Author's notes:

Well, this chapter took twice as long as it should, there are the usual 'life events' that cause delays; however, I did a LOT of world building during this chapter. That caused me to regularly stall out while writing in order to work out stuff like politics. Here is a sample image of the map I've been building for over a year now. You might want to keep that open while reading this chapter to give better context to the conversations:

http://orig15.deviantart.net/35a1/f/2016/030/f/e/valdera_regions_jan_2016_by_chizek-d9py6d5.png

------ Slip Hero Chapter 12 ------

Within darkness my consciousness is pulled out from fading away.

Burning, stinging, pulsating pain tugs my mind into awareness.

Ow.

I feel the impression I am actually burning, though, I do not think I could burn for this long without… well, losing feeling.

I feel the pain pulsing through my body, with each pulse I gradually feel more of my body as if I return to existence. My movements are very stiff as if I cannot move at all.

With a little focus I gradually feel my fingers bend, my arms and legs shift.

As the feeling grows stronger and strength returns to my body my mind becomes clear.

The faint sounds around become louder, a dull horn blows in the distance, muffled voices clamour, and I begin to remember.

Memories that were disoriented and confusing clear up. The feeling like a strange dream fades completely and I can only remember that I feel like I had been shocked before

Urgently I recall the most recent events before the shock, I need to help Varrel! He is dieing!

But my stomach lacks the strength to sit up.

Before any more effort I take a deep breath and focus. My heavy eyes begin to open, it is dark where I am, only a small light flickers nearby. Its orange glow dances along the walls.

Stone walls, a sight I am familiar with. This is the temple in Calbin.

Shifting around a little I also find myself in a soft bed of wool, warm and safe. Different from the cold that chilled me to the bones in the woods.

My muscles are tense and tight, it is not the same as if I had been doing heavy labour. I stretch and flex my arms and legs before twisting my torso left and right, working the stiffness out.

Painful sensations continue to radiate with each movement, the pain fades a little more with each stretch as more builds up in my body.

I relax for a moment, taking deep breaths slowly as the pain fades away. During this I had the opportunity to check and make sure my body was fine, there are no open wounds.

Bruising over my arms has also been treated enough to not cause any discomfort. The source of my pain feels deeper than bruised skin.

Cloth wrapped around my forehead hints that I had a head wound, though, from memory I was not knocked out from a head wound.

I consider that for a moment, my head does not throb with pain, the pain feels like it only runs from my arms down through my legs.

The door opens.

“Oh thank Faelin! You woke.”

Lara, the temple priestess exclaims with relief as she takes a look inside the room.

I had been lying awake while feeling thirst and hunger. Thirst is something I had not felt this severe before, opening and closing my eyelids feels very coarse.

“Here you should drink something.” Lara says as she walks to my side with a clay cup filled with water.

She helps lift my body upright so I can drink properly.

The cool water spreads through my mouth, I quickly swallow a gulp that slowly works its way down my throat. A painful feeling as the water works its way through my dry throat before a refreshing feeling spreads through my stomach.

“You had been out for almost two days, it will take a while to recover with drink before you should eat.” she adds.

“I need to relieve myself.”

“Of course, let me see if you can stand and walk.” Lara supports my back as I place my feet on the wooden floor boards.

My legs hold up, though I feel a little weak I regain strength quickly while pacing around

Lara sighs in relief.

“Should I use a bucket or go to the outhouse?” I ask, my bladder begins to ache.

“Eh? If you are feeling up to moving that much.”

I quickly find my boots on the ground before finding the grey fur coat I had been using before.

Oh, it is pretty torn up, but I gotta go!

Using a bucket unsettles me and even though I am weak from hunger I really feel like moving. Through the door and down the stairs, I had been on the second floor of the temple.

The main floor is almost full of people again recovering from their wounds and as I weave through towards the door I know that my famished state would be of little use right now.

Upon the temple’s doors, now battered, my hands push the door enough to pass through.

Blowing through the gap against my face, the cold air strings against my cheeks and my eyes squint from the sunlight reflecting off of the snow. It is late in the day though, the sun is lowering close to the peaks of the Kainran fangs.

The air is much cleaner outside from the stuffy smell of blood and waste inside. Even if the excrement waste is hauled out with buckets the buckets are hard to clean when most of the water is frozen.

The outhouse around the side of the temple has a well cleared path that is easy to follow. Quickly I squat inside one of the two rooms and breathe out relief as I finally get to empty out.

However, breathing back in only left a foul taste in my mouth as I tried to avoid smelling it through my nose. Warmth from the hole rises up carrying the foul air past my face.

I can almost feel the smell sticking to my skin.

In a disturbing sense of optimism, my hunger quickly goes away.

I had some tolerance for stuffy and foul smells, though today seems more pungent than before. Even inside the temple I felt the building was more stuffy than normal.

Outside again, the cold air feels much more refreshing and clean.

I take a moment to look around while the setting sun continues to provide light.

The buildings around are a little more damaged than before, the snow left uncleared on the roofs are dotted with arrows. From the angle they landed I can see the arrows came from the north here.

Goblins likely launched the arrows during their attack from a high angle, though it could not have been very accurate. I would hate to have been here while arrows are raining down.

Much of the damage I can see from here is not very bad. There are a few holes in some roofs, not completely opened. It looks like an impact attempted to break through or collided against the roof.

A burning smell crosses my nose as I walk back to the temple, over my shoulder I can see the faint trail of smoke rising from the west. I can guess from the smell that corpses are being burnt.

When the koblins were butchered for meat, the remaining parts were burnt along with the goblin corpses that were less desirable as meat. Though, many of the goblin bodies were left in the snow to freeze.

Either there are too many to just leave in the snow to thaw and smell during spring or there is enough free time to burn the remains.

My appetite returns anyway, I guess burnt meat is more appetizing than feces. While I’d rather not eat burnt meat my stomach is very empty as it groans for something.

I pry the temple doors open enough to squeeze through and take another look outside to breathe in the cleaner air. Along the snow pathways where the main road runs there are some militia walking by.

At least I think they are, their equipment is different.

Groans from my stomach protest the delay, I shut the temple doors and continue further inside. I almost slip when my snow covered boots slide along the water accumulated along the stone tiles on the first floor.

Many people going in and out trail snow behind that melts and puddles.

Lara’s sister, Aera, approaches me as I walk through the temple. In her arms is a basket covered by a cloth.

“Here, sit and have something to eat.” she says, gesturing to an empty bench nearby.

Under the basket’s cloth are some meager rations of nuts and dried meat. It was not even enough to fill the basket half way.

“We do not have much on hand in the temple, when you feel better we can go to one of the inns that have more stockpiles.” she adds.

I nod, taking some of the corro nuts first.

Aera sighs and remains quiet.

I pause for a moment but she does not speak.

