This time I met with no interruptions or mishaps, administering the poison cleanly and watching as it shuddered. Once I was certain it was incapacitated I took aim and struck, cleanly killing the slime with a single blow.

[Looks like it is the correct composition.] Page observed, pleased.

I nodded in agreement, the poison had worked quickly, perhaps I wouldn’t need as much for the next one. I’d probably need some method to easily inject it, and carry multiple doses of the poison on myself, safely. I shrugged the thought away, I had other issues to consider.

One of the other nearby villages to the south, Hrothan being in the north and Haen being somewhat to the east, had sent a messenger. An ogre had been sighted, and they had been told to contact me as well. The book mentioned spectres, restless ghosts that had to be pushed back from the borders every month or so; as well as the wisps, who rarely forayed into human territory.

The gnoll issue was the most pressing, if Arrgyk wasn’t exaggerating, I would need to somehow get in touch with Qent and the warrior, along with the other so-called irregulars. I shook my head, it was a lot of work that needed to be done then. How is one man supposed to take the place of an armed military squad?

I pondered this as I returned to Haen, taking the long way around the slime corpses, having spied a bush that seemed to be feeding on them. I had no idea what they were, and whether they would be vulnerable to my sword at all. If it bleeds, I might be able to kill it. I thought. If not, I’m dinner.

When I entered Haen Rael greeted me, thanking me for the work I’d done. He provided me with food and drink while I cared for my equipment. I sighed, my sword needed to be sharpened after the next fight. Perhaps I’d have to start asking the farms for what they could spare, even if it seemed rather mercenary. Can’t protect much like this. I thought to myself. I went up to Rael, who ushered me into his home.

He sat across me, reaching into his pocket as I reached into mine. I watched him curiously, and we placed both our items on the table at the same time. Him with two copper siqs, and I with Arrgyk’s parchment letter. We watched each other’s items with surprise. Of course they’ve already considered the problem. I thought. How long did they take to plan this?

He took it from me. “Arrgyk says to tell you that he remembers his covenant, and will honour it.” Rael hesitated, turning to me, as though a deer caught in headlights. I stared at him for a moment, intrigued by his reaction, though I didn’t let it show. “Tell me about it.” I pressed.

He gulped for a moment, and turned to ensure no one could hear us, waving away his wife as she came to check in on us. He watched me, his palms rubbing against each other. “We met during a hunt, we were both chasing a deer. Some of the young lads still do it for sport now, though we keep telling them not to, and that it’s dangerous. We were like that too, so we never force it on them” He laughed nervously, and licked his lips, continuing his ramble. “The gnolls aren’t inherently evil, just like people can be evil or good depending on who they choose to be. We had a friendship.”

He fidgeted in his seat, my gaze remaining impassive. “We, we thought that it might be possible for all of us to coexist, perhaps for them to be part of Stoneward. I didn’t collude with them or anyone else to do anything to this farm.” He said, his eyes struggling to maintain eye contact.

I watched him for a while more as he sweated, then motioned for him to read the parchment. “Arrgyk claims he wasn’t part of the gnolls that assaulted Haen. He also claims that there is a movement that is occurring amongst them, aiming to destabilize and harass the farms.” I stood. “I have no problem with them if that is the truth. Know this though, the others in your village may choose to assault the gnolls later on unless you find a way to calm them.”

He nodded numbly, breathing a sigh of relief as I left. That might have been harsh of me. I thought to myself. His reaction had sounded alarms in my head, my fear was misplaced it seemed. I let out a small breath, rolling my shoulder as I left for Soren once more.

Two copper siqs were quite frankly a pittance for the majority, but I didn’t need a fortune to maintain my gear, and it seemed they would provide food and board. Well I guess that’s one thing down. I thought to myself, wondering how the money would be scaled. I slid them into my pocket.

The next morning I stayed indoors for the morning, considering my options. I still had no idea where the warrior and mage had went, groaning as I realized in the excitement I’d forgotten to ask Rael about their whereabouts. That set my course fairly easily, and I slung a spear for my next job.

Ogres were huge, commonly the height of two grown men. They were omnivores that preferred meat, hunting solitarily and mating perhaps once every month or so. Unlike trolls, they rarely formed relations with other races, attributed to their cutthroat nature. They were however, known to be intelligent, tales of long lived ogres that thwarted attempts to stop them were well known. However, most would not use their intelligence, preferring brute force unless they’ve suffered humiliating defeat before.

