With that mystery resolved, Sinclair shifted his focus towards preparing for the looming challenge behind the final door. Given his near-80-point endurance, he didn’t require much rest. However, he was keen on honing some of his skills, especially his Cleave ability. Moreover, he was eager to familiarize himself with the newly acquired hatchets.
Opening his inventory, he promptly equipped the twin hatchets, noting with approval that each granted a +3 boost to Agility, totaling to a commendable +6 for both. Curious to feel the weight and balance of his larger axe, he stowed away the hatchets and retrieved the larger weapon. Its heft felt comforting and familiar in his grip. With a few sweeping motions in the air, Sinclair gauged its movement and balance, mentally preparing for what lay ahead.
Sinclair approached a tree nearby, its trunk roughly a foot thick. With a swift, powerful swing, he sliced right through the wood. The sheer ease startled him, causing him to lose his footing slightly. As the tree began its slow descent, he glanced between the axe and the fresh stump, a mix of awe and disbelief evident on his face.
Eager to test the limits, Sinclair scanned the area for a thicker challenge, settling on a sturdy-looking tree about four feet in diameter. The sheer size of it promised a thunderous crash when it fell. Standing tall, he took a deep breath and raised the axe, channeling all his strength into a fierce downward swing. The axe didn't fell the tree in one blow, but the gash it left was nearly two feet deep.
Reflecting on the tedious days of his youth, helping his father chop wood, Sinclair marveled at his newfound prowess. The sensation of the earlier empowerment lingered, and he tried to harness it, visualizing the flow of mana from his body into the axe. In his mind's eye, the energy surged, gradually suffusing the axe until its blade emitted a soft red glow. Curious about the potential, he channeled more power, stopping only when he'd drained fifty mana points. Once more, he squared off against the tree, axe at the ready, anticipating the impact of his empowered swing.
Watching the tree fall was a little exhilarating and mind boggling. His stats were really high he felt. Well, at least his physical stats anyway. He would need to keep practicing. The last fight was won because he had help from the cub and his howl not because he was good with his weapons. He needed a trainer and soon. Working his way around the building he spent some time getting used to the feel of his large axe and how to put energy into it for Cleave while on the go. He eventually swapped over to his hatchets and did similar testing. One thing he regretted doing was loading the energy into one of the hatchets and then throwing it at a tree. It exploded as expected and without him to hold on to the handle he spent the next hour trying to find the damn thing.
Deciding that he had enough for now he went and sat next to his new friends and prepared to catch a little sleep. He scratched their head and talked to them about anything and everything that come to his mind as he started to finally relax. Before long he was starting to nod off and laid all the way down with Chewy on one side and Leia on the other. He fell asleep with a cub under each hand and finally feeling complete for the first time in his life.
Wolfie kisses was apparently his alarm clock now. Laughing and pushing them out of his face he rolled over and could see the clouds were starting to get lighter as the sun was coming up. It was still dark and stormy looking but there was a lighter hue to the clouds now. He set to getting some food out and ready. His companions were letting him know their needs quite loudly. Feeding them some of his rations he brought with him from home he sat down and started telling them what he was going to be doing that day.
"Alright, I am going to be going in that door over there in a minute and you two will have to stay here and guard the camp. I don't know what to expect in there and I will not be able to protect you most likely." Two sets of eyes just looked at him expectantly. Speaking a little slowly and pantomiming with his hands he told them again, "You have to stay here. Guard the camp until I get back. Ok?"
Neither pup moved or looked away. He wasn't sure if they understood so he just had to hope they would not be too upset when he vanished. Scratching their heads he stood up and walked towards the door. He sighed when he heard them following him. This was going to be about as difficult as he expected. Turning around he told them to wait at camp again and to lay down. They continued to stare at him until he continued on to the door. It's not like he was holding them so they should stay here when he teleported. Walking up to the door he touched the handle to initiate the teleport process.
Pulling on the door he sighed again. Just as the light went to envelop him he felt two mouths attach themselves to his pant leg. Looks like they did understand what was going on, they just didn't care what he said and were coming along regardless.