Next I take a piece of the dried meat, koblin jerky. The chewy texture makes it take a while to eat and there was little salt used in the curing. The flavour has a strong taste to it that is more wild than any other animal I have tasted.

“We were very worried that you would not wake.” Aera breaks her silence.

I cannot really respond aside from nodding, the jerky in my mouth is too dry to swallow yet.

“When the priests tried to heal you there was no effect, they thought some kind of damage came to your spirit. That is something they did not know how to heal.”

Oh? I was unconscious and consciousness is something that I did not find anything about healing. So, even the head priest here does not know anything for that.

“Your body was fine so, they worried your mind or soul were not.”

I do doubt that my body was fine, the pain still lingers where the shock must have damaged. But it is a very specific kind of damage, something that would be difficult to narrow down.

That would explain why it was not detected by the priests.

I would hate to figure more out with this kind of static magic, it is very painful.

There is also some kind of hesitation I feel that being careless with it would risk my life. I got away with being out for around a day.

I do have to ask her something now that my stomach is not dumbing my mind.

“What about Varrel?”

Did the shock work? I feel a twisting in my stomach, if it failed then Varrel would be dead.

“He carried you back.”

Oh?

That is good…

I had just built up some anxiety over the thought that it did not work.

I am relieved that Varrel survived and now I worry about the next attack. There are still many goblins around and the militias are still active.

“How bad was the damage from the goblin attack?” I ask.

“We lost a few, about sixteen during the attack that morning. Many more were wounded but Knight Esken lead the defense brilliantly.” Aera lightens up, her voice becomes very enthusiastic.

“The goblin attacks were disorganized from different directions. The lady knight noticed this and made a counter attack against one of the disorganized attacks breaking them into a route!” She exclaims with her arms in the air.

I catch the basket that beings to fall from her lap.

“Oh sorry!” she flusters a bit, “I was in the back helping the wounded find shelter in the temple when it happened. She fought off so many goblins while charging through the front, her sword burned with fire as well!”

“That broke the goblin attack?”

“Ehm… only one of them. It allowed Knight Esken to move more militia to the other places we were attacked from.” she scratches her cheek.

“Then Varrel’s group returned, he broke through the south which the lady knight used as an opportunity to counter attack and break the southern attack. After that the goblins pulled back in the confusion and have not attacked.”

“Without their warlord they arn’t attacking?”

“You probably didn’t find out yet, soldiers from Condrica came, they marched through the night and arrived just before morning. The mayor gave the order to continue disrupting the goblins with skirmishes and small raids; the goblins cannot easily reorganize again.”

So, those were soldiers I noticed outside the temple that recently arrived. I can see why the mood inside the temple is not as depressive compared to the previous days.

I suddenly feel a hand clap down on my left shoulder.

Pakt leans down to face me.

“Look who is up! Lara came running to the manor in a hurry to give the news that you woke up.” he says with a smile.

Lara must have left while I was in the outhouse.

“You are probably hungry, these rations won’t cut it right? I’ll take you out for a good meal.”

“He might not be well enough for that.” Aera speaks up.

“Seems alright for a short walk.”

I nod, warm and moist food would be nice. Dried bits of meat stick between my teeth and I would like to get the gamey taste of koblin out of my mouth.

After standing up, Pakt guides me along with his hand against my back. His left hand is tucked in against his waist.

“Are you alright?” I ask.

“My belly is a little bruised from taking a hit, it was pretty rough getting you back through the goblin attack.” He replies, patting his belly, “I have a few days to rest, the reinforcements gave us time to actually sleep.”

Pakt stretches his arms as we approach the temple doors. Every time I walk through the temple, I feel like I should do something to help the wounded here; I feel my mana is still too drained.

At most I could heal one wound. Hunger greatly drains my body from recovering mana so, no amount of rest will recover my stamina and mana.

The two of us head out of the temple as Aera continues with her temple work, cleaning and inspecting the wounded.

I breathe in the cool and clean air again. The taste of smoke still lingers.

Pakt leads around the temple along one of the side paths out of the way of the main traffic of militia and reinforcing soldiers.

“How many came?”

“Ah? About three hundred.” Pakt answers.

Three hundred!

This news is great, we barely mustered over two hundred for the defense.

“There is still over a thousand goblins and koblins out there.” He adds.

I give Pakt a skeptical look, I knew there were more goblins than our number. A thousand seems higher than what I was originally told.

“The good thing the goblins couldn’t concentrate all of their army here at once. They did not have enough food with them and there is little to forage in the winter. Since they are scattered, we can even the odds better.”

“Didn’t they attack in the winter because we couldn’t reinforce fast enough?”

“Maybe. We don’t know why they picked the winter to attack. We also did not expect a reinforcing garrison to show up so soon.”

We continue our way through the path, the snow is not as fluffy as it when it fell. The packed snow under our feet has become hard like ice and brown from mud and maybe even blood.

“Not only that but they are Condricans.” Pakt adds, glancing at some of the passing soldiers.

Their gear is clearly not produced the same way as the Calbin locals, the Kainran mercenaries, or the kind of armour Varrel and Esken wear.

Condrica is the realm’s title, the kingdom is mostly in the south, their capital is built near where the Condrican River ends. I crossed the Condrican River along the way north to get to Calbin.

“Here we are, time for some food Kordi.” Pakt says with a quick pat on my shoulder.

He leads me onto the main road that circles through Calbin, the Inn next to the Kainran mercenary company building. Pakt pushes the door open and bangs his boots to knock the loose snow off against the door frame.

I tap my toes against the stone door step before following Pakt in. The warm air inside the inn blows into my face and a smell of cooked food fills my nose.

The snack I had at the temple no longer calms my stomach, I feel starved again.

“Grace of the spirits!” a voice proclaims in surprise.

I look around and find Doore staring wide eyed at me. Arga sits on the other side of the table. He turns around in his chair and his face fills with a smile.

“A chair!” he shouts before looking to the next table.

Arga pulls a chair in next to his own for me to sit at. Pakt pulls a chair in and sits near Doore.

“How are you Kordi?” Arga asks.

“Hungry.”

“Good.” He laughs, waving to the waitress.

“We will have a humble feast, not exactly a lot of food to go around with the army here.” He comments.

“There has been much worry that you would not wake up, it is good that you only slept for about a day.” Doore says.

“Yup, the head priest was under a lot of pressure to figure out what happened.” Pakt adds.

“I did not see the head priest yet.” I mention.

“Pretty sure he is sleeping, I know he was up all day and night running his head around what to do.” Pakt answers while scratching his head.

“Varrel was putting most of that pressure on him.” Arga says with a smile, “Oh, speak of the man and he comes!”

Heavy steps come up from behind. I look over my shoulder to see the intimidating Varrel walking up. He places his hand on the back of my chair and leans in.

“Remember, not a word about it.” He says to Arga.

