A Record of Ash & Ruin: The Grieving Lands

Book 2: Chapter 3: Preparation

In the realm of the sword, where life and death dance upon the edge of a blade, hesitation is the birthplace of failure. The path of the sword demands swift action, for in the heat of battle, a single moment's pause can be the difference between victory and demise.

Just as water flows unhindered, so must the warrior's mind be unshackled from the chains of doubt. As the sword moves effortlessly through the air, the spirit must mirror this fluidity. In this way, success can be attained through harmony between body and spirit, for when these two elements become one, the warrior has attained the Living Sword.

- The Living Sword by Fen Vaigorus circa 520 AC.

I awoke well before the darkness of the night gave way to the simply dark grays of the cool forest morning. What little light that filtered through the branches was a poor facsimile for true daylight. Kidu and Elwin had already started to break camp as I awoke from my bedroll. My body, as I got up, was initially stiff due to sleeping in an uncomfortable position in full battle dress.

“Morning there, sleepyhead,” chirped Elwin. His morning energy grated a little against my nerves. It was far too early in the day for me to fake the usual pleasantries.

Looking at him through sleepy eyes and unkempt hair, I grunted before mumbling a semblance of good morning to both members of my party. Kidu was already seeing to Patches, checking various straps and feeding her from a bag full of grain and oats supplemented with slightly shriveled heads of Snap-Honey.

“We will make quick progress today I think. Ah, what a boon you are! This creature is most useful,” Kidu exclaimed, ruffling Patches’ mane causing her to bray in affection.

“Yes, I was fortunate to find her when I did. With her to carry our things we should be able to travel a little faster. And, the quicker we travel, the quicker we collect the River Root and Lurker hide the faster we can return and collect our due coin,” I replied, slowly getting up to my feet. Elwin then resignedly saw to my bedroll.

“Right noisy lad you are, mumbling all the time you were asleep, you know,” stated Elwin as he finished packing my bedroll. Once done, he loaded it up onto Patches, alongside the rolled-up heavy hide of the Karilla.

I took a swill of some water and began to eat some Laur-jerky, feeling inexplicably manlier as I chewed on the tough, dry meat. It was easy going as we moved from the campsite along the path carved out the previous night by Kidu’s flashing spear. I was fully refreshed, so I found the going easier, with my armor feeling more comfortable about my frame. Also, just as Kidu predicted, we made good time through the trees.

Eventually, the giants gave way to normal-sized trees and, as daylight filtered down ever stronger, the sound of running water could be heard in the distance. Unconsciously, my companions and I picked up our pace, eager to finish off our mission in the great forest. In due course, we sighted the rapidly flowing river and we began to be more cautious now in our approach as we neared the possible location of the River Root and Lurkers.

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The Hunter tested the wind and then crouched low while he made his way through the undergrowth, after signaling for us to stop. A slight breeze was blowing in my face and, squinting my eyes, I could just make out what looked like a collection of wide, almost unmoving, leafy green plates on the surface of the swift water.

My interest was piqued and I hissed to my companions in a quiet voice, “That the River Root we seek?”

“Yes,” they both said at almost the same time, giving each other a look before Elwin allowed Kidu to explain, “That is the River Root, but we must harvest the roots at the bottom of the river. The river runs quickly but, luckily, it is shallow here, I am sure. Also, look there,” said the Hunter, pointing at what looked like logs in the water along the shore, before continuing, “A bask of young male River Lurkers have made this their gathering. We are lucky that a grandfather of the water is not with them.”

Just then, one of the “logs” opened its mouth in a great yawn, displaying a shocking array of yellowed sharp teeth. Elwin visibly paled at the sight and he nervously adjusted the strap to his cheap pot helm.

Intrigued, I decided to cast an Identify at the logs, hoping to gauge a measure of our upcoming challenge.

River Lurker - (Lizard lvl.8) Health 146/148 Stamina 42/44

Mana 3/3

I surmised that the creatures before me were reasonably tough and strong, from their corresponding Health and Stamina. Predictably, being reptilian, their abysmally low Mana was a good indication that they were of a lesser intellect. Idly, I wondered if and when my Identify spell would improve.

“How should we go about this business?” I asked them as I searched their faces for their reactions, trying to hide a smile as confidence filled me.

“We need to fight the gathering one at a time, or at least in smaller groups. It would be a quick death if we fight them in the water. We must lure them out and fight them deeper on land. My bow should lead the way”, offered Kidu.

I looked to Elwin in case he had anything to add. The Rogue just flippantly shrugged his shoulders and commented, “We’ve come this far, the loons that we are, sure why not? Let’s go stir up a gathering of River Lurkers, run around and have the big man shoot at them.”

Looking at my companions in turn, I tapped into a little of my newfound bravery. Our victory against the Karilla buoyed my confidence and lent authority to my voice as I outlined our objectives, “To gather the River Root we will need to kill all of the River Lurkers within the vicinity. We will lure them one or two at a time, with Kidu’s bow,” this drew a grunt of approval from the wildman before I continued, “into the range of my magic. Then I will do my best to weaken them as much as possible before we finish them up close. Once engaged in the melee, l will try to keep their attention, and while they are focused on me, the pair of you will attack their flanks.”

Elwin looked nervous before he questioned my plan, “And what happens if we draw more than one of their numbers? Like the whole bloody gathering of hungry monsters!?”, he said, with a certain shrill tone entering his voice.

