Walking into the mess hall was a sobering sight. There were people laid out on the tables being tended to by the survivors. I counted seven bodies draped over with a sheet that would never rise again. The cold and calculating half of my brain noted that seven casualties against a superior force such as the first army unit of two hundred was a great result. The other half of my brain grieved the loss of so many on both sides.

Arthur saw me walk in and made his way over through the crowd. “Syl, I hate to ask more of you right now but can you craft a few more health potions? We are running dangerously low. The explosions in the entranceway did a number on a few of the residents that may still live.”

“I can make about a dozen more but there are no more marten flowers near here. They will be the last we have until we find more.” I replied after thinking back to the previous day's harvest. “I can make some more after I get something to eat.”

“We will take whatever you have Syl, anything helps.” Arthur answered. “I can catch you up on what happened while you were resting.” He sat down on the bench beside me while I ate. “As you can tell we lost seven people during the day. Ryen got hit by an arrow and tumbled over the side of the outpost. They breached the mine door using explosives and followed it up with smokers and explosives to the entranceway. We were prepared for a charge and tightly packed when the explosions hit.” He took a deep breath. “I didn’t expect them to use those against us, those should be reserved for the foes of Eter, not its citizens.”

He began again after a minute of silence. “The forest apes brought the strykers that pursued you and we took their weapons and armor. We sent them on their way after the first army. The leader of the apes remains outside in the clearing, no one else here can communicate with him. We can only guess he wants to talk to you. Most of his pack has left the area so far as we can tell.”

“I should go to him before I start crafting. You should come too, he leads a pack of the forest apes twenty miles from here. You and him are probably going to be dealing with each other more than once. The easiest way to pronounce his name is Halev.” I told Arthur.

He agreed and we both left to meet with Halev, Marci hitching a ride on my shoulder. He was waiting outside of the clearing just inside the treeline. Halev came out to greet us and beat once on his chest. His emotions were projecting pride and friendship. I replied with pride and thankfulness. I spoke out loud “This is Arthur, he is the mayor of the mine.” Halev just looked at me and tilted his head.

Of course the forest ape wouldn’t understand the Eter language. I wondered why I had been able to communicate with Marci’s mother before gaining Beast Companion. I looked over to Arthur who shrugged his shoulders. Marci gave a chirp and pecked me playfully in the head. Turning back towards Halev I projected friendship, leader, faith and pointed at Arthur. Halev thankfully looked at Arthur and pounded his chest once and roared, pride and friendship radiating from the forest ape.

Halev turned to the forest and projected a complex sense of emotions in rapid succession. Much of the way Halev spoke by projecting his emotions was too complex for me. When he spoke to me he was slowing it down and limiting the range of emotions. Halev’s son walked out of the forest with a few other young apes at his side. Halev turned back to me and pounded on his chest five times. The young apes all copied Halev before walking to stand before us.

Halev walked up to me and the mental pressure that accompanied the memories from last time was present again. I accepted the mental link and watched as a much younger version of Halev swung through the trees of the forest. He was making a circuit through the canopy, scanning both the canopy and ground for danger. Every 20 or 30 trees he would pass another ape doing the same thing in the other direction. This was how the forest apes must guard their colony.

The memories faded away and Halev pointed at the five young apes standing with us in the clearing. He pounded his chest and roared and they repeated the gesture. Each one radiated trust, and friendship.

“They want to help protect us. Halev showed me a memory of how they can cover great swaths of the forest on guard duty by staying high in the trees. It lets them see for miles in either direction. These five either volunteered or were picked to stay here and help us as guards.” I told Arthur as he watched the scene with a confused look on his face.

“That would be an amazing boon for the defense of the mine. If Halev and the apes all agree then we humbly accept the offer.” Arthur replied before continuing “It’s very strange to watch you do that, your eyes turn a milky white,” he chuckled.