Appearing in the new world he looked down right into two sets of eyes. "I know you two can understand me well enough. This place could be dangerous. I might not be able to protect you so you need to be careful". Chewie yipped and wagged his tail a little in confirmation. They took up spots next to his legs but a few inches back. He apparently had his backup with him. He just hoped they didn't get hurt.
Taking a few more steps he got his introduction message he was looking for.
System Message - Uruz - Test of the Chieftain
Quest Objective: In days of old, future leaders would prove their worth through trials of guardianship and strategy before commanding their own hirds. Embrace this tradition by safeguarding a nearby caravan desperately in need of defense. Escort them safely to the nearest village, ensuring the well-being of those you lead.
Rewards: Your success will be judged by the number of lives preserved under your leadership. The greater the number of survivors upon reaching the village, the more substantial your reward. This trial is not merely a test of strength but of your capability to lead and inspire those who follow you.
Lore Connection: Just as the ancient chieftains of yore were tested in their ability to lead and defend, so too will you be judged. This task harkens back to an age where the safety and unity of a group were the responsibility of its leader – a true test of a ruler's resolve and commitment to their people.
Rubbing his hands together he looked around for a trail or something that would lead him to the road. Looking down at his companions he remarked, "you two wouldn't happen to know where the road is somehow would you?" Trying to explain that he was looking for a bunch of people and wagons on the road near here they stared at him without moving or twitching until he was done.
Like an arrow from a bow they launched forward running in that way young animals do that have not grown into their own size yet. Startled at first he was going to call them back but realized he could probably keep up with them now. Jumping forward he started sprinting after them with admonition that they were not to approach other people just find their location in case they got ahead of him.
Running through the woods was a surreal feeling. A week ago Earth time he was getting dumped now he was chasing his wolf companions through a forest to do a protection run for a local caravan. They were coming up to a nearby rise with some shrubs and small trees on top of it. Not being able to see over the hill or the pups anymore he slowed down a little bit and scanned the area. Just at the bottom of the rise was the exact road he was looking for.
Chewy and Leia were hunkered down in some bushes just off to his right. In the distance he could just see the caravan winding down the trail. It looked like a several small wagons, with lots of people on foot and one or two mounted riders. The flag looked familiar as it was a stylized raven on a white background. It was really similar to the one's carried by Jarl Hrondir's men.
Scanning the area from where he was at he noticed a flash of metal in the tree line around the next bend. The road travelled up towards him and then curved a bit putting the next segment of road out of view from the caravan. Sinclair hunkered down and stared at the spot slowly picking out more details. He could see people standing just back from the edge of the wood line. He couldn't tell how many there was but this definitely smelled of an ambush.
The Quest said protect the caravan so he might as well start here. Sliding back from the edge of the hill he walked toward the caravan a little ways and when the ambush place should be hidden he stepped out on the road and started walking back. He motioned to Chewy and Leia that they should stay where they were at. He was going to spring it early.
His stat growth had grown to such a disproportionate level to what he should have that he didn't think some regular humans were going to be able to do much to him. He equipped his hatchets and let them rest in the sheaths that ran along his back. He could get them out in a second but this way he looked even more helpless. He slid his money pouch over to the side the attackers were on so they would think he was a decent fast mark.
Whistling and walking towards the ambush one step at a time he focused his energy in his body to become smooth and calm. He had been working on his meditating at night and the breathing activities helped calm him down some. He was no more than 10 feet from where he saw them from before when 2 men stepped out sporting mismatched armour and swords.
"Hey stranger, nice day for handing over that money pouch and anything else of value on you. It's that or we kill you and take it from you. Your choice though. Normally I am not in such a hurry but there is a caravan coming and we were paid pretty good to kill them so we need to move this along" The man talking didn't seem like much regardless of his bravado. As he took his "valuables" out of their sheathes he popped off a analyze.
