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Chapter 26 - Graves in the forest

Fifty miles or five days’ travel from the small mining town of Flinty Village, in the Stoney region of the west isle of Asperd isle, grows the forest known as Stoney Forest, it surrounds the smallest of the isles mountain ranges the Stoney Mountains. In these mountains, a small group has set up camp, near one of the many openings that spring from the mountains deep, here a few builds new stand. A long hut, the sleeping quarters for the men working at the site, a few feet behind that is a smaller square wooden building with a small stone room next to it, making up a small root cellar, this small hut and cellar make up the supply room for any food that finds its way to the camp. In front of the long hut an equal long building is standing, with one side open and the backside closed off, a small stable for the horses brought with them. In a half circle, with the starting point from the cave opening, in a thirty-foot radius a wall is starting to take form, with only one exit out into the surrounding forest.

Riin's POV

Asperd Isles - Early Summer.

For two month, we have worked to secure ourselves in the newly formed encamp, making a place to storage food and a place to sleep, that was not under open sky, not that I mind sleep under the open sky, it just after almost four weeks, I really needed something that reminded me of a real bed, three weeks and a few days, that's how long it took for the sleeping hut to be completed with beds for thirty people, so we had a few spare beds. The longhouse, - that was what the sleeping hut really was, - had its own fireplace built into the end wall, made of small flat square stones, that Galore, himself had cut and placed.

The horses, have gotten their stable and a small food storage with a root cellar was added, so the hunter team and I, - Yes… Much against my will, I was added to the list of people able to find edible thing in the forest and so I found myself on the team that gathered food every so often. Well it did mean that in the two months’ time we had stayed here I had gained quite the experience in the skills, [Cooking] and [Tanner], I still found it a bit hard to make food from scratch but it was slowly going better and better. However, with my increased training in tanning the hides that the hunters got from the deer’s and boars, I was starting to see just how much one's skills, affect one when they started to reach the intermediate skill level. Well, enough about me tanning hides and cooking stew, tomorrow is where the good thing starts, it's tomorrow that Galore has said that he will take me into the new mine! I will learn how to use a pickaxe, even if I have been swinging it around to get used to its weight, I have not unlocked the last of the four demands to become a miner, so I hope that tomorrow will bring me some more luck.

With the first rays of the sun, I'm up and in the cloth, today is the day I become a miner… man? man miner… hmm, oh well. I go outside and wait for the rest of the mining team to get themselves up and moving, lazy fuckers… An hour later they finally get out of their beds and starts to find some food. Thirty minutes later and we are going mining, finally, Galore is talking the men, giving them today's work plan, who goes where and with whom. Today, Galore is going with a man named Heca and me, as the tag along, Heca gives me a nod for a greeting, a man of few words it seems, it's fine by me since, I don't care for idle chatter.

As we start to move into the newly build mine shaft, galore is quizzing me on what I will do if a rockslide happens or what I will do if I smell or ‘see’ gas. To the question with the gas I simply pull out my [Lightstone], makes them stop short in their tracks, Galore is the one who speaks first.

“A [Lightstone]… It has been a good few years since I last saw one… Where is it from? boy.”

“A cave near my old home.”

Not like that's wrong.

“Oh, I see, where was this cave located? Your old home, do you mean the place called ‘The herbalist's hut’ by the trading caravans?”

Hmm, he knows of place itself, if so I don't see why I should not tell him… Let's have him give me some information first.

“How come you want to know where it is, so badly? There were only five [Lightstone] when I was there and a lot of dead things.”

At that comment Heca raises an eyebrow, yet remain silence, Galore on the other hand make his ‘hmfp’ growl sound and waves a hand in the air.

“You misunderstand me, kid. The reason I ask is simple, really, a true [Lightstone], is a crystal that has somehow absorbed the light itself, they are fascinating, so I merely wanted to see from where it came, nothing more.”

We continue for a short while without more words between the two of us, until Heca speaks up.

“What dead things.”

I half stop in my steps, before walking on, while taking.

“A large amount of [Giant Forest Spiders].”

