bjorn pulled a vial from his belt and pulled the cork from the vial, up ending the health potion it slid down his throat and the warming sensation quickly spread through his body.


    You have ingested a healing potion. You will regain 153 hp over the next 37 seconds.


    With out hesitation he pulled the cork on the vial of venom and drank its contents. For a second nothing happened. Pain shot through his entire body after a few seconds. It felt like every inch of the inside of his body was on fire. It was a weird feeling. Logic should dictate that you can¡¯t actually feel pain because bones shouldn¡¯t have nerve endings. Logic would be wrong in this case, as bones actually do have nerve endings. Every inch of his body burned with pain, it felt like each of his bones had been set on fire somehow inside his body.


    Bjorn was able to ignore a certain amount of pain thanks to his increased pain tolerance, but what he was feeling now was enough to overwhelm it. The reduction of 20% was not enough to allow him to maintain any sense of his surroundings. Faintly his saw a golden glow off in the distance before the pain overwhelmed his mind and it retreated to safety, and everything faded to black.


    When he finally came to, he did so with a jolt. Sitting up he looked around him and saw Rickie and one of the new guards standing around him. Meira was kneeling next to him in the middle of casting her single life spell. His sudden response startled her and she lost her concentration on the spell letting it fade. Looking at her briefly he missed the tears that had been streaming down her face.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°After you drank the venom you were fine for a few seconds. Then your entire body tensed up and you fell to your knees. Your face was locked into a silent scream for several seconds before you went limp and fell to the ground the rest of the way. As soon as your body tensed up I started casting my healing spell. When you fell to the ground you caught the attention of Rickie and Mary. I reassured them they couldn¡¯t do anything and then I cast weak slow heal as often as I could on you. As you lay there, your body twitched occasionally.¡±


    Rickie looked down on Bjorn. ¡°That was stupid, but I am glad to see you are alive.¡±


    Bjorn did a quick once over of his body, the pain he had felt was gone. Testing his arms and legs he moved them slowly checking for pain, when none came he started to move them faster. Once he was satisfied he pushed himself to his feet. Standing there he checked and did a few stretches.


    ¡°I seem to be fully fine. The pain is gone, and I seem to be at full health. Meira you are a lifesaver.¡± He turned his smile onto her.


    The smile quickly faded as he saw her stormy expression, she stood and took a single step forward. Her fist came flying at Bjorn and struck him solidly on the jaw. Knocking him to the ground once again. He looked up at her in shock, that was the first time he noticed her wet face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ever do that again. Actually I will never help you do that ever again, I thought I lost you when you fell to the ground. Your eyes had rolled up into the back of your skull and you were unresponsive.¡±


    ¡°Meira. I-¡±


    ¡°Stop, don¡¯t say another word. You may not care about your life but there are many of us who do so.¡± As she said that last part her voice raised in volume until she shouted the last part. She kicked out landing solidly on his leg before she stormed off.


    Looking up at the other two they watched her storm off slack jawed. Rickie looked down at Bjorn. ¡°She let you off easy. She was not happy, through her tears she said that if you didn¡¯t die from this she would kill you herself. I saw how powerful she is, she is a woman I wouldn¡¯t want mad at me.¡±


    ¡°Should I go after her?¡± Bjorn asked.


    Mary the guard just shook her head. ¡°No, she just needs some time to cool off. Leave her to it, she will eventually come around. If you go after her you will just do more damage than good.¡±


    Bjorn sat there defeated. ¡°How long was I out?¡±


    ¡°At least half an hour, I was attracted by the golden glow that shone periodically over here as she healed you.¡± Rickie stepped towards Bjorn and held out his hand. They clasped hands and Rickie pulled Bjorn back to his feet. ¡°Was it worth it?¡±


    Checking his prompts he would have to say it was worth it.


    You have ingested venom of the snatcher spider. Your bones begin to melt, over the next 5 minutes your bones will turn from their solid state to a liquid. You get the feeling that this venom could be used in a bone melting poison. You get the feeling that snatcher spider venom could be used in a spider bane poison.


    The life attuned energies that are coursing through your body have helped counteract the effects of the venom and the melting process has slowed. Now instead of your bones turning into a liquid they will instead become brittle.


    The continued healing energies that have poured into your body have helped mitigate even more of the effects of the venom. Instead of your bones becoming brittle they will enter a weakened state.


    Your body already has an unusually high life attuned energies that course through it at all times. Because of this instead of your bones entering a weakened state your constitution has counteracted the effects of the snatcher spider venom.


    In one of the most idiotic moves I have ever seen you have negated most of the effects of the snatcher spider venom you have gained a 10% poison resistance. You will take 10% less damage from any source of poison or venom. The negative effects of poisons and venoms will be reduced by 10%. This is not a suggestion to try it again.


    A smile crossed Bjorn¡¯s face as he continued to read his prompts. ¡°Stop smiling like that. It is creepy.¡± Rickie said.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Huh? Oh, sorry. Yes it was worth it. Meira will get over it and I now have a lead on brewing a potion. Also as an added benefit I also gained 10% poison resistance. So yeah I would say it was worth it.¡±


    ¡°Really? Increased poison resistance?¡± Mary asked. ¡°If all I have to do to get the resistance is drink this venom and survive it might actually be worth it.¡±


    Bjorn immediately shook his head. ¡°No, it isn''t worth it for you. It was a a freak accident that allowed me to gain the poison resistance. A while ago someone tried to poison me and a rare life attuned orb saved me from dying. That event increased my health regeneration which is actually what allowed me to get the resistance. On top of that the pain I felt before passing out was almost too much to bear. I highly suggest not following in my footsteps.¡± It didn¡¯t take Mary long to agree that Bjorn was right, it wouldn¡¯t likely be worth it.


    All the talk about resistance made Bjorn remember something he wanted to ask Rickie. ¡°Hey Rickie, I could have sworn I saw several spiders bite you in that fight. How is it that you aren¡¯t affected by the venom?¡±


    He laughed. ¡°That is a rude question. But you are right, the spiders had no effect on me because of one of my abilities. It is called Poisoners Constitution, which I think is a ridiculous name. It grants me complete immunity to Poison damage, It also grants me complete immunity to the effects of poisons and venoms.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like an awesome ability.¡± Mary said, looking slightly crestfallen. ¡°My abilities kind of suck. One gives me an increased sense of smell, the other gives me increased skill gain with water based skills, which the only one I have ever found was swimming. So I can smell good and swim well. Tell me how that is useful?¡±


    Rickie scratched his head. ¡°I can¡¯t say honestly.¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡±


    ¡°Ahem.¡± Bjorn cleared his throat to get their attention. ¡°I have a poison to try to make, would you kindly leave me to it?¡±


    Taking the barely veiled dismissal they both left, leaving Bjorn by himself to try and work on making a spider bane poison. With a few new leads thanks to his session of ingesting herbs he got to work.


    The next morning everyone woke up early and nerves were frayed as they got ready for the fight which was to come. Everyone was a little antsy as they started to form up.


    Alaric walked over to where Bjorn was standing by himself a little off from the main group. Meira had become a very popular figure in camp, once it became known that she had access to life magic almost everyone welcomed her and were friendly to her. Her good looks and friendly attitude quickly made her liked by all. There had even been a few of the guards guys and girls who made a pass at her, all of which were quickly shot down.


    By contrast Bjorn was the weird antisocial alchemist who didn¡¯t really interact with anyone. So even though he wished he could go and apologize to Meira he stayed at the edge of the pack. ¡°She is sorry.¡± Alaric said.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°She is sorry that she punched you.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    They stood in silence as they watched everyone making any last minute preparations they wanted. ¡°Was it worth it?¡± Alaric said.


    ¡°I think so. I didn¡¯t find what I was looking for, but I did get a benefit from drinking the venom.¡±


    ¡°Well that is something at least.¡± They fell back into silence.


    People continued to file into the clearing before the tunnel slowly. When Jenkins made his way into the small clearing he surveyed the collecting force. His eyes fell on Bjorn and narrowed slightly.


    Making a beeline for Bjorn he pulled up short. ¡°I could have sworn I said leave behind everything that isn¡¯t necessary for this combat, so why do you have a bag attached to your hip?¡±


    Bjorn glared back at Jenkins. ¡°This isn¡¯t a regular bag, this is what is known as a portable pocket. This portable pocket holds many items that are useful for our upcoming fight.¡± Bjorn reached into the pocket and pulled out his bow. ¡°This pocket is a space folding item. It holds my weapons, my arrows, my potions, and various other useful items.¡± He put the bow back into the bag. ¡°As an added bonus the potions aren¡¯t truly inside the bag so If I get hit the potions won¡¯t break like they did in our last fight.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me? I have some heavier items that are bulky and would go great in there.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry, but no. This is my personal item, it is soul bound to me so only I can use it. Don¡¯t even think about trying to take it from me, it would be useless to you. And on top of that, the bag folds space, it doesn¡¯t decrease the weight of the items that are stored inside.¡± To punctuate his words Bjorn removed the bag and held it out for Jenkins to feel it.


    When Jenkins took a hold of it his arm sagged slightly at the surprising weight to what looked like an empty leather bag. ¡°Very well, you are right. I shouldn¡¯t try and take it from you, I do have a few things that would be useful in there, but seeing how I don¡¯t have one it is pointless.¡± Jenkins turned and went off to harass one of the other guards.


    ¡°That guy is a bit of a cunt.¡± Alaric said.


    His words brought a full bellied laugh out of Bjorn. His laugh was loud and carried across the space; it was one of the pure joyous laughs that are all too rare. Upon hearing his laugh Meira looked over to where he was standing and she excused herself from the conversation she was having. She started to make her way over to where Bjorn and Alaric were standing.


    ¡°That''s my que, good luck my friend.¡± Alaric said as he made his way off into the crowd.


    Meira made her way over to where Bjorn was now standing by himself. She moved and stood right next to Bjorn facing the group the same way he was. Standing there for a moment Bjorn was scared to say anything because of her outburst last time they talked.


    She was the one who broke the tension. She placed her head on his shoulder. ¡°I am sorry I hit you. You just made me so angry. I was worried for so long that we had lost you. I don¡¯t think I could have handled that, so when I saw you jump up and act so cavalier it made me angry. Before I knew what I was doing I had struck you. I am sorry. If you want to be angry I will accept whatever you decide to do.¡±


    ¡°Hey, stop it. You have nothing to apologize for. You had and still have every right to be angry at me. You are right, I was being too cavalier with my life. I am sorry. I am the only one who should be sorry.¡±


    One moment stretched into two. ¡°I forgive you.¡± she said.


    It wasn¡¯t long before everyone had gathered and formed up to make their way down the tunnel. ¡°Bjorn!¡± Jenkins called from his spot in the middle of the column. Bjorn made his way over. ¡°Out of everyone here you have had the most experience with traps. I hadn¡¯t thought of the fact that the spiders might have set traps until James said so just a few seconds ago. If I had thought of it I wouldn¡¯t have sent Laurel back up to the surface. You are our best option now, would you be willing to play scout for us?¡±


    Bjorn barely had to think before he had his answer. ¡°Yes, I will do that. I would request Tayla join me though, and together the two of us will range ahead.¡±


    Jenkins nodded. ¡°We leave in 5 minutes, you and Tayla should head out now.¡±


    Bjorn made his way back to where Tayla stood near the back of the pack and did a little side gesture with his head indicating the way forward. Without question she walked forward to join Bjorn and together the two made their way through the group again. As Bjorn passed Meira, Rickie, Chase, and Alaric they each made their small gesture in solidarity.


    Together the two of them made their way forward and down the empty tunnel. As they passed the guards at the front they passed Bjorn a light stone, they offered one to Tayla and she declined. Walking forward in the dark Bjorn had his eyes peeled for any tall tale signs of a trap. ¡°Why did you decide to not take the light?¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°I leveled up again, and I spent my new talent points on a talent called night vision. It makes it so that I see in normal color when in lights, and then in shades of green and black outside of that. As long as there is some light that is. I haven¡¯t had a chance to test it but the talent says that it doesn¡¯t work if there isn¡¯t light in some form.¡±


    ¡°That is awesome. I need to get myself a profession. We have something like that back on earth but everyone can use it. But it has drawbacks in comparison to yours.¡±


    Bjorn could hear the confusion in her voice. ¡°What do you mean? How can your world have something similar? As far as I understand it your world didn¡¯t have any types of magic or skills or levels whatsoever.¡±


    ¡°That is true. Do you remember how I told you about something called technology? That is how.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah. That was the thing that is like magic but based on physical things in the world. Which is why you are so concerned with how the world works.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. I am not entirely sure how exactly it works, but from what I understand there are multiple types of light that you are able to see and not see. The spectrum of light you can¡¯t see is significantly wider than what you can see. Well they found a way to build a tool that lets you see those spectrums of light. So if you have that tool you are able to see in the dark as long as there is a small amount of light, but you are only able to see in shades of greens and black like your talent. But it still isn¡¯t anywhere as good as yours. You see too much light can overload that tool and you can lose your vision for a while.¡±


    They continued to move forward. ¡°Yeah that does sound like a downside. It was actually very disorientating at first when I picked up the talent.¡±


    ¡°So what is the cost of that skill? Like does it cost you stamina or mana to keep it going?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, it doesn¡¯t actually cost me anything, it cost me 15 talent points to purchase, now it seems like I will have it forever.¡± They made it to where they had set up their traps. ¡°Now shush, I don¡¯t know if these spiders can hear but I think it would be best if we proceed in silence. The main group should only be 4 or 5 minutes behind us.¡±


    Nodding Bjorn shut up and surveyed where their traps had made a massacre of the spider''s force. After a moment they continued. Bjorn had a thought and put his hand out stopping Tayla. Reaching into his pouch he pulled out a potion he and Alya brewed before they came down here.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Danger sense potion


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: uncommon


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: .5 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 2/2


    </td>


    <td>


    Duration: 8.16 hours


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    When under the effects of this potion gain a ¡°6th sense¡± as it were about danger. Making you more sensitive to hidden dangers directed at you. It also makes you more likely to spot traps, high-lighting them in orange when spotted.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Pulling the cork he drank the sickly orange liquid. Almost immediately nothing at all happened. Looking around the tunnel it looked the exact same as it had before he drank his potion. Trusting the prompts he continued forward in the warzone that was where the traps had been set. All over he saw the remnants of the traps. There would be an arrow here, or shards of broken glass from the acid traps, or there were stones that were scorched black from the electricity that ran through them.


    One thing that was unsettling was the fact that there were no bodies left behind. They had gotten confirmation that the traps worked exactly as intended and had killed several spiders based on the levels that Laurel gained. That means at some point the spiders came and collected the bodies of their fallen brethren. Still they moved forward through the trap zone. All around him he could see the wire that he and Laurel had set up. But as he looked at them it was obvious that they had all been sprung.


    Vibrant neon orange flashed into existence in front of where Tayla stood. ¡°Stop!¡± Bjorn called in an urgent whisper. As soon as he did she paused exactly where she had been weight perfectly balanced, she hadn¡¯t made so much as a move as she stopped in place. ¡°Take two steps back, there is a trap there.¡±


    After she complied Bjorn overtook her and took a look at the trip wire which had been set up against one of the walls. The way that Tayla had been walking she would have brushed right into it. ¡°This one was Laruel¡¯s doing.¡± Bjorn said as he dropped down to where the trap had been set. Reaching into his bag he pulled out two thin small metal hooks, one was a straight piece of metal that had a hook on the end the other was a slightly zig zagged in shape being turned up at the end. It was a set of tools given to him by Laurel.


    As he mentally played the set up method in his head he stared at the trap. According to Laurel if you know how the trap was set up it was a lot easier to disable the trap. That is of course if you actually spotted the trap before it killed or maimed you.


    ¡°Hey nice lockpick set.¡± Tayla said. ¡°I always knew that Laurel was a high class woman.¡±


    With a snort Bjorn replied. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I would call having multiple sets of lockpicks being any sort of high class anything.¡±


    ¡°You have a set of lockpicks.¡±


    ¡°I know what I said.¡± Bjorn shot back. ¡°Now stop distracting me.¡±


    She complied and left Bjorn to his work. Taking his lockpicks he followed down to where Laurel had set the trap and how she had deftly wrapped the wire around the triggering mechanism before pulling out a small metal pin and letting it drop to the floor. After a minute of searching he wasn¡¯t able to find the pin, it had either rolled into one of the cracks on the stone floor or it had rolled off when it landed. Sighing he returned his attention to the triggering mechanism. The wire wrapped around it so that if tension was applied to the wire it would rotate the trigger and set off the trap.


    Taking the pick side of his lockpick he inserted it into a small hole and used that pick to hold the mechanism in place. Using the tensioner rod side of his pick he deftly inserted it into the trap right next to the trigger and used it to bend the small metal flap that was holding onto the wire up so he was able to release the wire. After it was done he pulled on the wire and it came free. With the trap successfully disarmed he let out a breath he didn¡¯t realize he had been holding and relaxed.


    ¡°Boom!¡± Tayla''s voice came, surprisingly close to his right ear.


    Surprised, he jerked back. His mind first went to the trap and went off. Then the rational part of his mind took over and he realized that Tayla had scared him to get a rise out of him. Angry he turned towards her, but she was already with her back against the wall doubled over as she was laughing at Bjorn¡¯s reaction.


    ¡°Not funny.¡± Bjorn said.


    ¡°I beg to differ.¡±


    ¡°What if the trap had gone off?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t going to go off. I watched you disarm it, I waited for your lockpicks to be pulled back out of the trap before I did that. Stop being a sour puss.¡±


    Grumbling, he turned back to the trap and started to collect the damn thing. With it disarmed partially he was still careful while retrieving it. The trap can¡¯t ever be fully disarmed without the pin. So Bjorn very gingerly put the trap into his portable pocket for later use. As he was retrieving his wire he noticed the blinking icon that showed him he got new notification.


    Congratulations you have learned a new skill: Trap Disarm. There are many things in this world that want nothing more than to harm you by hitting you with a trap. You have started your journey today on not letting that happen.


    ¡°By the way, you''re an ass.¡± Bjorn said as he stood and started walking down the tunnel again.


    ¡°Oh come on! It wasn¡¯t that bad.¡± Tayla called after him as she started to follow after him down the tunnel.


    They ended up following the tunnel for about half an hour when light could be seen in the tunnel ahead. Upon seeing the glow from ahead they slowed to a crawl and made eye contact. Nodding Tayla dropped into stealth and slinked ahead, leaving Bjorn by himself.


    It was only a few minutes before she reappeared right next to Bjorn, scaring him. ¡°Gah! Don¡¯t do that, you know you should drop your stealth before you get to me.¡±


    ¡°Stop your whining, there are people up ahead. I think we should go back and report what we found.¡±


    Nodding in agreement Bjorn and Tayla started to make their way back down the tunnel trying to find the column. It took a surprising amount of time to catch back up with them. As it turned out the rest of their force had been moving slow. When their light came into view Jenkins'' voice barked a quick order and everyone fell into a defensive stance. When they saw it was their scouts, everyone let down their guard.


    ¡°Bjorn, Tayla, stop where you are.¡± His voice echoed out once again. They complied. ¡°Now walk slowly towards us. Almost there. And stop. Just to make sure you haven¡¯t been attacked by any spiders, strip down.¡±


    ¡°Is that really necessary?¡± Bjorn asked.


    Tayla on the other hand had no qualms with the order and quickly and deftly removed every single article of clothing she was wearing including her tight leather armor. She stood there proudly in her birthday suit not bothered whatsoever at being looked at and even ogled by many present. She did a short little spin to get the column a view of her from every angle. ¡°If you wanted to see me naked Jenkins all you had to ask.¡± She called back with a slight flush in her cheeks.


    The commander was at a loss for words temporarily. ¡°Uh, yeah. That is good enough, if she hasn¡¯t been infected you probably haven¡¯t been as well. You don¡¯t have to strip down Bjorn. Also Tayla put some clothes back on.¡±


    ¡°But why, you were the one to tell me to take them off.¡± Tayla complained. Even though she complained about having to put her clothes back on she did so without hesitation.


    Clearing his throat Jenkins called out once again. ¡°Report.¡±


    ¡°We came across a crossroad and there were people that had set up a defensive wall about 20 minutes up this tunnel. I didn¡¯t get a great look at them but they looked to be dressed the exact same way as you all are dressed.¡± Tayla said as she was pulling on her clothes. She spoke under her breath just loud enough that only Bjorn could hear. ¡°I should probably find some clothes that are just as easy to put on as they are to take off.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I haven¡¯t heard of there being anyone that should meet us, and where the spiders are set up should be a large room. Go ahead and join up, we will go and investigate.¡±


    The column made its way forward again, splitting apart and absorbing Bjorn and Tayla as he held her clothes and armor so that she could get them back on. As many of the guards passed them they gave Tayla a sideways glance. A few of their gazes lingered on her body as they passed.


    When Meira made it to where the two were standing, Tayla mostly dressed, she wrapped her knuckles on the side of her head. ¡°You just couldn¡¯t help yourself could you. You just had to get naked in front of everyone down here.¡±


    She gave Meira a sly smile. ¡°What can I say, I enjoyed it.¡±


    ¡°Gross.¡± was all Meira had to say in response, she rolled her eyes and started walking to keep up with the column.


    What had taken Bjorn and Tayla 20 minutes to cross while being careful, it took the column half an hour. When the lights came into view once again Bjorn cast his simple light spell and cast it to his max distance, as Jenkins had asked him to.


    Voices echoed through the tunnel. ¡°Sir! A weird light just sprang to life in the tunnel and traveled for a bit before stopping.¡±


    Muffled words could be heard.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I told you everything I know so far.¡± More voices. ¡°Well if you want to go check it out, be my guest sir. I think I will stay here, where it is safe.¡±


    Jenkins ordered them to start advancing. They came within 300 feet of where the other humanoids were set up. Tayla was spot on, their way forward was blocked by a contingent of guards in the exact same uniform as what the majority of their force wore.


    ¡°State your name and your rank.¡± An orc guard called out. Based on his size and gear he was most likely the leader of their group.


    ¡°My name is Corporal Jenkins, I was tasked with defending one of the tunnels and stopping the spiders from making it around and attacking the rear of our forces.¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯ll be. Stand down.¡± He called to his troops who lowered their weapons. ¡°It is good to see you, Jenkins.¡± The orc took off his helmet.


    ¡°Gulnag, it is good to see you!¡± The two commanders both walked out from their groups and clasped each other''s wrists.


    It didn¡¯t take them long to get the story out of Gulnag and his troops. They were stationed on one of the other tunnels, and they had received orders to make their way forward. When they came to a fork in the tunnel they didn¡¯t know what exactly to do so they stopped and set up preparing to defend against both tunnels. Once Jenkins'' cohort joined they knew the proper way forward.


    With both forces combined their numbers swelled to 78. With both groups having the same standing orders they decided it was best to take the last way forward. Both groups quickly formed back up, merging into one unit. They sent Bjorn and Tayla to scout ahead once again. Two of Gulnag¡¯s men joined them in their scouting mission.


    This time instead of ranging far ahead they stayed in view of the column. That way they would hopefully be able to retreat if need be, or come forward and provide support to the scouts if need be. The combined force made good time, it helped that the tunnel was wide enough for 8 to walk side by side.


    The 4 scouts combined efforts was enough to give the group confidence that they weren¡¯t going to be walking into a trap. It was the sound of combat that reached them before anything else. Voices of shouted orders came echoing down the tunnel. They were mixed with the chittering and clicking noises that the spiders made as they fought.


    As soon as the sounds could be made out the scouts rejoined the group. They then started moving forward carefully. The tunnel curved and finally gave them a view of the battlefield. It looked like absolute chaos from where they stood. Based on the sea of spiders they saw they were just in time to smash into the spiders from two different sides. Being the hammer to the rest of the army''s anvil.


    As they moved into position one of the shield bearer¡¯s heavy boots came down on something soft and webs came shooting out of the tunnel trapping the soldiers in place.

 Chapter 36

    Thick strands of webbing shot forth from the walls of the tunnel periodically throughout the entire column. Entangling a good two thirds of the entire group. Startled cries left throats as their movement was taken away from them and they were now left helpless.


    Those who were quick on the uptake immediately started trying to cut the sticky strands of webbing freeing their allies. They weren¡¯t quick enough. Once the trap was set off the sea of spiders in the room ahead of them turned their attention towards their side tunnel. Hundreds of spiders all broke off and charged at the tunnel.


    Most of the column was distracted by either being completely entombed in web or freeing those restrained, and didn¡¯t notice the spider''s charge. When they connected with the humanoids it was devastating. The once organized and orderly ranks were quickly torn apart as they began to die with little change.


    Their only saving grace was once again Meira. Her quick thinking saved the lives of all of the assembled soldiers. As the trap was going off she understood that they would be in trouble without something to slow down the spiders so she quickly started casting her air barrier. The next little grace came when she was actually outside of the effective range of the spider''s trap. Due to her pure strategic importance they had her traveling near the middle of the pack, in the safest place they could have her.


    The pockets of webbing ended up entangling those in front, behind, and to her right. But she was blessedly free. Bjorn on the other hand got caught in the web and was immobilized. This allowed her spell shield to blossom into existence and effectively block off the tunnel giving them some breathing room.


    It wasn¡¯t fast enough though. As a good 20 spiders made it through and were wreaking havoc on the immobile humanoids. Elves, humans, dwarves, and gnomes began to fall in droves as they began to deliver the coup de grace. Their numbers began to quickly diminish.


    They didn¡¯t stand still during the ordeal though. For each humanoid who was bound up and immobilized there were two more who were free and they began to work on freeing their brethren. A small contingent of soldiers broke away from the freeing effort and engaged the spiders slowing their rampage through their force.


    The bad situation turned worse as the next nefarious part of the spider''s trap was realized. The cries for help quickly turned into screams of pain as the acid the webbing was coated in began to take effect and burn and eat the skin of the trapped humanoids. A disgusting stench and sizzling sound added to the chaos as parts of the trapped soldiers began to dissolve.


    You have come in contact with snatcher spider acid. You will lose 15 hp per second while in contact with the acid.


    Many of the soldiers began to redouble their efforts and free their companions, all while trying to limit their contact with the acid coated strands of webbing. While Meira had been casting her shield spell, Tayla had been trying to free Bjorn from the webbing. Even with her increased agility of being a professed rogue she still got snagged on one of her arms. Fortunately for her she was able to free her arm before the acidic effect of the web could start to eat away at her. She had quickly turned towards Bjorn and started to free him.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t the danger sense potion warn me?¡± Bjorn thought to himself as Tayla was working on freeing one of his arms. That thought was quickly followed by ¡°Ow, ow, ow. That shit burns, get me out of here.¡±


    Bjorn never would get an answer as to why his danger sense potion failed to warn him about the trap. But if he thought about it, it wouldn¡¯t be hard to figure out. When they neared the ongoing battlefield they had been ordered to join the rear guard. This put the triggering mechanism for the trap outside of the range of his danger sense potion. Earlier when Bjorn neared the trap he and Laurel set the only thing that got highlighted was the triggering mechanism. In a completely boneheaded move Jenkins had ordered his two best scouts to move to the rear. A move that was actively costing them lives.


    By the time everyone figured out that the first priority was to free their allies they had been trapped for several seconds. In the best case scenario they barely took any damage before being freed. Most got free around the 2/3rds or half hp area. Bjorn was in the former, Tayla¡¯s quick reaction saved him much pain leaving him with over 80% of his health. Of the 26 that got trapped in the web 11 were freed. 8 were killed by the spiders while they were immobilized. And the remaining 7 expired because their friends weren¡¯t quick enough to free them.


    Just as the last were being freed from the sticky webs a piercing crashing sound sounded through the tunnel. Bjorn snapped his head towards the sound. There was a press of spider bodies that had pressed against the air shield. Their combined weight and attacks quickly ate through the shields hp and not even 10 seconds after it came into existence it was shattered. Now once again free to rush into the tunnel their force was once again caught off guard as a sea of spiders came rushing down the tunnel towards the already beleaguered humanoids.


    Their situation quickly went from bad to worse as the press of spiders slammed into the disorganized group of guards. In less than 20 seconds the once invincible feeling mini army had lost almost half of its number.


    As the shield collapsed Meira began casting her summer storm spell once again while backing up as fast as she could without losing her concentration.


    Up until this point the fact that they had survived had been a matter of good luck and amazing fortune. That continued. As the front line of their force began to crumple under the onslaught of spider bodies Rickie stepped up. The professed Barbarian let out a yell which stunned the mass in front of him. The downside was it also hit his dying allies that were caught in the mass of spiders. At the same time the orc commander Gulnag also stepped forward. He was a mountain of muscle, almost a match for Rickie. Hefting a heavy war hammer and a large tower shield the two men stood side by side stemming the flow of spiders. Collectively the two men bought them a few seconds.


    A few seconds was all that Meira needed as she was able to complete her spell. Once again a small ball of water condensed on the palm of her hand and then shot forward through the mass of spiders. They weren¡¯t able to see past the wriggling mass but the ball quickly expanded and the buildup of static electricity could be felt in the air.


    Once again their situation went from dire to manageable as her spell took effect and quickly stemmed the flow of spider bodies into the tunnel. The few seconds that Rickie and Gulnag were able to buy them was also enough for some of the beleaguered soldiers to recover enough and join the two mountains in stopping the spider''s slaughter of their men.


    A badly burned Alaric stumbled forward pulling a potion from his belt and popping its cork upended the vial and the vibrant red liquid slipped down his throat, his visage quickly turned from grotesque to just bad. The tenacity of the dwarf could not be understated. He had also been caught up in the web and he had taken more damage then most of the guards as the web ate through his flesh, but that didn¡¯t stop him. With his health teetering dangerously low he still joined the fight on the frontlines and started to help stop the spider''s advance. Meira threw her only healing spell at Alaric trying to give him even a slight bit more of a chance to survive the ongoing fight before she started to cast her spells.


    Jenkins began to form his warband once again and assign roles. By the time Bjorn and Tayla had finished trying to save the soldiers around him Jenkins had added him to the scout role once again. When the list of people in the warband appeared in his vision he quickly took stock of the situation. The list was the same size as it was in the last fight, but the names were considerably different. This time it was Rickie, Alaric, Meira, Bjorn, Gulnar, 3 others that he didn¡¯t recognize, and of course Jenkins himself. The 10th slot was filled with Jenkins ever present sycophant, Tommin, only this time the name was grayed out and the health bar that was present for everyone was completely empty.


    Small symbols began to appear next to peoples names again as the various roles began to get offered out. And again, each time a role was filled the person got the various different benefits from their different role.


    The situation had stabilized, but by no means was it a good situation. As the group fought their number continued to drop. By the time the group stabilized the once 76 strong group had dropped down to 28. Instead of being the hammer to the main army''s anvil they had very quickly become a bug to be squished under the spider''s feet. They had become the prey, and it was all they could do to not fall victim to that situation.


    Bjorn took up his position right next to Meira, before they left Jenkins had given the task to protect Meira to Bjorn. Jenkins orders be damned, Bjorn was willing to give his life for her long before he was ordered to. Even if Jenkins had ordered him elsewhere in the fight Bjorn would have moved next to Meira to help keep her safe while using his ranged capabilities.


    They fought, spells were slung, arrows shot, hammers swung and potions drank. As they fought against the onslaught they slowly were giving ground collectively as a group. Their numbers also continued to drop. The press of the mass of snatcher spiders were too much for their now diminished number to handle. And so they had to give ground. Their number quickly fell from 28 to 19. Then to 15.


    Just as all hope seemed lost the press of spiders abated. On the other side of the spiders they saw their salvation. The army had come to rescue them. Relief spread through their remaining ranks as what remained of the spiders attacking them were quickly cut down by the combined efforts of the two forces. As they finished their fight what was left of their force collapsed to the ground exhausted. Their fight for their lives took more out of them than they had to give.


    Their saviors quickly encircled them facing the two directions with the wounded soldiers in the center. They stayed that way for a few seconds before one of the guards snapped out. ¡°Which one of you is in charge?¡±


    ¡°That would be me.¡± Jenkins said from where he lay in the middle of the pack.


    ¡°You need to get your men up, we aren¡¯t safe here. We need to get you back to camp. Many of you are in need of healing and most of you aren¡¯t fit to fight. If we are swarmed again we will all be lost.¡±


    Nodding Jenkins took in a breath to call out an order, but he never got to give that order. Everyone who had the strength to climb back to their feet did so immediately. They began to help those who didn¡¯t have the strength back to their feet as well.


    During their retreating fight many of their number had fallen. Looking at the warbands life Bjorn saw that of the 10 in the party only 5 were left alive. Those five were Rickie, Bjorn, Alaric, Meira, and of course Jenkins. At some point during their retreat Gulnar¡¯s foot got caught on a loose rock and he tripped. When they moved to save him they weren¡¯t fast enough and the spiders quickly swarmed him. They couldn¡¯t do anything but watch as the orc¡¯s health bar began to rapidly plummet towards empty. They all knew it was over when the red bar quickly emptied out and the name turned gray and opaque.


    No one was at full health when the fight ended. But of their number the one who had taken the worst beating was Alaric. His health bar teetered near the bottom and it was flashing. His unconscious form lay still on the ground as two of the new guards moved to walk right over him.


    ¡°No! You can¡¯t leave him.¡± Bjorn called out to the two guards who just stepped over Alaric.


    ¡°He will be dead soon, I am not going to risk your lives to bring a corpse back with us.¡± The guard who spoke to Jenkins said.


    Meira had been spent during their retreat, most of their survival could be attributed to her magic. The anguish in Bjorn¡¯s voice roused her back to alertness. Her distant eyes cleared briefly and took in the situation. When her eyes fell on Alaric¡¯s form they narrowed. She called up her magic one final time. Healing magic came pouring out of her hand and into Alaric¡¯s body and his health bar slowly started to climb. With the spell finished she fell back unconscious.


    ¡°She spent the last of her mana to heal him. He won¡¯t die right away now. Pick him up and bring him back with us.¡± Bjorn said to the two men.


    They looked back at their commanding officer who nodded. Stepping back to Alaric they bent down and picked up the heavy dwarf and hefted him onto their shoulders carrying his limp body in between them.


    Another guard stepped forward to pick up Meira but Bjorn stopped him. ¡°No, I got her.¡±


    The guard took a step back and gave Bjorn a skeptical look. Bjorn instead reached into his portable pocket and retrieved a stamina potion and drank it down. It felt like he mainlined caffeine directly to his veins. As the fatigue of the fight was washed away in an instant and his stamina bar began to steadily climb.


    Now recovered he bent down and placed his hands on Meira¡¯s unconscious body and picked her up carrying her in front of him with her head leaning against his chest.


    Once collected the beleaguered group of soldiers made their way down the tunnel once again heading back the way they just came from.


    Halfway down the tunnel Tayla materialized next to Bjorn. ¡°Hey, I thought you had run off.¡± Bjorn said to her.


    Her appearance was worse for wear. Her normally dark red skin was dyed a darker shade of red. There was a large gash on her face that was still actively pouring blood. The gash started at her left eye brow and ran all the way down to her chin. The socket that used to hold her eye was now holding one half of her eye as the other half was dangling out of her socket held a part of her body by the optic nerve. That section of eye was cupped in one hand and held up next to her face as she plodded forward.


    She gave Bjorn a small smile. ¡°You aren¡¯t going to get rid of me that easily.¡± A fit of coughing overtook her body as the smile quickly faded from her lips. ¡°Don¡¯t make me laugh you ass.¡±


    Her appearance startled the guards who saved them but upon seeing no one else reacting they relaxed and one of them even offered to help carry Tayla. She brushed him off and they continued.


    As they walked they fell into a mindless trudge walking back the way they came. Occasionally someone would rouse from their plodding and take in their surroundings, only to be reminded of what they saw that day. They walked through the corridor passing both their fallen comrades and spider corpses alike.


    When they made it back to their starting position they saw the mutilated corpses of friends who had been alive not even 20 minutes ago held upright by the acid webbing that had held them in place. The guards ushered them past the battle site and into the cavern.


    The main force had moved into the room and were pushing their way through the large room. 40ish feet away from where they stood was the backline of the army. It was a flurry of activity as people were moving every which way. Small groups moved forward to take the place of troops being either rotated out or retreating with hurt companions. It was common for two people to be carrying a limp body or screaming person in between them quickly making their way back through the large room.


    On the front of the battle they could see soldiers holding strong against the mass of spiders. Webs and arrows were being thrown every which way. Occasionally the tall tale glow of magic could be seen peppering the humanoids ranks. But each and every time that happened the magic casters presence was known. Each caster had the same effect on the battlefield of at least 10 other soldiers.


    ¡°Come on, let''s get you to the medics.¡± The guard said, turning and leading the soldiers under his command down the same tunnel as all of the injured guards took. It was the only way they had to get out of the room.


    They quickly made their way through the tunnel and it opened up to another large cavern. The cavern had some rough defenses that had been built in the opening. Wooden stakes were driven into the ground pointing towards the opening that the wounded were funneling through.


    Before them a large camp had been set up. Which was also a flurry of activity as support staff traveled every which way providing their services wherever they could. A large group came up to theirs and words were quickly exchanged. The wounded were handed over to the support staff and their saviors saluted before heading back the way they came.


    With little choice they followed after the support staff as they herded them through the camp. They didn''t have to travel too far to get to the large section set up as the field hospital. Upon entering the area designated people quickly rushed over to the new large group of wounded fighters. They were separated into different groups and whisked away to different areas of the camp. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    When the attendants got to Bjorn and Meira they did a quick once over of both of them with confusion evident on their faces. Bjorn explained that they only had minor injuries and just needed a place to rest. The attendants nodded and directed them through the field hospital.


    It was a cruel reminder of the horror of wars. As they were walking through they passed by several people who had serious injuries. One person was missing a limb. The next person¡¯s skull was visible as it looked like they suffered from some acidic webbing. Another had a 6 inch wide hole in her gut. All of them were still alive.


    Upon seeing the mass suffering Bjorn realized something. These levels and stat points were both a blessing and a curse. Someone who had a hole in their gut could still survive as long as they had hp to keep them alive. Back on earth that type of injury was a death sentence, but here with magic. Bjorn paused and shuddered at the implications. Someone could be kept alive with healing magic and forced to suffer through their injury. Everyone thinks of healing magic as a benevolent force that only does good. As he walked through the camp he realized its potential to do harm as well.


    Up until this point Bjorn had almost died several times. But each time he almost died from a multiple of wounds, rarely had it only been one large wound. So each time he was able to quickly heal up from either his increased regeneration, or a healing potion. He didn¡¯t have to go through the long healing process. He was fortunate to not have suffered a large wound that would need time and magic to survive. Based on the wails of agony and moans of pain that left their mouths the magic didn¡¯t do much to negate the pain they were suffering.


    The magical properties of his body were amazing. He was able to run faster than he ever could, he could lift weights he could never have done, hell, he had taken injuries he never could have survived back on earth. He was stronger, tougher, and more resilient than should ever be possible for a human. But now he was seeing the detriments to his magical body. Tens or even hundreds of people were all laying in this camp suffering from their wounds. All thanks to whatever magical healing this camp was using they were able to prolong their lives.


    The field hospital was swarming with people who were either checking on wounds, casting magic, or working with herbs. For every two people who were injured there was at least one healer dedicated to watching over those.


    Not all of the healing was a success. They passed on several occasions bodies who lay on beds unmoving with their spark clearly gone. Small two person teams were dedicated to moving throughout the small compound and removing those who weren¡¯t able to be healed in time and expired.


    The attendant led he and Meira through the camp to a large open tent that had been set up with multiple low cots set up along one side. There were chairs set up sporadically throughout the space. The tent was filled with quite a few people who all sported minor injuries. They were those who were injured enough to need healing, but their situations weren¡¯t dire enough to warrant immediate attention.


    ¡°You may take any bed you wish.¡± The attendant said, before bowing and making her way back through the camp of screams and moans.


    Bjorn walked over to one of the empty beds and set Meira¡¯s unconscious body down in it. After making sure she was as comfortable as he could make her he drug a chair over and sat down in it looking over her. Her condition wasn¡¯t bad. She just had several small cuts and bruises that covered the parts of her body he could actively see. She just had one larger cut across her stomach from when one of the spiders got through and hooked her with one of its claws, it cut through her armor and the soft skin underneath with ease.


    He turned her onto her side and started to slowly and methodically remove her leather armor being as careful as he possibly could to not disturb her rest. After several minutes of slow attempts he was able to pull the cut leather from her body revealing the cut fabric underneath. Slowly and carefully he peeled the blood soaked cloth away from her skin getting a better look at the cut. The cut was wide and long but not deep. It ran from right below her right breast down to her left hip, it was slightly curved just barely traveling above her belly button. The blood seeping out had slowed dramatically, but there was a little still seeping out.


    Once he saw how the wound wasn¡¯t too bad over all he picked his head up and gave the surroundings a better look. There were 30 beds in total in the tent, with roughly half of them occupied. There were roughly the same amount of chairs that were also occupied. The people who were in the tent had slings holding arms in place, or bandages covering wounds that covered their body. Many of the bandages were soiled by blood and puss that had seeped out of their improperly treated wounds. Off to one side was a neatly organized area filled with bandages, clean water, and various different healing herbs.


    Getting up from his seat he made his way over to where all of the different healing supplies sat. Upon closer inspection he was able to find needles, thread, cleaning solutions, and large bandages, all of which was exactly what he would need to treat Meira¡¯s wound. He picked up what all he needed as well as a cup that he filled with the clean looking water, just to make sure it was clean he cast his purify water spell on the cup to make sure it was in fact sanitized. Much to his relief nothing came bubbling out of the water cup.


    He made his way back over to where Meira was laying. He set the stuff he brought over and set it on a small table that had been placed near the head of the bed. Reaching into his pack he pulled out a small vial that he prepared just for this occasion. One benefit he got from his time with Medera was all of the more mundane recipes he had learned from her. This one was a weak painkiller, which he planned for Meira to drink.


    Reaching down he placed one hand on Meira¡¯s shoulder and gently shook. ¡°Hey, wake up. I need you to drink this.¡±


    Meira stirred softly under his attempts to wake her. Her eyes fluttered lightly underneath her eye lids and then opened. Her soft forest green eyes met with his for a moment before his words sunk in. Her eyes drifted slowly down to the vial in his hand and the cup of water in the other. Without hesitation she took the vial and upended it, spilling the liquid into her mouth. She then took the cup of water and took a small drink from it. As she swallowed she let out a little cough and a grimace of pain crossed her face. She then handed the cup back over to him and lay back down, falling back asleep.


    Once she was asleep again Bjorn slowly and carefully started to pull her shirt up leaving her wound free to work on. He then took the cleaning solution and first applied to it one of the spare bandages he brought over then started to gently apply it to the wound site on her stomach. The first time he did so her body tensed up, but she didn¡¯t wake up. The next time she tensed up less. By the time he was done with cleaning the wound she lay perfectly still each time the solution soaked bandage was applied to the wound area.


    With that done he stood up and walked back over to where all of the supplies were set, he pulled out a small candle that was buried in a small stack of candles. He walked over to where a small lantern was set out, lighting the candle he made his way back over to Meira¡¯s side. Taking a small amount of the cleaning solution he washed his hands, he figured that this world likely had germs and bacteria as well, so better safe than sorry. Thinking about it, this world likely had magically enhanced germs and bacteria, who knows what that would do to those affected.


    Picking up his hooked needle he pulled some of the tread off of the spool. Its consistency was weird, it had a heavy waxy feeling. He pulled off 4ish feet of the thread before he used his knife to cut it, he then threaded it onto the needle. He then took the needle and heated it in the candle for 30 seconds letting the metal heat up and hopefully sterilizing it in the process. He then tied a knot off at the end of the thread and began to slowly and carefully stitch the wound back together. He didn¡¯t know what he was doing, but he figured that his stitches would be better than nothing.


    It took well over an hour to stitch her fully back together. The entire time he was very careful not to pull too hard or go too deep with his needle. It went in one side of her skin and out the other, grabbing the sharp end he would grab it and gently pull all the thread through. The pain killer was still in effect because she didn¡¯t stir at all while being stitched up. He was so engrossed in making sure he did a good job that he hadn¡¯t noticed a healer walk in and come up behind him while he worked.


    The healer watched him work but didn¡¯t say anything. He stood there watching for a good quarter of an hour before Bjorn finished. When he finished he looked up startled to have someone standing directly behind him, looking over his shoulder.


    ¡°Tacky, but not bad.¡± The healer said before turning and walking further into the tent and started looking over the rest of the patients.


    By the time Bjorn was finished with sewing Meira back up he was exhausted, the invigorating effect of the stamina potion having worn off hours ago. Still he had work to do. He stood up and took the needle and thread back over to the supply area and replaced the tread. There was a small basin that was filled with dirty tools. Bjorn dropped the needle into it and walked back over to where Meira lay.


    Seeing how she hadn¡¯t stirred he laid his head down on the bed next to her and drifted off to sleep.


    When he next awoke the healer was nowhere in sight. Meira still hadn¡¯t made any signs of stirring. Sitting up he looked around, the beds which had been half full now were completely filled. There was a man sitting on a chair right behind where Bjorn had slept. ¡°Did we win?¡± Bjorn asked the man.


    Instead of responding with words the man just slowly nodded as his eyes stared off into the distance not seeing anything.


    He turned back around to check on Meira, who was sleeping peacefully. He noticed upon waking that the camp was quiet. It was disconcerting, so he stood and started to walk over to the edge of the tent. Once he stepped outside of the canopy of the tent the sounds of pain and agony filled the entire cavern. A frown crossed Bjorn¡¯s face, so he stepped back under the canopy and the sound went away. Just to make sure he wasn¡¯t crazy he stepped in and out of the tent several times. Settling back into the blissful silence Bjorn started to survey the tent.


    Over where all of the supplies were, a single orc woman in a white gown was working on collecting supplies. Bjorn walked over to where she was moving almost frantically. ¡°Hey, are you here to heal these people?¡±


    She stopped for a second looking up at Bjorn, surprised. ¡°Yes, I was tasked with looking over everyone here.¡±


    Looking into her face he could see that she was overwhelmed. ¡°I don¡¯t know a lot about healing, but I do know a little. I will gladly help you if you want it.¡±


    After hearing his words there was no discernible change in her demeanor. After a few seconds she nodded. ¡°Very well, start with him, him, and her.¡± She pointed to two people who had cuts and their wounds didn¡¯t seem too bad, but if left untreated they could worsen.¡±


    ¡°Will do. Oh and when she wakes up.¡± Bjorn pointed to where Meira was sleeping. ¡°She has access to a single healing magic spell, she will gladly help out as well. I just wanted to let you know so you aren¡¯t startled when she starts to cast magic in here.¡±


    Hearing that got the woman to relax, her tense shoulders dropped and the worry lines on her face disappeared. ¡°Thank you, I really appreciate it. You are both welcome to do whatever you can to help.¡±


    Bjorn then left the woman and went to work. Over the next few hours Bjorn spent it cleaning wounds, changing bandages, sewing up minor cuts, and purifying water whenever they ran out of clean water. Not far outside the tent there was a small well that had been built long ago. The well is the reason why the field hospital was set up in this section of the cavern. When they ran out of clean water the orc lady picked up the bucket and started to walk off through camp. Bjorn called out to her and convinced her to take water from the well. Although they had water nearby the water apparently was not clean water and needed to be purified before being used.


    Her eyes almost jumped out of her skull as she watched Bjorn cast his purify water spell. She looked at him and then at where Meira was laying eyes wide. ¡°Thank you for your help.¡± She said and gave Bjorn a bow.


    ¡°Stop that. You don¡¯t need to bow to me. Let¡¯s get back to work. We have people to help save.¡±


    They then went back to work, and each time their clean water ran out Bjorn gathered more and purified it once again. After a few hours of work Meira finally stirred.


    She sat up and looked around groggily and her eyes frantically searched for Bjorn. When she saw his back leaned over the leg of a woman she relaxed. She then took in her surroundings. After a few minutes of that she swung her legs off of the bed and got to her feet. Walking over to where Bjorn was working she placed her hand on his back and took a look at what he was doing. The woman¡¯s leg was black and blue right around the middle of her shin. It also was also held straight by two pieces of wood tied to either side of her leg.


    ¡°Broken leg?¡± She asked as Bjorn worked on securing the splint.


    Without looking up he replied. ¡°Yeah. She got knocked to the ground and one of our guys moved forward to save her. He saved her life but unfortunately stamped down on her shin, breaking both of the bones in her leg.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. What was the skill level needed to learn that weak mend bone spell?¡± Meira asked.


    ¡°I think 7. Let me finish up here and I will check.¡± Bjorn deftly tied off the splint and checked with his patient making sure she was comfortable. He then stood and together the two of them walked over to the supply station where the orc lady was now working on washing some of the bandages. Bjorn then reached into his portable pocket and pulled out the weak mend bone spell book that had been sitting in his pocket for almost a year.


    The actions of the two caught the attention of the healer, who looked over to see what they were doing as she worked. When she saw the ornate spell book in Bjorn¡¯s hands her eyes almost fell out of her head again. ¡°Is that a spell book?¡± She asked her tone a mix of reverence and incredulity.


    Bjorn simply nodded. ¡°Yeah, it is. It is a spell book of weak mend bone, we are just making sure that Meira is able to learn it.¡± Bjorn did just that, he used his W.A.I.L.A. ability on the item in his hands.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Book of weak bone mend


    </td>


    <td>


    Life magic. Level 7 required


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    You lack the skill level to learn anything about this spell. Increase your magic level to learn more.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°Yeah, you were right. It takes a skill level of 7 in life magic to learn it.¡± Bjorn said.


    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be too hard, I have a skill level of 6 now, and by the looks of those injured here I bet I can get to 7 here.¡± Meira said.


    The orc just stood there looking between the two. ¡°Who are you? How is it that you both have spell casting?¡±


    They looked at each other and then back at the women. ¡°Uh, we are just adventurers who have had good and bad misfortune.¡± Meira said.


    ¡°Still, that book is worth more money than I have ever made in my entire life.¡± The woman said. ¡°How do you have it?¡±


    Bjorn was very conscious of the other spell book he had in his portable pocket. ¡°Like I said we had some fortunate circumstances. We were enslaved in a gnoll camp and after it was wiped out by drow we found that book in the wreckage.¡±


    The look of incredulity just got worse. ¡°Anyways, let¡¯s get back to work, I have a skill level to gain.¡± Meira said before turning back around and heading over to one of the more injured people. She immediately started casting her weak slow heal spell and the open wound that had been struggling to scab over started to knit itself back together.


    It was another hour before Meira had gotten that skill level. When she did she walked over to Bjorn, got the skill book and took a seat in the corner of the tent. Picking it up she began the absorption process, which was a success. Everyone in the tent who was cognizant of what was happening stared in wonder at the entire process.


    Once she had her new spell she started using that. As people¡¯s injuries were healed they would make their way out of the tent and go report to their commanding officer. So by the time she was able to cast her new mend bone spell there were very few people left in the tent. Most of them had some sort of broken limb. Her new magical capabilities were amazing. It allowed her to basically return every single one of the injured soldiers back to full strength over a few hours.


    Now that he was basically useless Bjorn took his leave to find food for him and Meira. After a quick search he was able to find the mess tent where he got some smoked jerky and stale bread for both of them. By the time he made it back to the field hospital Meira was almost done with the healing. The last person she got to was actually the woman with the broken leg. It took multiple castings of her mend bone spell to fully fix both of the bones. She then used her weak slow heal a few times on the woman to repair any damage to the tissue around the break.


    By the time she was done Meira looked drained once again. Her normally pristine posture was slumped and hunched over as she sat in one of the now empty chairs. Bjorn brought the food over and the two of them ate in silence, both thoughts wandering all over the place.


    The orc walked over and gave a little bow to Meira and Bjorn. ¡°Thank you very much, you both have done more in the last few hours than I could have done myself in a week. I will go and report this to my commanding officer. I am sure if you are willing they would welcome your healing magic to help out the more intense cases.¡±


    Meira looked weary at the thought of going through that again. ¡°Maybe in a bit, I need some rest before I commit to anything.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I wasn¡¯t suggesting right away, just something for you to keep in mind that would help out greatly. You can do things that no one without magic can do.¡± She gave another small bow before backing away and out of the tent.


    Once they finished their food they sat there quietly. ¡°How are the others?¡± Meira asked.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t checked on Alaric or Tayla, I was going to go seek them out but I didn¡¯t want to leave you alone.¡± It was a few moments before he continued. ¡°Chase is dead.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Meira replied in a solemn voice. ¡°I watched him burn to death in the webbing. I made a choice, I could have likely saved him. But instead I decided to try and save all of us. I don''t know why Jenkins ordered you and Tayla back to the back of the formation. But he needs to pay for this. This can''t go unpunished.¡±


    ¡°I don''t think he will. We have met Gram, he doesn''t seem like the type to just let something like this go. If I was to venture a guess Jenkins is ears deep in shit right now.¡±


    ¡°You''re probably right.¡± Meira shifted and a grimace crossed her face.


    ¡°You didn''t heal yourself?¡± Bjorn asked. ¡°Why not heal yourself first before working on the others.¡±


    ¡°Its just a little pain, I can handle that. They needed it more. But I think it''s about time I take care of myself.¡±


    Meira then placed her hand over her stitches, her hand briefly glowed and tension that Bjorn hadn¡¯t noticed she had left her face as relief washed over her. Once the spell''s cooldown had elapsed she cast the spell again. She then lifted up her still blood covered shirt and looked down at her stomach. The stitches that had been holding her skin together were nowhere to be seen.


