The group took a moment to relax their nerves before continuing their journey. Koram comforted the stressed Leo, as he assured him that the worst of the day was over. His claims helped relax Leo, as they finished off their journey soon after. The group had come upon the clearing that they would rest at for the night. While Koram and Budmuk started to prepare the camp, Leo looked over the surrounding area.
The view from the mountain was beautiful, as he could see the far stretching forest. The sun let off a beautiful golden glow as it set, which gave a calming feel to the rough mountain. As he looked at his surroundings, he noticed what appeared to be a carving on the mountain’s face. He approached the carving, curious as to why someone would chisel into the mountain.
The carving depicted four symbols, arranged as a triangle with one on top and three below it. The topmost symbol was of a man sat upon a throne. The symbols beneath it were the skull of an animal with skeletal wings behind it, a mushroom surrounded by crops, and what appeared to be the face of a man obscured by his hat.
Leo was confused as to why someone would make this carving and what the meaning behind it was. With Koram and Budmuk having made quick work of setting up camp, he called them over to inspect the symbols.
“Hey guys, do you have any idea what these symbols mean? I noticed them here and wanted to know if they were important or something,” asked Leo.
“Hadn’t seen it last time we were here, likely some punk just decided to vandalize the mountain,” concluded Budmuk.
“I have to agree, the carvings seem new and they do look crudely done. If it wasn’t kids, then at worst it’d be an orc map of their territories,” agreed Koram.
While the two walked back to the camp, he couldn’t help but feel as if there was something of importance with these symbols. He asked Koram for a piece of paper and a pencil so he could scribble down the symbols to the best of his ability. His drawing was even cruder than the carving, but he was happy to have a version to keep.
He went to bed, his mind abuzz about the symbols that he found. When he fell asleep, he felt his mind wander into somewhere dark. He felt the cries of a thousand souls that begged for freedom, a desperate plea for escape. There was little he could grasp, but he felt an overwhelming presence in his dreams. Leo woke up paralyzed in fear, as if he was prey and there was a predator staring him down. After a while he crawled out of his tent to find Koram and Budmuk as they enjoyed their breakfast.
He knew what he saw was just a nightmare, but he felt relieved to find them there. He wished them a good morning, as he took a seat next to the pot they had set up. The bowl of oatmeal that Koram served him tasted odd, but Leo couldn’t tell if it was him that was being odd.
Leo grimly stated, “I saw something wrong while I was asleep, like there were hundreds of dead bodies begging for help. ”
“I dreamt of a bird that worked in the mines, whole lotta faff since no reason for a bird to work the mines,” responded Budmuk in between mouthfuls of oatmeal.
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“Well, I had the most wonderful dream. It involved everyone from my college courses meeting up for another class. The class was led by my elementary teacher, which was odd looking back at it. We went off to study some beautiful Andreliae, which had somehow sprouted in an Eastland meadow. Now that was absurd to see, really made the dream unbelievable. It truly is a shock what our dreams can show us, as if an absurd window into the subconscious mind,” Koram rambled about his dream as he cleaned his cooking supplies.
Leo didn’t feel like he was being taken seriously, but he didn’t have anything to take seriously. His nightmare had shaken him, but it was just a nightmare. Without something concrete to take seriously, his nightmare was as serious as Budmuk’s bird dream. He tried to tell himself it was just a bad dream, but that didn’t do much to relax him.
The group packed up their camping supplies, the oversized bag of supplies that Budmuk carried had gotten noticeably smaller. They started the summit up the main mountain, as Budmuk decided to explain some of the more prevalent dangers.
“Now there are a handful of orc tribes in the area, but we can bribe them with food to leave us alone. There are some zaphawk nests nearby, alongside a stonedrard den. We'll try to avoid them but a fight could be inevitable. There are greater dangers in the mountains, but they are rare to encounter and don’t commonly hunt humans,” explained Budmuk.
Leo asked, “What about the dragons, is there any risk there?”
Koram answered, “We don’t have any confirmations of there being dragons in these mountains. There have been sightings reported, but there are far more claims of people seeing dragons than actual dragons. Hopefully all we find is the leftovers of a nest or even a few scales left behind.”
“Yeah, hopefully,” muttered Leo.
They hiked on the rugged trail up the mountain, as the group kept an eye out for any approaching danger. The path up the mountain was difficult, but Koram and Budmuk were able to move through with ease thanks to their years of experience. Leo felt thankful to have his new body, he couldn’t have gone for a jog just a week ago, but now, he could easily climb a mountain.
The day passed by without any interruptions. The only struggle was the trail they had to climb, but despite its jagged terrain, Leo was able to climb it with ease. While they walked, Leo decided to learn more about this world.
“So, hear me out, let’s say I got no idea how to get a class, how would I get one?” asked Leo.
“What type of stupid ass question is that?” mocked Budmuk.
“Oh! I love thought experiments!” blurted out Koram, “So when one has enough experience in a given field, let us say nature for a druid, you gain access to the druid class. Druid is only the primary class, and everyone has a secondary class. The secondary class is where specialization comes in, as most people try to make their own unique secondary.”
“Hm, so what if you studied plants but didn’t want to be a druid?” prodded Leo.
“Classes require more than that, otherwise every baby who had a tantrum would end up a barbarian. Your class is decided by your effort and desires, if you don’t work towards your class then you won’t become it. Most classes require education or training, but those are just to help people gain the class they want. It’s not uncommon to simply let your own class develop, even if it adds in a layer of uncertainty,” detailed Koram.
Leo thought for a moment, “That was really insightful, thank you, Koram.”
Koram gave him a smile as the group carried on. Budmuk led the way while Koram and Leo followed close behind. The mountain seemed to get more and more quiet as time passed, with only the sound of the wind. There wasn’t much activity as they climbed the mountain, despite the warnings that Budmuk had given.