~Day 178~

The first thing that happened to me today, was a question. A question that made me realise something. “Where are we going anyway.” Was the question directed at me from the soon-to-be mother Sari.

This made me realize that we never actually told the Wolves where we were going, or who we were or what our goal was. Although we did mention the Demon Queen so they could probably have figured it out eventually. Even so, I decided that for now, I would just tell them we were heading for the capital. Surely most people visiting a kingdom will go to its capital at some point, so that shouldn’t garner any suspicion.

Our biggest problem is how much should we tell them? In the past, I’ve made the mistake of telling people everything without getting to know them first, which could have gone very badly for me. I have been lucky, but I decided to be more careful from now on. From what we know of them this wolf family is a friendly lot, even if one of them is a bit grumpy. We don’t know them that well though, they could be secretly working with the rebels or something. I find that highly unlikely of course, what reason would three wolves have for working with a Demon rebellion? It probably wouldn’t affect them either way whose in charge. Even if another Demon is in charge of the kingdom they wouldn’t be stupid enough to legalise Oasis Wolf hunting again. The Oasis Wolves are too important a symbol to be hunted.

Even so the Wolves seemed satisfied just with me telling them our location, so I’ll leave that for now and talk to Cadiz or Alka about it later. For now though, it’s finally time to carry on with the saddle. The saddle itself looks like a saddle now. Well it’s still missing the actual seat and a few other things, but you can tell what it’s meant to be.

Finally though, it was time to make the seat itself. When this is done, the saddle should at least be usable right? I know there’s a few more things I’ll need to make after this, but this is the big one… I think.

First things first, I obviously took measurements. I wanted to make sure the seat fits on to the saddle tree. After I was sure it would be fine I got on with cutting the leather in to size. Gial and Odwiff were helping me with this part. According to Odwiff making the seat is a bit more complicated that just make a nice a shape. Which I suppose should have been obvious to me by now considering how long it took me to do the last two parts.

Before I knew it, the day had already pretty much passed. The seat, however, had begun to take shape. Although it was literally just the shape that was done. It looked about right, I have seen saddles in the past obviously and I could clearly see this as one. Although the shape was a little different to fit on Alvirs back.

Come to think of it, what’s going to happen when Alvir evolves again? I never really thought about that… Am I just going to have to make an entirely new saddle? The harness and saddle tree should be adjustable to a certain degree, but will the seat? Maybe I should make that one of my goals.

As dinner rolled around we allowed room for the wolves to join us, however just as before Kuda stayed in his own little corner. Occasionally Kasa or Sari wandered over during the hour or so, but it was just a short chat before they went back.

I suppose it’s a little early to think they’ll integrate in to our crew, we’ve only known each other a few days. Still it would be nice if we could get along with them before we reach the capital.

Come to think of it, have we reached the halfway mark yet? We were told it would be around three weeks, but we had to stop at that oasis for a couple of days. Then again at the same time Gama flew through the rebels territory extremely fast, so I wonder if that balances it out.

It got me a bit curious so I decided to ask Cadiz. “How much further?” She asked with a fork inches away from her mouth. The demon slowly placed the eating utensil back on her plate before humming. “Well my dear. I’m afraid to say our original estimate was a little off you see. We only took in to account how long it would usually take Gama. With all this extra weight, the time is actually a little longer.” She sighed. “Still that just added on about half a day in total so we’re looking at less than two weeks left my dear. So I suppose we’re over halfway there.” She replied smirking.

Well, I suppose that answered my question in a roundabout way. Technically we’re now over halfway there, but there’s still a few weeks left. I wonder if that’s enough time to finish the saddle. To be honest it should be finished in a few days.

~Day 179~

I woke up a little early today. I wanted to begin work on the saddle as soon as light hit the ship. Looking at it, there’s not quite as much work as I was worried about. I could have probably slept the usual amount and still have enough time to finish the seat today.

