Chapter 29, Birched before origin

Manifesting my pipe I smoke a few bowls while idly practicing my telekinesis by doing all the movements without touching anything. From opening the weed pouch, holding the pipe aloft or packing the bowl with the pipeweed I only use telekinetic force for it all.

It’s a good exercise and I could see myself using this in everyday situations all the time just to avoid using my hands for anything other than holding my daggers. It would make me always ready to grab and stab whatever comes my way, even if I’m handling other objects at the same time.

Not to mention it looks sick as fuck just leaning against a tree at night next to a campfire while a floating pipe seemingly fills and packs itself before lighting and moving to my mouth as if begging me to try it out.

As I get high and the euphoria gets to me I distract myself from Ari’s silent pleadings by moving about different things in my surroundings. Checking how far away I can manipulate things without the mana drain getting too inefficient to be practical. I can probably move things around in a radius of 10 meters comfortably but anything outside of that exponentially costs more mana until I lose the fine control needed.

Trying to manifest external modules at ever increasing distance from me I confirm that the radius is indeed tied to my arcane manipulation. It will surely grow larger as I level the skill further.

The sun rises once again when my tests have concluded and I've gone back to practicing telekinesis. Ari knows how to be a proper taskmaster though.

“Zel. If we don’t reach the capital today I’ll incapacitate us until you fuck me. You hear me? I can’t wait any longer.”

“I know, dear. Me neither. Let’s get ourselves moving once again. I doubt we’ll reach the capital today though. Please, hang on for just a little longer.”

I dash through the valleys and mountains doing various flips, vaults and tricks while trying to incorporate small bursts of telekinetic force into it using my belt or boots as anchors. It kind of works but I’ll need a lot more practice as the boulder I smash my face into kindly explains, stars filling my vision as I swallow teeth and nose leaking like a crimson faucet.

I’ll try getting it right on soft ground before doing it on boulders. Think of this beforehand next time, stupid.

I reach the end of the Rhodolite Peaks region and come upon a wide river churning against its banks due to the fast current. It’s snaking its way south next to the easternmost mountains, looking like an azure serpent with glittering scales in the midnight sun.

I stand on a ledge about half a kilometer away from the river and 200 meters above it and the view I get from here is breathtaking. East of the river is green grass and bushes for a few dozen meters before the crimson striped birch forest begins. I’ve never seen this forest before but I’ve heard of it and even seen the wooden planks from these trees on more luxurious buildings in the capital.

The blood birch’s trunk sport the same white and black bark but their leaves are a deep crimson. They get their name and fame from the beautiful planks they become as they are processed in the closest town southeast of here, aptly named Birch town.

The planks made from blood birch are snow white with deep crimson lines snaking their way through in organic and unique patterns. I remember hearing of one such plank with an especially unique and appealing pattern being sold at an auction once. Those who can’t afford to build with them use them as natural paintings instead.

The forest expands for a few square kilometers before ending at a wide open plain that stretches out as far as I can see, winding rivers interspersed like blue veins through the grass.

There’s a town on the horizon to the southeast that must be the town closest to the capital, located in the middle of the kingdom and closer to the southern border. Looking closer I can also see what must be Birch town in the middle of the blood birch forest and south of me.

The buildings would be invisible from the plains without the smoke rising from different houses but not from my vantage point on the easternmost mountain as I’m high enough up to get a good view over their walls. It seems like quite the quaint town but it will be a nice stop for me to get some provisions.

My fruit was all consumed a very long time ago and I want to get my hands on a few more peaches if I can. Meat would also suffice as I’ll probably not find much wildlife on the plains towards the capital if I don’t stop to fish in one of the many rivers. I wonder why no one is fishing here though? Maybe they fish further downstreams where the water might be calmer.

I leap from the ledge and break my fall with a roll before vaulting over a boulder and doing a backflip from my hands briefly touching it. I continue practicing all the way down and only stop when I reach the river. There’s really no way to cross the river normally at this location and I instead just decide to jump the 40 meters to the other side. How hard can it be?