The book mentioned some link between giants and ogres, but frustratingly refused to elaborate. It’s a bestiary after all. Such knowledge was likely the purview of groups other than the soldiery. I shrugged slightly, lifting myself from the ground.

“Are you sure you can keep this up?” I was stopped by Caio as I left the dorm. “You’re exerting yourself, and you barely even know most of these creatures. What are you going after now?”

I told him, his eyes widened, incredulous. “An Ogre?! They send multiple military squads to find it, weaken it, and keep it from running. How are you going to deal with them?”

“Poison, some traps, and some improvisation.” I said. “They turned to me for help, if there’s anyone else nearby they’ll probably arrive around the same time as I.” He grimaced, and I found myself chuckling. Most of the farmhands had come to terms with the fact that I was human, if augmented.

The farm was quite a ways away, across an ill defined border that neither nation cared about. The reason being the hostility of the native wildlife, which in turn restricted most nations to city states or slightly better. That meant that Stoneward, which Soren belonged to, was actually one of the larger nations, with one capital, one city, five farms and two villages.

I made my way to the farm that had sent the missive, Hnivon, belonging to a group called the Arei. The mobilization of the armies had been universal, a pact drawn up and agreed upon that they would unite for the demonic threat.

I was greeted by the farmer of the village, and quickly outlined the information they knew about the ogre. It had come during the night two days before, feasting on one of their cows before it was noticed, and took the carcass with it. None of the farmhands had attempted to stop it or follow it, which was understandable, an ogre was not to be trifled with. I watched the trees as he spoke, wondering if the ogre would have moved on.

I doubted it though, ogres stayed close to easy meals, and if this one had never come across human settlements before then it would likely camp close by. Sense was likely going to be useless at the speeds this thing could traverse. Which meant traps, close to where the livestock were.

“What do you mean you can’t kill it today?” One of the farmhands asked, his voice raised and frustrated. He’d been the one to first sight the ogre, and had likely seen what it had done.

“I cannot fight it alone.” I said, he opened his mouth to interrupt, and my words became forceful. “And even with volunteers I cannot guarantee that we’d be able to kill it, only drive it off for a while.” My voice lowered again as he shut up. “I have an idea for some traps, but they’ll take time to make. We can’t afford to make it wary with second rate methods.”

His face showed mixed emotions, as did the other farmhands. The army had likely dealt with it far more quickly, but I was only one man. Most of them settled to resigned, but the one who spoke up veered into defiant, then uncomfortably neutral. One to watch?

I asked them for construction materials, the sun had already passed the midday position, I’d need their help to make the trap quickly. A few pitched in, while the others cared for the animals, saddled with the knowledge that they still could not yet protect them. I cannibalized a pair of their doors for parts, alongside the planks they had for building. They could replace the door after it died.

I asked the farmhand for information on the ogre, taking care to make sure he gave me a good frame of reference. If he exaggerated and I didn’t manage to compensate, the changes to the design after tonight might be difficult. Night fell almost unnoticed by me, the lengthening shadows blending into the haze of design and work. I would apply some poison to it starting tomorrow if it didn’t come.

That night I lay against the roof, watching over the livestock. It would probably make another grab for the livestock tonight, its hunger once more driving it to the farm. It didn’t need to eat everyday, small ‘snacks’, like slimes, could sustain it for extended periods of time. They did however, have a preference for cattle. The night was cold, and the watching both boring and tiring. Not much sleep for me tonight. I thought. Hopefully I would be able to function on four hours of it.

In the dawn, I blearily instructed some of the farmhands to construct a flimsy barricade, mainly just planks stood up to lean against some upright poles. They were meant to hide activity behind them, in this case the digging of holes roughly fifty centimetres deep and square shaped. Around forty centimetres from the bottom, I asked for the sides of the hole to be extended.

I crashed on some hay, sleeping in the barn with my armour on. No worry about bedbugs at least, with how I’d sealed the armour. I awoke a few hours later, dragging myself up before going to check in on the work. They seemed to have mostly understood what I was attempting, good.

The component parts weren’t yet complete, I adjusted the size of the holes myself as I tried to match the accounts of the ogre against my trap. I was worried, if it didn’t fit properly, or the size was off, then the ogre would most definitely be wary, and having escaped, would be difficult to deal with. I puzzled on the issue as we took lunch.

“Have you seen any other of the irregulars around?” I asked the farmer, between bites of food. They made some very nice stew.

“No, most of them wander about, impossible to contact.” He replied. “You are the only one I know of who has a known residence.”

I sighed. Why can’t it ever be easy… It didn’t matter, one job at a time.