Chương 11: Chapter 10

My head was on a swivel as I tried to take in as much of the world around us as I could. Which was to say, not a lot. The tall trees shielded the sky from us so all I could see was the grey blanket of the clouds above. The smell of pine needles and the earthy scent of exposed ground wafted through the air as the mounds of snow continued their fearful retreat from the warmer weather.

After finding that there was little else to see, and realising that this walk would not be particularly short, I decided it was time to implement my plan. I kept my eyes on my mother to see if she would react as I activated my Muffled Steps Skill. Like before, I sensed something odd swirling inside me near my stomach as a fuzzy feeling enveloped my feet. My mother didn't react in the slightest so I kept the Skill going. Around five minutes later the sensation sputtered to an end.

I felt tired, like I had spent another thirty minutes running circles in my room. Lethargy flowed through my veins like liquid sleep and I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and let dreams take me. Only the thought that falling asleep on my first adventure would have been positively shameful kept my baby eyes open. Instead, I pushed through, trying to activate my Skill again to no avail. Whatever that sensation of movement was within me, I had expended it all.

A quick glance at my Status isolated the likely culprit. My Aether Core had a rating of Minor. That didn't sound like a particularly good one to me. Five minutes of usage of a Minor Skill seemed pretty weak if I was being honest with myself. Especially since the usage hadn't increased the level of the Skill at all. While my initial results were depressing, I decided to focus on the other opportunities of this adventure. A chance to meet our somewhat distant neighbours.

After all, if it took over ten minutes to reach the first, just how far away were they? At a random point along the path my mother veered off into the trees, making sure to brush any branches out of our way. As we walked she pointed out things, like trees and bushes and named them for me. With the attention span of a child I quickly forgot about my displeasure with my lacking capability and started talking back to my mother.

"That is a Horndale pine," explained my mother as she pointed to a towering tree off to the side, its trunk three times as thick as the nearest tree.

"They're unique to the Horndale Mountains."

"Horndale pine," I repeated.

"Big!"

"That's right," she agreed.

"They are very big. They're logged on the lower slopes but they don't grow as big down there."

"Smaller?" I asked.

"Much smaller. They have less competition this high up the mountain. On the lower slopes other trees and plants fight with them for nutrients."

"Trees don't fight!" I stated.

"Just grow."

"Everything fights for its own survival, my sweet boy."

"Where go?"

"We are going to see some of the others who live up here in our small community, if you can call it that," replied his mother as she pushed another branch out of the way and led us between some tall standing grey rocks. Halfway through the small breach I heard a whomp sound and the ground shook slightly.

"Monster?" I asked worriedly. My mother laughed gently, "No. Just a friend." As we came out the other side, I found a large cottage waiting for us. Walls made of stone were capped with a roof of wood and green moss. To the side was a small fenced area with chickens, a few sheep, and some goats. Standing beside the fence was a mountain of a woman who carried a huge timber post balanced on her shoulder. I guessed that it must have weighed over a hundred kilos.

The woman casually dropped the piece of wood onto the ground where it made another whomp noise and shook the ground a second time. Next to the freshly dropped wood were two more pieces.

"Morning, Griselda," greeted my mother, announcing our arrival. Griselda's eyes flicked across to us, and I got my first good look at her. Specifically at how her jaw was more defined than I would've expected, even from such a mountain of a woman. She possessed black hair like wire tied back in a bun, and a pale green complexion. From my past life memories, I would have thought she had a somewhat orcish cast to her appearance.

She wore fur pants that looked warm along with a wooly coat that almost certainly came from the sheep behind her.

"That you, Penny?" Griselda called as she squinted at them.

"And this must be your boy. Cornelius mentioned him. What brings you a-calling this morning?"

"We have traders passing through. They were seeing if anyone wanted to trade or sell before they take their leave after lunch."

"Bit early in the season," Griselda mused.

"Suppose they're trying to get a jump on the other traders now that the snow is melting. Martin is up at his mine but I know the pieces he's looking to trade. What are they offering?" You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"They've got honey and meat from The Endless Plains' dungeon along with some furs and leather. Though they said they had coins to purchase with as well if you weren't looking to trade." Griselda nodded, reaching behind her to shoo away a goat that had stuffed its head through the fence and was trying to nip at her breeches.

"Who else are you intending to visit?" Griselda asked.

"Magatha, Hurin, George, and Kaylee. If one of them says no, I will also visit Teppei. The traders are paying me in honey, but only if I can bring at least four others to trade with them."

"Call it an hour then, before you get back? I'll finish fixing up this fence and meet you by the road with the others. Always better to approach as a group when it comes to these traders, rather than coming in ones and twos like we're beggars with our hands out." My mother offered her thanks, and we were off again. More walking lulled me to sleep despite my best efforts to the contrary. Between my early morning exercise, and my first extended use of my new Skill, I just couldn't keep my eyes open.

