As John gathered provisions in the warehouse for the trip, he could hear a hammer in the blacksmith nearby. He didn’t know if it was Nigel or Ivan, but he suspected it was his friend. He’d barely left the building since they’d built it. He walked around the corner and saw the building. It was open on two sides and had a storage room in the back. The cool morning area blew in from the east. Where the building stood was probably the highest point within the walls. I bet that’s nice, considering how hot it has to get in there. I can already feel the heat, he said to himself as he walked up to the building.

Inside, Ivan was pouring molten iron into a long mould. Probably a shaft for the sawmill. He stood watching his friend for a few minutes.

When Ivan quit to wipe his forehead, John spoke. “Morning Ivan. What the hell time do you start in here?”

“Ha! Early John, early.” He walked over to a table and took a drink of water. He eyed John’s bags. “Headed on a trip? And without me?”

“That’s actually why I’m here. I’m going to check out the mountains to the south, do some exploring. What to come along?”

“Nah. But thanks. Lots to do here. Maybe Vee’ll go. Monty is too engrossed in the fields to go either. But I bet she will,” the big man replied as he wiped his brow.

“Had to ask,” responded John, smiling yet disappointed. “I’ll ask Vee. She’s gotta be bored guarding all day. And training. Of course though, I think she likes beating on the new recruits.”

Ivan laughed. “That she does. And she’s damn good at it too. Hate to cut ya short, but I gotta get this done. Another shaft broke yesterday. Once we get them all replaced we’ll start on the flour mill. Then the gates, then and then and then. Too much work!” he yelled, still laughing. “But I love it! I was born for this!” He picked up some large tongues. “Now get out. Go do your adventurin’!” He shooed John out.

John retreated, bags in hand. He headed south to the training area. More than likely that’s where he’d find Vee beating on some of the recruits. And just like he thought, she was. Vee stood fighting two opponents. They each held a sword and shield, and she wielded a spear, of course made of wood.

As he watched as he got closer, she successfully got within their guard multiple times most likely causing multiple bruises. Again and again the recruits tried to tag-team her to no avail. She swatted their attacks away like flies and would whack them on the head or back, sometimes even tripping them.

When he got close, John clapped drawing their attention. “Not bad guys, not bad at all. She’s a tough cookie to fight.” The comment evoked a couple raised eyebrows but John paid it no mind.

He helped the one up she’d just tripped. “Gotta steal your trainer for a moment.” The man nodded and went to fight with the other trainee.

John walked over to Vee. “Want to go south with me today? I’m going to check out the mountains. Maybe kill some things.”

Vee cocked her head. “You know what. Yea. I would. Not that I don’t mind beatin’ on these here folks, but a good old adventure’ll do me good. Let me get my things, and I’ll meet ya at the gate in ten.” She slapped him on the shoulder and took off at a run to get her gear.

“Okay then,” he said quietly. He walked to the stable, retrieved two horses, and waited at the gate for her to arrive. While he waited, he chatted with the guard on duty and asked him to relay to Drew that they may be gone a day or two but hopefully they’d be back by evening.

Vee quickly arrived packed to the gills. She carried a spear and had a shield strapped to her back. “Ready! Let’s get this show on the road!” she hollered as she strapped her bag to the horse.

Together they rode south toward the Verdant Forest and the mountains.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Drew sat on the ground. In front of him were six cubes of dirt he had made. They were cubes in the vaguest sense. During the process, he noted that each one took between 12 and 16 mana to create. It was hard to tell without a stopwatch, but he felt that each successive creation took a little less time.

“So practicing can speed up the process. It can help create better results. But now I need to see if practicing also reduces the amount of mana needed. I’ll make six more each hour for the next few hours and then compare,” he said to himself as he wrote the results in the notepad.

His next experiment was using the spell Harden. He knew watching the screen would lessen his concentration on the cube, but he wanted to see how much mana was used to harden something. As he cast the spell, he watched the screen and the cube out of the corner of his eye. His mana decreased by two every second for eight seconds for a total of 16. The cube didn’t just crack this time; it crumbled.

