Once again I failed to find any trace of suitable caves that might lead to deeper parts of the world. It would be possible to go down into one of the random holes all around the mountains but I could not tell how deep they actually went. At some point, I would have to prepare for a proper expedition and just pick a random spot to dive into the depths of the world.

Following Stormbringer’s trail soon led me to lower summits with more liveable valleys between them. There were no actual villages anywhere near, which made sense, but trees started to pop up again, most of them already returned to life after the frozen desolation. Winter was in full swing and I had turned to flying in my metal form to deal with the cold above the peaks. I hoped I was still on the path the dragon took but even from my vantage point it was impossible to be certain.

I kept to my normal top speed not using my wings of darkness to fly faster. It took another week before I made out the forest beyond the peaks and then one more day to reach it.

Here, the devastation was much more present. Yes, the trees had been restored to life but where the dragon had passed overhead, most branches were shattered and splintered wood piled up underneath a fresh snow cover. I had kept pretty much perfectly on his trail, which I was happy about. The valley I had used to enter the mountain range was not anywhere I saw and I wondered if I had to fly north or south to come upon it. The alternative would be to keep following the dragon. I decided to scout the forest for a bit and see if the risk was manageable.

The trees were truly endless forming a white cover with many splotches of green and brown all over. I saw movement everywhere and sometimes a tree shook hard enough to throw off most of the snow on its branches. Whatever was fighting here had to be rather strong. I stretched my senses and was surprised to find not a single hint of magic being used. There was of course the natural essence everything was made of and a hint of aura all around it but no actual Skills or nodes were anywhere within my perception.

The huge tree’s shadow on the horizon was the only proof this was not a normal world. I wondered if it was some kind of illusion or a trick on my mind but other than flying there, I had no way to verify that.

I took a slow path over the trees, curving back and forth. My eyes were trained on the snowy treetops, scanning for any possible threat. I remembered that huge snake I had seen back when I first travelled along this part of the world. If that got me into its clutches, I would surely be dead, second life or not. At least that particular monster should be hibernating. Though, was that not called something different for them because reptiles did not actually sleep? The weather would still make a lot of the dangerous monsters less active.

After a few minutes of flight, something zipped past one of my wings. It came so sudden and without any warning, I could not tell what it was. Even looking for the source, the treetops were not disturbed. Not any more than what I had seen until now. I swerved right sharply as a heard a swish of air coming from behind. My left wing was clipped by a heavy force and a pained cry sounded out from something just below. I was able to straighten my flight quickly and spotted the perpetrator. It was a bird of sorts. Not one I knew from earth, though I would have called it a falcon if I did not know better.

[Identify]

Species: Brown Woodland Raven (mature)

Age: 12

Name: -

Gender: male

Level: 54

A brown raven? How was that making any sense? The bird was maybe half my size and still had charged me like a rocket. Just now it caught its flight just above the trees and turned to me, an evil glint in its eyes. Then it let out a cruel caw and another three splotches of colour shot out of the trees trying to get to me. This time, I was prepared. I dodged the first two by pulling in my wings. The resulting drop made the third impact me beak first and with a sharp clang it tumbled off to the side. I felt the impact dent my body and the thin steel layer was cracked open. Within moments, the forest had turned into a haunting cacophony of noise. Hundreds of birds and beasts all around called out and tried to make their way to me. No matter if they could take to the air or not, they tried. All kinds of animals that I had never seen before were making an enormous racket.

Most of them had some resemblance to what I knew from earth but the spiders with twelve limps and bird-like talons at their ends showed there had to be some form of evolution bringing this wildlife to reality. I identified a few on my way out. None of them was below level 50 with most reaching the high sixties. There were pixie wasps the size of a dwarven head, a woodland python, a flock of treetop robins each with a wingspan as wide as one of my wings and many others I could not see the details of.

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I could not tell what enraged them but it had to have something to do with the thaumium in my body. Were they instinctually defending the forest from thaumaturgical influence? Had they evolved in such a way to sense the threat warp and taint could present to nature? Or was it something else entirely? Some sort of monster community-sense that drove out every stranger hurting one of theirs? I knew simply too little about the world. I should soon return to Serrington and peruse the library. Even though the dwarves rarely left their homes, I hoped to find more about the immediate surroundings and push my research forward with the knowledge others had gathered before my time.

The animals chased me and everywhere I flew, new ones kept joining the cacophony. This could not be good for their winter rest. Still, there was no real danger to me. I had activated my wings of darkness and shot up and away at a speed none of them could follow. Soon, I had returned to the mountains and the noise died down as I left the range of the forest.

Inspecting the damage on my steel cover, I found it difficult to restore the layer. Some of the material had been chipped off by the bird’s impact. I decided to absorb some more of the material and make a thicker coat. If wildlife could have such a reaction to thaumium I would have to be careful.

That dealt with, I took to the air again, flying up and down the edge of the mountain range. It took most of what was left of the day but at some point, I found the familiar valley I was looking for. It was not in line with Stormbringer’s trail but soon crossed it. I decided to keep moving into the ravine, though slowly as not to miss the entrance to the goblin’s village. Strangely enough, I could not find them even with my night vision and going slow. There was no sign of the bridge which was troubling, to say the least. After a few hours, I got some rest before returning to my search in the morning.

I took another two days of going up and down the gorge. Some places were too narrow for me to fly through and while I just turned around at the first one, thinking the village’s entry had to be before that, after reaching it for the third time, I started looking beyond it. I was somewhat despairing. Where had the entrance gone? It was a small hole in the wall leading into a slightly wider tunnel after a few metres. I could not even find Roguk’s mushroom farm. Was I going crazy? Had I mistaken the place? Was this the wrong valley, the wrong ravine?

At least my food stores were not running low. I had hunted fresh meat whenever possible and would still be able to last two weeks if I stopped hunting right now. But something did not add up here. I had to take a new approach. And my best chance was to look for the ork valley.

I took to the air and started flying slow circles above the ravine. The mountains were rocky with not a single bit of plant life visible beneath the snow. After an hour or so, I started to widen my search area towards the south. I flew using my wings of darkness for a minute and then returned after a short turn sideways. I could have tried to look for it from the large valley but that was too risky with all the orks. Up here, I was in no danger at all.

After another day of searching like this, continually expanding my search southwards, I finally found a small town with familiar structures. Ork huts sat tight, lit up by mana crystals. They were even fire crystals, just like the one I was looking for used. It was lacking the desolate area where the eldritch monster should have removed all life but there was a suspiciously round copse of trees surrounded by a bunch of shrubs and saplings.

From there, it was quite easy to locate the earth node the goblins were taking their crystals from. The entry into the mountain was another matter entirely. With all the snow and the world sleeping, it should have been easy to find. But maybe that was the problem. The snow might be covering it up. It was over a metre deep in the untouched parts of the valley, after all. Digging for it was a risk I was not willing to take. With the ork village nearby, the disturbance in the snow could be a serious risk for their safety. And even if I did not have my experience from friendship gimmick back then, I did consider Roguk a friend at least. Luk as well and Chef most likely, too. Was there really no other way to get to them?