“Got it, got it. Lips are sealed about that. Not so tight about anything else.” He jests.

Varrel’s grip on the chair tightens as he becomes irritated. He takes a deep breath.

“It is good that you are awake…” he pauses awkwardly.

“Kordi.” Arga coughs quietly.

“Kordi.” Varrel quickly ads, “You should not talk much about about what happened with the goblin warlord.”

“You can talk about the fighting though.” Arga interrupts.

“Just not that.” Varrel finishes.

That? I feel a little confused, what exactly do they not want to talk about. Did I do something bad?

That couldn’t be the case.

“How you healed me, keep that quiet for now.”

I still do not quite get the reason.

Arga leans in, “Let’s just say that there is some negotiation going on.”

“Right, the Condrican commander knows about how skilled you are at healing. If he finds out more then your situation will become more complicated.”

Varrel continues to say, “I owe you my life. If you are taken to Condrica as a healer for the nobles there, then you will be dragged into the ugly politics.”

“Ugly politics?” I ask.

“If a noble wants power or a claim, they often need to kill someone. If you are able to revive someone from such a wound, it would make more sense to target you first. I would hate for that to be your end.”

“So, what is the plan then? Take him to the Corrin nobles were the same will happen?” Pakt asks.

Varrel sighs, “I won’t do that anymore, not after what Kordi did for me. After you eat here, come by the manor.”

“He feels really indebted to you kid.” Arga says, his lips part into a twisted smile, “After what you did knocked you out cold, he picked you up over his shoulder and chopped his way through every goblin in his way.”

Varrel began to walk away.

“Shirtless too!” Arga adds in a louder voice.

I hear Varrel’s next step land harder.

Food arrives soon after, warm soup made from roots and pickled vegetables. It is a little sour because of that but the pickled foods are supposed to provide valuable nutrition. Meat is also prepared, salted and smoked lightly to overcome the strong gamey taste of koblin.

“So,” Pakt says while leaning towards Arga, “What are they negotiating?”

He points out the door where Varrel left.

“Something I know a bit about, after all mercenaries set up in the sticks out here would seem a little foolish.” Arga replies, rising up his index finger.

“The Kainran mercenaries moved south into Rael where we fought with the Raelic king to expand his holdings. After that settled down, we needed more work. So, the best way to find new work is to find existing conflicts or conflicts in the works.”

“Ah, the Corrin succession.” Pakt nods.

I am not sure exactly what it is about; I am focusing a little more on the conversation as my belly is filled with food. Arga seems to notice me thinking about what was said.

“For Kordi’s sake, the succession of the petty kingdom of Corrin passed to the late Corrin King’s nephew. His nephew… happened the Condrican King.”

Doore chips in, “We knew about the tension between the two sides so, the mercenary company wanted to set up in a region between the two kingdoms to get into any fighting that could happen.”

“But then the majority of Corrin and Condrican nobles settled on passing succession to the Condrican King, uniting the two sides. That cooled off any war.” Arga shrugs, “Maybe the Condrican King will rally against the Estruscans: who knows.”

“So?” I ask, there are now Condrican soldiers here and only two Corrin Knights.

“Well, Calbin sits a bit between the two, out of the way.” Arga turns to me, “That neutrality makes it a nice spot for mercenaries to set up before choosing a side.”

“Condrica is a bigger power though.” Pakt adds.

“The Condricans are mostly Ordumirts, more Kridimirts have moved into power as nobles but they are not very liked by the pure Kridimirts, like the nobles of Corrin.” Doore answers.

“And the Estruscans are pure Kridimirts. Which would be a problem for Condrica if the Estruscans sided with Corrin to attack Condrica from two sides.” Arga explains, “Backing Condrica in that situation would be disadvantageous.”

“Dead mercs get no pay.” Doore smiles.

“Can’t say I would only back the winning side, we made it pretty big with the Raelic King up north.” Arga begins to say while folding his arms, “That mirt knew how to pick his battles even when he had three armies breathing down on him.”

“I heard he ran.” Pakt says.

“He did, he ran damn well!” before continuing, Arga smiles and leans forward, “The other armies didn’t want to get in each other’s way but they wanted the king’s head to claim victory themselves.”

“Then he ambushed them?” Park asks.

“The first counter attack was against Kainin King who rushed ahead, his disorganized army was a few days march from the other armies. We had plenty of time to attack and regroup.”

“You were there?”

“I was. I fought with the Raelic King’s army under the Kainran Mercenary banner, front line vanguards. We fought against all three armies, one by one.”

“I joined after that.” Doore adds.

“We had a lot of fame and fortune after those battles. The King personally paid the mercenary company a visit after the battle. Rarely happens to mercs, nobles often think we have no honour or loyalty if we are bought.” Arga sits back in his chair, “They think we would run the moment things looked sour.”

“No one would pay for cowards.” says Doore.

“Right, we came as unlanded soldiers and answered his call when he was in need. Like our battles in Calbin, we do not expect to be paid much now. Instead we collect over time.” Arga raises a finger again and continues, “Our highest source of revenue is working as guards or escorts.”

“With solid relations with the Raelic King, the mercenary company enjoys a lot of the guard work available there.”

He raises a second finger, “The second biggest source of revenue is adventuring, or at least we often are contracted as temporary arms for adventurer companies. It is not as consistent to be that profitable.”

Doore chips in, “Wars are too expensive to really make a profit from, especially if we are on the losing side.”

Arga simply nods his head.

“Then Calbin is a pretty good base for your company.” Pakt says.

“Right.” Arga continues to nod, “There is plenty of contract work here for killing monsters, especially after this goblin siege. Though guard work is a little slow, we figured that competing with other mercenary companies in Corrin or Condrica would be expensive and plenty of merchants come by Calbin.”

“This also explains why my uncle is pretty hesitant to accept the Condrican’s help.” Pakt brings this point up while scratching his head.

“Ah, it would put him in an awkward position.” Doore comments.

I look between the three, unsure of what they mean. Arga seems to speak up for me.

“Goblins raised an army near Calbin a while ago, some here still remember that. The ones who came to drive the goblins out were from Corrin.”

“That put Calbin under the influence of Corrin, not Condrica. Even though Calbin was still considered part of Condrica back then. Condrica did not have much influence this far north yet.” Pakt adds.

“So now, the Condricans have come to the aid, which will likely push the negotiations in their favour.” Arga says while stretching his arms.

He gives out a great sigh.

“Complicated shit.”

“You sure think it all through.” I remark.

“Of course!” he turns to me with a smile, “I need to get paid so, I track who has the money and is willing to spend it on an old mirt like me.”

“What would the negotiations give?” I ask.

“Dunno,” Arga shrugs, “Calbin is not very wealthy so, tax collection would not be a big deal.”

“We don’t even pay taxes to the lords.” Pakt remarks.