Taking a running start I dash towards the fast moving current and plant both my feet on a sturdy looking boulder next to the water before I lower myself into a full crouch preparing to extend with all the enhancement my current body can withstand. I shoot over the river at an altitude of 8 meters and make it 7 meters past the river's eastern edge.

I have to go into a roll to break up my momentum and when it isn’t enough I seamlessly transition my roll into a half turn somersault before finishing with dispersing my momentum in a graceful backflip. Landing steadily on both feet and crushing a small bush.

“Owww! FUCK!”

The bush has thorns.

Ari giggles at the embarrassing finish of my graceful exhibition of movement.

“How the hell did these thorns even get through my thick pants? This is giving me flashbacks to that ivy vine in the dungeon. It’s laughable that it almost finished me off back then.”

I honestly just want to forget about that fight.

“I remember you even composed a song to commemorate your newly discovered hatred for plant monsters but I can’t remember how it went.”

“Me neither. But I don’t think that’s because of the soul melding process. I was quite out of it and delirious from blood loss at the time and I don’t think my memory captured the words.”

I disperse my pants before manifesting them again to get the thorns out as I walk in the direction of Birch town. It doesn’t seem like the curse has managed to get this far yet as the wildlife is making itself known. Birds chirp and squawk between the rustling crimson leaves, moved by a steady eastern wind from the open plains.

There seem to be a few ground critters and small animals like squirrels around but I can’t make out anything larger. They must have been hunted out of here by the town population centuries ago and never returned. Not surprising as they’d either have to cross a mountain range and wide river or the wide plains without dying to get here.

I disperse my boots and socks to feel the grass and slightly damp earth between my toes and the few twigs and rocks lying hidden aren’t enough to warrant protection against the rest of the soft ground. The shade brought by the tree crowns and the slight red glow cast by reflected light bouncing against white trunks give the forest a magical and calm feeling. That is until a twig snaps to my right.

I’m in my fighting stance with daggers held in front of me before the sound of a snapping bowstring even reaches me. I could’ve blocked the arrow I know is coming with a dagger but I instead use telekinesis to redirect it past my shoulder as I turn towards its source. It’s starting to become a good habit to redirect everything I can and throw my attackers off their game.

As I spin towards my attacker I take in their form. It’s a male in his early thirties at most with brown hair and eyes. His hair is long and tied in a ponytail behind his head and his eyebrows are creased in a frown, no doubt from missing me from this close a range. His angular facial features look almost carved from sturdy wood and his jawline is quite impressive.

He’s clad in white and black leather armor that camouflages him nicely between these trees and he stands at a height of no more than 160 cm. He’s holding a shortbow made from the expensive blood birch wood and even his arrow shafts sticking out from the quiver on his right leg seem to be made of the same material.

“What the fuck?! Why did you shoot me?”

“Aren’t you one of those thieves?”

He looks startled at my outburst and his question points towards him expecting me to run for it once he’d missed his shot.

“What thieves? I’m just here minding my own damn business, walking through a fucking forest before getting shot at for seemingly no fucking reason?!”

“No reason?? You do know that you’re trespassing right?”

That gives me pause and I tilt my head quizzically at him.

“I’m trespassing? Aren’t I allowed to be here?”

He puts his palm against his forehead before giving a deep sigh and a slightly sad chuckle.

“Tell me. Where did you come from?”

“Well we're at the western forest edge so from across the river. Isn’t that obvious?”

“I’m afraid not. Alright, listen. I’ll take you for your word as you honestly don’t behave like the thieves usually do and your story does match with your tracks now that I look closer at them.”

I blink slowly at him.

“So you never saw me cross the river and just decided to shoot me? What am I missing here? What are these thieves you keep mentioning?”

I’m not sure I understand what’s going on and decide to identify my potential opponent if he suddenly turns on me again.

[Archer - 156]

I feel him identifying me in return and catch a brief look of surprise on his features. Me crouching with daggers probably didn’t give him the impression of a mage of higher level than him.

“Do you know where you are?”

“The blood birch forest?”

“Correct. And do you know why you shouldn’t be where you currently stand?”

Is this whole forest private property or something? They at least put up a fence in that case.