I decided to make the most of it today anyway, if I can get the seat done in time I can then move on to the next part today, the girths. That’s what hold the saddle in place around the belly. I’m surprised I didn’t make it along with the saddle tree as I thought they would surely be the same thing, but Gial assured me they were not.

Just as I had hoped the seat was reaching its final stages, other than stuffing some wool in to soften the seat, I had just a little bit left to do. Odwiff came over to help me with that part. We got the wool off of Alka, who had some for her hat making hobby and got to work.

It wasn’t a tough job and we got it finished in no time at all. In fact within a few hours all that was left to do was to nail it on to the saddle tree. Which took quite a bit of concentration on my part. It’s not easy having to make sure not to hit too hard. Still, the seat was finally finished and the saddle had begun to take it’s true form!

With that part done I began work on the girths. These will be quite simple to make considering they’re just long strips of leather to wrap around a belly. Still I didn’t have quite enough time to finish them today. They would be done by the end of tomorrow at least though. Then after that I think I have only one more part to add on to the saddle to make it complete. This whole thing has taken much less time than I was hoping. Now what am I supposed to do for the rest of the journey. I suppose next time we stop I could pick up some sand and practise a bit of Earth Magic. I haven’t done any of that for a while.

The trouble is with only a little bit of sand there’s not much I can do. Still it’ll be better than nothing. If I’m right we should be landing sometime tomorrow as we’ve been in the air a few days. So I’ll grab some then, well, if I’m allowed. I suppose it depends on whether the others are alright with a strange giant woman playing with sand.

At the end of dinner, I decided to pay a visit to what could only be described as ‘The Captains table’ which held Gial, Alka and Cadiz. The three of them spent a lot of time together discussing things related to the rebellion and the plans for our little group. Arguably I should probably join them, but I’m worried the Light Elves will just lose patience if I do. Right now, I’m not going to put anyone at risk if possible.

Of course I do listen occasionally, I’ve heard a few key figures heads within the different factions in the kingdom. It seems as though we know of a few nobles that are most definitely part of the New Monarch rebels, but none of those that have revealed themselves are big enough to be the mastermind.

I understand why they’re trying to route out the biggest names first, to crush the rebellion before it reaches a full war, but it would render me completely useless if they succeed as my skill set only includes hitting things very hard. Still I’ll also be thankful as it means I won’t have to put my friends at risk if I don’t get involved.

Wait, what was I doing again? Oh yeah, I was going to ask about the sand. The three of them had just been staring at me for the last few minutes whilst my brain wandered off on a journey all by itself. That hasn’t happened for a while. “D-Did you require our assistance missy?” Gial asked with a quizzical expression.

I scratched my head and let out a nervous chuckle. “Uh, yeah sorry. I was just wondering if you would mind me bagging some sand next time we land?” I asked, causing Gial to look even more confused.

Alka folded her arms. “Magic practise?” She asked. I nodded my head in reply.

The Elf next to her nodded. “Ahh! I forgot you could use Earth magic. I don’t see any reason to say no.” He smiled.

We all turned to Cadiz to see what she had to say. Her mouth hung open ever so slightly. “You can use magic?” She asked.

That’s what she’s shocked about?! “Well… I am a Dryad, Earth Magic makes sense right?” I retaliated, feeling a little offended.

Cadiz began to smile. “Well yes, but I’ve always thought you were more of a… Physical fighter.” She responded with a smirk.

Was she trying to irritate me? At this point I think she was. “Well even if I do prefer a more… Up close and personal approach, I do at least still know Earth magic and I think this free time would be a good way to practise it.” I replied holding my cool.

The large demon shrugged. “True, with Gama dragging us around there isn’t much for us to do down here like on a normal ship. As long as it’s not too much earth I don’t have a problem with it either darling.” She told me.

I nodded my head. “Thank you. I’ll be careful with how much I take, don’t worry.” I assured them.

With that out the way, I now had a plan for the rest of trip after I inevitably finish this saddle, tomorrow I would collect a little bit of sand and then use it to do a little bit of magic. I hope I haven’t gotten rusty or anything, it has been a little while since I used my magic.

