I must have gone around in circles for over an hour. Thankfully, I had my [Cartographer] map in view, so getting lost would be hard. Still, I couldn’t locate the place where I’d picked the batch of deadly webcaps the first time.
As expected, when you want to find something you need, it just doesn’t happen. No doubt I’d only stumble upon them just as soon as I no longer had a need for them. Were they out of season all of a sudden? Was rain needed? Or maybe the opposite?
While roaming through the forest, I practiced [Leaping] with the spear, thrusting at the last moment for maximum impact. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any skills to use with the spear like I had with wands in order to empower it.
Darya, and I circled out farther to the north, skirted along the swamp on the east side, toward the Cube. The place was quiet, except for the chirping of birds and the chattering of squirrels. Shortly followed by a twang and a sudden screech of a dying critter before Darya put it out of its misery by twisting its neck. She had been rather quiet the entire time while escorting me.
She raised the two squirrels she killed. “These won’t last a single meal, ya know?”
“What sort of a ground do webcaps grow in? Wet? Dry? On fallen tree trunks?” I asked.
“How would I know? I hadn’t made it a habit to go looking for poisonous mushrooms, alright?”
She was also quite glum the entire time. It must have been the destruction at the village that put her in that mood. It also didn’t help that we were hungry again. The orphanage had many kids to feed, and the worms I brought back weren’t going to last for very long.
Sounds of grunting and rummaging from ahead put us on alert.
“Ya hear that?” Darya asked me in a whisper, pointing in the direction of the sound.
I nodded, and we slowed to a crawl, ducking low, stepping light. We slinked from one tree to the next, getting closer. The sounds grew louder, and then suddenly stopped, and so did we. Darya raised her bow, nocked an arrow without making a sound.
Something squealed, and burst out of cover at full tilt. A boar. It must have smelled us. This one wasn’t as big as the one I had dealt with in the void dungeon before, but it was still quite menacing.
It ran like its life depended on it. Darya shot, but missed. I [Leaped] after it, trying to skewer it with the spear. The rascal managed to avoid my attack. The trees were in the way, making it hard for me to [Leap] in a straight line.
The boar zigzagged, leaving a dust trail in its wake. Hungry thoughts of roasted boar meat ran through my mind. We couldn’t let it escape -- dinner depended on it. I put all my effort into the chase, [Leaping] ahead when given a chance. Darya would catch up using her [Dash] ability,
Finally, her shot hit, and the boar tumbled, rolling to the ground. It was just about to get up, but I landed right on top of it. I pierced it through the side with the spear. This boar wasn’t going down easy. It wriggled about, squealing mad while I held it down, stopping it from running off. It took a good minute before I could let off with the spear, and Darya moved in to slice its throat open.
Darya was breathing heavily, but had a great smile on her face. “Now we’re talking.”
“It’s not exactly what I came for, but I’m not going to complain. This boar looks like it weighs about a couple of hundred pounds.”
“This should last us a week. And the bones could be made into a stew.”
“Well, the goliath turtles will have to wait, not that I had any luck finding those damn mushrooms.”
The boar had a pair of tusks the size of my hand, and they were just what I needed to make a couple of fast-charging ivory wands. While Darya gutted the carcass, I removed the ivory. Afterward, we hung the carcass on a thick branch and carried it over our shoulders all the way back to the village. By the time we returned, the sun was getting low toward the horizon, and we were starving.
At the chapel, we left the boar carcass for Amelia in the kitchen, and had a small meal. Afterwards, with the ivory I got from the boar, I wanted to craft a third Ivory Wand, and hopefully unlock a new schematic. For that I needed an amethyst tip, sinew binding, and leather for the grip. Fortunately, I still had two amethysts from before.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
I went to the leatherworker and he had both the sinew and the leather for the grip. I also had to buy a couple of minor power crystals from him. With his help, I managed to craft a couple of ivory wands. They were much shorter and a lot lighter than my other wands.