“Maybe they will push to limit that?” Doore suggests.

“If they set up a permanent garrison they could justify it, but the people here would not be happy about it.” Pakt replies.

“Well, we shall see.” Arga concludes with a tap on the table, “I just want the booze restrictions lifted, drinking boiled snow all day will not quench my thirst.”

“Haha, with more soldiers and nobles here I think that whatever booze there is will disappear quick.” Doore jokes.

“Shit, bribing someone for their booze is too expensive.” Arga frowns.

“I have some yeast I can give that you can make booze with.” I suggest.

Arga goes quiet and turns to me.

“I was experimenting with distilled liquor to preserve potions, if you mix a bit of yeast with water and grain mash the yeast grows. You can dry and keep some for another batch while the rest is used for brewing.”

“I think that would be faster than waiting for a merchant to pack ale through the snow.” Doore adds.

I pull out a small bag from my bag which has the yeast in it.

“I will never forget this debt.” Arga says as I sprinkle some into an empty cup.

Arga takes the cup and leaves with swiftness.

I look towards Doore and say, “Just remember to clean whatever containers you are brewing, boiled water should work. It prevents other things from growing and poisoning the brew.”

Doore nods with a smile, I do not expect Arga will have his drinks ready any time soon. Brewing takes months afterall.

“Well then, let us head to the manor. Maybe we can find out more there.” Pakt says rising from his seat.

I nod my farewell to Doore before following Pakt out the door.

With my stomach full I already feel more strength in my body, although my belly is heavy. The two of us make our way towards the manor by going towards the market first. Very little is available on the market stalls for food, only the odd specialty jams made from wild berries.

I do not think that kind of food is considered for rations so, it can be sold as something extra.

The market is full of idle soldiers, equipped similar to each other with the Condrican style armour. There is a lot of orange colour dyed into fabric they wear and a few banners are hoisted with orange fabric.

Embroidered on the fabric of each banner is a different symbol, I am not completely sure what it reads but they seem similar to some of the written symbols I can read. This might be because these banner symbols are very stylized.

Merchants at the stalls are talking with some of the soldiers, showing their products and trinkets. Mostly looted equipment and materials from the goblins.

I overhear some of their talk, it seems like the merchants are recommending the materials for low prices, the soldiers could use the materials to patch up their clothing or keep for when they return to Condrica.

Goblin spider silk may be crude, but when it is run through a loom by skilled hands its value greatly improves.

After weaving through the crowd we arrive at the manor, the yard’s snow is piled and packed into wall on each side of the manor. It rises up almost beyond the second floor’s windows.

However, as we pass through the entrance walkway the snow is only piled as a means to support tent roofs. The yard has been transformed into a makeshift barracks with partitioned rooms.

I can see through some of the tarp covers acting as doors, cloth or leather beds are hung between thick posts stacked two high. Some soldiers sleep on these, elevated off of the snow and ice.

Two of the soldiers on guard notice Pakt and I but do nothing more.

We approach the doors and Pakt opens one side before gesturing me inside.

“Hmm,” He hums soon after entering.

“Pelters.”

I glance towards Pakt who is checking the surroundings, there are two mirts sitting in the waiting hall by the entrance, they wear a beat pelt over their helmet. I only recognize the pelt of one of the mirts, a Beirwol.

They are known to be quite fierce predators of the woods and a dangerous opponent for hunters who are alone. I recall my father hunted one with a few of the other village hunters.

The closest of them notices Pakt. The two nod to each other as we walk past.

He gestures the attention of a mansion servant.

“When my Uncle has time let him know Kordi is here with me.”

Pakt takes a turn and enters his room on the ground floor. He looks over his shoulder and nods for me to follow him in.

“I am sure we’ll need to wait a bit before then.”

He settles down on his bedding. I follow suite and sit down facing him.

“Too think, some wanted me to take up a pelt title.” he says.

I tilt my head, unsure what a pelt title is.

“Right,” he smiles, “Some of the old laws the ordumirts follow only recognized duels between Pelters.”

He leans back and breathes in before continuing.

“My father was a pelt holder… he died in a duel. His claim to rule Calbin was passed to my Uncle by the old Corrin King.”

My eye brow raises, would this mean that Pakt was supposed to be mayor of Calbin?

Pakt smiles again, “Well, my Father supported the Condrican King while his Brother favoured the Corrin King. They didn’t hate each other, they just tried to keep Calbin out of a conflict.”

“When my father died and the Corrin King aided Calbin against a goblin attack the Corrin simply left the leadership favouring their side. So, I work like a Kridimirt Knight, taking an unlanded rank of nobility.”

“Is there a difference between Ordumirt nobles and Kridimirt ones?” I ask.

“Yeah, it is good to keep in mind to avoid pissing them off. Kridimirt nobles are only really important if they own land which produces wealth. Those within the family who do not inherit are often trained as knights or something.”

Pakt began scratching his jaw.

“Then the Ordumirts are a little odd, some adopt Kridimirt noble structures. Others hold to older tribal ranks, chiefs are elected by elders, and other ranks were granted for distinguished actions.”

There is a lot to take in here, I knew little about the situation here. I could tell from how Varrel and Esken treated me that they were not fond of Ordumirts. That would likely be the difference in how they become nobles.

“Pretty complicated stuff, huh?” Pakt chuckles, “I only keep track of it because I do not want any trouble. The goblins and Koblins give us enough I want to keep out of the politics between nobles.”

“Sounds like you would live longer.” I reply.

“Heh, you bet I would.” Pakt comments as he looks over his shoulder, the goblin guard’s sword is resting against the wall nearby.

“Unless these sort of encounters keep happening.”

He rubs the side of his waist where he must have taken a hit before.

A tap tap is heard on the door.

“Come in.” Pakt says.

“Sir Pakt, the Mayor is ready to see Kordic.” A voice from the other side of the door replies.

“That wasn’t a long wait.” Pakt comments as he leans forward to get up.

After a quick groan he gets onto his feet.

“Guess a lot of them are pretty worried.”

I jump onto my feet and follow Pakt out of his room, I feel like I am moving around a lot today. However, I want to know more about what is going on in Calbin after I was out.

The two of us make our way through to the dining hall where all of the meetings I have been two are held by the Mayor. Sure enough, when Pakt opens the door the room has multiple people inside.

They grow quiet when we enter.

I notice a few similar faces, the Mayor Farl Willhin, Varrel, and two of the Calbin officers.

With them there are three ordumirts wearing an orange dyed gambeson made from thigh wool. The padding underneath swells their body shape a little. One of the mirts in particular has higher quality embroidery along his gambeson shoulders.

The embroidery is mostly done with thick white yarn while thinner threads differ in colour to define the details. From where I stand it is difficult to make out the pattern; however, the one mirt that caught my attention has silver yarn embroidery on his shoulders.