The white milky eyes were news to me. I turned to Halev and nodded while projecting agreement, friendship and gratefulness. Next Halev’s son walked up to me and pointed at me, himself and then finally Marci. He tried to initiate a mental link, it was clumsy compared to Halev. I accepted the link and watched myself through the ape’s eyes as I attempted to mimic the apes jumping from tree to tree while firing arrows. I watched myself set traps, flee on foot, and continue running after being struck by the arrow.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

I watched Marci fly through the air and land on my shoulder in a shriek of defiance, facing down the strykers. I felt desire and longing, confusing me as I was feeling it as the ape. Back in the clearing abruptly the young ape pounded his chest twice and gave a roar. Marci flew over to him and landed on his shoulder. She looked him in the eyes for a few moments before she flared her wings and shrieked upwards at the sky. She radiated trust, friendship, and companionship.

It finally clicked watching Marci’s reaction. Halev’s son wanted to bond, he wanted to be a companion to Marci and myself. “I think he wants to bond with me,” I said out loud to Arthur.

“Just from a tactical standpoint that would be a great choice Syl. It would give you and Marci a close combat companion and allow you both to do what you're best at from range. Consider it carefully and make your decision if it feels right.” Arthur replied in a calm, low voice.

This time when I triggered Beast Companion it felt different. I had been using it on Marci in the egg without knowing how it worked. When she matured to the point she could bond it was already set and ready. This time I got another notification.

Beast Companion - Agniovorvarvan - Forest Ape - Wants to bond. You have one available companion slot. Warning! Bond can only be canceled if both parties agree.

I mentally accepted the bond and watched as a new entry formed under my Beast Companion skill next to Marci’s. The young ape let out a roar and pounded on his chest in a steady rhythm, the other apes all joining.

Agniovorvarvan - Forest Ape

Level

16

Health

90/90

Armor

40

Strength

34

Stamina

30

Agility

24

Intelligence

12

Wisdom

12

Skills

Level

Description

Child of the Forest

10

Stats increased by 25% while in Eternal Forest

Frenzy

6

Once a day Agniovorvarvan can amplify his stats by 50% for 10 minutes. This period is followed by decreased stats by 50% for one hour.

That name was going to be far too difficult to pronounce just like Halev’s full name. I looked at the younger ape and projected a sense of acceptance. I altered the name to Van in my interface and spoke the word through our bond to the ape. He stopped beating on his chest and looked at me for a few seconds like he was thinking it over. He roared again and beat on his chest while projecting pride and friendship.

I smiled watching my new companion, just a few months ago I had been totally alone, lost and scared. Now I had a town full of people and two companions I had bonded with. Halev gave me a long look and projected a quick series of emotions including sadness, acceptance, pride and fear. I returned feelings of happiness and understanding. He let out one last roar and turned back to the forest, back to his colony.

Arthur grunted and said “we will have a funeral tonight to honor our dead. After that we need to plan for the dungeon. These recent events have reinforced the priority of opening that level.” Before I could voice my agreement he continued. “We received town points for surviving a siege. The points were based on the ratio of defenders to attackers and casualties. My inclination is to spend them to fortify the entrance to the mine. If you clear the level we might get more town points, I will wait to spend them until we see what happens.

“Making you the mayor was for decisions like this Arthur. You have my support on spending the town points where you feel they benefit the most.”

The rest of the morning passed quickly in the alchemy room. There were enough ingredients to make fourteen more major health potions. There were twenty available now for the dungeon team. My alchemy skill increased to twenty as I created the last of the potions. Level twenty came with a massive perk in that it allowed me to see the cooldown period for crafted potions.

Major Health Potion - 30 health points over one hour. Cooldown period of 15 minutes.

No more wasting potions on cooldown periods was a great relief. I shared the good news with Arthur on my way to the mess hall. Eating a quick lunch and drinking some water, I decided to lay down for a few minutes and get some rest. My health bar was full but I still felt fatigued from the previous day. I felt out through my bond to find my companions, Marci and Van were both high up in one of the trees surrounding the mine. Van was keeping watch while Marci slept on his shoulder. Smiling to myself at the fast building friendship, I faded off to sleep.