Rather unsurprisingly to Rohl, his body was still littered with bruises upon his awakening. The myriad of black splotches that now littered his skin would be a reminder of the elf’s ability that he wouldn’t soon forget.
As much as it had pained him, he had to admit, he needed the training, and she was the only one around who could teach him. If bruises and humiliation was the price of it, then it was the price he was going to pay.
It was possible one day, he might actually land a hit on her in return, not that he held a great deal of faith in that happening at all soon, especially since training only seemed to be a nightly affair if the elf’s packed and ready state was anything to go by.
Her rough sleeping bag had already been neatly folded away, the fire smothered to ash and their rations neatly divided and stored. The only thing missing from the sight was the elf, it seemed more than likely that she had simply left to change or bathe in privacy. And with no idea how long the elf would be gone, Rohl soon rushed to change and prepare himself for the remainder of their journey.
Thankfully for him, he had managed to change before the elf made her presence known, however, that left him to hastily pack away his belongings whilst the elf stared at him without so much as a good morning.
Not that Rohl had expected anything of the sort, he would have been shocked if the elf had been polite towards him, but he hadn’t quite expected her to stare and seemingly judge even his packing abilities.
It was somewhat impressive that she could even look down on him for such a meagre thing, but still, Rohl knew better than to comment on it and simply instead gave the elf a look to show he was ready to depart.
“About time you awoke, you should be more alert when you’re resting, I could have killed you a dozen times while you slept.”
“And good morning to you as well.”
Just that simple sentence had likely been the most words the elf had willingly spoken to him and if this was her in a chatty mood, Rohl made sure to capitalise on it as they walked.
“How long until we reach the site?”
“Few hours, if you pick up the pace that is.”
“How will you know when we reach it?” Rohl asked rather unsurely. It had been a question that had been bugging him, as beautiful as the rolling hills and endless forests looked, they weren’t exactly easy to tell apart. Other than being on one of Offa’s side roads that splintered off from the main, Rohl had no idea where he was or if the trees to his left belonged to Bureihal forest or were just a simple patch of trees.
Unlike the road from Furbrough to Elmon, or any of the other main roads in this area of Offa, this path wasn’t signposted, and neither was he likely to pass any rangers, merchants or armed caravans that he could ask for directions.
“I’ll know.”
Great, why was is even worried? Then again, I think the trees in the logging area should have ribbons on them, maybe that’s how she will know.
“There is one thing wanted to ask, why are you here, you don’t exactly seem to like Offa, humans or anything for that matter?”
“My wandering.”
Rather surprisingly, the elf had actually answered his question, although her answer didn’t exactly help him make sense of why she was here.
“Your wandering?”
“Not very cultured are you, most humans see only as far as their cities. The wandering is a rite of passage for all young elves. They leave home, travel, broaden their horizons before returning home to settle.”
That’s kind of interesting, I guess.
“And you chose Offa?”
“Offa is an unknown for many of my kind, few even know that it exists, most elves prefer the coastal human kingdoms if they care to visit a human nation at all. I wanted to see somewhere few of my kind have.”
“Oh, are you enjoying it?”
“No. Your food is uninspired, your music is basic and your culture severely lacking. If I was an admirer of fields, then this would surely be paradise, it's a shame I am not as simple as most of the human population here.”
The elf's words were rather unkind towards his homeland and as much as Rohl truly wanted to leap to Offa’s defence, he couldn’t. it was not something he liked to admit but he didn’t truly know enough about his homeland to defend it from the elf’s criticisms. He had never seen a play, listened to a famous musician or so much as sampled the nation's unique cuisine. He was as much a stranger to his homeland as the elf and Rohl was quite sure his boasts of Shrewsborough market or the dirty streets of Elmon weren’t going to win her over.
“And your homeland is better, is it?”
“Of course it is, what are you a moron? A derelict barn has more culture and heritage than Offa. You're a new warmongering nation forged through blood and death. Any heritage or history this land had was torn down decades ago.”
We are? I mean I don’t exactly know much of our history, only stories but these lands are rightfully ours, we had a historic claim.