“I am very glad you have woken up Kordi, are you feeling well?” Farl asks as I approach the table.

The mood in the room is mixed with feelings of tension and joy, the Calbin officers are smiling, one pats my back and gestures me to sit next to him.

I relax a little and reply to Farl, “I feel better after taking a shit and eating.”

Some laughter from the officers brightens the room.

I feel a heavy hand pat my shoulder from the officer beside me.

Even the uniformed ordumirts are smiling.

Varrel sends a cold glare my way though.

“Good to hear.” Farl smiles, “Although I can’t say your time with us is making you into a very well spoken boy.”

The silver embroidered officer leans into the table to speak to me, “Greetings, my name is Samik Raeweed. Much of your talent has been spoken around here.”

“I can see why the Corrin Knights were quick to bring you from the remote woods of Ferrel.” He looks over to Varrel who begins to speak.

“Adventurers acting around the Ferrel mountains crossed over to find shelter in Ferrel where they were healed by Kordic. Word quickly made it back to Corrin and it was reliable enough to dispatch myself and Esken.”

Varrel folds his arms before continuing.

“It was an opportunity to recruit talent into a Corrin faction before any Condrican could.”

“The settled tribes at the outskirts are not exactly loyal to the king.” Samik smirks.

“So neither side has claim to your tribe.” Farl informs me.

“It could make you a good agent, infiltrate Condrican society with your ordumirt traits.” while shifting back into his seat, the silver officer looks back to Varrel, “Both sides do it.”

“I would now prefer to avoid involving you in any of that.” Varrel says to reassure me.

“I am fine with the boy remaining neutral, though I have little position to do much anyway.”

“Samik, your superiors may think differently.” Farl says to Samik. “As a valiant hero of Calbin we will advocate Kordi’s care.”

“Right, this is where we are up to in out talks.” Samik says, raising his palms, “I would be in a lot of shit if I let you go to Corrin and I would cause a lot of shit if I take you.”

“So, we need to decide on a neutral option before Samil sends a report with supply requests back to Condrica.” Farl adds.

“Following so far?” Paks asks while seated to my right.

I simply nod.

I get that there is a difficult situation between Condrica and Corrin since the two recently share the same king. Both sides continue to compete without actual fighting. The kind of work does not sound pleasant from their tone.

“There are places where Kordic may study as an initiate under magic or healing schools. With his skill right now he would easily become an Adept rank healer.” Varrel speaks.

“I would recommend the Beiyor Monastery along the Heilow Fjord. One of the Majors working there promoted the place to me as their new mission to gather diverse minds for a better realm.” Samil says while spreading his hands out.

I notice Varrel raising an eyebrow.

“It makes them more billets and helps build connections for their faith of Adeil.” Samil replies while lowering his hands.

“The monastery is close to Condrica, the Meilow Fjord merges with the Condrican River before becoming the Vala River.”

“That makes it very far from Corrin.” Farl comments.

“The monks there are very neutral to Condrican politics, holding their roots to the first king Ordumar’s reign. The monks almost look for reasons to remind the nobles of their autonomy.” Samil chuckles.

“So, by sending Kordic to the Monastery he would be able to learn more while still young and not be dragged into politics for a while.” Varrel surmises, “Would they take him, what about payment?”

“I can guarantee through a request to the Major Monk I know that they will accept him under a basic scholarship. The kingdom will pay as a reward, at least enough to cover the basic things like teaching him to read and write.” Samil replies.

I find he is being very helpful, I know some reading and writing that I practiced back in Ferrel; however, some books in the Calbin temple have words I do not know.

“Well, Kordi seems interested.” Farl says with a smile.

I notice that I had straightened my posture to attention when Samil talked about the scholarship.

“If he is near Condrica that would also satisfy the king and nobles over there then?” Pakt asks.

“They may be a little miffed that we made a decision so quickly, but I can emphasize the importance of ‘preventing Corrin from getting him’ instead.” Samil answers while emphasizing his point.

Varrel nods.

“I guess that just leaves the matter of when.” Samil adds.

The room gets quiet for a moment.

“I am sending a merchant who was with us out to request for supplies and reinforcement from the southern places. He will also carry the message about Kordic.”

“When will he depart?” Varrel asks.

“I have him delayed until we decide on this matter. I would like the supply lines moving as early as possible, my men will not enjoy eating koblin jerky all winter. So, tomorrow will be best.” Samil replies, his hand holds onto his chin while he thinks.

“Couldn’t it wait longer before sending Kordic out so soon?” Farl speaks out.

“We should have some more time and give him a proper celebration.” one of the Calbin officers protests.

Varrel rejects the notion, “There is not enough rations for that.”

“It is not right!” the officer growls.

Varrel gives a glare in return.

Feeling a touch over my shoulder, Pakt speaks up, “Don’t pressure him over this kind of quarrel. Kordi’s a reserved kid who can be timid around crowds, a simple farewell would be best.”

“It also won’t disturb the townsfolk.” Farl nods, “Though I do have to apologize for not providing proper reward for your contributions.”

I quickly nod towards Farl, there are feelings in my chest that worry about Calbin. With my quick departure what would happen to the people wounded here?

Looking over towards Samil, I can understand some of the relaxed mood among everyone at the table compared to the other times I was present during a meeting. The reinforcements are going to help push the goblins out.

Calbin should not be attacked again if they can continue their harassing attacks up.

“None will see your departure as cowardly, at your age you have done far more than what we would expect from your age.” Farl continues to speak to me, “also, involving you in petty political games would not end well as a reward.”

“Even the Condrican noble wants you to mature as a man before that.” An officer jokes.

Maybe they noticed some of my concern?

Samil responds saying, “As an ordumirt noble, I hesitate to give the southern Kridimirt nobles an asset they can gain from.”

Wait, southern Kridimirts?

“Ah-” Samil takes notice of me again, “It is just more politics I get to deal with when I get back.”

He leans back into his chair and continues, “My reason for being here is simply to honour the old laws to defend any mirt from the threat of goblin invasion. Many of the old laws talk about the price for such things, this duty only gives me right for fair portion of loot.”

“It is a long tradition to help other tribes, back when there were no kings.” Farl adds, “We tend to get into stubborn debates with our neighbouring kridimirts whom share much land with the ordumirts. Mostly this involves new laws introduced by kridimirt nobles.”

In the corner of my eye I notice Varrel, he is not speaking up here.

Then again, he is the only kridimirt here so, he might be keeping quiet to avoid the sort of argument Farl is talking about.

“Anyway, we can rant about our differences with a drink after we clear out the goblins.” Farl finishes the conversation, “I guess Kordi can give some farewells, can you let your merchant know?”

Samil nods, “tomorrow morning will work, I can send out a few more patrols to keep the road clear before they head out.”