    Bjorn took a closer look at the wound site and still nothing. It was like they never existed to begin with. If the thread was still there they should be able to see at least something. The pitch black thread would have stood out if it was still in her body, but no, all he could see was the smooth unblemished skin that normally covered her flat stomach.


    Meira just shrugged. ¡°Oh well. Do you still have my spare shirt?¡±


    Bjorn reached into his portable pocket and pulled out a pale green shirt that Meira had picked out because it matched her eyes. Without hesitation she started to pull off her bloodstained shirt. Bjorn¡¯s eyes grew wide and he turned his back trying to keep her decency. A foolish errand as they were standing in the middle of a completely open sided tent.


    Once she was changed she yawned deeply. ¡°Go on and try and find our friends, I will be here and I will be fine.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? I don¡¯t mind watching over you.¡±


    A smile crossed her lips. ¡°As nice of a thought that is, It would be better for you to find out what happened to our friends. So go on, get!¡±

 Chapter 37

    Bjorn took Meira¡¯s words and left to go seek out Alaric, Tayla, and Rickie. Oddly out of everyone in their party Bjorn was the least wounded, Rickie being a close second, even if he wasn¡¯t a part of the party.


    The field hospital was surprisingly confusing to navigate. There wasn¡¯t any easily discernible rhythm or reason behind the different areas. There were patients with the now all too familiar noodle arms of spider bites, right next to a now dead body of someone who had their head mostly cut off. There were 5 distinct sections to the hospital though. 4 roughly built buildings and the one large tent he and Meira had been dedicated to. The entire complex was way over capacity with the dead, dying, and the injured.


    Bjorn was mostly wandering around listlessly trying to find either Alaric or Tayla, he doubted Rickie was brought here with his not too serious injuries, if he had been brought to the hospital he would have been led to where Meira and Bjorn had been. Bjorn had wandered through one of the buildings as healers, alchemists and mages bustled about trying to save who they could. No one even batted an eye at Bjorn or told him to leave.


    As he left the first building and started making his way towards the second one a young woman in white healer''s robes approached Bjorn. ¡°Can I help you? You seem to be lost and or looking for someone.¡±


    ¡°Hi yes, you can. I am actually looking for two people. One is a tiefling woman about yay high. She had a nasty case of split eye, her name is Tayla. The other one I am looking for is a dwarf with a large salt and pepper beard. He had rather serious injuries, so much so that those who rescued us were going to leave him behind and let him die, they didn¡¯t think he would survive.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. I don¡¯t know about a dwarf, his story is fairly similar to many who have come back from the fight today. As for the tiefling that I can kind of halfway help you. She kind of stood out as we don¡¯t see many tieflings around here. She was quickly saw to and was healed, I am not sure where she ended up after she was cleared to leave. We can go to our storage area and see if anyone has seen her lately.¡±


    ¡°That would be great, thank you.¡±


    Together they walked to one of the 4 buildings, it was the smallest of the 4. The interior of the supply building was pretty bare. There wasn¡¯t really anything that covered the walls, and the floorplan was large and open. The entire floor plan looked oddly like a Costco. There were tables upon tables laden high with various tools needed to care for the wounded. There were extra shirts, linens, bandages, bottles filled with unknown liquids, jars filled with salves, to name a few.


    Because of the woman standing right next to him Bjorn barely got so much as a glance from many of the workers before they returned to their tasks. The woman quickly began to ask those who were nearby if they had seen the tiefling. It didn¡¯t take long, the 3rd person she asked told them exactly where to find Tayla. Once they had a destination they walked into the largest of the ramshackle buildings, it was actually the only one that had a second floor. They quickly mounted the stairs and turned a corner entering a large room lined with beds.


    Sitting by the foot of one of the beds halfway down the long room sat Tayla. Bjorn turned back to the healer. ¡°Thank you for your help.¡± Her only response was a slight bow before she backed away and went back to work. Bjorn walked down the long room passing bed after bed with people covered in bandages. He walked up right behind Tayla and spoke. ¡°Man Alaric you look like shit.¡±


    For his part Alaric was sitting half way up in his bed. His normal tan complexion was barely any paler. In all honesty Alaric looked like he was mostly healed if not fully healed. Alaric gave Bjorn a grumpy look. ¡°These damn pansies won¡¯t let me leave yet. They have done all that they can and I actually feel right as rain. When I was brought into this room I guess I was a sight for sore eyes because they brought one of their fancy life mages over to heal me. And guess who it was.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Who was it?¡± Bjorn humored Alaric.


    ¡°It was that rat bastard who taught Meira life magic without her permission. That damn midget took one look at me and scowled. I am guessing he recognized me, after all I did knock his lights out when he was being a bit of a dickwad. I do have to say though, he sure knows his stuff. He kept casting healing spell after healing spell and the next thing I know I was actually at full hp again. The only thing that hasn¡¯t recovered yet is my stamina, I have a rather nasty debuff though. My stamina regeneration rate is 1/10th of what it normally is. The sissy told me it was because of how intense of a healing session I had to go through, he told me that if I don¡¯t do anything all of tomorrow I should be mostly fine. So now I am stuck in this bed and they won¡¯t let me leave.¡±


    ¡°Hey at least you are fully healed, you had me worried there for a bit. Some of the guards were actually going to leave you behind and let you die.¡±


    Alaric¡¯s expression sored. ¡°Yeah, I vaguely remember something about that. I''m glad that Meira took offense to that and sent some healing my way. ¡°


    Bjorn gave a puzzled look. ¡°How do you know that Meira cast some healing on you? By the time she did that you must have been out by then.¡±


    ¡°You dunce it¡­¡± Alaric started to speak before he was cut off by Tayla.


    ¡°It¡¯s because of his combat log. It is some fairly simple deduction really.¡± Alaric deflated a little at having his rant cut short.


    ¡°What do you mean combat log? What is that?¡±


    ¡°Well you should have figured this out by now.¡± Tayla said. ¡°When you get into a fight those prompts go to a separate area in your HUD. It would be rather distracting to have them show up all of the time. I think by default your combat log is not on. So you end up getting all of the notifications all at once.¡±


    ¡°When I woke up the first thing I did was check my combat log.¡± Alaric cut in. ¡°I saw that I got wounded by a spider, the next one was Meira casting her weak slow heal on me. Then to top it off the last thing I saw was getting healed by that little cock gobbler.¡±


    ¡°I was wondering as to why I wasn¡¯t getting those anymore. I must have turned on my combat log by accident. How do I change that? And how do I access it?¡±


    They walked Bjorn through the many many menus that he had access to in his HUD. Many of which Bjorn had never even seen before. Eventually they were able to navigate him to the area that had his combat log. Opening that window he noticed a box that was checked that was labeled ¡®Enable combat log.¡¯ right underneath it was another box labeled ¡®Combat log quick access.¡¯ which was unchecked. Mentally he checked that box and a new icon appeared on the right side of his vision. Mentally he clicked on it and a window popped up.


    You have hit level 9 snatcher spider for 37 bludgeoning damage.


    Level 12 snatcher spider hits you a glancing blow, you take 13 points of slashing damage.


    You have slain level 17 snatcher spider you are awarded: 3,750 xp (2500 base)


    ¡­


    The list continued to scroll on and on. Hundreds of damage notifications sparsely broken up with kill notifications and experience notifications.


    ¡°Well that will be handy to know in the future.¡± Bjorn said. Still there was one issue with having access to it. When he opened the combat log it was a huge list that took up his entire field of view. With a few mental commands he shrunk the combat log down so it appeared in the upper left hand of his vision and then he made it show it showed only the last 5 entries into the combat log.


    Bjorn had zoned out the conversation as he worked, his name brought him back to reality though. ¡°Bjorn, hello? Anyone in there?¡± Tayla said.


    ¡°Uh, yeah, I am here. I promise I wasn¡¯t just ignoring both of you.¡±


    ¡°Sure you weren¡¯t.¡± Alaric said clearly unconvinced. ¡°Anyways, are you going to answer my question?¡±


    ¡°What question?¡±


    ¡°Where is Meira?¡±


    ¡°She is down at the medical tent.¡± Without seeing recognition on either of their faces Bjorn continued. ¡°It''s the tent where they sent less serious injuries to, to be healed. As it turns out they only dedicate their magical healers, or Biomancers as I have heard someone say today, to the most serious cases. Minor cuts and breaks are left to heal through either natural means or they are cared for until one of the Biomancers is free to go and help. That is where they directed us to go.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so why didn¡¯t she come with you?¡± Tayla asked.


    ¡°Well after she woke up she helped me with caring for the injured. She ended up taxing herself a little too much and she is sleeping to recover. We were able to empty out the tent before she decided to take a nap.¡±


    There was a lull in conversation as everyone''s minds went down different tracks. ¡°Have you seen Rickie?¡± Alaric asked, breaking the silence.


    The question was not surprising as over the last week and a half since they have been thrust into this situation everyone who got drafted had grown close. And now of the original 10 that had been sent down only half were left.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡± Bjorn said. ¡°I actually was thinking about him earlier. You do know that Chase died in the attack right?¡±


    Tayla just nodded her head, but Alaric¡¯s face grew stiff. ¡°No, I didn''t know that. I never saw what happened to him. But I figured something like that happened when I wasn¡¯t able to spot him during the retreat. How did he die?¡±


    ¡°He got caught in the webbing and burned to death.¡± Tayla said.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t deserve to go that way. He was a good man, at least she should have gone down fighting, not caught in a trap.¡±


    Bjorn shifted to his other foot before replying. ¡°None of us will disagree with that. I was thinking it through. With Chase gone, Rickie doesn¡¯t really have anyone else that we know of. I was thinking we could invite him to join us if neither of you are against that.¡±


    ¡°That''s fine.¡±


    ¡°That''s a good Idea.¡± Tayla replied.


    ¡°Sounds good, I¡¯ll go and see if I can find him.¡±


    During the entire conversation Tayla had kept her face hidden from Bjorn, her eyes downcast. When he said the last part, Tayla finally peeked her head up to make eye contact with Bjorn. Her one eye that had been dangling out of her eye socket was now repaired and back in place. But it wasn¡¯t fully repaired by the look of it. Her usual red irises and black sclera was now a milky white. Even further there was a clear line where the eye had been cut.


    ¡°Your eye.¡± Bjorn said as his hand drifted up to cup her face. ¡°Can you see out of it?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No, they managed to save the flesh of the eye but they weren¡¯t able to repair it. So now I am blind in one eye. It¡¯s not the worst, but it won¡¯t be fun trying to relearn all of my fine motor skills. My depth perception is way off.¡±


    ¡°Well at least you weren¡¯t left with an empty eye socket and have to wear an eye patch everywhere you go to hide its unsightly nature.¡± Alaric piped up from where he lay in a halfway upright position. His comment earned him a hefty backhand smack to his arm.


    All three of the friends chuckled. ¡°Alright, I am off to try and find Rickie. We will come back for you tomorrow Alaric, that way you aren¡¯t totally lost.¡± Bjorn turned and started back towards the hallway.


    ¡°You should go with him.¡± Alaric said.


    ¡°Will you be fine?¡± Tayla asked.


    ¡°Go, I can¡¯t do anything anyways. If I want to be discharged I will have to stay here until tomorrow anyways.¡±


    Tayla took off after Bjorn and caught up to him in short order. Together they made their way down out of the temporary building and headed towards the tent Meira was napping in. It was weird, the rest of the field hospital was packed full of people moving every which way, and then the tent was barren, almost devoid of life. They found Meira tucked up in a bed against a wall. Shrugging they set off heading away from the field hospital to try and find Rickie.


    The large cavern that they found themselves in was filled with tents, temporary buildings, and people. The field hospital took up roughly 25% of the total area. With 75% of the remaining complex left to search they just kind of wandered around looking for Rickie. As they searched they found many different points of interest in camp. They found a large temporary building that had several high leveled and elaborately dressed soldiers; they quite accurately determined that it was the command center. They also found the mess that wasn¡¯t the one designated for just the field hospital. It was a sprawling complex filled with tables and tons of cook fires and even a few ovens. The area that was filled with the clang of steel on steel ended up being the armorers area. Last but not least they found an area that was dedicated to alchemists.


    While at the armorers area they found out that if they dropped off any of their gear the armorers will repair it free of charge. So they stripped out of their damaged armor and left it behind for them to do whatever they could with it. Bjorn also left behind Alaric¡¯s heavy metal armor, which he grabbed off a table as they were leaving the field hospital.


    After all their searching they still hadn¡¯t found Rickie. So if he wasn¡¯t throughout the center of the forward operating base they decided to check the outside. They next moved to the cavern walls and started to walk around the entire perimeter of the camp. And there he was, he was sitting with his back against the wall in a nondescript section of camp. He was surrounded by a sea of tents. As they approached he didn¡¯t look up, he had his head drooped into his hands as he sat there silently. They both took a seat on either side of the man. They didn¡¯t say anything, they just sat there silently giving their support.


    ¡°Chase didn¡¯t want to come here. He wanted to head over to Vanta, but there was a good job being protection for a trader. So we took that job. He had a sister in Vanta that he wanted to see, but we were short on cash. We figured that the protection job would have been easy to accomplish before we made our way to Vanta.¡± The big man stopped and took a deep sigh. ¡°Now he will never get to see her again. I shouldn¡¯t have pushed him into coming here.¡±


    ¡°Hey, that isn¡¯t fair to you.¡± Bjorn started.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about fair. My one and only friend in this world is now dead, because of me. If I had been stronger I could have saved him. If we hadn¡¯t taken that job we wouldn¡¯t have been in Blackrock Bay. If he hadn¡¯t been in Blackrock Bay we wouldn¡¯t have been drafted. I don¡¯t care what you say or what kind words you use. I killed Chase and that is the cold hard truth.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t true.¡± Tayla said. ¡°He was the one who decided to come with you. You are not the one who killed him, it was the spiders. If you want to blame someone for Chase¡¯s death, blame those in charge. They are the ones who wouldn¡¯t let us leave and forced us down here to fight.¡±


    ¡°Trust me, I do blame them. But I still have the lion''s share of the blame. While I was busy killing spiders I ignored my friend who was stuck and held upright, slowly burning to death.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you noticed, but you are actually the reason we all are alive right now.¡± Bjorn said.


    Rickie let out a small chuckle. ¡°What¡¯s the point of living if we can¡¯t protect those who matter the most to us?¡±


    ¡°I for one am glad that you stepped up and saved us. If it wasn¡¯t for you those who matter the most to me would be dead right now. And I am grateful for your capabilities and how you were able to save all of us.¡± Bjorn said.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t spent anywhere as much time with the group as Alaric Meira and Bjorn, but during that time I have grown to love each and every one of them. So thank you. Thank you for saving those that I love Rickie. You are hurting because you weren¡¯t able to save the one who mattered to you. But your actions weren¡¯t for nothing. You managed to save those who matter the most to me.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Rickie didn¡¯t reply. Bjorn gave the man a sidelong glance to see tears streaming down his face. ¡°How did you and Chase meet?¡±


    Rickie sniffled and cleared his throat. ¡°We have known each other since we were kids. We both grew up in Little Grove, a small village that doesn¡¯t exist anymore.¡±


    Why doesn¡¯t Little Grove exist anymore?¡± Tayla asked.


    ¡°The war with Cronkrum. We were a small farming village right on the border in between Cronkrum and Escar. Our village was one of the incidents that sparked the war. We officially belonged to Escar, so when goblins raided our town it pushed Escar to defend. We were mostly a peaceful village. No one had so much as held a weapon, all we did was farm. When the goblins attacked we were caught by surprise. Chase and I were 12 at the time.¡±


    Rickie paused to let out a little sob. ¡°When the attack happened we were playing in a field. As we had done many different times, but things were different this day. We normally played on the north side of town, but that morning Gisabella told us about a den of foxes in a field south of town. So together the three of us went south that day to see the foxes. It was around midday that we realized something was off.¡±


    ¡°From the direction of town we could see a peel of smoke slowly drifting up. That in itself wasn¡¯t something that was cause for concern, many homes burned wood and their smoke often could be seen drifting up over town. On that day the smoke that was normally white was actually black. As soon as we saw the black smoke we started to make our way back to town as quickly as we could. That was when we started to hear the screams. Our fast pace turned into a rapid sprint.¡±


    ¡°As we neared town we got intercepted by Gisabella¡¯s dad. He was covered in blood and not all of it was red. He was missing his right arm below the elbow. I will never forget the way the blood spurted from his body. When he saw us he sprinted over to us and told us to run. The rhythmic spurt of blood grew fainter and fainter as he collapsed to the ground before he was able to make it to us. He died right in front of us. Gisabella watched her father die, she was 10. She was old enough to understand that he was dead, but she was too young to understand the implications. We grabbed her and ran, we had to drag her away from her fathers corpse.¡±


    ¡°That night we stumbled on a few survivors of town, that was how we got the story and found out that Goblins attacked and killed almost everyone. We all were on the run, but our horrors weren¡¯t finished yet. We all had spent the entire day running away from the goblins. We were refugees and we didn¡¯t know it yet. When we stopped it was close to early morning. We needed to rest.¡±


    At this point Tayla had tears on her face matching Rickie. ¡°We had to stop even though we should have kept going. Gisabella had been quiet all day after she saw her dad die. To be fair we all were quiet, it hadn¡¯t fully set in what had transpired that day. In the early morning the goblins caught up to us. Throughout the day we came across others who were fleeing and we had grouped together. We were fools, separately we probably had a chance. But us traveling together made it easier to track us. There were 15 of us left. They caught us again and attacked us again. We fled and this time only 7 of us were left. We had only got a few hours of rest before we had to flee again.¡±


    ¡°We entered into a day of them performing hit and run tactics on us. Throughout the day and our attempts to flee they slowly picked us off. It was obvious they reveled in our fear as each time they attacked they could have easily killed off more than one of us, but each time they only picked one. They let us run, and the entire time their laughter could be heard echoing after our fleeing bodies. I think they enjoyed the screams, each time we ran the screams of pain and fear chased after our fleeing backs. Their screams sometimes lasted for minutes, sometimes only a few seconds before they were cut short.¡±


    ¡°They must have thought that the kids were easy pickings because we were the ones that they left for last. By this point we were all exhausted and couldn¡¯t move much. So we stopped and resigned ourselves to our fates. When the goblins next caught up to us they must have hated us giving us as they grabbed Chase and I by our hair and drug us a few feet away and left us with our backs up against a tree. There were 8 of the monsters. They all went back to where Gisabella lay in the dirt not moving or doing anything to protect herself. They ripped her clothes off and started to rape her. They raped a 10 year old right in front of both Chase and myself. They left us in a place where we could see everything that was happening. It was the 5th goblin that was having its way with her when he finally killed her. It pulled out its dagger and sank it into her throat. As she lay there sputtering trying to catch her last breath it just kept going. When she died it didn¡¯t stop the goblin or the one after it, or the one after that one.¡±


    Rickie¡¯s voice had grown hoarse as he recounted his tale. ¡°The worst part of it was that we were too tired to do anything about it. There was nothing we could do but sit there and watch it all happen. So that is what we did, we sat there and watched the goblins use her corpse as they wished. As we were filled with the knowledge that we would be next and there was nothing we could do to stop it. But obviously that wasn¡¯t to be our fate. As the last goblin was finishing up with Gisabella we were found by a patrol from Escar. The knights fell upon the goblins and I watched those soldiers kill the goblins in the most gruesome way they could. They tortured the goblins and took their time killing them. We just sat there and watched them do it. Although it sickened me at the time I took glee in watching the goblins suffer the same fate they just put us through for the last day.¡±


    ¡°They tried to take us away so that we didn¡¯t have to watch but we wouldn¡¯t let them. We both wanted to see what they did to the goblins. When they finished with the goblins the majority of the soldiers continued on their patrol heading for our now ruined home. 4 of the soldiers got sent back to Fort Breg to report on what they saw. We got taken along with the messengers. From that day forward we were inseparable.¡±


    The tears of sadness had turned to tears of anger. ¡°I am sorry you had to go through that Rickie, no one should have to put up with that. That shouldn¡¯t happen to anyone.¡±


    For his part Bjorn didn¡¯t say anything, he didn¡¯t think he would be able to say anything past the lump in his throat. So instead he just sat there in silence.


    ¡°It is what it is. It happened, we had to deal with it. From that day forward we vowed to never rest until we killed every single goblin. We kept that promise. We ended up adopted by two different families in Fort Breg and they took care of us. When we were 16 we left home and started to take our revenge. For years we roamed the now ravaged war torn land hunting down as many goblins as we could possibly find. We never were a part of the Escar army, but we worked with them often. Eventually we decided we needed a break.¡±


    ¡°You said that Chase had a sister, how did she have one when everyone died?¡±


    ¡°She wasn¡¯t truly his sister. It was the daughter of the family that took him in. They weren¡¯t overly close, but they still spent over 4 years living together. She ended up marrying one of the soldiers who got sent to the frontlines between Cronkrum and Escar. When he was discharged she went to Vanta with him and they set up a life together. He hadn¡¯t seen her since he and I left to go kill goblins.¡±


    Rickie paused and wiped the tears away from his face. ¡°We took a break because we had no money and as it turns out there isn¡¯t any riches in killing goblins, not for Escar in the no man''s land that has grown between the two countries. It was getting hard to get food so we left the front to make some coins so we could go back to killing goblins. We survived hundreds of battles, I never would have guessed that here, not on the frontlines, is where he would lose his life.¡±


    ¡°What are your plans from here?¡± Bjorn asked past the lump in his throat.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t have anything to do. The only thing that I know I need to do is go to Vanta and inform Chase¡¯s sister of his untimely death.¡±


    ¡°Have you thought about coming with us?¡± Tayla asked.


    Rickie was quiet for a long moment. ¡°I think I will. I will join you in whatever you do. I do have one condition though.¡±


    ¡°Anything.¡± Bjorn replied without hesitation. ¡°You are our friend, friends do anything for each other.¡±


    A small half smile briefly appeared on his lips. ¡°Thank you. I want to go to Vanta and tell Chase¡¯s sister his fate. As long as we accomplish that I have nothing else that I need or want to accomplish in this life.¡±


    ¡°Of course we could do that. I myself kind of want to go back to Vanta, I have some unfinished business to do there.¡± Tayla said.


    ¡°That¡¯s settled then. We should go collect Meira and then report to the quartermaster and see where they want to assign us next.¡±


    ¡°Works for me.¡±


    ¡°Same here.¡±


    The three companions got up from where they sat against the wall and started making their way through the tent city, heading back to the field hospital. What they hadn¡¯t noticed while Rickie had his back to the wall was his leg wound. As well as the hundred or so small cuts that covered his skin. There was a large chuck of meat missing from his left thigh muscle, it was roughly 5 inches across and a foot and a half long and two inches deep. The trooper barely walked any different even with the massive gash that covered his leg. If anything he had just the slightest of limps in his left leg as he walked.


    ¡°Are you okay? Do you need me to help support you?¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, I have had worse injuries. It might take me a while to recover but I will in the end. And no offence Bjorn, but I have seen you fight. You would be barely strong enough to hold me upright. So no, I don¡¯t need help.¡±


    ¡°Still we can have Meira cast some healing magic on you to see if it will help.¡± Tayla said.


    ¡°Fine, fine. If it will get the two of you to stop treating me like a child I will let her try and heal me.¡±


    It took them a while to make it back to the field hospital, being unfamiliar with the layout of the tents. It was honestly kind of telling of this army''s capabilities, the entire tent city was laid out so haphazardly that it was difficult to navigate. Just like this army which was thrown together out of anyone and everyone who could potentially fight, this tent city too matched that aesthetic perfectly.


    When they made it back to the field hospital they found Meira still asleep in her cot laying against one of the outer edges of the mostly open air tent. When they woke her up she took one look at Rickie¡¯s state and made him sit down and she began to cast her healing magic on him as fast as she could. The large man¡¯s skin began to slowly knit itself back together as each of the small cuts he had gained began to crawl and the scabs that had formed over the cuts fell away revealing the same unblemished chocolate skin it was before the fight.


    Once all of Rickie¡¯s small cuts and blemishes were fully healed she started to focus her ministrations on his leg. It was more resistant to the healing magic than the rest of his cuts. After several castings of her weak slow heal the wound was still mostly fresh, even though the amount of blood it was leaking was considerably less than it was at the start of her care. In a Hail Mary attempt Bjorn took out one of his weaker healing potions he brewed and poured the contents onto Rickie¡¯s wound.


    The healing potion used in conjunction with the healing magic did the trick, the wound fully closed up, but the meat underneath wasn¡¯t fully recovered. His thigh had a small dent the right shape and in the right place for the wound. Rickie assured them it was good enough and his body would still recover in a few days, and not to worry about it. They decided to take him for his word.


    Once everything was taken care of they made their way to where Alaric lay, he was just as disgruntled as he was before, and there had been no change in his release date. So with nothing else really important that needed to be done they took off and tried to find the quartermaster''s office. They made their way to the main administration building and were just about to head inside when Rickie noticed something. Along one side of the building small stalls had been built, they wandered over to investigate.


    As it turned out the stalls on the side of the building was where the quartermasters had set up a registration area of sorts. They did so to make it less of an issue when anyone who needed anything had to slog through the already too full building. The open air and multiple booth arrangement helped the administration flow better.


    When they approached the administrator that sat behind the desk had his head bent down and was scratching on a piece of paper with a quill. ¡°What is your name and position?¡±


    Not sure who should answer as all 4 of them walked up at the same time. Instead of answering they stood there looking at each other awkwardly.


    The break in the normal flow annoyed the administrator so he looked up with a scowl on his face. Which quickly faded upon realizing he was dealing with a group instead of an individual. ¡°Who are all of you? And what do you need?¡±


    Bjorn was the one who stepped forward. ¡°This is Rickie, Meira, Tayla, and I am Bjorn. We were stationed at one of the defensive tunnels. We had orders to meet up with the main army and through our tunnel there was a trap and most of our squad was killed.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, you must be some of the survivors under Corporal Jenkins. Well, used to be corporal.¡±


    ¡°Uh yeah that one. When we came to camp we were directed directly to the field hospital as all of us had a wound of some sort. We were just cleared and need to be assigned a place for us to rest. There is a 5th of our group.¡±


    As soon as Bjorn got to the meat and potatoes of why they came to the quartermasters the clerks head dropped back down and his quill started to scratch at the paper once again. ¡°Very well,¡± the clerk said as soon as Bjorn finished his sentence. He said it so soon after Bjorn finished his sentence it almost felt like he cut him off, trying to head off Bjorn saying anything else. ¡°I noticed that you are 2 of each sex, would you like 1 or 2 tents. Our options are 2, 4, and 6 person tents. Luckily for you with our number of losses we have spares in each size.¡±


    ¡°One should do nicely.¡± Meira said.


    ¡°Alright.¡± He scribbled a few more lines on his page and set it aside. He then stood and walked to a table that had been set up behind all of the little booths and returned shortly with a stack of papers. Leafing through it he grabbed a single page and set the rest aside. From how he was holding the page it was hard to see what exactly the paper said, but at the top Bjorn could easily see vacant. The administrator put his hand over the paper and it briefly glowed, and the vacant changed to filled +1.


    The man then set the page to the side. ¡°You shall be assigned tent 3-147b on the north side of camp. That will be your space, there will be 6 beds in the tent. If for some reason we have need of it we will assign someone else to that bed. You may go there and set your stuff.¡±


    The way the man said that last part, it was clearly a dismissal, but Bjorn wasn¡¯t finished yet. ¡°Could you tell us where Corporal Jenkins is, we need to report to him to find out our orders.¡±


    The man¡¯s response was one of clear annoyance. ¡°Corporal Jenkins has been demoted back to a private and his command has been disbanded. This course of action stemmed from his choice to retract his scout leading to the death of almost 80% of the men under his control, including but not limited to Corporal Gulnag. So you are currently without orders. Go to your tent and wait for your orders. Sometime within the next day or two you will be reassigned to where your skills will be best suited.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡± Bjorn said, barely able to keep a smile off of his face at hearing about Jenkin¡¯s fate. She was a cruel mistress at times but sometimes she gets something right.


    ¡°Oh, and if you have anything that needs to be repaired, drop it at the blacksmith and they will fix it to the best of their abilities. Now unless you have something else you would like to ask about or add you are dismissed.¡±


    As they started to walk away the clerk called after them. ¡°Wait, what is the name of your last member so that we can get all 5 of you properly assigned?¡±


    ¡°His name is Alaric.¡± Rickie said. The clerk''s head dropped once again as he started to scratch down something on the paper.


    They left quickly sinking into the sea of white tents trying to find 3-147b. It took them a good hour and a half of searching before they stumbled across the tent they had been assigned. Each tent had a small plaque set out on the ground before the flap that had the tents number on it. You would think that there would be some rhythm or reason as to the numbering system, but that is a completely wrong assumption. If you were lucky there would be 4 or even 5 tents that had sequential numbers, but that was a rarity. When they found their tent their neighboring tents were labeled, A12, 1-B16, and simply Garry. It was basically sheer dumb luck that they were able to find their tent at all.


    They found their tent in a little cul-de-sac of sorts. With the odd layout of tents they somehow neighbored 3 tents on both sides. Opening the flap to the large tent they found the interior to be surprisingly spacious, there was a few feet of open space in the front of the tent, then the 6 beds, they each had a small wooden trunk set beside it. Upon closer inspection they were all empty except for one, and its contents was a single copper coin. Which was quickly removed and tossed to Rickie. He deftly caught it and quickly pocketed the coin.


    ¡°Well now what?¡± Tayla asked.


    ¡°You heard the man, we are to stay here for at least a day, maybe even two before we get reassigned.¡± Meira replied.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about you guys, but I am not going to waste my down time. I came across the alchemist¡¯s area, I want to either help out or explore it.¡± Bjorn said. ¡°I do have a project that I want to work on.¡±


    ¡°The venom one?¡± Meira asked with a hint of disapproval in her voice. It was rather obvious she wasn''t fully over her reaction the last time he asked for her help.


    ¡°Yeah that one.¡± Bjorn said. ¡°I think I am on to something but I will need to figure that out. Besides, there might be some alchemists who would have some ideas that we could work on together.¡±


    ¡°Yeah fair, I think I will spend some time at the field hospital, it is good practice, and I will get to help people while I do so.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have much to do. Or really any idea what to do.¡± Rickie said.


    ¡°Same.¡± Tayla chimed in.


    Meira flopped down on her new bed. ¡°Besides, I have a decision to make. I might just sleep on it.¡±


    ¡°Oh? And what decision is that?¡± Tayla asked with curiosity thick in her voice.


    ¡°That is a secret, and you will have to wait until tomorrow to find out.¡±


    Tayla stuck her tongue out at Meira. ¡°Well that is just rude. Why get our hopes up and make us all curious for no reason really at all?¡±


    ¡°That is for me to decide and you to find out later.¡± Meira said as she yawned deeply, sleep heavy in her voice. ¡°Anyways I will talk to you all in the morning.¡± She quickly and rather unceremoniously fell to sleep.


    (You may skip to the next part if you don¡¯t care about skill advancement.)


    Congratulations you have gained the skill: Heavy armor. I am going to tell you a little story. One day a man was walking down the road and accidentally kicked a rock. ¡°Ow, fuck that.¡± He thought so he made himself some light armor boots. The next day he was walking down the same road and accidentally kicked the same rock. ¡°Fuck, again? Time to fix that.¡± The man thought to himself again. So he made himself some medium armor boots. On the third day he traveled down the same road again and accidentally kicked the rock for a third time. This time it didn¡¯t hurt, but it still wasn¡¯t pleasant. ¡°Still not good enough.¡± He thought to himself a 3rd time. So he made himself some heavy armor boots. Then on the fourth day he was walking down the road and the rock was gone. It had been moved to the side of the road. What has this got to do with heavy armor? Who knows, but the moral of the story is, don¡¯t be an idiot like this guy.


    Wooty doo, you have gained a skill level in heavy armor. Not that I think you need to gain these levels if you just don¡¯t get hit. Sounds like a skill issue to me. You have reached skill level: 2. The effectiveness of your heavy armor will be increased by 6%. Your 5% movement speed decrease per piece of heavy armor is still maintained.


    You have advanced your skill level in small blades, reaching skill level 6. Your attacks with daggers and knives now deal 12% more damage over base value. Additionally critical strikes done with your small blades will deal 6% more damage.


    You have advanced your skill level in swordsmanship, reaching skill level 9. Your attacks with swords now deal 27% more damage over base value.


    You have advanced your skill level in Earth magic. reaching skill level 9. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.


    You have advanced your skill level in Water magic. reaching skill level 8. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.


    You have advanced your skill level in Dark magic. reaching skill level 4. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.


    You are now level 18, you have 3 (base 4) attribute points to distribute.


    (Again we still have 1 level to go before he actually gets new points to distribute.)


    You have advanced your skill level in healing, reaching skill level 7. Wounds that you treat will heal 10.5% faster. (I don¡¯t like decimals so I am going to give you a freebie.) 11% faster.

 Chapter 38

    After Meira fell asleep Bjorn left the tent making his way towards the alchemy area. Once again it was difficult to navigate through camp and he found himself getting turned around several different times. Eventually he was able to find it though.


    The area that had been designated for alchemy was wide open. There were 8 different tables that were all filled with people doing various different tasks brewing potions, or creating salves, or even just grinding up herbs. On the ground there were 10 separate caldrons all filled with people in other parts of the brewing process. And finally there were 4 tables that had a few alchemists working on bottling and organizing the products that were being made. It was the most assembly line thing Bjorn had seen in this world.


    Standing off to one side of the small area right next to a few dozen small crates stood Skarit, the runic that gave Bjorn the book of recipes. Bjorn saw the man and made his way over to where he stood. ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t know if you remember me but¡­¡±


    ¡°I remember you.¡± Skarit cut Bjorn off. ¡°You were the young aspiring alchemist who wanted to join the alchemist guild but your skill level was too low. Two questions for you. Firstly, what are you doing down here?¡±


    ¡°I got drafted and we just recently made it to camp.¡±


    ¡°I see. Secondly, do you still have a desire to become an alchemist?¡±


    ¡°Uh, yes I do.¡± Bjorn said.


    ¡°Very good, follow me, I will find a place for you to be useful around here.¡± The runic started to turn back towards the alchemy that was happening all around them.


    ¡°Actually, I have an idea that might be worthwhile to explore.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Do tell.¡±


    Bjorn filled Skarit in on everything he had found so far about the properties of the snatcher spider venom. He then gave him an extremely detailed breakdown on how he found out about the properties. Skarit was an exceptional listener. The nitty gritty of how alchemy works bored everyone in his party, so he learned not to explain things in detail to them. However Skarit was studious in his listening. Not once did his attention waver from Bjorn¡¯s explanation.


    ¡°So what is your thought process? How can we capitalize on this information?¡±


    ¡°I find it odd how the spider¡¯s venom that breaks down our bones doesn¡¯t affect their carapace. My thought is that if we find a way to make the venom interact with the carapace we will find a way to kill these spiders easier.¡±


    ¡°You want to weaponize their own weapon against them. Fascinating, I hadn¡¯t thought of that. I think it would be hard to know if it is even possible though, don''t you?¡±


    ¡°Not at all, I already know that the venom could be used to brew two different poisons, one being a spider bane poison, and a bone melting poison. If we can find out the recipe to brew those poisons I think it would be a great help in this fight. I don¡¯t know this for a fact, but I suspect that there will be some sort of spider queen that we will have to fight at the end to eradicate this menace. We are struggling so far in the fodder, how will we handle the strongest one at the end?¡±


    ¡°Alright, you have convinced me. It will be an avenue worth exploring. Tell me though, how do you know for a fact that the venom could be used to make those poisons?¡±


    Bjorn got a sheepish look on his face. ¡°So I am trained in herblore as well as alchemy.¡±


    ¡°Any alchemist worth his salt is trained in herblore, go on.¡±


    ¡°Well, you see when I became a novice in herblore the perk I got was being able to learn different effects of any herb. The only downside to that is that I need to ingest the herb. Well as it turns out the venom counts as an herb.¡±


    For the first time during the conversation Skarit looked shocked. ¡°What? You are telling me you drank the venom?¡± He took a single step away from Bjorn and gave him a look up and down. ¡°Are you insane? How are you still alive?¡±


    ¡°I was lucky. I drank a healing potion, one of those traveling in my party has access to healing magic, and other circumstances that I don¡¯t think I will divulge.¡±


    ¡°That was a boneheaded move, I don¡¯t care if you think it was worth it or not. You gambled your life.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know. Everyone keeps telling me that. I understand that it was a risk. But the way I see it, it was a risk worth taking. We are already losing so many lives to these damn spiders, what is one more? If that life could give us a chance to win, and win with less casualties that would be better. I think I would trade that life.¡±


    Skarit was silent for a moment, his face screwed up in contemplation. ¡°I think you are right, I would expend a single life if it meant I could save 10. It just feels wrong when the one life I am expending is someone I know. I am sorry, I think I jumped to a conclusion way too soon, I think you took a calculated risk and it paid off.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. So now that is out of the way, do you have any ideas on how to make this poison?¡±


    ¡°I have a few.¡±


    They spent the next few hours discussing how to make poisons, and how their effects happen. Bjorn¡¯s knowledge on poisons expanded greatly during their conversation. Skarit was surprisingly knowledgeable on the topic. When Bjorn commented on just that Skarit¡¯s response was. ¡®I seek to become the best alchemist, and poisons are a facet of the profession. It would be foolish of me to ignore that.¡¯ During their discussion Skarit would call in the alchemists who were working from time to time to give their input in the project.


    By the end of the discussion they had a game plan on their attempt. Taking that information they started working on brewing some sort of spider venom poison, while several other alchemists were dispatched to retrieve more venom. Bjorn described to them how to milk the venom. Only a few were sent because they needed to keep brewing healing potions that could be used for the army. Apparently the effort was a never ending task. The army seemed to use the potions faster than they could brew them. One of the cauldrons was dedicated to Skarit and Bjorn¡¯s use though.


    Throughout the day they didn¡¯t seem to make much progress. They did learn about 7 different combinations and the combination process that didn¡¯t work. Each time they tried to make some it ended in a failure. But they didn¡¯t lose hope. In late evening the alchemists came back from the body pile with an entire crate full of venom. They had well over 500 doses of the venom, so their supply wouldn¡¯t be running out anytime soon.


    After their 7th failed attempted Skarit called it. ¡°Alright, that is enough failures for me for one day. Tomorrow we should try this again. I am hungry so I think I will go and get something to eat. You are welcome to join me if you wish.¡±


    ¡°No, thank you for your offer, but I think I am going to head back to my party, I am tired and want some rest.¡±


    ¡°Very well. When you are ready tomorrow I will be here.¡± Skarit took his leave walking over towards the mess.


    Bjorn stood and stretched, throughout the entire day of brewing many of the alchemists would switch out. By the end of the day the alchemists were not the same who were there when he entered. It was impressive to see as throughout the day when one alchemist would leave another would take his place completely picking up where they left off.


    Bjorn also learned a lot about Skarit. He was an alchemist who is higher up in the guild, but he didn¡¯t let that change who he was. He spent a lot of his time and effort sewing into those who knew less than he did. Which is why he was down at the registration hall when Bjorn went to try and join. He was also the only one who was a leader of the alchemist guild who took it upon himself to join the eradication expedition. He was a very down to earth and friendly guy.


    Slowly and wearily Bjorn made his way back to their tent. As he drew near he found Tayla and Rickie playing some sort of card game with some of their neighbors. Based on the piles of coins arrayed in front of each person it was some kind of gambling game. Bjorn just nodded to his friends as he made his way past them and into their tent. Once inside he saw Meira where she lay sprawled out on her cot. Smiling to himself he took off all of his gear he normally carried with himself as well as his portable pocket, storing them inside the trunk next to his cot and lay down and soon was fast asleep.


    When he next awoke the tent had one other occupant, it was Rickie. He lay just opposite to where Bjorn¡¯s cot was and he was snoring loudly. Sitting up he stretched and stood. Retrieving his items he stepped out of the tent and saw the same two that Tayla and Rickie were playing with. They sat around a low table and talked in hushed voices, which stopped when they saw Bjorn.


    ¡°Morning.¡± Bjorn said and started to make his way to the mess. Gathering a bowl of steaming stew and a heel of stale bread Bjorn sat down at one of the long tables to eat. All around him conversations whirled.


    ¡°Did you hear? We are to rest for a few days before we push on.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I should get this wart looked at?¡±


    ¡°You are letting one of your heads do all of the thinking.¡±


    Bjorn just sat there for a long time eating his food slowly and eavesdropping on every conversation he was able to. Over a span of half an hour he learned more about the happenings in camp, and the rumors that spread like wildfire in a camp such as this, than he ever wanted to. He continued to sit there and listen long after he was done eating.


    ¡°Well what do we have here?¡± A familiar female voice cut through the voices. Upon opening his eyes he saw Meira standing there with a similar bowl to what he just finished.


    ¡°Good morning, good looking.¡± Bjorn said as she sat across from where he sat.


    A slight blush came to her cheeks as she looked down at her bowl. ¡°Did you sleep well?¡±


    ¡°I did. Had a bit of a weird dream though.¡±


    They talked back and forth about many small things.


    ¡°Hey last night before you went to sleep you talked about a choice. What is that choice?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t so much of a choice. It was between doing something and not doing it.¡±


    ¡°So did you decide to do it?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°Will you tell me what it was?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t but you can see for yourself.¡±


    ¡°... What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°You have an ability, use it.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Bjorn took her up on what she was talking about and used his identity on her.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Meira Tanis


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Wood elf


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 31


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 24


    </td>


    <td>


    Profession: Mage


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Elves are known as the fair race. Wood elves share a special connection to the forest and trees. They are graceful and beautiful creatures. They are more free in their pursuits than others of their species. They gain 1 in dexterity and 1 in charisma per level and they gain 3 stat points to distribute per level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°You are now a professed mage!¡± Bjorn exclaimed excitedly.


    Meira¡¯s eyes darted around the mess around them. ¡°Shush, keep your voice down.¡±


    Bjorn got a sheepish look on his face. ¡°Sorry. Still, that is exciting news. Is this the choice that you were deciding on?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it was. I was trying to decide if I was going to get a profession or not. On one hand it will be a big boon and help keep us alive. On the other hand if people in camp find out that I am a professed mage it might be problematic for all of us. There is a reason why professed mages are feared. And on top of that they might try to separate us. No, it is better if I go unnoticed.¡±


    ¡°Why are professed mages to be feared?¡±


    Meira gave Bjorn a questioning look for a brief moment before it disappeared nearly as quickly as it appeared. ¡°Sometimes I forget that you aren¡¯t from this world. Professed mages are generally feared because of how powerful magic really is. For example you got a taste of how powerful a single spell can be in a small confined space. In the right conditions my single spell killed over a hundred spiders. The mage profession makes that easier to do. They have talents that decrease mana cost, cooldown times, strengthen spells, and learn new schools just to name a few of their talents. All of it adds up to make professed mages one of the strongest forces in this world.¡±


    ¡°That is fair. But at the same time you are frail and weak. All it takes is one person with a knife or a dagger to slit your throat and that is the end of you.¡±


    ¡°Although that is a good point, you''re an ass. I am not weak and frail.¡± She said as she swatted at him.


    Laughing Bjorn dodged, ¡°I take it back. My point does stand though. In a straight up fight you will still lose to someone like Rickie.¡±


    Meira settled down. ¡°Yeah, true. It will be rare for you to ever come across a professed mage who doesn¡¯t have some sort of protection around them. And currently the only reason I would lose in a straight up fight against Rickie is because I lack the correct spell that would invalidate his advantages.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I see your point, it is still impressive though, that you got your profession. What talents did you get?¡±


    A rye smile crossed her face. ¡°That is for me to know and for you to maybe find out.¡± She said with a wink. Her face grew more serious and she leaned in. ¡°I will tell you, but not here. The talents that people have are generally a closely guarded secret. If you know what talents someone has it is easier to get around them and to the person.¡± She told him in a whisper.


    ¡°Ah. It¡¯s the same thing as being rude to ask what Abilities people have, and what Skills people have. Mums the word.¡± He said putting a finger to his lips.


    ¡°What does mums mean?¡±


    That afternoon Bjorn found himself back in the alchemy area working on his project with Skarit. After his morning meal Bjorn had wandered over there, while Meira headed towards the field hospital to keep practicing with her life magic. When he arrived he had shown up before Skarit did. By the second day most of the alchemists were at least familiar with Bjorn¡¯s face after he and Skarit spent the entire day working together. As such no one questioned him when he showed up and just jumped in helping brew potions.


    The entire morning he was equal parts student and teacher. There were 5 other skilled alchemists who were working and 3 more beginner alchemists. Together the 9 of them were working on brewing 4 different batches of potion. 3 of the potions were health potions while the last one was a mana potion. But they were brewing on a scale Bjorn had never seen before.


    His current best recipe for brewing health potion usually made anywhere between 2 and 4 doses per successful brew. Currently the recipe that they were brewing would make slightly weaker potions but in larger quantities. Each successful brewing process would make anywhere from 18 to 25 doses. There were some trade offs though, making it so that the larger recipe wasn¡¯t always the better one. One of which is that it did take roughly twice as long, but that didn¡¯t matter as much in this scenario, as they had so many hands to help. Another was that it did cost more in potion ingredients. The bulk recipe would take 3 times the amount of herbs as it would to brew his smaller batch. The last trade off was that it had a higher chance to fail.


    In the setting they found themselves in, with limited time, and high demand, the more expensive, longer brewing, and slightly weaker potions was well worth it. With the entire city of Blackrock Bay supplying the expedition the cost wasn¡¯t an issue, and they never ran out of herbs for their brewing. They actually had crates and crates of dried herbs that they needed to brew their potions, and with every supply wagon that rolled into camp they brought even more. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    As they worked Bjorn would see one of the novice alchemists about to slice up a herb when it needed to be crushed with the flat of the blade and he would stop them. While explaining the reasoning for the crushing Bjorn would actually get interrupted and one of the more experienced alchemists would actually explain that it needed to be lightly crushed and then it needed to be sliced, and then he would explain why. That exact scene played itself out over and over throughout the entire morning. It was actually quite great and informative, and Bjorn was enjoying himself thoroughly.


    But as all good things go, it must come to an end. Right as the day moved into afternoon Skarit made his way through the alchemists. As he did so he greeted each one he passed by name, until he stopped in front of Bjorn. ¡°Well shall we?¡± Was all he said before he turned and started to make his way over to his and Bjorn¡¯s special little area was. Bjorn quickly finished grinding up the herb in his pestle and mortar and stood stretching and then followed after Skarit.


    ¡°You know I have an idea that might prove useful.¡± Skarit said. ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything yesterday because I had to wait for the proper ingredient. But I think it should be here. Let¡¯s see what did I do with it last night?¡± His eyes quickly darted around their work area. It looked almost the exact same as it had when they left off the night before. There was only one difference, which the runic quickly saw.


    ¡°Ah there it is.¡± He walked over and picked up the item. It was a small pouch. He walked back over to where Bjorn was standing and he opened the pouch as he walked. Inside were several small bean shaped items the color of dark brown. Skarit reached into the pouch and pulled one out to see. The items were the size of a thumbnail and had a lumpy skin.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Bjorn asked. Not even waiting for a response he used Identify on it.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Hill giant¡¯s kidney stone


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Rare


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: .2 lbs


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 2/3


    </td>


    <td>


    Uses: 1


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    The kidney stone of a hill giant. Yes it is in fact a kidney stone.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°It is called a Hill giant¡¯s kidney stone, but don¡¯t worry it isn¡¯t actually a kidney stone.¡± Skarit said. ¡°I am not entirely sure as to why it got the name though. I can assure you this is an alchemical compound that can be used to increase the effects of various alchemical components during any alchemy.¡±


    Bjorn just stood there dumbfounded at the blatant lie that he just caught Skarit in. Not entirely sure what the runic was up to Bjorn decided to play along.


    ¡°We have never been able to find out the uses for this stone outside of strengthening random parts of our brewing process. But I have theorized that it in fact does have to have its own uses in brewing.¡±


    Bjorn started to get a sinking feeling in his gut, he thinks he knows where this is going.


    ¡°As it happens you told me about a very handy perk that you got from her herblore skill. So I was wondering if you would be willing to eat this to help me unravel the secrets of this wondrous ingredient?¡±


    Bjorn was about to flat out refuse but then he realized that if he did so he would be tipping his hand. He has his W.A.I.L.A. which told him that it was in fact actually a kidney stone. If he refused in just the wrong way he would almost be screaming to Skarit that he had some sort of ability that let him identify items.


    ¡°I am not sure I want to use my perk.¡± Bjorn said. ¡°The last time I did so was rather excruciating. If not for my party member I likely would have died right then and there. That experience left me weary to use it again.¡± Deciding it was safe to use a half lie, after all Skarit bold faced lied to Bjorn. Why shouldn¡¯t he return the favor?


    ¡°Ah but I assure you this will be harmless, we use it all the time in our brewing process. There are never any negative side effects that show up in our end product. If there were over the years of use we would have noticed at least one. No, I can assure you that it is perfectly safe.¡±


    Bjorn mentally cried out. ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat a fucking kidney stone you bastard.¡± Verbally he said. ¡°I appreciate your reassurances but something about the name just doesn¡¯t sit right with me. Why call it a hill giant¡¯s kidney stone if that isn¡¯t exactly what it is? Besides, we don¡¯t know that it is perfectly safe to eat by itself.¡±


    Skarit shook his head slowly with a smile on his face. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know why they call it that, but I can assure you it is not a kidney stone. As to why we know that it is perfectly safe to eat by itself, we actually do. There are written accounts of alchemists who have eaten these stones before and had no adverse effects.¡± He finished his declaration by holding out the stone for Bjorn to grab it.


    ¡°Nuh uh. I am not taking that from you.¡±


    ¡°Fine, what if I prove it to you right here and now? Will that help you with your fear?¡± When Bjorn nodded in reply Skarit took the bean and popped it into his mouth. After a few moments of chewing he swallowed. Opening his mouth to show to Bjorn that the item was well and truly gone.


    They stood there and watched each other for a second, then 5, then a minute, then 2. When there were no apparent adverse effects on Skarit Bjorn was both amazed and internally cringing at the idea that the runic just ate a kidney stone. Then the cringe turned into disgust as he realized the implications. If Skarit would eat one just to prove a point then Bjorn had no right to deny it. He had to eat one too.


    With apprehension he nodded his head. Skarit closed his mouth and smiled, holding out the bag for Bjorn to grab one. Reaching into the bag he grabbed a hold of the small brown bean. It was an odd mix of solid and almost liquid. Its external shell was hard and felt like a rough stone in his hand. When he squeezed it lightly in between his fingers the small bean distorted as the liquid inside was pushed to the other side of the bean. That side of the bean grew larger, distorting the shape. When Bjorn let off the pressure the stone returned to its original shape.


    ¡°Alright, I will do this, keep in mind I don¡¯t like it one bit.¡± Skarit just nodded excitedly and his eyes gleamed as he stared at Bjorn. Bjorn sighed and opened his mouth slowly moving the bean towards it, all the while thinking. ¡°Gross, gross, yuck, yuck. I can¡¯t believe I am doing this.¡±


    Apparently Bjorn was taking too long because Skarit made a shooing motion with his hands, obviously saying ¡®Get on with it.¡¯ Finally deciding to man up, Bjorn popped the bean into his mouth and closed it. Once inside the bean was oddly tasteless. It was weird feeling the lump in his mouth but having no taste to it. Bjorn quickly moved it in between his teeth and bit down.


    The rough skin on the exterior ruptured and the thick viscous liquid spilled over his tongue. A sickenly sweet flavor coated his mouth. The liquid had the viscosity of honey, but the flavor of a sweet ros¨¦ wine. Startled by the flavor Bjorn kept the bean in his mouth longer than he intended. It didn¡¯t take him long to get back to his senses and rapidly chewed before swallowing.


    ¡°Ugh. How can you handle the sweet taste? You took it like a champ.¡± Bjorn said as he reached for a cup filled with water that he brought over with him. He quickly drank some of the water and used some of it to wash the inside of his mouth and swallowed it as well.


    Skarit then opened his mouth and spit the un-eaten kidney bean back into his hand. Skarit quickly dried the bean on his shirt before returning it to the sack.


    Bjorn stood there frozen in stunned silence, mouth agape.


    ¡°What? It is a rare and expensive alchemy material, and we only have so many. Why would I waste one on eating it?¡± Skarit said.


    ¡°You tricked me, you bastard. You just tricked me into eating a kidney stone. And the worst part of it, it wasn¡¯t even that bad.¡± Bjorn¡¯s shock turned to anger and he narrowed his eyes. ¡°I hate you.¡±


    ¡°Yes yes. I did trick you, but it was for your own good. Now stop wasting time. What did your perk tell you? What are the uses of the stone? And yes, it was actually a kidney stone, so what? As you said it wasn¡¯t that bad, and now we got vital information. So stop hogging it and share, what did you learn?¡±


    Some part of Bjorn wanted to rebel and not share the newfound knowledge with Skarit. But the louder and more pragmatic part of Bjorn understood why he had fooled him. So even if he didn¡¯t like what was done Bjorn pulled up his prompt that was waiting for him.


    You have ingested a hill giant¡¯s kidney stone. For the next 2 hours the next alchemical ingredient you ingest will have its effectiveness boosted by 500% for the duration of its effect. You get the feeling that this could be used to brew an elixir of strength. You also get the feeling that this could be used to brew a potion of absorption.