“Well that was disheartening,” he again said to himself looking at the pile of dirt.

The next two he again watched the screen. His mana still went down by two each second, but the total time varied each time. He looked at the cubes. “If I had to guess, it’s because they’re not all the same size. And that actually makes sense for once. It would take longer to draw the moisture out of something bigger. It also stands to reason that that’s why it took a varied amount to make them in the first place.”

With the last three, he focused solely on the cube. He tried drawing the water out quickly which caused it to crumble. He exaggerated drawing it out which actually delivered some success. The cube was as hard as a rock, but after having looked at his screen, it had taken almost 60 mana to create. Not feasible. The last he stomped into the ground, frustrated.

He laid back in the grass trying to not let it bother him. He knew it would be work, and he really hadn’t been at it very long. “At lunch, I'll talk to Saul. See what he knows. Maybe he’s got some insights.”

When he thought it had been an hour, he made another six cubes. This time, he tried to make them all the same shape and size. The first couple looked like cubes with bulging sides, not straight at all. But as he progressed, he could visibly see a difference in them. The sides became straighter, if even a little. The edges and corners were more crisp. Each of the six had taken 12 mana to create.

“Well that’s some progress. And while I couldn’t tell if it went faster, they definitely look more like cubes.” He picked the last one up and looked at it. It was about one foot square. “Definitely improved,” he said, smiling.

Next he worked on Harden. He grabbed the first cube. He cast the spell and watched the cube dry up and crack in about six seconds. He tossed it over his shoulder. “Damn spell,” he grumbled to himself. He did the same on each, drawing the water out either faster or slower. Too fast and they not only cracked but crumbled. Too slow and they were hard but cost too much mana. “What the hell am I doing wrong? Ugh!” He laid back in the grass.

He was interrupted by a voice. “Mind if I join you?” asked Katelyn who was standing near him in the grass.

Drew promptly sat up. “Oh. Yea. Yes of course.” He patted the grass next to him.

“You look frustrated. I saw you throw something in disgust as I walked here.”

“Yea. I’ve been practicing these spells, and I’m getting better. It’s just not going as well as I’d like, you know?” His mouth was in a thin line.

She scooted closer to him and smiled. “It’s not going to happen overnight Drew. Mages study for years before they master a spell. Don’t let it get you down because you haven’t perfected something in a few days,” she insisted, as she laid her head on his shoulder.

He sighed. “I guess. Thanks for that. Trying to make me feel better. I’m glad you came,” His pursed lips turned into a grin.

Drew put his arm around her and laid back; Katelyn fell with him into the crook of his arm. They laid together in the tall grass.

“I could stay here forever,” Drew said, he thought to himself.

Katelyn chuckled, causing Drew to stiffen. “Me too. Me too.”

An unknown amount of time later, Drew sat up when he heard a noise. They had laid so long he didn’t notice the people working on the wall were headed into the village. Saul was with them. “It’s almost time for lunch Kate.” He paused. “Um. Can I call you that? Kate?”

She opened one eye as she sat up, still groggy. Then she smiled. “I like it Drew. Yes you can call me Kate.”

“C’mon Kate. Let’s go get some lunch hm? I want to talk to Saul. Maybe he’ll know what I’m doing wrong.” He stood and reached out for her. She grabbed his hand, and he helped her up.

While holding hands, they jogged to catch up to the man. “Hey Saul! I need your help!” Drew yelled, causing the man to stop and turn to him.

“Oh? With what? Not having much luck with your spells?” Saul replied. “I’ve been watching you work on them. Until Katelyn arrived that is,” he said, smirking.

Drew blushed. “Yea basically. Creating things is getting a little easier. But Harden just isn’t working for me. No matter what I do. I need to pick your brain,” begged Drew.

Saul took a step back, horrified. “Y-you. You need to do what to me?” He took another step back.

Drew slapped himself on the forehead. “I’m sorry. It’s just a saying. It means I need your input, your help, on how to use the spells better. Sorry,” he replied with a grim smile.