“Huh, so you can be quiet. Good to know, since we're finally here. Now do as I tell you and behave.”
How the elf knew they were in the right location, Rohl didn't know. To him, this section of forest looked like any other. There was no difference in the type or size of the trees and foliage that dominated either side of the road, neither were there any markings or signs to suggest that they had entered Bureihal forest.
To Rohl’s eyes, this place was identical to the rest and yet he knew better than to doubt his companion in it, if she said this was the place, it was. Besides, he didn’t want to anger his mentor too much just in case she turned spiteful when giving the guild a report of his performance.
And so, without questioning her, Rohl followed the elf as she stepped off the road and made her way towards the forest to their left. However, the uneasiness he felt as he did so added a little extra challenge to the walk.
As long as we stay close to the edge, we should be fine. The dangerous monsters don’t tend to stray onto the roads… well usually.
Still, Rohl had a job to do, and he seriously doubted the elf would take any of his concerns or fears seriously, all she would do if he told her about the attack was likely degrade him and his fighting abilities.
I really don’t need to give her any more ammunition to use against me.
And with that in mind, Rohl followed his companion further into the forest, noting the red ribbon-marked trees as he did so.
“We’ll start here, now listen and do as I say. I won’t have any human idiocrasy screwing this up for me.”
It was clear the elf wasn’t expecting an answer and so Rohl simply nodded and watched as she chose which tree would be there first.
“We’ll stand on either side and strike as soon as one reveals themselves, if your power works as I suspect, they’ll be too angry to attempt an ambush and instead throw themselves at us. Once they are separated from the wood, they become easy pickings. You following simpleton?”
“Yes.”
“Then start already.”
There was some small issue that Rohl had neglected to inform the elf, he hadn’t quite got as much handle on his power as the elf seemed to believe he did. It was possible he would cause a repeat of the forest ambush and in doing so force his companion to turn on him. But as long as he went slow and tried to keep control of just how much power he released, Rohl was somewhat confident he could force any spirit out whilst making sure that his companion only got frustrated and not murderously angry.
I need to practice more with it, see if I can focus it on one area.
“I don’t know if I can focus my blessing solely on the tree, you might be affected, so please try to focus your rage on the enemy if you wouldn’t mind.”
The elf didn’t seem too impressed by his reply, if that wasn’t clear from her annoyed gaze and disgruntled look, her words made it obvious “Clearly, I've overestimated you, surprising given how little I thought of you before. Just get it done or I won’t need your blessing to make me hurt you.”
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I'm glad the guild knows who I’m with, otherwise, I think she might actually do it.
The thought was probably an overreaction to the situation, but that didn’t stop Rohl from picking up the pace and doing what the elf asked of him.
With as much control and caution as he could muster, Rohl reached down within himself and attempted to draw upon his blessing. Unlike the first time he had brought about his gift, Rohl didn’t actually know if it was working, he didn’t feel any great power being unleashed. Even when he ever so slightly plucked the strings of his shrunken ukatar, he didn’t feel any different apart from a slight knotting in his stomach. A feeling that could just as easily be attributed to the situation and not the release of his power.
It was hard to tell if anything was happening and even after concentrating as hard as he could and plucking the strings of his ukatar again did Rohl feel the slightest twitch of something. But the sight of the oak tree in front of them remaining as undisturbed as ever didn’t make him feel any better about his attempt.
“Did it work? The trees not doing anything,” Rohl asked his companion rather unsurely.
“Yes.”
“Then why isn’t it attacking?”
“Because that’s just a tree you moron. What did you want it to do, hit you with a branch? You were too blind to see it, but these trees have already been marked safe. I thought it was best, I see your power in action before I let you attempt it on a spirit. Safer that way, I felt the power but not so much that I lost control.”
“Safer for you, if it went wrong, I’d have been defenceless, and you’d have stabbed me in the back.”
“Stop your whining, it’s pathetic even for a human. It worked didn’t it, so shut up and just start on the next tree.” In a rather threatening gesture, the elf used the tip of her sword to gesture towards the next target, a smaller oak tree just a handful of paces to their left.
