Looking at my companions in turn, I tapped into a little of my newfound bravery. Our victory against the Karil buoyed my confidence and lent authority to my voice as I outlined our objectives, “To gather the River Root, we will need to kill all of the River Lurkers within the vicinity. We will lure them one or two at a time, with Kidu’s bow,” this drew a grunt of approval from the wildman before I continued, “into the range of my magic. Then I will do my best to weaken them as much as possible before we finish them up close. Once engaged in the melee, I will try to keep their attention, and while they are focused on me, the pair of you will attack their fnks.”
Elwin looked nervous before he questioned my pn, “And what happens if we draw more than one of their numbers? Like the whole bloody gathering of hungry monsters!?”, he said, a certain shrill tone entering his voice.
“Then we will run into the forest. The undergrowth will slow them down, and if the white winds come, then we climb the trees,” answered the big man, with notes of amusement winding their way through his delivery.
I pced a hand on Elwin’s shoulder, seeking to add a measure of comfort and stiffen the Rogue’s backbone a little. “We will decide upon a rallying point in case we are forced to retreat. Have no fear, Mr. Tucker. We have come so far, and just think of the rewards when we finish this simple job.” I added, and the worry lines on his face faded a little. His concerns were temporarily assuaged.
“I guess you’re right. Came this far already. Just a few big lizards between me and a delicious warm meal, a warm bed, and perhaps a warm woman,” he said, trying to convince himself, as he bowed to our peer pressure before concluding, “I am still a little beat from all of this marching about the woods. I would suggest a rest before we take on these monsters.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” I nodded to him as I removed my hand from his shoulder but not before giving it a quick squeeze of reassurance. Elwin’s consistent cowardice was slowly growing irksome.
In good time, we cut ourselves another path to a small clearing and then prepared the ground for tomorrow, scaring and intimidating the local wildlife. Kidu dug simple pitfalls in pces, lining the bottom with sharpened stakes. I was constantly scanning the undergrowth for potential enemies, as my nerves were strung tight. Elwin was drafted to assist Kidu, constantly compining that he would prefer to be on watch. With military precision, my companions set up camp for the night, almost silent in their preparations, only exchanging words when absolutely necessary. Feeling a little useless, I patrolled a good distance around our chosen campsite, my hand on the haft of my weapon, as twilight stole over the forest.
I returned once they had set up a good-sized fire, its bze providing true warmth and light as night proper cimed the forest. In time, the daytime calls and songs were repced by the evening sounds of the forest. We gathered around the fire to confirm and discuss our pns for the next day. Our rallying point was to be a rge tree, perhaps two hundred yards from the bank of the river, with easily-climbable branches. It would be easy to notice, as we had made a great many sshes about its trunk. The trees and undergrowth leading up to it, too, were sshed with our weapons, to be our guideposts in case of an ignominious retreat.
Once again, I volunteered for the first two watches, as I wanted to be alone with my thoughts. To be honest, I really wanted the chance to experiment. My mind turned to the ridiculous situation that I found myself in. I had returned to the city where I had been ensved, only to join a guild of Adventurers to get a measure of protection. Now I sought to earn a living by completing difficult and dangerous requests. A powerful noblewoman of the city was also somewhere out there, pnning my demise, as was the way of the rich and the powerful. Looking at my predicament somewhat objectively, I had to fight from ughing in hysteria.
The old me would have simply cked the imagination to come up with such a ridiculous scenario, which was a far cry from my comfortable and safe old life. What surprised me was my own reserve of mental strength that came from overcoming adversity. The me of yesterday would have been wallowing in self-pity and ineffectually railing against the injustices of the world. In this rough and visceral world, I had to py the hand which I had been dealt. Perhaps it was this element of true struggle that had been missing from modern life - the razor path at the edge of the abyss that made everything more precious. I found that my life here, despite all the dangers and pain, was growing more real to me than the world I had left behind.
These thoughts of the past spurred me to try and enter the meditative state that I had gained during my initial incarceration in Ansan. I was shocked as I found that memories of my past life, my past world, had grown distant. Details that were once so clear were still present, somewhere, but for the moment they were out of reach of my questing mind. Something smothered the shock of the discovery, a state of forgetfulness akin to acceptance. That world was a faraway pce across the infinite reach of space and time. I would find no further gains in power from the memories of my previous life.
My mind was brought jarringly to the present and I noticed that our campfire had dimmed a little. I quickly added some more fuel to the fire before settling down again to my watch.
I experimented with the Drain spell against what I thought of as a ‘normal’ tree, but the mana gained from the unsuspecting flora was a mere pittance against the cost of the spell, so I quickly ended it. Like a faithful and eager hound, Entropic Aura came to the fore of my mind, begging to be used and unleashed, but I fought against the temptation. With nothing to do, and unsure of the passage of time, I patrolled around the clearing, making sure to stay in the range of the fire’s light.
I nearly panicked when a moth-like creature nded on my face, its ghost-white wings fluttering as I swiped at my helm, hands cnking against the visor. The creature settled on a nearby tree, its milky form contrasting with the darkness. In a fsh of pettiness and annoyance, I threw two knives, using the Double-Throw skill, much more deftly than anticipated. One silvery bde missed, thudding into the tree, while the other sliced the creature across its thorax before embedding in the wood.
You have sin ??? 1 experience gained.
Barely worth the effort, I thought to myself, in great annoyance, as I retrieved my knives and checked the bdes before pcing them once more into their sheathes. Only a few more of those blighters to go before I reached my next level, I thought grimly, as I completed my circuit and returned to the camp proper.
I sat at the fire before our donkey wandered over to my chosen spot and nuzzled my face, her equine eyes filled with affection. She settled down next to me, her body a barrier against the forest. Going through our general supplies, I found a sharpening stone and began the slow process of sharpening my knives. I found the uniform, steady motions rexing, as the built-up stress of my many adventures were dealt with, one stroke at a time, to reach a razor finish.
In due course, the looming figure of Kidu gruffly relieved me of my watch, sending me off, back to my bedroll. Eager to restore my lost Mana, Health, and Stamina, I fell into a troubled sleep filled with dark skittering things and a world that was once mine.