“Oh. Okay then. Yea. Let’s eat lunch and you can ask me some questions.” Saul’s constant sideways glances to Drew didn’t go unnoticed as the group walked to the commonhall.

They sat at a table eating the daily meal cooked by Karmen and her help.

“Delicious as always. I don’t know how she does it,” mumbled Drew, his mouth full of food.

Saul replied, his mouth equally full. “I agree. It has to be a skill.”

“It’s the herbs she uses. And she has a skill that improves quality,” added Katelyn, smiling. “You should talk to her sometime. She’s nice.”

Drew grumbled, “Not to me.” The other two laughed.

Drew sat back in his chair after having finished. He groaned at being over full, but couldn’t wait any longer to ask his questions. “So Saul,” he began, “no matter what I do with Harden, the dirt cracks, falls apart, or it just takes too long using too much mana. When did you have your breakthrough with it? I need help!”

Saul took a drink to wash down his food before he answered. “To be honest, it took me quite a while. It wasn’t until I was on a beach that it finally hit me. Let me guess, you’re trying to pull the water out all at once, right?” Drew nodded. “ With no success either unless you go so slow it’s not worth it.” Again, Drew nodded.

“Well, I was on a beach near the academy in the capital of Aerfold. It sits on the Bay of Valmore that joins into the Unending Ocean. I wasn’t exactly on a break, but the lapping water calmed me. It helped me meditate. I was watching the waves ebb and flow. That’s when I saw it. It finally hit me.” He paused to take a drink.

“Well. What was it?” Drew asked, pressuring him to finish.

Saul smiled. “As I watched the water recede back into the ocean, I noticed the sand. Where the water had reached, the sand was slowly drying, or seemed to be, as if the water was being pulled back into the ocean behind the wave. I watched another wave come, and the same thing happened. The water would slowly recede leaving wet sand that eventually dried in the sun.”

“So what was the inspiration?” Drew asked, interrupting him.

“I’m getting there. Patience Drew,” replied Saul, causing Drew to purse his lips. “I picked up some wet sand, and I watched as the water drained from the top slowly drying it. It was then I realized. Don’t pull all the moisture at once. Slowly drain it out like I’d seen happen. So that’s what I did. I ran back to the academy. I created a perfect cube of dirt on the ground. Slowly, starting at the top, I pulled the water through like I had seen when I watched the sand. And it worked! It actually worked! I had been failing for so long trying to dry it quickly that I didn’t even think about trying it another way. Well, it worked!”

Drew sat, enthralled in what Saul had said. “Amazing. Thank you Saul. Thank you so much,” responded Drew, a huge smile on his face. He quickly stood. “With this information, I know I’ll succeed. I’m going to try it out right now!” Saul smiled and waved him off.

Drew turned to walk away, then stopped. “You coming Kate?” he asked, grinning from ear to ear. He put out his hand, and she gladly took it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

John and Vee were at the treeline. They tied their horses up using some rope with enough length the animals could move around some.

John stood with his hands on his hips looking into the Forest. It was dark under the canopy, not pitch black, but barely any light made it through. He took out a hooked sword and began chopping as they made their way through the trees.

They traveled about an hour before Vee asked, “About how much farther do you think it is? He said it was a five hour trip, but they walked. We should be getting close. If we could just see through these darn trees!”

John sighed. “Yea. I feel the same. But I think we’re close or at least we should be. If we didn’t have to hack our way through like we are, we’d probably be there already. This damn underbrush is terrible.”

She snickered. “You ain’t a kiddin’. Completely untamed out here. I love it!” she shouted.

John gave her a look. “You know, if we were going to find anything to hunt, you’ve already driven it away with how loud you talk? Drew reminded me of that once.” She wrinkled her nose at his comment. She smiled and made the zipper motion across her lips making John chuckle.

It wasn’t much longer before a little more light began to peak through the trees. John quickened his pace and punched through the last few trees out into the clearing at the base of the mountains.

He craned his neck. “Wow. Even if we aren’t that far away from them in the village, the view doesn’t do it justice. How tall do you think they are? I can’t remember at what elevation trees quit, but there’s definitely some snow up top.”