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Name: unknown
Level: 9
Class: Raider
Health 280/300
Description: Raiders, often known as highway robbers, are opportunistic criminals who prey upon travelers and caravans along lesser-guarded roads and trade routes. Typically operating in bands, these marauders use a combination of stealth, intimidation, and force to ambush and overpower their victims, looting for valuables, supplies, and sometimes taking captives. They are usually well-armed and can be ruthless, known for their lack of mercy and quickness to violence. Their camps are often hidden, making it difficult for authorities to root them out, and they may have informants in local settlements to aid their illicit activities.
As the raider had said "move this along" Sinclair had shrugged his shoulders, fired off the analyze, and launched both hatchets at the surprised men. Only one of the hatchets landed a clean hit. The other one was deflected but it at least did the job of putting the guy on the defensive. Catching them unprepared he was able to close the distance equipping his large axe as he stored his other hatchet.
Sweeping left to right he cut deeply into the first raiders leg causing him to fall and scream out. Blood was pumping from the wound. So it looked like he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. Spinning to the other raider who had ripped the hatchet out of his shoulder he prepared a cleave attack and let it go with barely 25 points of mana invested. Sinclair could hear some rustling in the trees so he assumed that more people were on their way. Trying to rapidly finish off the last raider in front of him he put all his power behind the next swing like he was splitting logs. The end result was really messy. The raider had stumbled and managed to catch the blade in his collar bone area opening him up to just below his rib cage.
Backing up a little, Sinclair was peering into the dense foliage trying to see what else was coming when there was an impact and brief flash of pain in his back. Spinning around he could see an archer on the other side of the road reloading his bow. Not able to get over there in time before the archer reloaded he stepped further into the trees coming face to face with 5 more raiders. Time to put those stats to use again he mused. He really hoped there was some skill books or training available in the Market once the tutorial was over.
Not sure who was more surprised him or the raiders as he pumped mana into his cleave skill swinging horizontally at them. They had been all packed in together tightly as they were navigating around the trees. He caught the closest two firmly in the chest dropping them to the ground with a loud explosion of energy. The other three had been a little behind and were only partly spun around by the force of the blast.
Not one to miss an opportunity Sinclair spun the axe around and settled it back into his log splitting stance only to have to roll out of the way as a spear was headed his way from the raider that had been furthest in back. Coming back up to his feet he lashed out quickly taking the spear man across his lead arm. It was a brutal brawl in the closely packed area circled by trees. Sinclair took some minor wounds but through his feral swings he was able to bring 3 of the attackers down.
Brute force was the only real combat skill he could lean on right now. Leaning forward he punched one of the rangers who was still trying to get to his feet from the Cleave going off. With that raider down he stepped over sinking his axe head into the chest of the mostly uninjured raider pinning him to a tree. He might not have any real skill with the axes but his stats were monstrous compared to these guys.
It was almost too easy cutting down the remaining two raiders. He still had to deal with that archer but he would get there shortly. Hearing a shout of pain from across the road he spun around and peered out to see two flashes of fur harrying the guy from bushes. He wasn't looking over at Sinclair in the slightest. His pant legs were torn up and he was freely bleeding from several cuts.
Seeing his chance Sinclair grabbed his hatchets from where they had originally landed. Taking careful aim he threw one the 20 feet across the road only for it to hit the guy on the top of the axe head. He did throw it hard enough that he made him stagger and he saw Chewie go in for the hamstring. Rushing over to the guy he knocked the bow out of his hand. He had questions and this was as good a chance as any.
A little winded Sinclair held him up by the collar of his armour, "Who paid you to kill these people?"
Snarling a little the archer spit bloody phlegm on his chest. "Why does it matter to you? It's not like you can do anything. Jarl Skagnar will just send more people and wash out the local villages who rejected his promise of protection."
So there was a local bully extorting people for money. If you don't pay them then all of a sudden you have raiders attacking you in the middle of the night or destroying your caravans. "Ah, I see. It's like that. Let us 'protect' you or we'll be the one's attacking you. Not a big fan of dishonoring myself like that."