    ¡°It can be used to brew potions of absorption and elixirs of strength. What is an elixir?¡±


    Skarit zoned out and started muttering. After a bit Bjorn grew impatient and cleared his throat. ¡°What? Oh, sorry. Elixir is a term that is used to describe any potion that increases your raw base stats. Sometimes elixirs can even give you a boost permanently to increase your stats, but usually they are only temporary. They are both rare and difficult to brew, which now that I think about it they are probably rare because they are difficult to brew. Funny how that works.¡±


    ¡°Alright, and what is a potion of absorption?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t the faintest idea, and that is exciting.¡±


    By then Bjorn¡¯s anger was starting to burn itself out. ¡°Getting back on task, how are these kidney stones supposed to help us with making this poison?¡±


    ¡°I would think that would be quite explanatory. As you no doubt learned while eating these stones, they increase the effect of different alchemical ingredients. I was thinking we could test it with various parts of our brewing attempts to see if anything provides any useful information. But first they are entirely way too strong in their current form and would quite frankly be a waste to use as is. So let me show you have to reduce the strength of each of these without losing any of its efficacy.¡±


    Over the next few hours Skarit spent it showing Bjorn how to break down each of the stones into different strengths. He also showed Bjorn how to determine the strength and efficacy of each stone without having to eat it. As it turned out the stone Bjorn ate was actually one of the weaker ones that they had. He learned how to cut the strength of each stone into the desired strength. Each time they cut the strength their total amount of reagent produced almost doubled. Making it so that each stone could last for dozens if not hundreds of alchemical brewings and tests, all depending on what they needed and how strong they wanted its effects to be.


    After he learned what to do they then spent the rest of the day doing experiments and started to draw closer to what they thought would be a solution. At the end of the day they were both tired and weary from their minds constantly whirring trying to solve this puzzle they set out for themselves. It was easy to forget about the industry of alchemy that was going on around them at all times, but when they were done they just sat there watching all the other alchemists work on their various tasks.


    Bjorn was the first to excuse himself and he got up from his seat. In an almost drunken daze he made his way to first the mess and got something to eat, and then made his way through the tent city to their assigned tent. As he traveled he just listened to the comings and goings of the battle encampment. As a general rule the sounds he was hearing were light and almost happy. Which stood out against the purpose of this camp, and what this army had seen. The rest and relaxation was apparently needed and good for the men.


    Making it to their shared area he found Rickie, Alaric, Meira, and Tayla all sitting around the same short table as yesterday. ¡°Hello.¡± Bjorn called as he approached causing everyone to look over to his approaching form.


    ¡°Bjorn, come sit with us.¡± Tayla called out. She and Meira scooted over making room around the table. Bjorn grabbed a small wooden log that doubled as a seat and moved it over sitting down in between the two women.


    ¡°We were just discussing what will happen next.¡± Alaric said.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°We got reassigned today.¡± Meira said. ¡°We are to be under the command of sergeant Tommin.¡±


    ¡°Hey wasn¡¯t Jenkins sycophant named Tommin as well?¡±


    Alaric let out a laugh. ¡°Yes, it was. It¡¯s a pretty common name. But anyways we are ordered to show up near the cave entrance to the battlefield tomorrow morning at 8am sharp to join up with the rest of our squad.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait for us to finish off these spiders.¡± Rickie said. ¡°There is a reason why I never actually joined up with the armies of Escar. I hate these chains of commands. I would much rather go do my own thing.¡±


    ¡°Yeah we aren¡¯t too happy about it either, but unfortunately we don¡¯t have much of a choice here.¡±


    ¡°Tayla¡¯s right, we didn¡¯t have a choice at all. Now that we are down here it is kill or be killed. I am not confident that I would be able to successfully navigate us out of here without running into either patrols, supply wagons, or pockets of monsters. Apparently the spiders aren¡¯t the only monsters that were found down here.¡± Meira said.


    ¡°Well I sure hope that this sergeant Tommin is a better leader than Jenkins was. I still have work to do, today Skarit and I got closer to what we think will be actual usable spider poison.¡±


    One benefit about Tayla¡¯s profession was that it made her more observant. In most cases it was good, in this case not so much. ¡°Hey, why did your jaw clench and your eyes narrowed when you said Skarit¡¯s name? Did something happen?¡±


    ¡°No, nothing happened.¡± Bjorn lied. He did not want to admit to his friends that he had been tricked into eating a kidney stone.


    ¡°That was a lie.¡± Meira said. ¡°You always look slightly to your right when you are about to tell a lie.¡±


    ¡°Guys, I am serious, nothing happened today.¡± Bjorn tried again.


    ¡°There it was again.¡± Rickie said. ¡°You don¡¯t move your head to your right but your eyes definitely flicked to the right before you spoke.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright Bjorn, this is a safe place. We won¡¯t judge you for whatever happened.¡± Alaric said placatingly.


    ¡°Did he do something to you? We will go pay that runic a visit if that is the case. Why aren¡¯t you telling us? You know you don¡¯t have to hide anything from us.¡± Meira entranced the obvious concern in her voice.


    Bjorn looked from her to Alaric to Rickie and finally to Tayla and saw the exact same determination on their faces. They were willing to go to war with Skarit for him. Upon finding out how much his friends cared something inside of Bjorn that he hadn¡¯t realized he had been feeling evaporated. His anger, guilt, worry, and sadness started to just disappear. In its place happiness, joy, and gratitude.


    It was a little hard for Bjorn to reply. ¡°Fine.¡± He said past the lump in his throat that was forming. ¡°I will tell you.¡±


    All 4 of his ¡®friend¡¯s¡¯ laughter could be heard from rows of tents away. As Bjorn began to tell his story he saw their faces turn from concern to amusement, to mirth, to joy, and finally to laughter. Those feelings of happiness, joy, and gratitude quickly faded as they all laughed at the fact that Bjorn was tricked into eating a kidney stone.


    Their laughter was contagious, and it was never ending. Every time it was about to die down someone would make some sort of comment, or a pun about Bjorn and the entire round of laughter would start up again. It never seemed like it was going to end so Bjorn began to time it. Once he started counting it lasted for 15 minutes. It felt like they had been laughing for at least double that though.


    When it finally died down Bjorn couldn¡¯t help himself. ¡°Are you done?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t laughed that hard in years, thank you Bjorn.¡± Came Rickie''s rumbling voice.


    ¡°Look lad. I promised you that we wouldn¡¯t judge you, but come on. You can¡¯t blame us, if it had been any one of us you wouldn¡¯t have been able to keep it in.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you can¡¯t blame us.¡± Tayla said. ¡° It¡¯s not every day you get to hear how one of your friends ¡®accidently¡¯ ate a kidney stone. The story was just too good. It doesn¡¯t sound that app-pee-tizing.¡± Her last sentence was thick with laughter as she tried to contain it and failed miserably.


    ¡°Funny.¡± Bjorn said in a deadpan voice. The combination of Tayla¡¯s pun and Bjorn¡¯s dry response was enough to set off a new bout of laughter. ¡°I am never going to live this down am I?¡± He looked around and almost unanimously they all shook their heads. ¡°Fine if that is how it is going to be, I am going to bed.¡± He moved to stand up but Meira put her hand out to stop him.


    She was the first one to reign in her laughter. ¡°Alright, alright. You win, a truce for now. We do need to talk about what we are going to do.¡±


    But Bjorn wasn¡¯t done yet. ¡°And what about you? Have you told them about your choice yet?¡± His voice was louder than was intended.


    Meira put out her hand again to try and get Bjorn to lower his voice. ¡°Yes I did. They all know, and please, keep your voice down. By now anyone who is nearby has either moved away or is trying to eavesdrop so they can find out what we found so funny.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°What can we do?¡± Alaric said, trying to get back on track. ¡°Whether we like it or not, we are a part of this army. Our only choice is to follow orders, and as of today our orders are to march and fight. So tomorrow morning we will go and help out the best we can so this nightmare ends.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t what I meant. We are here. That is true. But do we give our best effort to help out, or do we stay back in an effort to stay alive? I could go either way. I want this to end probably as much as any of you do, but at the rate we are dropping I don¡¯t think many, or even any of us will survive.¡±


    ¡°Well that is a sobering thought.¡± Rickie said. ¡°And I think that it is a true statement. There is a risk to either course of action. But my instincts are telling me that our best chance at survival would be to go all in, hold nothing back.¡±


    ¡°I am with Rickie. We saw what we are up against. We don¡¯t stand a chance versus the number of spiders that we are facing. Our small band had killed several hundred spiders, granted that was with the help of Jenkins and his men, but still hundreds. There are close to a thousand, or even 1500 people down here all fighting against these spiders. How many do you think they have been able to kill?¡± Tayla thought out loud.


    ¡°My guess is several tens of thousands.¡± Alaric said. ¡°I am thinking that we are easily killing 10 spiders for every one of ours who falls. We are making headway into the spider camp, but we still haven¡¯t reached the motherload yet. I am willing to bet that we will come in contact with at least 1 type of spider we haven¡¯t encountered yet. I am willing to bet that it will be one larger and tougher than we have come across yet. Rickie and Tayla are right, we don¡¯t stand a chance versus those odds on our own.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s eyes fell on Bjorn. ¡°Yeah, like it or not, we are in this. We were forced into this army, and now we need this army to stay alive. Our best chances are if everyone survives. I think we give it our all.¡±


    ¡°Alright, that''s settled then. We give our total support to the army.¡±


    Bjorn stood from where he had been seated. ¡°Now, unless there is anything else that you want to discuss. I am tired from brewing all day, and I am in great need of sleep. I will see you all in the morning.¡± He turned to go and then had a thought. ¡°Oh did anyone retrieve my armor from the blacksmiths?¡±


    ¡°Aye, I did. I stored it in your trunk. It should be good as new.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, night everyone.¡± Bjorn¡¯s retreating back was followed by a chorus of people wishing him a good night. Bjorn collapsed into his bed and very quickly fell asleep.


    The next morning they all awoke early and got suited up. Collectively the 5 friends moved through the camp heading to the mess as they still had a few minutes before they were required to assemble. Besides, it was on the way to their meeting point anyways. They each took a pair of biscuits that were piled high on a tray and began to eat the dry bread on their way to the gathering point.


    They gathered at the entrance to the cave the last battle was in. When they got there a large number of people had already gathered and started to form ranks of soldiers waiting for orders. Each line was composed of 10 people. With 8 completed lines already formed Bjorn and his companions made their way to the 9th mostly full line and filled up the last slots before starting a 10th. With a few minutes left before the designated meeting time they stood silently with everyone. To Bjorn¡¯s left stood a female dwarf, and to his right Meira. To her right was Rickie, and directly behind them stood Alaric and Tayla.


    With roughly 4 feet in between each line one man and one woman walked up and down the rows slowly. The woman was an elf and she carried a clipboard. The man was a human and he was checking each person''s name. When the elf found their name on the list they would nod and then move on to the next person in line. They were starting on the 8th line when their required meeting came up. By then another 6 people made their way into formation. Bringing their entire number to 100.


    The man stopped in front of Bjorn and said. ¡°Name.¡± As he was looking at a scroll in his hands.


    ¡°Bjorn Ward.¡± He replied. He added a sir after a few moments.


    Upon hearing the name he looked up at the man standing in front of him. Bjorn was slightly taller than Tommin but there was something about Tommin¡¯s gaze. His gaze just bore right through Bjorn and he gave off an air of no nonsense. The gaze quickly faded as he took in the other 4 newcomers.


    ¡°Ah you are the new ones assigned to my unit. Rest assured, we aren¡¯t doing anything too rough today. We got assigned a watch detail today, so we will be watching over one of the two entrances further into this maze. It should be easy for today. It should give us time to get acquainted. Let me finish roll call and then we will be off.¡±


    True to his word it didn¡¯t take long for him and his second to finish their rounds. Once they were and everyone was accounted for they took off heading down the tunnel that most of his friends had to be carried down the last time they passed it. Today was oddly gratifying as everyone was able to pass under their own power this time.

 Chapter 39

    The next three days passed in a blur. Their time was split in between assignments, getting familiar with their new unit, and working on their own personal projects. They each had their own skills and were able to help out where they were needed in camp. Bjorn worked with Skarit to make a poison that would work on the spiders. Meira spent her free time in the hospital learning more about healing. Alaric was a passable smith so he spent his time with the blacksmiths helping out. Rickie was still a surprisingly good cook, so he spent his time in the mess helping provide food. Which left Tayla, she was actually hired by Gram and he used her skills to scout in camp and find out what the general mood of the army was.


    Two days after they were assigned to their unit the army had made a move again. The army was divided into a 70% and a 30% split. During the assault the 30% was left behind to protect their claimed ground and make sure that the spiders weren¡¯t able to reclaim. The remaining 70% attacked into another cavern.


    The party''s new unit was sent in with the 70% and it was rather uneventful. The chamber they attacked seemed to be a birthing chamber and as such there were thousands of eggs that needed to be squished. The spiders didn¡¯t give up easily though, they met with one of the most fierce defenses that they had to put up with so far. With the majority of the spell casters, one of which was actually Duke Dornan himself. It didn¡¯t take them long to make short work of the defensive force and push into the room.


    On that day Bjorn learned why professed mages were to be feared. Duke Dornan was a force of nature. The magic he wielded was something to behold on their own. The Duke cast spells from two different schools that Bjorn could tell. One of which was light magic, the other was earth magic. He cast multiple wide area spells that both buffed his forces and debuffed the spiders. After everyone had insane buffs Dornan went to work with his earth magic. He cast stone shaping spells that swallowed dozens of spiders whole, he cast spells that flung boulders like an earth bended, and he created walls, sectioning off whole areas of the cavern for them to fight later.


    Needless to say it didn¡¯t take them long to make it to the other side of the cavern and set up a defensive area to stop the spiders from taking back the room. During the entire combat Bjorn and his cohort was positioned in one of the wings of the army and didn¡¯t see the fiercest part of the battle.


    The true fun began after they killed off most of the spiders. As the majority of the army pushed straight through the room they didn¡¯t worry about truly clearing the chamber. They cut off the reinforcements that the spiders would send. Then they sent out parties to sweep and clear the various small rooms that branched off of the main chamber. The entire chamber was once a small underground settlement which had been abandoned for who knows how long.


    Each of the small chambers was usually filled to the brim with spider eggs. What made it fun was that the spiders had tons of areas for them to hide and ambush the attackers. And as they found out, most of the chamber had been booby trapped. Anyone with the trap find skill had their work cut out for them, Bjorn included. He had been tasked with not fighting at all but to keep his eyes open and look for traps as they did sweep and clears.


    Bjorn would travel near the front of his group and then stop everyone when he spotted a trap. His task from there would be to disarm it the best he could. Sometimes it was quick and easy to disarm the trap without setting it off, other times it took hours. Even when it took hours his squad never lost patients with him, as they had come to learn to trust him. Over the last day he had never failed to disarm or spot a trap so far.


    Oftentimes when he was in the middle of disarming the traps small groups of spiders would attack, usually with little success. They would strike like lightning and try to retreat back into the shadows. It was the type of attack that they learned not to follow. They learned thanks to Bjorn that most of the time the spider''s retreat was there to try and lure them directly into a trap. Oftentimes one that Bjorn hadn¡¯t noticed yet.


    Bjorn¡¯s secret to his success wasn¡¯t actually his trap finding skill, it was actually his alchemy. When they found out they would have to be doing sweep and clear missions Rickie had pulled Bjorn aside and handed him two potions. Upon closer inspection it was actually the danger sense potion he had brewed for Rickie, and the other one was the one he brewed for Chase.


    He tried to thank Rickie for the potion but the monster of a chocolate drop raised his hands. ¡°You will make better use out of them than I ever could.¡± And he was right. With Rickie¡¯s potion Bjorn had spotted and disarmed close to 15 traps over the last 8 hours.


    The real satisfying part of their job was whenever they came upon a room full of spider eggs. The small round clear eggs were often held in place on the wall or ceiling or ground by thick strands of spider silk. Each time they came upon the room the party had a field day stomping or smashing the eggs. Thick mucus-like liquid came pouring out of each egg that they popped but the entire process was just so satisfying, they didn¡¯t care when they got covered in it. Each time they destroyed an egg the embryo inside would often die as well. There were a few times where the small spider escaped and didn¡¯t get crushed when the egg popped. They then would try to bite the nearest thing to it .


    After the most recent room they got replaced by a new squad and they made their way back to the main army. ¡°Thank the gods for Duke Dornan.¡± Tommin said, his voice carried over the low din of those talking. Most of the army was talking in a low whisper, not Tommin. ¡°That assault would have been costly without him. Did you see that buff? Plus 20% to our armor, plus 15% to all damage sources. It is easy to see how he got his position watching over Blackrock Bay. He is one powerful mother.¡±


    Bjorn and his 14 other squad members made their way over to Tommin¡¯s voice. It had been Alaric and him in the squad with 13 others of Tommin¡¯s 99. Tayla and Rickie and 13 others were the squad that relieved Bjorn and his squad. Meira had Tommin¡¯s leave to go back to the field hospital and help heal the wounded from the battle. Although Tayla was a rogue, she wasn¡¯t really any good at trap disarming. So they found someone who had the skill and paired them with her. Together she was skilled at spotting traps, then she would point it out to the gnome and then she would disable them.


    Their squad had been positioned near the back of the defensive line leading back to their camp. With the sheer numbers in the army something bad would have had to happen for them to be needed, so everyone was at ease sitting around in small groups. When they approached Tommin saw the sweep and clear squad and got to his feet and met them in the middle.


    ¡°Jamison, report.¡± Tommin said to one of his corporals who had been in charge of the entire group.


    ¡°Sir, we were quite effective. Our squad was able to clear a total of 9 rooms, we were sneak attacked a total of 11 times and outright attacked 3. No casualties or even major injuries to report. That was all thanks to Bjorn sir, he was surprisingly adept at spotting traps and disarming them. If it wasn¡¯t for his efforts I have no doubts that we would have met with some troubles or even had casualties, sir.¡±


    Tommin gave Bjorn an assessing look. ¡°Good job today Bjorn. From the reports that I have been getting it, your unit was the only one to not have any losses. Is what Jamison said true?¡±


    ¡°I am not entirely sure if I am the reason for our success, but I do know for a fact that I have been fortunate and have developed a set of skills which have been very useful in keeping everyone alive today. Sir.¡± Bjorn added that last bit almost as if it was an afterthought.


    ¡°Very well, you are dismissed. You all look like you could use a rest and I think you all have earned it.¡± Tommin¡¯s words brought a smile to many faces and they all started to turn heading back to camp for a rest. All of his unit except for Bjorn he stayed directly in front of Tommin.


    Tommin paused and looked Bjorn up and down. ¡°That includes you, you may head back to camp to rest.¡± When Bjorn didn¡¯t make a move he got a puzzled look. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need a rest, I can stay and help out. I would rather do so.¡±


    A slight frown crossed Tommin¡¯s face. ¡°You need rest just like the rest, you have done well today. There is no need for you to push yourself and potentially endanger yourself.¡±


    Bjorn just shook his head. ¡°That is not it, sergeant. During my travels I was fortunate enough to come across a magical item.¡± He pointed to where his belt sat on his waist. ¡°This is what is known as a belt of sustenance and as such I need less food, water, and sleep to survive. I don¡¯t need to rest because of this belt. I still can help out and I think my skills will help keep some of our troops alive. So I would like to stay and help out the best I can.¡± Bjorn didn¡¯t tell him the other reason why he wanted to stay. During the exploration it was actually doing wonders for his skill growth, he was training skills that he hadn''t had much chance to train since he came to the Eld. He didn¡¯t want to let all of that nice skill growth go to waste.


    Tommin once again gave Bjorn an accessing look. ¡°Very well. You may stay and help. After all you know your own capabilities and limits better than anyone. But I don¡¯t want you to take any chances that might lead to your injury or death, or anyone else''s for that matter. I will assign another exploration group to be under your watch, you won¡¯t be in charge, but they should listen to you. Make us all proud.¡±


    Bjorn nodded while Tommin gathered up another cohort of soldiers under his command and began assigning roles in the expedition. As he watched Alaric walked up slowly to him. ¡°You can go take a rest.¡± Bjorn said.


    ¡°Like hell I am going to sit around while I let a little pipsqueak like yourself risk your life. Someone has to watch your back. Besides, if I let you go out on your own, Meira would kill me for leaving you alone.¡± Before Meira had left for the field hospital she told the other 4 that if she heard of any one of them doing anything stupid like going on a mission without one of the others in their group, she would personally see that they ended up dead.


    Bjorn let out a little chuckle. ¡°You know she said that mainly to get us to take care of ourselves.¡±


    ¡°No, she said that for your sake. What she meant was if any of us let you go on a mission by yourself she would hang us by our intestines. She was telling us to not let you out of our sight.¡±


    Bjorn gave Alaric a sidelong glance. ¡°You exaggerate.¡±


    ¡°If only I was. Look sharp, Tommin is coming back.¡±


    Tommin walked over with 14 men in tow. ¡°Alaric, you were dismissed, you can go back to camp.¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry, but I have higher orders to keep Bjorn here safe, besides I¡¯ll just stick to him like a bodyguard and let the others do the fighting. It won''t hurt to have an extra set of hands on this mission regardless.¡±


    After a moment of deliberation. Tommin nodded. ¡°I commend you watching out for one of your own. Be careful out there, both of you. I have grown rather fond of your surprising competence. I am used to having the people that they draft being next to useless.¡±


    Bjorn and Alaric both gave a half hearted salute. ¡°Thank you sir.¡±


    With that the pair joined up with the rest of their little squad and returned to the job of clearing out the remaining spiders and securing the room their army just conquered. It took the rest of the day to clear out the remaining spiders. As the afternoon turned to evening the attacks by the spider menace slowly stopped, and by evening they had a claim to wiping out the spiders and securing the large chamber they just took.


    In the second to last chamber they cleared something caught Bjorn¡¯s eye but he let it slide. There was a small alcove set into the stone that didn¡¯t look quite right. After a quick inspection he realized it likely had a false bottom. Instead of calling attention to it he made a mental note to come back and see what it was all about. Not that he didn¡¯t trust his new allies, just that if there was some spoils then he wanted to see if he could keep it for himself. He knew that they all agreed to give their full devotion to the army, but there wasn¡¯t anything that they agreed to on loot.


    Once they finished clearing the last room their task was done. They and many other teams had cleared out the small ruins of the town that had once been here. Their unit was done and was going to head back to report.


    ¡°You guys go on ahead, I will be right behind you. My boot lace broke and I¡¯m just going to replace it real quick.¡± Bjorn told them. He could see on their faces that they didn¡¯t like leaving one of their own behind, especially one who had done such a good job keeping everyone safe.


    Alaric apparently could see it too. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I''ll keep an eye on him. We will be fine, go on ahead, we will catch up.¡± Alaric¡¯s words were enough to sway the majority and they all set out leaving Bjorn and Alaric behind.


    ¡°Stand up you look like a fool down there fumbling with your perfectly fine bootlace. What was that all about?¡±


    Bjorn stood with a smile. ¡°I noticed something I want you to look at, come on.¡± Bjorn led him back to the room they had just cleared and then pointed out the possible false bottom to Alaric.


    Alaric took one look at the false bottom and smiled. ¡°Good eye. It¡¯s a little hidey hole. Let¡¯s see what is hidden inside.¡± Alaric took a pair of small metal hooks from a pouch on his waist and put the hooks against the wall so that the metal was laying flat against it. He slowly pushed the hooks down until they came in contact with the bottom of the stone. Carefully he continued to apply pressure and the hooks began to slide downwards, sliding into a barely visible gab.


    Once the hooks had sunk half of their length they stopped moving. He then slowly carefully began to twist them. Once the hooks had rotated a solid 90 degrees he stopped and gestured for Bjorn to grab one of the two hooks. Carefully both of the men pulled upwards with the stone hooks and the stone slab that covered the bottom of the alcove began to slide free.


    Inside there were a few different items. There were two rings, a bracelet, a couple leather pouches, and finally a rolled up scroll. Not wanting to chance their finding being found, Bjorn quickly scooped up both the rings and the bracelet and stored it in his portable pocket. Alaric then started to hand Bjorn the leather pouches without opening them. Finally he handed over the scroll.


    Right before they were going to drop the stone back into place Bjorn frowned and made Alaric pause. With a frown he looked at something else that didn¡¯t look quite right. Taking his index finger he pushed a small stone that looked like it just didn¡¯t quite belong. The stone sank briefly and there was an audible click. When the click sounded a small poof of dust became airborne as another false bottom popped open. Grabbing it with two hands he pried it upward and the bottom hinged upwards.


    Inside there were 5 items. Two books, two vials, and a small bag with a small gemstone on top of it. Bjorn began to quickly add the items to his portable pocket. When he tried to add the bag though, a force stopped him. Confused, he tried again and again an invisible force stopped him from adding the bag. Confused, he used Identify on the bag.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bag of holding


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Legendary


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 5 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 1942/2065


    </td>


    <td>


    Soul bound: Owner: None


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    This magically enchanted bag has the ability to fold both space and time. It¡¯s bigger on the inside. This bag of holding was made by a master craftsperson who specialized in making bags of holding. This bag had the ability to reduce the weight of items carried within by 80%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Ho-ly sh-it. It finally happened. They got an upgrade to their portable pocket. And to top it off it was sweet. Bjorn¡¯s back ached at the thought of reducing the weight of his carried items by 80%. Even though his carry limit was significantly higher than what he did carry in the portable pocket. He recently learned that he had to be careful with what he stored in it. Currently it was only 2/3rds full because it was starting to become uncomfortable to wear. This new bag solved every single one of his current issues with the portable pocket.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Alaric asked.


    ¡°A bag of holding. And a high quality one by the looks of it.¡±


    Alaric¡¯s jaw dropped as he stared at the nondescript bag in his hand. He had heard of the usefulness and utility of a bag of holding but he had never seen one in person. A bag of holding is the type of item that is talked about in legends but never actually obtained. Everyone knows of someone who is related to someone who talked to someone who owned a bag of holding once. But rarely has someone actually been the one to hold it.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°What do we do with it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. We have to do something with it though.¡±


    ¡°What was the gem that was on the bag?¡±


    ¡°I think it is how you soul bind the bag to yourself. When I soul bound my portable pocket to myself the lady who sold it to me somehow pulled a white gem that looked almost the same from her arm. When I absorbed the stone the portable pocket became soul bound to me and no one else could use it.¡±


    ¡°Alright, we need to catch up. So I will keep the bag of holding on my belt for now, and you take the gem. When we meet back up with the group we can discuss what we want to do.¡± Alaric turned to walk away. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t say anything about it to Rickie, I trust the man, but he is still new to the group.¡±


    Bjorn gave him a slightly judgmental look.


    ¡°Oh don¡¯t give me that. I think you don¡¯t understand how valuable this item is. Wars have been fought over items less magical than this bag.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I will follow your lead. Let''s get going.¡±


    The pair took off at a speed just below a sprint. Bjorn marveled at the capabilities of his magically enhanced body. Before back on earth he hadn¡¯t even been able to sprint as fast as he and Alaric were traveling. Yet they both were able to run without issue, through semi complex terrain.


    It didn¡¯t take them long to catch up with the rest of their squad. They fell in step with them and blended seamlessly in with the group, them none the wiser to the pilfering that just happened. Nor were they aware of the unbound powerful magical item that found its way amongst them.


    After they regrouped with Tommin, Bjorn and Alaric decided to finally take Tommin''s orders and go rest at the camp. The area that they were assigned was fully cleared anyways, and the rest of the army was almost done with their assigned areas. The entire way back to their tent Bjorn and Alaric were both giddy like little school boys. It was hard to hide their excitement.


    As they drew near to the tent they had to hide their excitement and visibly calm down. When they entered they found Tayla and Rickie both sitting on their cots talking easily. ¡°We found some loot.¡± Was the first thing Bjorn said when they entered in a hushed tone.


    Tayla looked up with greed in her eyes, while Rickie turned around looking nonplussed. ¡°What is it?¡± Tayla asked.


    Bjorn was just about to start talking about it when Alaric cut him off. ¡°I think it would be best if we had Meira here as well when we show it off. Any idea when she will come back from the field hospital?¡±


    ¡°Not a clue. I can go see if I can find her.¡± Tayla said excitedly.


    Rickie shook his head. ¡°No, let her do her work, she will come back eventually. She is currently saving lives, we can¡¯t take her away from that just because we are greedy. No, it is better for us to wait for her to come back on her own.¡±


    Tayla¡¯s excitement visibly faded, and faded fast. ¡°I hate waiting. Spoil sport.¡±


    Alaric just shrugged his shoulders. Tayla stood from where she sat and glumly walked out of their tent.


    ¡°Good job. I think I would have had a hard time telling her no.¡± Bjorn said.


    ¡°Eh, it''s good for her.¡± Rickie said with a yawn. ¡°Man clearing out those spiders sure got me tired. I think I am going to head to bed.¡± He started to lay down. ¡°A word of advice to the both of you. You should go clean up before you go to bed. You both are covered in gunk. I don''t even want to know what it is, and it smells.¡±


    In his excitement Bjorn forgot his gore covered state. Taking Rickie up on his advice he and Alaric went to a rough communal bath that had been set up and started to strip out of their armor. As the layers came off the true foulness of their stench was revealed. Thankful for the reminded Bjorn and Alaric unabashedly stripped out of their dirty clothes leaving them in a pile and started to clean themselves from a large basin of water.


    The bath was unisex, and with the battle that just took place there were dozens of people of both sexes who were unabashedly stripping down and washing their naked bodies. In a testament to the stresses of the day no one looked around, stared, or even flirted with the opposite sex.


    They had set up the bath in a patch of gravel that they found in the middle of the cave. The bathers would take water from one of three large stone basins that had been set up around the patch of gravel. They would then use the water from the basin and scrub down their bodies with large bars of soap. The soap was provided by the army, as they wanted everyone to be clean and less prone to disease. The soapy dirty water would fall down the bodies and land on the gravel where it would quickly sink away leaving the area surprisingly dry. Once they were finished washing themselves they used the water to clean the grime off of their armor.


    Once clean Bjorn and Alaric got dressed in a set of spare clothes and took their dirty ones to the launders to be washed, folded, and then ready for anyone who needed to come and take them. After dropping off their clothes they had one final task to do. They took their weapons and armor to the blacksmiths to have them worked on and fixed up.


    After finishing all of their mundane tasks they headed back to the tent. The entire process took surprisingly long, and it was getting late. Inside the tent they found Rickie and Tayla both asleep on a cot. With no Meira yet they decided to go to sleep. After they exchanged knowing glances Bjorn pulled out the small white gemstone and cupped it in his hand clenching it tight he laid down. Alaric took the bag of holding and clutched it tight using it as a pillow.


    In the morning Bjorn awoke groggily to the sound of hushed tones. Blearily he opened his eyes and looked around. Tayla, Meira, and Alaric sat in a huddled circle with their heads together, Rickie was nowhere in sight.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± Bjorn said in a dry scratchy tone. All three heads turned towards him as he sat up. ¡°Did I miss anything good?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about damn time you woke up. Why did you have to be so tired? Never mind that. What is the loot?¡± Tayla said excitedly. ¡°Alaric wouldn¡¯t tell us.¡±


    ¡°First off, where is Rickie?¡± Bjorn said through a yawn.


    ¡°He is at the mess. He got tired of waiting for you to wake up, and I wouldn¡¯t let him wake you up. So he went there to do a little cooking. He asked us to come and get him when you wake up so we can go over everything.¡± Meira said.


    Tayla started to stand up as if she was going to sprint out to get Rickie. Her behavior reminded Bjorn of his nieces and nephews on Christmas morning. Alaric put out his hand motioning her to stop. ¡°We can go get him in a minute, but we have something important we need to discuss first.¡±


    Grumbling, Tayla sat back down. Bjorn joined them in their small circle. Alaric had the bag of holding clutched under one arm. Grabbing it with his left hand he held it out for one of the girls to take. Confused, Meira gingerly took it out of Alaric¡¯s hands. ¡°What¡¯s this? She asked.


    ¡°That.¡± Alaric said. ¡°Is a bag of holding.¡±


    The silence was deafening as the words that Alaric spoke sunk into the girls. ¡°I am sorry. What?¡± Tayla was the first one to break the silence.


    ¡°When we were searching yesterday I noticed a small alcove that didn¡¯t look quite right. When we had a little alone time Alaric and I went back and we found a grouping of items that we are going to discuss soon. When we were about to leave I got an odd feeling and pushed a stone. Inside were 4 items. Two books, a vial, and the bag of holding.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure it is a bag of holding?¡± Meira asked.


    ¡°Yes, we are sure.¡± Alaric replied. ¡°Bjorn used his identify ability on it, and so far he hasn¡¯t been wrong yet. So the question is, who do we bind it to?"


    ¡°The obvious answer is Bjorn. He was the one to find it, it should be his.¡± Tayla said immediately.


    Bjorn shook his head. ¡°I already have a portable pocket, I don¡¯t need the bag of holding.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right Tayla, it should go to Bjorn. He is already our pack mule, why not make him carry more. By the way, do you know how much it reduces the weight?¡±


    ¡°80%.¡±


    ¡°80?!¡± Tayla and Meira both exclaimed simultaneously. ¡°What was its rarity?¡±


    ¡°Legendary.¡± Alaric said.


    ¡°I think you made the right choice to not include Rickie in this.¡± Meira said solemnly. ¡°I like him, and I think we can trust him. But there are many people out there who would kill us for such an item.¡±


    ¡°Hell I am thinking about killing you all for this item.¡± Tayla cut in.


    Meira gave Tayla a rather rude stare. ¡°As I was saying. There have been wars fought over a magic item such as this. Although I trust Rickie, there is no need to put such a strain on our friendship so early.¡±


    ¡°That was our thinking as well. I am with both of you. I think we should give it to Bjorn. He is the entire reason we are having this conversation right now anyways.¡±


    Bjorn was about to protest when Meira cut him off. ¡°Just shut up and accept it, you dault. You should be the one to soul bind it to yourself. You are the one who deserves it.¡±


    Her words stopped the objection in its tracks. ¡°Fine, if you guys agree I should have it then I will take it, but I think one of you should have the portable pocket in my stead.¡±


    ¡°That''s fair. I vote it should be Tayla who gets it. She has the stickiest fingers, and having a way for her to quickly and discreetly hide what she takes would be a boon.¡± Alaric said.


    ¡°Um excuse you mister. I might be a professed rogue but I am not a thief. When have you ever seen me steal something?¡±


    ¡°That apple in Vanta.¡± Meira said.


    ¡°I-¡±


    ¡°That extra deck of cards that you then used to cheat in your game with Rickie and our neighbors.¡±


    ¡°Hey, that''s not fair.¡± Tayla exclaimed weakly.


    ¡°What about that extra bottle of ink when we were talking to the administration right before we were assigned this tent,¡± Bjorn finished. With him being the final one to point something out Tayla got a defeated look on her face.


    She was quiet for a few moments before softly she said. ¡°But I don¡¯t trust myself with such an expensive item.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Alaric asked.


    ¡°I mean, I haven¡¯t had much my entire life. That bag.¡± Tayla pointed at the portable pocket attached to Bjorn¡¯s waist. ¡°Is worth more than I have probably touched in my entire life. I don¡¯t trust myself with something like that. I don¡¯t want it. I won¡¯t take it.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then that leaves me and Alaric.¡± Meira looked at Alaric. ¡°You should have it.¡± She said without hesitation.


    ¡°And why do you think that?¡±


    ¡°Because besides Bjorn you carry most of our gear. If you were able to store more because of the portable pocket, you should be able to respond faster to a fight. We want you to be free anyways as you are our main frontline tank. This is purely selfish. If you have the bag it will make it easier for you to keep all of us alive. And to top it off you have the greatest strength stat out of all of us. Except for Rickie of course, but I don¡¯t think it should be him. If we give him the portable pocket, it will bring up some difficult conversations as to why. No it should be you.¡±


    Alaric sighed. ¡°Fine, I will take the portable pocket. How do we go about doing this transfer?¡±


    ¡°Well when we were down in the sewer the trader focused for a moment and a white gem materialized out of her forearm. So I assume I have to do something specific. But before I do anything, I don¡¯t know what happens to the items that are within the bag when ownership is transferred.¡±


    Tayla thought for a second. ¡°Better safe than sorry, you should take everything out. It would rather suck if all of your worldly possessions disappeared because we didn¡¯t know how the magic worked.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Bjorn stood up from where he sat and walked over to his trunk and opened the lid, and he began to empty the sack. And then he kept going. And then it just kept coming. For the first time since he got the portable pocket it was empty. Before him stood a small mound of items that he had collected over the last year since he got the pocket. It was an impressive hall, and it almost made him look like a hoarder. The pile was large enough that it didn¡¯t fit fully into the trunk. The interior was completely filled, and then it mounded up over the trunk, and then it spilled over the sides and onto the floor.


    ¡°Think you have enough shit?¡± Alaric asked.


    ¡°Shut it.¡±


    Once the bag was completely empty he walked back over to where Alaric sat and started digging through his menus. After a few minutes he had no clue where to go or what to do. In frustration he closed all of them, and sat there with an annoyed look on his face.


    In a last ditch effort he placed one hand on the portable pocket and just willed it. A prompted appeared in front of his vision.


    You are about to relinquish ownership over the item: Portable Pocket. Would you like to do so? Yes/No.


    Mentally he clicked no and then tried again this time focusing on Alaric.


    Would you like to transfer ownership over your item: Portable Pocket? Ownership of said item will transfer to Alaric Stonefist. Would you like to do so? Yes/No.


    This time he mentally clicked ¡®Yes¡¯ and a tingling sensation engulfed his left forearm. As he watched, a thin layer of white material pushed its way through his skin. The layer started to condense into a similar small white gemstone. Once it finished forming the gemstone shot from his arm and slammed into Alaric¡¯s where the stone then sank into his forearm. Once the gemstone left Bjorn¡¯s body the small inventory icon that he had become all too familiar with disappeared leaving nothing in its stead.


    After the gemstone sank fully into Alaric¡¯s arm he gleefully began to take items and put them into the bag, and then retrieve them. Doing the exact same thing that Bjorn did when he first claimed ownership over the portable pocket.


    Taking the gemstone in his hand that was the ownership gem for the bag of holding Bjorn made a mental command similar to the one he just finished doing. Another prompt appeared.


    You are about to claim ownership over: bag of holding. Would you like to do so? Yes/No.


    He would have to be a fool to click no. So of course he clicked yes. When he clicked yes another prompt appeared and he immediately started to second guess his decision.


    Are you sure? Yes/No.


    Well he had come this far. Yes. The gemstone in his palm sank into his skin and after a few seconds had disappeared completely. And yet again another prompt appeared.


    Know this. You have created a greater soul binding with a magical soul bound item: Bag of holding. While this item is soul bound to you no one else is able to use it or access its contents. This binding is stronger than most soul bindings, as such even after you die, if you haven¡¯t relinquished ownership over this item its contents shall remain inaccessible.


    Well the new prompt answered a question that had been sitting at the back of Bjorn¡¯s mind for a while now. That question was, what would happen to the contents of his portable pocket when he died. It was good to know that if he had died his party would still be able to access the contents of his bag. Not the case anymore.


    With the new bag soul bound to him, his all too familiar inventory icon appeared in the corner of his vision again. He opened it and his jaw dropped. Previously his portable pocket had an inventory space of 20 by 7. His new bag had a space of 60 by 60. By his calculations the bag of holding was over 25 times larger in its ability to store and preserve items.


    Another major change was at the top of the inventory there were 4 slots. Each slot was marked by a coin of different metals. Each coin was a perfect match for the copper, silver, and gold coins. The last coin was one he hadn¡¯t ever seen before, but if d&d had ever taught him something it was a platinum coin. Fuck electrum.


    The last major thing that surprised Bjorn was that the bag wasn¡¯t entirely empty. Inside the bag there were 7 more books each taking up a 2 by 1 slot. A small chest that took up a 2 by 2 slot. And finally another book that was marked by a less ornate icon, and was in the corner away from all the rest.


    Curious Bjorn pulled that book out of his inventory. It was a small worn leather bound book with worn fingerprints on multiple spots running down the spine. It was made out of a soft black leather. Opening up to the first page there was writing scrawled in elegant penmanship.


    ¡°The 13th of Idas. 19532


    Today my small company and I stumbled upon a gargantuan black stone with rivers running through the middle of it. We decided to investigate the barren rock. We found down near the water line, a cave entrance. As it was getting dark we decided to use the cave as shelter for the night.¡±


    Not entirely sure, but it seemed like a journal of how Blackrock Bay was founded. Tucking it away Bjorn swore he would read more into it later, but for now he had a job to do. Namely it was to sort his acquired worldly possessions. He started throwing items into the bag as fast as he could with little care as to sorting what he put away. Bjorn marveled at the weight reducing properties of the bag. Before when he had everything stored in the portable pocket he still had to feel the over 50 lbs. weighing down on his hip. Even though it was well within his carrying capacity it was still enough to affect his movements.


    After everything was stored he sat back down. Alaric appeared to have done the same thing as Bjorn and stored everything that he had been carrying in his pack.


    ¡°Alright, is it finally time we go through the rest of the items we found?¡± Alaric asked.


    ¡°I think so.¡± Bjorn replied.


    Giddy with excitement Tayla stood. ¡°I will go retrieve Rickie. Don¡¯t start without me.¡± Then she shot away from where she stood rocketing out of the tent.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry we won''t!¡± Meira called after her fleeing back.


    After she was well and truly gone Bjorn turned to the other two. ¡°So I found out that items can be stored in the bag of holding when ownership is transferred. I assume it is the same with the portable pocket.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Meira asked. ¡°And how exactly did you find that out?¡±


    ¡°There were 7 books that filled slots inside the bag of holding when I got ownership of it. 6 of which have rather ornate covers, and one that looks to be a journal of sorts. There was also a small chest.¡± Bjorn emphasized it by pulling out the small lockbox.


    It was made out of a tough and sturdy wood that Bjorn didn¡¯t recognize, it had a smoky color to its wood. The metal banding holding the wood in place was made out of a milky white metal. There was a simple lock on the front made out of the same milky white metal.


    Alaric let out a low whistle. ¡°Even though I don¡¯t recognize the wood, that metal is moonstone. It is a somewhat rare metal and is tougher than high steel. It is quite valuable in and of itself. I wonder what is inside. If you don¡¯t mind.¡± He held out his hands.


    Bjorn passed the chest over. Alaric gently set it down and brought his eye level with the lock on the front of the chest. After a few seconds of looking he nodded his head and sat up. ¡°Well it isn¡¯t locked, so should we see what is inside?¡±


    Meira and Bjorn crowded around and peered over Alaric''s shoulder. The dwarf placed one hand on the bottom of the chest and one on the lid. With little effort the lid slid open and a glint of light caught their eye. Inside the chest sat 5 gemstones. Each one the size of Bjorn¡¯s fingernail. There were two green ones, one blue, one red, one clear, and one purple stone.


    Not letting the others take a chance to properly inspect it Alaric snapped the lid to the lockbox closed and handed it to Bjorn. ¡°Put that away, we can inspect it later, but for now let''s wait for Rickie and Tayla to get back.¡±


    Nodding at the wisdom he put the lockbox away and then took a seat, deciding it was best to wait for Rickie to join them. They didn¡¯t have to wait long for Tayla to make it back rather excitedly dragging Rickie along behind her. He was loudly complaining the entire time.


    ¡°Look you little twerp. I know you are excited but it waited last night, it can wait a little longer. Oh hey everyone, good morning Bjorn. Alright let¡¯s see what we got.¡± Rickie finally let Tayla pull him and he took a seat on one of the cots right across from where Bjorn and Meira were sitting. Tayla and Rickie right across from them and Alaric sitting in a chair.


    Bjorn slowly and carefully started to pull the Items out one by one and lay them out before everyone.

 Chapter 40

    Bjorn started off by laying out the less hidden loot. He laid out the two rings and the bracelet. One of the rings didn¡¯t look like much, it was a simple band of dull metal with a clear gem for its set stone. The other was a simple band of black gold. The bracelet was a band of weaved copper that had a single small polished red stone set in the center of the band. Following a hunch he used W.A.I.L.A. on each of them.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Ring of spell storage.


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Rare.


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 0.1 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 97/104


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    This ring is capable of storing any spell up to a skill level 30 for later use. To activate, begin channeling your spell like you would normally but instead of finishing the incantation contain the power and focus on this ring. To cast the stored spell, focus on the gem in the ring. Be warned, the spell will come out on the point of origin being the stone set in this ring.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Ring of Critical hits


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 0.1 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability 66/140


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    While wearing this ring all critical hit damage is increased by an additional 20%.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Band of 2 weapon fighting.


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Rare.


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 1.5 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 211/256


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    While wearing this your skill level with any two handed weapon will be counted as 10 levels higher. Note, this does not actually give you the skill level, instead it gives you the benefits of having the skill levels. Note, this doesn¡¯t actually give you the fighting ability, just purely the benefits of 10 skill levels.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Bjorn quickly read out the item, and its description to the rest of the party. They each were surprised in their own equal rights at each item.


    Rickie had a single question though. ¡°How do you know what these items are and what they do?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple. He has an ability that can identify objects.¡± Tayla said matter of factly.


    Alaric and Tayla gave her a withering glare. ¡°What? We decided to trust Rickie, if he is going to be traveling with us then we need to trust him. If he is going to be traveling with us then he will find out eventually, might as well rip off the bandage.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright guys, she is right after all. Rickie will find out eventually.¡± Bjorn gave Rickie a small half smile. ¡°Besides, it''s rude to not include him in the conversation after all.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Bjorn. I meant no offence by it, I was just curious what means you were using to identify the items.¡±


    ¡°Anyways moving on.¡± Bjorn said, cutting through the awkwardness. ¡°I think it is rather obvious who each of these items should go to. I think the spell storage ring should go to Meira. She has the greatest use of it. The other ring should go to Tayla. Even though we aren¡¯t fighting humanoids, that ring fits her best. She is after all the one who sneaks around to stab people in the back. And since the only person who uses two handed weapons is Rickie we should give him the bracelet.¡±


    ¡°I agree with the first two, but we have to remember that you use the bow more than you do any other weapon. And the last time I checked the bow was a two handed weapon.¡± Alaric said.


    Bjorn furrowed his brow. ¡°That is true, I hadn¡¯t thought about that. I still stand by my point though. I think it would be best for the bracelet to go to Rickie. Although I do use the bow a lot, I am more of a jack of all trades kind of guy. Besides Rickie is a better fighter than me, I think the extra stats would be more useful on him and on me.¡±


    Alaric raised his hands. ¡°Hey, I wasn¡¯t saying it should go to you. Just saying it is still an option.¡± When no one objected they gave the bracelet to Rickie, who immediately slid it onto his wrist.


    The next thing Bjorn pulled out was the leather pouches. There were 6 of them in total. Opening one there was a satisfying sound of coin hitting coins. Inside it was filled with copper coins. Moving on to the next one it was filled with gold coins, the next was filled with small golden bars, then silver coins. The last two bags were filled with octagonal orange stones. Bjorn had seen something similar once before. It was where he got his portable pocket from.


    Alaric went and got the short table and then set it down in between the 5 of them. They then poured the contents of each bag out and began counting. There were 108 coppers, 96 silvers, 100 even gold coins, and 21 of the small golden bars.


    The bag of orange octagons was harder to sort, so they finally decided to sort them by size. There was 1 of the biggest size, 4 of the next, and so on and so forth until the smallest pile had over a hundred gems. Bjorn used W.A.I.L.A. on each soul stone and found they have quite the collection of soul stones. The soul stones ranged in description from Special, to grand, greater, common, lesser, then petty.


    ¡°What are these gold bars?¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°I have never seen them.¡± Meira replied. ¡°But I think they are what is known as a gold mark. Marks are another piece of currency that is used that each one accounts for 25 of its respective coin. So that pile of gold marks is worth 525 gold coins.¡±


    ¡°... wow, we have quite the hall here.¡± Tayla said. ¡°So I guess we split it evenly?¡±


    ¡°Works for me.¡± Rickie and Alaric said almost simultaneously. They quickly sorted each pile into 5 equal piles. They ended up deciding that Alaric got the spare coins, and Bjorn got the spare golden mark.


    Moving on Bjorn pulled out the scroll that he ended up taking. When he identified it he found out it was a map. After knowing that it wasn¡¯t actually a one use magical scroll he opened it up and unrolled it on the table. Everyone craned their necks to get a look at what was scrawled on the map. At various points on the maps there was clear writing on the map. It looked like gibberish to Bjorn.


    ¡°That is in Cronkrum.¡± Rickie said matter of factly. ¡°You can tell it by here and here.¡± He pointed out the mountains on the left side of the map, and open water to the right side of the map. ¡°Those mountains are clearly marked as the restless volcano. And I have never heard that name used for that ocean. It is clearly calls it the Shantrock Abyss. Today it is called the Glistening sea.¡±


    ¡°What language is that?¡± Meira asked. ¡°It isn¡¯t one I can read.¡± A chorus of nor I¡¯s came from everyone else.


    Rickie got a perplexed look on his face. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I couldn¡¯t tell you. But somehow I can read what it says.


    There was a bit of an awkward silence before Bjorn broke it. ¡°Well moving on.¡± Next Bjorn pulled out one of the two books that he found in the alcove. Setting it down on the table it was a thick and heavy leather bound book. On the front there was a depiction of a shield and right above it there was a single word. ¡®Blocking.¡¯


    There was a sharp intake of breath from Meira as she laid her eyes on the book. ¡°Is that what I think it is?¡± She picked it up from where it sat and began leafing through the book. ¡°I think it is.¡±


    ¡°Do you mind sharing with the class?¡± Tayla said half way irritable.


    ¡°Oh sorry, I think it is a skill book.¡±


    With that proclamation there was an audible quick intake of breath that matched the one that she had just taken.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill book of Blocking


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Epic.


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 7.5 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 739/801


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    A master of this skill has given up a portion of their knowledge to craft this book. The use of this book is to give whoever reads it all of the skills that one would have gained leveling the skill itself. This skill book if read will give the reader level 30 in the blocking skill. If the reader already has the blocking skill it will give them an equivalent amount of experience to match going from 0 to 30.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°How much does it give?¡± Meira asked.


    ¡°It gives skill level 30 in the blocking skill.¡± His heart sank as he relayed that information. Ever since he came to the eld he has trained day and night with absolutely no breaks. He has been here for at least a year and a half, maybe even 2 years. And from all of that effort that he had expended his highest skill is mining, at level 20. That was because he was forced to do that task day in and day out for months on end. His next closest skill was alchemy at level 18. This book would allow him to skip years of dedication and practice. He needed to find more of these books.


    ¡°Who do we give it to?¡± Rickie asked.


    No one said anything as the gravity of what they had found set in. People would pay more money than they had ever seen to get their hands on such a rare item. It was hard to put a price on something that saved literal years of skill grinding.


    ¡°I am confused. I get that this is good, but it only gives the skill level?¡± Bjorn asked as he started to reread the description.


    ¡°No.¡± Tayla said. ¡°Skill books give all of the knowledge that would be obtained as if you obtained the skill level yourself. This Skill book will give whoever reads it not only the levels, but the proficiency to go along with it. This book''s worth is more than everything else that we have found so far combined. I am willing to bet we could trade this book for a large plot of land out there and a small castle on that land to boot.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Are we sure we want to use this book?¡±


    Almost simultaneously they all said. ¡®Yes.¡¯


    ¡°Alright, then who do we give this book to? My vote is for Alaric.¡±


    He managed to drag his eyes away from the book just long enough to meet Bjorn¡¯s eyes. ¡°It should go to you.¡± Before his eyes dropped back, transfixed to the rare find in front of them all. ¡°It will save you years of effort learning how to protect yourself.¡±


    Even before Alaric finished speaking Meira was shaking her head. ¡°No, it should go to you. Think about it, you already use a shield when you fight. I am willing to bet that you already had the blocking skill, and at a rather high level too, if I was a judge based on how you fight. It will be a boon for you. Besides, it might push you to the edge where you will be able to get a profession.¡±


    ¡°But Bjorn hasn¡¯t gotten anything yet. I think this should go to him.¡± Alaric still protested.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. There is still more to come, there might be something there that suits me better. This should go to you my friend.¡±


    ¡°It is unwise to fight against the tide.¡± Rickie said. ¡°Everyone is in agreement this honor should be yours.¡±


    Alaric started to reach out to pick up the book when his hands froze and he looked at Bjorn. ¡°How many items are there left?¡±


    ¡°3.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t use this item until we find something suitable for you.¡±


    ¡°But-¡±


    ¡°But nothing, I will not be swayed on this course of action.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Let¡¯s see what is next then. I am pretty sure it is another one of these books.¡± Bjorn then reached into his bag of holding and pulled out another almost identical book. This time on the cover instead of there being a shield there was a pestle and mortar, and emblazoned on the top of the book was a single word. ¡®Alchemy.¡¯


    Rickie almost immediately laughed upon seeing the word on the cover of the book. ¡°That settles it then, Alaric you get the block Skill book, and Bjorn you get the alchemy Skill book.¡±


    Not able to argue the point any longer Alaric picked up the block Skill book and held it close to his chest, almost as if he didn¡¯t want to let it go.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill book of Alchemy


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Epic


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 6.9 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 678/901


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    A master of this skill has given up a portion of their knowledge to craft this book. The use of this book is to give whoever reads it all of the skills that one would have gained leveling the skill itself. This skill book if read will give the reader level 30 in the alchemy skill. If the reader already has the alchemy skill it will give them an equivalent amount of experience to match going from 0 to 30.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°Gesh, whoever¡¯s house you plundered must have been someone extremely important, based on how many high value items you have pulled out so far.¡± Rickie observed.