~Day 180~

I woke up a little later than usual today. My only plans were to finish the girths off before we landed. Of course, shortly after we were all awake, Cadiz went between all the little groups around the ship to tell everyone we would be landing today.

The Wolves were a little confused, they didn’t realise that we would be making stops every few days. There was a lot me forgot to tell them, but hey, as strong as Gama is even she needs to rest once in a while.

Anyway for the few hours of time we had before Gama would land, I worked on finishing the girths. It didn’t take too long and I actually had a little bit of time to spare afterwards. Not that I could do much with it, I just ate a bit of lunch and chatted with Venya and Odwiff.

As we began the descent, the Wolves seemed to be a bit more stable with the shaking of the ship, but it was still clearly an unusual experience for them. I suppose it still is for me too though, I’ve gotten mostly used to it, but it still gives me that strange almost sickly feeling of excitement at points.

Today we landed next to a few large stone pillars. Far off to the east was another small oasis whilst to the west sat a lake of sand. It had mostly been dunes and the occasional small canyon until now, so an entire flat stretch of sand was at least a different sight, even if only slightly.

The problem with a long sea of sand is that I could see the severe lack of Monsters. There was some sort of family of extremely long legged tortoises wandering about in the distance, but other that that the desert was… Well, deserted.

The Wolves were just happy to hit the ground again of course. I think they were getting used to flying as much as anyone could, but it definitely feels safer down here. Kasa and Kuda even helped us unload the camp as much as they could without opposable thumbs.

After we had finished setting up camp, our cooks began to work on dinner and everyone went off to do their own thing, including Wrok who for some reason climbed up one of the stone pillars and sat cross legged facing towards the sun. I suppose he must be doing his meditation again and the pillars are quite secluded whilst being right nearby.

As for myself, I decided to use the Sand to practise some Earth magic, I was going to be doing so for a while in the future anyway, so I thought I might as well get started today. The only thing is, whilst it’s still Earth magic when it comes to sand, it’s quite a bit different from what I’m used to. For instance, armour made out of sand… Well, I can’t imagine it would offer much protection. I suppose you can use the magic to amplify it’s defensive capabilities, but even so Earth would be better for such a thing.

I suppose I could make quicksand, which might be a good replacement for the hidden hole traps I was practising before, but they’re not quite the same thing.

In the end, I guess I should probably do something more related to the desert itself. Perhaps I should try creating sandstorms or throwing sand with enough velocity to do damage. If that’s even possible.

I’m not sure I have it in me to create an entire sandstorm, but I can at least practise manipulating the sand. With the eventual goal of being able to create some sort of powerful storm, I found somewhere a bit quieter along with Alvir and Vinn.

It was easy enough to just manipulate the sand at a basic level, it was very much the same feeling as with normal earth. I managed to lift a clump into the air and mold it in to a few basic shapes. Although when I tried making a castle it came out more like a ruin.

With the basics down, I set up a basic target by leaning a stick of wood against a barrel and began practising forming projectiles. At first, they just hit against it and fell off causing not even a shake. I guess it would though, it is just sand after all.

How do I make it a viable weapon though? I have heard of Demon Earth mages being incredibly effective with sand, but I’m not sure how. I could create a screen to hide myself in a battle, but I’m not really sure that’s my style. Although it would be good for surprise attacks.

Thinking about it. Isn’t glass made of sand? Like massively heated sand? That would explain why Cadizes city had so many massive windows, it’s surrounded by sand. If I had fire magic too I could combine the two and make glass projectile, although even without that it does give me an idea. I remember a lot of science from Ein, things we have no knowledge about here. Maybe if I compact the sand with my magic, crushing it together, I can make it stronger, turn it into something actually dangerous.