"Look, I was just hired to a do a job. It's nothing personal. "
Sinclair started seeing red at the casual mention of murdering defenseless people so easily just because you had been paid to do it. That does not absolve the moral debt incurred. "There are children in that caravan. Killing children is always personal."
Equipping one of the last javelins he had from the previous tutorial he sunk it into the archers chest right over his heart and all the way out of his back side. Watching the archer die he realized he didn't feel all that bad about this. They were going to kill innocents because of some jerk wanting to consolidate local lands. He wondered when had become so callous to this. It made him shiver a bit at the ease at which he had kill someone. His stomach rolled as doubts crashed in.
Chewy and Leia walked out of the bushes looking as pleased with themselves as they could be. "Didn't I tell you to stay hidden? You could have gotten hurt." Leaning down he scratched their fuzzy little heads. Keeping them out of trouble was going to be a full time job. A job he could see would give him gray hair.
He walked around to the bodies looting each one as he went and throwing their gear into his storage ring. He checked his status menus as well to see what he got.
Enemies Defeated x8 Exp awarded 360
Skill Ups!
Dual Axes Level 5 > Level 6
Cleave Level 0 > Level 2
+ 1 gold 45 silver
2 Poor Quality Boots - (common)
1 Average Quality Iron Cuirass - (Common)
2 Poor Quality Swords - (common)
A lot of the equipment had gotten destroyed during the fight. His brute force style did not lend itself to being careful with the enemies armour or weapons. He decided to wait in the shade as he was starting to hear the caravan getting closer and the lead rider would be able to see him soon. Sitting down with his weapons stowed he had the pups come sit next to him by the road and wait for them to catch up.
Coming to a halt in front of Sinclair the lead rider addressed him, "I am assuming there was an ambush here and you have already taken care of it? Why would you help Jarl Hrondir with no promised reward?"
Getting to his feet, Sinclair thought about the best way to describe why he was here, "I recently helped Jarl Hrondir in protecting a pass from some Draugr. I am familiar with him. It would seem I have been sent to you again to aide in getting to your destination. I talked a little to our friends here before they expired and they were apparently paid to stop you. So we will most likely have more people to take care of along the way. We will need to work together it seems."
The man was in a little bit of shock at the revelation that this was the warrior that had held the pass while the village had gathered. "I would be honored to fight alongside such a hero. The Jarl told us about your deeds in the pass. You helped save the lives of my family."
Feeling a little awkward now Sinclair rubbed the back of his head and tried to forge on. "Let's get the rest of the group up here and then we can get going. These two miscreants are my companions so please tell your people not to shoot at them." Gesturing to Chewy and Leia who had been sitting idly by his feet during the conversation. The rider spun around and rode off to inform the caravan.
The caravan found him still standing there 20 minutes later with both pups laying at his feet. The rider was following along beside the lead caravan and pointed at Sinclair while talking to what he assumed was the caravan leader. As they pulled up he raised his hand in greeting "It's good to see you again. I remember you from the night of the pass even though I did not catch your name. I am Sinclair Hagerson and it would seem we are destined to walk the same road again."
The driver set the brake on the cart and hoped down coming over to greet Sinclair. "Greetings Sinclair. I do remember you and the heroic deeds from that night. Our clan will never forget what you did for us that night. If you have been sent to aid us again I am both gladdened and worried about what that means. We have another day of travel before we get where we are going. We lost several warriors in that pass battle over the course of winter keeping the remaining Draugr out. We were eventually forced to start looking for other places to live. We have found a nearby town that is growing and will give us space to join them while retaining our own way of life. Getting there has been a hassle though. Where are my manners though. My name is Bjorn Egil"
Marveling at the world building that went into these tutorials he wondered about the time differences. He had just seen these people a few days ago and for them it seemed like it was months ago. One thing about his language skill he loved was that it also let him know exactly how to pronounce names and words he would be unfamiliar with. He hated getting names wrong. They were important and were meaningful to their owners so you should show respect when someone introduces themselves.