Vee said nothing, only looked at John. John gave her a look, like really Vee? She smiled. “I guess you don’t mind if I talk now?” she answered, chuckling. “I don’t remember either. Ten thousand? Doesn’t matter. They’re tall.” She pointed to the west. “It’s barely noon, give or take. Let’s head for that boulder and eat some lunch. I’m starving!”

“Okay. Lead the way.” He bowed and motioned for her to lead.

About 15 minutes later, they were seated on the boulder eating sandwiches. John thought about what Stanley had said, that they’d seen many animals on their trip here. John and Vee had seen none.

“Do you think it’s odd that we haven’t heard or seen any evidence of animals here?” asked John as his eyes scanned the trees. “Stanley said they saw quite a few.”

“Now that you mention it, yea. I was too preoccupied in the Forest to notice, but yea. It’s eerily quiet here.” She squinted, also eying the trees.

“Let’s not linger. We’ll go a little farther west, then backtrack east and go that way.” He drew one of his swords and held it as he stood. He hopped down from the boulder, waited for Vee, and they began to walk.

It wasn’t long before John felt uneasy. He slowed his pace to get next to Vee. “Something’s watching us. Don’t look. In the trees. Whatever it is is keeping parallel to us. I’m going to speed up a little; I want to see if it keeps pace.”

And it did. As they sped up, whatever it was kept pace with them in the trees. John subtly nodded to a small group of large rocks not too far away. On cue, they took off at a full run.

By the time they reached it, Vee had her shield off her back. They crouched behind it, even with the rocks, so they could still see the treeline in both directions.

“They’ve stopped directly across from us.”

“They? There’s more than one?”

“At least two. I wasn’t able to identify what it was.”

“Well shit. We can’t stay here forever.”

“No, but we’re safer here at the moment than in the trees. We wait. If we have to, we try to draw them out.”

They waited. And waited. They moved farther behind the stones to draw out whatever hid in the trees.

It worked. John had crawled above the rocks out of sight. He finally caught a glimpse of one of the creatures.

“Shit. Ogres. Level 21 and 18. Not kids this time.” Thwack! Chips of stone flew off the rocks near his head. John ducked. “And they have slings. Great.” John crawled back down and got behind Vee’s shield.

“Just two still?” she asked, gripping her spear tighter. Twang! Another rock hit her shield.

“At least. They’ve got us-” Twang! Twang! John was interrupted by more rocks hitting her shield. Twang!

John chanced a look over Vee’s shield. His eyes widened. “Brace!!” he screamed in her ear. Years of training kicked in as she planted her feet. An Ogre was barreling towards them just feet away. The rocks had been a distraction.

It slammed into Vee full force. And while she slid back a foot or so, she didn’t falter. The Ogre, dazed, quickly recovered and grabbed the top of her shield trying to pull it away.

John slammed the flat part of his sword against the Ogre’s hands causing it to release the shield.

Vee stood to full height, shield at the ready and spear in hand. John stood behind right, now wielding both swords.

Having lost the element of surprise, the Ogre backed up and stood a mere ten feet away. Behind him, three more stood another dozen feet away holding slings.

“Shit,” John said under his breath. “The others are 17 and 18 in levels. We can do this.”

“I know. Like we practiced. I’ll hold them the best I can. You pick ‘em off.” She took a deep breath, then another. “In five. We advance quick. Take out this goon first.”

He counted to five in his head and together they sprinted forward catching the nearest Ogre off guard. She slammed her shield into him causing him to tumble to the ground. John was ready. He pierced the Ogre through his neck, green blood pouring forth as it twitched on the ground.

Twang! Twang! Two rocks hit her shield, but the third hit Vee in her shin causing her to stumble and yelp in pain. But luckily she wore leather greaves; they’d taken away some of the damage.

She fought through and regained her stride and headed for the middle Ogre. She raised her spear and drove it through its shoulder. It staggered back and snarled. She yanked her weapon out and spun it in the air, slamming the shaft into the shoulder of the one on the left. The one she’d stabbed grabbed the spear and wrestled it from her grip. She quickly unsheathed her sword. In a downward motion, she sliced off the lower portion of its uninjured arm causing it to howl in pain and back away.