No need to tell them how they died in the first place.

“Hmm, saw a boss?”

Boss… does he mean a [King] or a [Queen].

“A dead [Queen].”

“Hmm, lucky that it was dead, they are very aggressive, [Queens] that it.”

Tell me about it… They are not just a little aggressive, they are fucking insanely aggressive, not like I'm going to tell you that, so I go for a short answer.

“I see.”

But that makes me think, how come he knows about [Queens] in the first place, I mean it's not a common thing to walk into.

“Have you seen a [Giant Spider Queen] before?”

I can't help but to ask him, at that he only nods, moments pass before he speaks again.

“In my younger days, we found one, in the caves, on the south side of [Flinty Mountain], ugly she was… Melted two men to the bones with the liquid poison. I still hear their screams, even to this day… sometimes, I wish it was just a bad dream, but no, I saw it…”

After that we walked in silence. On a side note, man I'm glad that I avoided that gooey shit that time, who knew that it melted skin and bones…

After a twenty-minute walk, down into the mine's main shaft, we reach the end or where we are to continue, a stack of ten or so logs lay to the side out of the way, support beams, I guess. My attention is turned back to Galore, as he pokes my shoulder.

“Now kid, watch me and repeat what I'm doing, got that.”

I nod as he walks over to the left side of the wall, he rises the pickaxe above his head and swing down, repeating the motion a few times before a slice of rock falls to the ground.

“Now you try.”

And so, I do, try that is. Rising the pickaxe up and above my head before swinging it down into the rock wall in front of me. A good hour passes by with my hacking away at the stone in front of me, then just as I'm about to throw the stupid pickaxe away for getting nowhere, I get a message.

Congratulations! You've learnt how to use a Pickaxe. By completing the four objectives you have gained the skill, [Miner].

And so, we work the day, until another team tells us that it is time for dinner, grilled deer, we are told. Looking back at my handiwork, I don't feel like we have reached very far in the time we have been working… Not far at all, but Galore and Heca seems to think that we have done fine, how I do not know, I mean how can seven feet, be much? But then again, I guess that it is pure rock we are hitting at.

Doing hard physical work you have gained +1 [Strength]!

Doing continuously hard physical work you have gained +1 [Strength]!

Doing hard physical work over a long time, you have gained +1 [Strength]!

Doing hard physical work with no end in sight, you have gained +1 [Strength]!

The summer passed us by in a blink of an eye, we hacked away at the rock day in and day out, never giving up. Summer gave way to Fall and the leaves turned orange and yellow, still all of us was giving it our best, a crude road was made from [Flinty Village] to us, still calling it a road was a bit like calling a cat a lion, it was just wagon tracks in the dirt.

As the summer ended so did our peaceful season or mining, with the new season came a problem, bandits. I knew that there were bandits in these parts but up until now, we had not seen anything to them, but I'm assured by the hunters that they had seen tracks of the bandits all late summer. So, we were being watched, huh.

One evening as we sat by the fire eating our dinner, the two guards at the gate suddenly let out yells of surprise, soon arrows were flying about. Time to play a bit I guess, ahh how I missed this! I ran to a small building, next to the food storage hut, grabbing my bow and arrows. Running up towards one of the small watchtowers, that had been built after the hunters found tracks of the bandits, that would be my point of attack. Reaching the tower was one thing, a lot of zic zag running and a few moments later I was crawling up the small rope ladder, soon I was standing with a good viewpoint of the battle taking place down below me.

A quick count on my part, gave me a circa amount of twenty something bandits, so we were pretty evenly matched in numbers at least, time to shoot some foolish insects down. Breath, relax, aim to kill, shoot, and so the first arrow went off and I'm the proud owner of a headshot, one down, many to go. Arrows filling the sky, men yelling, cries of pain and suffering, how sweet the sound is to my ears, how I missed the sound of agony! More I want more!

[Bloodlust Aura] is now activated, range [81] feet.