“No idea. I’ve never been here before. Heard of this place from the capital many years ago and I guessed there couldn’t be any other forests with birches like these.”

“Can you guess why this is the only forest with birches like these?”

He knocks his knuckles on the trunk next to him for emphasis and my features take on the expression of dawning comprehension.

“The thieves you mention are after these trees? And you… You’re a guard killing any that come here for them. Now it makes sense why you shot me at first sight I suppose. These trees are supposed to be quite valuable after all.”

“Precisely. We’re ordered to kill anyone who enters the forest from outside of Birch. Only traffic to and from the town is permitted and even that is watched closely by more rangers like me. It’s our job to kill anyone coming here for the bounties on these trees.”

I sheath my daggers as a sign of peace, not that I really need them to block his arrows, before answering him in a much calmer voice.

“Well, fuck. I had no idea. I’d heard of this beautiful forest before as I said but not the part about it being a deathtrap for outsiders. When I saw the town in the middle of the forest from the top of the easternmost mountains I thought it a good stop to get provisions before continuing towards the capital.”

He chuckles and lowers his bow a little as well but he still keeps an arrow strung as a precaution against me. Can’t fault him for that.

“We’ve probably killed quite a few unlucky people who somehow ended up here without knowing of their trespass. I’m glad you didn’t die though. Would have been sad to add another innocent one to the thieves' grave.”

“Thieves' grave?”

“Mhm. It’s a mass grave where we burn all the corpses of thieves and the unlucky innocent.”

“That’s dark.”

He shrugs and nods at the same time.

“It is. But we have to be this strict and can’t question someone before going for the kill. We did that in the beginning but it wasn't fool-proof from what I’ve heard. There was supposedly a large hunt carried out to exterminate the thieves and buyers every other year or so. More people got killed during those conflicts than if we just shot everyone arriving here.”

“Well, I’m really just here to buy provisions from the town. My name is Zelaria. Is it alright if I go to Birch even though I entered at the wrong location?”

He considers me for a moment before sighing and nodding.

“Alright, fine. I’ll escort you there. You’ll probably be shot at otherwise.”

“Thanks.”

“Name’s Keith.”

“Thanks, Keith.”

We walk in silence for a short while as I continue admiring the scenery, taking a closer look at a red beetle scuttling on a trunk in an odd, jerky fashion. Probably to confuse predators or some such. Keith continues twitching with his bow at every one of my movements but it’s not in a hostile way. It’s more like he’s instinctively aware that I could gut him without him getting to retaliate when we’re walking this close.

“So what did you do in the Rhodolite Peaks? I’ve heard some gossip about strange happenings up there and one merchant deep in his cups at our inn swore there was some sort of curse. You’re not cursed are you?”

He takes a slight step away from me as if that would help ward off any curses.

“No, I'm not cursed. But the merchant is right about there being one. If you can’t withstand the curse you die and join their forces as a cursed creature.”

“Their forces?”

“Yeah. There’s an invasion coming for every region close to the Rhodolite Peaks. I don’t think the diamond ranked adventurers they sent to clear the matter up will suffice to stop whatever I saw in there.”

He scoffs at me.

“Yeah, sure. Howard the Huge and Julie the Lightsaint will be able to stop it like they did the undead invasion.”

I laugh out loud at that. I just can’t help myself.

“What’s so funny? Don’t you know how strong they are?”

“I do know how strong they are since I’ve seen them. You probably won’t believe me but Howard and Julie already went there over a week ago and the last thing I saw from afar before I ran east was a wave of cursed mana killing their whole expedition. Howard and Julie might have made it out alive but not the rest of them.”

That shuts him up for a while and I can tell he’s got problems believing me but he should also have realized that I have no reason for lying about this.

“But how could you have made it out of there without even having any boots? And why weren’t you with the expedition, getting killed like you said they were?”

I manifest my socks and boots as a demonstration and my lush, red lips curve into a smug grin at his startled sidestep away from me. He luckily doesn’t shoot me again.

“I took them off to feel the grass beneath my feet once again. It’s been at least a month since I last felt it. And I wasn’t with the expedition because I didn’t go there with them. I didn’t even go there from this side of the mountains.