“Right, I will have Pakt stay with Kordi for the day. You’ve been helpful keeping him safe.” Farl says to his nephew.

With that, Pakt pats my shoulder and responds, “We ran into some troubles, but overall I had it pretty easy.”

I recall Pakt was lazing around a lot while he was guarding me, though he certainly reacted to threats quickly and saved me a lot.

“I’ll take you to some of the people who will want to say their farewells.”

I slide off of my chair and follow Pakt out of the room.

“Now that I think about it, who do you really know outside the temple? Just the smith Laro and some of the mercenaries?” Pakt asks as we walk toward the manor’s exit.

“Hmn, yeah. I did not spend much time with anyone else.”

Although I met many people here through my work in the temple, those who I know well are few in number.

It is a little disheartening; however, there was not a lot of free time for me to socialize.

Well, early on when I arrived and was training some basics at the Calbin hill instead of talking with people. If I think back, there were some kids who looked over with curiosity that were probably my age.

But I was running up the side of a steep hill, sweating and breathing heavy.

I rub the back of my head a little, there are probably some weird rumours about me.

Following through the motions of sliding up my boots I slide on my fur coat. It has seen better days, when I first recieved it the coat was very nice and clean.

Now it is more brown than grey, the sleeves are scratched and torn in places.

As Pakt and I leave the manor I find myself crossing my arms to cover some of the holes, something I had been doing almost unconsciously by now.

“Should we head to the forge?” Pakt asks.

“Ah,” this question takes my attention away from inspecting my coat, “We should, I passed by earlier but I was too hungry to notice them.”

Pakt nods and leads the way.

We weave through the narrow snow paths that pass between buildings, the real roads are somewhere under our feet. I am sure we have crossed over some fenced yards where the snow buried and crushed the short twig fences.

The sound of hammers striking metal become distinct as we come around onto the main road where Laro’s forge is. Right away I can tell there is a lot more happening there as some of the reinforcing soldiers are stationed around, their gear piled under the roof.

I wait a moment as a pair of soldiers pass by along the main road before I cut across towards the forge. Laro is visible at an anvil, supervising his son and an assistant working a piece of steel plate.

Laro quickly notices Pakt and I, he initially gives an annoyed glare.

His squinting eyes focus on me as his expression softens.

Making his way over I can see a sense of relief on Laro’s face, he approaches and calls out, “Kordic! Glad to see you on your feet now.”

“Yeah.” I nod as Laro closes in and pats my head with his heavy calloused hand.

“I’d say this is better news than the reinforcements cluttering my forge.” He adds sending a glare over his shoulder at the soldiers.

“What, are they bugging you for armour?” Pakt jests.

“Of course.” Laro replies, “These boys are on equipment maintenance duty and they are trying to spy what secrets they can.”

“Shouldn’t have the place so open.”

“Next project will be to build some walls.” Laro snorts, “Anyway, I will make an exception for Kordic take a moment’s break.”

“Ah, thanks.” I say knowing how much Laro dislikes breaking from work.

“Well, we just got back from my Uncle’s, they’ve been talking about what to do with Kordi now that more soldiers are here and the goblins are broken up.” Pakt tells Laro.

“Hmn.” Laro lets out a low growl, “Damn noble folk fighting over whatever they want.”

“This option was raised by the Condrican officer with fair intention to keep Kordi out of that.” Pakt replies, raising his right arm to scratch his ear.

“But, Kordi needs to go before the nobles really catch wind of it so, he’ll leave tomorrow with a merchant going for supplies.”

I notice Laro roll his eyes as he turns his head over his shoulder.

“Take whatever you need Kordi.” Laro says as he turns back to where he was supervising.

“We’ve had a lot of the slag ground down, but no one can separate that mineral like you can. If you have some free time, separate whatever you want for me and you can keep as much as you want.” He adds.

Laro points over to some dirty sacks stacked in a pile near one of the tables.

“Well?” Pakt asks.

Inside of the sacks I find that much of the slag grounds have already been filtered to the point that I would only have to use a little mana to sift out the magic sensitive minerals. It will take some time for this amount; however, I really want to get a big bag of this.

“Umm,” I hesitate for a moment, “There arn’t really others to see aside from Arga and Doore.”

“No problem then, I can let them know. You can stick around here.” Pakt replies as he heads back across the road from the forge.

I turn my attention towards the slag grinds.

There is a lot in there, the darker colour lets me know that it has been sifted already.

There is a bowl on one table which I begin to use, a few handfuls of grinds into the bowl and I can stir it around. With faint use of mana with one hand the darker grinds begin to separate and deposit on one side.

My hand can scoop out the grinds throwing the useless grind into a pile on the ground while the black grind of rich magic minerals is poured into an empty sack I found nearby.

The process is simple to repeat as I focus on the task and what I can do with my share.

Producing sithril is one use for the minerals, yet I feel driven to explore more than that.

Maybe I can come up with something at the monastery?

I feel dryness in my throat, a full sack of the magic minerals lies before me. I lost track of time while processing three sacks into a single sack of refined mineral grinds.

Looking over my shoulder I can see the light from the day is fading already. Laro’s group continues to work with dedication, equipment maintenance and new armour production has continued without much break.

I can tell from their faces that they are tired, breathing heavy and sweating they push on.

My own fatigue from concentration is beginning to add up. Mostly my neck feels stiff from staring down at a bowl in my lap for so long.

After placing the bowl back on the table I give my neck a good stretch, rolling it left and right before looking directly up at the thatch and wood roof.

Laro is busy mixing together another batch of steel.

I never took much of a look at what he put in there, the iron is from black sand. Where it comes from is something I do not know.

What I do know is that he mixes in charcoal, piling the furnace full of it to smother the airflow. Somehow the coals are able to keep burning and the iron will form inside once the furnace is hot enough.

Once Laro has finished setting up the furnace, he will leave it for a night shift of assistants to keep watch over and feed more charcoal as needed.

He turns to me and calls out, “Kordic, go ahead to my place for the night it would be the least I can do before your departure.”

The other assistants give passing nods to me while they finish up their work and setting away the tools.

I grab a small sack to fill with the mineral grind before I head to Laro’s home.

Showing up alone at the door, I do not want to just open and intrude. So, I pace around the house a little and notice Laro’s wife around the corner where she is breaking ice up into a bucket.

“H-Hello.” I call feeling a sense of relief.

“Oh?” She looks over at me and smiles,” Hello again, Laro should be back soon. I am getting some ice ready to melt for the bath.”

“He told me to come ahead. I can help with the water.”

“That would be nice.” She looks over to a ladder near the home’s side that scales a large box build beside the place where warm water can be used for washing.

“Just dump the ice into the reserve, the fire under it heats a metal plate to warm the water.”

“Hmn.” I nod and take the ice filled bucket.

On second thought, I can easily use some mana to thaw the ice.

“Eh?!”