A short nap was all I got as a cavalcade of smells assaulted my nose. The house we approached this time was made entirely of wood, with bushes and trees woven throughout. The gentle puff of smoke sailed into the sky from a stone chimney. Surrounding the house was an extensive garden, filled with more colour than I had seen throughout our mountain walk. There had been a few flowers along our path with white or yellow petals, but this garden had reds, purples, and blacks alongside blues, pinks, and whites.

Small insects buzzed and hummed within the maze of plants in complete defiance of the rest of the mountain. Even the snow seemed less present here. Before we could get much closer, the door of the wooden house slammed open. I was expecting some old crone to come stomping out, cane in hand, one eyeball bigger than the other, screaming bloody murder. Instead, a young woman barely older than my mother stepped through the door, with hair like the yellow flowers that decorated the garden and piercing green eyes.

She wore a woolen dress the colour of old cream that sported fresh dirt stains no doubt from the garden.

"Penny, darling, have you finally come to learn how to solve your problems the proper way? Well, despite the rumours, I don't trade in newborns so your little lad will need to be taken home first."

"Magatha," greeted my mother with an amused smile on her face.

"I see you're as subtle as ever. I won't be joining you in your nude dancing beneath the moon."

"You cannot blame a girl for trying," Magatha countered with a friendly grin.

"Well, if we're not to consummate my undying affection for you, what brings you to my home?"

"Traders passing through. They're at the outpost till lunch time. Looking to trade or buy from us poor mountainfolk. They've got honey, meat, furs, leathers, and alchemicals from The Endless Plains' dungeon. Coin too, if you've got what they want."

"My dear, I have what everyone wants. A situation you likely know as well," Magatha replied with a wry smirk.

"I suppose I do have a few new concoctions that could be worth selling. The honey, do they have any red-stripe?" My mother nodded.

"Who else have you got?"

"Griselda will meet us on the road near her home in about an hour. I still need to visit Hurin as well as George and Kaylee."

"I'll be there then. Let me get ready and don't leave without me! I'll wait with Griselda. I need to deliver something for Martin anyway." My mother waved, swapping me from one arm to the other before we left the sweet smelling cottage. It occurred to me as my mother carried me that she hadn't seemed to grow particularly tired despite lugging me about for almost an hour already. I was reminded about how the increased Stats from The Myriad Paths would make one stronger, faster, and more enduring.

That was ignoring the mental improvements and magic itself. Griselda had been more proof of that, lugging about huge fence posts on her own. Still, the body was a limit. Which made me think about how if Stats increased as a percentage, how would that affect beasts and monsters that were naturally bigger, stronger, and faster? I shivered at the thought.

"I know it's a little chilly, Bastian. We're over halfway though!" said my mother, mistaking my shiver for being caused by the cool mountain air. The next stop was more of the same. The smell coming off the building near the stream made me think that George and Kaylee Miller, the people who lived there, were some sort of tanners or leather workers, maybe both. Unlike the others, they asked my mother to wait before joining us with bundles on their backs packed with furs and leathers.

We never made it to Hurin's home as he found us before we could. Middle aged and wiry, with a bow strung over his shoulder and a long knife on his hip, the old hunter, which he clearly was, vanished silently into the forest after a quick chat with my mother and the Millers. Despite being the last found, Hurin somehow beat us back to the outpost, already standing next to Griselda and Magatha where they waited on the side of the road.

Griselda had a leather bag slung over her shoulder that held multiple swords, axes, and knives. Magatha also had a leather backpack that clinked as we walked, which made me wonder where she got the glassware from. I would've spent more time testing my Muffled Steps Skill but whenever I tried it was like I was grasping at wisps of aether, the Skill barely lasting a few seconds. The lack of progress had me worried.

The final leg of the journey was done as a group, and when we got back, just before midday, the dwarves and their guards looked like they were loading up and preparing to leave.

"Was starting to wonder if you'd make it in time, lass," called the red-bearded dwarf.

"Greetings to the mountainfolk. My name is Loan Foromir, and since the sunlight is wasting, let's get down to business." I didn't get to see what was traded though, my stomach betraying me with a burbling growl. My mother instead ferried me inside to feed me lunch. By the time I was done, the others had left, only stopping inside to share a few words with Cornelius, and for Magatha to request more glass vials from the old man. Where was he hiding them? In his office? I hadn't seen any around the outpost.

Armed with new knowledge of my environment, my current limitations, and a little about the world around me, I began making plans. I had Paths to progress, and now that I could talk without garnering too much interest from the old man, it was time to figure out what I was doing wrong with magic and how to fix it! I was a baby with a purpose, and I would not let my Talented capabilities go to waste! It was time to get down to business!