Tying the very last rope, I took a deep breath and sighed.

Finally done.

The day had begun to end judging by the sky, and I was growing tired.

But I had finished it. Finally.

Stepping back to appreciate my work, I nodded. It was rough, shoddy, and probably wouldn’t even hold together… but I did it.

I made a backpack, capable of holding the stone.

At least temporarily.

This was going to be better than simply pulling it. Especially since we were soon going to have to actually ascend some of these cliffs.

Small rodents squeaked nearby, and I glanced to make sure all of the creatures had remained by the bear and not gone near her.

The biggest vulture stared back at me, standing where the platform I had just deconstructed for my own uses had been. The large bird had been using it as a pedestal to peck at the bear, and had not been pleased with me when I had gone to acquire it.

A few smaller birds were scattered on the bear too. Mostly on the bear’s large limbs… alongside them were a dozen more smaller animals. Of varying sizes, and temperaments.

Some ate alone, and wouldn’t let others near… while others ate in little groups.

Though none seemed to want to eat the flesh near the wound which had killed the bear.

Insects might, or maybe the animals eventually will… once that was all that were left.

I hadn’t moved the bodies of the men I had killed. There was no point, since they were all far enough away not to bother me. And the girl had chosen a farther group of rocks to sit and rest on, down the cavern a ways.

She was still lying up against the stone, resting on one of the leathers that had torn away from the rock. It probably wasn’t the best of pillows, but it had worked well enough to let her fall asleep.

And slept she still did.

I was glad for it, even if it was cruel of me. Better her to sleep and leave me be than pester me with questions or concerns.

A stroke of luck… for her to fall asleep so quickly after the event.

At least for me.

“Now the hard part,” I grumbled, and pulled my makeshift backpack along the rocky ground towards the stone. It wasn’t too far, since all I had done was pull it away from the bear’s carcass.

Mostly because I didn’t want it to infuse the dead beast, somehow. Outside of the Rift it shouldn’t happen… but one never knew anymore.

Putting the backpack up against the stone, I groaned at the reality before me.

This was not going to be enjoyable.

I already knew full well how heavy this damn thing was. I pulled it to RiftWarren after all.

But that was on flat, grassy ground.

This was dry, hard, cracked stone. Nothing here was flat, and I also had taken a path that had three separate sections where I’d have to climb upward.

With a deep breath, I took firm hold of one of the sharper corners of the stone. Tilting the stone upward, I pushed a part of the backpack under the stone.

Before the deep breath ran out, I went ahead and pushed the rest of the stone up onto the rest of the backpack.

The wood creaked, and I heard the rope tighten in strain. Yet it held together.

“Good,” I grumbled, and went to tying the stone to the backpack. Easy to do, with both the stone and the backpack itself having plenty of loose rope.

It took some time, but I eventually stopped tying ropes… and was pleased with the result.

Parts of the leather had moved, revealing a few parts of the stone… but I wasn’t much worried over it now.

There shouldn’t be anyone else between me and my destination. If there were… well…

“Then more will die,” I simply said.

Patting the stone, I sighed and glanced to the bear.

“Lena’s going to kill me,” I said, and wondered how much I owed her.

Last time I bought a bear, it had only been a few hundred coins… but that had been years ago.

I’ve only ever borrowed since then. After all what was I going to do with a bear?

A pair of flapping wings drew my attention upward, and I watched another large vulture descend into the cavern. Its wingspan had been so large it had to land quite a distance away from the bear… lest its wings hit the cavern walls.

The large bird was nearly as tall as I, yet didn’t even glance my way. It instead was staring at the other vulture, who was now staring back at it.

Friend or foe, I wonder?

Before I could find out, I felt a small tingle run down my fingers.

A far off, familiar, sound echoed above the caverns… and told me that a door was opening nearby.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Well, least I wasn’t going through the Rift with the thing.

Turning around, as to heft the stone and return on my task… I paused when I realized what I had forgotten.

Glancing down the cavern, I sighed at the sight of the young power. Still sleeping.

Would she wake? Would she be able to wake and then walk for what was probably going to be two whole days at my pace?

If she was a normal power, I’d not doubt if she was capable of it. But was she normal? Her size alone made one question the legitimacy of her lineage…

Yet, I had to at least give her a chance of proving herself… I had to at the very least give her the option of keeping herself alive.

Even a human could do it, under the right conditions.

With the right motivation.

Would it be enough for her?

I was going to find out.

“Hey!” I shouted, scaring some of the scurrying creatures on the ground. One of the vulture’s wings fluttered, but neither flew off.

Walking towards the power, I noticed her stirring. She had heard.

“Wake up! Come on!” I said, louder than last.

