Tabitha looked like she had had her world turned upside down when I left her. I guess she only believed me because she knew me and my classes. Or some of my classes. I still had six free attribute points to allocate. I wasn’t in any hurry. Bow was inching toward Journeyman level. Once it got there, there were Proficient level skills available like the Long Bow Skill my master had. I might need to bump some attributes to get them. The same was true for Small Blades. I was content to hold them for now.

Manipulate Status is now level 3 as well. I try to keep it on all the time, showing my highest class a Quarry Worker Level 9, so no one will think I got it to level 10 and specialised it. Not that Prospecting has done me any good so far.

Identify, Deceive, Animal Bond and Trapping are all ready to get to the Journeyman level. I am really keen to see what Pip and I will be able to do at Journeyman level. Identify indicates that some skills might be compatible to share. I am looking forward to getting Venom Bite. I meant Quick Strike as I doubt Venom Bite is compatible. We will have to wait and see. I am puzzling over how to get it over the hump to Journeyman level.

The conversation with Tabitha had renewed my thinking about combatting slavery. The slave we took from the mercenaries was sold to Masnachwr like the other two were earlier. I needed more knowledge on how to break the bond and combat the class. I figured this knowledge was in the empire somewhere, but would be locked away and carefully guarded. It should be more readily available outside the empire. I was hoping somebody else had already cracked it and I could follow in their footsteps.

First I had to get out of the empire. To do that we had to get past a fortified town and a controlled border. Then we had to make it over the mountains to Hrothgar. The last town was trouble enough and this one will be crawling with the empire military.

Branik approved Tabita’s request to go out scouting with me for half the day. She strongly reminded us we were there to scout not hunt. Kopje was sitting up now. It looked like he would make a full recovery, but he certainly won’t be fighting anytime soon. Probably not till well after we get to Hrothgar. I asked Kopje to teach me some Orcish. He has started with some common words and phrases. Unfortunately some of the sounds they make when communicating are too low for a human to hear let alone replicate. I still try and he says it sounds like someone with a very bad accent. Which is exactly what it is. Hearing Aid is Journeyman level now and when Physical Perception gets to 30 I could choose Expanded Hearing, which means I could at least hear Orcish properly. I suppose there are also some oral Skills that allow me to speak it properly. I am still thinking about it because there are some Sight Skills I like as well, especially the one that allows me to see heat. Far Sight needs to be at Journeyman for that though. A lot of crafters choose that as everybody from Alchemists to Blacksmiths want precise temperatures. Seeing heat is easier than using the Sensitive Skin specialisation that feels the heat.

Tabitha kept asking questions about my time with the slavers all morning. I guess she was trying to get her head around it. We tested her Skill Rampage first just while riding. Her aim was to see how much control she had and to see if she could stop it early. When she activated it her head lifted and her eyes scanned for danger. Her hand went to her sword hilt, but she didn’t draw it. She couldn't really concentrate on talking other than simple yes and no answers. After about 4-5 minutes she slumped in the saddle exhausted. I judged that to be reasonable control, but she couldn’t stop it early. She didn’t even want to as it made her feel powerful. When she recovered we did it twice more to test different things, but mainly so she could get used to how it felt with the skill active.

Far Sight then picked up a small pack of Hyenas scavenging a kill. There were probably only about twenty, certainly less than thirty. That is small when Hyena’s often are in clans of 150 or more. I figured if Tabitha went in on foot they would defend their meal. I could provide ranged support from Rocky and if things got out of hand I could swoop in. I asked her not to use any shadow abilities unless she got in trouble to test the skill away from the shadow class. I figured her Intimidating Aura would chase them all away if she used it. Hyena’s are not known for their bravery.

She walked in with her sword in hand and the Hyenas objected. They circled her and then the first one came in for a bite and she activated Rampage and started striking out. I started Rocky moving at a walk and taking shots at the ones on the edges. I wanted Bow to level. She was faster and stronger than when she practised, which was the effect of rampage. I think she was a bit less accurate in her strikes than she could have been but it was hard to tell. She had killed about half of them and I had taken a number out before the rest took off. With Rampage active she took off after them, but couldn’t get far. When she slumped down in exhaustion I lifted her to the back of Rocky and we went back to where we left Dusk. The slump at the end is the biggest danger in using the skill as it leaves her very vulnerable. The skill didn’t level for her, but she is more confident in using it. She said her Sword levelled to 4.

Tabitha is an interesting girl. In some ways we are compatible, but in others we are complete opposites. We are both stealth based hunters, but she is a town hunter and I definitely prefer the wilds. I think I would go crazy if I was stuck in a town too long. She is impulsive and passionate. I like to take a more considered approach. When I say passionate, she definitely has a temper. The Intimidating Aura and Rampage Skills are based on something in her personality. I really liked Warren even after only knowing him for a short time. We could have been really good friends. His loss is affecting me as well, as I don’t make friends easily or quickly. His loss has really thrown Tabitha into a spin. I don’t think she realised how much she depended on him. I was starting to care for her, but more in a brotherly way. Chōōd is the Orcish word for it but the ‘o’s are almost a sub harmonic sound. It means clan or extended family. I guess I am partly stepping into Warren's shoes but only till she finds her way.

The countryside was getting hillier, and apparently would continue to do so. After Kirsk there was a great river which was the border and then a large mountain range. Hrothgar was situated in the major pass just on the other side of the mountains. I was looking forward to Hrothgar as it was the home base for the Mother's Tusks and Kopje kept talking to me about it, in Orcish. It was quite large with varied races. Predominantly, Orc and Dwarf, but then some of every other race according to him. But first was Kirsk.

Kirsk was a border town of the Empire. It was heavily fortified and had an Imperial Garrison adjacent to it. The garrison was bigger than the town. We had been travelling in farm areas for the last two days and I was sitting on Rocky on a hilltop, with my first view of the town. We had a lot more company on the road now, especially after we passed a major intersection yesterday. The intersection had a Tavern and general store and a couple of houses. Imperial Couriers, Troops and farmers all accompanied us. The road was now wide enough for two wagons to pass and we did pass another caravan. Apparently, the other intersection branch goes to a large city, which is the province capital. We were taking the less travelled route which makes sense for smugglers like us.