“Then we run into the forest. The undergrowth will slow them down, and if the white winds come then we climb the trees,” answered the big man, with notes of amusement winding their way through his delivery.

I placed a hand on Elwin’s shoulder, seeking to add a measure of comfort and stiffen the Rogue’s backbone a little. “We will decide upon a rallying point in case we are forced to retreat. Have no fear, Mr. Tucker. We have come so far, and just think of the rewards when we finish this simple job.”, I added, and the worry lines on his face faded a little. His concerns were temporarily assuaged.

“I guess you’re right. Came this far already. Just a few big lizards between me and a delicious warm meal, a warm bed, and perhaps a warm woman”, he said, trying to convince himself, as he bowed to our peer pressure before concluding, “I am still a little beat from all of this marching about the woods, I would suggest a little rest before we take on these monsters.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” I nodded to him as I removed my hand from his shoulder but not before giving it a quick squeeze of reassurance. Elwin’s consistent cowardice was slowly growing irksome.

In good time, we cut ourselves another path to a small clearing and then prepared the ground for tomorrow, scaring and intimidating the local wildlife. Kidu dug simple pitfalls in places, lining the bottom with sharpened stakes. I was constantly scanning the undergrowth for potential enemies, as my nerves were strung tight. Elwin was drafted to assist Kidu, constantly complaining that he would prefer to be on watch. With almost military precision, my companions set up camp for the night, almost silent in their preparation, only exchanging words when absolutely necessary. Feeling a little useless, I patrolled a good distance around our chosen campsite with my hand on the haft of my weapon as twilight stole over the forest.

I returned once they had set up a good-sized fire, its blaze providing true warmth and light as night proper claimed the forest. In time, the daytime calls and song were replaced by the evening sounds of the forest. We gathered around the fire to confirm and discuss our plans for the next day. Our rallying point was to be a large tree, perhaps two hundred yards from the bank of the river, with easily climbable branches. It would be easy to notice, as we had made a great many slashes about its trunk. The trees and undergrowth leading up to it, too, were slashed with our weapons, to be our guideposts in case of an ignominious retreat.

Once again, I volunteered for the first two watches, as I wanted to be alone with my thoughts, and to be honest I wanted the chance to experiment. My mind turned to the ridiculous situation that I found myself in. I had returned to the city where I had been enslaved, only to join a guild of Adventurers to get a measure of protection. Now I sought to earn a living by completing difficult and dangerous requests. A powerful noblewoman of the city was also somewhere out there, planning my demise, as was the way of the rich and the powerful. Looking at my predicament somewhat objectively, I had to fight from laughing in hysteria.

The old me would have simply lacked the imagination to come up with such a ridiculous scenario, which was a far cry from my comfortable and safe old life. What surprised me were my own reserves of mental strength that came from overcoming adversity. The me of yesterday would have been wallowing in self-pity and ineffectually railing against the injustices of the world. In this rough and visceral world, I had to play the hand which I had been dealt. Perhaps it was this element of true struggle that had been missing from modern life - the razor path at the edge of the abyss that made everything more precious. I found that my life here, despite all the dangers and pain, was growing more real to me than the world I had left behind.

These thoughts of the past spurred me to try and enter the meditative state that I had gained during my initial incarceration in Ansan. I was shocked as I found that memories of my past life, my past world, had grown distant. Details that were once so clear were still present, somewhere, but for the moment out of reach of my questing mind. Something smothered the shock of the discovery, a state of forgetfulness akin to acceptance. That world was a faraway place across the infinite reach of space and time. I would find no further gains in power from the memories of my previous life.

My mind was brought jarringly to the present and I noticed that our campfire had dimmed a little. I quickly added some more fuel to the fire before settling down again to my watch.

I experimented with the Drain spell against what I thought of as a ‘normal’ tree, but the mana gained from the unsuspecting flora was a mere pittance against the cost of the spell so I quickly ended it. Like a faithful and eager hound, Entropic Aura came to the fore of my mind, begging to be used and unleashed, but I fought against the temptation. With nothing to do, and unsure of the passage of time, I patrolled around the clearing, making sure to stay in the range of the fire’s light.

I nearly panicked when a moth-like creature landed on my face, its ghost-white wings vanishing into the night as I swiped at my helm, hands clanking against the visor. The creature settled on a nearby tree, its milky form contrasting with the darkness. In a flash of pettiness and annouyance, I threw two knives using the Double Throw skill, much more deftly than anticipated. One silvery blade missed, thudding into the tree, while the other sliced the creature across its thorax before embedding in the wood.

You have slain ??? 1 experience gained.

Barely worth the effort, I thought to myself, in greater annoyance, as I retrieved my knives and checked the blades before placing them once more into their sheathes. Only a few more of those blighters to go before I reached my next level, I thought grimly, before I completed my circuit and returned to the camp proper.

I sat at the fire before our donkey wandered over to my chosen spot and nuzzled my face, her equine eyes filled with affection. She settled down next to me, her body a barrier against the forest. Going through our general supplies, I found a sharpening stone and began the slow process of sharpening my knives. I found the uniform steady motions relaxing as the built-up stress of my many adventures were dealt with, one stroke at a time, to reach a razor finish.

In due course, the looming figure of Kidu gruffly relieved me of my watch, sending me off, back to my bedroll. Eager to restore my lost Mana, Health, and Stamina, I fell into a troubled sleep filled with dark skittering things and a world that was once mine.