    ¡°I am not done yet. There are two items left.¡± Bjorn reached into his bag and pulled out the two remaining items that they looted, excluding the books of course. The first item was a small vial filled to the brim with a clear liquid, and inside the liquid there were two floating motes of golden light. The second one had a large round portion at the bottom of the flask. Inside the flask was hard to describe, but it looked like bottled wind, somehow.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bottled level


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Epic.


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: 1.1 lbs


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 17/103


    </td>


    <td>


    Doses: 1/1


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    This rare and elusive liquid is a level in a bottle. To be perfectly honest it is two levels in a bottle. Whoever drinks the liquid contained will instantly gain two levels.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Captured wind spirit


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Epic.


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight. 4.5 lbs


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability: 11/1043


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    This bottle contains a captured high level wind spirit. To free the spirit you must destroy its container completely. Wind spirits are unpredictable, especially those who have been captured. They are just as likely to attack the one who freed it as it is to attack the one you desire to unleash it upon. This spirit does not like being contained and will continually try and free itself, dramatically decreasing the durability.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Bjorn picked up the bottle with the wind spirit then slowly and delicately added the captured wind spirit back to his bag.


    ¡°What was that about?¡± Alaric asked, still cuddling his Skill book.


    ¡°That is a captured wind spirit, and its durability is dangerously low. So I figured it would be best not to leave it out where its durability has a chance to continue to drop. This other potion though is quite intriguing, it is a bottled level, well bottled two levels to be exact.¡±


    ¡°Does that do exactly what I think it does?¡± Tayla asked.


    ¡°I think so.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°Should we even use it now? I mean we are all in our mid 20¡¯s for our levels, expect for Bjorn, but he has always been a slow learner.¡±


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    ¡°I mean, an instant two levels sounds pretty darn good. We aren¡¯t in any dire situations yet. We are well protected by the army around us. We are in pretty good shape all things considered. My vote is we hold on to that vial until we have dire need of it.¡±


    Rickie sat there staring at the friend around him. ¡°I am glad I joined up with you guys. I have seen more magical and powerful items in the last hour with you guys than I ever did fighting on the front.¡±


    ¡°Trust me. This has never happened to us either.¡± Alaric said.


    ¡°Staying on topic.¡± Meira cut in. ¡°I agree with Tayla, there isn¡¯t much need for one of us to gain two levels right now. I think we should save this item until we get to the higher 20¡¯s or lower 30¡¯s. Right now drinking this potion would save one of us a year, maybe two of fighting and work. If it was in the mid to lower 30¡¯s it could save us literal years of work and effort.¡±


    ¡°That''s fine. Do you mind hanging onto it for the time being Bjorn. You with your portable pocket and all. Makes it so no one can steal it from us.¡± Rickie said.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Bjorn picked it back up and put it back into his bag of holding.


    Rickie stood from where he had been seated. ¡°Well if you are done with pulling treasure after treasure out of your bag, I need to get back to the mess. I told them I wasn¡¯t going to be gone long, apparently that was a lie. But I might as well try and keep some semblance of honesty.¡±


    ¡°No, that is the last item.¡±


    Rickie nodded and turned walking out of the tent.


    ¡°When are you going to use your Skill book?¡± Bjorn asked Alaric.


    ¡°Right now.¡± Alaric sat down on his cot with his legs crossed. He then opened up the book to its first page. Light poured out of the book and streamed into his eyes. The book remained open and slowly started to turn its pages.


    When Bjorn had used spell books previously the entire process would take roughly 10 to 15 seconds to fully complete. As Bjorn watched expecting the process to end it just didn¡¯t. 1 minute turned into 5, and then 10, then half an hour, and then an hour. All the while Alaric sat in place with the book slowly leafing through the pages and light poured into his eyes.


    After an hour and a half of waiting Bjorn looked at Tayla. ¡°Should I wait to do mine or should I just go for it?¡±


    ¡°I say go for it. We haven¡¯t heard anything about any orders yet. I think it would be better to do it sooner rather than later.¡±


    Nodding Bjorn took a seat similar to how Alaric had sat down. After seeing how the process was going for the dwarf he figured he would be there for a while, so might as well get comfortable. He then pulled open his book and looked at the front page, a prompt appeared.


    You are trying to learn the knowledge contained inside the Alchemy skill book. Would you like to do so? Yes/No?¡±


    Mentally he clicked yes and waited for the process to start. The book automatically turned the page and light began to pour out from the open book and into his eyes. Thoughts and experiences started to flood his head. It was odd, vividly remembering a memory that he was not a part of. The images began to pour in faster, he couldn¡¯t handle it. His brain began to hurt, and then he blacked out.


    When he opened his eyes he was inside a small alchemy lab. There were glass beakers and flasks everywhere. From the ceiling hung drying herbs and other various hanging plants. The quality of alchemy equipment matched what he would expect back on earth. Along one wall there were shelves piled high with vials containing all sorts of different looking potions. An old wizened and kindly man stood in the corner of the lab.


    ¡°Oh, hello there little one. Why don¡¯t you come over here?¡±


    He continued to stand there unable to move. It was like he was having a vivid dream and had no control over his body.


    ¡°Come on little girl, I promise I won¡¯t bite.¡±


    A young timid feminine voice called back. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Alchemy my dear. Would you like to learn about it?¡±


    He felt his head nod. Correction, she felt her head nod, then she took several small steps forward. Her head didn¡¯t even come up to the bottom of the table. She slowly came closer.


    ¡°Do you want to see what I am doing?¡±


    Again a nod.


    The old man knelt down and held open his arms so she could grab ahold of him. She walked forward and let herself be picked up. He stood and turned back to face the table and then positioned her so that she had a clear view of what was going on.


    On the table there was a small reaction going on. There was a white powder that he had made a small ring out of. In the center of the circle was an immensely dark drop that was roiling. Occasionally a small tentacle of sorts would reach out and make contact with the circle of powder absorbing a small amount of the powder and then the tentacle would retreat back into the center and grow ever so slightly. Each time it got more powder the blobs agitation would get worse.


    ¡°What is it?¡± She asked, her eyes transfixed on the display in front of her. Tentatively she reached out a finger to touch the reaction.


    The old man used one hand to grab ahold of her questing finger. ¡°You don¡¯t want to be touching that. It isn¡¯t very nice. This is what happens when you take some distilled essence of the abyss and mix it with a nutrient. If you touch it while it is feeding it will consume you as well.¡±


    ¡°What does'' consume mean?¡± The girl asked.


    The old man chuckled as the vision faded to black.


    Things had gotten a little hectic. As she grew a little older she had become a larger help around the lab. The old man looked to be in an advanced state of aging. His previously full head of white hair was thinning out, and liver spots could be seen growing on the back of his hands. Still she wanted to help out the best she could.


    He had told her at a young age that she had a knack for alchemy. Things just seemed to go right when she was around. Things just made sense when she was doing alchemy.


    ¡°Jen, would you grab me a handful of sage root?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± came a more confident young woman¡¯s voice.


    She walked over to a small plant that was hanging in the corner of the room.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget I just need the leaves this time.¡±


    ¡°Of course master.¡± She started to pluck the leaves from the branches one at a time. After she gathered a handful of the leaves she came back over to where he was working, standing over a small caldron with a nice transparent blue liquid inside.


    She handed over the leaves which he immediately let drop into the caldron, one at a time. Each time the leaves came in contact with the liquid a small pulse of vibrant green veins permeated the transparent blue before they faded and the blue color re-established their dominance.


    ¡°Remind me, why do we add the sage root?¡± The tone, actions, and look on his face clearly stated that he didn¡¯t need to be reminded. Instead he was asking to quiz his pupil.


    ¡°The sage root is used to emulsify-¡±


    ¡°I am proud of you Jen. You have come so far.¡±


    Tears filled her eyes as she looked down at the old man, this time bedridden. From the vantage point she had, she had grown significantly over the years.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go. I don¡¯t want to lose you.¡±


    ¡°There is a time and a place for everything. Unfortunately the time is now, and the place is here. I have lived a good life. And I am proud that I have been able to train you. You will go far and do wondrous things in your life.¡±


    ¡°Here, drink this.¡± She held a vial of a liquid in her hands holding it out for him to drink it. ¡°It should preserve your life. Letting you live for a while longer. I have been working on this for years, I don¡¯t want to lose you.¡±


    She grabbed his head tilting it back as if she meant to pour the liquid down his throat, forcing him to drink it. He put up his hand placing it on hers that held the vial. ¡°No, if I was younger maybe. But I think I know what all is in there. If I was to drink it now my body would be perverted. It would twist me and turn me into something I don¡¯t even want to imagine.¡±


    ¡°But I would still have you.¡±


    ¡°No, let me die. I am thankful you stumbled into my lab all those years ago. You were the daughter I never had. Thank you.¡± At his last words the man¡¯s hands relaxed and dropped back to the bed he was lying in. His head went limp in her hands.


    The tears started to flow freely. ¡°No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. That isn¡¯t good enough. Come back to me.¡± She used her hand holding his head to reposition the limp head so that his mouth hung open. Taking the vial she held in her other hand she poured the liquid into his mouth. After she dropped the vial and used her hand to hold his mouth closed. Using her other hand she started to massage his neck muscles trying to get the liquid down his throat.


    After a minute of trying she gave up letting his rapidly cooling body lay back. She collapsed on top of him, tears flowing freely.


    Cracking and popping sound woke Jen from her sleep. She opened her eyes and sat up looking at the form of her late master, only she didn¡¯t recognize the body.


    He had been right. The potion would twist his form and make him a perversion. His once slightly hunched back hand warped, a large 2 foot tall mass of flesh had grown out of his back. The mass of flesh was so large it displaced his head, it now sat sideways on the mass of flesh. One of the arms grew in size, growing several feet longer, now dragging on the ground as he stood there. It also grew in size, it was now several feet in diameter, and it was lumpy. The eyes had turned from a soft blue green color to a vibrant sinister neon green.


    She screamed.


    Her scream brought the attention of the monster and it turned towards her, and lunged.


    The adrenaline that was coursing through her body allowed her to see the lunge and dodge. She fled from the door out into the kind of busy street. Most of the people on the street stopped to see what the commotion was. It would be their folly, as the creature followed after her and barreled into the street, slamming into the pedestrians.


    The monster slammed into the bystanders and began ripping them apart. It gained monstrous strength and it started tearing arms and legs off of bodies. Panicked screams followed Jen as she fled through the city.


    Years later Jen was in a new lab, one less well stocked than per previous one. She was working furiously muttering under her breath as she almost haphazardly threw herbs and ingredients together with little worry on the outcome.


    ¡°It¡¯s coming.¡± was the only thing that could be made out through her incoherent babbling. She grabbed a pinch of an orange powder. Then a large handful of a paste that sat on a slab of wood. Then she poured some liquid from a flask she had tied to her hip.


    This went on for a long time. It was not wise to mix items together at the same rate at which she was working. Oftentimes while doing alchemy mixing components together would create a reaction, the speed at which you added ingredients would change that reaction, sometimes making it larger, or smaller, or more volatile. A Lot of alchemy came down to adding the correct ingredients at the right time during the reactions.


    Finally she stopped. ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± she whispered under her breath. Before her sat a black sludge that filled a cauldron. Carefully and gingerly she took out an arrow that had been prepared with a rag tied around the end of it. She dipped it into the liquid. A thick layer of yellow smoke rose out of the cauldron.


    When she retrieved the arrow the rag was now stained a jet black. She repeated the process two more times, before an inhuman roar could be heard in the distance.


    Trembling, she turned and set her feet, she picked up a bow that had been laid off to the side of her work area and stepped out of the building, and onto an open road.


    In the distance she could see the grotesque form of her former master¡¯s corpse, shambling towards her at a surprisingly rapid pace.


    As it drew closer she brought the bow up, drew and sighted her arrow on the monster. ¡°I am sorry master. I should have listened.¡± She said to no one in particular before releasing.


    Bjorn slowly opened his eyes and drew in his surroundings. He sat inside the tent he shared with his friends. The panic he felt just a moment ago, gone. The entire experience of the Skill book was surreal. He had not only felt what Jen had felt, he had experienced every single one of her senses. Her taste, her touch, her sense of smell, and of course her sight. Her thoughts had flooded his mind. Hundreds of memories of Jen¡¯s life related to alchemy had flooded his mind. It took him a minute for him to distinguish where the memory ended and his life began.


    The sensation of having two sets of thoughts, emotions, and memories occupying his mind at the same time was disorienting. His head began to swim and he grew nauseous. Bolting out of bed he flew out of the tent looking for something for him to throw up in. His eyes fell upon a bucket which he ran to, trying to hold down the puke. He wasn¡¯t entirely successful and managed to not get everything into the bucket, but he got most.


    ¡®Ugh.¡± He thought as he tried to clear his head. In the corner of his eye there was a notification. With his head slightly cleared after puking he mentally clicked on the notification.


    You have advanced your skill level in alchemy, reaching skill level 38. Potions you make will have 38% increased effect and 76% increased duration of effect.


    Congratulations you have advanced from a novice alchemist to an apprentice alchemist. You have gained a perk. You have an increased chance to save an alchemical component when used during alchemy.


    Bjorn¡¯s head cleared enough for him to read what the notifications said before the vertigo set it once again causing him to continue throwing up.


    Over the next few hours the memories and emotions began to fade, no longer being in the forefront of his consciousness. As the memories faded, so did the vertigo. As the vertigo faded so did the nausea.


    ¡°You alright?¡± One of their neighbors asked.


    ¡°Yeah. Just got a bad case of vertigo.¡±


    ¡°What is that? Is that a disease? Are you sick?¡±


    ¡°No, I''m fine. I swear I am not sick. Vertigo is, well don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    ¡°Gotcha.¡± The guy said rather unconvincingly, before he turned around and entered his own tent.


    Bjorn pulled himself away from the bucket and stumbled his way back to his cot. Laying back down he tiredly fell back to sleep.


    When he next awoke the first thought that crossed his mind was. ¡®Water.¡¯


    Getting up from where he laid he started crawling forward trying to find water. When he remembered that he actually had water in his bag of holding. Drinking his fill he just collapsed back to the ground.


    ¡°How was that?¡± a deep voice sounded.


    Bjorn blearily opened his eyes and saw Alaric standing over him. ¡°Why are you doing fine? Did you not read a Skill book just like I did? How are you not dying right now?¡±


    ¡°I am not a pansy. Suck it up buttercup, you will be fine.¡±


    ¡°I will live, most likely. This sucks.¡±


    ¡°Again, suck it up. We have somewhere we need to be.¡±


    Bjorn looked up making eye contact ¡°huh?¡±


    ¡°We have a shift guarding. Come on, let''s go.¡± Alaric bent down and picked up Bjorn. Together the two of them made their way towards their assignment.


    Throughout the entire defense deployment Meira, Alaric, Rickie, and Tayla all asked Bjorn several different questions about what he had experienced with the Skillbook, all without actually asking it directly. They were still around the rest of their unit, so they were careful with what they asked, not wanting anyone to guess what happened. Luckily for them, their actions the previous day gained them some social graces from the rest of the squad. No one butted in, or seemed to try to eavesdrop. For the most part everyone gave them plenty of space to themselves.


    It was a routine watch detail, nothing of note happened. When their replacements took over they made their way back to the camp. From there everyone went their own separate ways. Meira went to the field hospital. Alaric and Tayla both went to clean up. Rickie wandered off, not saying exactly where he was going. And Bjorn was left alone.


    Sitting on his cot Bjorn pulled out the Spell books that came with his bag of holding. 2 of which were death magic, and one was a fire magic spell. The remaining 4 of which were of a type of magic Bjorn had never heard of before, sonic magic. There was 1 spell he could learn and 3 he couldn¡¯t.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Silence


    </td>


    <td>


    Cast time: 1 second


    </td>


    <td>


    Components: Verble, Somatic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Range: 1 foot


    </td>


    <td>


    Duration: 1 hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana cost: 5 per casting


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Cooldown: 1 hour* (1 second)


    </td>


    <td>


    Level: 1


    </td>


    <td>


    Requirements: Earth, life, or air magic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    This spell creates a zone where any sound that happens inside will not escape the zone. Conversely it will still allow surrounding sounds to penetrate the zone. To activate this zone you must walk around the parameter of the area and cast the spell each time. A small invisible post will be placed. Once all 4 pillars have been placed a zone of silence will be created. This zone will last exactly for 1 hour after it has been created.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Bjorn thought about it. With the requirements of either earth life or air magic, this was likely a combination spell. It was the first combination magic he came across. Although the practical use for the spell didn¡¯t seem all that useful, the utility was great.


    But would he be able to learn the spell and by extension the school of magic? He already had 4 schools of magic under his command. Earth, water, light, and dark. What would happen if he tried to use the book? Would it just fail because you could only have 4 schools of magic? Would it strip one of the magics from him? Or would it upgrade one of his existing ones? Most likely earth magic, seeing how that was the only requirement he met.


    Bjorn chewed on his lip as he tried to work through what he would do.


    Ultimately he didn¡¯t have the necessary knowledge to know what would happen. Regardless of what he did it would be a gamble. ¡®Fuck it, in for a penny, in for a pound.¡¯ Bjorn thought to himself as he began the absorption process for the spell book. Complex formula began to flood his mind.


    Congratulations you have gained access to your first combination school of magic. Sonic magic. Sonic magic is a combination of the base elements, earth, air, and life.


    You have learned the sonic magic spell: Silence.


    It worked! In a moment of panic Bjorn pulled up his character window and looked towards the bottom. Thankfully all of his magics were listed. Now there was a new entry to go with the rest of his magic.


    Wanting to try his new spell he got up and started walking around the tent using the trigger word necessary to cast the spell. Upon casting the spell the 4th time in the last corner of the tent, nothing changed. He could still hear the light voices of people talking a few tents away. There wasn¡¯t any shimmer letting him know that the spell was working. There wasn¡¯t even a hint at there being any magic cast.


    Most spells left some sort of residue behind, making it easier to tell that a spell had been cast. For example, his purify water spell left the water ever so slightly a bright blue shade. His cone of darkness spell left the area just ever so slightly darker. His cast stone spell left a small hole in the ground where the rock burst forth from. Not this one, at least not that he could tell.


    Determining it would be hard to tell or even test it without someone else around Bjorn decided to move on with his day. It had been a while since he had gone to see Skarit and see how progress was being handled, or if there had been any at all. Pushing his way out of the tent he started heading towards the Alchemy area.


    As he approached there was the normal flurry of activity as everyone was busy working on all the various different alchemical projects that were needed by an army of almost 2000 strong. Skarit was in his usual position overseeing the comings and goings of all the younger alchemists.


    ¡°Ah Bjorn, I was wondering when I would see you again. It has been a while, I almost thought that we scared you off here.¡± Skarit let out a good natured laugh at his comment.


    ¡°No you won¡¯t get rid of me that easily. I have been busy with the assault. After the assault we were tasked with clearing out the room which took the better part of yesterday. And then today my unit and I were put on guard duty.¡±


    The smile slowly slid off of Skarit¡¯s face. ¡°You know, I could probably pull some strings with Gram and get you pulled out of the main army. You have skills that are more useful here than they are in the frontlines swinging a sword.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Bjorn blurted out rather rudely. He realized how it came out and cleared his throat. ¡°Sorry, I meant no, I appreciate it. But no. I have family down here that is assigned to the same detail as I am. I would like to stay with them and try to protect them as they fight.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. If there is one, maybe two, I could probably get them reassigned as well.¡±


    A gentle smile crossed Bjorn¡¯s lips. ¡°Would you be able to get 4 reassigned? I don¡¯t think you could.¡±


    ¡°No, you are right, I couldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just as well. I don¡¯t think you could get them to sit back while everyone else is risking their lives. I appreciate the gesture, but no. I don¡¯t think it will work out how you are hoping it will.¡±


    ¡°Eh fair enough. Now shall we go over what developments there have been over the last few days while you were off playing soldier?¡±


    The gentle smile broke into a grin. ¡°I think we should. Let¡¯s see what you were able to do playing coward.¡±


    Skarit let out a full body laugh. They then walked over to their designated area and began talking shop.


    (If you don¡¯t care about character growth you may skip ahead.)


    Congratulations you have advanced your skill level in traps, reaching skill level 9. All traps you set will be 22.5% harder to find.


    Congratulations you have advanced your skill level in trap finding, reaching skill level 7. All traps you come across will be 14% easier to find.


    Congratulations you have advanced your skill level in trap disarming, reaching skill level 6. It is now 12% easier for you to safely disable any traps you come across.


    You have advanced your skill level in water magic. reaching skill level 9. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.


    You have advanced your skill level in archery, reaching skill level 17. Damage from arrows you shoot is increased by 22.5% over base damage.


    You have advanced your skill level in herb-lore. reaching skill level 18. The efficacy of plants and herbs you collect will increase by 54%.


    Congratulations you have advanced your skill level in heavy armor, reaching skill level 4. The effectiveness of your heavy armor will be increased by 12%. Your 5% movement speed decrease per piece of heavy armor is still maintained.


    You have advanced your skill level in hand to hand combat. reaching skill level 11. Blows you land with bare fists and legs now deal 22% extra damage.

 Chapter 41

    Although Bjorn had mostly understood the theory behind what they were doing, and how the various alchemical components would interact before, now he understood on a whole new level. After obtaining the skill levels and the expertise from the master alchemist Jen his conversation with Skarit was on a whole new level. There were technical questions that he had never even thought to ask before that seemed logical to him. He had essentially tripled his theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge overnight.


    Needless to say, Skarit was a little suspicious. But Bjorn played his new found understanding off to just having a few days to think. It was clear that his answer didn¡¯t fool Skarit, but it did placate him enough.


    When they moved on to the more practical part of their work Bjorn now knew better. Skarit was no fool, he had worked with Bjorn over the last week, he knew his skills. So when they were doing more experimentation Bjorn intentionally messed up. Intrinsically there was something that had fundamentally changed with how Bjorn worked thanks to the skill book. His movements came naturally to him now. Even though the movements made sense, and he knew what he had to do, there still was a slight disconnect as his body did things without him having to think about it.


    The two of them were working side by side on their newest set of tests when Bjorn had an idea. ¡°So far we have had success in strengthening the venom, but we are still having a hard time getting it to work on the spider''s exo-skeleton. Why don¡¯t we try using some different parts from the spider?¡±


    ¡°We already tried that. The stomach, web, liver, even parts of their brains, remember? Still nothing had any effect.¡±


    ¡°Well. We did just get a new part of the spider''s life cycle. One we didn¡¯t have access to before.¡±


    Understanding dawned on the runic¡¯s face. ¡°I think I get what you are getting at. It is possible, but I don¡¯t know how much of a difference a young spider will make.¡±


    ¡°You only partly understand what I am implying. But let¡¯s explore your suggestion first. It is common in young venomous animals for their bites to be more dangerous than the adult ones. For some it is not understanding how to fully control how much venom to inject to kill their prey. For others it is that their venom is actually more potent. The only issue with collecting venom from babies is getting enough to be usable.¡±


    ¡°Yes, go on.¡±


    ¡°So that is an option. But what I was getting at is that when we popped the spider eggs there was a thick almost mucusy liquid inside. My thought process is that the spiders use that liquid to mature from an embryo to a baby. Depending on the properties of that liquid they could absorb it through their mouths, but my guess is they absorb the liquid to grow through their exo-skeleton.¡±


    ¡°And if they absorb it through their exo-skeleton.¡± Skarit picked up where Bjorn let off so that he could draw a breath. ¡°Then that means that the liquid has the ability to get through the exo-skeleton. If we find the right proportions to use that liquid we might even be able to make the venom interact with the exo-skeleton. Effectively nullifying their immunity to their own venom.¡± As Skarit finished Bjorn¡¯s thought excitement started to creep into his voice.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Bjorn said almost smugly.


    ¡°I was able to convince a few squads to save me a few eggs, figuring they might be useful later on. Let''s go and test your theory.¡±


    Together Skarit and Bjorn made their way through the boxes piled high with herbs and alchemical ingredients. At the back of their storage there was a large crate that when opened was piled high with unruptured spider eggs. Bjorn gingerly picked one out of the crate, spider embryo slowly twitching inside of the egg.


    Bjorn wrinkled his nose at the sight of the movement. ¡°That is rather unpleasant.¡± Bjorn observed.


    ¡°Yeah, I find it disconcerting as well, I am not entirely sure as to why.¡±


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t it dead yet?¡±


    ¡°You know, I don¡¯t know, it should have died by now. Given it being moved but who knows. I can¡¯t imagine this being the proper environment for the spider inside to grow.¡±


    Bjorn sighed. ¡°Well might as well get it over with.¡± He pulled out a small glass bowl and held the egg over it. Grasping the surprisingly supple and springy egg with each hand he made the same motion you would when you cracked an egg into a bowl. The thin membrane popped as his fingernail dug into the soft flesh of the egg. The thick mucus-like liquid came pouring out of the puncture and most of it ended up slashing into the bottom of the bowl. A portion of it stuck to his hands and started to run down his forearms. The spider embryo fell out with the gushing liquid and lay twitching in the bottom of the bowl.


    ¡°If I was a weaker man I might have puked at that sight.¡± Skarit commented looking at Bjorn¡¯s forearms as they dripped fluid.


    ¡°Did that make you a little queasy?¡± Bjorn asked as he fished the pale white spider''s corpse out of the bottom of the bowl.


    ¡°Yeah a bit. But I should be alright.¡±


    With a wicked grin Bjorn picked up the bowl and took a drink of the liquid. It had the consistency of a booger, so he had to briefly chew the liquid before he swallowed. The taste was ultimately not bad, but the texture was horrible. Still he powered through it, hiding his disgust well.


    When he looked at Skarit the man looked pale. He had quickly retrieved a bucket and was in the process of losing his lunch. The sight of the runic puking just made Bjorn¡¯s smile even wider.


    ¡°Oh come on, it wasn¡¯t that bad. Besides, it isn''t anywhere as bad as you getting me to eat that kidney stone.¡±


    As soon as the puking subsided Skarit raised his head in defiance about to retort. His eyes fell on where Bjorn was standing over him. Bjorn had used the same dagger that he used to pick out the spider and he had gotten some of the liquid on the tip of the dagger. There was a long strand of the liquid dangling off the end. Bjorn had positioned the dangling bit over his mouth in such a way that it looked like he was eating it to the runic.


    This visage brought on another bout of puking. When he finished puking he dared another glance at Bjorn, who had taken a seat on one of the crates. He was just sitting there watching the man in his agony. ¡°That was a dick move.¡± Skarit said.


    ¡°Suck it up buttercup. Payback is a bitch isn¡¯t it? Besides that still wasn¡¯t as bad as the kidney stone and you did just fine then. Maybe you shouldn¡¯t have tricked me into eating one of those damn things.¡±


    Skarit pushed himself from a kneeling position into a seated one with his back to one of the crates. ¡°I see your point, and I heard you. I probably shouldn¡¯t have tricked you into eating that thing. Do you have any water?¡±


    Bjorn threw a water skin over to him. Skarit popped the cork on the end and proceeded to wash his mouth out with the water. Then he drank some of it. ¡°So, what did you learn about its uses? Will it help us brew the poison?¡±


    At the mention of his perk Bjorn¡¯s smile turned from an evil grin to one of joy. ¡°I think it will. Although I have never seen something like this.¡±


    You have consumed embryonic fluid of the snatcher spider. As you are not a snatcher spider it has no effect on you. If this fluid was consumed by a snatcher spider it¡¯s growth rate will increase. You get the feeling that this fluid could be used in brewing a spider bane poison.


    ¡°It has no effect on me, and it can be used to increase the growth rate of snatcher spiders. But I think that tidbit was a part of the item description. What is weird is that it only gave me one use for alchemical potions, when it normally gives two. So that means one of two things to me. Either the increased growth rate counted as one of my two uses. Or it means that the fluid only had one potential use.¡±


    ¡°So are you going to tell me the use or not?¡± Skarit asked, for the first time his voice had a hint of irritation in it.


    Bjorn''s smile beamed again. ¡°I guess I should. It is used in a spider bane poison. That plus the venom of the snatcher spiders gives me hope that we are finally on the right track. At the very least we have narrowed down two potential ingredients that should give us a good starting point.¡±


    Skarit got to his feet and picked up the bucket. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a while, I need to take care of this.¡± He held up the bucket. ¡°Don¡¯t expect me back too soon, I need to go for a walk.¡±


    ¡°Oh is someone salty that I got payback for a cruel joke?¡±


    Skarit just did a hand gesture that Bjorn interpreted as giving him ¡®the bird.¡¯ ¡°Yeah he is salty.¡± Bjorn said to no one in particular. He looked back at the crate full of spider eggs and sighed. ¡°Might as well get this over with.¡± He thought to himself as he walked over to the crate and picked out another one of the spider eggs. He set to cracking them open one at a time and letting its fluid flow down into the bowl.


    For the most part the spider embryo was underdeveloped enough that they would die as soon as they hit the bottom of the bowl. Every once and a while though the spiders would live when he cracked the egg. Almost every time he did so the spider would end up catching onto his hand and begin to crawl down his arm in an attempt to get away.


    So far his arachnophobia was mostly cleared up. It was hard to get afraid of small spiders when he had been fighting great dane sized spiders for several weeks now. Even still, when a palm sized spider started to crawl down his arm as fast as the new born could, it spooked a person. Each time a spider was alive it gave Bjorn a small fright and he quickly brushed the spider off as fast as he could, he would then either crush it with his boot if it fell to the floor. Or stab it with his dagger if the spider landed on the table. He was quite proud of himself as he didn¡¯t let a single spider escape alive.


    When the bowl would get near to the top with its liquid Bjorn would pick up a large glass decanter that could hold up to 250 doses of a potion and carefully transfer the liquid inside. It was surprisingly easy to fill the decanters. The liquid inside would cling to itself each time he would start to pour and would transfer just nicely into the wide mouths of the decanter. When all was said and done he had filled 3 and a half of the large bottles.


    After he finished processing both of the crates of eggs Skarit still hadn¡¯t returned, so Bjorn decided to just hop on and help out the alchemists brew their potions. It was a never ending task brewing health and stamina potions for a large army like the one they were a part of. They were never able to produce enough. They seemed to go through the potions just as fast if not faster than they could produce them.


    His new found proficiency was quite amazing. Tasks that he had to actively pay attention to now he could do them passively. Things just came easy to him now. Many of the other alchemists noticed Bjorn¡¯s change. Instead of being suspicious, many of them chalked it up to Bjorn working with Skarit. He worked with the alchemists until Skarit came back.


    ¡°Are you finally ready to get to work?¡± Bjorn teased.


    ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s get to work.¡±


    Together the two of them talked about the first test they would like to run. Together they started running through different permutations and combinations of ingredients, quantities, and times they were mixed together. All the while they were using some of the embryonic fluid and some of the venom they had collected. It was still a slow process though, as each permutation and combination they tested took hours at a time to get a positive result or a negative one.


    Each time they made a new concoction they would test it on three different mediums. The first one was some humanoid bone that they had been given. It was one of the upsides to working in an army camp. There were tons of bone fragments from the field hospital that could be used for their tests. They also tested each of their new iterations on the spider exo-skeleton to see its effects. The last one they tested on was a simple piece of the black rock that was ever present in their surroundings. Skarit thought that the practice was completely useless, but Bjorn insisted that they had to have a ¡®control group.¡¯ Whatever that meant.


    After another day of failures they called it a night and went their separate ways. Agreeing to meet up early in the morning the next day. When the morning came they found themselves standing around the table that they used for their test specimens. There were a total of 12 bones that they had used yesterday for their tests. 6 of which were humanoid bones, the other 6 were small segments that they pulled off of adult snatcher spiders.


    All 6 of the humanoid bone fragments had turned into a puddle of calcium and phosphorus. There was no discernable change to the spider segments. Disheartened, Bjorn began clearing the table. When he picked up the third segment it felt like his hand gripped nothing. The usual rigid structure of the bone-like exo-skeleton turned brittle and crumbled in his hand as soon as he applied a little pressure.


    It took a second for it to sink in. When it finally did, Bjorn hooted. ¡°Woohoo! It worked! Kind of. But it still worked!¡± In his excitement Bjorn threw his arms around Skarit and patted him on the back while hugging the man.


    Skarit couldn¡¯t help but smile at the jubilation that Bjorn had shown. ¡°Don¡¯t get ahead of yourself now. There are still a lot of things to test. Currently it works on both our bones and the exo-skeletons. We still have a ways to go. I want to make it so that it only affects the exo-skeleton. On top of that we don¡¯t know how long it took for it to make the carapace brittle. Not a very good poison if it takes 6 hours for it to do its job. Kind of defeats the purpose of us trying to figure out a poison when it would be completely useless to our soldiers.¡±


    ¡°Spoil sport. Can¡¯t you just be excited that we had our first real success in almost a week of trying.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll admit that it is quite impressive that we found a potential solution so soon. But we still have a lot of iteration that we need to do.¡±


    Bjorn stuck his tongue out at Skarit. ¡°Can¡¯t you let yourself have a little joy?¡±


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t. We don¡¯t know that this potential solution will actually lead to our end goal. If I allow myself to hope then I will be crushed when this ends up being a false solution. So no, I don¡¯t want to let myself hope. I advise you to do the same. You are young and impulsive, you haven¡¯t had the time and experience to fully learn the truth of the world.¡±


    ¡°Well with that glum outlook on life, I am going to go and test this new  combination at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30% venom content.¡± Bjorn turned around and walked over to their small brewing station.


    The next morning a runner boy came hurtling into their shared tent. ¡°Alaric, Rickie, Tayla, Bjorn, or Meira. Are any one of you any of the ones that I listed?


    Everyone but Tayla was present in the tent. ¡°Um, yeah.¡± Bjorn said. ¡°We are most of everyone you listed. What can I do for you?¡±


    The flustered boy held out a letter ¡°New orders.¡±


    Bjorn grabbed the letter out of the kid''s hand. ¡°Thank you. You are free to go.¡±


    He gave his best salute which left a little to be desired. After the boy left the tent roughly in the same way he entered it, stumbling and moving a little too fast for his own good.


    Bjorn just shook his head at the all too serious kid. He opened up the letter and read.


    ¡°Tomorrow at midday we will be assaulting the next room. By our best guesses there will be two more rooms for us to assault after this one. We are hoping to be finished soon. Duke Dornan is still recovering from his use of magic. So he will not be joining in on this assault. He likely won''t join the next one either. He will be saving his strength for the final push to wipe out the snatcher spiders. Be prepared for a tough fight. Assemble at our designated assembly point tomorrow at 15:30.¡±


    Bjorn filled the others in on the content of the letter. They all started doing their own preparations. Meira went to the hospital to help them prepare for the influx of soldiers that they would likely soon get. Alaric went to the forges to retrieve all of their gear. Rickie left for the mess as every night before the next assault the camp would make an extravagant meal, and all rationing was removed just for the meal. Bjorn left to meet up with Skarit.


    Everything and everywhere in camp was a flurry of activity as everyone started to make their last minute preparations. The alchemy center was no different. By the time Bjorn got there the word had spread that the army was going to assault the next cavern tomorrow. Normally there were around 10 alchemists all working around the clock to prepare for the next assault. Now there were over 25 alchemists all crammed into the same small space. There was no down time as everyone was busy with all the hundreds of small tasks necessary to brew on this scale.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°It¡¯s about time you showed your face.¡± Skarit said when Bjorn walked into the alchemical center.


    ¡°You know how it is, I just needed to get my beauty sleep in.¡±


    He scoffed. ¡°Why? It isn¡¯t doing you any good?¡±


    Bjorn turned slowly towards Skarit. There have been few things that have been consistent between Earth and The Eld. Apparently talking shit was one of those universal things.


    ¡°Ha, ha funny.¡±


    ¡°I thought so.¡±


    ¡°Anyways. We had a few more successes. The arrowroot, venom, fluid, and pulverized kidney stone combination shows some promise. With our limited time, I think we should try a few iterations today. If there are any decent successes I will try and make some more of it tonight.¡±


    ¡°Tonight? Do you not join the army?¡±


    The runic shook his head. ¡°No, I do not. My skills are here, I am not a fighter. Honestly if I was the venture a guess you are likely a higher level than I am. Either way, if you aren¡¯t a higher level than I am, you would win in a straight up fight for sure.¡±


    ¡°Yeah but I doubt it would be a straight up fight. You would likely fight dirty, and I think you have a few tricks up your sleeve.¡±


    ¡°That I do, but the point still stands. I would for sure avoid that fight. Even with my tricks and advantages I would still most likely lose. No, my place is here, brewing potions so that fools like you can go and risk your lives for idiots like me.¡±


    From there they started to talk shop about their alchemy. They began brewing more poison and testing all the various variations that they produced. As it was getting late Skarit forced Bjorn to go back to his tent so he could get a good night''s rest before the next fight. Bjorn promised he would stop by first thing in the morning before he left to get anything that Skarit was able to make.


    The next morning the camp was somehow extremely loud and eerily quiet at the same time. The sound of thousands of people preparing for war was quite loud and filled the silence that was let by those getting ready. Almost no one talked while they were getting ready. The silence permeated every corner of the camp. Everyone felt the apprehension and worry that had settled over the camp. The news of Duke Durnan not partaking in the battle had most of the army worried. It was easier to be brave when you had such a powerful ally on your side.


    Bjorn got up early and started to don his armor. Soon he was joined by Tayla, then Meira, then Alaric, then lastly Rickie. Although Rickie didn¡¯t have much he needed to do to suit up for the fight. So he just sat on the edge of the bed, his mind wherever, but not present.


    Once she was finished Meira walked over to Bjorn and began helping him lace his armor onto his body. She was able to slide into her tight leathers easily. Bjorn tried to keep his mind out of the gutter, but the closeness of her in rather form fitting armor was hard to ignore, it was quite distracting.


    After she finished tying the last knot her hands lingered briefly on his metal clad chest. ¡°I am tired of this.¡±


    Bjorn met her eyes. ¡°Same, I wish we could leave.¡±


    Alaric cleared his throat. ¡°We are all in here you know. Get a room.¡±


    Embarrassed, Meira dropped her hands from Bjorn¡¯s chest and took a step back, her cheeks showing a faint sign of pink.


    Bjorn cleared his throat. ¡°I will see you guys at the rally point. I am going to stop by and see if we had any luck on the poison front last night.¡± He turned around walking out of the tent. What he didn¡¯t see was the slight disappointment in Meira¡¯s eyes.


    He made his way through the camp not at a fast pace or a leisurely pace. He still had a few hours to kill before he was required to form up for battle. When he showed up the camp was just as busy as it was yesterday. Only this time there was a group of 10 soldiers who were picking up crates full of potions that they were able to brew over the last few days, and loading them onto a small hand pulled wagon. It was nowhere near enough to supply the entire army, but it was enough for each officer to get a few. It was up to them from there to decide what they wanted to do with their ration of potions.


    He spotted Skarit talking to a staff sergeant, if Bjorn was able to guess based on the man''s attire. ¡°Ah, I was hoping to see you before the battle today. I will be with you in a moment. Do you mind helping load up some of the crates?¡± He didn¡¯t wait for a response and returned to talking to the staff sergeant.


    Bjorn not even rankled by the none to subtle command did as he was asked to. Even though Skarit and Bjorn had become friends who were close enough to tease one another. The chain of command was clear in this situation. Skarit was a high ranking alchemist, and a professed one to boot. While Bjorn was still a rather unremarkable alchemist by any standards that someone who wasn¡¯t versed in the craft would use.


    By the time he was done helping the soldier''s load up the crates Skarit was finishing up his conversation with the staff sergeant. ¡°-ow if you want more potions for the next attack you will need to convince Gram that I need more herbs.¡±


    ¡°Yes I get that, but there aren¡¯t many more to give. We have already raided most of the stockpile of herbs that our herbalists have been able to collect. We also have requisitioned almost every single herb that the apothecaries carry. We have had to resort to sending people out of the city to forage for herbs to keep up with the demand.¡±


    ¡°We have a decent stockpile here already, but I see within 5 days that we will run out of materials that we can use. If that happens we will be at a standstill.¡±


    The sergeant sighed a weary sigh. ¡°I will see what I can do. For the time being I need you to continue work as you have been up to this point.¡±


    ¡°Will do, sir.¡± The runic did a rather sloppy salute. It was rather obvious to anyone who saw that he didn¡¯t really understand military decorum. ¡°Bjorn, would you come over here please? I have something to show you.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Bjorn walked over to Skarit walking right past the staff sergeant as he started to order his men to head out. ¡°What good news do you have for me? You have to have something right?¡±


    ¡°Kind of, kind of not. Let me show you.¡± Bjorn followed over to the same table that their test subjects had sat on the days prior. On the table sat the usual layout of bones. Sitting at the base of each of the different test subjects sat a vial filled with an almost translucent purple liquid. Bjorn picked one up holding it in between his fingers. To Skarit it looked like Bjorn was taking a closer look at the liquid inside. But in reality he was using the distraction to use his identify Ability on it.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Pitiful modified Snatcher spider venom


    </td>


    <td>


    Rarity: Common


    </td>


    <td>


    Weight: .2 lbs.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Durability 5/5


    </td>


    <td>


    Doses 1/1


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    This poison, if applied, will do some moderate damage to any bone it comes in contact with. It will slowly sunder the bones. Over the next 12 hours it will deal 1 point of sundering damage to the object it is applied to per half hour.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°Does it work?¡±


    ¡°By my tests kind of, but not really. If it has been applied directly to the bones of the spider it will slowly eat away at the exo-skeleton, but it won¡¯t do it fast enough to have any real lasting effect. The other issue I ran into while testing is that if it is applied to a weapon the poison will slowly eat away at the weapon all the same.¡±


    Bjorn looked at all of the vials on the table and used his ability on each and every one of them. All 5 of the poison filled vials worked almost the exact same as the one in his hand. ¡°The venom of the spiders is fast acting, why does this one actually work slower than the base venom we started with?¡±


    ¡°You know, I think it has something to do with the embryonic fluid. I think due to letting it affect the snatcher spiders the trade off is the strength. We just need to find something that will work as an accelerant. I will take the slow sunder damage that it currently does, seeing how it still has an effect. That to me is better than nothing, and it tells me that we are on the right path.¡±


    ¡°So if I am understanding what you are saying, you have no idea.¡±


    ¡°Pretty much yeah.¡±


    ¡°Glad we can be honest with each other.¡± Bjorn said. ¡°Well this is better than nothing. I¡¯ll take this with me to test out.¡± Bjorn turned to walk away when something in what Skarit said jogged a memory lose. ¡°Wait. You said something about an accelerant. What was that again?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, If we had some sort of herb that would greatly increase the rate at which the poison is applied I think that would be all that we would need.¡±


    There was something that Bjorn had no idea how he remembered. But when Jen was muttering to herself as she was brewing her cure to the monster she made. ¡°Now if I use a pinch of windenberry that should deliver the effects faster.¡± Of all of the muttering that Bjorn recalled, that one seemed to potentially apply here.


    ¡°What about windenberry? Would that be of use here?¡± Bjorn asked.


    Skarit frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Windenberry is a common plant around here, it is usually used for an afternoon snack. I don¡¯t think it has many alchemical uses.¡±


    ¡°The person who taught me how to be an alchemist talked about the alchemical uses of the windenberry. She told me that it could be used in the right conditions when mixed with the root of the arrowroot plant and in the right way it could be used as an accelerant.¡± Bjorn lied


    Skarit gave Bjorn a skeptical look. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that, but it is worth a shot. How long will that take?¡±


    ¡°Hopefully a few hours, if I do everything right.¡± Together the pair started following the steps that he dug up from the memory of Jen the master alchemist. Bjorn started making the paste that would be added to the poison all the while teaching Skarit the process as well. Pretty soon it became apparent that they might just run out of time.


    It soon became a race against the clock. Bjorn misjudged how long it would take to make the paste properly. Instead of leaving them with plenty of time before Bjorn had to be pulled away, they would likely finish in time, but it would be a close call. When it looked like they were actually going to not finish in time one of Skarit¡¯s perks came in clutch and saved them almost an hour.


    With their completed paste Bjorn took a small dollop of it and added it to the vial of poison that he was going to take to test. From there Bjorn re-corked the vial and began to vigorously shake it, hopefully mixing the two alchemical components. After a minute the paste was starting to break down, after three it was starting to mix. After 5 minutes of fully shaking the vial of poison the dollop of paste fully dissolved and the vial changed colors. It changed from a clear liquid to a pale yellow liquid.


    <table style="width: 90.0081%">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 49.1848%">


    Weak Snatcher Spider Bane poison


    </td>


    <td style="width: 28.9855%">


    Rarity: Uncommon


    </td>


    <td style="width: 21.3768%">


    Weight: .1 lbs.


    </td>


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    <td style="width: 49.1848%">


    Durability 4/5


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    <td style="width: 28.9855%">


    Doses: 1


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    This poison is specifically useful against the snatcher spider. It is able to bypass some of the defenses of the snatcher spider¡¯s bone-like exo-skeleton. When applied to a weapon, it will increase the damage that the weapon can deal to snatcher spiders by 138% for 35 hits. After 35 hits with the coated weapon the effects of the poison is diminished enough to the point that it is considered ineffective.


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    Congratulations you have made a new poison recipe. You and Skarit have both played an almost equally important part in the creation of this poison. Extra progress has been gained.


    You have advanced your skill level in alchemy, reaching skill level 39. Potions you make will have 39% increased effect and 78% increased duration of effect.


    ¡°It worked!¡± Bjorn half exclaimed and half laughed. ¡°The poison is still considered a weak variant but it will work!¡±


    Skarit gave Bjorn a side eye. ¡°How do you know?¡±


    Bjorn¡¯s good mood couldn¡¯t be dampened by him basically admitting one of his 3 abilities. ¡°That is a secret. But it doesn¡¯t matter, it worked.¡± he looked at the clock at the edge of his vision. The time was currently 15:20 ¡°Shit! I got to go. I am going to take this and test it. Wish me luck.¡±


    ¡°Stay safe!¡± The runic called out as Bjorn ran off.


    Bjorn quickly ran through the camp dodging and weaving in between all of the bodies hustling to wherever they were supposed to be. Bjorn made it to the clearing with barely two minutes to spare. When he burst into the clearing he could easily and quickly tell that he was the last one to make it.


    ¡°Recruit Bjorn. It is nice of you to join us.¡± Sergeant Tommin called out to Bjorn as he fell into formation. Tommin¡¯s voice didn¡¯t really hold any malice or contempt. During the last assault he had proved his worth, and Tommin got a better sense of who Bjorn was as a person. He knew that Bjorn was almost late for probably a good reason, especially since the rest of his party would have made sure he was there on time.


    ¡°Of course sir. Wouldn¡¯t miss it for the world.¡± Bjorn called back. Which elicited a few good natured laughs from his fellow soldiers.


    Alaric leaned over from where he was standing next to Bjorn. ¡°Was it worth it?¡± He asked in a quiet tone.


    ¡°I think so. I think we developed a poison that will work great. The only issue is that we have only 1 dose. So I am not sure if I should apply it to my sword or to some arrows.¡±


    ¡°Arrows.¡± Alaric replied without any hesitation at all in his voice. ¡°You are a better archer and you do more damage with your arrows.¡±


    Bjorn nodded and pulled his new vial of poison from his bag of holding and uncorked it. He then started pulling the heavy arrows that he got back with Jenkins and applied the poison to the arrowtips one at a time. As it turned out the vial of poison went just as far as the hits. He was able to poison 35 arrows with the liquid in the vial. He was very careful while poisoning the arrows. He would slowly pour the poison on the tip of the arrow while constantly identifying it. Once its status gained a poisoned tag he would stop applying the liquid and then store it.


    The entire process took around 10 minutes to complete. One thing that he learned through crafting poison was that the efficacy of the poison would slowly drop away. Another amazing part of his bag of holding was that it was able to stop that process. Apparently the line of folding space and time was more literal than Bjorn expected. The portable pocket had a delaying process, but it never stopped the passing of time on an object fully.


    Not with the bag of holding, it was able to fully stop the passing of time on objects. So the arrows that he poisoned would be just as fresh when he retrieved them, as they were when the stored them. Being able to call up freshly poisoned arrows at a thought would be a great boon in this next engagement.


    A few minutes after Bjorn finished his little project it was time for their unit to move out. During the entire poisoning process the army had finished forming up and began marching through the tunnel a few units at a time. It took a while to organize and move the 1800 troops that would partake in this engagement. The remaining 100 combat ready troops would be left behind to defend their campsite, and their newly taken room.


    As he marched down the tunnel surrounded by hundreds of competent fighters Bjorn once again felt invincible. Only time would tell if that was truly the case. When they made it into the large cavern which had almost been the death of Bjorn and his friends, 300 of the army branched off and started to head down the tunnel which led to their other recently taken cavern, the one filled with the ruins of an old town. Their task was to reinforce the 100 that had already been stationed at the guard post.


    The remaining 1500 began the slow advance down the tunnel. The way that the army was set up was in 100 soldier units. They could walk 20 abreast as they walked down the tunnel. So each unit was able to fill out 5 ranks. They would then make their way down the tunnel with 30 feet between the back of the first unit and the front of the second unit. This was to help protect against any missed traps or set off traps.


    Each unit was given the freedom to form up however they wanted. Gram trusted each of his sergeants and gave them that freedom. He believed that they knew their men the best. Most units were melee fighter heavy. With a few ranged fighters in the back. It was usually a 90-10 split. Tommin¡¯s unit was weird as he had more ranged fighters than most, he also had two spell casters in Bjorn and Meira, while most units had 1 if they were lucky. This made their unit a powerful support unit.


    Because of their utility they placed 9th out of the 15 units that made up the army. Their job when they broke into the cavern was to see where the army was struggling the best and then go there and provide the support they would sorely be needing.


    As they traveled down the tunnel Tommin formed a war party.


    You have been affected by the aura of an allied war leader. You gain an extra 5% movement speed, and you also gain 5% increased damage to your non-melee attacks.


    The last time they fought Tommin had formed his war party and Bjorn had learned about his aura. He also learned that the auras are not a static thing. Tommin¡¯s aura had a drastically different effect than Jenkins did. He also just learned that war leader''s auras could change. As the last time he was affected by Tommin¡¯s aura the 5% damage increase was not there last time. When Bjorn had tried to learn more about the war leader skill he hit stone wall after stone wall. Not many in the army knew how it worked, and those who did know wouldn¡¯t share.


    You have been affected by the aura of an allied war leader. You gain 20% to all damage, 20% increased effect of your armor, 10% less mana drain, 15% less stamina drain, an increase of 25% to your fighting spirit.


    That would be gram¡¯s aura. Bjorn also learned over the last combat that aura¡¯s from war leaders could stack. He still wasn¡¯t sure if buffs of the same type would be able to stack. But he will be able to test that today thanks to Tommin.


    You have been invited to War leader Tommin¡¯s war party. Would you like to join? Yes/No?


    Bjorn mentally clicked yes, and the now familiar changes to his HUD happened. When Bjorn started to pursue who all made it into Tommin¡¯s war party another prompt popped up.


    War leader Tommin had offered a promotion to you. Would you like to take on the role of scout? Yes/No?


    Once again Bjorn clicked yes and the familiar symbol appeared right next to his name. He wasn¡¯t the only one who had it either. The soldier that Tommin put in charge of the other scout group also had the symbol. That was how Bjorn learned that multiple people could have the same role. Also Tommin¡¯s war party had a maximum of 25 members rather than Jenkins 10.


    ¡°I figured you proved yourself a few days ago. I can trust you to do a good job here as well. Make me proud.¡± Tommin¡¯s voice echoed in Bjorn¡¯s head.


    They traveled forward for a few extra minutes when the sounds of combat could be heard from the front. Fortunately Gram¡¯s own personal unit was the first unit. Right behind him was the one who had the best scouting skills. They were there the support Gram.


    In the last fight Bjorn briefly saw Gram, and the man was a monster. He apparently gained a talent from his profession which allowed him to grow in size and in power. It unfortunately made him a larger target for the spiders. But the gained size and strength was worth the trade off. Gram was almost 8 and a half feet tall in his normal proportions. When his talent was active he grew to nearly 11 feet tall and grew almost half as wide. He was well over 5 feet wide at the shoulders.


    He was a one man wrecking ball. He fought with a massive war hammer which he swung around with ease. Each time his hammerhead fell a spider died. He also must have gained a talent that allowed him to at least ignore a portion of the snatcher spider''s venom because his larger frame made it easier for them to bite him. Yet it seemed like he shrugged it off. His gear also seemed to be enchanted to fit him specifically as when he grew the armor he wore grew to match his larger frame without compromising his defenses. His weapon even grew in size to match his increased stature.


    To match Gram each and every one of the soldiers who were in his fighting unit were some sort of professed fighter in some form shape or manner. They were no slouches either, they had to be impressive themselves, or they wouldn¡¯t be able to support the walking siege engine that was Gram.


    After the sounds of battle could be heard their progress forward slowed to a crawl. They had orders to maintain the 30 feet in between each unit to avoid any nasty surprises that the spiders were able to cook up. Their progress forward turned from a brisk pace to a few feet every minute.


    Once combat was engaged the majority of the second and third unit had the task of clearing the spider''s bodies allowing them to progress forward. Each step forward they took the soldier filed past karting spider bodies. Once they cleared the last ranks of the fighting men there were empty wagons that their task was to safely take the bodies out of the way so they wouldn¡¯t hinder the armies progress forward.