For the next few hours, I tried doing exactly that, to varying degrees of success. Nearing the end a few of the projectiles I tried creating managed to either stick or at least damage the wood to a certain degree, however even as evening rolled around I couldn’t seem to make anything actually dangerous. I suppose that is what’s going to happen when you’re using a new form of your magic, no matter what your level is in said magic beforehand. Perhaps if I was some sort of genius mage my grasp of magic would be a bit better, but that I certainly am not.

In case I somehow forgot tomorrow, I decided to bag the sand I’d be taking with me right now. I made sure to only get a few handfuls as they told me not to bring too much. I’ll also have to practise somewhere completely out of the wind, so I suppose at the front of the ship is the best place. Or in the lower levels, but I would quite like natural lighting rather than lamp light.

With the sand all bagged up and ready we returned to the camp. Before I headed off to dinner I made sure the bag was with the rest of my stuff, just so I wouldn’t leave behind. Not that it would exactly be a massive deal if I accidentally left it behind, it is just a bag of sand after all, but I do still want it.

During dinner, to everyones surprise, the Wolves decided to join us. Perhaps it was due to the fact we were now on the ground and they could relatively easily run away if we somehow decided to betray them. Although I think they might just be coming to trust us a bit more, I mean if we wanted to do something to them we’ve had plenty of chances. Whether they’ll join us to eat when we’re back in the air I don’t know, but it’s some level of progress. Kuda just isn’t very trusting.

At lights out, it was the same situation. The Wolves slept closer to the rest of the camp. I wonder if they’ll be okay with me practising my magic so close to where they’ve set up on the ship though. Due to the less wind sand shouldn’t be flying in to any of their faces, but there still is a small risk of that. I guess I’ll have to ask them at some point.

~Day 181~

We were back in the air today. It was quite an early start all around, not quite the crack of dawn, but not far off. There wasn’t any particular reason for it, it was quite overwhelmingly hot today which woke some people up and a few others were just naturally early risers so we thought we might as well get started early.

For some reason I’m not too good with too much heat, possibly due to the bark inside my body. Although saying that, I’ve never heard about a Dryad being weak to fire despite the fact that it wouldn’t be odd if that were the case.

Anyway, since we were up so early, I had plenty of time to get on with the saddle. It was getting closer and closer to completion. Especially since now that I’ve finished the girths, there’s only one part left. The panels. The outer panels to be exact. The parts of the saddle that just sort of soften things up and tie it all together… I think. I mean that’s what the designs Odwiff gave me imply. Well, it’s not like it really matters what they do exactly, as long as I follow the instructions I’m sure it’ll work out.

All I basically have to do is stuff a lot of wool into a sort of pillow of leather. Well, it’s a little more complicated than that, but from what I can see that’s the jist of it. Still, it didn’t take very long to finish them off. In fact, only about half the day had passed by the time I was completely done.

With a sigh of satisfaction I wiped a bead of sweat from my forehead and stepped back to look at my work. It sat on the deck of the ship now completely in one piece and it actually looked like a saddle. I was worried, for the most part about how it would turn out. I suppose it could have been neater, it certainly had quite a rough look to it, but it was my first saddle, so I’ll forgive myself. Besides if I really want to I can always go back and fancy it up a bit.

Now that it was all finished though, I called Alvir over to try it all on. With a violently wagging tail the giant wolf bounded over to me followed by Kuda and Kasa who seemed to be curious about what we were doing.

“Is it ready master?! Is it!?” Alvir asked jumping around the saddle.

I stretched out my arm to hold the oversized puppy down to stop him jumping. “It is… So calm down, you’re rocking the ship.” I told him as I looked at the stumbling crew around us.

Kuda walked around the saddle with a knotted brow. “What exactly is this… A saddle?” He asked looking up at me.

I nodded my head. “It’s for Alvir.” I told him as I nodded my head towards the overexcited creature I was holding back.

Kuda backed a few feet as a look of disgust spread across his face. “You’re… Making him… Wear a saddle?” He forced a sentence from his mouth.