"I had no reason to stupidly get myself killed following diamond ranks into somewhere I knew to be a deathtrap for anyone without massive curse resistance and constitution.”

“I see. I’m not sure how much I want to believe this but I think it best that you speak to our lord about it nonetheless. We’ll have to prepare to evacuate if this invasion you speak of reaches us here.”

I raise an eyebrow at him.

“And why should I speak to your lord? It would probably waste so much of my time trying to convince someone like that.”

“But you’re getting passage into our town, it's the least you cou-”

I stop dead in my tracks and look him in the eyes.

“Or I could just leave this forest and continue towards the next town and get my provisions there? No need for me to waste my time here.”

He takes a step back and lifts his hands in a conciliatory gesture.

“Alright. Say no more. I know you probably have ways of getting out of here without getting killed with that level and there’s no need for bad blood between us. How about this, I’ll ask our lord if he’s interested in paying you for this information and if he is you’ll agree to share what you know? How does that sound?”

“3 Gold.”

It’s quite a large sum in my eyes but any lord should be able to pay it.

“Hmm. Depending on what information you can provide for that amount of gold he’ll either think you’re scamming him or he’ll take it as confirmation of the information's worth. Very well, I’ll talk to him.”

He also seems to relax slightly more now that we’ve come to an agreement. He’s a strange man.

We continue our walk in neutral silence and I appreciatively breathe in the fresh forest air. It’s no more than a half an hour later that we arrive out in the open once more. There is a 30 meter length of cleared space before the thick, white and red wooden walls. They seriously used this expensive wood to build their walls? Isn’t that a little too frivolous?

The archers on the walls look at me with mixed caution and curiosity but don’t shoot at me since I’ve got Keith beside me. He guides me towards the only entrance into the town, a 4 meter wide opening where wagons can fit in single file and there are a few more guards stationed here in armor with swords on their belts.

Their equipment is surprisingly good and I guess all manner of work in Birch pays well since it’s so exclusive and hard to get to be here. The road leading away from the gate eastwards is just hard packed dirt but it seems well maintained and I can see a wagon further down the road and almost out of sight, having left Birch just before I got here most likely.

The guard moves to intercept me but with a cryptic hand signal from Keith they stand down and return to their posts. This place sure is secretive and private in their dealings.

As I walk through the open gate I take in the small town. The houses are made from both blood birch logs and other materials from elsewhere that bind it all together in a visually pleasing fashion.

The houses are only one or two stories high and the only house eclipsing this limit is a large mansion standing on a small rise in the center of the town. The lord's mansion most likely. Except for being large it doesn’t seem that much different from every other house lining the streets as far as I can tell from this distance.

“How many live here, Keith?”

“Close to 1000 people last I heard. The market street is down that way and I’m going to assume you’ll be there when I arrive with an invitation or to escort you back out later. Are we clear?”

He proceeds to point out a street 3 blocks further in and to my left.

“Sure are. Don’t take too long though. I want to get going soon no matter the destination.”

He nods before walking quickly towards the lord's mansion as I make my way towards the market. I really hope they have peaches.

“I’m sorry, sweetie. We’ve got no peaches here at this time. Best I can do is sweet or sour apples and grapes. We’ve got another shipment coming in sometime next week if you’re staying that long but I can’t promise peaches. It’s quite early in the season and most haven’t harvested theirs yet as far as I know.”

The kind if slightly creepy grandfatherly man manning the seemingly only fruit stall in the town can’t sell me peaches but I take what I can get and purchase a little of every variety. I would have bought more but they were really expensive.

Wandering the market while munching on an apple and listening to the vendors shouting about their “excellent” prices has me realizing a potential problem with a town being this isolated and importing almost everything. It isn’t helping matters that they’re also getting ridiculously rich from exporting their local resources and have a huge inflation on everything to balance it all out.

“Come get your stamina potions here. Only 40 silver each when buying more than 5!”

“Emerald inlaid accessories are now on sale in our shop! Get these beautiful silver earrings at the low price of 5 Gold. It’s practically a steal!”