Laro’s wife watches with wide eyes.

“You don’t need to go that far!” She exclaims.

“Oh? I don’t mind, it is good practice and I have mana to spare for today.”

“Okay…” her response is awkward, however, I feel like I should push myself enough to improve my magic ability.

After all, fighting that black goblin guard taught me the value of heating water. Steam can blind and delay an enemy very well.

I am just melting the ice, the fire do the rest to warm it up. Doing so should make the water ready sooner.

The reservoir of water inside is big enough that I could fit inside and the tank already is over half full.

With about four bucket loads I am able to fill it enough that Laro’s wife claims it is enough. She makes her way back inside and I follow inside.

“The water is warm enough for me to quickly wash right now.” I say knowing its lukewarm temperature while filling it.

“That is fine.” She replies, turning towards the kitchen.

I can smell food cooking inside, though I know the only food around is mostly rations like koblin meat. The smell is mixed with herbs to mask the strong taste of the meat and bland grains.

Making my way to the bathroom scoop some warm water from the basin Laro has built for his Aedlin bathing ritual. The water is clean and not cold, I do not need to do much washing. Most likely I was washed while unconscious.

When I finish I made my way back to the kitchen just as Laro and his group came in.

Outside the sun has set behind the Kainran mountains making the day seem short. Though, I only woke up part way through the day.

The group chats between each other in low voices, their fatigue draining them, while they make way directly to the bathing room.

I check into the kitchen where some of the wives are finishing up their preparations for dinner. Much skill is put into the food, pickled vegetables are placed with the soup of meat, boiled grain, and tubers.

The amount of food is no feast, it is enough for everyone.

“We’ve added enough for your share.” Laro’s wife mentions as she balances the portions.

Then she passes me a wooden plate with the food on it, I do not know if it is my share, probably is. I take it to the table and return to the kitchen to help carry another plate.

Some of the girls inside help set the table as well which does not take long with our numbers and I take a seat where I was the last time I ate here.

Laro and his group arrive all washed up, the sweat and coal stains are washed from their skin.

“Well then, before we begin.” Laro begins to announce as he sits at his chair, “This will be the last day Kordic will be here in Calbin.”

The room fills with mumbles.

“You mean he is going to leave when there are still wounded to tend?” Someone says.

“I know the Condrican soldiers are going to help, but isn’t it too soon?” Another speaks out.

“It was something about moving Kordic to a place where the nobles won’t get their hands on him.” Laro answers, “Was there more?”

He turns to me.

“Ah-” I sit up right to reply, “A merchant will be going out for supplies soon, he can drop me off at the Heilow Fjord Monastery to study.”

“Oh! That is a pretty good deal. Didn’t Lara come back from her study at a big temple with much more skill?”

“She did, wasn’t cheap but the temple here paid for much of it.”

“Will the study there be covered for you Kordic?”

I turn to one of the women who asked to reply, “I was told that for my actions here the basic study and living costs will be covered.”

“At the very least they’d better!”

The table hums in agreement.

During the dinner the conversation mostly covered the Condrican soldiers, sharing any information about misdeeds done by the soldiers. So far the soldiers have done nothing wrong but there is some concern about the soldiers getting bored or hungry.

For now, there is enough food and combat so, the soldiers just sleep in the snow shelters.

There is also more work for the townsfolk to expand more temporary living space. Snow piles are used to compact snow into blocks for shelters and there is a greater demand for bedding and blankets.

After finishing, Laro’s wife took me aside.

She inspected my fur coat with a scowl.

“Such a damaged coat, you also do not have enough to keep warm for a trip outside.”

Her next actions inspect my arms, legs, and shoulders. I hold still as she lifts and moves around my arms.

“Right, I know what you need for tomorrow. I will have it ready by then.” She finishes and pats the top of my head.

“Thanks.” I reply as my hair is brushed down against my face.

I flinch a little to avoid it poking my eyes.

“Oh dear, there is so much to do. Come along, you need some more work before you go.”

“Okay.” I follow her along to where she finds some small metal shears. The blades are connected by a spring to allow the shears to close and chop anything inside.

“Hold still, I’ll trim it a bit for you. It should prevent your head from becoming too itchy.”

Before when my mother cut my hair she just used a bronze knife. The shears clip away my hair much faster as the hair does not need to be held so tightly. I remember being annoyed by the pain from that other method.

When she finishes my head feels cooler and lighter. A lump of brown hair is gathered into a pile to be disposed.

“Now you should be ready for bed, I assume you need to be up early.” She says before leaving with the hair.

“Thanks.” I say again.

The sensation of cut hair tingles against the air as I make my way to a room with spare bedding. I do not feel as tired as I would normally be, again I remember that I did sleep for quite a while.

My hands are not stinging in pain from the static shock anymore so, I can comfortably lay down for the night.

While thinking about what is going on I do not know if leaving is as bad as I originally felt. The people here are nice but the whole political situation here sounds like it is going to change.

If I get an opportunity to learn some more for free that would be good then.

Of course, I was originally being brought to Corrin for that.

However, going to this monastery instead sounds like a better deal. I am less involved in risky politics.

My thoughts fade as I fall asleep.

The sound of someone in the same room rustling around wakes me up.

Then I notice the smell of food faintly drifting inside.

I decide to get up, dress on my tattered coat and take a look. At the very least I will need to void my bladder.

In the dining room there are already some people awake preparing food.

“Morning.” Laro’s wife responds.

Her eyes seem a little darker.

“Did you sleep well?” I ask.

“Ah-” her right hand touches her cheek, “Not enough I am afraid, I spent much of the night preparing somethings for you. I will sleep during the day, something I have had to do a few times already.”

“Yeah, I had a few long nights as well.” I reply, recalling a few nights during the goblin attacks where I only had short naps.

“It is such.” Her answer is cut short as her face turns away to mask a yawn.

“Anyway, I have food here and some proper clothing.” She reaches for a lump of fabric to pass over.

I unwrap the fabric, it is a large coat of thick wool. The wool seems to have been cut into long strips sewn together to shape the coat. It is quite heavy.

“A few of us stayed up to make that for you. We layered three strips thick of Bulim wool for padding. It is no easy task puncturing that with even a needle, it will keep you warm and protected.”

I take off my fur coat to try on the dark brown wool coat. It practically smothers me reaching down just past my knees, the sleeves reach my finger tips.

“You will grow into it so, it will last at least two years or more.”

She turns to grab some more.

“Here is a similar piece for your head, a padded wool hood.”

In similar fashion, this hood is made of thick brown wool stripes. The hood tightens around my neck with a string before expanding out over my shoulders giving even more layers covering my neck and shoulders.

“And lastly,” she takes the final pieces of thick wool, “For your legs, just strap these around your legs, they cover up your thighs and will keep you completely warm.”