It was extremely difficult for Rohl not to snap back at her, but given the already tense situation, he had enough sense not to provoke the elf any further. So instead, he simply gave her a smile and moved towards their next target, sword at the ready.
I thought she had softened toward me a tiny, tiny bit on the road, she did answer my questions. I don’t know if she was in a good mood then but still hated me or if this anger is just my blessings work.
It was an interesting thought and one Rohl made sure to put aside for later, as for now he needed all his concentration to be on the tree in front of him and the blessing he sort to unleash upon it.
Just as he had the empty tree before, Rohl put his entire focus and being into his blessing, repeating the same action step by step until finally, the bark before him began to shift.
That was all Rohl needed to see for him to jump backwards and aim his blade to where he believed the monster's head would emerge.
“Wait for its entire body to emerge, it’s a requirement of the contract,” his companion ordered as she stepped in line with him and positioned her own weapons to strike.
Waiting for the monster to fully emerge did make the kill somewhat harder, since they would no longer be striking an incapacitated foe and rather giving it the time it needed to fully escape and if it was quick enough, strike first.
A possibility given how in only a matter of seconds; the entirety of the monster’s bark-covered form had escaped its confines. The beast very much lived up to the name of tree spirit, every inch of its humanoid-sized body was covered in jagged bark that shot off in random directions, giving it a more hedgehog-like appearance than Rohl expected. Apart from the rare islands of moss, the creature had no other distinctive features, no eyes, mouth or eyes, just a small wooden body and four simple but dangerous appendages.
If one of its arms managed to strike him, its jagged body would likely shred him to pieces and yet, the spirit never got the chance, before it could so much as raise its arms in anger, the elf's blade had cleaved through its thin neck. With that one simple movement, the creature’s life had ended, and its body collapsed limply to the ground.
“I knew it would work, masters of ambush, dangerous monsters for a trial. Idiots should have known better than to doubt an elf.” His companion's once hateful words were mixed in with a lot more glee than Rohl would have expected, although whatever joy or smugness she may have been feeling was definitely not visible in her body which stayed surprisingly still and alert.
“Whoever named them got it pretty much spot on,” Rohl interrupted as he continued to stare at the body over celebrating their first victory.
“It’s an oaken spirit, tree spirits a loose name for the family. I'm not surprised you don’t know, just be glad it wasn’t a dryad, I don’t think you’d have the stomach to kill an almost human-looking monster. It’s that kind of human weakness that allows these monsters to thrive out here.”
“Uh huh cool, so what trophy do we need as proof?” Rohl asked, mostly just to prevent his companion from going into another speel about humans being pathetic again.
“Black twig located at the spine, it's equivalent of a spinal cord. Once you’ve done that, mark the tree with an x. What are you waiting for? Get on with it.”
Despite the elf having barely given him a second to harvest its remains before snapping at him, Rohl remained silent and simply prayed he’d have the strength to hold back his own anger whilst she was likely still affected by his blessing.
I can cut her some slack, I don’t know what she’s feeling, I can’t imagine it's pleasant. I wonder if I can do other stuff than anger and rage. I don’t see why if it's emotion-based, that I couldn't make people happy. I’ll have to test it later; I need to keep focused on the task ahead for now.
With the potential possibilities of his blessing being pushed aside for now, Rohl finally did as asked, he bent down before the fallen oaken spirit, rolled its body to one side before using his dagger to pry out a small black twig from what would have been its lower back.
If it wasn’t for its colour and surprisingly soft texture, it would have been identical to a normal twig. It wasn’t quite the monster loot Rohl had been expecting, but in this case, that was something Rohl was glad of, if the required trophy had been an arm or chunk of bark, he doubted they’d have been able to carry too much of it back to the guild as proof.
She did say we could kill hundreds. The small twig loot shows we can and prove it as well.
Rohl by himself could likely fit hundreds of the twigs within his small knapsack and given how likely it was he would be doing the carrying, Rohl put away the loot without bothering to ask his companion what she wanted him to do with it.
“I'm going to make a lot of money from this. Come on, next tree, hurry up.”