As if a drop had fallen into a still pond creating rings in the calm water, just like that my desire to kill, let my bloodlust run rampage. As a level five I had a [Bloodlust Aura] skill of level four, anything from that level and under was effected by my desire to kill them. Ah, like a storm at sea it passed over all of them, some even fell to their knees, begging, they were easily killed, only adding to my own storm of blood. Five, fell begging for it to stop, what they saw I don't know and I really don't have the time to care for such weak things.

[Bloodlust Aura] ranged increased to [86] feet.

At the end of the surprise attack I had reached a range of ninety and I got a nagging feeling that I needed to let the shard show me what I missed in message. But first things first, relaxing by the campfire and getting some well-deserved food! The bandits were taken care of and the bodies of the fallen insects was brought to rest in a spot next to the outer wall side, for us to bury them in the morning. Their weapons and any other items was taken off them before they were dragged to the side, I for one made sure to grab some arrows and some small coin. Later that night as I lay in my bed I checked my messages.

You have survived a raid. You have gained +100 experience for surviving the attack! During the raid, you took down nine attacks, of the type [Human - Bandit], by doing so you have gained +900 experience.

The skill [Bloodlust Aura] has gained [90].

The morning sun marked a new day in the camp, yet were there normally was a laughter to be heard, a silence was now pressing down on the breakfast table. Galore rose from his seat with a solemn face, looking around on the lot before speaking.

“Last night was… a surprise for all of us… but luck was with us, and we are victorious!”

A roar was let loose from the table, before galore raised his hand and silence fell over the table once more.

“We have won… but we also lost two good men… let us pray for their spirit to pass.”

All the men bowed their head down, some mumbling for themselves, some merely sitting quietly for a short while, before looking towards Galore once more. Taking a quick look around, I found that indeed two was missing… their spots empty, two of the guards. I did not remember their names nor really their faces, yet I found a slow uneasiness building up inside of me. A feeling of loss? No, that cannot be the feeling… can it?

The day passed in a blur, men dug a hole outside the walls for the fallen bandits, where they were put down and burned. Galore, said something about necromancers being able to use the dead if they were not burned before burying them. Our ‘own’ was placed inside the walls, in the west end of the camp, a place we had not yet used for building. Two graves were made, and like the bandits the remained of the two guards was burned before burying them beneath the earth. The only thing marking their places was a small stack of stone and their helmets that was placed above the dirt.

That whole day, nothing but silence filled the camp, the only thing breaking it was the sound of the pickaxes hitting the rocks deep inside the mine. No one laughed that day, no song filled the dinner table that evening and as the night came upon us, a resounding silence was all that was left of the day after the raid. But as the say, life must go on or something along those lines, I think and so it did. Slowly the laughter and jokes returned to the encampment, yet a cloud was above our heads, for we now knew that we were not alone out here in the forest, and winter was closing in on us faster than any of us liked.

The uncertainty of not knowing, if or when a new attack would come or how many would attack us, it was slowly making people stressed out. I for one had problems of my own, Galore had been looking my way a bit too much lately, I can only stay low and hope he leaves me be.

Galore's POV

[Bloodlust Aura], the first blood magic in the spell line, yet to call it a spell would be wrong, for it is nothing more than the user's will and desire to destroy to end the lives before him. Like the soldier carry himself in a certain way, like a second set of clothing. Likewise does the desire to kill cling to the skin of the users of [Blood Magic], but unlike the soldiers whose aura bring ease, the ones who wield the old art of pure desire to kill… No, they have their own aura, one that makes grown men shake and sweat run down from the back of their neck. They carry the aura of death with them, as they unleash it onto the field of battle, their enemies will tremble before them, for they know… that the tire power behind the aura comes from the act of taking lives.

Yes, the scent that clings to them is death. Here in this forest surrounded by attackers, here within our walls of security… We walk next to a beast, a killer…May the gods have mercy on us should he grow tried, for only they know what made such a young soul become so twisted by the desire to end all.

All I can do now is watch him, make sure he is using his body to release some energy, so it will not be us he decided to release it on. Yet, the eyes which he looks at me, they tell me that he sees me, that he knows that I'm watching him…