John wasn’t idle. While Vee fought the two on the left, John engaged the one on the right. It snapped its teeth at him. Spittle flew everywhere. Its dagger-like nails gleamed in the sunlight.

It lunged at John. He blocked by crossing his swords. He kicked the Ogre in the stomach causing it to double over in pain. John swung his sword down to decapitate it, but to his surprise, the Ogre stood, snarling, and caught the sword. They wrestled for a moment, green blood coating the blade.

The Ogre again snapped at John with its razor-sharp teeth and slashed with his free hand. Each time, John would spin with the Ogre as if dancing. It still held the blade and refused to relent.

John let go of the sword the Ogre held, confusing it. He gripped his other sword with both hands and sliced the Ogre across its right shoulder. It howled in pain as blood ran down its arm. It still held the sword John had released by the blade; it obviously didn’t know how to wield it.

John didn’t relent. While it was distracted with the pain in its arm, he swung the sword horizontally and cut the Ogre across the stomach. Its innards began to spill out. A look of shock crossed the Ogre’s face. John grinned as he sliced halfway through its neck with another horizontal swing. It promptly fell to the ground.

“Tough bugger,” John grumbled to himself. “Must be the level.”

He shook his head, picked up his sword, and ran to Vee. A third Ogre laid at her feet. It had multiple stab wounds over its body. Vee also sported a few injuries. It had scored a few scrapes on her arm, and blood dripped from above her eye.

“You alright,” he asked. She nodded in response.

“Where’s the other?” hee asked as he put his hand on her shoulder.

“It ran. It won’t make it far. It lost part of its arm, and it’s bleeding from its shoulder,” she managed to say as she wiped away the blood with her sleeve.

“We can’t risk it. It may be heading to a camp and more Ogres.” Not waiting for Vee, John took off at a run. He followed the green blood on the rocks into the trees. Vee, while out of breath, managed to follow him in.

Once they were in the Forest, they were no longer able to follow its blood trail. But it made plenty of noise for them to track. A howl cut through the air. John changed directions and made a beeline towards it.

Another howl, this one closer. John again adjusted course towards the sound.

One more howl, nearly a breath away. John rounded a tree and saw the Ogre leaning against another. It let out another howl as it fell to the ground.

“Got you, you piece of shit,” John said through gritted teeth as he stabbed the sword into the side of its head, ending its life.

Vee caught up. Blood still trickled from the cut, but somewhere along the way she managed to partially stop the bleeding. “Glad we got it. You were right. If it got back to a camp, we could have-”

A howl.

Then a scream.

Then another. And another. Then it became a chorus.

John paled. He turned to Vee.

“Run!” he yelled. But he didn’t move. Instead he looked around. He’d gotten mixed up in directions. “Shit! Which way is north!”

“That way!” Vee pointed. They took off at a full sprint. They changed directions to head a little east towards the horses.

Behind them, the howls and screams increased. They didn’t get closer, but they didn’t get farther either.

“They’re chasing us. Damnit shit!” John yelled as they continued to run.

They ran for almost an hour before they finally reached the northern edge of the Forest. The screaming behind them hadn’t lessened any.

They took off east following the trees in search of their horses. After running for a few minutes, they saw them still tied where they had been.

When they arrived, they quickly untied them. They cut the bags to lessen the load and took off north as fast as the horses could go.

The trip to the Forest had taken almost two hours. The trip to the bridge back took about an hour and a half.

When they reached the bridge, John screamed at the guards. “Three horns! Now! Ogres! Bar the gate once we’re through! Stay here only until they are sighted, and then blow the horn again. Then make like hell to the village!”

The guard’s jaw dropped. He fumbled with the horn. But then the horn sounded three times.

John and Vee flew to the village. He glanced back and saw the guards barring the gate. They readied their horses and went back into the tower, ready to warn the village and flee if needed.

“Shit shit shit,” John grumbled to himself as he turned back around. Then he heard the horn from the village sound three times. “That better just be repeating the warning.”