    Soon the slow press forward turned into a normal walk forward, then a light jog. ¡°Get ready!¡± Tommin called out. ¡°The front of the army has broken through into the chamber, we will make it shortly.¡±


    True to his word they soon found themselves in a large cave filled all the way to the ceiling with thick strands of spider webbing. In several patches there were flames already licking at the thick sticky silk. All throughout the webbing spiders ran every which way, trying to get to the fire, moving eggs away, or attacking the army attacking the spiders.

 Chapter 42

    The army had formed a small convex bubble centered around the door that they pushed their way into. As each new unit pushed their way into the room they made their way onto the left side of the previous unit. The first unit would then step to the right as they were fighting to make room for the new unit. Rinse and repeat, until there were 8 units all filling the space. The coordination was made easy by the War Leader skill.


    Bjorn found out that gram was able to put each of the squad leaders under his command, as well as the rest of his unit with space to spare. Each of the squad leaders were able to have people under their control furthering Gram¡¯s influence. If Bjorn was to guess, gram could have 250 people in his War Leader party, with other War Leaders letting them have their full respective parties, Bjorn guessed that around 500 to 750 of the army were apart of a War Leader party. At the same time not every squad leader had the War Leader skill.


    The convex bubble of safe space was large enough that Tommin¡¯s full squad was able to freely move about in it and help out where it was needed. It just so happened to be Gram¡¯s unit. It wasn¡¯t so much that Gram¡¯s unit needed help, it was that they were now against the right wall and they wanted to move out and enter the center of the force again. So that is what happened. Tommin¡¯s unit moved over to Gram¡¯s. With practiced ease the back lines of Gram¡¯s unit split open and allowed Tommin¡¯s units to intermingle with it.


    From there the front line stood back to back and did a small 180 degree turn where they stepped around one another. This was accomplished by Gram¡¯s deep bellowing voice, which had grown deeper with his increased size, shouting out a quick order. When the order was given both lines which had been slightly staggered stepped back with their right legs, and pivoted, turning over their right shoulder. In less than a second the front line had been switched out.


    After that Gram¡¯s unit pulled back leaving Tommin¡¯s in his stead. They were supposed to hold that position until the 11th unit made it into the fray, and then they would perform the exact same maneuver, leaving the 11th unit in their stead.


    So that is what they did: they stayed and held the right flank for several minutes. The pressure that they felt was enough that they had to be vigilant, but not enough that they were in danger. Spiders threw themselves at their front line in droves and tried their best to push through but with no luck.


    Soon the 11th showed up to be their relief and the same maneuver was performed and they were soon back in the middle of the zone that was slowly expanding. The left flank had pushed into the wall to the left and started to push forward, trying to turn the convex position into more of a line. But it was slow moving, as the army had to deal with the thick strands of webbing that were thickly packed into the area.


    It was slow moving but they weren¡¯t having much difficulty as the army by now were awfully adept at fighting these spiders. They were cutting down the spiders relatively easily without really any casualties in exchange.


    The spiders were done with their surprises though. Chaos erupted on the left side of the flank as screams of pain and agony could be heard from that side. The sounds of things slamming into metal were especially loud from that area as well. It didn¡¯t take long before the order to go help out was issued by Gram. The telepathy that they shared from the War Leader skill made communication a cinch. Even though most of Tommin¡¯s unit couldn¡¯t hear what was happening in the other war party, he filled his unit in as they ran over to help the left flank.


    ¡°Reports are quickly coming in that we are coming in contact with a larger variant of the snatcher spiders. They are closer to the size of a wagon. For now we are only facing a few, but they are having a massive impact on our forces.¡±


    When they joined that area a massive impact was an understatement. It was relatively easy to stop a Great Dane sized spider with a shield wall. While supported by both sides they were able to hold strong and stop any momentum that the spiders had. When the spiders were easily larger than a horse that became a harder thing to do.


    There were 3 of the large sized spiders that had pushed through the front line of the left flank and were wreaking havoc amongst the humanoids. Many of the smaller spiders had pushed through as well and were stopping the humanoids from reforming their battle lines. All while the large spiders were running rampant in the back lines of the army.


    Tommin quickly took in the scene in front of him and gave the order, he split his unit into three parts. The first two had 40 men in it equally, the last one had 20. Each of the first 40 were ordered the go after the first two large spiders. The last unit which consisted of Alaric, Bjorn, Rickie, Tayla, Meira and 15 others, were given orders to hold against the last spider and distract it until they would be able to get help. Tommin lumped them into the smaller unit because of their fighting prowess. Tayla and Rickie were known profession holders, Alaric and Meira were not known, but during the last battle it had become apparent that those 4 were some of the best fighters that were under Tommin¡¯s control.


    Most of the army were in their low 10¡¯s or hadn¡¯t even broken 10 for levels yet. As most of the army were just regular citizens of Blackrock Bay who signed up when they were attacked by the snatcher spiders. Even though Bjorn was the weakest of their group he was still stronger than the average soldier in this army.


    Everyone broke into their assigned groups and moved to engage the large spider. Rickie and Alaric led the charge for their small group. Even though their charge looked reckless the two now practiced allies understood how the other moved and fought, so it was anything but reckless. The barbarian and the dwarf ran straight at the farthest of the 3, the one who was wreaking the most havoc on the army.


    When Rickie drew closer he activated a barbarian talent. His legs surged with energy briefly before he rocketed forward ramming his large two handed sword into the abdomen. Instead of burying the large blade into the spider¡¯s abdomen the blade sank less than 6 inches into the abdomen before it came to a stop bringing Rickie to a stop as well.


    With the barbarian standing right next to the spider it became obvious that the reports were slightly off. By the way that the reports sounded they made the spider out to be the size of a small human sized hand cart. That wasn¡¯t entirely accurate. The spider''s body was around 12 feet long, and half as long wide. With the legs added into the equation the spiders stood at around 7 feet off the ground, and their freakishly long legs made the spiders around 15 feet in diameter.


    The spider lowered its body towards the ground so it would be able to bite at and attack the humanoids that were shorter than it. Which was how Rickie landed its hit high up in the abdomen. The giant spider stood to its full height. Rickie¡¯s sword was stuck in the thick carapace of the spider and as it stood it brought Rickie¡¯s sword with it, and by extension It also brought Rickie.


    ¡°Shieet!¡± Rickie exclaimed as his feet were lifted off the ground.


    Alaric arrived a few moments after Rickie, but by the time the dwarf arrived Rickie was already getting pulled off the ground. With Alaric¡¯s shorter stature he wasn¡¯t able to easily land a hit on the spider that was now well out of his reach. So instead of attacking the body of the spider he went for the only thing close by, its leg.


    Alaric turned and took a swing at the thick trunk of a leg. As he started the swing with his hammer he increased the length of handle further increasing the force he would be able to bring to bear. The mighty war hammer slammed into the leg of the spider and it looked like it had no discernible difference. Leg which was over 6 inches thick didn¡¯t even move as the mighty blow which would have dented high steel barely did anything to the leg.


    If you inspected the impact site closely you would be able to find the spot where the hammer bounced off, but that would be it. In a move which looked familiar to a person pushing a cat, the spider lifted that leg off the ground and thrust it at the dwarf. When it connected he went flying.


    Bjorn quickly sized up the situation. ¡°Get close enough to distract it, but don¡¯t get too close.¡± He shouted to the others in his small unit. By then the spider had turned its attention on the small gnat that dared attack it, and chased after Alaric where he had gone flying. In doing so its rotation made Rickie¡¯s sword pull free and both him and his sword went flying.


    The spider went to change Alaric down where he lay, but the others in their group made their presence known. They put themselves between Alaric and the giant spider, giving the dwarf a chance to return to his feet and rejoin the fray. Together they all tried their best to juggle the attention of the spider. Fortunately for them almost everyone who had been assigned to their group wielded spears, allowing them to keep distance between them and the spider. Each time it would lunge forward they would attempt to poke out one of its eyes forcing the spider to pull back time and time again.


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    Name: N/A


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    Race: Snatcher Spider Warrior


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    Age: 7 months


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    Level: 28


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    Snatcher spider warriors are the next stage of a snatcher spider infestation. They are bigger, stronger, and meaner than their smaller brethren. These large balls of anger serve a completely different role in an infestation. Instead of playing the part of collecting more calcium for the hive, they now have the role of going out and crushing any opposition that may have formed.


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    A familiar arc of lightning came streaking across the field as Meira finished casting her weak lightning bolt. The jumping lightning slammed into the side of the spider faster than could be tracked by the naked eye, blackening and charring the spider¡¯s dense exo-skeleton. The dense electricity slowed the spider as it¡¯s legs spasmed and it fell to its side. Unfortunately the electricity didn¡¯t travel through the central nervous system and instead it slammed into the abdomen and then down into the ground. The spider just fell to the ground briefly before it scrambled back to its feet.


    When it returned to its feet a screech of pain and anger left the spider. Briefly disregarding its own safety the spider lunged forward trying to latch onto someone. It did exactly that. The spiders biting appendages slammed down on one of their numbers, the fangs puncturing through the metal and sunk deep into the woman. Each of the almost 2 feet long fangs plunged into the body of the woman killing her instantly as her heart was pierced. Almost as quickly as they plunged into the body they were retrieved and the spider turned towards its next victim.


    It didn¡¯t get far as one of few shield wielders of their small squad stepped forward and took a swing at the spiders face as it retracted its fangs. The spider instead of fully storing its fangs instead turned just slightly and the deadly fangs came down on him as well. The spider was fast, but not quite fast enough. As the fangs started their downward trajectory the man swung his shield upward in an attempt to block the fangs.


    He received mixed results. On one hand he did stop the fangs. On the other hand the fangs punctured the shield. The incredible force behind the strike allowed the spider''s fangs to puncture the dense wood of his shield. Even though he was saved from being stabbed like his fellow soldier, his body wasn¡¯t able to hold up to the immense kinetic energy behind the blow. The blow sent the man to his knees and his arm buckled. The way the force was applied he wasn¡¯t skewered by the fangs.


    When the spider went to withdraw its fangs from the shield it ended up picking up the man still attached to the shield with it. With a yell the man went from a kneeling position to his feet dangling a few feet off the ground, all the while with large spider fangs right in front of his eye. His arm hung at an awkward angle as he dangled. Reaching up he grasped the leather strap that held him in place with his free hand and yanked. The craft person who had made the shield had made it so the leather strap that held him in place could be easily released.


    The man dropped to the ground in a heap, where he quickly scrambled to his feet and tried to get as much distance as he could between him and the monstrosity as fast as he possibly could. But by the time he freed himself he was far from on the spider''s mind. It was set on freeing its fangs from the shield. It was able to do so by placing one of its legs on the shield and yanking upward. The movement was clumsy and rather rushed.


    When it lowered its head to try to rip its head free the fighters rushed in to try and wound the beast, with little success. The only ones who did any meaningful damage were Alaric, Bjorn, and Tayla. Rickie tried to land another hit on the carapace where his sword got stuck before to little success. Alaric moved in and made a few repeated attacks on the same spot on one of the spider''s legs, the leg started to sprout thin cracks as the structure of the carapace. Tayla dove forward her eye on a segment of one of the spider''s legs and drove her dagger deep into the joint.


    Bjorn had been sitting back waiting for the right opportunity to hit the spider. When it lowered its head to the ground was when he decided to strike. As the head started its trajectory downward Bjorn pulled one of his poison tipped arrows out of his bag of holding and sighted down it to make sure he wasn¡¯t going to miss. He used the zoom function he got from his level 10 in archery. The beady eyes of the spider grew large in his vision as a small reticle appeared where the projected arrow would fly. He made a last second adjustment and let loose.


    The arrow flew true and slammed into one of the spider''s eyes. The arrow sunk deep into the eye socket. The screams of pain turned into a wailing agony as the poison that had coated the tip of the arrow began to spread throughout the body of the spider. The poison was fast acting and quickly began to eat away at the bone structure.


    When it yanked its head away with the shield pinned two things happened at the same time. The first one was that one of the fangs that had been trapped in place inside the shield broke leaving it behind while the second one was pulled away safely. The second thing that happened was that the limb that Alaric had been swinging at finally broke leaving the spider unsteady. The fast acting poison did its work, as without it neither of the two injuries would have occurred.


    Now with one of its 8 legs missing its bottom segment the spider became more erratic. Some part of its mind began to understand the danger it was facing, and it started to understand that this was a fight for its life. During its 7 months of life it had been the biggest, baddest, and strongest monster around, the fact that these small insects that normally wouldn¡¯t be a challenge were hurting it was difficult for its small brain to understand.


    Lunging forward it swung its head using its remaining fang as a Billy club. The club slammed into one of the spear wielders, instantly crushing the metal of his chest piece and killing the man. In retaliation the spider lost another one of its eyes as spears were thrust toward the spider.


    That is how the spider fought for over a minute. It would lunge forward hoping to crush one of the insects that challenged its majesty, sometimes it would find success. The reason that their party of 20 was able to last as long as they did was because of Alaric and Rickie. With the two of them situated on either side of the spider wherever it turned to attack it would be met by the two warriors and its attack would be foiled. When they weren¡¯t defending they were slowly whittling down at the health of the massive spider.


    Tayla and Meira couldn¡¯t be discounted either. Tayla was always there in the thick of the fray either trying to find the weak points in the spider''s carapace or trying to save those Rickie and Alaric couldn¡¯t. She would constantly get in the way of a stray limb and push the soldier to safety or tackle them bearing them to the ground allowing the attack to miss. Meira was at the back constantly chanting spells. She would alternate between casting an offensive spell to try and help whittle down the spider''s health, and some healing magic to try and help mitigate what small damage did get through from the spider.


    Bjorn was equally the least useful and most useful at the same time. His spells were mostly too weak to have any real effect on the spider, but he still tried. He had cast strengthening light and also bark skin on Rickie. He even tried his blind spell which did work. But for such a short time that it is hardly worth mentioning. Once when the spider landed a solid hit on Rickie Bjorn cast encroaching darkness to slow the spider and confuse it, allowing him to reorient himself and get back into the fight before the 5 second duration elapsed. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Ultimately he himself didn¡¯t amount to much use in the fight. The poison he had spent long hours trying to make paid dividends though. Each and every time he landed a solid hit with an arrow the thick bone like carapace on the large spider would weaken making it more likely for their attacks to land and break through the carapace and sink into the soft flesh underneath. That in and of itself made him the most important member of this fight.


    It was on arrow 6 that landed and stuck in the spider''s body that things finally changed in their favor. One of Meira¡¯s Lightning bolts finally stuck and actually stunned the spider. By the time the bolt struck The spider was teetering on 5 legs. The stunned debuff was too much and the two legs on one side collapsed and the spider fell in that direction. Rickie was on that side of the fight and saw an opportunity. As soon as the spider began to fall he reactivated his barbarian lunge talent and he shot forward again. This time his 5 foot long blade sunk a foot and a half into the thorax of the massive spider. His body''s forward momentum brought his feet against the carapace of the spider and he planted his feet and shoved off, throwing his body away from the spider and leaving his sword behind.


    As his body flew through the air clearing the body of the spider it fell. The sword which was hanging out of the side of the spider was pinned between the heavy body and the ground. As it landed on the sword it was shoved further through its thorax and continued to be shoved in until it was buried up to the hilt.


    Everyone else piled onto the spider as it lay there stunned. Unfortunately for the spider it never got the chance to get back up. As the combined attacks over 13 people was too much for the massive spider and it expired under the onslaught.


    Once everyone got the notification confirming the spider''s death collectively the remaining 15 soldiers let out a sigh. They were so distracted by their own fight that they had lost track of the battle. Out of the three spiders that their squad of 100 engaged two of which were down. The first one was the one that they just fought the other was the one that Tommin¡¯s group engaged. The last spider looked to be winning versus the last group. Of the initial 40 only 25 were still on their feet, the remaining looked haggard.


    It said a lot about Tommin¡¯s capability to lead when he left Bjorn¡¯s group to fend for themselves and moved to help the ones who were struggling. Together the two were easily handling the large spider.


    Surveying the rest of the battle it was going fairly well. The army was making good gains into the room. There were 7 other of the snatcher spider warriors who had attacked the main army. 3 attack the right front, which was struggling. One of the spiders was dead and the other two looked to be damaged. The last 4 attack the main army. Two of which had attacked Gram¡¯s unit. Which was a big mistake on their part. Gram had fought and killed one all on his own, and his professed fighters easily made quick work of the second.


    Before they moved on the group collectively helped roll the massive spider''s body over allowing Rickie to retrieve his sword. After their own barbarian was re-equipped they moved over to where the remaining spider their unit engaged. By the time they made it over to the spider the rest of their unit took care of it. Everyone was breathing hard. Tommin gave his unit a few minutes to rest.


    But not Meira, she didn¡¯t stop at all. As everyone was stopping to catch their breath Meira very quickly began walking through the resting soldiers and started casting her healing magic on the worst injured of their unit.


    With Tommin being a part of Gram¡¯s warband he was able to communicate with the support staff and get them moving towards their position to evacuate the wounded, at least those too hurt to continue fighting.


    After a minute Tommin stood back up. ¡°We have new orders to make our way to the right flank. They were hit hard by the large spiders and they need reinforcement. Take another 30 seconds and then we need to go. Our people are dying, we need to go help them.¡±


    No one disputed Tommin¡¯s order, nor did they drag their feet. By the time 30 seconds had passed everyone was back on their feet and started to form up again. Out of the 100 people who were initially a part of their unit 70 were left standing. The remaining 30 were either dead or were too wounded to be of use in this fight. All things considered they were better off than most of the other units.


    Together they moved through the battlefield, as they went the support staff for the army stopped what they were doing and got out of their way. It was a grim sight as they moved. Hundreds of non combat people worked hard to remove the dead, the wounded, and the spider corpses. There were more dead than there were wounded that they passed on the way to support the right flank.


    By the time they made it to the flank they had successfully managed to take down the remaining spider warrior. Their lines were in disarray because of the havoc that the massive spiders were able to sow before they were taken down though. In multiple places there were pockets of snatcher spiders behind friendly lines that were also now wreaking havoc on the cohesion of the flank. Which looked like it was about to collapse.


    ¡°Split into groups of 35. Mainly those who are in our front two lines in one group and the rest into the other.¡± They quickly split into the two groups as ordered. One had roughly 20 men and women who carried shields. The rest of that group carried a mix of spears and halberds. ¡°Good, now you go to that hole and put yourselves into it to plug it. Stop the stem of spiders that are making it through. The rest of you. You will be under Alaric¡¯s command, listen to what he says. Your standing orders are to clean up any of the spiders that made it through. Once there aren¡¯t any snatcher spiders alive on this side of our line you are to come back to us and help us hold the line. Got it?¡±


    ¡°Sir, yes sir.¡± Rang out from the throats of all those present. Tommin nodded and joined the holding force and they began to move out.


    Meira moved to join Tommin and his force. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Bjorn asked her.


    ¡°Yes. They can use my help more than you can. You will be fine.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t me I am worried about.¡±


    Meira smiled. ¡°I am touched, but I will be fine. I will be in the back. And don¡¯t you worry about me. I am a coward at heart, if I see our line even getting close to wavering I will run away.¡±


    Bjorn returned her smile. ¡°Liar.¡±


    Meira turned back to the now moving away force and ran after them to catch up. Bjorn turned back to the force now under Alaric¡¯s command and saw that they had already started to move towards the nearest clump of spiders harassing the back line of their army. He also had to run to catch up.


    The next hour was spent clearing up any spider that had made it through the right flank, and helping stabilize the flank. By the end of the hour it looked like the right flank had managed to hold on and was once again pushing. All of the credit for that couldn¡¯t be attributed solely to Tommin¡¯s unit. There were a few factors that allowed that to happen.


    The first one and the most important factor was that on top of Tommin¡¯s unit showing up to help defend the flank. Two other units also were sent over to help. These were mostly fresh. So the combined aid of over 250 additional soldiers made a massive difference.


    The next thing that helped was that the side of the cavern they were on began to shrink. The wall of the cavern they were fighting in began to narrow, helping stem the flow of spiders. That could get through and attack the flank.


    The last thing was that the flames that were eating away at the spider''s web began to make real headway on their side making it so that it was harder for spiders to get there through the webbing. The webbing itself burned smokeless. No one had any idea as to why that was the case but it was something that they learned early on and used to their advantage. If not for that property of the spider silk it was likely that everyone in the room would have asphyxiated from a lack of oxygen. It also seemed to burn quite rapidly leaving little behind to endanger those on the ground below.


    Once the flank was fully recovered the now almost useless 500 soldiers that made up that wing of the army stood there to recover. Orders were quickly passed down through the chain of command and a large quantity of the right flank was delegated to helping out the support staff. Tommin¡¯s unit was not one of those assigned though.


    As the battle raged onwards the sides of the room began to shrink, funneling down to a single exit once again. The spiders fought hard but ultimately it was a foregone conclusion. Gram and his unit were too powerful, the small spiders weren¡¯t able to do much damage to them and the snatcher spider warriors were not enough to tip the scales in the spider''s favor.


    Even though the spiders ultimately lost the fight they had made the humanoids pay a heavy toll. Of the 1500 humanoids that went into combat a little over 400 were dead or wounded enough that they had to be evacuated. They weren¡¯t able to tell for sure how many lost their lives, but by their preliminary headcount there were nearly 1100 soldiers still standing on the field of battle.


    Once the fighting was well and truly wrapped up they sent word to the other force to state that the battle was won.


    Tommin and his unit had orders to move to the edge of the cavern and take a well deserved rest. Everyone including Meira slumped down against the cavern wall while the rest of the army set about to clear out the remains of the dead. By this time Meira had well and truly exhausted herself, she had fully bottomed out her mana pool twice through her excessive use of spellcasting. Everyone¡¯s stamina was near depletion so the rest was welcome.


    No one spoke as the army removed the dead and dying from the field of battle. Once again the silence of war was unnerving. The silence was occasionally broken by a barked order that permeated the room. But each and every time it fell back to silence. Even the orders sounded half hearted at best. Everyone was contemplating the effect of the battle today.


    It was a surprise to the entire unit when the walking wardrobe of a man named Gram made his way over to where they were resting. As he approached everyone got to their feet to salute the man. By this time the talent that he had used had worn off and Gram was once again back to his usual 8 and a half feet tall, still towering over everyone before him.


    ¡°Please, there is no need to stand on ceremony here. Rest.¡± When most of the unit didn¡¯t follow Gram¡¯s words right away he spoke again in a kind tone. ¡°Please sit. You have earned it today.¡±


    Everyone but Tommin sat back down. ¡°Sir?¡± He said in a half question.


    ¡°I wanted to personally thank all of you for your actions today. And I wanted to apologize. I didn¡¯t know the strength of those larger spiders before I sent all of you after them. At the time the orders went out I was being swarmed by spiders. By all means you should have not been able to prevail over the large spiders. Many of our troops who came up to face them did not live through the day. Yet the majority of you still are alive.¡±


    As gram was giving his praise his eyes were sweeping through the crowd assembled before him, making eye contact with each person before his eyes traveled onwards. His eyes stopped as soon as they met Bjorn¡¯s face. They quickly swept down to Alaric where he was sitting at the opposite side of the quintet.


    A smile broke out on the man¡¯s face. ¡°Bjorn, Meira, Tayla, and Alaric. It is good to see all of your faces again. I should have known it was going to be all of you. I am glad you all are still alive. Though, I don¡¯t really recognize your last party member. And you are?¡±


    Rickie got to his feet and took a step forward, palm extended upwards. Gram also took a step forward and clasped Rickie¡¯s wrist with his own hand. Rickie had to look up to meet the man''s eyes. Something he rarely had to do so, as at his 6 foot 6 inches he often was the one looking down at those around him. ¡°My name is Rick, but most people call me Rickie.¡±


    ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you Rickie. You have picked yourself some fine travel companions. You should consider yourself a lucky man.¡±


    ¡°Believe me, I do.¡± They dropped wrists and Rickie took a step back again and let his back rest against the wall where he then slid to the ground.


    Gram also took a step back. ¡°I will be busy for the next few days taking care of the logistics of this battle. On the morning after three days from now, I would like for you to come to my office back at camp.¡±


    ¡°We will be there.¡± Alaric said solemnly.


    Gram nodded before his gaze continued on down the line. ¡°As I was saying I sent you against an enemy you had no right in beating, but by the fact that you were able to prevail I thank you. Then you once again saved our asses. When I ordered your unit, Jess¡¯s unit, and Pan¡¯s unit to assist the right flank you were the first ones to respond. You mobilized first and were the first ones in the fray. After fighting an enemy you shouldn¡¯t have been able to beat. I thank you. If not for you many more of my men would have died today.¡±


    Gram made it to the end of the line and started making his way back up the line once again. ¡°You stemmed the tide while helping clear those that got by, I won¡¯t say you were the only reason that we didn¡¯t lose the right flank and likely this entire battle, but you sure played a large role in doing so. Thank you.¡±


    From where Bjorn sat he could hardly see Tommin¡¯s face, but the corner he could see was streaked with tears. ¡°Thank you for your kind words sir. But we were only following orders. I wish to be done with these damn spiders and be back home. The faster we win this the faster that can be done.¡± Even though his cheeks were streaked with tears his voice was unwavering.


    ¡°Be that as it may, but you all did an exemplary job at following your orders, thank you. Your unit shall be given the next three days off of assignments, enjoy the rest you so deserve. You shall also be given double rations. I understand that these are poor rewards, but it is the best I can do under the circumstances.¡±


    When they heard of three days rest and double rations every member of the unit perked up a bit. All except for Meira and Bjorn, for them even with the days without assignment they both knew that they would not stop working.


    ¡°That is all, you are dismissed.¡± Gram said before turning on his heels and walking away from the group.


    The unit sat there eyes darting between those seated next to them, Tommin, and Gram¡¯s retreating back. ¡°Well you heard him. Get your sorry asses up and head back to camp. You are to drop your gear back at the blacksmiths and let them work their magic on the metal and make your way to your tents. Oh and if you have any wounds don¡¯t forget to stop by the hospital on the way back, not that I need to tell you lot that.¡±


    Small chuckles escaped the lips of many of the seated soldiers. They quickly got to their feet and made their way back to camp.


    When Bjorn and his company got to their feet to follow, Tommin raised a hand asking them to stay. After everyone else left he turned towards where Rickie and Alaric stood. ¡°Thank you for your effort today. Like Captain Gram I don¡¯t want to say you were the only ones who made a difference today but you played a big part in my unit''s success today. I have little doubt that you were the reason that your small unit was able to kill your spider, and why there were so few casualties on your end.¡±


    ¡°Actually sir.¡± Meira cut in before Alaric could say anything. ¡°The reason we were able to kill that monstrosity is because of Bjorn. Alaric, Rickie, and Tayla are for sure the reason that we had so few casualties. If it wasn¡¯t for Alaric¡¯s shield and his positioning many of our squad would have died. If it wasn¡¯t for Rickie¡¯s prodigious strength and being able to stop the spider in it¡¯s tracks many others would have died. And if it wasn¡¯t for Tayla¡¯s speed and agility many more would have died. Many of the attacks that Alaric and Rickie weren¡¯t able to stop she was able to save those it would have hit.¡±


    ¡°How do you think Bjorn is the reason that you were able to kill the spider though?¡± Tommin asked as he did an once over on the rather unassuming man when standing next to the rest of his party.


    ¡°He and the Alchemists have been working on a poison that will work on the Snatcher spiders. To my understanding they had success as of this morning and Bjorn took the time to coat his arrows in the poison. If not for that poison I doubt we would have been able to kill our spiders.¡±


    Tommin looked at Bjorn with raised eyebrows. ¡°How does this poison work?¡±


    Bjorn looked around briefly and started walking over to one of the smaller snatcher spiders. ¡°Come over here I will show you.¡± The rest of the party Tommin included followed after Bjorn. He knelt down next to the dead spider and motioned for Tommin to do the same. ¡°Reach out and touch the spider''s limb, try to break it with your grip.¡±


    Tommin frowned and reached out grasping ahold of the limb and first tried to crush it, with no success. Next he tried to snap it with both hands again with no success. He had to resort to putting the limb over his leg and using his combined weight and strength to snap the limb into two.


    ¡°Ok? And? That is the same result that I have gotten every time I have tried doing so up until this point.¡±


    ¡°Hold your horses.¡± Bjorn said as he reached into his bag of holding and pulled out one of his two remaining poison soaked arrows. He plunged the arrow down into the carapace of the spider, stabbing it right in the middle of its chest.


    ¡°That looked easy! I have seen several arrows glance off of the tough exo-skeletons of these spiders. How long does it last?¡± Tommin exclaimed and asked all at once.


    Bjorn held out a finger. ¡°Wait a second, let the poison do its work.¡±


    So they waited. First thirty seconds, then a minute. Then two. Once two and a half minutes passed Tommin grew impatient. ¡°Alright, I waited and nothing happened? What was supposed to happen?¡±


    ¡°That is probably good enough, try again.¡±


    This time Tommin went straight for snapping it over his knee. Only this time when he grasped the spider''s limb to try and reposition the dead carcass the normally tough carapace dissolved under Tommin¡¯s grasp. Almost as if it wasn¡¯t a hard substance at all.


    ¡°Well I''ll be. That stuff is amazing. How hard is it to make? Can we reproduce it? Can we make sure that all of our soldiers have some? Does Gram know that this is what you have been working on? Is that why he knows who you are?¡± The questions came so fast that Bjorn barely had time to register the questions before Tommin asked the next one.


    Raising his hand Bjorn stemmed the flow of the questions. ¡°Woah woah, calm down. It is rather hard to make and will take some time. Skarit is currently working on making more of this stuff so that it can be ready for our next battle. As to if Gram knows about it, not likely. But I suspect that Skarit will take some to Gram as soon as he is able to showcase the effects of the poison. And finally as to why Gram knows who we are is because we were the ones who first let the entire town of Blackrock Bay know about the spider threat.¡±


    ¡°Oh, well that makes sense. It is a shame that we can¡¯t likely outfit everyone with some of this poison. Very well, I have kept you long enough from your well deserved rest. Go drop your stuff off at the blacksmiths, take a bath and then enjoy your rest.¡± Tommin said the excitement somewhat dampened, but there was a seed of hope that could be seen behind his eyes that wasn¡¯t there before.


    Together the 5 friends made their way back to camp, passing several wagons piled high with snatcher spider corpses, as well as several teams of people carrying the wounded or dead. As soon as they made it back they dropped off their gear, took a nice long bath and then crumpled into their cots. It had, after all, been a long day. Even Meira, who had spent the majority of her time at the field hospital, laid down to sleep

 Chapter 43

    The next three days passed rather quickly. True to his word, Gram gave Tommin¡¯s unit a full 3 days of rest. Almost everyone took their time and used it as they willed. Even though they weren¡¯t allowed to leave the camp there were plenty of options to pass their time. In a war camp such as this not everything had to be centered around war.


    All throughout camp soldiers without orders would spend their time doing a bunch of various tasks. The main thing that most of the soldiers did was train. For the most part most of the army was untrained conscripts or volunteers. The average level of the army was most likely around 7 or 8 when they first started this war against the invading spiders; now it was likely closer to 13 or 14. The levels were great at covering a lot of the areas that they were lacking, but it was no true substitute for knowledge and skill with a weapon. After all, a level 1 person could still kill a level 80 dragon if they were lucky enough. They would have to be the luckiest bastard in the world, but it is still theoretically possible.


    Another thing that soldiers did to pass their time was play games. There were a bunch of various games that they would play. Two of the most common games involved a deck of cards, although the decks didn¡¯t look like anything that could be found on earth. The decks had 72 cards to the deck and a bunch of different symbols on them, none of the decks seemed to be near the normal 52 card standard playing card deck.


    There were also games of chance, those games involved sets of dice. As it turns out geometric shapes are pretty uniform across dimensions, as most of the dice were either 6, 8, or 10 sided dice. Though the 6 sided dice was the most common dice. One of the more popular dice games was actually one that Bjorn was familiar with, liars dice. The rules were the exact same and people really got into it, turns out with super-human level of stats it was both easier and harder to succeed in liar''s dice.


    They also liked to play board games, there were 3 common board games that almost everyone knew how to play. Oddly enough Bjorn knew two of the games. The first one was backgammon, the other was chess. Apparently the rules and set up for the games were so simple that they were created here as well. The last game though was similar to chess as it was played with a board and it had an equal number of pieces that each player controlled, but that was where the similarities ended. The board was a large octagon which was made up of hundreds of tiny hexagons. Each player controlled 30 different pieces that seemed to have their own rules as to how they could move and attack. It was also played with 4 people. If Bjorn was to relate the game to any game that he knew it would be an odd mix between chess, checkers, and warhammer.


    The last two major pastimes that the camp partook in was both eating and drinking. The only major downside to those pastimes was that food and drink were rationed out. Feeding an army of several thousand underground was an impressive feat of logistics, as the amount of food that could be transported down was limited. Especially when you start to think about the fact that more than food and drink needed to be brought down to supply the army. New clothes, fresh blankets, additional weapons, new people, and hundreds of other small necessities took up space as well.


    As to why drinking was limited, that should be fairly obvious. They always had to be at the ready just in case the spiders decided to do some sort of counter attack. You can¡¯t be sending drunk soldiers into battle, that is an easy way to get hundreds killed if not the whole army. In the early days of the conflict the spiders often did just that, they would attack and try to push back the force of humanoids with actually some success. But it seemed that as they drew closer and closer to the main lair of the spiders those attacks became less and less frequent.


    Most of Tommin¡¯s unit took part in all of the various activities that they had access to in camp. That is except for two, Bjorn and Meira. Alaric, Tayla, and Rickie all took two days off before they grew too stir crazy and had to do something. Tayla returned to her tasks given to her by Gram and gathered information throughout camp. Rickie and Alaric got bored and both spent the last day at the training grounds sparring with anyone that was either brave enough or stupid enough to challenge the two experienced fighters.


    The morning after the big fight Alaric had some big news that he wanted to share with everyone so he sat them down. As it turned out Alaric had actually gotten a profession as well. He was a professed knight, it came from his skill book usage before the last assault, and he actually had the profession before they went into battle. The skill book had allowed him to get his block skill well past the level 40 requirement for him to get his profession. For the time being he spent all of his talent points on passive talents which increased his blocking chance, and effectiveness of blocking.


    He did get a single active talent called reposition. Which when activated allowed him to dash 20 feet to a close by ally, the translation was almost instantaneous. After translation was finished Alaric would be in between his target and the attacker and his shield would already be in position to block the skill. The only downsides to the talent was that the target had to have an attack heading towards them and Alaric had to consciously decide to use the skill, and lastly that it had a rather long cooldown. But everyone agreed that his active talent was well worth the talent points.


    As for what Meira and Bjorn did was nothing exciting. Meira went back to the field hospital to help heal those who had been injured in the last conflict. She was making impressive progress in her healing magical abilities. So much so that one of the other healing mages decided to teach her two new spells. The first one was Cleanse Wound, the second was Summon Life Wisp.


    The first spell was rather self explanatory as it was used to cleanse any wound. Her spell weak slow heal was wonderful but it had some drawbacks. It basically increased the body''s natural healing by an impressive degree. The downside to that is that if a wound had any type of contamination in it the person''s body would almost naturally try to expel it. Making it so that the healing magic wouldn¡¯t be overly effective. There was also a decent chance that the body would just heal the skin over the wound sealing the contamination inside their body. Her new spell specialized in removing objects, poisons, and diseases that entered through the wound. This new spell was a force multiplier with her healing magic, making her a much more effective healer.


    The second spell was more of a combat spell. It did exactly what the name entailed, it summoned a life wisp. The wisp would stay around for 5 minutes before its life attuned energy would dissipate back to wherever it came from. While it was around though it was amazing. The life wisp could float into someone¡¯s body and it would constantly infuse its life-attuned energies into their body, giving them incredible healing while it inhabited them. It could be controlled by thought, and it had a slight will of its own. If not given direct command it will go to the nearest, most injured living creature and try to impart its life energy into them, friend or foe. It also had the ability to leave a body once inhabited making it so that the life wisp could spread its healing around as Meira or itself saw fit.


    As for what Bjorn did, there was little surprise to be found there. He spent the entire three days off that they had he spent the entire time doing alchemy. He and Skarit spent most of their time making the spider bane poison. The process was surprisingly difficult and time consuming to do, which is almost the entire reason why they didn¡¯t assign more alchemists to brewing the poison. The other reason was that the poison took some extremely valuable alchemy materials to make, they didn¡¯t want to chance a less skilled alchemist to fail brewing the poison and losing all the expensive materials. So there were only two other alchemists who were allowed to work on the poison other than Bjorn and Skarit.


    During the brewing process there were times where they had to keep an eye on reactions as they were happening, but not too closely. The other three alchemists would spend the time where they had to wait and observe helping the others with their tasks. Bjorn on the other hand decided it was time to do some light reading.


    Bjorn pulled out the book that he found in the bag of holding, the journal, and started to read. Over the course of the three days he read it front to back once, he was able to get through it all in one day as the book wasn¡¯t exceptionally long. After the first day he then went through the book slower trying to find and see if there was anything hidden or encoded inside the book that he missed the first time around. The book was exactly what he thought it was at first, it was a journal describing in detail how the settlement of Blackrock Bay came to be.


    At first it was just a small settlement, but with its position in the world and where two major rivers met the settlement quickly grew into a small city. From there it grew into a large trade hub. As the kingdom of Escar came to be and started unifying the surrounding cities Blackrock Bay grew as well. The prosperity of the kingdom overflowed to its neighbors. For a time Blackrock Bay was able to push off the yoke of Escar, but eventually it too failed to keep them out and became a part of the kingdom.


    As hard as he tried Bjorn wasn¡¯t able to find any sort of code or cipher inside the journal that gave him a clue where anything else might be hiding like what he found initially. So he gave up on the book and returned it to his bag of holding.


    On the morning of the 4th day Bjorn and the gang woke up relatively early and started to make their way to the command center. Tommin knew about their summons from Gram and so he promised he wouldn¡¯t make a fuss when they didn¡¯t show up for guard duty. He did ask them to show up once Gram was done talking to them, unless he gave them other orders.


    One thing that was slightly annoying about how Gram went about asking them to attend him this morning was that he gave absolutely no indication as to when he wanted them to show up. So their only choice was to show up and wait for Gram to ask for them. Mentally they all were prepared to spend a rather boring day sitting around waiting for Gram to get to them.


    As they approached the headquarters of camp they were met at the doors by a pair of guards, Bjorn recognized them, they were two from Gram¡¯s personal unit. As they drew nearer the guards stood more at attention, but instead of blocking them like they did to most of those trying to enter they didn¡¯t move to bar their path, nor did they say a word as the quintet moved past them and into the interior of the building.


    Inside the building there was a large open central area that was filled with all sorts of official looking officers and Gram standing in the middle of the group. Ringing around the outside of the headquarters there were dozens of doors all leading off to unknown areas. There were a few doors left open and glimpsing inside each of them looked to be some sort of office. Making it a safe bet that the rest of the doors led to an office.


    They came to a stop half way into the large room as one of the officials stopped them. ¡°Stop right there. How did you get in here? Do you have someone you are meeting?¡± The official said rather loudly.


    Bjorn nodded his head and spoke up. ¡°We are here to meet with Captain Gram. He asked us to be here.¡±


    The jumped up almost prissy looking official¡¯s face turned into one of disgust. ¡°As you can see Captain Gram is rather indisposed at the moment, you will have to come back later.¡± Once he finished speaking he turned his nose up slightly at the 5 people standing before him.


    ¡°I hate to break it to you.¡± Alaric started. Meira, who was worried as to what Alaric was about to say, put her hand over the dwarfs mouth. Rickie took up right here Alaric left off. ¡°Captain Gram specifically asked for us to meet him here today, right at this time. So unless he wants to change our meeting time we will not be going anywhere.¡± Rickie towered over the little weasel of a man.


    By now their conversation was starting to draw the attention of those closest to it.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you see that he is busy. He is running an army, he doesn''t have time for the likes of you.¡±


    Tayla was about to speak when Gram¡¯s deep voice cut through the room. ¡°I would like to think that I, and the good Duke Dornan, are the only two people who get to determine what I have time for.¡± He said to the official.


    As soon as Gram¡¯s voice cut through the room the man''s expression changed into one of determination and loyalty. The official turned around to meet Gram¡¯s intimidating gaze and bowed his head slightly. ¡°Of course Captain Gram.¡±


    ¡°You are dismissed. As for you guys, I have to finish up here and I will be right with you. Ustes, can you take them to my office please?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± Another official said as he hurried over to where Bjorn and company were standing. The first official they had talked to turned back around so that Gram couldn¡¯t see him. Once he was no longer facing the captain the previous look of disdain and disgust came over his face again. The arrogant prick started to leave the command center.


    ¡°Right this way if you will.¡± Ustes said, as he started to usher the group through the room. As they passed through many of the army officers and officials gave the group a through once over.


    Ustes got them into the room quickly. After they were all inside he promised the Gram would be with them shortly and then shut the door behind him as he walked away.


    ¡°Why did you stop me?¡± Alaric asked, giving Meira an accusatory look. ¡°That arrogant little shit deserved exactly what I was about to give him.¡±


    Meira gave Alaric an apologetic smile. ¡°You are right of course and I agree with you, he deserved every little thing that you were about to give to him. There is only a slight problem though. We don¡¯t know the political situation here and we have no idea who he was. We have no power here, so little in fact that we were press ganged into joining this little army. The last thing we need is to piss off someone who is in charge of his army or has influence in this city. We have stayed out of any political mess so far, I would like to keep it that way.¡±


    Alaric¡¯s shoulders slumped. ¡°You¡¯re right of course, as always. Thanks for stopping me, Meira.¡±


    Tayla put her hand on Alaric¡¯s shoulder in solidarity. ¡°It¡¯s alright. If you want me to, I can find out who he is and then drop something into his food tonight. Mind you nothing enough to hurt him, but just enough to make him have a terrible night.¡±


    Before Alaric had a chance to respond the door was rather roughly thrown open and the armoire with legs that Gram was crouched his way into the room. Once inside it had barely enough room for him to stand upright. Gram rather unceremoniously slammed the door shut behind him and made his way over to his rather impressive chair behind his desk and threw himself into it. The wood groaned under the weight but surprisingly held.


    The half centaur and half minotaur but full man took a deep breath and let out a deep sigh. He looked over to his guests. ¡°I hate aristocrats.¡±


    ¡°I get that. Why do you have to deal with them on a military expedition?¡± Tayla asked him.


    ¡°Unfortunately they do serve their purpose. I am sorry you had to deal with that jackass though. Thank you for taking his provocations graciously. Thankfully you shouldn¡¯t have to deal with them much if at all. As long as you stay off their shit list they have no reason to mess with you.¡±


    Alaric looked a little sheepish as Gram spoke. ¡°You have Meira to thank for that. She stopped me from doing exactly what you just warned me not to do.¡±


    Gram chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s alright, many have made that mistake, and countless others will after you. I just figured I could save you some pain in the meantime. As for the particular aristocrat that you had to deal with, his use is feeding me information in the middle of battle. One of his two talents gives him incredible vision and so we put him high up during the fight so he can see how the battle is going. He was the one who warned me about those massive spiders that you got sent to deal with.¡±


    ¡°Ah, even a giant pile of shit has its uses.¡± Bjorn said in a sagely tone. He and Gram held each other''s gazes for a few seconds before the entire room erupted in laughter.


    After everyone had calmed down Gram wiped a tear from one of his eyes. ¡°Thanks, it''s been a while since I have gotten a laugh like that. Anyways back on topic, I bet you are wondering as to why I asked for you to meet with me.¡±


    ¡°The thought crossed all of our minds over the last three days.¡± Bjorn agreed.


    ¡°I have actually been keeping tabs on the 5 of you. Your list of feats and accomplishments are growing quite long. I was wondering if you would be willing to join my personal unit and fight side by side with me in the next engagement. It should be our last one. If our maps are correct this next battle should be the last room that the spiders have infected. Which means we will have to take on the queen.¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Gram¡¯s offer took them all by surprise. They started to look around at each other kind of dumbfounded. On one hand this was quite the honor, being asked to join the best unit in the army by a long shot. On the other they would be the first into combat and they wouldn¡¯t be able to stop until the battle was won.


    ¡°What would happen to Corporal Tommin?¡± Alaric asked.


    ¡°We would have 5 people to replace you in his unit. He won¡¯t be going into battle 5 men short.¡± Gram stopped talking for a second as he thought. ¡°I am sorry that Corporal Jenkins did so poorly, he has done well for me over the years in the city guard. I had no idea that he was so incompetent.¡±


    ¡°What ever happened to him?¡± Rickie asked.


    ¡°He was demoted all the way back to private and then he was assigned a position in unit 5. As far as I know he is still alive. I was angry when I found out how he treated his men under his control and by extension you 5. Then to seal his deal, he went and got most of the men under his control killed as well as his peers. If he somehow makes it out of this next fight I will personally see to it that he never sees the light of day again.¡± Gram said that last part so matter of factly that it caused Bjorn to pause.


    Over their time traveling together they got pretty good at reading each others expressions, as for Rickie he was an open book, he was terrible at hiding his thoughts. Bjorn surveyed his travel companions and saw the exact same look on all of their faces, it was the same one on his. Grim determination and steadfastness.


    ¡°We appreciate your offer Captain Gram, but unfortunately we will have to decline. In that last battle several more people would have likely died if we weren¡¯t there to help stop the rampaging spiders. Tommin has been good to us and has gained our trust. We would not like to abandon him right before this last battle. Besides we have gained a few friends in our unit, we would like to keep them alive to the best of our abilities.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Gram asked. ¡°I knew you would be in the very front lines of the battle, but at the same time you will be in the safest place you could be. Duke Dornan will be with us, I have the best fighters under my control, and I can promise you that I will die before I let any harm befall you in the last battle.¡±


    Tayla shook her head. ¡°We are sure, this is war. There is no way you can guarantee our safety. We knew that as soon as we came down into this blasted cavern system. I have little doubt that if it came down to protecting us and protecting the Duke you would pick him.¡±


    ¡°We are some of the best fighters that Tommin has, he needs all of the help he can get. Our skills, abilities, and fighting prowess are better used elsewhere. We will have more of an impact helping protect those weaker than us than we would in your unit plowing through the spider horde.¡± Alaric said.


    ¡°All of your points are true. And I respect your choice. I was just hoping that I would be able to provide you guys a little extra protection going into this next fight. After all you have endured more at the hands of Blackrock Bay than anyone has the right to. I guess my offer was a way to try and apologize for how you have been treated while here.¡±


    ¡°And we thank you for that Gram.¡± Bjorn said. ¡°Even though we have some hard feelings for the city itself and those in charge, we don¡¯t blame the people, we understand that there are many good people here who are fighting for something they believe in. We feel like it is our duty to try and bring as many of them home as we can.¡±


    ¡°That is a very admirable position to hold. I suppose there is little use in me trying to ask you guys to stay behind once this is all over and help protect this city?¡±


    Alaric let out a mocking laugh. ¡°Ha, fat chance at that.¡±


    Meira shot him a scathing look. ¡°As my friend quite rudely pointed out, there is little chance. You have said so yourself that we have endured more than most because of this city. Once this is over and our mandatory cooperation is over we will be moving along.¡±


    Nodded for a moment, then his face said that he had an idea. ¡°You know I do have the power to send anyone back to the surface that I want to. If the 5 of you want I can get you discharged and let you leave the city.¡±


    This time no nonverbal conversation was needed. ¡°We appreciate the offer, but as we previously stated we have people we would like to see through this. Thank you but we will stay.¡± Rickie said without hesitation, and everyone else was in agreement.


    ¡°That''s what I thought, but I figured I would offer.¡± Gram sighed. ¡°Unfortunately I do have somewhere I need to be. I will leave you with this final bit of information though. In 4 days we will assault the final spider stronghold. I would rather it be tomorrow but with Bjorn here and Skarit brewing a poison that works wonders on the spiders we decided to hold off and let them brew double the stock. The attack will be announced tomorrow morning, I figure you knowing a day in advance won¡¯t hurt anyone.¡± Gram finished with a little wink. He then moved to stand from his seated position.


    ¡°Actually I have something for you.¡± Bjorn said. This got him a quizzical look from all in attendance. Bjorn stepped forward to Grams desk and pulled the small journal that he had spent the last 3 days reading from his bag of holding. He placed the book down on the desk in front of Gram.


    The man looked down at the book and gently took it in one of his massive hands. ¡°Oh? And what is this?¡±


    ¡°Almost a week ago when we attacked the underground town and then had to spend the rest of the day clearing out the spiders I found this book. It was tucked away in a corner in one of the houses we cleared out of curiosity. I took the book. It was the last one on the shelf that hadn¡¯t rotted away, that was what drew my attention to it.¡± Bjorn lied. ¡°I spent the last three days reading it, and it seemed to be a journal that was written by one of the founders of Blackrock bay. It seems to detail the struggles they had in founding this city and then growing it into what it is today. I figured it would be good in your hands, and that Duke Dornan would want to see it and read its contents.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see.¡± The monster of a man used his other hand to gingerly leaf through the book that looked like a child''s book in his hands. ¡°Thank you, during your reading did you find anything that could be useful inside its pages?¡±


    Bjorn shook his head. ¡°No, I read it fully once and then started to read it slower and scrutinized it. I didn¡¯t find anything inside that would be of use in our fight in 4 days.¡±


    Gram nodded. ¡°No big deal. Thank you for handing this over, I think you are right, Duke Dornan would like to get his hands on this and read it thoroughly.¡± Gram moved to stand once again and stopped sitting back down. He took out a quill and paper and quickly jotted down on the note. Standing back up he handed the note to Bjorn. ¡°Give this to Tommin, it will give you free reign to do as you will until the attack. I have a feeling that you will want to spend the next few days doing alchemy with Skarit, so this will give you the freedom to do so.¡±


    Bjorn took the slip from Gram¡¯s hands and they were able to understand a dismissal when they heard it. The quartet left Gram¡¯s office and into the large open room again. This time there were few people in the room. Most of the crowd that had been there had vacated the premises. The group made their way out into the main camp once again. They had to report for their assigned guard duty.


    Together the 5 walked in near silence only light talking as they made their way to their assigned post. It didn¡¯t take them long to make it to the underground city and then to where the rest of their unit was stationed.


    When Tommin saw them coming he stepped forward and raised his hand. ¡°How did your meeting go? Are you in trouble?¡± There was a look on Tommin¡¯s face that Bjorn couldn¡¯t quite pinpoint.


    Rickie laughed. ¡°No, we aren¡¯t in trouble. It went well. Gram offered us a position in his own personal unit.¡±


    That was when Bjorn figured out what that look meant. He was worried that something like this would happen. When Rickie said the words Tommin was fearing his face fell. ¡°I suppose you are here to let us know that you will no longer be a part of our unit.¡± He schooled his expression, plastering one of resolution on his face. ¡°It has been an honor to have you under my command, we wish you luck under Gram¡¯s command.¡±


    ¡°No, we are here to report for guard duty.¡± Alaric said. ¡°The last time I checked my unit was assigned this post at this time.¡±


    The faces of their unit lit up. By this time the quintet were quite popular among the rest of the unit. It was more than just their fighting skills. Rickie¡¯s strength and simple straightforward attitude, Alaric¡¯s steadfastness and scathing tongue, Meira¡¯s kindness and compassion, Tayla¡¯s quick wit and sharp eyes, and Bjorn¡¯s good nature and resolve. They each had traits that everyone had come to like, even in some cases revere.


    Unbeknownst to the 5 friends the entire unit were afraid what the meeting with Gram would entails. Most believed that whatever happened the quintet would be leaving their unit. With the admission that they would not leave the unit many of the faces gathered before them lit up with elation.


    ¡°I am glad that you decided to turn him down, for personal reasons. I know I will feel better with you 5 going into battle by my side.¡± Tommin said. ¡°But why would you do such a thing? It would be an honor to work directly under Gram.¡±


    ¡°That is simple.¡± Bjorn said. ¡°As hard as it is to believe we have grown fond of a few of you fuckers, and we want to see as many of you make it through this attack as we can.¡±


    This declaration brought a new round of smiles and cheers. The group dispersed slowly melding into the group of 95. The new soldiers stood towards the back clear confusion as to why the rest of the unit was so happy about this development.


    After a few minutes of well wishes Bjorn extracted himself from the crowd and made his way over to where Tommin was standing. He handed over the sheet of paper from Gram, and explained the situation. Tommin was quite understandably nonplussed. He said ¡°Good go make more of that spider poison, venom, thing.¡±


    Bjorn took his leave and made his way over to the alchemy station, storing all of his gear and armor in his bag of holding well on his way. He then spent the remainder of that day brewing Spider Bain Poison with Skarit.


    By midday Skarit excused himself so that he could go get some sleep. By now both he and Bjorn had the recipe for the Spider Bane Poison down by heart. Instead of them on the same rough schedule Skarit decided it was better for them to sleep in shifts. That way at least one of them was around to brew, direct the less accomplished alchemists who were helping, and hopefully they would never stop during the process of brewing.


    Towards evening just when Bjorn was starting to get tired Skarit came back and took over for him. Bjorn quickly made his way back to the shared tent and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.


    The next day was much the same. When Bjorn showed up he and Skarit brewed together for a while before the runic stopped and went to bed. 16 hours later Skarit came back and Bjorn took his break. It was basically the exact same type of day he had previously.


    There were two things that happened that were different. The first thing was around noon the army was informed on their impending attack and the camp became a flurry of activity. Even though everyone was expected to keep their gear in tip top shape, everyone had some sort of last minute preparation that they needed to do before the final battle. Spirits were high with the expectation that the last battle was finally drawing near.