“Freshly baked meat buns. 80 copper each.”

These people are absolutely insane and I’m now sure that the lord will agree to my measly asking price of 3 gold. Why didn’t Keith look suspicious of my low asking price? Or was that what he meant with my information being seen as valueless or a fraud?

“Should’ve asked for more, Zel.”

“Yeah. We don’t really need that much money normally. I only got the idea that we could easily make some gold here to rent a fancier place for a week or so in the capital and to buy more expensive pipeweed for when we get some time to relax. As long as we’re not completely broke we’ll be fine though.”

“True. I guess it will be worth the delay.”

I stroll through the market for perhaps 10 minutes just window shopping or people watching. It’s very peaceful here and most people seem to know each other as is common in smaller towns and villages. Men and women stop and chat with friends every so often while their kids run around playing tag with their friends.

The raucous children annoy me and a few shopkeepers and peddlers but most seemed genuinely fond of the snot nosed brats. I can’t understand people wanting to raise such infuriating creatures but some people want nothing else out of life. How boring.

“There you are, Zelaria. Our town's ruler wants to hear your information.”

I turn around and meet Keith’s gaze with a slight frown.

“Yeah, I bet he does since I could probably only rent a room at the inn here for one night with the price I’m asking for.”

He smiles at me slightly sheepishly.

“Yeah, well business is business and it wasn’t my place to get you to squeeze our town and lord of funds.”

“Fair enough. I’ll know better next time.”

He proceeds to lead me to the lord’s mansion and I’m fairly impressed by the architecture of the building. I have no idea what most of the supplementary materials are but they look expensive and I guess he must be rolling in gold. It would probably have cost the ruler more to let me dine with them instead of taking the 3 gold. This whole estate is practically screaming of tastefully applied excess.

The inside is as impressive as the outside and Keith leads me towards a sitting room not too far into the hallway. I’m not really counted as a guest by the lord it seems. It doesn’t smell like a trap but I mentally prepare myself for anything regardless.

Keith opens the crimson striped white door for me like a butler before closing it behind me as I take in the ruler splayed out on a comfortable looking velvet sofa in nothing but a bathrobe, hair still wet from having been in a soak just recently. He’s an older gentleman with gray streaks in his well-kept, wet hair and he looks quite nice for his apparent age.

“Please sit.”

His voice is almost unnaturally deep but still silky smooth and not tarnished by age. I sit at the indicated sofa in front of him, a table between us, after I’ve surveyed the room for any possible ambushes. I’m really getting paranoid over nothing, aren’t I?

“My name is Rufus Golgarth, patriarch of the Golgarth family.”

“Nice to meet you sir. I’m Zelaria. I’ve taken it that you’re interested in purchasing the information I have on the situation in the Rhodolite Peaks?”

He surveys me kindly but sternly at the same time before confirming.

“That’s correct. As long as you don’t waste my time I’ll pay you the agreed upon amount. I might add in a little extra as a sign of appreciation if the information sounds credible and as vital to our future as Keith seems to believe.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll better start with a quick summary on how I got there and then here before getting into details.”

I proceed to explain that I heard about the trouble brewing in the Rhodolite Peaks and decided to investigate on my own. I talk a little about my time spent slaying the parasites before I briefly summarize the events at the curse’s source and my subsequent escape into his territory.

I then elaborate on what I’ve learnt in my time there of the different cursed fungi, my guess on the state of the adventurer expedition and much more, lead with probing questions from Rufus. I spend the next 15 minutes telling him everything I know about the state of things and answering every question he has without getting into more personal details. He doesn’t seem that interested in them to be honest which is good.

He’s getting paler and his questions more urgent as time goes on as he can’t spot any contradictions or obvious falsehoods in my information. When I finally tell him that there’s nothing more to my information he sinks back into the sofa he’d unconsciously risen from.

“Shit. This doesn’t sound good at all. We’ll have to prepare for an eventual evacuation, get the birches ready to be moved if the invasion comes this far and find a place to move our whole town if things really get as bad as your information indicates.”

“Well, I’m glad I didn’t waste my time. I was worried that I’d be dismissed outright before even getting to the details.”