My eyes grew wide as a realised what this might look like to other Wolves. I quickly shook my hands in protest. “No no no! He wants to lead people into battle like a steed. Seriously!” I protested against the look the Oasis Wolf was giving me.

Kuda looked over to Alvir. “Seriously?” He asked.

Alvir nodded back happily. “Of course! Wouldn’t it be awesome? To be at the front of the pack dodging arrows with master on my back as we charge into a group of enemies together?” He responded gleefully.

I let out a sigh and rubbed my brow. Was it me that made him like this I wonder? Is it my fault? “So there you have it.” I groaned.

I heard a chuckle coming from the other Oasis Wolf that had wandered over. “I can see where he’s coming from. Just about.” She claimed.

“Really?” Kuda and I asked in unison, albeit in slightly different tones.

Kasa chuckled before nodding again. “Now come on, aren’t you going to try it on?” She looked at Alvir who in turn looked to me.

With another small sigh I let out a little chuckle. “Alright, sit still.” I replied as I stood up. “Remember, I might still need to make some adjustments, so don’t be too upset if it doesn’t fit perfectly.” I told him.

For the good part of an hour I slowly placed and tightened this new saddle to Alvirs back. It was an oddly difficult task, I didn’t take into account the thickness of his fur and how much of it there actually was. Thanks to that I had to make the saddle a little tighter than I originally intended. I should have learnt from the harness really, but for some reason I didn’t have as much trouble with that. Just got lucky the first time I suppose.

By the time we were done with the initial fitting, we had gathered a small crowd that seemed to find amusement from my failings. Even the Oasis Wolves were chuckling to themselves as I struggled.

Still, it ended up fitting quite… Nicely. That’s probably the best word for it. Alvir ended up looking quite intimidating. I think the fact that it was quite a rough job helped with the look too. On top of that the wolf in question seemed pretty damn happy with the saddle. There was no way for him to see himself of course, but being Alvir he was still elated. His violent tail wagging was a dead give away.

With a satisfied smile I clapped my hands together. “Right. Let’s get that off and I can fancy it up a bit.” I told Alvir as I lent in.

“Hold up!” A voice proclaimed. Turning my head I could see it was Kasa who spoke.

I turned back to the strap I was grabbing, then looked back at Kasa. “Why?” I asked her.

“Aren’t you going to test the saddle out yourself?” She asked with sparkling eyes.

What was it with this wolf and the saddle? I let out a sigh then stood up. “I suppose. Is that alright with you Alvir?” I asked him sure of his answer.

“Of course!” The Wolf beamed.

“Of course.” I sighed.

It’s not that I didn’t want to test it out, it’s just that we were now surrounded. It’s kind of embarrassing being the centre of attention again. I’ve had a few looks here and there since we’ve reached the Demons Continent, but nowhere near as many as I was getting on the central continent. Not quite sure for the reason though, I would guess it’s probably due to the Demons hostility to strangers, but I can’t say for sure. Still, I suppose I really should give it a go.

I breathed one last small sigh before hopping my leg over Alvir’s back, with one swift movement my legs fell down either side of his back and my feet slid into the stirrups. My first impressions would be his back was wider than I was expecting. A normal human might have trouble with the width of this back. Unless of course I changed the saddle so it more sat on the back instead of against it. I suppose that doesn’t really matter though as I don’t think any normal humans would be riding Alvir any time soon.

For me though, it’s quite comfortable. I might look a little too large riding him. I looked around and the small crowd we had gathered to gage their reactions. To my surprise no one seemed to be laughing. In fact, I saw a few people smiling or nodding. So this works? Do we look cool? I carried on scanning the crowd until I reached Kuda and Kasa. Kuda looked rather… For lack of a better word, disgusted. Whilst Kasa, well she was beaming.

I locked eyes with Kasa, who widened hers in a huge smile. “Kasa… Did you want a saddle too?” I asked her, already expecting a certain answer.