    The second thing that was different about that day happened after Bjorn got off his shift brewing and headed back to the shared tent. As he drew nearer to the tent he was none the wiser to anything going on. Once he reached the tent he was faintly able to hear the sound of skin slapping on skin. He didn¡¯t think much of it, as he wasn¡¯t able to pinpoint the source of the sound and it didn¡¯t matter much to him.


    By now he was extremely familiar with the sound, he had heard it coming from Tayla¡¯s room often enough over the last year. He didn¡¯t begrudge anyone in camp who was trying to get some final action in before the last fight. Ultimately it was good for morale and keeping the peace in camp.


    What did surprise Bjorn was what greeted him when he opened the flap of the tent and walked in. Before him in full view was Tayla¡¯s ample bare chest bouncing up and down and she rode a guy. In his exhausted state with his mental energy drained after a day of alchemy instead of turning around and immediately leaving he stood there transfixed for a few seconds. There was little doubt as to who Tayla was sleeping with, as the large frame, bulging muscles, and chocolate dark skin very easily identified the man as Rickie.


    Upon hearing the rustling from the entrance to the tent Tayla turned around and made eye contact with Bjorn. She did not even slow down whatsoever upon being caught in the act. Instead she actually accelerated the pace. ¡°Oh, hey Bjorn. I didn¡¯t expect you to be back so soon. If you want you can join. After all, I still have two holes that aren¡¯t in use currently.¡± To emphasize her point Tayla moved her tail exposing her butthole, and she stuck out her tongue leaving her mouth wide open.


    As the words that Tayla used sunk into Bjorn¡¯s mind a small line of drool dripped off the end of her tongue and landed on her gyrating ass. ¡°Um, no. Sorry.¡± Was all Bjorn was able to get out before he fled from the tent. Now that he knew exactly where the sound was coming from, Bjorn left their area.


    Bjorn slowly made his way through camp trying to distract his mind, but no matter what he tried to do he couldn¡¯t get the image out of his head. Instead of wandering aimlessly he ended up in the mess and sat down with his food and slowly picked at it for hours growing more and more tired. All the while the sound just played over and over in his head.


    After two hours he figured they must be done and made his way tentatively back to their shared tent. As he drew near the sounds that were in his head were no longer just in his head. With a shudder he took a seat at the table right outside and sat there listening to the activities inside the tent.


    There was a lot to be said about his current mental state that he didn¡¯t immediately think of the solution to the sound. But after 10 minutes of listening to both skin slapping skin and Tayla¡¯s moans of pleasure the solution finally came to him. Standing up from his seat Bjorn walked to one of the corners of their tent and started casting his new spell, Silence.


    He quickly summoned forth the feeling of mana condensing that he had grown so accustomed to over the last two years in the Eld. This time the feeling was different, each time he had summoned forth the mana to cast a spell he would get a different sensation, on top of the different colors that each spell school summoned. With his light magic his surroundings would become a little sharper, with dark a little dimmer, with earth magic he felt as if a weight was pushing down on him, with his water magic a sense of coolness permeated his entire body. This time it felt as if he was listening to an excessively loud song and the subwoofer hit. He felt as if a pulse of loud and deep sound hit him. This time on top of the different feeling he also saw a pale green light emanate from his hand.


    This spell also felt different by the way that the mana flowed through his body. Normally when he cast his spells he would feel the mana condense on his outstretched arm and flow out of him and into the world around him causing the different effects. When he channeled spells he would feel the mana continually condense and seep out of his body in a torrent from his focal point. When he stopped the channel he felt the mana flow stop and start to spread throughout his body once again.


    Instead this time he felt the mana condense in his fingertip just as normal, and the mana left his body as normal. But where it differed was when he finished the first casting of the spell he felt the same density of mana condense in the tip of his finger once again and he felt the rest of his mana flow throughout his body as if it was in an agitated state.


    When the spell said that it left a small invisible post behind it wasn¡¯t being entirely truthful. After the spell had been cast a small almost imperceivably distortion left his body, floated forward a foot and then stopped. The small distortion then grew taller and thinner making it near impossible to see.


    Thinking about the feeling of the flow of his mana, Bjorn walked over to the next corner of the tent and cast the spell once again. And again he got the same feeling of mana leaving his body and then the mana re-condensing in his finger tip. He repeated the process two more times. On the fourth and final casting of the silence spell the feeling finally dissipated and his mana returned to normal.


    The spell did exactly what it said it would do. Finally after 10 minutes of listening to the sound of Rickie and Tayla there was blessed silence. Bjorn made his way back over to the small table and took a seat. Very quickly he grew tired and he put his feet on the table and leaned back in the wooden chair, and fell asleep.


    He woke up an hour later. When he opened his eyes he saw Tayla standing over him with her shirt clutched in her arm trying to cover her breasts. It was an exercise in futility as the shirt hung away from her body and one of her breasts was still exposed. ¡°I said, what did you do?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Also just put your damn shirt on, I can still see your boob.¡±


    Tayla gave Bjorn a knowing smile and stood back up, making a show of slowly putting her shirt back on. ¡°There is something covering the entrance to the tent, and no sound is able to pass through it. When I was standing outside I couldn¡¯t hear Rickie talking to me, but he could still hear me. What did you do?¡±


    That was the first time he noticed Rickie standing in the mouth of the tent, thankfully he was in his normal state of half undress, but all the important parts were covered. ¡°I got a new spell called silence that does exactly what it sounds like. I got tired to listening to you and Rickie fuck so I cast the spell so I didn¡¯t have to listen.¡±


    Tayla stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to listen, you could have joined.¡± She said teasingly.


    ¡°Fat chance of that.¡± Bjorn shot right back.


    ¡°Anyways, that is an awesome spell. Next time we do this we should hunt you down to cast it for us.¡±


    ¡°Tayla. I am not going to let you hunt me down to use me to silence your little sex sessions. Anyways leave me alone, I am tired and need rest. Go take a bath, you reek of sex.¡± Bjorn stood from his seat and pushed past Rickie, who let him pass.


    ¡°Sorry you had to see that bud. She was being honest, we didn''t expect anyone back for a while.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it.¡± Bjorn made it to his bed and laid down. ¡°Oh by the way you too should go take a bath, you also reek of sex.¡±


    From there Bjorn closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.


    The last two days before their final assault passed without further incident. The total count of doses of the poison that he and Skarit were able to brew were 131 doses. All but 3 vials made their way to Gram so he could divvy it up however he saw fit. Those last 3 vials made their way into Bjorn¡¯s bag of holding under Skarit¡¯s advice. The runic said that since Bjorn was the one to come up with the idea he should be well prepared for the upcoming battle.


    Finally on the eve of battle Skarit told Bjorn to go back to his tent and get a good night''s rest before they left to fight. Taking Skarit up on his wisdom Bjorn made his way back to the tent, where he found all 4 of his companions sitting inside talking.


    Over the last two days the camp was filled with two emotions, elation that this was finally going to come to an end, and fear for what the fight will hold. Both emotions ran high as the days passed. Each passing day one began to grow while the other slowly faded into the background. By the time he was walking through camp that last evening the sense of fear was almost palpable.


    Not inside their tent though. The mood was jovial and the night was spent talking, joking, and stories. After several hours they settled down for the night.


    The final fight had finally come

 Chapter 44

    It was several hours after they all awoke that the friend group found themselves standing in formation with hundreds of others. For this final engagement the army had been split nearly in half. Each half of the army was stationed at one of the two entrances into the spider''s domain. This side consisted of some of the stronger units the army had, while the other side had Gram and his unit, which in this fight included Duke Dornan.


    Silence was heavy in the field as everyone stood ready to fight and maybe die for their home. It wasn¡¯t the silence of fear, or even the silence of worry. This silence was one of resolute determination that no matter what they faced today the spiders would be wiped out by the end of the day.


    Tommin¡¯s unit was stationed near the middle of the pack once again. And once again their orders were to help out wherever they were needed the most.


    The space they occupied was barely wide enough to fit the unit if they stood 20 people wide and 5 ranks deep. Bjorn stood shoulder to shoulder with Meira on one side and Tayla on the other. Alaric and Rickie were positioned forward in their unit''s formation. The job would be to help protect the more vulnerable ranged units further back in the unit, as well as to help hold the front line of their unit.


    A warm hand slipped into his from his right side as he stood at attention. It was Meira. Bjorn snuck a quick glance at her face and he saw no fear or worry on it. She stood there stoically. Her hand told a different story though. Within his grasp Bjorn could feel her hand was cold, clammy, sweaty, and trembling. To help reassure her he gave it a reassuring squeeze. When he did so he felt the trembling lessen a bit, and he saw her posture relax a bit out of the corner of his eye.


    What surprised him was that on the other side Tayla also slipped her hand into his. Her hand was steady, and radiated a pleasant heat. Just as he had done for Meira, Tayla gave Bjorn¡¯s hand a reassuring squeeze.


    There was a world of communication that happened between the three of them with those two simple squeezes. And through that communication he helped settle all of their nerves. Through it all it helped remind each of them that they weren¡¯t alone, and no matter what happened they would face this fight together.


    It was half an hour past midday when the order came through that it was time to move out. So slowly they started to creep forward. There were two mages that were attached to each army that had access to a spell called whisper. It was a powerful spell that could be used for communication over great distances.


    The way that the spell worked was the two mages had to link their arms and both cast the spell at the same time. Once that was complete they were now linked and could talk to each other through a soft whisper as long as they remained less than a mile away from each other. It seemed to work regardless of what lay between the linked people. Once they became even an inch over a mile away from each other the link would break and they would have to meet back up to recast the spell. They were not able to tell how far away from one another they were though, so it was difficult to gauge that distance. The link lasted for 2 hours.


    That link was what they were waiting for, once both mages had cast the spell and were situated with the different armies they were able to communicate Gram¡¯s orders to the second army.


    Not trusting the spiders whatsoever they made their way forward slowly. At the front of each army there was a professed ranger whose entire purpose was to spot any sort of trap or ambush the spiders had set up to attempt to stop the advance of the armies. Their heightened perception and sharper vision made them the perfect people for the job at hand. They were taking no chances as they slowly made their way forward through the tunnel.


    Each time they came across a trap they would communicate back and the army would stop, and retreat around 30 to 40 feet. Then someone who specialized in trap disarming would come forward and set about making the tunnel safe to traverse again. Each time the ranger would spot a trap they would also communicate to the mage, who would then communicate to the other army that their advancement was slowed because of a trap. Then the second army would stop in their tracks and prepare for an ambush while the other army cleared their way. Once the all clear was called the progress would start once again.


    That is why it took several hours for the army to travel a little less than a quarter mile, each tunnel had been riddled with spider traps. Regardless, the army pushed onwards, wanting to put an end to this conflict.


    Underneath Blackrock bay they had built an extensive sewer system that continued to grow as places had outlived their usefulness and new areas were dug and built. Underneath the sewer system was a rather extensive system of underground caves. So when they first came down here to fight the spiders it was in the sewer system. By now they had made it to the underground caves. Their camp was in one such cave.


    This made the tunnels in between the caves unpredictable. They were not the neatly cut smooth faced walls that had made up the sewer system. These tunnels also grew and shrunk with size as they made their way forward. After the quarter mile the tunnel they had to travel down was close to 5 yards across, where for the most part it was close to 15. The way forward also continued to shrink going from 5 yards to 6 feet.


    To be included with the different widths of the rooms the heights also varied widely. Sometimes the ceilings were well over 20 feet above their heads, and in other parts the ceilings were less than 8 feet up.


    It was because of these variations that the ranger had failed to see the first ambush. Hidden in one of the tall narrow sections was a group of spiders. Once a number of the force had made it through that part they dropped down in the middle of their ranks causing chaos as their fangs clamped down on the necks and heads of unsuspecting soldiers.


    In a matter of seconds several of their army died as the spider''s natural venom did its work quickly eating away at the bone in the surrounding area they bit. It would have spread further if not for the quick reactions of those around the attack. After weeks of battle their reaction times had been honed and they quickly snapped into action. The 10 spiders that dropped among them quickly lost their lives. But not before they claimed a dozen lives. It marked the first time since they started this war that the spiders had killed more humanoids than they had lost.


    Gram had decided to not take any chances today. He left behind only those who would be mostly useless in this fight, that amounted to roughly 50 people who were tasked to stop any spiders from attacking the camp. Of the 1600 remaining troops 800 had been stationed in each army. Although it was a sizable force, there was no telling what they would face when they found the final lair. As such each lost life decreased their chances at winning this battle.


    Still even with the 12 that were killed they still had to press on. Attendants were quickly brought up and they cleared away both the dead humanoids and the spiders. After which they pressed on, this time everyone was a little more mindful of the ceiling and walls around them. The entire cave was riddled with stalagmites and stalactites, obscuring vision around some corners, each time they came across a corner they weren¡¯t able to fully see they would stop and search it fully before continuing. That is how they found two more ambushes that were failures.


    It was another hour before the tunnel narrowed enough that only two people would be able to cross at once. The tunnel looked like it narrowed for only a few feet before widening out. On the other side they were able to see thick strands of spider web.


    Once they found their entrance to the tunnel they stood there waiting for Gram¡¯s army to make it into position. It was unnerving standing there, knowing that they were likely not even a hundred feet from hundreds if not thousands of spiders, and it being quiet. They stood there for over 15 minutes while waiting for the go ahead by Gram, and during that waiting period there was no sign whatsoever of any spider.


    After the all clear was given the ranger brought out a specially made arrow and sighted down the shaft, he pulled the string back and let loose. As the arrow left the bow the tip of the arrow sparked to life, igniting the tip and bright flames started to lick the air as it flew through the air. The arrow shot into the room illuminating the other side.


    The darkness quickly parted as the flaming arrow caught the thick webbing on fire as it flew forward. It was the straw that broke the camel''s back. The phrase, the calm before the storm, was never more true than it was today.  The calm had well and truly been broken as on the other side hundreds of spiders all flew into action. It was almost impossible to tell exactly what was happening as the spiders did several different things all at once. Between moving to cut away the burning web, and moving eggs away, and moving towards the attackers, it was almost mesmerizing seeing hundreds of spiders crawling over each other to accomplish their task.


    The call to move forward also came through not a second later, and people began to filter into the bottleneck to try and get into the fight. It was slow going as 800 people tried to funnel down into the opening that was wide enough to only let two people through all at once. Luckily it wasn¡¯t as slow as it could have been, for a few reasons. One of those reasons was the gradual sloping on this side of the bottleneck, it caused most of the humanoids to be in a position where they would naturally be 2 wide anyways. The second reason was the opening on the other side. Once through the opening, it opened up into a massive underground cavern, making it so that they wouldn¡¯t bunch up at the entrance to the cavern.


    They very quickly established a foothold, and continued to grow that foothold. Quickly making room for more of the army to funnel through. This tactically was a double edged sword. It allowed them to deploy their forces rather quickly, but in the case of a retreat would almost slow down their retreat. Making a retreat likely cost them hundreds of lives, if not all 800 of their ranks.


    When Bjorn made it through with Meira and Tayla he got a good view of the cavern they were fighting in. It had massive vaulted ceilings almost a hundred of feet above their heads. By this time one of the mages from Gram¡¯s unit who specialized in light magic had cast a spell and a large orb floated above their heads in the middle of the room illuminating the entire cave. And the sight brought chills to Bjorn¡¯s spine.


    Hundreds of spiders were crawling through the webs above their heads, making them have to fight in two different areas. There were those scuttling towards them over the ground, but then the ones who were crawling along the webs to get at the humanoids as well. It would be ultimately very difficult to defend.


    To further complicate the matter of their fight, the second cave entrance came out on a natural walkway that had worn into the side of the cave slowly sloping down to the cavern floor. This opened Gram¡¯s army up to a third avenue of attack, below them. The walkway jutted out a good 20 feet into the cavern and the edge of the walkway was rounded, where the stone sloped back and met up with the wall.


    The spiders were taking full advantage of their avenues of attack. They were hammering Gram¡¯s army from the front, the side, the top, and from below. Countless spiders were clinging to the under hang waiting for a chance to reach up and grab ahold of someone to pull them down into the webs or let them plummet to their deaths. Occasionally a web would shoot out from above grabbing ahold of someone, if their neighbors weren¡¯t fast enough they would be pulled from their ranks and up into the mass of spiders.


    After Tommin¡¯s full unit made it through fully he made a decision. He very quickly and effectively broke his front line soldiers into two different sized groups. The larger one had around 2/3rds of his melee warriors, those he sent to help reinforce the units that came through first. The smaller force was tasked with defending their ranged fighters. He then ordered his ranged fighters to turn and attack the walkway below Gram¡¯s army. His goal was to weaken or lessen the impact they were having on the other half of their forces.


    Luckily for Bjorn he was able to restock on arrows before this battle. With the magical properties of his bag he was able to store hundreds of the blunt tipped arrows that were effective against the spiders. Making him a walking supply depo. He ended up carrying the extra arrows for all of the bow and crossbow fighters for his unit, of which there were 16 of them.


    They all gathered around where Bjorn was standing and he pulled out a bundle of arrows and one of bolts. Each bundle held at least 100 arrows, he set them on the ground and them retrieved his own bow. He then sighted at the spiders and began to pepper the wall with arrows. Volley after volley of arrows and bolts streaked away from their force and slammed into the walls where the spiders were harassing Gram¡¯s army. Soon other units began to join in on the carnage though only half of them did. The other half of the ranged fighters kept sending arrows up and into the spiders that were above their heads as they tried to close in and drop down in the midst of the fight.


    Tommin¡¯s call of splitting his melee fighters into two units ended up being the right call. It freed up the ranged fighters to deal with the spiders on the wall with no worry. Spiders kept dropping in the midst of the army. Each time they would drop in where the ranged fighters were it would disrupt their ability to attack, or even get them killed. Not Tommin¡¯s though. Each time a spider would drop in on the ranged fighters the melee fighters would fall upon that spider and quickly dispatch it. Or when one of the spiders fell from the ceiling dead the shield bearers would protect the ranged fighters with their shields. Each time a dead spider fell upon the army it also wreaked havoc just as much as a live one, as the spiders weighed somewhere between 40 and 100 lbs. The dead spiders were almost as deadly as the live ones were.


    With the numbers of spiders below Gram¡¯s army thinning, the pressure on them lessened just enough for them to be able to move forward again. Until then they had been stopped in their tracks, else they would start to lose entirely too many of their fighters, also furthering their potential failure in this battle. As the ledge came closer to the floor the under hang became less and less prominent making it harder and harder for the spiders to hide underneath and attack up into the army. Each step that they took forward pushed them that much closer to safety.


    By this time the army that Tommin¡¯s unit was a part of had established a decent foothold in the room, and was pushing forward. They had managed to get all of their fighters into the final chamber, even though it had taken a while to get everyone in, they now went on the offensive. They slowly and methodically began to push forward towards the overhang so that they could link up with Gram¡¯s army and together they could push towards the queen.


    With the room being almost diamond with round edges in shape the army had to push a way to meet up with Gram¡¯s army, they basically would end up on opposite sides of the oval once Gram¡¯s army made it to the ground floor. But with them coming out almost even with the other army they were able to support each other. Once the spiders were cleared from directly underneath the back of the army its ranged fighters began raining deadly projectiles down on the spiders attacking the army Bjorn and company were part of.


    Tommin¡¯s unit ended up sweeping along the edge of the cavern directly underneath the overhang the other army was making their way under. Alaric and Rickie were in the frontlines helping protect those around them with their pure battlefield presence. Meira was right behind them helping out with her spells, with her spells range she wasn¡¯t as long range of a fighter as Bjorn was with his bow, so she had to move with the rest of the unit. As for Tayla, she was a part of the force protecting Bjorn and the rest of their ranged fighters.


    Before the battle Tommin had formed his war party once again and invited Bjorn. After he split his unit in two he had given command of the second force to Bjorn, he was the only one left behind who was a part of Tommin¡¯s war party. Which made it so that he was the only one who could hear Tommin¡¯s commands and make sure they were executed. ¡°Move forward with the rest of the army and make sure that you don¡¯t stop hitting the spiders underneath Gram¡¯s feet.¡± He communicated with Bjorn.


    Following the order Bjorn¡¯s group slowly pushed their way forward with the rest of the army, never once stopping their attack against the other wall. Gram¡¯s army had descended roughly halfway to the ground level by now. The leading edge of his army was a good distance ahead of the ground the other army had managed to secure.


    They were finally making some good progress when the spiders showed their next trick. The large form of the spider warriors came lumbering out of where the spiders seemed to be coming from. Over a dozen began crawling over the ground heading for the army on the ground. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Upon seeing the hulking forms of the spiders the army stopped in its tracks. The order came down from Gram to hold position and brace for impact. From his vantage point he could easily see the large spiders scuttling across the ground heading for the second army. Almost as one the army stopped their advance forward and braced for the impact. The Eld lacked many things that Earth had, but there were plenty of things that were better than what earth had. Their battle communication and coordination was one thing that was substantially better.


    They held position, attacking the smaller spiders as collectively they held their breaths, waiting for the hammer to drop. A few seconds later the hammer fully dropped as the 12 massive spiders slammed into the ranks of the army. This time they were better prepared for the onslaught than they were when they first encountered the massive spiders. As such the impact that they had on the army was significantly less than it had been the first time. It was still hard to stop such a massive creature, but they didn¡¯t rampage through the ranks like they did the first time. It was hard to tell if they were just being smarter or if they were struggling to make it through the ranks but this time only one had made it through the line.


    That one spider ended up making it through right where Tommin¡¯s unit was situated. Of the 12, 2 of them were in line with Tommin¡¯s unit. The spiders seemed to concentrate the massive spiders on one side of the attack. All 12 were attacking the left side of the army''s line. With the two attacking the front line of Tommin¡¯s unit and the one that made it through they were hard pressed once again.


    Once again Tommin made a snap decision which would save their hides. He ordered Alaric, Rickie, and Meira to try and distract that one massive spider while they tried to handle the other two.


    Without hesitation Rickie and Alaric withdrew from the frontlines and started to run after the massive spider, their motions almost in sync, if not for the height difference. The front line filled in the gaps that Alaric and Rickie¡¯s presence left. Meira was within her spells effective range, but not close enough for the spider to attack her, so she struck first. An arc of lightning shot out of her hand and slammed into the side of the spider, causing it to collapse. In the last battle she had leveled up once again which gave her more talent points to spend. She had picked up a passive talent which increased the chance of the status effects of her spells to trigger.


    While the spider was stunned Alaric and Rickie fell upon it with reckless abandon, slamming their weapons over and over again into the spider to try and do as much damage before it recovered. After it did they stepped back and took up a more defensive stance to try and distract the spider, which they were able to do. Their only real goal was to make sure the spider didn¡¯t turn its attacks on the backside of the army, in the situation they were in, it would have likely been the end of their attack.


    Even though their attacks seemed reckless and without thought, even in a moment of rage they didn¡¯t let themselves fully go. Their attacks had been to the legs on the right side of the spider severing two of them where the leg met the carapace. Their goal was to hopefully hinder the spider''s movements when it did manage to recover. Their plan paid off, for when the spider recovered its speed was severely reduced with two of its limbs on the same side missing.


    That unspoken decision that they made paid dividends throughout the fight. Each time the spider wanted to make a lunging attack it had to almost telegraph its intention by stabilizing itself on its two legs awkwardly before lunging forward. It didn¡¯t take long for them to be able to read the body language of the spider as it tried to attack. Their severing of the two legs also limited the spider''s ability to attack with its remaining legs. It wasn¡¯t able to use its right legs at all as it needed its two on that side to balance. So it had to use only its front leg on the left side. By the way that the spider moves it needed its remaining three on the left to remain on its feet as well.


    Everything was going so well. It looked like the three of them would be able to easily take down the spider. There was only one hiccup in the fight. When the spider lunged forward trying to hit Alaric he dodged backwards. What he didn¡¯t see was the rock behind him and his foot got caught. Alaric went sprawling as the spider finished its lunge. It didn¡¯t manage to hit him with the lunge, but it didn¡¯t miss with the follow-up.


    The spider used its considerable weight to fall on top of Alaric. It managed to pin his right arm with one of its legs and it brought its mouth down trying to bite Alaric¡¯s head off. Alaric threw his left arm up, the one with his expensive shield attached to it, trying to get it between the spider''s mouth and his head. It worked, but with mixed results. He managed to get his arm in the way, but he wasn¡¯t able to get the shield side of the shield to face the spider. This put his hand right in the way of the spider''s mouth.


    With a crunch the spider bit down on Alaric¡¯s hand, very easily going right through the thick muscle and bone underneath. With a yell of pain Alaric tried to push the spider off, but with the size and weight of the beast it was almost impossible. On top of the size and weight the mandibles of the spider sank into the wood on either side of the shield. One of the fangs managed to puncture his arm while on its way to the wood.


    In a moment Rickie was there and he triggered his lunge talent. He and his heavy two handed sword shot forward towards the spider. The tip of the sword pierced one of its eight eyes and continued forward through the back of its head and straight into the brain, killing it instantly.


    With a mighty heave Alaric freed himself from the fangs of the spider before its corpse fell to the ground pinning him. He was able to fully extract himself, well fully except for his hand. In the place where his hand used to be sat a stump which was spurting blood. Alaric immediately dropped his magical weapon and grabbed a hold of his shirt underneath his armor. With a tug he ripped a section of cloth off of his shirt and wrapped his stump in it.


    Meira rushed over to Alaric after she saw him free himself from the spider. As she ran she couldn¡¯t see exactly what was happening as Alaric¡¯s back was to her. What she could see was blood spurting from somewhere on Alaric¡¯s body. When she got to him she could see the blood soaked temporary bandage that he used to cover his hand.


    Grabbing a hold of the bandage she pulled it away from his skin. Trusting his friend Alaric let it go. As soon as the bandage was clear Meira began casting healing spell after healing spell focusing on Alaric trying to hopefully stop the bleeding. Slowly but steadily the wound began to heal over and new skin began to grow and cover the bleeding stump. The wound on the arm healed up quickly.


    Bjorn and Tayla were unaware of all of this happening while he continued to rain his deadly arrows down on the spiders. As soon as the massive spiders joined the fray Bjorn ordered his unit to move towards the area that was being attacked, this order was independent of anything Tommin had ordered. The moment the large spiders came within range of his arrows Bjorn switched his targets from the ones on the overhang to the 9 feet tall spiders.


    They towered over the army that they were attacking making them easy targets. As soon as he switched targets Bjorn also switched his ammunition. He switched from the normal heavy, blunt tipped arrows to the ones that he prepared with his vials of poison. He began to rain poisoned death down on the massive spiders, each time one of his arrows struck it did more damage than it should have. The poison working its magic would make the arrow sink deeper than it should have, or part the carapace. In one particular instance he hit a spider near where one of its legs attached and after a few seconds the limb broke free as the carapace was no longer able to withstand the weight it bore.


    With all of the advantages the spiders had in this combat the humanoids also had their advantages. With them pulling out all of the stops they brought all of their tools to bear. Over the course of this entire campaign Gram had made the decision to not give out their entire stock of potions that the alchemists brew. 2 in every 3 potions that were brewed ended up going to the army to help keep them alive, the last potion went into a stockpile. He knew that this last battle would be intense so he was preparing for it. By the time this battle came around they had stockpiled nearly enough health potions for everyone to have one. Of the 1600 soldiers who went into battle 1200 of them had a health potion.


    The next advantage that the humanoids had over the spiders was of course their gear. With Blackrock Bay being a major trade hub they had plenty of money that they could use to outfit the army. At the start of the fight against the spiders everyone had some form of leather armor with a portion having a set of heavy metal armor which was significantly better at protecting against the spider''s claws and fangs. By the last engagement most everyone was decked out in that heavy metal armor. Duke Dornan did a good job with managing the coffers and hadn¡¯t used his influence and money to make himself rich. He had spent years stockpiling for this exact type of eventuality. He had stockpiled magical gear that could be used to fight back and empower his citizens to help defend their home. As soon as this war started he opened up the treasury and started to divvy up the magical gear to anyone who could use it.


    Their ability to coordinate and communicate rapidly made them move as a unit. Making it so that they were able to take on this numerically superior opponent with considerably less casualties. All of that communication was the effect of skills. That was something that Bjorn learned that humanoids had the advantage over the more monstrous creatures. While they get skills and abilities most monstrous creatures don¡¯t get that. Their own natural weapons that they had gave them more than enough advantages to survive in such a brutal world. Something most humanoids didn¡¯t get.


    Up to this point in the battle the humanoids hadn¡¯t used their advantage of the poison that Bjorn and Skarit had brewed. That changed though when The large spiders entered the fray, of the 131 that was given to Gram almost every single professed fighter got a vial, as well as each leader of a unit was given one. For the most part they were to keep them back until they deemed that the poison would be worth using. Each person with a vial though was given the orders to use their best judgement as to when it would be best used.


    Last, but certainly not least, was the spell casters. Even though the entire army had roughly 50 spell casters total their presence could not be ignored. With everyone called to this battle all of the mages were pulled in as well. From what Bjorn could see there were mages that could cast every single school of basic elemental magic, except for death magic. They all brought different benefits to the fight, but the two who were the most effective were the earth mages and the life mages. It was learned early on that the snatcher spiders had an inherent weakness to crushing attacks, so it was little wonder as to why the geomancers were effective. As for the biomancers it was also fairly obvious why they would play a major role. Every time that someone would get injured if a biomancer was around they would quickly either patch them up or stabilize them so they could be taken away from the battlefield.


    Most of the mages only ever had access to a single school of magic, but each one was a force multiplier and they showed their worth time and time again. Of the 50 mages only maybe 10 of them had access to more than one school of magic. But each one that did was a further force multiplier. Their pure utility with the range of spells and problems they could solve and fix with their magical powers made them some of the most valuable people to have on the field of battle. Which with no surprise made them some of the most heavily protected people in the army.


    By the time that Meira had Alaric¡¯s new stub healed to the point where it no longer was bleeding, Gram''s force had made it down to the same floor level. With the poison making it easier to kill the massive spiders things were looking good for the two armies. But it didn¡¯t come without cost. Of the 1600 who initially joined the fray maybe 1000 were left on their feet. The rest were either dead or had to be evacuated because of their injuries. Almost everyone by this point had some sort of injury at the very least, whether it was a light scratch or a fully useless leg because the bones had been melted, everyone was feeling it. In a span of two hours almost half of the army had fallen victim to the onslaught.


    Even with the cost they didn¡¯t stop pushing forward. Everyone was determined to continue fighting. They had also made the spiders pay dearly for their advancements. Thousands of the remaining spiders had been killed in the onslaught. To the point where it was getting easier to press forward and make up ground. The spider''s numbers were starting to thin out.


    After Meira had healed Alaric¡¯s hand she tried to get him to pull out of the battle. ¡°Alaric, you were injured, you should retreat and help regroup with the rest of the wounded. There might even be someone who can regrow your hand.¡±


    In response Alaric let out a low growl, not at Meira, but at the thought of retreating. ¡°It is just a hand, I can still fight can¡¯t I? I want to make those fucking spiders pay for costing me my hand. If I retreat now, when will I ever get the chance to get my vengeance?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. Your body still has a chance for you to regrow your hand if you get to the right mage. You don¡¯t have to be permanently maimed for the rest of your life because of it. I saw Jantis, he should be able to regrow your hand. Let¡¯s go to him.¡±


    The worry and care in her voice cut through Alaric¡¯s anger, not fully, but enough for him to listen to her. He turned towards Meira. ¡°Thank you for your concern. But our friends are dying, I am not going to sit back and hope that your mage Jantis has enough mana and is willing to regrow my hand. I would rather help kill these bastards so that we can leave this damn black rock behind and never look back. I can fight, you stopped my bleeding.¡±


    Alaric held up his stump with the shield still attached. It looked pristine with unblemished skin covering the place his hand used to be. It looked as if there was never a hand attached there to begin with. ¡°You did this, so you could stop the bleeding. What you didn¡¯t intend to do was give me the option to continue fighting, but that is exactly what you did. I can continue to make a difference so that is what I am going to do. If that costs me my left hand so be it. That is a price I am willing to pay.¡±


    Even though she wanted to argue, Meira knew that she couldn¡¯t change Alaric¡¯s mind. Over the last several years she had learned that once the stubborn dwarf made up his mind about something he wasn¡¯t one to be swayed. Instead of continuing to argue she shut her mouth and nodded in agreement. ¡°Very well, let''s make them pay.¡±


    Together the two of them made their way back up to the frontline to help fight the spiders. Rickie had already left to do such a thing. It may seem callus but he knew with Meira around Alaric would be just fine. So instead of standing around not doing anything, seeing how he could do anything for Alaric. He made the decision to rejoin the front lines and help finish off the last of the spider warriors.


    Quickly Meira and Alaric made it back to the frontlines and rejoined Rickie. As for Bjorn and Tayla they finally finished making their way over to where the rest of their unit was. With Gram¡¯s force down on the ground floor their ranged units weren¡¯t needed to attack the spiders on the under hang. So instead they focused their entire efforts into two areas. The first one was obviously the spiders that were on the ceiling, they did their best to thin their numbers. Luckily the combined focus of the ranged attackers in both the armies had done a good enough job clearing the spiders over their heads. Now they were only attacking spiders that were over the main spider forces heads, raining corpses down on the spider army.


    The other area that they focused their attacks was on the giant ball of webbing that the spiders continued to funnel out of. They couldn¡¯t see inside the ball, but that seemed to be what all the spiders were trying to protect. In one area of the webbing there was a giant hole where the spiders were spilling out from. It was roughly 30 feet across and just as tall.


    Instead of continuing to push towards the obvious nest of the spiders both of the armies stopped their advance towards it and instead continued to push towards each other attempting to convene. It took the better part of another hour before they were able to fully connect the two armies. Towards the end it felt like they were the anvil to Gram¡¯s hammer. And in the middle were the spiders who were getting smashed between the two unstoppable forces.


    Once the two armies were now one again they redeployed their forces briefly. By this time they had spent the better part of 4 hours fighting tooth and nail against the spiders, thousands were dead and most everyone was exhausted, but with the end in sight they wouldn¡¯t back down.


    There was a brief lull in the fighting. The spiders pulled back a few feet and held their position. Weary of a trap the humanoids did the same. It was unsettling as for the last 4 hours the spiders continued to throw themselves at the army with little regard to their lives. All eyes turned towards the entrance to the nest.


    15 more of the large spider warriors came pouring out of the nest, and all hearts sank. Knowing that they were going to have to kill those as well. Then out of the nest lumbered a gargantuan spider. It was 20 feet tall, its legs splayed 40 feet out from either side of it. Its legs were as thick as 50 year old oak trees. All down the back of the spider there were bone spikes that were densely packed. Last but definitely not least were its massive boulder shaped eyes. All 8 of them were deep and black.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Anrok


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Snatcher spider queen


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 15 years old


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 51


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    For the most part Snatcher spiders are solitary creatures and don¡¯t hunt in packs. All of that changes when a snatcher spider queen is involved. These extremely rare sub variants of their species are the pinnacle of their species. Not only do they have the intelligence to control their brood, the snatcher spiders have a natural instinct to follow the directions of the queen. This makes the infestation of snatcher spiders a real threat to even the most established factions in the world.


    Not only do snatcher spiders have the size to make them almost impossible to kill for almost all factions and creatures in the Eld. They also have psychic powers, but they seem to be limited to overwhelming the minds of their opponents.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Mentally Bjorn quickly told Tommin. ¡°I have an ability that allows me to identify things. You need to tell Gram right away that this spider has the ability to Mesmerize our forces. He needs to know before we fight that thing.¡±


    Tommin briefly looked away from the monstrosity that came lumbering towards them through the web and made eye contact with Bjorn. He held it for a brief second before he nodded, and turned back to the spider. Less than 10 seconds later every single commander of the army ordered their soldiers to not look at the massive spider, and that Duke Dornan and Gram would take care of it.


    As soon as the orders made it to the army the brief lull was broken and the two armies collided once again. The spider queen took one brief look over the field of battle and turned towards where Gram and Duke Dornan were at and started to move in that direction.


    In a matter of seconds the three monsters were locked into a vicious battle. Gram had held his growth talent just for this situation. As the spider charged right at him he grew from his 8 and a half feet to almost thirteen feet tall and grew easily twice as wide. As for Duke Dornan his hand became wreathed in green as he began to cast a spell. The sounds of powerful blows landing on the massive spider echoed throughout the room as the two remaining armies clashed.


    The final push of the final battle had finally come, and no one was going to back down. Just when the armies re-engaged on each other chaos erupted from the humanoid ranks. All through the ranks of the humanoids Snatcher spiders burst forth from the bodies of once former allies. Things quickly descended into chaos as well over 200 snatcher spiders burst forth and started to attack those around them.

 Chapter 45

    As chaos reigned through the battlefield Bjorn got a good look at one of the snatcher spiders that burst forth from his neighbor. It was smaller than the average sized snatcher spider. It was also hard to tell the color of the spider due to it being covered in all the blood and viscera of the corpse it just burst out of. What was obviously different though was the head of the spider. Coming out of the top of the spider were flesh like appendages that were 3 inches in length. The appendages wriggled on the top of its head as it attacked.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:???


    </td>


    <td>


    Species: Snatcher Spider Infiltrator


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 3 months


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 5


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


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    Snatcher spider infiltrators are a species of snatcher spiders that are only possible to be born if there is a snatcher spider queen present. The snatcher spider infiltrators have the ability to fully take over the nerves system of their host. Through their connection with the body they are able to keep the bodily functions normal. These spiders keep all parts of the body alive while they puppet their meat suit. Essentially taking full control of their prey all while trapping the mind of the being inside a world of constant torment. Breaking this connection with its host normally kills the host.


    Snatcher spider infiltrators are a highly intelligent variant of the species and are able to blend into the society of their hosts. They are only ever born if the snatcher spider queen faces resistance in its quest to grow its horde.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    He only had enough time to take in the basic information on these new variants of the snatcher spiders before he had to defend himself. The smaller spider lunged at Bjorn tentacles writhing on the top of its head. Bjorn tried to create distance between himself and his new adversary as he attempted to retrieve his sword from his hip.


    Luckily for him he didn¡¯t have to use his sword as Alaric¡¯s axe came streaking down slamming into the head of the spider killing it instantly. With a moment to disengage Bjorn began reading through the prompt and in the pit of his stomach anger and disgust grew. It didn¡¯t take him long to understand the implications that these spiders had.


    For who knows how long these spiders have been slowly infiltrating their camp, and their army. The deviousness of these fucking monsters make Bjorn sick to his stomach. Over the course of this entire campaign the soldiers in the army were slowly traded out for puppets controlled by spiders and no one was the wiser. Honestly if he wasn''t a part of the army he would be impressed with their resourcefulness.


    Regardless they needed to regroup. Bjorn did a quick survey of the battlefield and of the initial 1000 that were left there were now maybe 700 left standing. With the 200 that were actually spiders instead of fighters that means that roughly thirty percent of their remaining army was left. To make matters worse the way that the spiders were dispersed through the ranks as if to maximize the chaos their reveal would bring.


    All sense of coordination and cooperation had gone out the window. Throughout the field of battle there were small pockets of fighters ranging from 3 to 7. Each one was trying desperately to survive as their now scattered ranks made it easier for the remaining spiders to pick off the small pockets. It was scary how fast the cohesion had crumbled on the field of battle.


    Luckily for the group they were mostly together when the attack came. Another nice perk of their situation was the fact that Tommin¡¯s unit had once again been stationed along the wall. This made it so that the 5 friends were able to quickly come together and form a protective circle. The next small grace was that they were on almost the exact opposite side from the battle between Gram, Duke Dornan, and the spider queen.


    Not waiting for the next group to get overwhelmed they moved as a unit towards the closest group. It was filled with 5 fighters who were starting to wilt under the onslaught of the spiders. Even though the group was a few feet away from them by the time they were able to close the ground between the two groups one of the 5 had fallen to the attacks of the spiders.


    A look of relief and gratitude that replaced one of fear and despair on the faces of the remaining 4. The now group of 9 were able to quickly kill off the spiders that attacked the group, two of them being the infiltrators. Once they had a brief respite the healthiest of the group looked at their saviors and simply said. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Not even taking the time to acknowledge the thanks Alaric snapped at the man. ¡°If you want to live, come with us.¡± After that terse command he turned towards the next closest group and took off towards them, not even looking back to see if the new 4 scared soldiers followed.


    They looked to Rickie, but he was not even half a step behind Alaric as he was a flurry of deadly steel. They then looked at Bjorn. ¡°You heard him.¡± Was all he said before he too joined the fray.


    Alaric and Rickie were a force to be reckoned with. Alaric was a flurry of blows and blocking. It made perfect sense why he got the knight profession. His shield was exactly where it needed to be when he needed it to be there. He was able to save countless lives countless times with his skill. What he wasn¡¯t able to block with his shield he was able to stop with his heavily armored body.


    Rickie on the other hand was the exact opposite with his fighting style. His low amount of armor made him an easy target to get wounded, but he didn¡¯t even care. Over and over he got bit by the snatcher spiders, or clawed at with their shape front claws. But his immunity to the venom and his ability to shrug off wounds that would incapacitate a normal man could not be matched on this field of battle. He wasn¡¯t as tanky as Alaric was, but he traded that off for damage. His heavy two handed sword was more of a long heavy club than it was a sword. By this time in the fight the dull edge he had honed it to before the battle was now barely an edge at all. It was constantly worn away by the thick heavy carapace the spiders were made of. Oddly enough this actually made him more deadly on the field of battle than it made him less effective.


    The two of them carved through the field of spiders like a rock splits the river. The one who was the most surprising was actually Tayla. The professed rogue had struggled versus the spiders almost the entire time they were forced down here to fight. Tayla did find very quickly that her daggers were able to easily pierce the eyes of the spiders, spilling their thick optical fluid over her daggers. Over the course of the last few weeks she also learned that if she stabbed either of the middle eyes on the top row of the spider''s eyes she was able to sink the dagger deep and almost instantly kill it. If it didn¡¯t kill the spider instantly it did significant damage to the point where it would die in a few seconds.


    What was a surprise in this battle was that Tayla quickly found out that the fleshy tentacles that wriggled on the head of the snatcher spider infiltrators was actually a weak spot. The infiltrators had a significantly larger brain than the more standard version of the spiders. This made it much easier to hit the more vital spot on the spiders to get the kill. To further make these spiders easier to kill was that the flesh part actually had no carapace on it, and it was directly connected to the brain. A fact that she was gladly taking advantage of.


    She had a manic grin crossed her face as she wasn¡¯t able to contain glee of finally being able to do something. Weeks of frustration at her inability to contribute significantly to the battle effort came pouring out of her, and the outlet were the spiders.


    Of course no one would ever discount the usefulness of Meira, although she was less useful than she had been at the beginning of the battle. She had blown through the majority of her mana over the several hours that they had been fighting. That, and that she had already drank her mana potion for the day. Even though things were dire, they weren¡¯t bad enough to where she feared her life. So instead of potentially crippling herself for the rest of her life she decided to hold back on as many spellcasting as she normally did.


    One of the reasons that she had been singled out in her village to learn how to cast magic was because of her abilities. In particular one of them. It was called: One with the earth. And it had the benefit for her mana regeneration to be increased by 100%. This obviously made her able to cast at least double the amount of spells as any other mage. Her mana regeneration was further enhanced by the epic rarity gift that Bjorn and Alaric had used on her. The bottled mentality. I gave a whopping 100% additional mana regeneration as well as increasing her intelligence and wisdom.


    To further the insanity that was her spellcasting ability she spent some of her few precious talent points to buy a talent called: Decreased mana cost 1. Which decreased the cost of each spell she cast by 5%, making her spellcasting further insane.


    With all of that mana regeneration she was regenerating roughly 1 point of mana per second. Making it so that with the regeneration and decreased spell cost she was able to put out spells faster than anyone Bjorn had ever seen. It made her a small one woman army as she continued to cast her spells time and time again. Even though it was slower than her maximum output of spells she was still casting faster than should be possible. And each time she cast a spell the course of their battle changed.


    The last, but certainly not least, was Bjorn. Even though he was without a doubt the weakest fighter in their group he was not useless. He had become the de facto leader of their small group. With every person that their group saved he was put in charge of organizing them and getting them any healing they needed or even just small orders. Due to the fact that each soldier was saved by their small group they without hesitation followed orders. With each person that joined they became more and more of an organized and powerful force that was able to fight back.


    When the spiders surprise ambush happened Bjorn got a message that saddened him, but it didn¡¯t stop him.


    Due to the death of your war leader, and with no one else in the war party with the war leader skill. The war party has been disbanded. You have lost your role as war band scout.


    Bjorn wasn¡¯t entirely sure what happened but it was fairly obvious that Tommin had been killed by the sneak attack. With their commander dead the rest of their unit was thrown into chaos. Luckily for the friends they never really depended on the military order of their unit. They were useful in battle on their own. By the time they had managed to save those still alive in their unit the number had dropped from 68 alive down to 31. In a manner of minutes over half of their remaining force had dropped dead under the horde of spiders.


    Not stopping with just their unit the group moved on to try and save more humanoids and coordinate a defense against the spiders with their shattered ranks. While Bjorn was coordinating he still used his bow to shoot at any spider that caught his eye. He never once stopped with the constant barrage. While he was doing all of that he found a small rock and mounted it to get a better vantage on how the fight was going.


    Throughout the battlefield there were small pockets of humanoids that seemed to have collected and were trying to do the same thing that Bjorn and his allies were trying to do. Some with more success than others. By his best guess there was one group that had probably around 250 soldiers in it. There seemed to be 3 separate large bubbles of humanoids that were surrounded by spiders. Even though they were surrounded by spiders the tide of spiders seemed to have slowed. Making it easier to collect themselves and regroup.


    Bjorn¡¯s eyes strayed to where Gram, Dornan and the spider queen were fighting and he understood why the number of spiders attacking them had decreased. By the looks of it Gram¡¯s personal unit had been the only part of the army that hadn¡¯t been infected by snatcher spider infiltrators. As soon as the ranks had crumbled they created a small ball of defenders and were holding their own. Their unit had Duke Dornan within it and were giving everything they could to try and keep him alive. Gram was on the edge of the ball of humanoids and was doing his best to hold the spider queen at bay.


    The reason for their decreased opponents was because the spider queen was trying to flood Gram¡¯s unit and take out Duke Dornan. There was a large writhing mass of spiders all vining to get closer and attack the elite unit.


    From where he stood he could see that the fight was a losing battle. It was only a matter of time before Gram¡¯s professed fighters lost and then it would be game over for the army. Their only saving grace was that it looked like the spiders had finally run out of reinforcements as well. The never ending tide that streamed from the spider''s nest and finally stopped. It would be hard but the end was finally in sight.


    Bjorn jumped down from his perch. ¡°Alright, we need to move in that direction.¡± Bjorn pointed with his bow towards where he saw the largest pocket of humanoids. ¡°They are hitting Gram hard right now, and I don¡¯t see how he can win. There is a large group of our men who have regrouped over there. We need to get to them.¡±


    Without a moment of hesitation one of their saved men saluted and yelled. ¡°Yes sir!¡±


    As one a war cry escaped the throats of the 50 some odd men and women that surrounded Bjorn as they started to move forward in a ball of flesh, hitting everything that moved and wasn¡¯t a humanoid. It was slow and bloody but they made their way towards the mass of the army.


    As they moved their numbers constantly fluctuated. They would lose two of three of their ranks, but then they would come across a group of bedraggled fighters. By this time Meira had stopped casting offensively and would cast purely to try and heal up the humanoids. She would do what she could to get them back into fighting shape and they would move on. Slowly but steadily their numbers grew. And soon their numbers swelled to around 70.


    The only issue was that almost every person they gained had some sort of wound that Meira couldn¡¯t fix. For how wondrous her magical healing powers were she didn¡¯t have a way to reverse the effects of the snatcher spider venom. So for every person who had some sort of fighting capability left they also gained one who wouldn¡¯t be useful at all in a fight. So as their numbers grew, the number of those who could fight shrunk.


    Eventually they pushed their way through and to the ball of humanoids. Their two forces quickly smashed all of the spiders that were in between the two groups and their smaller group got absorbed into the larger force. The scene of the two groups joining looked like two cells merging.


    Once they were safely inside one of the soldiers told them to take their wounded to the healer and for the rest to join. Everyone quickly dispersed. Going whichever way made the most sense. Those who could walk under their power went towards where the soldier pointed, if they could they would help those who couldn¡¯t. Those still able to fight joined the defensive wall and gave those who needed it a break. Meira went with the hurt, while Bjorn made his way to a raised rock where three people stood.


    As he approached two of them gave him a grim look, while the last one had a resolute look on her face. ¡°You were the one who got those fighters to us. Thank you, but I think we are playing with fate. We won¡¯t last too much longer. We need to retreat.¡±


    Bjorn wasn¡¯t sure what he was going to do when he got to the raised rock but he grew angry. He quickly stocked over to the rock and mounted it. The woman who had spoken stood there meeting Bjorn¡¯s eyes and he walked up to her and started to tower over her.


    ¡°That is no good.¡± Bjorn pointed to where Gram¡¯s unit was still holding but losing ground. The circle had shrunk by a third of its size when Bjorn saw it last. ¡°Without Captain Gram, or Duke Dornan, we have no shot at winning a fight. We have lost too many of our brothers and sisters here to back down. They are losing, but we are holding. We need to take a gamble and make it to them. If we can help them there is still hope for today.¡±


    ¡°How dare you talk to-¡± One of the men started to say as he walked towards Bjorn. But he was cut short by the woman¡¯s raised hand.


    ¡°I understand. What do you suggest? We don¡¯t have many options.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care how many lives are lost here. If we lose gram and his unit this entire city will be lost. I don¡¯t personally care all that much about Blackrock Bay. But if we lose this fight then we will have to evacuate Blackrock Bay. Or else everyone in the city will be killed. We need to get up and make our move to support Gram, he would do the same for any one of us.¡±


    By this point the two people who had been standing next to the woman kept looking back and forth between her and Bjorn, waiting for her orders. Whoever she was, she seemed to be important in some way.


    After a moment she nodded. ¡°Very well. You are right of course, we need to do something.¡± She paused and looked over to where Gram¡¯s forces were completely surrounded and still holding their own. ¡°Just know that you are responsible for each and everyone who is lost during this attack.¡±


    ¡°I know, sometimes you have to make the hard decisions, even if you don¡¯t want to. Give the order.¡±


    She closed her eyes and held her breath for a few seconds. She took a deep breath and nodded once again. When she opened her eyes her expression changed. She had gone from a look of hopelessness, to a resolute one. Her voice also changed. Before her voice was thick with barely contained panic and grief, now it was a lifeless and cold voice.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°Sergeant. Give the order. We need to get to Gram. We leave in a minute. Make sure that everyone is in position and ready to go.¡±


    In the meantime. As soon as their unit started to split up Meira went with the injured over to where the only healer was. When they got there the small area was filled with wounded who couldn¡¯t fight. Their wounds ranged from a missing bone due to venom to a full on torn off limb. Almost everyone that was in the small 20 foot by 30 foot area was unable to fight for one reason or another.


    Among the wounded soldiers Meira spotted a familiar figure kneeling with his back towards her. He was leaning over the limp leg of an elf woman wrapped in light leather armor. He was using two short swords on either side of her leg as splits as he tied them together. The only benefit to the situation at hand was that there were plenty of weapons scattered across the field of battle that could be picked up and used for whatever use was needed.


    ¡°Jantis.¡± Meira called out.


    Upon hearing her voice the mage looked up and saw her approaching. Fortunately for her he was the second most skilled healing mage that the army had. If he was around then the likelihood of these soldiers making a recovery was significantly higher. That is of course if he had the mana necessary to do the healing.


    ¡°Ah Meira, I am glad you were the one to make it. Are you here to help?¡± A painful smile crossed his lips. ¡°Not that you''ll be able to do anything. You are a wonderful healer and are quite impressive for how long you have been healing, but I am afraid that most of this healing is beyond you.¡±


    Meira squatted down next to the healer and started helping him with his work. ¡°Isn¡¯t there something you can do?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°I have already done what I can. I am plumb out of mana. I don¡¯t even have enough for a weak slow heal. There isn¡¯t anything more magical I can do.¡±


    ¡°What about a mana potion? I still have 2 left.¡±


    He didn¡¯t respond to her question, which was unusual for him. This made Meira take a good long look at him. The man¡¯s face was one of anguish.


    He took a shaky breath. ¡°I have already taken my two.¡± He stated plainly.


    ¡°Two? Did you?¡± Meira started to ask. The look on his face said it all. He did not successfully pass, and his mana was permanently decreased by 10% ¡°I am so sorry. But we can¡¯t give up hope. I do still have two potions. We can each take one.¡±


    Jantis reached up and brushed tears away from his eyes. ¡°We can. But what good does that do us? I might be crippled even further, and you can¡¯t spend your mana in a meaningful way to heal. It would be better if I took them both.¡± When he finished speaking he reached out a shaking hand.


    Meira hesitated for a second, looking at the man¡¯s unsteady palm. After a moment of deliberation she reached into her belt and pulled out one of her two mana potions. She used her free hand to stabilize Jantis¡¯s hand, she placed the potion into his hand with her other.


    ¡°I will only give you one of these potions. I have access to more than just healing magic, I am a decent offensive mage as well. I will keep one just in case I need to cast my other magics.¡±


    He nodded his head and pulled the vial back towards him. He tried several times to uncork the vial and each time he failed. Both of his hands shook so badly that he wasn¡¯t able to get a good grip on the cork at the end of the vial.


