"The roads are becoming more and more dangerous, after the last failed military campaign The distrust in our government has increased exponentially. Deserters and Draft dodgers populate the wild and attack merchant caravans with their Bandit gangs, I lost 3 out of 4 caravans in the last few months, the price for Armed guards is increasing same as the prices for goods. I'm in red numbers and i don't know how long i can hold. Usury is on the rise and every other day the City Watch find someone ether stabbed or frozen to death on the streets. My father told me about this times from back in the old continent. a revolution is starting to boil from the lower streets, they can only keep silent for so long.

I wonder how long the City Watch will stay loyal when their payment starts to come late or short. We can only pray that we are on the victorious side when the sand castle crumbles under its own weight."

- Diary of Albert Bronzetip. Fur trader of Letterport

Jack woke up with a headache, after touching his forehead he groaned as waves of sharp pain circled his entire cranium. The place where he smashed against the bark of the tree was now a purple mass the size of a duck egg, it was swollen and it gave him waves of palpitating pain with every hearth beat.

He checked his vision and concluded that he definitely had a concussion, but after standing without problems he ruled out long lasting brain damage. He saw the dead body of the Owlbear near where his brother was kneeling, one spear shaft embed on its side and a broken one protruding from its front. Bosco came running with his tongue hanging to the side before he licked his own face, it was covered in what now was coagulated blood from the bear, it seems like the dog did some damage to the beast.

"You ok?" Jack asked his brother who was still breathing heavily next to the now dead monster. it was smaller than he remembered, maybe it shrunk down a little bit after dying or maybe it just seemed much bigger when standing and threatening them with certain death.

"Yes" Brandon said while laying down on his back and forcing himself to breath slowly to calm down "i think so" concluded after patting his body a few times checking that everything was still in place.

"Alright. give me a hand" Jack was pulling the beast's hind legs, he put one over his shoulder and waited for his brother to take the other one

"Just try to pull it near the cliff, don't want any random monsters coming and snatching the corpse away before we have the chance to collect any usable materials." said jack before pulling with all his strength. it took them almost 5 minutes to move the corpse away enough from the forest edge so they deemed it safe. with each step his forehead shot strong waves of pain going from his head down his neck. after releasing the beast he sat down and layed against the cliff's side

"I should not sleep since I hit my head" exhausted but still with the will to survive. he need to rest for a few minutes before getting back on his feet. Brandon meanwhile retrieved the two spears that where stuck inside the Owlbear's carcass and brought them to where Jack was sitting

"This one still looks fine" Said Brandon while showing Jack's spear "but mine one is totally fucked" the stone spear that shattered was a total mess, the blade was broken beyond repair and the shaft resembled the shape of a blossoming flower, only instead of petals it was made of splinted wood.

"We have to gut it. the meat will spoil if we don't." Jack got up and took out his bayonet from his boot, after cutting the beast's neck to blood it they both pushed the beast on its side and jack started to cut the belly of the beast open, he cut around the gonads and was careful to not pierce the bladder, while Brandon kept the cavity open jack retrieved the entrails of the beast. he felt a "pop" but ignored it, he was getting used to this madness now. they dragged the intestines deep down in to the forest to not attract any other hungry beast they quickly returned to their makeshift camp.

"Leave the body there, for now we need to rest, if by tomorrow we don't find water we will probably die from dehydration" Last time jack was this tired was back in boot camp. he cursed his luck as he feed a couple of extra branches to the fire.

"I know its a bad idea but i need to sleep, wake me up in a few hours, and check on me periodically, i don't think my head injury is that bad but you never know" Jack layed down and fell asleep on his side quickly after

Brandon was worried about his brother but he could not do anything about it, for now he sat against the cliff and tried to rest, the adrenaline had worn off and his muscles now felt sore, dried out blood from the Owlbear coated his arms. he had his brother's spear in his hands, he trusted at the air a few times as if slaying some invisible beast only to give up his daydreaming. he closed his eyes and tried to focus. deep down he felt something rumbling inside of him like an ocean of fire, located where the energy surged after the Owlbear died. it coated his insides, it made him feel powerful, he noted how that energy was present inside his body, how it coated everything, the further away from the center the thinner it was but it was still there, he tried to move it without success, he decided to work with the flow, his breathing became slower, on pace with his heath beats, he managed to fuse with the energy, it coated him with a pure raging fire but he was not burning, far from it, he felt like if he was floating, without form, ever changing, like flame.

"Wake up" hiss eyes snapped open, it was morning, he was sure he did not feel asleep, it was definitely more like a trance, he was still embarrassed that he let himself go but he was not going to cry over spilled milk. Some things can not be undone.

"You remember that last blue screen?" asked Jack to his brother while looking at the woods in front of them

"Yes..." Brandon was confused but played along

"Say "status" out loud" ordered Jack.

Brandon realized something was weird about his brother, the big swell in his forehead was completely gone, only a small reddish patch of skin suggested he was hurt last night

"s... Status" Brandon hesitated for a second only to his eyes open up as wide as plates

Brandon Callahan Age: 24 Race: Terran (Human variant) Status: Dehydrated Level: 3

Titles: Aprentice Scholar(+2 Int +2Wis)

Restless one(-2h of sleep neded each day to be fully rested)

Stats Status modifier Strenght: 12(+2) -2 Agility: 9 -2 Constitution: 11(+2) -4 Dexterity: 15(+4) -2 Inteligence: 18(+6) -1 Wisdom: 20(+6) -0 Willpower: 10 -3 Perception: 8 -1 Charisma: 9 -1 Unasigned Status points 2 skills Advanced Literacy: Level 8 (+4 Int, +4 Wis) Intermediate Brawling: Level 3 (+2 Str, +2 Con) Advanced Carpentry : Level 5 (+4 Dex) Begginer Flint Knapping: Level 2 Begginer Weapon Crafting: Level 1 Begginer Spear Mastery: Level 1 Begginer Woodsman: Level 1

"What the fuck" Brandon exlamed still petrified by this turn of events.

"Right?" Answered Jack with a half smile on his face.