* [t1][Lesser][Swift Ivory Wand][Charge: 100/100]
* Damage: 12.6 dmg [Size: 64%, Wandcrafter: +15%]
* Power-up time: 1.47 sec [Size: 64%, Wandcrafter: -15%]
* Cooldown time: 1.5 sec
* Speed: 20 yd/s
* Duration: 1 sec
* Range: 20 yards
* Projectile Burst: 5
With that I also received a new schematic.
* [t1] [Bronze Wand]
* Jade tip
* Bronze core
* Silver wiring
* Leather grip
* Power Crystal
The leatherworker also had the new wand holsters made and ready for me. They were somewhat similar to sword sheaths, but were strapped in place higher up at the side of my ribs. The two holsters came with room for three, one for each side. This way I had instant access to six wands at any moment. I loaded up the new wands inside the holsters. The Heavy sized ivory wands were too thick to fit, so I left them hanging at the hip.
Eager to craft the new bronze wand, I went to see Karl to buy a bronze core for a new wand, of which he had a few. Unfortunately, nobody seemed to have any silver wiring, nor any jade stones.
With the sun setting, I went back to the chapel. Darya and I had plans for this night’s [Measured Savagery], all laid out in a neat row. Not bothering to remove my gear, I crashed on my bed and was out in an instant.
***
The cockroach army was on the move. Luther could hear the subtle scratching of their feet as they scurried about in the catacombs under the abbey. With the Supreme Commander sleeping and busy with dungeons, he was left to man the abbey and stave off any nightly attacks. But he wasn’t alone. Two new recruits had joined the ranks. They weren’t top notch soldiers he was hoping for, but quantity had a certain quality to it.
Luther flicked the ear of one to wake him up. “Be vigilant boys, they’re coming.”
The second one was awake, yet much too busy pulling snot out of his nose than watching their flank. The four had positioned themselves down at the bottom of a flight of moldy steps, a level under the nave. Lermin stood ready behind them, a few steps up. Using the advantage of higher ground he was ready to unleash long range attacks at a moment’s notice.
Before them was no man's land. Dim, damp and utterly terrifying. None have ventured farther than they had right this moment, and few brave souls had returned to tell the tale. Shapes moved in the shadows, down in the corner, up on the ceiling. Water dripped down in a haunting rhythm. Combined, it created an atmosphere so oppressive that it would drive any man to insanity. Luther pondered what manner of creatures lurked and hunted in the darkest reaches of the chamber, ready to pull an unsuspecting victim to be devoured.
He focused his full attention, trying to see through the darkness with a hushed breath. And if in response, from the darkness, an antenna came into view, probing the ground before it. Luther signaled to his men, pointed ahead to the vile creature before them. Everyone froze, staring in its direction. Even the new recruit stopped half-way through picking his nose with fresh snot strung from his nostril to his damp finger.
The whine of a wand as it charged up echoed through the chamber. Luther held his breath, and prayed. Prayed that their foe wouldn’t run off, prayed that Lermin was worth the top bunk bed. A momentary burst of light colored the chamber of stone in white as if a lightning had struck. The blast hit the bug dead on, disorienting it.
“Attack!” Luther commanded, and charged ahead leading the troops to glory with a satisfied smile on his face. The night had not been in vain.
The group pounced upon the bug with a vicious temper. Pummeled it with ladles, and wooden spoons. It thrashed and screeched, but the forces of good were much too overwhelming. Bug guts sprayed out, legs were ripped away. Luther finished it off by slicing its head off with his holy avenger.
“We did it, boys!”
Everyone jumped and cheered in joy. The oppressive atmosphere of the dark chamber seeming to vanish for a time. Luther took a moment to collect himself, and then to stand victoriously over the fallen creature. He had a speech prepared, but instead he froze where he stood. He signaled everyone to attention as he had just heard the sounds of a great calamity rousing from slumber.
A force of nature was coming, and one that could not be bargained with or restrained. Goosebumps covered Luther’s skin, fear gripping even this veteran of a fighter. There could be only one course of action to such a tactical blunder. This victory had come at a terrible price.
“Retreat! Back to bed, and on the double!” Luther commanded.
Amelia had awoken.