The leg pieces come separate and are slid up and tightened with string. After this, I feel like a walking wad of wool warm enough to start sweating soon if I do not go outside.

“Well, it seems big for you right now. In a year it should fit perfectly and your trip will be warm. The design is based on what many adventurers wear when fighting as the padding protects against hits. The Bulim wool is tough enough to prevent even arrows from penetrating too deep.”

I do recall most wounds were only able to go deep if there was an opening exposed. Compared with the bronze cuirass I had before, the padded wool is not so bad, it feels like it breathes better and is easier to move in.

Although, the metal does give a feeling of more protection I should hope no strong spear thrust hits my body.

I feel a heavy hand padding against my shoulder.

Laro stands beside me, inspecting me a little.

“Hmn, looks good. Got silks under there?” He asks.

“Yup.” I reply, knowing full well how rough Bulim wool is against skin.

In fact, the silk shirt does not cover my neck and head so, I feel the coarse wool rubbing into my skin. My shorter hair does expose more skin as well.

Well, it is not that bad, I can loosen the hood to relieve the discomfort.

“Here you are then, I am not sure where you need to go now. I pray for your safety.”

Laro’s wife gives me a quick hug as Laro himself pats my back and passes me my bags I had. One bag has some food prepared inside. I do struggle a little to bend down and tie my boots with the new gear.

When I get outside the cold morning air only chills my nose, the padding keeps me very warm as I make my way to the manour. That seems like the place I should go next.

“Oh, good timing.” I hear Pakt call out.

Ahead as I cross the empty market area I find Pakt.

“I was just coming to pick you up, we’ve got the rest of your gear I think.”

Pakt gestures over to the Manour around the corner. I spot two Bulims right away near a small gathering of people. When we get closer I make out Varrel, Esken, Arga, Doore, Farl, Lara, the priest Patyr, Samil, and someone else.

Varrel approaches first, he is holding my main backpack. I only had some sacks with me and the pack has much of my other items. He places my pack at my feet and then takes out the sithril hammer.

“Keep this.” He says, “I think you can put it to use better.”

Varrel hands over the sithril hammer I made for him.

“We’ll have four guards follow you for a bit even though the route is cleared.” Farl comments.

“You have my gratitude.” The stranger says.

The man’s voice sounds familiar.

“It has been a few years but to think I’d meet with you here.” He says to me.

“Ah!” I recall him, “You don’t have a belly anymore.”

“HAHA” he spurts out a laugh.

“You’ve met before Rembra?” Samil asks.

“A few years ago.” He replies after regaining his breath, “Kordic made some good liquors.”

“Oh? I never knew he was your supplier.” Samil adds.

“Well, it is good to know the two of you are acquainted, it will be a long journey.” Varrel says.

“Right, I’ll strap your things up.”

Rembra begins to tie my sacks onto one of the Bulim’s straps including my pack. The Bulims are too loaded down with bags and sacks to ride on, they have no saddle for that either.

“If you set out before the sun rises much more the lins shouldn’t notice.” Farl comments.

“Right, who knows if some desperate goblins decide to risk it. Better move while the trees still cast shadows over the road.” Varrel responds.

I notice Esken nod to me.

Pakt approaches and places his hand on my right shoulder.

“Come by again.” He says, Lara stands slightly behind him.

“Learn even more healing magic by then.”

I nod.

“I’d have liked to train you a little more in fighting skills, always useful.” Arga says to me, “Make sure you keep up your physical training while you're buried in books. Can’t underestimate the value of running fast.”

I can agree with that.

Rembra grabs the reigns of one Bulim to lead it forward. The second Bulim’s reigns are tied to the lead Bulim from behind.

I quicken my pace to catch up with Rembra, four soldiers take position beside the Bulims.

“What are you loaded with?” I ask, staring at the Bulim luggage.

“Whatever Calbin was willing to part with.” He replies, raising his eyes to the large Bulim he leads.

“I got some good deals on leathers, silk, and wool. The sithril wasn’t too cheap but I can fetch a very good price for it. I can use the earnings to haul supplies back.”

Rembra and I pass the last building at Calbin’s western edge. Over my left shoulder I see the large wooden mercenary building near Laro’s forge.

I visited the Inn quite a few times to see Arga, the food got bad as the rations became scarce. If I come again I hope there is enough food for really good meals.

Not everyone I knew was present to see me off, maybe they are all too busy.

It seems quiet, although I am reminded of the conflict here as arrows stuck into the snow and trees are spread around.

I even notice the corpse of a goblin at the roadside, half buried in snow. Three arrows pierced its body, I can tell it did not have a quick dead.

The fighting was not clean or painless and even though I see the goblins and koblins as monsters I certainly feel chills thinking about how bad it would feel dieing in the cold. Slowly bleeding out.

We make our way up a slight incline giving a better look over Calbin. I saw this view on my approach, only it was still green with autumn colours splashed around.

Now the small city… or large town is quietly buried in snow. Brown muddy paths weave between the wood buildings still covered in snow.

Bending around the corner I lose sight of Calbin, the hill being the last landmark is masked by the tree tops of snowy pines. We descend down the valley through light fog as only the quiet sound of our feet crunch the snow.

(Here are some pics I took while snowshoeing for context: http://imgur.com/a/nX1sp )

“I heard a little but I have only been here for two days, were you here for long?” Rembra asks.

“A few weeks?” I reply, I lost track of the days during the main siege.

“They spoke highly of your healing skills, I only knew a few rumours from my trading partners about that from your time in Ferrel.”

“You didn’t visit much.”

“No, I partnered with some others to do the trading while I advertised samples of Ferrel liquor to the nobles. Samil is a new buyer who I was planning to stick along over the winter.”

“Sticking to?” I ask.

“Yes, managing the baggage of a garrison while it makes training patrols in the woods during the winter is a safe way for a merchant to spend the winter while getting paid.”

“Who’d have thought the winter training patrol would end up in a real fight.” One of the soldier guards adds.

“That is why we were so close by. Honestly, it beats sleeping in those snow holes we were digging before.” Another soldier chips in.

“Winter conditioning.” The third soldier chuckles.

I certainly understand why being conditioned to the winter is so important.

“It sure was close though, if the goblin warlord wasn’t killed by that kridimirt knight there wouldn’t have been a Calbin there.” The first soldier says with a deep breath.

“Now the goblins are stuck in the snow, it will take a while but we’ll thin them out before the spring thaws them out.”

As we follow the snow path, well packed from soldiers marching into Calbin, I feel like I can move on.

End Notes:

I decided to do a quick video showing off the world building map i did. I might do more vids to cover stuff that goes on "behind the scenes". https://youtu.be/h1WNtqH-UQ8

Also, I planned for Kordi to already be at the Heilow Fjord by now so, the chapter is paced slower than I originally intended. But hey, there is more stuff and it would have felt weird if he ran off so soon.