    Gently Meira reached out and grabbed ahold of his unsteady hands and stabilized the one holding the vial. Using her other hand she gently took the cork out of the end of the vial and started to move the vial towards his lips. The vivid blue liquid spilled out of the vial and into his mouth. After he closed his mouth it was a few seconds before his adam''s apple bobbed and the liquid slid down his throat.


    As soon as it did his shoulders slumped once again. ¡°Another failure. I am now permanently reduced by 20%.¡± He knelt there tears now streaming down his face. He drew in one shaky breath. ¡°What is done is done. Let¡¯s get to work.¡±


    Together the two mages started to work their way through the wounded. Meira would do everything she could to help Jantis. With his guiding hand they worked to minimize how much mana it would cost to repair each injury. Some would take multiple spells to fully repair the wound. That was where his years and years of training as a healer paid off. His knowledge allowed them to save a spell casting here and there, reducing the total cost, making it so they could heal more.


    Magical healing was amazing but it wasn¡¯t the end all be all. Usually after intensive magical healing the patient would need to rest to allow the body to recover. Which was a property of magical healing. It drew upon the body placing strain on it to heal it. Normally if they rested for a period after being healed the patient would be able to fully recover.


    In this instance they didn¡¯t have a choice. Each time after Jantis and Meira were done healing someone they had to get up and return to the field of battle. It wasn¡¯t a question of should they, it was a matter of have to. As it stood their chances of survival were slim to none. So they did their best to return the soldiers to a semi healed state so they could go back to battle.


    After the minute had elapsed the small ball of humanoids surged forward heading in the direction of Gram and his failing unit. As they traveled they picked up small heavily wounded groups of humanoids. At first their movement forward was easy, as the number of spiders around the group was initially small, but as they drew closer to where the real battle was taking place the number grew. The denser the spiders grew the harder it became to push forward. Soon they were losing members of their group. As they drew nearer that number grew. At first it was one or two every once and a while. Rather quickly the number jumped to one or two ever hundred feet.


    There was one small grace that came out of their progress forward. They eventually picked up a gnome that had an odd ability. How they found out about the ability was by pure happenstance.


    When the gnome got enveloped into the group she was heavily wounded so she got moved to the mobile healing area that was set up in the middle of the small combat area. While there she got worked on by Meira and Jantis while they were on the move. Luckily she mainly had serious gashes on her body, so while Meira spent some of her mana fixing the wound she made a comment.


    ¡°You know it truly is a shame that I can¡¯t give my mana to you. I have some insane mana regeneration and it isn¡¯t as important for me to have it as it would be for you to have it.¡± She made the offhand comment towards Jantis who was busy trying to reset an arm where it had been snapped in half by a heavy blow from one of the snatcher spider warriors. Which was hard to do while they had to move while trying to fix the issue.


    The gnome heard what Meira said and in a quiet voice said. ¡°I should be able to help with that. I have an Ability which I haven¡¯t found much use for over the years. It is called equilibrium. It¡¯s effect is that I can balance out the mana pool between two people that I touch.¡±


    She said it in a voice so quiet that Meira barely could hear her, but she did. ¡°Jantis, come over here!¡± She called out excitedly.


    The excitement in her voice was evident, it was out of place on the battlefield they found themselves on. Curious he left the man with the half set arm and walked over to Meira and the gnome woman. ¡°What? He asked in an irritated tone.¡±


    Instead of answering him she looked down on the gnome. ¡°Please use that ability on the two of us.¡± She said in a warm tone with barely contained excitement.


    The gnome woman reached out and grabbed ahold of both of their legs right below the kneecap. When she came in contact with both Meira and Jantis, mana began to pour out of Meira. The flow of mana was so intense she was able to physically see it flow out of her body and into the gnome''s body. It didn¡¯t stop there though, it flowed through the gnome''s body and then out of her arm. From there it flowed into Jantis¡¯s body. The sight of the mana flow turned the upper body of the gnome a vibrant blue as the mana flowed out of Meira and into Jantis.


    In a matter of seconds over a hundred mana flowed out of Meira and into Jantis. When they started the transfer she was nearly half full on her mana. It took literal seconds for the mana to be forcibly drained out of her body. The flow continued until she was around 30% full on mana. The oddest thing to her was the fact that the mana was forcibly drained, she had absolutely no say on if that mana could be drained or not.


    At the start of the mana flow she had been at 437 mana out of her normal 910 mana. It took less than 2 seconds and her new mana pool was at an even 300. In less time than it took her to ask a simple question 137 mana had been transferred out of her body and into Jantis¡¯s body.


    As the mana flowed his eyes grew wide at the sheer volume. He turned and looked at Meira, respect in his eyes. ¡°How big is your mana pool?¡±


    Meira was about to answer when she stopped herself and looked down at the gnome. ¡°How often can you do this and how does it work exactly?¡±


    ¡°I can do this as often as I like, as far as I know. And it equalizes the mana pools between the two entities by percentages.¡±


    Meira did some quick mental math and looked at Jantis. ¡°That means that your maximum mana is 440. Mine is at 910.¡± A smile crossed her face. ¡°First I think you should heal up this gnome and we can start using my mana pool as your mana pool.¡±


    A pained look crossed the man¡¯s face when Meira said his mana pool was 440. Before the start of this battle his mana pool was 550. Jantis nodded and started working on the gnome, bringing her back up to a state where she was able to move freely without pain crippling her. All the while she was transferring mana from Meira to Jantis. As they worked Jantis spoke. ¡°How is your mana pool so high? I have spent almost every single free point I have gotten into my intelligence and my pool is still half the size of yours.¡±


    ¡°I have had a few lucky experiences. One of which was an epic ranked item known as bottled mentality. That is actually where the lions share on my mana came from. That and I am level 23.¡±


    ¡°Ah that makes sense. I have never heard of ¡®bottled mentality¡¯ but it must have been a wondrous item to affect you so much.¡± Jantis commented without little expectation on a response.


    Once the gnome was able to move again the trio began moving through the wounded rapidly as Jantis had access to an elevated mana pool that he normally wouldn¡¯t have access to. He began casting healing magic without reservations. When they exhausted Meira¡¯s mana pool once again they switched their tactics, and began forcibly taking mana from the wounded to heal them.


    Although the gnome was a godsend when they needed it most, the trio could only do so much. Instead of solving the slow trickle of wounded they just slowed up the flood that started to come to them.


    As they neared Gram¡¯s forcing their circle began to shrink just as Gram¡¯s was shrinking. It shrunk in size because of two reasons. The first was obviously the wounded. The second was the dead. By the time they had crossed most of the distance between Gram¡¯s forcing and their few hundred they had lost nearly a hundred. Their circle was only half as wide as it had been when they first started to move.


    Not to be stopped though everyone met their fate with certainty. Not once during their assault did one of the soldiers resolve waiver. Everyone was fighting for their home at this point and no one was going to give up. So they pushed on. They fought with reckless abandon.


    Unflaggingly they pushed forward step by step though. But with each step the field of spiders just grew denser. Even though they were leaving hundreds of spider corpses in their wake the numbers just kept on growing. It grew and grew, until suddenly it stopped.


    They had managed to fight their way to gram¡¯s unit of professed fighters. They had done it! They had made it to Gram.


    Quickly orders were bellowed over the field from Bjorn¡¯s group and the group began to merge with Gram¡¯s unit. First thing they did was open up the two groups and move the wounded and more important commanders into the shelter of the professed fighters. As that was happening the fighters of Bjorn¡¯s group began to filter into Gram¡¯s unit and fill in the spaces.


    As one circle shrunk the other grew. Gram¡¯s unit had created a perimeter that they didn¡¯t want to give up. As they fought they slowly backed up, it wasn¡¯t intentional. It was the natural movement of the army when one of its fighters fell. When one of the professed fighters died the others on either side of them would fill in and take their place. They could only protect so much of an area and so to fill in that area and not leave any gaps the two would take a step back so they still didn¡¯t leave any holes. This scenario played out over and over as the group shrunk.


    Now, with their numbers bolstered they were able to reclaim what was once lost, and they began to push back the spiders once again. Even though their retreat had been slow, their reclaiming of that ground was anything but that. As their numbers swelled they rapidly reclaimed the ground once lost, and pushed back the spider''s forces.


    While the majority was regaining ground around the circle. The way that they had come from was losing ground. The enraged spiders redoubled their attacks on that side of the bubble. But fortunately for their group they didn¡¯t need to hold that line. They were slowly getting absorbed into the Gram¡¯s unit, so they kept giving up ground until the line had stabilized once again, with Gram¡¯s elite warriors interspersed with the new fighters.


    One thing that was a boon of their lost ground, the spiders had removed the corpses of the fallen as they went. So when they pushed back out the ground was nice and clear. The only issue was now they were having to deal with the dead. 20 of their number were assigned with piling up the dead as quickly as they could. As the army stepped over the spider''s corpses they would run back and forth making small piles of the dead. Making it easier for their army to give ground once again if they needed to.


    Now that their groups had been turned into one the professed fighters no longer had to fight to the death. Whenever one got wounded to where previously they would have been overwhelmed and killed, they no longer had to do that. With their bolstered numbers they could retreat to where Meira and Jantis were working tirelessly and get healed back up.


    Each time one of the professed fighters made their way to where Meira and Jantis were working, they would stop what they were doing and heal the professed fighter. It was cruel, but it was necessary, as the professed fighter could do more, and was more useful in a fight than the rest of the wounded. When they prioritized the professed fighters no one complained. Everyone knew what kind of situation they were in, and no one had any delusions on their abilities. The fierce fighting, and the surprise attack from the spiders put the end to anyone who was delusional about their fighting abilities.


    Together they had found a balance, they were no longer pushed outward, and neither were they losing ground. Meira and Jantis were able to do just enough for the group to not lose ground. As long as the two of them didn¡¯t falter neither would the army itself.


    Which now only left one thing, and that was the fight between Gram, Dornan, and the spider queen. As it stood, whoever won that battle would decide the fate of the rest of the battle.


    It had been a mostly even fight between the professed fighter and mage, and the spider queen. It was even, but that didn¡¯t mean nothing was happening. Over the course of the battle both sides had taken wounds. Dornan looked haggard as he kept casting spell after spell at the spider. Each spell helped slow down the spider, but he hadn¡¯t been able to make any truly meaningful damage against the spider. He was an earth mage which made him better able to deal damage to the spider queen. He had landed a few good hits onto it, but nothing conclusive. For the most part his spells helped Gram not be overwhelmed by the larger, heavier, and ultimately stronger spider queen.


    Gram on the other hand looked to be on death''s door. His body was completely covered with cuts, gashes, and holes where the spider queen had managed to get a bite onto him. Fortunately for everyone present the spider queen lacked the same potent venom that the smaller spiders did. If it had the battle would have been a forgone conclusion, all it had to do was inject him once and their fight would be done for. Gram himself, though, fought on completely ignoring his bodily state. His left arm hung limply at his side, completely useless. He fought on in spite of it. His wounds also were covered with a thin sheet of ice. His entire body was.


    As it turned out the spider queen had access to some sort of innate water magic. But the spells it seemed to be able to cast had a clear ice base to them. Ice rays, ice spikes, and large ice based AoE spells flew out of the spider''s body on top of it when it attacked Gram.


    Even though the spider had dealt out the damage to Gram it also took a beating. Of its 8 legs two had been severed completely. The last one was dragging behind it limply just the exact same way that Gram¡¯s arm was hanging uselessly. Its thick carapace had many different areas where there were thick cracks that ran along the exo-skeleton, and thick droplets of the spider''s blood poured out of the monster and splattered onto the ground. There were also several gouges that had been dug out of the thick carapace leaving exposed flesh underneath the wound, where the blood seeped out of the wound.


    The intense battle had managed to create a small pocket for itself. The battle was balanced between the ground that the humanoids occupied and the spider controlled land. Each side gave the fighting titans a wide berth, and neither side wanted to be crushed underfoot. Allowing them to fight unhindered by either other humanoids or other spiders. Making it a true 2 on 1 fight.


    The balance remained temporarily, but not for long, as Duke Dornan was running out of mana. In desperation he asked one of the nearby soldiers to find out if anyone had any mana potions left over. As Duke Dornan had already drunk his one potion. It was an epic level mana potion that he had been hoarding for years for an occasion such as this. It restored 13 thousand mana over the course of 5 minutes. Which was more than enough to fill his mana pool twice over. He had made the best use of that potion and almost used every bit of mana that was contained in the potion.


    The soldier quickly returned with Meira and the gnome in tow. ¡°Here give me the mana potion.¡± Duke Dornan commanded.


    Meira shook her head. ¡°This gnome can balance out the mana between two people, let me drink the potion and she can give it to you.¡±


    The duke looked at her briefly before he turned back to the fight between the two. ¡°As soon as I start casting, drink the potion and start feeding me mana.¡± not waiting for a response he began to cast a spell he hadn¡¯t cast in a long time. Thick strands of green energy began to peel off of Dornan as he started to cast his spell. His remaining mana began to plummet.


    Following directions Meira drank her mana potion and stepped towards the duke, the gnome following right behind her.


    You have drank a mana potion while your mana matrix was in flux from another mana potion. The rampant energies of the mana potion have irreparably damaged your mana matrix. Your maximum mana pool is decreased by 10%.


    As the mana from the mana potion began to fill her pool the mana began to flow out of her and into the duke. As it did so the mana then flowed out of him and into his spell. At first it looked like his spell was not having any effect. As the mana flowed into the spell that changed. High above their heads the stone began to ripple as it somehow turned into a fluid state and began to flow into the shape of a giant stone spike. As mana began to flow into the spell the size of the spike grew as well.


    What was truly impressive was that the spike flowed and moved as if it was a droplet of water. It flowed across the ceiling of the cavern trying to remain above the spider queen, who was blissfully unaware of what was growing over its head.


    Quickly both Dornan¡¯s and Meira¡¯s mana pool drained to where there was nothing left. But they held on, both Meira ignoring her pounding headache, and dornan holding the channel open so he could continue to feed the mana that Meira gave him into the spell. At first the mana flowed into it as over a thousand mana poured into the spell in just a few seconds, rapidly forming. When the mana slowed down it continued to form, just not quiet as rapidly. The channeled spell greedily drank in as much mana as it was able to be offered by the two mages.


    When the mana potion finally ran out Meira collapsed unconscious as her brain fled from the pain the natural world contained. Dornan finished channeling the spell and let the mana go. He sounded out as loudly as he could. ¡°Gram, hold it.¡± before he too passed out.


    Gram understood what he had to do. He had to make sure it didn¡¯t move. Dropping his weapon Gram activated one of his talents, bull rush. As he did so he turned his left arm towards the spider and charged at it, shoulder first.


    The spider saw the charging man and raised its head to meet the attack. It straightened out its fangs and Gram rammed himself onto the fangs of the spider. Once the fangs were embedded in his flesh it curled its fangs holding him steadfast. It then tried to pull him in closer so it could get ahold of Gram with its spinnerets on its butt.


    Gram¡¯s unwavering certainty in Duke Dornan paid for itself several times over that day. Once he was impaled on the spider''s fangs he activated another talent of his. Bulls stubbornness. Which rooted him in place and made him unable to be moved for 5 seconds.


    When the spider tried to bring Gram in closer to itself, it failed to do so. It strained and strained to pull him to it but it didn¡¯t succeed. Just when it was about to change tactics and bring itself to him the spike slammed into its back.

 Chapter 46

    Once the spider queen was dead the battle was basically over. The spider army quickly tore itself apart. The Snatcher spiders are naturally solitary hunters. Because of that once the queen was dead they no longer had anything forcing them together anymore, and so they turned on each other. With their close proximity to one another the spiders all turned on one another and the humanoids got to watch as the army of thousands of remaining spiders quickly ripped itself apart.


    After the army destroyed itself the remaining humanoids split up into teams of 4 and quickly went through the cavern and killed the remaining spiders. They executed their plans with extreme prejudice, no spider was left alive once they finished their work. Once all of the spiders were killed those left alive collapsed in exhaustion.


    As soon as the army started to rip itself apart a few of Gram¡¯s unit went to go and try and remove him from the spider queen. From the way he hung limply from the impaled corpse they didn¡¯t have much hope for his survival. It was hard to believe that he would be left alive, especially with the kinds of wounds that covered his body. They began trying to extract him.


    First thing they did was remove the spider queen''s fangs for its body allowing his body to fall to the floor in a heap. They weren¡¯t entirely sure what would happen if the fangs were still in him when he reverted back to his normal size, but they didn¡¯t want to find out. They began to try and cut the fangs out but to little success. The muscle inside wouldn¡¯t let go. So they resorted to the next best thing, they began to try and cut the muscle out from inside the fang itself. It was possible, as the diameter of the fang was roughly fist sized. Just to make sure they could easily pull the meat out though they gathered one of the gnomes who managed to stay alive during the fight and had them cut out the meat. Their small stature played a pivotal role in their extraction process. As with the smaller size their fist was smaller as well, and had more room to maneuver inside the hollow carapace and cut out the meat easier.


    The main downside to the situation was that the monster was still a level 50 creature. It had an unnatural toughness to it, that included its body and ergo the flesh underneath the carapace. But the gnome was able to make progress, it did take a while but he was able to remove enough muscle to where they could pull the hinged fang out of Gram¡¯s body.


    As they gingerly removed the first fang from Gram¡¯s body he woke up with a jolt. The pain must have stirred him to wakefulness. He looked over at the wound, chest heaving, with a manic look in his eye. With his good hand he grasped the second fang that was still in his body and with a mighty yank tore it free of his body. The issue with his actions was that when the fang left his body, so did his left arm. He dropped both his left arm and fang and collapsed once again unconscious. Blood slowly seeped from the stump where his arm had been. A testament to how much blood he had lost during the flight.


    After he collapsed he began to shrink once again, slowly returning to his normal 8 and a half feet tall instead of his current 13 feet. Frantic to try and save his life, one of his warriors searched Gram¡¯s belt and found a healing potion. Not caring if he would affect Gram for life he pulled the cork from the bottle and poured its contents into Gram¡¯s mouth. He then held the mouth closed and started to massage his neck forcing him to swallow the liquid. After a few seconds of this his wounds started to slowly close on their own. It was amazing and at the same time unsettling to watch as new skin started to creep across the stump where Gram¡¯s arm and shoulder used to be.


    With Gram taken care of, four of the warriors picked him up gingerly. Two more picked up Duke Dornan, and two others got Meira, and the 8 began to move them away from the battlefield and back to camp.


    As that was going on Bjorn, Rickie, Tayla, and Alaric watched the professed warriors start to pick up Meira and take her back to camp. Bjorn stepped forward to try and make his way to her, but he was stopped by Alaric, who stepped between him and Meira. ¡°Easy, she is in good hands. There is more work for us to do here, let us finish before we seek her out.¡±


    Bjorn was fraught with worry. ¡°But what if something happens to her. I want to be there to help.¡±


    Alaric put on a reassuring smile. ¡°Relax, the fight is over. We have won, she will be fine. Let us finish killing the last of them while we let those with the skills take care of Meira. The sooner we finish with the spiders the sooner we can go after her.¡±


    Nodding in agreement the four of them began to slowly and wearily make their way through the cavern, killing spiders wherever they were found alive. Every time they came across one of their fellow soldiers they would stop and check, making sure that they were well and truly dead. Sadly every single one was dead.


    It was several hours later before they made it back to camp. Slowly but surely the army began to trickle back to camp. After the battle all semblance of military cohesion was lost, and no one cared. No one stopped those covered in blood and grim from the spider''s insides as they slowly tramped their way back to the camp. Almost everyone who had been a part of the battle had a hollow look to their eyes. Even the weathered veterans, who had seen countless battles. Even if it was common for people to die on the field of battle, not to the same scale that this battle had seen. They didn¡¯t have the official numbers yet, but by Bjorn¡¯s best guess of the initially 2000 some odd people who went to battle, less than 400 had survived the fight.


    Once they made it back to camp the first place Bjorn and his friends went was to the central command center. They didn¡¯t know for sure, but they were pretty sure that was where Meira had been taken. As they approached the doors the two who stood guard outside noticed, and recognized them. The two guards had been two of the professed warriors who carried Gram, Dornan, and Meira back to camp.


    They stopped them as they drew closer. ¡°Stop right there.¡± One of them said in a gentle tone. ¡°We know you are concerned for your friend, but we can¡¯t let you in there. The healers are currently working trying to stop Captain Gram from dying. It is quite hectic in there and we don¡¯t need you complicating the situation. You look exhausted, go to your tent and rest. I promise you that when you return, if they are done saving Gram¡¯s life then we will let you pass.¡±


    Bjorn just stood there stubbornly.


    ¡°I promise you, after what you and your friends have done today, there will be no one willing to bar your way. But take a look at yourself in a mirror, you are in no state to help. Come back when you are clean and rested and we will let you pass.¡±


    After a few seconds Bjorn nodded, and turned to go. Before he did so both of the guards made a fist with their right hands, they then placed them above their hearts and then bowed. Not a full bow, but a slight tilt at the waist and a fully bowed head. They held that position for a moment before they almost in unison raised their heads and returned to their normal position by the door.


    The four friends slowly made their way to their tents and uncaring fell into their beds, still caked in blood, dirt, and unknown dried liquids. From there they all collectively fell asleep.


    Roughly 18 hours later Bjorn woke up from a deep sleep. He opened his eyes and looked around to see if there had been any movement from his fellow friends. Upon seeing the other 3 forms still in their beds, the normal sounds of deep sleep emanated from each bed. Bjorn laid back down and closed his eyes.


    When he closed them scenes from the last battle played out over and over in his head. His back to the ground, large Doberman sized spider on top of him trying to bite down on him, its fangs making a clicking sound as they snapped together trying to get closer.


    The slimy feeling as the venom dripped out of the end of the fang and onto his face.


    The sickening crunch sound as his dagger finally punctured through the hard exo-skeleton and into the soft flesh underneath.


    The twang of his bow as the deadly projectile shot forward and slammed into the body of a spider.


    The Sight of a humanoid getting her leg ripped after two separate spiders sank their fangs into her body. One in her torso, the other in her leg. After a few seconds they began to pull in opposite directions. After the bone was no longer there to provide structure to the body the leg came off surprisingly easily.


    Countless other visions clouded his mind while he tried to relax. This isn¡¯t what is talked about with the glory of battle. In real life and in his fantasy writings he read while he was a kid. They always talked about battle as if it was something to be celebrated. Rarely do they talk about the horrors of battle. It is not a glorious thing, it is not something that is worth honoring. It is dirty, disgusting, and bloody.


    So much blood. There is roughly 1.5 gallons of blood in the average human body. Multiply it out by over 1500 people who lost their lives. At times there were small rivers of blood running across the ground. They were lucky that the battlefield was mostly dirt, making it so that most of the blood soaked into the dirt. There were places where the ground had been made of just pure stone, and in those places the casualties were the highest. The blood coated the rocks and it made their footing slippery and treacherous.


    As they lay there trying to get his mind off of the horrors he saw over the last few weeks Bjorn decided it was time to try and see what he gained over the last two weeks for personal growth.


    Level up!


    Level up!


    Level up!


    Level up!


    You are now level 22, you have 12 (base 16) attribute points to distribute.


    (We finally caught back up and he is able to gain skill points again. Of the 12 he will actually only get 9, again because I gave him too many stats before.)


    You have advanced your skill level in archery, reaching skill level 24. Damage from arrows you shoot is increased by 36% over base damage.


    You have advanced your skill level in hand to hand combat. reaching skill level 12. Blows you land with bare fists and legs now deal 24% extra damage.


    Congratulations you have advanced your skill level in heavy armor, reaching skill level 11. The effectiveness of your heavy armor will be increased by 33%. Your 5% movement speed decrease per piece of heavy armor is still maintained.


    You have gone from a beginner to a novice in your skill: Heavy armor. Your movement speed decrease per piece has been reduced to 4%.


    You have advanced your skill level in small blades, reaching skill level 7. Your attacks with daggers and knives now deal 14% more damage over base value. Additionally critical strikes done with your small blades will deal 7% more damage.


    You have advanced your skill level in swordsmanship, reaching skill level 11. Your attacks with swords now deal 33% more damage over base value.


    You have gone from a beginner to a novice in your skill: swordsmanship. Your attacks with your sword have been further increased by you learning how to effectively wield your sword. Your increase per level has gone from 3% per level to 4% per level.


    You have advanced your skill level in light magic. reaching skill level 10. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.


    By passing a minor threshold in your skill advancement you are given 5% resistance to light magic.


    You have gone from a beginner to a novice in your magic: Light magic. You have gained the perk: Increased duration of your light based spells. The duration of all of your light based spells are increased by 20%


    You have advanced your skill level in Earth magic. reaching skill level 13. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.


    By passing a minor threshold in your skill advancement you are given 5% resistance to Earth magic.


    You have gone from a beginner to a novice in your magic: Earth magic. You have gained the perk: Decreased requirements. The requirements to learn earth based spells are reduced by 25% for you.


    You have advanced your skill level in Dark magic. reaching skill level 7. You have unlocked the ability to learn higher level spells.


    Congratulations you have proven yourself capable and knowledgeable in the ways of battle. Your actions of rallying your troops while they were unorganized and leading them to success has given you the skill: War leader.


    War is an evil that some say is a necessary one, others think it is a worthless waste of life and effort. Who is to say who is right. You however prepare for the eventuality of war, and as such are better suited to help those around you survive the meat grinder.


    Due to your actions on the field of battle you have been given progress in the war leader skill in spite of you not forming a war party. In the future you will not be given any progress in this skill nor war points to be spent unless you have an active war party formed.


    Congratulations you have advanced your skill: War leader, reaching skill level 4. The bonus offered by this skill is not a static thing. Spend your war points to gain your bonuses.


    Your war band has killed 11,357 snatcher spiders netting 56,785 war points. Your skill level has capped your war points gained to 250 per engagement. You have gained 250 war points.


    Your war band has killed 219 snatcher spider infiltrators netting 1095 war points. Your skill level has capped your war points gained to 250 per engagement. You have gained 0 war points.


    Your war band has killed 37 snatcher spider warriors netting 370 war points. Your skill level has capped your war points to 250 per engagement. You have gained 0 war points.


    Your war band has killed 1 snatcher spider queen netting 1000 war points. Your skill level has capped your war points to 250 per engagement. You have gained 0 war points.


    Mentally Bjorn was wailing against the injustice of the universe. He played a decent role in that last battle. So why was he only able to get 250 out of the almost 60,000 war points. He got less than half of a percent of the war points. This is utter bullshit. Mentally he held out both middle fingers to the universe.


    You know what, you are right. You did play a big party in that last battle and it is totally unfair for you to get less than half of a percent of the total war points.


    Thank you.


    Adjusting your war points to better reflect your contribution to the war effort. Your new war point total is 251.


    ¡°What?¡± Bjorn mentally asked in anger. When no response was forthcoming he let loose a string of insults that would actually make Alaric impressed. The litany of insults continued unabated until Bjorn ran out of steam, which took a surprising amount of time.


    Once he was finally calmed down enough to where he could think rationally Bjorn began to go over his skill growth once again. It was impressive to see his gains laid out before him in a simple, clear, and easy to understand way. He kind of lamented how much he would have enjoyed something like that back on earth. Regardless it was quite nice to see how he has grown in his capabilities over the last two years.


    Which, speaking about growth, he had stats to allocate. So he pulled up his character sheet.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:Bjorn Ward


    </td>


    <td>


    Race:Human


    </td>


    <td>


    age:19


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Hp:243(53)


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina:203(23)


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana:217(17)


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level: 22


    </td>


    <td>


    Stats from items (*)


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Strength:23


    </td>


    <td>


    Constitution:19


    </td>


    <td>


    Dexterity:20


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Agility:20


    </td>


    <td>


    Endurance:18


    </td>


    <td>


    Intelligence:20


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Wisdom:17


    </td>


    <td>


    Charisma:17


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Abilities


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Increased growth


    </td>


    <td>


    Skilling ProdigyHelp support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    </td>


    <td>


    WAILA


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Disadvantage


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weak


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Synergy


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Latent potential


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Skills


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Alchemy: 39: 91%


    </td>


    <td>


    Archery: 24: 34%


    </td>


    <td>


    Bowyering: 2: 55%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Beast Master: 2: 3%


    </td>


    <td>


    Carpentry: 9: 98%


    </td>


    <td>


    Cooking: 9: 89%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Construction: 13: 81%


    Road building: 2: 33%


    </td>


    <td>


    Farming: 7: 47%


    </td>


    <td>


    Hand to hand combat: 12: 71%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Healing: 7: 48%


    </td>


    <td>


    Heavy Armor: 11: 87%


    </td>


    <td>


    Herb-Lore: 17: 15%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Horseback Riding: 3: 26%


    </td>


    <td>


    Leatherworking 3: 36%


    </td>


    <td>


    Light Armor: 6: 47%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Mining: 20: 90%


    </td>


    <td>


    Sailing: 1: 12%


    </td>


    <td>


    Small blades: 7: 56%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Stealth: 5: 70%


    </td>


    <td>


    Survival: 5: 19%


    </td>


    <td>


    Swordsmanship: 11: 41%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Tracking: 2: 68%


    </td>


    <td>


    Trade 10: 11%


    </td>


    <td>


    Traps: 9: 99%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Trap disarm: 6: 31%


    </td>


    <td>


    Trap Finding: 1: 52%


    </td>


    <td>


    Woodcutting: 3: 86%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    War leader 4: 95%


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Perks:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Alchemy 10: 50% less chance to fail potion creation


    </td>


    <td>


    Alchemy 25: Increased chance to save an alchemical component when preforming alchemy.


    </td>


    <td>


    Archery: 10: invest stamina into shots to increase their accuracy.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Construction 10: Knowledge on weak points on buildings.


    </td>


    <td>


    Hand to hand combat: Investing stamina to increase damage up to 2 times the damage.


    </td>


    <td>Heavy Armor 10. Reduced movement speed penalty from 5% to 4%</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Herb-lore 10:Can see 2 potential uses upon consuming any herb.</td>


    <td>


    Mining 10: Increased knowledge on where to strike rock.


    </td>


    <td>Swordsmanship 10: Increase damage per level from 3% to 4%</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Trade10: You are able to see a gold value while identifying items</td>


    <td>


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Magics:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Light Magic: 10: 13%


    </td>


    <td>


    Earth Magic: 13: 09%


    </td>


    <td>


    Water Magic: 9: 14%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Dark Magic: 7: 35%


    </td>


    <td>


    Sonic magic: 1: 31%


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Spells:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Purify Water


    </td>


    <td>


    Light Rain


    </td>


    <td>


    Weak Desiccate


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Cast stone


    </td>


    <td>


    Bark Skin


    </td>


    <td>


    Simple Light


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Light Bolt


    </td>


    <td>


    Strengthening Light


    </td>


    <td>


    Encroaching Dark


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Blind


    </td>


    <td>


    Silence


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">


    Tenet


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Vindictive


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Over the course of this fight, war, whatever you want to call it, with the snatcher spiders Bjorn had learned one thing. No matter how good he had gotten so far, he was still no match for anyone who had some skill with a blade. So leaning into that would be folly. Especially with how rounded out their party had become.


    Everyone has kind of filled out a role. Alaric had become the tank, as he stood there absorbing the most punishment, while being able to dish it out as good as he took it. Rickie was more of a brawler with his combat ability. It made him tough to deal with, especially with Alaric around to help mitigate any damage that was dealt to him. Tayla was fast, elusive, and was handy sneaking around being unseen. She became their scout while in urban areas, and guard for Bjorn and Meira as that was where her skills leaned into the most. Meira became their party healer and heavy ranged damage with her spellcasting. The confluence of her Talents, lucky encounters, and now Professed mage made her their most important damage dealer. The trade off was she wasn¡¯t that good at avoiding attacks, making her kind of a glass cannon.


    The only role that wasn¡¯t being filled by their party was a scout in nature, and sustained ranged damage. Which so far was exactly what Bjorn¡¯s skills and stat points leaned into. He was the only one who had some sort of tracking skill. He spent a lot of his time in nature during the first year of his life in the Eld. He had stealth, his highest combat skill was archery. It would just make plain sense for him to lean further into that role.


    It also became apparent that he was lacking when it came to his ability to sling spells. Although everything he knew was different than Meira, and in its own right powerful. He would never be able to match her for pure damage capabilities, but his magic seemed to serve more of a supportive role anyways. Regardless though, his spell casting had played a pivotal role in his survival, and with his reliance on keeping distance lately during a fight he found himself low on mana in almost every single fight they had been in.


    With all of that in mind Bjorn started to allocate his points. He put 2 into dexterity, 2 into agility, 2 into wisdom, and finally 3 into intelligence. Bringing each stat except for wisdom up to 20, with wisdom at 17. For his mental stats he didn¡¯t feel really any difference, but with the 4 points he had put into agility and dexterity it made his entire body feel more balanced, looser, and made him feel like he could move all around much easier.


    With all of his stats finally allocated he stopped and looked at his total stats. It was quite respectable. No one stat was over inflated over another. They were all pretty close to balanced, at least as close as you could get to a balanced build, based on his skills. For the almost millionth time he took a look at his level and lamented how much more he could be right now with an additional 22 stats if he didn¡¯t have that damn weak disadvantage.


    After he finished with his stat allocation and skill advancement Bjorn wanted to see how the war leader skill worked. For about 15 minutes he tried to find where a ¡®form war party.¡¯ button was in all of the menus of his HUD, but with no luck. Eventually in frustration he gave up on searching instead he sat there thinking about the skill. By almost pure happenstance Bjorn¡¯s gaze fell onto Alaric¡¯s sleeping form and thought ¡°Maybe Alaric knows how to form a war party.¡±


    After that errant thought a screen popped up in the middle of his vision.


    Would you like to form a war party? Yes/No?


    Obviously Bjorn mentally clicked yes, and a new screen appeared in front of his vision.


    This is a one time message, so don¡¯t skip any part of it. You have formed your first war party. Your war party your war party will last a total of 32 hours before disbanding. You are only able to make a single war party per 32 hour stint. The 32 hours starts as soon as you form the party. Once made, anyone who becomes a part of your war party will be included in the war party for the full 32 hours. Each person can only be a part of 1 war party. As a beginner war leader you are able to have at max 10 people in your war party, as you go up in ranks in this skill you will be able to have more. Until the war party is disbanded everyone in the war party will stay in it, this is true for the 32 hours, once that time frame has elapsed the war party will naturally be disbanded. As the war leader you will get war points for everything that your war party kills. As a beginner war leader the maximum number of war points you are able to obtain per day is limited to 250. Increase your rank in this skill to increase that limit.


    Bjorn spent a few minutes reading over that confusing line of text until he finally started to understand what exactly it was trying to say. After he grasped the meaning he closed the message and looked where he had seen the information the war leader skill gave him while he was a part of Tommin¡¯s war party. And sure enough the list was there once again, this time the only name on the list was himself. Next to his name was a little star. The star was the exact same one that Tommin had next to his name when Bjorn was added to his war party.


    Right next to his list of members of the war party was a small button that wasn¡¯t there when Bjorn was just a member of a war party and so mentally he clicked on it. A new menu appeared in front of his face. Immediately the first thing he noticed was the fact that each item in the list had a number next to it. It didn¡¯t take a genius to guess that the number was the warpoint cost. He quickly scrolled through the list, and it was a long list. Nearly anything and everything Bjorn could think of appeared in the list as he scrolled.


    Increased range on your sphere of influence. 50


    Movement speed. 25


    Attack damage. 10


    Defenses 10.


    Roles 100.


    Magics 100.


    Telepathy. 50.


    Were a few of the items on the list that jumped out at him as he scrolled through the list. Just when Bjorn was wondering if he could get more information on an upgrade path a prompt appeared in the middle of his vision.


    Natural healing 20.


    When you purchase this upgrade for your war leader skill your entire war party''s natural healing will increase by 100% throughout the duration of the war party. This upgrade has multiple levels to it.


    Well that was good to know. As it turned out the prompt that he got further explaining how the upgrade worked matched up with the one he was looking at as he had that thought. With his new found knowledge he began pulling up upgrade after upgrade getting a more detailed explanation on what each upgrade did.


    Increased range on your sphere of influence. 50.


    Your sphere of influence is how far out your aura reaches. By default the area that you are able to affect is 100 yards. Once outside of your sphere your war party members lose the benefits of your sphere of influence until they come back inside the range of your sphere. They will still be considered a member of your war party and will not be removed from your war party. Any role that they obtained from you will be maintained. This upgrade has multiple levels to it.


    Movement speed. 25.


    Purchasing this upgrade will give your war party an increased movement speed of 5% in whatever terrain you pick. You may purchase this upgrade multiple times, choosing different types of terrain each time you buy it. Each type of terrain that you pick has multiple levels to it.


    Attack damage. 10.


    When you purchase this upgrade you will have to pick what type of damage you wish to amplify. You may purchase this upgrade multiple times, choosing different types of damage you wish to amply each time. Each type of damage you purchase will have multiple levels to it.


    Defenses. 10.


    When you purchase this upgrade you will have to pick what type of defenses you wish to amplify. You may purchase this upgrade multiple times, choosing different types of defenses you wish to amply each time. Each type of defense you purchase will have multiple levels to it.


    Roles. 100.


    Roles are a single upgrade that you purchase and are able to be assigned to a single member of your war party. When a role is allocated that member will gain buffs associated of the assigned role. Each role will have multiple upgrades that can be purchased for it.


    Magics. 100.


    This upgrade will unlock a certain school of magic that you will be able to buy upgrades for. Each school of magic is a one time purchase. Each purchase of a school of magic will have the exact same cost to unlock.


    Telepathy. 50.


    Telepathy is a one time purchase and will give your war party the ability to communicate with you exclusively by telepathy, as long as they are part of your sphere of influence. There is only a single upgrade to this skill. Once purchased you may spend an additional 25 war points to upgrade your telepathy to allow your war party members to telepathically communicate amongst themselves as well as with you.


    Bjorn spent some time going over what he would want to purchase as he read through the descriptions of what all of the upgrades to his war leader skill would do. In his mind there were two upgrades that were no-brainers to pick up. So for 150 war points he purchased the two upgrades. The first being, increased sphere of influence and the second being telepathy.


    With the first purchase the price updated as well as the description of the upgrade. The cost jumped from 50 to 100, but the range on his sphere of influence also jumped from 100 yards to 200 yards.


    After he purchased the telepathy upgrade it also changed. Its cost dropped from 50 to 25. With a mental sigh Bjorn spent the last 25 to max out the upgrade. After he spent the war points the upgrade disappeared from the list of his available upgrades.


    With 76 war points left Bjorn was debating on what to spend them on, it wasn¡¯t enough to purchase any of the major upgrades so Bjorn started to devise how to spend his remaining points.


    The first thing he spent the remaining 76 points on was a movement speed upgrade. When he spent the points a huge list of different terrains appeared. Scrolling through it Bjorn ended up settling on one, and that was forests. The way he figured up until this point Alaric, Meira, Tayla and himself had mainly traveled through forests to get here. During his life in the Eld he had spent the majority of his time so far in only three terrains. The first one being mountains. The second being forest. And lastly underground. With the battle against the spiders being finished he decided that underground wasn¡¯t a good purchase. Once they were done here they were planning on going to Vanta to tell Rickie¡¯s friend''s sister about his death. So they would have to travel through the forest to get there.


    After he purchased the upgrade for movement speed it changed once again. The initial option to buy movement speed was still there for the initial cost. Instead another option appeared, this one labeled.


    Movement speed(forest). 5%. 25.


    With his amazing powers of deduction Bjorn surmised that the 5% was the increase to movement speed while in forests. What was curious was the fact that the price didn¡¯t increase. Bjorn¡¯s curiosity ended up getting the better of him and he purchased the second level of movement speed (forest).


    This caused it to change once again, this time its speed increase jumped to 10% and the price also jumped to 50. Its name also changed from Movement speed to Movement speed II. Bjorn ultimately decided that his curiosity was actually not worth the 25 points that he had to spend to figure out that the movement speed price wasn¡¯t a static thing.


    With his remaining 26 points Bjorn was undecided as to what he wanted to spend them on. There wasn¡¯t anything that really jumped out at him as something he should spend the points on. So he decided to spend 20 of the remaining war points on attack and defense.


    When he purchased attack for 10, a menu appeared much as it had for the movement speed. Through there there were a number of choices to pick from. Stabbing, slashing, crushing, force, concussion. Bjorn thought about it for a moment and decided to purchase slashing. Although it wouldn¡¯t help Tayla really, it would help Alaric and Rickie. Rickie¡¯s two handed sword was basically a slashing weapon, if not a partial crushing weapon. And as for Alaric although he used a hammer during the fight with the snatcher spiders his preferred weapon was an axe so he would benefit from it as well. Once again after Bjorn purchased the upgrade a new item appeared under the attack option being.


    Attack(slashing). 5%. 15.


    With that purchased he next went to defense. What surprised him was when he purchased the defense he had choices there as well. Instead of types of damages that came up, such as piercing slashing or crushing, what appeared was: Physical, Water, Earth, Air, Fire, Light, Dark, Life, Death. He wasn¡¯t expecting defenses to encompass the schools of magic as well.


    So with his ten points he decided to go with the safe route and purchased physical defenses. Right on que there was a new option for purchase, that being, upgrade the physical defenses. His purchase of the first level gave his war party 5% resistance to any physical attack.


    Which ultimately left him with 6 war points left to spend. Not knowing what exactly he wanted to spend them on he began to scroll through the list once again, this time just filtering for what he could spend the 6 points on. What caught his eye was an upgrade that cost 1 point to purchase. Out of curiosity Bjorn took a closer look at that upgrade.


    Better insults. 1.


    Purchasing this upgrade will make any insult your war party hurls at your opponent sting just a little bit more. This upgrade will have multiple levels to purchase.


    Mentally laughing at the absurdity of the upgrade Bjorn decided to purchase it.


    Better insults I. 5%. 2.


    The thought that Alaric¡¯s insults will have more of an impact on their enemies just made Bjorn giggle internally. So he immediately decided to purchase the second one. Which increased the effectiveness of Alaric¡¯s insults by 10%. Leaving him with 3 war points, Which coincidentally was the exact cost for Better insults III. So he spent the last 3 war points to purchase Better insults III. This brought the cost for IV up to 5 war points, and the total increased effect of insults to 15%.


    After all of his war points were finally spent he looked around the room and he saw a few Rickie had moved himself into a seated position in the tent. He and Bjorn made eye contact and then nodded to each other. There was an unspoken agreement between the two and they both started to get up. After all they were both still covered in the grime from the day before. As Bjorn got to his feet he mentally disbanded the war party just by thinking about it, almost the same as how he had formed it.


    At the commotion in the tent the other two woke up, and they too quickly started to gather up clean clothes and their bars of soap. Together the four of them made their way towards the communal showers/baths area. Once there they stripped out of their soiled armor and their soiled clothes and cleaned themselves.


    Once everyone was clean Tayla got dressed in her clean clothes as she picked up everyone¡¯s soiled clothes and took off for the launders. The three men picked up all of the various weapons and armor that they had used and sat down and started to clean their gear, still naked, as they would likely have gotten any new clothes dirty once again. They were not the only ones doing that. There were around a dozen other people in various states of cleaning themselves and their armor and gear. It was a stark reminder of what they had lost, before the battle there would be roughly 25 to 50 people there cleaning themselves.


    After they finished cleaning the grim from both themselves and their gear they collectively got dressed and picked up their gear. Making their way over to the forges they dropped off all of their gear to let them repair anything that needed to be repaired.


    They then made their way back to their tent to collect Tayla, she had told them before she left that she was going to go back to the tent and take care of their dirty sheets after dropping off their clothes. When they got there they found that she had finished changing out the sheets and the dirty ones were nowhere to be seen.


    Next they went and got a quick bite to eat before they made their way to the command center. Upon arrival there were two new guards standing outside of the doors. Some form of military discipline apparently had reasserted itself as they were standing more at attention than the two the night before were.


    As the group approached they expected to be stopped by the guards. To their surprise the two men instead clasped their fists to their chests and bowed their heads, must as how the two the night before had done. They didn¡¯t slow and instead just walked right past the two guards. After the group had passed they returned to their previous position, standing at attention.


    The inside of the command center was once a military headquarters, not anymore. Although a small area was still dedicated to running the camp, the vast majority of the large spacious room had been changed into sleeping accommodations. Where the building use to be a flurry of activity, now it was just a soft slow bustle.


    As soon as they entered the building someone made their way over to where they were standing and after a quick bow salute she spoke. ¡°We were told you would likely want to see your friend Meira. If you would like to follow me I can show you to her.¡±


    Following her through the rows of cots they passed plenty of people who were sleeping. There were also a number who were not. Everyone that they passed who was not sleeping gave them the same type of treatment they had gotten from the guards and the woman. Not everyone saluted and bowed though. It was impossible not to see the gratitude and respect on their faces though.


    They followed the woman to the far side of the room and down a small corridor that they hadn¡¯t seen the last time they were in this building. Around half way down they went through a small door. Inside was a room roughly 7 by 8 feet. It was furnished with a bed, small desk and chair. Standing next to the bed was a man in an outfit that labeled him as a healer. Laying on the bed unconscious was Meira.


    The woman gave a small smile and left. The healer saw the quartet and spoke before any questions could be asked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she is fine. She is just sleeping. She had pushed herself too far in that last battle and fell unconscious because of the depleted mana. She is making a full recovery.¡±


    Bjorn nodded. ¡°Is there anything we can do to help?¡±


    The healer shook his head. ¡°No, she just needs sleep that is all.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Tayla said.


    He nodded and made his way from the room, having to push past the group to do so as the room didn¡¯t have much in the way for space. They sat there, talking in low voices trying not to wake Meira.


    After roughly 15 minutes a young boy came to the room. ¡°Duke Dornan would like to speak with you. If you would like to follow me I can show you to him.¡±


    Everyone made to follow except for Bjorn. Looking back at Bjorn Alaric asked. ¡°You okay? Are you coming?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, I think I will stay here.¡± He said simply.


    Rickie gave the boy a curious look.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t say that you had to come, just that he wished to speak with you, and to come at your own time.¡± the boy shrugged.


    ¡°Sounds good, we will see you in a bit.¡± Rickie said to Bjorn as they filled out the door.


    Bjorn sat there by Meira¡¯s side for a good long while before anything changed. He had eventually taken a seat in the one chair and laid his head on the bed and fell asleep while waiting. He was awoken by the feeling of a hand running through his hair. Sitting up he saw Meira laying there with a smile on her pretty face.


    ¡°I can think of worse ways to wake up.¡± Meira said teasingly as Bjorn sat up. ¡°A cute boy laying on my bed, obviously sick with worry over me.¡±


    Meira¡¯s words struck a little too close to home for Bjorn and his heart began to ache. ¡°You had me worried, I thought that I lost you when I saw your limp body being carried away from the battlefield.¡± Bjorn¡¯s voice was thick with emotion, it sounded like he was on the verge of tears.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t going to get away from me that easily.¡± Meira replied, her smile growing wider. ¡°You were the one who saved me, I owe you my life, wherever you go, I will go to.¡±


    ¡°Meira, you don¡¯t owe me anything. You have saved my life time and time again, if anyone owes the other their life it is me.¡±


    ¡°Now that is a nice thought. You owe me, looks like I am the one stuck with you.¡± A playful note in her voice.


    Even though Meira¡¯s mood was light and playful Bjorn wasn¡¯t quite finished with his emotions. For the thousandth time Bjorn was overcome with the desire to kiss her. Something in him snapped today. And instead of pulling away and stopping himself, he leaned in heading straight for her lips.


    Instead of pulling away, or looking stunned she came forward and their lips locked. They were soft, and sweet as if she had just eaten a candy. They sat there kissing each other for who knows how long before they broke away. But they didn¡¯t fully retreat, they stayed faces almost pressed together.


    ¡°Well that was unexpected.¡± She said breathlessly.


    ¡°But not unwanted it seemed.¡± Bjorn said teasingly.


    ¡°Not at all.¡± She replied before placing her hand on the back of Bjorn¡¯s neck and lacing her fingers into his hair. She pulled him in for another kiss. He didn¡¯t resist.


    They kissed once again. As their lips were locked together they heard a voice over by the door. ¡°Its about damn time you two fucking got over yourselves and kissed.¡± Alaric¡¯s voice cut through the silence.

 Chapter 47

    ¡°What did he want?¡± Bjorn asked almost embarrassedly after he and Meira pulled away from each other.


    ¡°Oh it was nothing truly important.¡± Tayla said.


    ¡°He just wanted to thank us and told us to meet him at his palace in 5 days, and he will give up a bit of a reward.¡± Rickie said.


    ¡°He also told us that they will start evacuating the camp and this area later today, and we are now free to make our way up to the surface. The only thing we have to do is everyone needs to be checked to make sure there aren¡¯t any of those snatcher spider infiltrators left inside someone¡¯s body.¡± Alaric finished explaining.


    ¡°Did he say why 5 days from now?¡± Meira asked.


    Tayla moved forward and took a seat on the edge of Meira¡¯s bed. ¡°I think he said it had something to do with needing to organize down here before he is able to make it back up to the surface. He said there was a lot he needed to facilitate before he has some free time.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± Alaric asked Meira. ¡°When did they say you are free to go?¡±


    ¡°Sometime later this evening, they said they still want to keep an eye on me and make sure I am back up to full strength. Which I already feel like I am, but you know, you follow the healer''s orders.¡±


    Everyone but Bjorn gave a knowing affirmation at her statement.


    ¡°So we have until this evening. What do you guys want to do?¡±


    ¡°I for one.¡± Bjorn spoke up. ¡°Would like to go back to our old camp. I left some things behind and would like to retrieve them if I could.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Alaric said. ¡°I think I left a few things behind as well. If any of you left stuff behind we can collect it for you.¡± He looked around at the other three who all either shook their heads or told him no. ¡°That settles that. What about you two?¡± Alaric looked at Tayla and Rickie.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll stay here and help clean out and then break down our tent.¡± Rickie said. ¡°I know that there are some support staff members who will do that for us, but I don¡¯t want to put all of that work on them. I want to make their job easier so they too can get home to their families sooner.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll join you.¡± Tayla said, giving him an all too toothy grin.


    ¡°And I think I¡¯ll stay here and rest.¡± Meira added in with a smarmy grin.


    The other three stood to leave and as they were doing so Alaric looked over his shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll meet you outside Bjorn. Leave you two love birds alone to say goodbye.¡±


    ¡°Ass.¡± Bjorn called after his retreating back. He turned to Meira, bent down and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. ¡°I will see you this evening.¡±


    As he started to pull away she pulled him back in for a quick peck of her own. ¡°Sounds good, I will see you tonight.¡±


    Bjorn was filled with a desire to not leave. But he really did want to see if his alchemical components he left back at the old camp were still good. So instead of giving into his base instinct he instead stood and left Meira where she lay in her bed.


    He made his way out of the building to find Alaric standing there waiting for him. Together the two made their way not directly to the camp, but instead to the blacksmith. Once there they quickly collected all of their weapons and armor that they left behind. Each time they got their armor everything looked almost brand new. There was a slight issue though. Each time the armor got left behind to be repaired, the durability was returned to its maximum. But the maximum durability that the armor had was reduced by a few points. It wasn¡¯t anything major, but given enough repairs the armor would be essentially useless.


    Once everything was all gathered they suited back up and then made their way to the old abandoned camp of Jenkins. For the most part the duo walked in companionable silence, occasionally they would talk amongst themselves. They just took in the freedom that they were finally afforded after being drafted into this army. It wasn¡¯t a long time, but over the almost three weeks that they were press ganged into fighting had been rough. Each step they took they could feel the weight, anger, and stress being lifted off their shoulders.


    As they continued Alaric slowly started to become himself again. His mood was getting lighter, and happier. Gone was the angry, brooding, upset dwarf. In its place was the light hearted, smiling, joking, dwarf that Alaric used to be.


    It was good.


    As they traveled they didn¡¯t hurry along their way, instead they spent most of their time just walking in the oppressive darkness, that didn¡¯t seem so oppressive as it had once been. So it took them close to two hours to make it all the way back to their old camp.


    Upon making it there they found that most everything had been left right where it was when they last made it to camp. There was just a thin layer of fine dust that coated everything. That was one downside to living in a cave, there was almost always dust that was settling on your stuff. A portion of the duties that was assigned to Tommin¡¯s unit was the clean away this dust that collected.


    Bjorn found where he had stashed the herbs and alchemical reagents that he had collected while they traveled to Blackrock Bay. When they made their way to meet up with the main army he had left almost all of it behind. As the collective total was surprisingly heavy, and he didn¡¯t want to be carrying that into battle with them. Now that he had the bag of holding that was less of an issue with its weight reducing properties.


    Almost all of it had spoiled by the time they were able to make it back to camp to collect them. When he had collected them they had gone directly into his portable pocket. With its ability to stop aging he hadn¡¯t had to worry about properly preparing them to keep. So he had expected most of his collection to be worthless now. There were a few here and there that were able to be used so those ended up back in his bag. The rest he left behind to compost.


    After he finished sorting through the pile he walked over to Alaric.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t actually leave anything behind.¡± Alaric told him the truth. ¡°What I wanted to do was pilfer this fucking camp and take anything that is worth something. Seeing how I now have your portable pocket I think I have to put this thing to good use.¡± Alaric finished putting a staff into the pocket. ¡°This thing is an amazing magical item. I think this is one of the best items we have come across so far. The only thing better is at your hip.¡± He made a gesture towards Bjorn¡¯s bag of holding.


    Together the pair finished sorting through the camp and taking anything and everything that either of them found useful. It took another hour or so but as they left they were both quite happy with what they ended up taking.