“I can understand that. There’s been rumors and talk about what’s going on in the mountains but your information blows it out of proportions to such a degree that most would dismiss it as exaggeration. I haven’t spotted any lies or falsehoods though and I’d like to think I’m quite good at that as the patriarch of my family.”

“Happy to be of service.”

“I’ll give you 10 gold for this information. It isn’t much in our town perhaps but it’s more than triple your asking price. Seems fair?”

I nod in gratitude and smile at him.

“And your name is Zelaria is it? I’ll have to forward this information to other towns in the kingdom that might be affected. Is it alright if I put you as the source of this information?”

I tilt my head in question, trying to spot the catch in his seemingly innocent request and he chuckles good-naturedly at my obvious confusion.

“Some adventurers want to remain anonymous. Either for personal or nefarious reasons. It’s only polite to ask before penning your name in a letter.”

“If that’s all you’re asking then that’s fine with me. It’s not like I’m well known and I can’t see it changing anything.”

The sun is now setting and my feet thunder against the dirt road, heading east, as I speed along the plains. I left the Birch a few hours ago, 10 gold richer and with fruit in my storage ring. The plains is a new and welcome sight with its eastern wind moving the 30 centimeter tall grass and foliage in patterns depicting waves upon the ocean.

Winding serpentine rivers with clear glittering water and bridges crossing them every so often along the roads. There aren’t any buildings out here but I can see a shepherd herding an enormous flock of sheep further south, trying to get them to cross a river without falling in, small bursts of emerald magic bursts from a gnarled staff supporting his hunched posture.

I passed the wagon I’d seen leaving Birch earlier today just a few minutes ago and the driver is now eating my dust. I must have given him quite the scare, thundering past him before he’d been able to get a good look at me.

There are many fast adventurers, obviously, but I remember the small heart attacks one of them running past always caused me. That was before I had a class and now things are different. Now I’m the fast one, probably even on par with entirely agility based classes at my level.

As there’s really nothing drastically changing in the scenery I decide to try and practice using my telekinesis to aid my movement on this slightly softer ground. There is a limit to how much power the current arcane mana structures making up my body can handle and I’m currently going as fast as I can without tearing my mana tissue.

It’s probably more than four times the speed of the wagon I left behind recently but I know I can increase that speed without putting more power through my limbs. I start using telekinetic force on my belt between each step and giving it a boost in relative forwards velocity.

At first I can barely feel anything except a slight tug at my waist but as I increase strength of each burst of power between my steps the slight tugging soon becomes a force that propels me forwards a few extra meters with each step. It's a very ugly solution to the problem but it's a proof of concept. I can increase my speed without burdening my body further.

I continue increasing the power of each burst of telekinetic force until my steps have doubled in distance and I try seeing how fast I can go with this. My limit is apparently at three times my enhanced running speed as any more power used in short bursts like that isn’t sustainable with my regeneration and also very uncomfortable on my lower back. Having something tug at you hard between each step is not the most pleasant sensation.

Looking for a solution I try spreading some of the telekinetic force to my boots, lessening the burden on the belt. I start funneling to them slowly so as to not instantly stumble but I realize that it’s not going to be that easy. Having only my lower body pulled forwards is unbalancing me backwards.

I continue experimenting as the sky darkens and the moon shows itself. There are no shadows out here and the moonlight and golden glow of my eyes give me a clear view of where to place my feet. I figure out a workable system of applying the different vectors of velocity to keep me in balance as I reach the town closest to the west side of the capital.

Deciding to continue my experimentation and wanting to get to the capital by morning I run around the town instead of staying in it and only take a small break to eat some fruit, smoke a bowl and gaze at the stars, the town close to the western horizon.

I can now see my goal further to the southeast of here. The massive capital where my journey truly began, the origin of my disastrous adventure towards the Uterkesgat dungeon and my union with my other half and love. I really should be thankful Ormar chatted me up that fateful day. What would I’ve become if I’d been left all alone in my soul?

“Ari?”

“Yeah?”

“Never leave me, understand?”

“I won’t, silly Zel.”