After letting out a deserved sigh, Rohl did as asked and hastily moved towards the next target. As expected, the oak tree looked almost identical to the countless ones that made up this forest, there was nothing special about its wooden body, green leaves, or proud offshoots of life.
It was a simple tree and after unleashing his blessing, one that proved to be as empty as the first. And before the elf could demand it of him, Rohl stepped back from the tree and quickly stepped towards the next one so that he could once again repeat the process.
This is going to take forever.
That was a realisation that Rohl should have comprehended much earlier, given how his angry companion had expected them to kill hundreds, he should have expected it to be a long affair, but looking out at the forest really put that timeframe into perspective.
They had barely left the outskirts of the forest where the trees were thinner and spaced apart and already the number of trees seemed endless. Once they moved further into the forest, where the trees became far denser, they would likely end up checking thousands of trees. A prospect that would surely take hours if not days.
How far in do we go and how far across, she never explained how much the guild wanted checking. Do we stay within eyesight of the road or what?
There was little Rohl could do about the time requirement now and asking the elf for more details was likely a pointless affair and so Rohl simply did what he had been doing plenty of since he met his companion. Getting to work and remaining quiet.
Moving perpendicular to the road, Rohl approached the next tree and unleashed his blessing. After seeing no visible change, he stepped away from the innocent oak and moved towards the next tree which proved to be home to nothing more than squirrels.
“How many are likely to have spirits in them?” Rohl finally asked after the next few trees revealed no spirits either.
“One in ten, one in twenty. It depends on how well and often the forest is managed.”
So not common, nor rare either.
The elf’s words did little to reassure Rohl and despite the danger of the spirits, he wasn’t particularly fond of moving from tree to tree and essentially just staring at them intently. It was hardly an action-filled quest he could sing about proudly or even one he would tell of if asked. But if it got him into the guild and laced his pockets with gold, that was more than good enough for him.
Only a few days and I’m officially an adventurer, one free to choose his own quests and companions. No more bloody elves.
It was that hope that made the next handful of trees somewhat more bearable, but the occasional appearance and quick ending of the occasional tree spirits did prevent him from wasting time by losing himself in his plans for the future. Whilst their strategy trivialised the slaying of the ambush monsters, they were still far too dangerous for him not to keep his attention on.
Any that appeared were almost immediately dispatched by an angry slash from the elf’s blade and with Rohl’s quick harvesting of their remains, they were making good progress through the outer layers of the forest. There was a sort of rhythmic order to the task, one that did allow Rohl to lose himself for short periods of time. He couldn’t say that the time had flown by, but it didn’t drag as much as he’d expected, so much so that his knapsack began to fill up much faster than he realised. It was hardly filled to the brim but as the night once again began to set, he had filled close to a quarter of his available space.
Well, the place where I can store them where they won’t get damaged or snap.
Just from a rough estimate, he guessed he had harvested around ninety to one hundred of the tree spirit twigs. All belonging to the oaken spirit sub-species. Given how many hundreds if not thousands of trees they had checked along the forest edge, it seemed the elf’s estimation had been correct.
How many hours have I been checking trees, ten, twelve? One hundred spirits and a thousand trees checked seems pretty good to me.
It hadn’t been a fun action-packed day but given the value of their loot, it had the potential to be a very profitable one and with the sun beginning to set and another day of harvesting waiting for them tomorrow, this journey had the possibility to be extremely profitable for him.
Rather thankfully for him, the elf seemed to have the same idea, so much so that she didn’t glare at him as he stopped to rest or insisted that they made camp for the night near the road. The fact she even went as far as to make the fire seemed to speak volumes of her mood and hopefully show that Rohl’s blessing had worn off.
If it wasn’t too dangerous to do this at night, I’m quite sure we’d still be harvesting.
Rohl was far too drained and aching to spend the entire night harvesting as well. And given how unsafe he felt camping so close to the woods, he didn’t feel as if he’d be getting much rest throughout the night either.
The fire should keep most monsters away and elves are meant to have keen senses, surely, she will hear anything else coming. Who knows I might get some rest after all.
“You take first watch. And to be careful, I don’t want all hard work ruined because you get eaten in the night.”
Of fucking course.