The wolf looked a little taken aback then turned her head to the right. “A… A saddle? I… I guess I wouldn’t be against one if you wanted to make one. You know, I’d wear it if I had to.” She whistled out the corner of her mouth as her tail beat a mile a minute.

She obviously wants one… Why is she even hiding it at this point. Well I suppose I wouldn’t be against working on it as a side product. I have already decided to work on my magic though and I’m feeling pretty concrete on that front. So it’ll definitely be a side project.

I scratched my chin, then nodded at Kasa. “Alright, I’ll make you one. It might take a while though.” I replied with a smile.

Kasa’s face lit up, before she quickly controlled herself again. “Well… I guess that’s alright then.” She replied, her tail still going crazy.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the brother wolf looking at his sister with a bewildered expression. I can’t say I entirely blame him. In a way wanting to be ridden comes with some… Off colour implications.

Finally I looked down at the Wolf I was currently sitting on. “How is it Alvir? You alright?” I asked him.

Alvir turned his head as much as possible to look at me, his eyes were also shining. With didn’t come as a surprise to me this time. “I feel…. Cool.” He replied.

Cool… How does one feel cool? Well as long as he’s happy. “Alright, well we can see that it works now. So I’m getting off okay?” I asked him.

Alvir nodded his head enthusiastically. With that now done and tested, I hopped of the wolfs large back and began to remove the saddle. As I did so the crowd began to disperse. They had gotten some entertainment before dinner, so I suppose they were content with that.

After the saddle was off, I put it with the rest of my stuff to store and went to get some food with the wolves. I’m surprised they waited for me, considering that they’ve still been eating on their own until now. There is a likelihood that it’s just out of politeness since they were with us before dinner, but it’s nice to actually eat with them for a change.

While we were eating they asked me what I was going to do now that I was finished with the saddle, Kasa wanted to know if I would get on with hers right away. Although she seemed to try and hide it again for whatever reason. Of cour,se I happily told them about my magic and they seemed quite interested in watching since they didn’t have much to do either. I don’t have a problem with them watching, but it got me thinking, can Oasis Wolves use magic? There are plenty of Monsters out there that can, and Oasis Wolves are quite intelligent, so there’s every possibility. Even if not in their first evolution, I’m imagining they can somewhere down the tree at least.

I have to wonder if anyone else might come over and have a look, half the people here don’t even know I can use magic and magics always something interesting to see. I’ve gotten used to everyone on this ship, so I think I should be fine with the attention. Then again, I don’t know that for sure… I’m feeling a little shy now.

[Name: Ellena Orcsbane]

[Age: 180 Days]

[Species: Arbor Ferrous, Dryad]

[Height: 7'-6"]

[Sex: Female]

[Title/s: Kin of Ellephwen, Wolfmother, Slayer.]

{Level: 65]

[Health: 55604/55604]

[Mana: 9106/9106]

[Stamina: 41380/41388]

[Hunger: 41000/41388]

[Attack: 37128]

[Defence: 66224 + 22000]

[Magic Attack: 9824]

[Magic Defence: 18871]

[Skills:

[Pain Resistance lvl 10 (Max)] [Poison Resistance lvl 8] [Mind Resistance lvl 2]

[Venom Resistance lvl 8] [Lightning Resistance lvl 5] [Paralysis Resistance lvl 4]

[Night vision lvl 10 (max)] [Amplified Vision lvl 9] [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 73}]

[tough stomach lvl 8] [Unarmed Combat Expert lvl 9] [Polearm Expert lvl 6]

[Demifoot lvl 10] [Warriors Heart lvl 52] [Warriors Will lvl 36]

[Warriors Strength lvl 44] [Greater Regeneration lvl 8] [Guardian lvl 10 (Max)]

[Dryads Charm lvl 18] Up! [Skinning lvl 5] [Tanning lvl 5]

[Leatherworking lvl 9] Up! [Carving lvl 3] [Earth Magic lvl 9]

[{Wolfmother lvl 18}] [{Pillars Aura lvl 15}]