The power startled, shooting up to her feet. Her head spun a little, and I noticed the look on her face.

A look of utter fear.

For a small moment I stood still, and allowed her to calm herself. To let her understand, and comprehend, that she was in no danger.

“Krift?” she asked, and I noted how calm she sounded. Hadn’t taken her long.

Just like earlier. Maybe she was more power than I was willing to admit.

“I know you’re still tired, but I need to get going. Are you going to join me?” I asked her.

“Join… I mean. Yes,” she sniffed, and went to grab the leather she had been using as a pillow.

“Leave it,” I said.

“I’m going to wear it. It gets cold at night out here,” she said, wrapping the leather around her shoulders.

I nodded, and went to grab both of our bags. I’d not notice their extra weight alongside the stone. It was that heavy.

“What are we going to do about the…” she went silent as I walked the bags to the backpack.

“You cannot be serious,” she said, noticing my handiwork.

“Why not?”

“You… did you just break the platform in two, and tie them at the ends?” she asked, studying it.

“Well… yes. Basically,” I admitted.

She shook her head, but said nothing more.

Once I secured both of our bags, I did a once over on the ropes. It seemed like it’d all hold.

“Oh wow… they’ve already eaten so much,” she said, standing nearby.

I didn’t glance to the carcass, since I knew full well how quickly such things decayed.

During the war, most corpses had been left to rot instead of being dealt with.

Sometimes the biggest decayed the fastest.

“Once I lift this, I’ll be walking. I won’t stop. You need to tell me now if you’ll be able to keep up,” I said to her.

“I walked from my home to RiftWarren. Mostly. In fact we passed bears sometimes, and I’d always been jealous,” she said.

I shook my head, and decided there was no point in arguing with her.

She’d either be able to do it or won’t.

If she comprehended how much of a maze these caverns were, she’d not be so…

Wait no…

She had been poor. Or rather, was poor.

Even though a power, she essentially had lived the life of a common human. A peasant.

She may very well be capable of walking for days without rest.

Or even unable to get lost in the wild.

I shouldn’t judge her as I would another power. Or like any of the typical noble born human women I usually dealt with nowadays.

“Alright then,” was all I said, as I knelt a little.

Putting my back up against the flat side of the backpack, I pulled around the two bundles of rope I had made.

I had wrapped all of the excess rope to use as loops, for my arms, to ensure they’d not snap while walking.

Of course I had no worry over the stone breaking from a fall… but I did worry over the stone falling onto my leg or foot.

That would do damage, even to me.

“Are you going to be able to actually lift that?” she asked, staring at me.

I stood as my answer.

The weight, oddly, wasn’t as bad as I thought it would have been. But of course, I had just lifted it.

Just started.

For a moment I stood there, and felt the many ropes that were touching my shoulders and back. I felt the way they tugged, strained, and moved.

“Seems like it’ll be fine,” I said.

“It’s glowing,” she said softly.

“You knew that already,” I said.

“It’s… really glowing,” she furthered.

I couldn’t see the stone, thanks to the way the backpack was, but I didn’t need to look to know what she meant.

Yes it was glowing brighter than when she had seen it before. It had been midday when she had fallen asleep. And it had been half hidden by the corpse of the bear.

She hadn’t seen me move it away, and lose some of the covering.

“Let’s go,” I said, stepping forward.

Taking a few steps, I was glad that the backpack held together. It didn’t even make much noise.

“Wow, it’s working,” she voiced my own thoughts, as she went to walk next to me.

“Walk a little ahead, away from me. Just in case it falls,” I warned her.

“Oh… sure.”

With steady breaths, I ignored the staring of the weird power girl, and finally got back to my job.

What was I going to do with her?

I shouldn’t have accepted. I should’ve put more thought into it. I should not have gotten interested.

Lena had put me in a very awkward position.

She’s done this before, but never this bad.

Though Lena probably didn’t comprehend what she did.

After all, to Lena all I was doing was helping a distressed power. A young woman at that.

To her I was basically doing charity. Something good and honorable. Something to be expected of anyone.

Lena couldn’t have known.

Although a half, Lena had never learned the true culture of our kind. Not that anyone had ever given her chance to.

I should of, maybe.

Was this my fault then? Did I screw myself by trying to keep my distance from her?

Screwed myself while trying not to.

Ridiculous.

“How heavy is it?” she asked.

“Very,” I said, even though I still thought it wasn’t as bad as I had expected.

But it wasn’t my only burden.

Even if I wasn’t carrying her, I somehow still felt as if she was heavier than the stone.

I was already late. This was going to make me later.

Momma of the Lake killed those who were late.

Or at least…

She tried.