The Contest of Saints is held every ten years in the exotic city of Al-Lazar. It is a great martial tournament, where warriors from all over the nd vie with each other to prove that they stand among the strongest in the world, to fight for the title of the Saint. No weapons are allowed in this most-holy of competitions. The contestants, or pilgrims, fight to the death, or until they yield. To walk on the sacred red marble of the temple’s arena is a holy offering to the gods.

  - The Fanciful Travels by Beron de Laney 376 AC.

  Overall, I judged that we had made a good showing. However, there was one hairy moment when one of the River Lurkers made a beeline for Patches and wounded our beast before we were able to hurriedly put it down. I was forced to use a Heal to stem the flow of blood from the donkey’s haunches. Thankfully, apart from this, the culling of the river creatures passed mostly uneventfully. It was more a test of mental and physical endurance, as opposed to a trial that sorely tested us, and we didn’t even need to make use of our hastily-prepared traps. We had become so efficient that we even ended the st few groups well before the tree line, with Kidu’s bow inflicting a bloody toll on their numbers.

  Thanks to our efforts in reducing the local Lurker popution, I was able to gain another two hundred and fifteen additional Experience points, which pushed me ever closer to my next level. I had even gained a single point in both Constitution and Dexterity, though none of my skills had gained a point naturally, which was a little disappointing.

  We butchered the River Lurkers as quickly as we could. I even helped a little, as we were pressed for time. Surely, soon, the smell of blood would attract rger and more dangerous predators. We had far exceeded our quota of three hides and we were forced to discard the lion’s share of the meat and the more damaged hides in a hastily-dug pit. I could only hope that we would be able to sell the extra hides somewhere in the city. However, Elwin seemed to be more excited at the prospect of having some new shoes made from the hides, no doubt to be used as a conversational point to impress.

  Not wanting to get my equipment wet, or for that matter, drown myself, I unequipped my heavy arms and armor, which had grown slick with blood and gore. Elwin and I waded into the cool, fast-flowing water, keeping an eye out for other threats. Kidu stood as a sentinel along the bank, with a serpent-swift arrow nocked to his yew longbow. The remaining juvenile River Lurkers had long fled, as even their reptilian brains could understand the threat that my group presented.

  As instructed by Kidu, we felt our way down along the long stems of the River Root that anchored the pnts to the bottom of the river. Then, with a sharp tug, as close to the base of the stem as possible, we harvested the herb, swiftly and methodically. My efforts even rewarded me with a new useless skill, a nominal amount of experience, and a much-welcomed attribute point.

  5 experience gained.

  You have gained 1 Wisdom.

  You have learned Herbalism (lvl.1)

  I didn’t much see myself as a picker of herbs and flowers, but the gain in Wisdom was definitely useful, as I knew that the attribute affected my overall Mana. How it affected my actual thought process, however, was still a mystery to me. I definitely didn’t feel much wiser. Besides, how exactly was Wisdom measured?

  I shut down these thoughts as we hurriedly moved from the river. Such was our rush that we did not even take the time to wring out our clothes, let alone see to our armor. Elwin and I simply piled our gear onto Patches, which drew an annoyed bray from the beast. I fed the donkey a carrot, which seemed to mollify her somewhat, but she still looked at me in what I construed as equine indignation.

  Once Kidu had judged that we were a suitable distance from the sughter, we began to make camp as the sun began to set. I staked out Patches and helped pce some Zajasite stones around the perimeter, extending the light of the campfire. We threw all pretense of stealth out of the window, deciding that it would serve us better to see our enemies if an attack came.

  The painted colors of a soft pastel sunset gave way to the grays of twilight as the sun sank beneath the horizon. In time, the deeper darkness of true night cimed the sky.

  The rge silvery moon shone from the heavens with a myriad of stars as companions, and my party saw to the minutiae of our outdoor camp. Most pressing for us was stretching out the lizard hides before they curled and warped. I had no skill in these matters, so I donned my armor once more and offered to patrol around the camp.

  Alone, I wandered around the camp, visor up, to take in as much as I could. Guard duty allowed me to have a little time with my thoughts. Occasionally I would toss a knife into a tree trunk. With every practice throw, I would picture an enemy’s face, as some sort of punctuation to my patrol.

  What were my goals? For the time being, I needed to get stronger, in all senses of the word, and I needed to move out of Ansan to explore the greater world. I needed to know more of the powers that moved this world, especially of and the great primal force of Entropy.

  Comparing my current health points to what they were when I had first arrived here, It was clear to see how significantly stronger I had grown. This led me to think of all of my fights thus far, which in turn brought me back to my encounter with the elves. I shivered as the horrible memories rose to the fore of my mind. Perhaps I had not grown so powerful after all. Shuddering, I swiftly shifted my attention to something closer to the present.

  If possible, I would see about hiring our group out to one of the many caravans that braved the trade routes. But in what direction? Choices upon choices upon choices. Decisions that were not true decisions at all. I felt that something, or somethings, were pulling at me to go in a different direction, to do a different thing.

  And of my choices, the most extreme were those when I had been forced to kill. I had killed many times now, and not just monsters. To be absolutely honest with myself, I would probably kill them all over again without a second thought.

  After all, their deaths gifted me with experience points. Killing had come easily to me, and bearing the cost, it seems, was not to be too great a burden. Also, I had lost one of the first few friends I had made in this new world during our bid for freedom. I had expected a wave of guilt and sadness to hit me at the regurgitated memory, but strangely I felt almost nothing - a strange sort of emptiness, now that every day was no longer simply a struggle to survive. For better or worse, whatever changes were taking in pce in me - Stout Durhit the dwarf would not be forgotten.