We were slightly broken by the time we reached the cavern where they had mined copper, the miners seemingly taking a day off. Seeing as the palisade was still intact, we decided to rest. I sat down to clean the cores found on Kiszo’s kills so I could put them to use. Kiszo, on the other hand, walked around the cave’s perimeter, returning not more than fifteen minutes later.

“Whatever is going on with the creatures has also affected the ore deposits. I can see pure copper and even seams of tin within the wall. When they get back inside, it’s going to be a plentiful bounty for the village.”

I just nodded. I wasn’t interested in the metals at this time. I couldn’t see myself as a future blacksmith. Finished cleaning off the last core, I popped it into my mouth and was still disappointed in not finishing the restoration of my channels.

[ System Notification ]

Rank D Jade Core has given 12 EnergyMana Channel’s Restoration 402/500

“Ninety-eight to go,” I said to the now sitting panther.

I scanned the room and noticed the raised platform at the center that held the gateway back to the old village. Curious, I got up and walked over to investigate. At the center was a metallic ring embedded within the stone platform. No inky blackness to show the gate was active. I kneeled to get a good look at the ring and noticed markings spaced around the ring evenly. I couldn’t quite make them out within the torched lit cavern.

“Kiszo, can I borrow a torch?”

She tossed me one from her bag, and I lit it on one of the dungeons. Going back over to the platform, I kneeled to get a look. The eight marks were some kind of runes, glyphs, or symbols. Hell, they could have been chicken’s scratch for all I knew.

“Kiszo. Do you have any kind of paper and something to write with?”

She dug around her bag before pulling out a small makeshift book, a block of something, and what looked like a metal pen. “Here, Porcu always had me carry this around in case I came across a new flower or herb so I could sketch it for him before harvesting it. I won’t be needing them anymore. You can keep them, Zeal.”

I never thought to ask about Porcu. I guess that meant he hadn’t made it out of the village. I felt a pang in my heart, as I kind of liked the odd goat. I looked down at the bumpy block of dark green and the metal pen. The pen looked like the old-school dip inside ink kind to use. The block left me stumped. So I asked Kiszo about it.

“Put the block close to the flame and will begin to bead up. Dip the pen in one of the beads and use it to write.”

I laid the block on the stone and slowly waved the torch over it. In a few seconds, the surface seemed to sweat and form beads of dark green liquid. I dipped the pen’s tip into one, and the pen sucked up the ink. I opened the book, finding that the first few pages were filled with amazing sketches of flowers and little notes explaining what part of the forest it was found. There were also notes commenting on the colors and description of its scent.

Turning to the first blank page, I drew the eight symbols, mimicking them to the best of my ability. I blew on the still-wet ink for a few moments till I could see the symbols now dull and dry. Closing the book, I tapped the metal pen on the rim of the old gate to allow the extra ink to flick to the ground. The bumpy block, now solid, went into my bag with the pen and book.

Kiszo removed two large sleeping packs from her bag. I needed to get or make a larger bottomless bag for myself as soon as possible. We chatted for a bit before I looked at her missing arm. Seeing me look, she explained one of the new giant Gnit’s had taken it off when they first appeared in the forest. Kiszo, seeing my worry explained one day, she would find a healer in one of the larger cities to grow it back. She didn’t seem to beat up about only having three arms.

She took the first watch and allowed me to sleep. Luin came over and curled up near my head. She had been quiet the entire time within the dungeon, not making a single sound. Even when we had our first fight, she simply jumped off my shoulders and waited for us to finish a few meters behind us. I rubbed her head, she, in return, pressed her head against my hand harder. I fell asleep shortly after.

I was awoken sometime later by Kiszo. As she began to get into her bag, I got up and stretched. I bid her to sleep well, and she was out. I removed the books from my bag one by one, reading over them again but found nothing useful. I was pulled from my daydreaming when Luin’s head snapped up and began to growl. She was looking towards the palisade at the back of the cave. I slowly got up from my seat and crept over towards Kiszo. Shaking her shoulder, she was instantly alert and looked up at me, then over towards the still growling Luin.

We both drew our weapons just as a large set of glowing red eyes came over the top of the palisade. These eyes were enormous and cured at an odd angle. Then it dawned on me. Those weren’t eyes. They were the horns of a much larger Shinehorn.

The large Shinhorn watched us from atop of the wall until Luin began to yip and growled deeper towards the creature. This seemed to piss it off, and it leaped towards the Kobold. I was there in an instant, the hammer smashing into the side of its head with a flash before the Shinehorn tumbled into a heap on the stone floor. An arrow went through its lower jaw a moment later, blowing the top of its head across the cavern’s wall.

Luin ran over and began to bite at the corpse before it began to turn into green dust and coalesced into a green gem. Luin seeing this, ran over and bit down on the gem before I could scream at her to stop. The gem disappeared down her gullet, and she glowed ever so faintly for a moment before returning to normal. She turned towards the back wall and growled some more.