    By the time they made it back to the main camp Alaric was ready for a break. So they made their way to the mess. Upon arrival they found a small meal had been prepared for anyone and everyone who wanted some. What was a surprise was they had brought down and opened a cask of ale. They were handing out drinks to anyone who wanted them, which to no one''s surprise was every single person who went to the mess. They did limit the pints to two a piece, but it was a welcome surprise.


    They sat down with the light meal of bread, sliced dried meat, apples, and a nut similar to a cashew. They ate slowly and drank their ale, it was a good, hardy, hoppy ale. But after the weeks that they had to go without a single drink, and with the stress they had to go through, it was a good time all around. Although Bjorn and Alaric weren¡¯t overly flamboyant with their meals, others were loudly talking and joking, it made the atmosphere almost jovial.


    They milked their beers and made them last a few hours, but eventually they were finished and it was almost time for Meira to be let loose as well. So they made their way over to the headquarters and made their way to her room. When they made it to her room she was sitting on the edge of her bed fully dressed and looking up at the healer they had seen earlier.


    ¡°Now don¡¯t overdo it out there. You have exhausted your body in more ways than one. Take it easy for around a week to make sure there isn¡¯t any lingering effect that the battle had on your body. But other than that I think you are good to go.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I plan on doing nothing for a while.¡± She looked over and saw Bjorn and Alaric standing in the doorway, her gaze settled on Bjorn. ¡°Well not exactly nothing.¡±


    The three friends once again reunited, made their way out of the building and headed to their tent. Which to no one¡¯s surprise they found still standing with lewd noises coming from the interior.


    Sighing, Meira started to walk up to the flap, but Bjorn stopped her. ¡°No, let them have this, they need the release.¡±


    ¡°That is fine, I am just not going to listen to them.¡± Meira said almost accusatively.


    ¡°I have something for that.¡± Bjorn said and walked up to the tent once again casting his sonic spell silence. And for the second time this part of camp was saved from having to listen to Tayla moan.


    ¡°That is remarkable, I didn¡¯t know you knew that spell. What school of magic is that from?¡± Alaric asked while Meira looked at him suspiciously.


    ¡°It¡¯s a sonic spell, it¡¯s a combination magic. Here, sit and I will tell you all about it.¡±


    So they sat at the small table as Bjorn began to tell them all about the combination spell and where he got it. He even brought out all of the various spell books that he found inside his bag of holding when he acquired it.


    ¡°This one belongs to the fire school of magic. These two are from the death school. And these last three are from the same school of magic that I just cast, sonic magic. When I got the bag of holding there were 8 spell books inside. These 7 plus one additional spell book which I used to learn the sonic spell silence.¡±


    ¡°That is remarkable. What do they do?¡± Alaric asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Not entirely, I don¡¯t have a high enough level in those schools of magic yet for my W.A.I.L.A. ability to tell me what exactly the spells do. I have some guesses based on their names.¡±


    They spent roughly an hour and a half talking about what the spells could possibly be and do based on their names. At an hour in Bjorn¡¯s silence spell elapsed and the lewd sounds continued to fill the air. With a sigh Bjorn got up and recast his silence spell and again blessed silence fell over that area of the camp. After they finished talking about the spells they fell into more mundane topics until almost two hours after they made it to the tent Rickie and Tayla slowly made their way out of the tent. As soon as they showed their faces Bjorn dismissed his spell.


    ¡°It¡¯s about damn time. Either you have some impressive stamina Rickie, or Tayla you aren¡¯t what you used to be. Getting loose in your old age?¡± Alaric commented as he pushed past them and into the tent. ¡°By the gods, it reeks of sex in here. At least have the decency to let it air out before coming to get us.¡±


    Tayla just shook her head instead of leaning into Alaric¡¯s taunting. ¡°We are going to the showers, be back in a bit.¡±


    Alaric¡¯s voice called out once again from inside the tent. ¡°Please do the entire camp a favor and keep it in your pants while you are at the baths. No one wants to see the two of you fuck.¡±


    Rickie looked nonplussed at Alaric¡¯s antics. Tayla on the other hand grew a wicked smile as if Alaric had just given her an idea that she couldn¡¯t help but act upon. She grabbed Rickie¡¯s hand and pulled him away from the tent.


    ¡°I swear, they are all a bunch of children.¡± Meira groaned as they walked away, watching Tayla¡¯s tail swish excitedly.


    ¡°Look on the bright side. This is the first time they have been able to tease and joke like that in the last 3 weeks. I think this is an improvement.¡± Bjorn said.


    She turned and gave Bjorn a wan smile. ¡°You are right of course. Come let us finish up here so we can go back to the surface. I can¡¯t wait to feel the sun on my face again.¡±


    Together the three of them began packing up anything that they had in the tent. It was easy to do for Bjorn and Alaric as they both had their magical bags on their hips. Meira wasn¡¯t able to carry her worldly possessions with her at all times, so she had to pack her pack. Bjorn and Alaric worked on getting Tayla and Rickie¡¯s pack ready. After they finished that they began stripping the sheets off of all of the beds, leaving Tayla¡¯s sheets in a pile by themselves. By the soaked nature of her sheets they had used her bed. The rest they took to the laundry to be cleaned.


    They then began collapsing the cots that had been their beds for the last few weeks and then moving them out of the tent. They also carried out the wooden chests that had served to hold their worldly possessions. By that time Rickie and Tayla had returned from the baths and things started to get done faster. Once everything was out of the tent they began to collapse it. They pulled the stakes that held the edges up and Rickie and Bjorn pulled down the two large center poles propping the tent up. After it was on the ground they didn¡¯t know how exactly the tent was supposed to be folded so they left it as it was on the ground and neatly stacked all of the chests and cot frames.


    After everything was packed up they made their way to the entrance that led back up to Blackrock Bay proper. As they drew nearer they slowed to a crawl as a line had formed of people trying to make it back up to the city. It took them nearly an hour to make it to the front of the line.


    When they got there they were stopped in their tracks by 10 guards who were all a part of Gram¡¯s personal unit. One of them spoke up. ¡°For you to be able to leave camp you are required to strip down and prove that you are not infected by a snatcher spider. Gram is taking no chances in letting any snatcher spider through. There are two tents, one for males and one for females. You are only allowed in there two at a time. If you are uncomfortable with more than one you may enter one at a time.¡±


    Together the 5 of them started to walk towards the tents and they were stopped once again. ¡°Not you two.¡± He said, speaking to Tayla and Rickie. ¡°Everyone in camp knows by now that you are not infected by snatcher spiders. The little show you put on in the showers has made its rounds. You are free to go.¡± He stepped aside letting Rickie and Tayla past him. They walked just far enough past the guards and stopped waiting for the other three friends.


    Meira split off and went into her own tent and Bjorn and Alaric into theirs. After they stripped down and the male attendant, and both guards thoroughly inspected their bodies they were allowed to leave and continue up to the surface.


    By the time they were redressed and ready to leave, Meira was already waiting for them with the other two. So the quintet started their slow progress backup to the surface and open air. It was relatively easy to find their way upwards without anyone to guide them. All they had to do was follow the line of people and soon they were back up to the ground level.


    One thing that you miss while under the ground without realizing you are missing it, is wind. The air, while not stagnant, is never moving fast enough to even feel a light breeze. Upon stepping out into the night''s sky Bjorn was filled with a sense of relief. One he didn¡¯t realize that he needed. He stood there for a moment feeling the air slowly move past him. He closed his eyes and relished the feeling, taking deep slow breaths of the fresh air.


    He stood like that until the next person behind him pushed their way past him to get a piece of his own relief. It was enough to stir him back to the world around him and He realized he was being a dick. He had stopped directly in front of the entrance into the sewer system, blocking the way for those behind him. Stepping out of the way he walked over to where his friends had already moved to the side so they could enjoy the fresh air.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    When he first exited the tunnels he thought that it was the night sky, now that he was standing in it he realized he was wrong. It wasn¡¯t the night sky, it was actually dusk, and on the horizon he could see just the faint glow of the sun setting.


    Without any communication as to where they were going they started to follow the crowd and soon found themselves on one of the main thoroughfares in the commercial district. It didn¡¯t take long for them to figure out where exactly they were. Again without ever verbalizing they started to make their way back to the Glistening Goose. It was the only place they had here in town that was close to home. If they were going to spend a few days in this city getting everything settled before they left they would need a home base.


    They pushed their way into the inn/tavern. It once was a popular and loud place, with loud voices, music, and merriment all around. It was that place again. When they left the inn it had been dead as everyone was worried about the snatcher spider invasion. That fear seemed to have disappeared as the Glistening Goose was once again a hub of activity. The serving men made their way through the crowd scantily clad as they were when they first found the inn.


    A few curious eyes found their way to the door as it opened, but soon the curious eyes wandered back to their previous engagements. And once again of the 50 some odd people who were in this establishment the majority of them were women.


    They made their way over to the bar where a man they didn¡¯t recognize stood and was busy pouring and preparing drinks for the patrons. ¡°What can I do for you? Would you like an ale? Maybe a glass of wine? We have this new fruit mead that is just delightful.¡±


    ¡°Actually, we were looking for Kent. Is he here?¡± Bjorn was the one to reply.


    ¡°Yeah of course he is. He is busy helping prepare dinner though. If you want I can get him for you.¡±


    ¡°That would be lovely. Thank you.¡± Meira said.


    The man nodded, and stood there as he waited for his last drink to pour. After it was done he set it on the bar and turned and walked through the door and into the kitchen. Soon afterwards one of the servers came up and grabbed the drink and whisked it away through the crowd.


    After about a minute they could hear Kent¡¯s voice as it drew near the door. ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t know them? And they asked for me by name? Well what did they look li-¡± His questions stopped just as Kent did when he rounded the door and got a good look at the 5 people standing on the other side of his bar.


    Bjorn and his friends just stood there grinning at Kent as if they were kids who just played a prank on their parents. Kent on the other hand stood there in stunned silence for a brief moment before he burst through the doorway and expertly vaulted the bar and rushed at the friends. He quickly stepped forward and started bundling each of them up in a hug.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see any of you ever again. What did? How did?¡± It seemed like his mind had a million questions that he wanted to ask, and somehow none of them came out. In less than ten seconds 6 different questions got started and abandoned half way through the question. After his sixth failed attempt he just stopped and took a deep breath. ¡°Oh, it is so good to see all of you again.¡±


    Meira gave the man a warm smile. ¡°It is so good to see you as well. We will answer any and all questions you have, but first we want a drink.¡±


    Kent laughed. ¡°Of course.¡± he vaulted onto the bar from where he was standing and cleared his throat. The sound wasn¡¯t particularly loud but he had trained his patrons to quiet down when they heard that noise. ¡°These 5 people here and some of the heroes who went down into the sewers to fight for our fair town.¡± A few cheers echoed from a few mouths at the proclamation.


    He held up his hands quickly quieting the voices. ¡°By the sheer fact that they are here, that means that our army was successful.¡± Even more cheers filled the room. ¡°But of course you knew that. These 5 here are my friends, and to celebrate their victorious return, a free round of drinks for the room.¡± This time the entire room erupted in cheers. He let the roar continue for a long time letting the 5 friends who were standing at the center of attention awkwardly accepted the adoration. ¡°If by the end of the night any one of them is sober we have failed at our job!¡± The loudest roar of them all filled the room as the music began to play once again.


    He hopped down from the bar and smiled at the group. He walked forward and brought them in conspiratorially. ¡°You will never have to pay for anything in this establishment again. I just did that so that maybe you will be able to get drunk tonight on someone else¡¯s dime and not mine.¡± He winked at them. ¡°Enjoy the night, we will talk in the morning and you will give me your story.¡±


    With that he turned on his heels and made his way back around the bar like a normal person and into the kitchen to finish preparing the evening''s meal.


    As soon as Kent walked away from them they were swarmed by a gaggle of women, and a few men. Like a dam broke the questions came rocketing out. ¡°What was it like down there?¡± ¡°Did you get injured?¡± ¡°Oh you poor soul, let me buy you a drink for your troubles.¡±  And just like that the inseparable companions got pulled in 5 different directions as they were whisked away to different tables as people tried to monopolize their time.


    One thing Kent was true to his word on was the fact that they would never have to spend a copper in his establishment again. Throughout the night they each had several different people try to buy them a drink. Of which Bjorn was grateful for, as a man, no stranger had ever bought him a drink before, it was a surreal experience. At first he accepted every single drink that was offered to him, by the 9th one he started to regret that decision. By the 12th he started to politely reject the offers for a drink.


    In many ways his body here on the Eld was remarkable. Another way that he was finding out was that with his high constitution and endurance he could handle his alcohol quite well. At least while it was normal beer. As it turned out the Eld was used to people having elevated constitutions so they had developed stronger spirits to offset that. While he was drinking the ales and wines he was doing just fine. That changed when Kent brought out a spirit that burnt like shitty moonshine as it went down. That was when the night truly turned into a rough one.


    The entire night was a bit of a blur, many names and faces flashed by Bjorn as he was drunkenly pulled this way or that way. There were moments of clarity in the night, when his mind resurfaced from its drunken haze. At one point he was sitting next to Alaric, and he had a pretty human woman sitting on his lap with her hands laced in his hair and beard. He was laughing and talking about how he lost his hand. At another point he was sitting around the table with 3 women who were playing a card game he learned while at camp.


    The last time his mind surfaced and the one he remembered the most vividly he was sitting next to Meira, her hand on his thigh as she was talking to one of Kent¡¯s servers, he never really could tell what she was saying. But with her closeness and the warmth of her body pressed against his he was nothing but happy.


    From there he was never able to recall what happened.


    In the morning Bjorn woke up laying in a large bed. His mind groggily brought itself to wakefulness. It took a while but he eventually woke up enough to realize he wasn¡¯t alone. In a moment of panic he lifted the sheets to see what he had done. Only to relax when he saw Meira¡¯s lithe naked form in bed next to him. Relaxing he let the sheets drop down mostly, as something else started to lift the sheets.


    He slowly reached out and wrapped his arm around Meira¡¯s midsection and pulled her into him. Her warm lithe body pressed into him. She stirred. ¡°Good morning handsome.¡± She said in a thick, almost sultry voice.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± He replied. ¡°Did you sleep well?¡±


    ¡°Better than I thought I would.¡± She stretched from where she lay and turned around to face him. She placed her head on his arm and looked into his eyes. Her emerald green eyes were enchanting. Unable to help himself he leaned in for a kiss.


    When they broke apart Bjorn¡¯s curiosity got the better of him. ¡°So last night did we?¡± He didn¡¯t finish the question. By the fact that they were both naked he figured the ending to the question was very obvious. ¡°Because if we did, I am sorry, I wished to remember our first time.¡±


    Meira let out a laugh. ¡°No, no we didn¡¯t. You were too drunk so I brought you up from the bar and stripped you down.¡±  A lascivious look crossed her face as her hand snaked its way down. ¡°But the day is still young, we could if you want.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Was the only word Bjorn was able to get out before Meira pressed her face into his and they started to kiss.


    Several hours later they made their way down the stairs slowly. When they got to the taproom no one was in the main room. They made their way to the kitchen where they found Kent kneading some dough while the cook fire inside the stove started to warm it up. ¡°Ah good morning. You guys looked to have a ton of fun last night.¡±


    Bjorn just groaned as their morning activities didn¡¯t help with the hangover he was feeling.


    This made Kent laugh. ¡°Oh by the way. In the future I would advise against gambling while you are drunk. Ella and her friends were working you over quite well last night. I put a stop to it when I realized what was happening, but they took two and a half gold from you before I realized what was happening.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Bjorn asked as his stomach dropped. ¡°I remember playing cards, I don¡¯t remember that it was for money.¡±


    Kent solemnly nodded his head. ¡°It was, and don¡¯t worry I banned all three of them for taking advantage of your situation, they won¡¯t ever set foot in my establishment.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for that but you didn¡¯t have to do that.¡± Meira said and she took hold of Bjorn¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Oh so you two finally got together. That is nice. I thought it was bound to happen last time you were here, but I guess not. Tell me about it.¡±


    The three of them stood around talking as Kent worked on making breakfast for everyone. After a while Alaric made his way down and the front door opened as his nightly entertainment left. Then lastly Rickie and Tayla joined.


    When breakfast was finished the 6 of them sat around one of Kent¡¯s tables and talked. They told him every detail they could remember about what happened and their part in the war. At first they were holding back some of the more gruesome details but Kent was rather insistent and wouldn¡¯t let it go. So after enough pushing from Kent they held nothing back. Their story took the better part of the morning to finish telling. By the time they were done it was already into early afternoon. All the while Kent was an intent listener.


    After they finished their story Kent sat in silence as he was thinking about what they had gone through. ¡°Well I am glad you are safe. I would like to continue talking about this, but I need to get ready for the evening. I suspect there will be more of a crowd tonight as people hear about you being here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡± Alaric said as he got up to follow after Kent.


    ¡°We will too.¡± Tayla said as she pulled Rickie to his feet.


    ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Meira asked as she looked at Bjorn.


    He sat there for a moment thinking. ¡°I think I will hunt down Alya. She deserves to know how things ended, and hopefully she is fine. I don¡¯t know where to go to find her though. I guess we should see if there are any general hospitals or anything here.¡±


    ¡°What is a hospital?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Bjorn said as he got to his feet. He walked over to the kitchen where the 4 were busy just starting on dinner. ¡°Hey Kent, is there a large healers house or something of the like here?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s in the upper circle though, it should be near the library, hard to miss.¡± He called back.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Bjorn called into the kitchen before heading back over to where Meira was sitting. ¡°I am going to go start there to try and find her. You are more than welcome to join if you wish.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I have nothing going on.¡± She said as she got to her feet and followed after Bjorn.


    They made their way out onto the street and started to navigate their way up to the upper circle. The city had mostly returned to what it had been before the spider attacks. There were people going every which way heading to whatever it was they needed to do. It was a light hustle and bustle. It was refreshing to see people going about their lives, when last time they were traveling these roads almost no one was out, only guards.


    Kent was right, it was quite easy to find. Standing right next to the public library stood a large building that to Bjorn looked like a hospital. Not one to argue semantics Bjorn made his way into the building and was greeted by a large desk directly in the foyer with several people sitting behind it.


    ¡°Can we help you?¡± One of the attendants asked.


    ¡°Yeah, we are looking for an elf by the name of Alya, she was a part of the battle effort against the spiders and had the bone in her leg melted. She is an alchemist by trade. Is she here?¡±


    ¡°Alya, Alya. That name doesn¡¯t sound familiar, do you by chance know her given name?¡±


    Bjorn shook his head.


    ¡°No matter, we can see what we can find. After all we have had many people who have been admitted here, it would be surprising if I knew anyone you were asking after. Give me a few minutes to check our ledgers.¡± She grabbed a heavy tomb and pulled it over to her and began flipping through pages. ¡°When did you say she would have been admitted here?¡±


    ¡°Probably two weeks ago at the earliest.¡± Meira replied.


    She flipped back several pages and began scanning the list of names. When she reached the bottom of the second page she would flip and search again. It took her nearly 15 minutes to go from her starting page to the last page. After she finished she looked up and shook her head. ¡°Sorry no one named Alya has been admitted here within the last two weeks. There are two other places she was most likely to have been taken. If you want I can give you directions to them.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, that would be awesome.¡± Bjorn replied.


    It was late evening when they made their way out of the last of the healer huts that the receptionist suggested. They had tried a total of 3 different healer huts, and struck out on each of them. A little disheartened they made their way back to Kent¡¯s tavern.


    Once there they had an evening similar to the one before, only this time Bjorn did a much better job at restraining himself and didn¡¯t get that drunk. Kent was right though, the tavern was much busier than it was the night before. Word that they were at the Glistening Goose must have spread because there were tons of people who showed up wanting to buy them drinks or get stories out of them.


    In the end it was Alya who found them rather than the reverse. On the morning of the third day she came strolling in through the front door. Her leg, once useless now seemed to be fully repaired and she had no issues walking as normal.


    ¡°Well well. You two seem awfully smitten with each other.¡± She commented as soon as she laid eyes on where Bjorn and Meira were sitting next to each other once again holding hands.


    ¡°Alya.¡± Meira said as she got up from her seat and rushed over giving her a huge hug. ¡°It is so good to see you. I had my doubts that I would ever see you again. Come join us.¡±


    She made her way over to their table and Bjorn got up and quickly gave her a hug. ¡°It is good to see you, they healed your leg.¡±


    ¡°That they did.¡± She said with a smile as she sat down. ¡°It was about a week ago when they finally had a mage regrow the bone in my leg. Before that I was forced to sit and do nothing really. I don¡¯t know if you know how hard it is to move around with the bones in your leg not there to provide structure to the rest of the limb. ¡°


    ¡°It is weird, most of the weight is still there, even if it can¡¯t do anything. On top of that the bone also helps keep the leg in its normal shape. For almost a week and a half my right leg was actually longer than my left, most of the time. I could flex my muscles as the leg would contract making it shorter than my left. Trying to move around with it was a massive pain in my ass. I am glad that they were able to fix it. If they couldn¡¯t I would have just preferred they cut the damn thing off.¡±


    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t had to experience that.¡± Meira said with a snort. ¡°I am thankful that I didn¡¯t have to. What have you been up to since we last saw you? I figured you would have skipped town as you aren¡¯t from here and all.¡±


    She scrunched her nose. ¡°I probably would have as soon as they fixed my leg, but they still haven¡¯t lifted the travel restrictions. So sadly I am stuck here for another few days. Trust me, as soon as they do so I am out of here. What about you guys, tell me what all happened to you since I last saw you.¡±


    By that time Alaric had joined, and the three of them filled her in on the happenings of the rest of their time down in the underbelly of Blackrock Bay. As they told their story Rickie and Tayla joined. Throughout the story people would excuse themselves occasionally to go do something. The one who stayed throughout the whole time though was Bjorn. He was the one who was closest to Alya, with their many days stuck together brewing potions for Jenkins.


    At one point when it was just him and Alya he asked. ¡°So, I do have a question for you. While I was collecting alchemical ingredients from the snatcher spider¡¯s corpses my herb-lore skill went up and nothing else. Why is that?¡±


    Alya thought about it for a while and eventually settled on an answer. ¡°Honestly. I don¡¯t know, by the name of the skill, Herb-lore. I would think the only way to increase your knowledge in the skill would be by learning more about herbs. But my best guess is that the name of the skill is misleading. I think what really happens is that anytime you collect any alchemical component be it herbs or anything else you gain some experience in that skill. It would be more appropriate for the skill to be called Alchemical component lore or something like that. Whoever named the skill though, most likely thought that Alchemical component lore was a dumb name and went with something that sounded better.¡±


    ¡°Wait. People can name skills?¡±


    ¡°If you are the one who discovers it, or makes a new skill, I see no reason why you shouldn¡¯t be the one to name the skill. I don¡¯t know how it is made though, as I have never made a new skill, only gained ones that everyone else seems to have.¡±


    Alya and the crew spent the rest of the day and the night together talking, catching up and drinking. Again on the third night it was even busier than the prior two. It was getting to the point where there was almost no standing room already.


    The next day Bjorn made his way to the alchemist district in search of Skarit. It took a while but eventually he was able to find the runic. They caught up and Bjorn said his good bye, telling him that as soon as they were able to, he and his party were going to be leaving Blackrock Bay. Skarit said he was sad to see Bjorn go but he understood his decision.


    After that was done there was no one else that Bjorn really had the desire to see before they all left. So on the fourth evening they had the same type of night as the last three, but they knew this was going to be the last. Because of that Kent joined in on the festivities, as a send off to his new friends.


    On the morning of the 5th day they packed up their things and said their goodbyes. From there the 5 friends made their way up to the palace early early in the morning. By the time they made it to the palace the sun was just starting to peak over the horizon.


    When they made it to the gate they weren¡¯t stopped, the guards ushered them inside. They were then met by an attendant who led them deeper into the palace. After several confusing turns they were thoroughly lost. It was very impressive how well these attendants were able to navigate the almost maze-like structure that was the palace. Still just as they had done hundreds of times before they were able to easily navigate the crew exactly where they needed to be.


    He led them down a large hallway that was covered in a rich red carpet and up to a rather unassuming door. He opened it to let them into an equally unassuming sitting room. It was nice, but nothing like the ornate hallways and rooms that they passed along the way.


    ¡°If you would wait here. Duke Dornan will be with you shortly. Unless I am mistaken I believe Captain Gram will be joining him.¡± The attendant left them in the room and bowed to the present company before closing the door behind him.

 Chapter

    They didn¡¯t have to wait long before Duke Dornan and Captain Gram walked through the door side by side. The size discrepancy between the two powerful figures was quite comical. Gram standing nearly 9 feet tall standing next to Dornan who was almost 3 feet tall. But without a doubt the smaller of the two was the more dangerous of the two.


    As soon as they entered the present company got to their feet to show their respects. ¡°There is no need for that.¡± Duke Dornan said as he raised his hands gesturing to them to sit. ¡°We owe you more than enough to where there is no need to stand on decorum.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Bjorn said as he took his seat. ¡°What can we do for you?¡±


    Gram smiled and stepped forward, holding out his right hand for each of them. His appearance was better than when they last saw him before they left the sewer camp, but he wasn¡¯t in top shape yet. His body was covered in bandages and he was walking with a limp. And of course his left arm was still missing right at the shoulder. ¡°It isn¡¯t what you can do for us, it is what we can do for you.¡±


    ¡°He is right. You have done more than anyone could expect from you for this town. Over the last couple days we have gotten reports detailing what all you guys did in that last battle. I fear to say, but if it wasn¡¯t for the combined efforts of all of you we likely wouldn¡¯t have won that last battle. There were so many things that the spiders had in store for us that we didn¡¯t foresee coming.¡± Dornan said without a hint of shame in his voice for admitting that they had almost lost.


    After Gram finished shaking hands he took a seat once again. ¡°At a critical juncture in the fight the 5 of you stepped up and started to organize our scattered forces. That task should have never fallen on you. That is why we have our chain of command. Then even further after you organized our forces you met up with another group that was about to retreat and convinced them to attack and save us.¡±


    ¡°Once you all did that, Meira you saved us all by providing the mana necessary to end the spider queen. Without you Gram would have undoubtedly died to the monster.¡± Duke Dornan punctuated his statement by standing and giving the group of friends before them a bow. The gesture was mirrored by Gram as well.


    Meira cleared her throat. ¡°Yes yes, we all know what we did. There is no need for you to bow to us, please sit down.¡±


    They did as they were asked to do. ¡°As thanks I would normally provide you with some rather generous compensation. Land, titles, and money is what I would give to someone who did as much as you all did.¡±


    ¡°But?¡± Alaric asked.


    ¡°I would like to ask you a few things. If you are willing to do so.¡±


    ¡°We are listening.¡± Tayla said.


    ¡°First off the matter of money. This battle was quite costly for Blackrock Bay, both in terms of money and in lifes spent. I have done what I can to prepare for this situation, but there was only so much I could do. I am more than willing to give you a cash reward for the services rendered during the fight. But I would ask that you forgo that in light of what that money would be used for.¡±


    Dornan paused to take a breath. ¡°A long time ago I instated a law here in town. That law states that anyone who lost their lives fighting for Blackrock Bay will have 1 year''s salary paid out to any remaining family members that depend on them. Not everyone who lives here in town is able to work to provide for their family, as such their spouses, fathers, and mothers joined up with the town guard. We pay our guards better than most any other job here in Blackrock Bay. I have decided to extend that pay offer to anyone else who has lost a loved one to this fight.¡±


    At first when Alaric heard that they might not be getting a cash reward his shoulders started to creep upwards and his face started to turn a lovely shade of red with anger. As Duke Dornan¡¯s explanation continued the anger started to fade, and a look of respect started to cross his face once again.


    ¡°As I previously stated, if you want we will gladly pay you for your deeds. But if you do so it will make it harder to follow through on my promise to help provide for those who lost a loved one over the last month.¡±


    They briefly looked amongst themselves and Bjorn could see agreement in all of their eyes. With a sigh he spoke. ¡°Of course we are willing to forgo any form of cash reward you offer us. You are right, the money would be better spent and would do more good in the hands of a new widower than it would in our hands. We weren¡¯t hurting for cash before we showed up to Blackrock Bay, and that is still the case.¡±


    The duke smiled. ¡°Thank you. From the bottom of my heart I thank you. You don¡¯t realize how much that will affect those hurt from this battle.¡± He stood and walked over to a sitting table and started fixing himself a cup of tea. ¡°Now for the next point of business. I would like to give each of you a title and a piece of land to govern around here. You are more than deserving of that.¡±


    Almost immediately Rickie spoke up. ¡°No thank you.¡± Upon hearing his response Duke Dornan spun around to look at the group.


    ¡°I am with Rickie on this one.¡± Alaric said.


    ¡°Me too.¡± Meira said.


    ¡°Whatever Alaric, Meira, and Rickie do I am in agreement with.¡±


    The only one who hesitated for a moment was Tayla. For her she grew up in the shadow of the keep in Vanta and always dreamed about living in a castle. If she accepted the offer she would likely be given a title and land to go with it. This was her chance to accept and potentially live in that castle. She knew though in her heart of hearts that she would regret accepting. She would never have made it this far, or even been given that option without her present company. So as much as she wanted to accept she knew she couldn¡¯t.


    With a deep sigh she spoke up. ¡°I am sorry, but I can not accept that offer either. I owe my life to my party, I do not wish to leave them. I am grateful for your offer though.¡±


    This response clearly surprised Dornan as he left his half made tea sitting where he had left it and walked back over to the group. ¡°I can¡¯t say I am not surprised. If you don¡¯t mind me asking, why did you refuse my offer?¡±


    ¡°For years I lived in my village and dreamed of such grandeur. But over the years of my life I have learned a few things about myself.¡± Alaric stately plainly. ¡°The first thing I have learned is that I am not a leader. I have had stints where I am in charge of people and running different aspects of my village and each and every time I do so I hate it. The next thing I have learned over the last year is that I prefer the life of a traveler. I love to live on the road, beholden to no one. The last thing is that I have finally found the place I belong, with my family by my side.¡±


    Dornan looked around the circle and noticed the resolute agreement in the faces of the other 4 in attendance. Sighing he stated. ¡°So I am assuming that us asking you to stay here and help us rebuild Blackrock Bay is out of the question as well then. Both Gram and myself would gladly take you in and help nurture your skills and make sure you grow into the people you want to be here.¡±


    ¡°We will have to decline that offer as well.¡± Meira said. ¡°It is exactly as Alaric said, we are travelers. We have so much more to explore in this world. We don¡¯t want to be tied to a place. There are tons of people out there who need our help, we will go where we are needed.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say I am surprised.¡± Gram said. ¡°But I will still be sad to see you go.¡±


    ¡°Not to be blunt but Blackrock Bay hasn¡¯t exactly been kind to us.¡± Rickie said. ¡°We will not be sad to see it go. We will be sad to leave behind those we have built friendships with over the month we have spent here.¡±


    ¡°We can understand that.¡± Duke Dornan said. ¡°I am sorry you got caught up in our issue. You didn¡¯t deserve that. Had I known I would have ordered you to be excluded.¡±


    ¡°That''s the thing.¡± Bjorn said a little heat in his voice. ¡°You are only talking about providing this service because we did you a service. What about the hundred or so other travelers who were press ganged into helping this city. It isn¡¯t so much as it happened to us, it is that it happened at all.¡±


    Dornan sighed. ¡°You are right of course, it wasn¡¯t the right choice to make. But I do not regret the choice I made regardless of the outcome. I care more about this cities survival than doing the ¡®right thing.¡¯ I would go as far as to say that keeping the some 10,000 people who live here safe was more of the right thing to do. If we had failed they would have had to relocate otherwise they would have suffered the same fate that we did. How do you think they would have faired out there? What kind of struggles 10,000 displaced people would have caused.¡±


    Things got quiet after that as each person was thinking about their own thoughts.


    ¡°Anyways getting back on topic.¡± Dornan said. ¡°If you don¡¯t want money or a title. I do have one other option if you are willing to take it.¡±


    ¡°And what is that?¡± Tayla asked.


    ¡°Years ago, before I became a Duke, I owned a parcel of land on the very northern border of Escar. I haven¡¯t been back there in over a decade so the land is likely in disrepair. If you want it I will give you the deed to the piece of land. There is no need for you to worry yourselves of getting there and taking care of a piece of land. It will be yours, you may do with it as you see fit. You might even be able to sell it for some money if you wish. If you move there and start to live on it there will be no problems, or if you never visit the land that also isn¡¯t an issue.¡±


    ¡°That is acceptable.¡± Alaric said.


    Duke Dornan reached into a pouch at his hip and after a second brought out a piece of paper. At the bottom of the paper was Dornan¡¯s signature. Briefly he put his hand over the line at the bottom and his hand flared in a deep blue light the same color as Bjorn¡¯s mana bar. After half a second under the light his signature disappeared. He then turned the paper around and handed it to the group. He then retrieved a pen from his bag and also handed that over.


    ¡°Just sign here?¡± Meira asked as she was the one who was handed the piece of paper.


    ¡°Yeah. This will transfer the ownership of the deed from me to you. As many of you may sign as you wish. It will give you all equal ownership over the land.¡±


    Nodding they all took turns signing at the bottom of the page.


    After they finished Dornan continued speaking. ¡°At the top of the page there is a little compass.¡±


    True to his word the document was filled with tons and tons of lines of text. But at the top of the page there was a rather elaborate sigil that had a small circle in the middle. There was a small line in the center of the circle that was clearly pointing towards the north.


    ¡°This deed has been magically enchanted so that the compass will always point towards the land it represents. Once you are upon the land that is represented in this deed the circle will turn green. It is an easy way to tell borders between plots of land. This page is also almost impossible to ruin due to the elements, it can be burnt though. If it is burnt you will have to travel back here and our records office will make you another copy. Though, if I was you I wouldn¡¯t pull the deed out of your portable pocket.¡±


    Dornan looked pointedly at the bag attached to Bjorn¡¯s hip. ¡°How did you know it was a portable pocket?¡± Bjorn asked.


    ¡°It is simple, I can tell that it is a magical bag. That should be clear to anyone who is slightly versed in magical gear. And it couldn¡¯t be a bag of holding. They are too rare and valuable for the 5 of you to get ahold of one.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t about to refute Dornan. So he just kept his mouth shut and let him think that the bag of holding was actually a portable pocket. ¡°With that taken care of, are we free to leave this city now?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Dornan brought out another sheet of paper and quickly wrote down something. ¡°This should get you past the guards.¡± He then pulled out an entire wax seal kit and quickly started to heat up the wax. ¡°You are of course welcome back to this city anytime you wish to. You are also welcome to stay at the palace anytime you are in Blackrock Bay. I shall give orders to the guards that you will never be barred from entering the palace again.¡± He finished talking by pouring a little bit of wax on the bottom of the page and stamping his crest into the wax. He then handed over the piece of paper.


    ¡°Thank you for everything you have done for us and this city.¡± Dornan said as he stood and gave a little bow.


    ¡°I will be sad to see you go.¡± Gram echoed in turn as he followed suit of Dornan¡¯s bow.


    They all stood and gave small bows. They all gave some sort of polite farewell without being too combative with their use of language.


    Once all of that was done Gram and Dornan left them. After a few minutes another servant came in and started to lead them out of the palace. Soon they were walking through the huge double doors that were the front gate to the palace.


    ¡°Well that could have gone better.¡± Meira said.


    ¡°Could have gone a whole lot worse.¡± Alaric commented.


    Tayla stretched for a second. ¡°Of course it could have, but I am finally glad to be done with this city.¡±


    Rickie started walking. ¡°Same. Well shall we hit the road, it is a long way to Vanta. And the road can be a little treacherous at times.¡±


    ¡°I think we should go cross country and not follow the road.¡± Bjorn said as they started walking towards the closest gate. ¡°I think I need to get away from civilization for a little bit. I think it would be good for the soul if we just had some time to ourselves.¡±


    ¡°I like that Idea.¡± Rickie said.


    The quintet quickly made their way out of the south gate out of Blackrock Bay. True to his word the paper they gave the guards at the gate worked like a charm and they got to pass with no issues. Soon they were traipsing through the open grassland south of Blackrock Bay. They were traveling slowly, not overly worried about getting there at any speed. It was the middle of the summer and the weather was quite beautiful. No need to rush.


    As they traveled their moods began to be lifted. There was something freeing about walking through nature, not a care in the world. No where they needed to be, no one needed something from them. They just got to be themselves and do what they wished. It was good for the soul.


    Bjorn quickly fell into his old habits, as he traveled whenever they came across a herb that could be used for his alchemy, or used for any alchemy he would slow the group down and he would start to collect the herb. Sometimes it was just a few minutes to retrieve the herb, other times it took up to an hour.


    Either way no one ever cared about the frequent stops. Between Bjorn¡¯s and Alaric¡¯s magical bags there was no rush for them to get anywhere. They had stocked up on food before they had left Blackrock Bay. So there was no worries on what they would be able to eat. With the time stopping powers of the bag of holding and the portable pocket there was again no worries about how long they could be out here. The only issue would be water, but with Bjorn¡¯s purify water spell that too was a non issue.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    They traveled this way for over a week before they saw any signs of humanoid life. And the only sign they saw was a small road that had been built cutting through the woods that surrounded them. It was about two days of travel before they made it to the edge of the Summergate woods. Once they sank into the woods was when their progress forward slowed to a crawl, because of Bjorn¡¯s obsession with collecting herbs.


    It was finally three weeks later when they finally emerged from the Summergate woods and onto a large road. It looked quite familiar as it was the same road they had taken from Lief¡¯s crossing to get to Vanta.


    Over the weeks they had a number of things that happened to them. They kill all sorts of creatures that challenged them as they traveled. Before when it was just Bjorn, Alaric, and Meira they had gone out of their way to try and avoid potentially dangerous creatures. They were not the same people they had been when they left the Gnoll camp as slaves, in more ways than one. Almost everyone in their party was now a professed fighter of some kind, all save Bjorn. But he was the one who arguably grew the most.


    For most creatures and people in the world few could truly stand up to a party such as theirs in a straight up fight. But that wouldn¡¯t be a fair fight as no matter what happened it would now be at least a 5 on 1 fight.


    As they traveled that was something that they reminisced about. The good ole days and how they no longer had to hide. As for Bjorn, he had grown nearly 12 levels since he had been trapped in the mines. At level 20 he had access to more stats than most people who he came across. That even accounted for his lack of stats from his weak detriment. Which still rankled him more times than he cared to admit while he thought about it.


    Each of them had grown over the last year, well all except for Rickie, but they had no idea who he was a year and a half ago. The last year and a half had been hard and wonderful all at the same time. They grew to trust each other without hesitation during that time. Which was vital while on the road. When someone said duck, without question you all ducked.


    During the month of travel the dark cloud that had once covered the party had finally parted and much of the jovialness and happiness was once again reattained. One thing that surprisingly helped out with that was Meira¡¯s and Bjorn¡¯s new found relationship. They were two very much in love in all of their actions and words. For the first 2 weeks of their traveling while they were walking Bjorn and Meira were almost always side by side holding hands. Their new found love did wonders to remind the other three about the love, joy, and wonder that there was in the world.


    Thankfully before they had left the underground Alaric had the foresight to snag them each a tent from Jenkin¡¯s abandoned camp. Afterall it wasn¡¯t really stealing, it isn¡¯t like anyone was going to miss them as they had been left down there for weeks. So they all had their own personal room. Rickie and Tayla, Bjorn and Meira, and finally Alaric.


    Another thing that helped the mood greatly was Bjorn¡¯s silence spell. They had formed an unspoken agreement. Whenever Rickie and Tayla went into their tent, if they put out a small bundle of cloth, Bjorn knew they were about to do something. As soon as he saw that he would start to cast his spell around the outside of the tent so they could have their privacy and the rest of the party didn¡¯t have to listen to them go at it. Bjorn would do the same for him and Meira, but he didn¡¯t really have to signal himself.


    They quickly fell into a routine as they traveled. Each morning they would get up and pack the camp. They would usually have some sort of ration that came from either Bjorn¡¯s or Alaric¡¯s bag. And then they would set out. Each morning before they left their camp Bjorn would set up his war party. Throughout the day they would normally fight one maybe even two different creatures, so there was no sense in them wasting the war points. Forming the party almost became a habit.


    Over the course of the month they ended up racking up another 435 war points. He put those to use purchasing a few upgrades for his war party skill. The first two things he spent the points on was increasing his sphere of influence. He once again spent points to upgrade his sphere of influence. The cost jumped from 100 to 200 and the range of the sphere increased from 50 yards to 100 yards.


    Bjorn had a theory but he wasn¡¯t going to spend the 200 war points on proving that point. It was still early on and he needed to not be wasteful with his war points. His theory was that the cost of his sphere of influence was what the range would increase to, and each time the cost of the range was doubling, as well as the range doubling.


    He spent 200 of his war points purchasing two of the available roles. First the tank role, and then the scout role.


    Role: Tank: You are the biggest, toughest member of this war party. Your job is to take a ton of punishment and keep on fighting. You may not do the most damage but you serve a very important role in any fight you take part in. The main downside to your fighting style is how slow it generally makes you, making it easier for enemies to ignore you or slip past you. You gain 5% increased defenses, as well as a 5% chance to taunt your enemies making it harder for them to ignore you in the field of battle.


    Role: Scout: Information is one of the most important parts of any war party. Most war parties'' downfall is the lack of information. It doesn¡¯t matter how strong your war party is, if you don¡¯t know where the enemies are, or know how many of them there are you will be in trouble. You gain a 5% increase to your stealth skill, as well as a 5% increase to your tracking skill.


    That left him with 135 war points left to spend. He then purchased a school of magic because he was interested to see what would be available from his purchase. When he went to pick up a school of magic for 100 points he found out that the only schools he had access to purchase were the ones that he and Meira had access to. Meaning he had access to, earth, water, light, dark, sonic, air, and life magic.


    Seeing how Meira was basically their main source of magic damage Bjorn went for the school that would benefit her the most and he spent 100 war points to purchase air magic. Once he did so he gained a few categories for him to upgrade. Pulling open the category Bjorn was excited to see how he could augment Meira¡¯s casting abilities.


    There were five options under the new Air magic category.


    Decreased cooldown of spells. 50


    Decreased cost of spells. 50


    Increased range of spells. 50


    Increased effect of spells. 50


    Decreased cast time of spells. 50


    Each could potentially be very useful but god damn were they expensive. Each option also only increased or decreased whatever they affected by 3%. Even if Bjorn wanted to spend war points on purchasing one of the mage upgrade he decided he was going to hold off on them. 50 war points for a 3% change didn¡¯t seem all that worth it yet.


    Instead of spending all of the war points he was saving up to purchase another role. He figured that a role would be more impactful than a 3% change.


    After the war party was formed they would then spend the day traveling doing whatever they ultimately wanted to do, be that chilling by a little river, fighting a monster, or just lazily walking along the mostly tranquil forest. As the day came closer to evening they would scout out some sort of camp.


    From there they would break out into different roles. Meira and Tayla would usually start setting up their tents. Bjorn and Alaric would start digging a fire pit, as well as lining it with stones. And rickie would take off into the forest to find wood for their fire. Which unsurprisingly wasn¡¯t all that hard to do. Once the fire pit was dug and a fire started they would help the girls prepare the tents. After they would sit around and let Rickie cook their dinner, after all he was the best cook out of the group. Though, not to make him do everything they would take turns making dinner each night. Though Rickie would make dinner 3 times for every 1 time the rest of the party would cook.


    One thing that was very nice about their traveling was that between Bjorn and Meira they didn¡¯t have to worry about water. Meira had a create water spell, which when cast would create anywhere between a cup and 5 gallons of water. The amount was something Meira could change by just a thought. If they were near a body of water though Bjorn could use his purify water spell to make any water they were near potable.


    This pairing came in handy each night. As they never had to worry about boiling water to make it safe. They could then use the water to cook with, or more often than not make tea with. Each night they would almost always have a cup of tea with dinner. In the Eld not many people had access to spices to make their dinners taste better, so most of the food was rather bland. The different flavors of tea they were able to make oftentimes made up for this blandness just a little.


    After the evening meal they would often sit in companionable silence or talk amongst themselves. Those were the times where Bjorn ranged from the party and would hunt for herbs and other alchemical components. On those evenings Bjorn brought back an old habit he had formed when Medera was still alive, and he would often go for a run. It wasn¡¯t like the run was doing really anything for him. His stats made it so that it was nearly impossible to even start breathing heavily while running, unless it was a full out sprint. Which would have been irresponsible in the forest. Another amazing part of his magical body was that he never seemed to lose any progress he made with getting in shape.


    After his evening run and hunt for herbs he would return to camp and people would start breaking off into their own respective tents. All save for 1. Even though they were the most dangerous group in these woods they still could be killed if they were careless. And they were the most vulnerable in their sleep. To combat this weakness they of course set up a watch.


    With a 32 hour day that the Eld had, most of the people who lived in the Eld had odd sleep schedules. At least odd by Earth''s standards. They would often have 22 hour days and would sleep from anywhere between 10 and 14 hours at a time. With the 5 of them they didn¡¯t need everyone to take a shift each night. So they set it up so that 4 of the group would each take a two and a half hour watch. Letting the last person sleep throughout the night. They also set it up so that the assigned time would rotate. The person who had the full night''s rest would take the first shift. Then the next night they would take the second and so on and so forth until it was their turn to sleep through the night.


    Bjorn on the other hand didn¡¯t need a full night''s rest to be fully rested. With his magical belt of sustenance he needed less sleep than the rest. So occasionally Bjorn would actually not sleep and would join Meira for their shift on watch. They didn¡¯t let their new found love disrupt their jobs though. When on watch together they were just as vigilant on their surroundings as they were when on watch alone. It was just nice to have the company through the watch. He never faulted Meira when she didn¡¯t return the favor and join him on his watch.


    That is how they passed a month of travel. But now that they were on the road between Lief¡¯s crossing and Vanta they turned and started to make their way towards Vanta. It was another half day before they saw the familiar stone walls of Vanta in the distance. Slowly they made their way towards the city. As they drew nearer the city the road which had once been empty was seeing more and more traffic.


    By the time they got to the gates at Vanta the road was busy enough that there was a line forming to get into the city. After an hour of waiting it was easy to get through the gate itself. This time they all had the proper paperwork to get through with their weapons, as a year hadn¡¯t elapsed yet.


    The only surprise was Rickie. He shrugged. ¡°What? Chase and I stopped by here before we went on to Blackrock Bay. He wanted to see his sister. We had to get the permits to travel through the city anyways.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense.¡± Tayla said.


    As they traveled deeper into the city Tayla grew more and more anxious, to the point where it was becoming very apparent as to her unease. After a few minutes of this she spoke up. ¡°Look guys. I have things I would like to do here, and people I would like to check up on. You won¡¯t mind if I slink away for a bit and go about doing that?¡±


    Bjorn shook his head. ¡°Naw, go ahead and do whatever you need to. We will catch up with you later.¡±


    Tayla nodded and started to blend into the crowd. Alaric called out to her, getting a few dirty looks from those around him. ¡°Where do you want us to meet up at?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry I will find you. Go wherever you want to.¡± She called back before she was gone.


    ¡°What was that all about?¡± Rickie asked the group.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. She grew up here, this place has to have tons of memories for her that she likely wanted to forget. Us coming back here likely brought up all those old memories.¡±


    ¡°Why is this the first I am hearing about her growing up in Vanta?¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t like to talk about her time here. We have been traveling with her for over a year now and during that entire time she rarely spoke about Vanta. So out of respect for her we don¡¯t bring it up.¡± Alaric put his hand on Rickie¡¯s back, he would have gone for his shoulder but the man towered over the dwarf. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It is nothing to worry about, she is a smart girl and a strong girl. She will come back to us. As to why she hasn¡¯t talked about it, she will in time. We just need to give her time to open up.¡±


    Rickie sighed. ¡°You¡¯re right of course, I just don¡¯t like not knowing. Whatever, where do we want to get a place to stay. Chase¡¯s sister doesn¡¯t have the biggest house here, so it won¡¯t be able to house all 5 of us. It would be for the best that we get a place to stay while we are here in town.¡±


    Instead of answering the question Bjorn side tracked the line of conversation for a bit. ¡°We are going to be here for a few days aren¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I think it would be best if we organized some sort of funeral for Chase with his sister. So a few days wouldn¡¯t be unreasonable.¡±


    ¡°If that is the case I am almost to level 40 in my alchemy skill. I am 9% away, so I would like to find a place here in town where I would be able to do a little alchemy, and hopefully reach level 40. Which would unlock the ability for me to get the Alchemist profession.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you were that close.¡± Alaric said. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you, even though we are kind of familiar with this city we probably shouldn¡¯t go traveling without someone else. Well except for Tayla of course, she knows these streets like the back of her hand.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good.¡± Rickie said. ¡°But getting back to the task at hand, where should we end up finding a place to stay?¡±


    ¡°The last time we were here I heard good things about the Singing Hen. Let¡¯s try that.¡± Meira said. There was a note to her voice that made Bjorn slightly suspicious, but he quickly chalked it up to his imagination.


    ¡°That is fine. As long as it isn¡¯t Crowing Rooster I don¡¯t really care.¡± Alaric said.


    ¡°Alright sounds good, we will head that way and procure a few rooms for us. We will see you there.¡± Meira said sweetly. She came in and gave Bjorn a quick peck on the cheek before her and Rickie also wandered off into the crowd.


    ¡°Well let''s get going. Any idea where to start?¡± Alaric asked.


    ¡°I think there was some sort of alchemist guild last time we were here. Let¡¯s try there first.¡±


    The two of them started to ask those around them about the alchemist guild, and after 15 minutes they were able to find the place. It was a short, surprisingly small building. They made their way to the front door and easily pushed it open. Bjorn was expecting the same kind of response he had gotten last time he and Meira had tried to enter the mage¡¯s guild.


    What greeted them inside was actually more like a lab than a guildhall. Confused, Bjorn stepped inside. There was a single human woman who stood in the middle of the room hunched over a table.


    ¡°Hello?¡± Bjorn called over to the lady.


    ¡°Sush, I will be with you in a minute. Wait right there.¡± She pointed to the other side of the room where a line of 5 chairs sat. They took a seat and watched the woman work.


    Now that they were further in the room Bjorn could see what she was doing, She was working on some sort of potion Bjorn didn¡¯t recognize the steps she was working on. But he did recognize a few of the ingredients around her. He watched her work for a few minutes. She picked up a herb, grinding it down briefly and not fully in a pestle and mortar and dumped it into her cauldron. She then picked up a vial of a viscus red liquid and moved as if she was going to pour it into the cauldron as well.


    Bjorn spoke up upon seeing that action. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you.¡±


    The woman looked annoyed and shot a glance at Bjorn where he was sitting. ¡°Why? What do you know about alchemy?¡±


    Slightly annoyed at her tone and her question Bjorn replied in a calm tone. ¡°Well you just put in an improperly prepared sage wort right?¡± She nodded and started to speak, Bjorn cut her off. ¡°And unless I am mistaken that vial in your hand is the distillate between arrowhead toads blood and liquorice whip juice. Is that also the case?¡± She nodded again, not trying to speak this time around. ¡°I don¡¯t know what potion you are trying to make but those two ingredients are quite volatile when mixed together. If you mix them they are more than likely going to explode into smoke.¡±


    The woman looked at him for a second. Bjorn could see the gears in her mind turning, she is trying to decide if she was going to listen to the strange man or if she was going to ignore him and follow through with what she knew was the right way. She looked down at her cauldron, and then back at Bjorn before tipping the vial¡¯s contents into the potion.


    ¡°I tried to warn you. You might want to step back 5 or 10 feet.¡±


    ¡°I am a trained alchemist, I think I know what I am-¡± She never finished her sentence as exactly what Bjorn expected to happen happened. A thick orange smoke burst forth from the cauldron and shot right into the face of the woman who was standing right over the cauldron.


    ¡°Should we help her?¡± Alaric asked.


    ¡°No, it is harmless, just annoying. It will dye her skin orange for a few days, and she will have a coughing fit. But she will ultimately be fine.¡±


    True to his word the woman came stumbling out of the cloud of smoke coughing up a lung. It took a few minutes for her to fully recover. The woman¡¯s whole head was dyed a deep shade of orange. Once she was recovered she spoke. ¡°How did you know that was going to happen?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I saw how you prepared the herb, and I have done exactly that before. It isn¡¯t a pleasant experience. Don¡¯t worry the orange will fade in a few days.¡±


    ¡°What orange?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Anyways, I am looking to do a little alchemy here for a few days. Would I be able to do so? I am near a level and would like a facility to try and get over that hump.¡±


    By this time the smoke had mostly dissipated and a fine orange powder started to coat everything that was in the radius of the smoke cloud. The woman looked back at the mess she had made. ¡°Um. Probably, I don¡¯t know. Come back tomorrow and talk to the master, I think he would be willing to let you do some alchemy here if you give some wisdom.¡±


    Bjorn laughed a good hearted laugh. ¡°I think I can manage that. Sounds good, any particular time?¡±


    ¡°No, just come back tomorrow he should be here. Now if you will excuse me I have to clean that up before he sees it. If he sees that mess he will be mad.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Bjorn stood and he and Alaric made their way back onto the streets.


    Soon they were on their way to the Singing Hen. With only a few stops for directions they found their way there quite easily. It apparently was a very popular inn here in town. So they didn¡¯t have any issues finding directions.


    As soon as they opened the door they were greeted by an almost familiar sight by this point. Beautiful, scantily clad, buff men were up walking around the bar carrying trays of drinks around to the tables.


    Alaric just groaned. ¡°Ughhh, not again. Why does this keep happening?¡±