Kiszo charged up ability or skill, and the arrow ripped from her bow with a howl that came straight out of the underworld. The arrow hit the Shinehorn in the lead, tearing its heads from the shoulders and hitting the one behind. The arrow then detonated, and the explosion tore the group to shreds. “There are more coming. Get ready to run towards the entrance if we get overwhelmed.

I ran towards the wall and waited for them to drop off the wall. I hit the first one twice before it went down. The third strike on the new arrival splattered the remains to the wall. Luin losing her courage at the numbers coming into the cavern, pushed herself under one of the sleeping bag’s covers.

The Shinehorns couldn’t push too many of their numbers over the wall and through the small space. This allowed Kiszo uninterrupted access to fire arrow after arrow into the oncoming hoard. Any that made it down to the ground found their end by my hammer smashing into their bodies.

A considerable amount of time passed before the stream of Shinehorns ended. The System seeing that combat had ended, began to dissolve every Shinehorn I had a part of killing into the green sparking dust before pouring into the middle of where the bodies had been to leave a trove of gems. Seeing Luin’s head pop out from under the sleeping bag, I ran over to the pile and began to shove them into my bottomless pack.

Luin came over to where the pile had been and sniffed around. She then looked up at me and began yipping away. “No, I can’t afford to give you any more until I know what they do to you. Here have some jerky.” She looked at the offered jerky then back at me before growling.

“Fine, don’t eat it,” I said, but she snatched it away from my hand before I could pull it back. She then took the large piece over to the sleeping bag and walked in a circle before plopping down and gnawing on the dried meat.

We pulled the two bodies off the wall and began to cut into them. I quickly realized that every one of the dead Shinehonrs had green cores. I denied her when Kiszo offered them to me. From what she told me, green cores would fetch her a hefty price. The thought of money drew me back to the bracelet of coins Hollow had given me for a momment. Finished with the bodies, I sat on my bedroll near the now small sleeping Kobold.

Removing the coin bracelet, I untied the cord, dumped the coins into a pile on the stone floor, and sorted them into three piles. Each pile had its distinct color and shape. The first pile was the copper triangle coins. The second and largest pile of the three held shiny silvery square coins. The last pile had a single golden pentagon-shaped coin. “Kiszo, could you explain how the monetary system works?”

Kiszo walked over and looked down at the coins in front of me. “We don’t use coin as much around here as we use the barter system. Caravans, on the other hand, coins are needed for trade. You have coppers, the three-sided coin. Next is silver, the square coins, and gold, the five-sided. A single gold piece is equivalent to a hundred silvers. Then a single silver is worth ten copper.”

“What could a single silver buy me?”

Kiszo seemed to think long and hard about it for a bit for responding. “When I was taken to the big city when we needed extra supplies for winter, I remember the innkeeper renting the room to us for two silver a night per room. The dinner was twelve coppers for the six of us. If that gives you an idea of their worth.”

“Sorta. Thank you.”

“Wake the little one, and pack up. We’ll begin to clear out the caves again since we’re up.”

Luin seemed groggy after I woke her up. Watching her for a bit, I would almost swear she was hungover. She winched at the slightest noises. I hoped eating that core didn’t harm her in any way. We went through the gate and into the tunnel, finding more bodies with cores for Kiszo. Her arrows must have blown these bodies back over the wall.

As we went further into the tunnel system, Luin seemed to hang back. She followed behind us, but she looked miserable. I wish I could speak with her. “Kiszo, do you know of a potion or brew that would allow someone to speak the Kobold language?”

“I haven’t heard of such a thing. They typically use the same method we teach common to our young. Once she gets older, you can use an Adventurer Guild book or find someone to brew the same potion, Porcu gave you.”

We found no traces of more Shinehonrs as we continued to walk. I took this time to pull out cores and clean them before popping them into my mouth. The sixth green core got me to my first goal of the trip.

[ System Notification ]

Six Rank D Jade Cores has given 60 Energy

Four Rank C Jade Cores has given 64 Energy

Mana Channel’s Restoration 500/500

26 Energy converted to 260 Mana

I used another seven cores before my sensory system began to advance again.

[ System Notification ]

Four Rank E Jade Cores has given 48 Energy

Three Rank C Jade Cores has given 48 Energy

74 Energy converted to 740 Mana

Sensory System: 170/200

I was pulled from my amusement by tugging at my pants. I looked down to see Luin starting at the next core in my hand. “You want this? I wish you could tell me why.”

She seemed to understand what I asked and nodded her head. That was interesting. I cleaned the gem off and bent down with it on the palm of my hand. Her tongue snaked out of her mouth and pulled it into her jaws, and vanished almost instantly, and her body glowed as before. She remained there looked at my empty palm, almost expectantly. I was about to pull another out for her when a growl from further down the cave made the dust and pebbles jump around on the tunnel’s floor.

“I think that creature is what caused those Shinehorns to push themselves into us earlier.”

The next time the growl seemed closer, and I could feel the vibrations in my chest. Luin instantly yipped in panic and took off back down the tunnel we came from. I was in the middle of turning to run after her when I heard Kiszo shout in alarm.