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Chapter 34 - Bugbear

Riin's POV

The Flood Outpost, Asperd region - late summer.

First day of travel.

After my farewells to mother and a short talk to the guard at the gate, I had walked down the road to the small port for the boat that was to take me over.

It had taken me a few hours to get to the over side of The Flood, with the boat that carried goods over. Once there, it took me a good time to locate a worker willing to sell me a boat. Even after locating one willing to sell it took a good half hour to haggle it down to a price that I was okay with, in the end I had to pay a handful of silver coins. Five silver, a fucking robbery, for an old boat that looked like it would sink if a seagull landed on it. Even so, he was the only one willing to part with a boat, so it left me with no choice.

The timer on the egg slowly going down, as I make my way along the coastline, towards the most southern point on the eastern island of the Asperd Isles. My arms were starting to burn with the same rowing motion for hours without end, finally as the sun started to set I found a okay spot to duck the boat in, along the otherwise rock infested coastline. I can only hope there is more like this spot up ahead, as I have a good three days’ trip with boat left.

Camping outdoor is always a relaxing experience, when nobody's there to annoy you or disrupt your sleep. I let a small fire burn out as I rest my head against the seat of the boat, yes, I'm sleeping in the boat.

Second day of traveling.

By first light, I'm out on the water and rowing away like a mad, my goal is the second ‘bump’ in the land a good 18 miles up the coats, so I have my work cut out for me.

I keep close enough to the coastline that I can swim if necessary but enough distance to it that the underside of the boat is free of the rocky bottom underneath. As I near my goal for today's travel the sun have set and the moon is slowly starting to show itself. Once again, I'm thankful for the darkvision skill, even if others call it blasphemy, something I have yet to fully understand.

Gods and all that crap, what good are they if you lie helplessly in the dark without anyone to hear your cry for help. What good are a god, if no matter how much you beg on your knees, your siblings still die around you. Yes, I shall never place my trust in a god, not then and not now. So if eating to survive is a sin, then I shall sin as none before me have. Be it a god or not if it's dead will mean me living, then I will do all in my power to kill that which stands before me.

I have been thinking as I was rowing my little boat, I'm not set to be on the ocean life, not one bit. My goal is reached as the sun sets on the horizon, land sweet land. I make my camp with the last remaining sunlight of the day, and enjoy a bite of mother’s homemade bread. Checking the time on the egg, I get a window that shows me that there is, [23:09:59] hours left before the chance is complete.

At midnight, I'm awoken by the sound of growling or at least I think it's a growl, after blinking a few times the darkvision skill does its work, showing me the world in shades of grey and white with a few blacks mixed in. There on the left side of the fire next to my small boat is a… Well I would say a bear on two legs… But is just seems wrong to call it a bear… Perhaps it is a humandroid bear race? It is growling or grunting is more like it. Dressed in what seems to be simple pelt and leather, an a simple used axe is strapped on its back. From the place where it is it looks to be between six feet and six feet and some ten inches. It is looking around my boat and worst of all touching my food and completely ignoring me, as if i don't exist in its little world, now that is pissing me off.

I reach out to my side and grab my swords, standing up i spring into a jump and aim for its back, with a speed i had not expected it spins around and rams a clawed hand into my right shoulder, I feel the claws sink into my muscles, the warmth of my blood socking my cloth and the bitter scent of blood, now that's going to leave a scar for sure. Now like hell I'm going to let it harm me without give some back, I swing my swords in arc into the upper chest of my opponent, drawing two deep cuts into its chest in directional lines, blood for blood.

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As the first light of the morning sun, greet a small camp on the southern coast of the Asperd Isle east island, what greets back is a blood-soaked ground is shown to the world, a messed and bloody corpse of a Bugbear lies on the ground and not far from it lies a young boy. His shoulder is a soaked in thick cakes of clocked up blood, his breathing is heavy and uneven, yet a scary looking smile is on his face a battle has been won and a foe has been slain, only the victor is laughing now.

As the night becomes morning I lay on the bloodied ground to out of breath and strength to move an inch, just breathing is painful, I might have a cracked rib or two. what a horrible way to wake up, shitty bugbear thing. my status is flooded with;

You have been hit, you are bleeding.

You have been hit, you are bleeding.

You have been hit, you are bleeding.

You have been hit, you are bleeding.

You have killed [Bugbear - Scout] doing so you have gained 700 experience. For enduring a long-lasting fight, you have +2 [Strength] and +2 [Dexterity]. [Blood Knowledge] collected [8].

I have small cuts all over my body but the worsts it my shoulder, the claws run down on my chest, but luckily my nibble escaped the carnage. The bleeding has slowed down since I revived the injury, but underneath all the cloaked up blood the bleeding is still continuing. My head is spinning and my sight is doubled, overall, I feel like shit. I slowly get up in a sitting position, with just the help of my left arm… Yes, definitely seeing double, I have lost way too much blood for me to be in good health.

After a very slow and uneasy walk to my backpack and a good break to see just a little bit more straight, I finally found one of the potions mother has made that I borrowed from her, not that she knows that, yet. This potion is made with the single purpose, to exponential increase the body's own recovery, in other words it's a healing potion. I didn't think that I would have to use one of them now, since I only got my hands on two, but it can't be helped.

Most of my morning and noon went by with me resting against a tree and slowly crewing on some of the smoked meat that I had packed. As I got a bit better and my sight started to not show me two of everything I looked at, I moved myself over so I could carve out some of the bugbear meat. Drawing a knife, I cut out thin slices and put them up to dry in the smoke still coming from the campfire. I left the carcass of the bugbear, its hide smelled of piss and shit, but I did take its axe with me.

By nightfall I was in such a state that I could move around, without stumbling all over the place looking like a retard. I packed my newly smoked meat into a piece of leather and strapped it with a woven string of cut out leather. As everything got packed into the boat I slowly made my way up the coat, no way I'm staying one more night in a danger zone, I value my life and if one of those took my hours to slay I have no idea what to do if more comes along. So, in the dark of the night I set out to let the current carry my little boat along the shore, closer and closer to my goal, The Lone Isle.

Lark’s POV

Road towards Flinty Village, Flinty region -  Late summer.

We have just left the Inn named Flinty Inn, a inn working as an outpost to the traveling people of the east region of the Isle: We are traveling together with a band of weapon makers from the northernmost end, they come from a city called, Bay City. even hunters from the snow-covered outpost seems to be in the mix, the other travelers refer to it as the Northern Outpost. There are also people from a Village called Rock Village and builders from an outpost called the Flood Outpost, a small building post on the east side of master village.

We now seem to be moving towards the village called Flinty Village and from there to the port city of the isle, Flinty Coast City. From here it seems by the talking of the men and women that we will travel by boat to the Lord of the Asperd Region, and meet up with him in a port city called Vernport, not that a slave like me will see such a great man. How many days by ship it will take to reach the city of Vernport, I don't know. Masters father, Sir. Raval, is in full talk with some of the other bowyers about the calling of crafters to the lord, it seems to be creating some confusing about just what is happening for the lord to call all weapon markers to him.

I have no interest in all this, all I desire is not to be thrown away, while master have a short temper, he seems to have little desire to use mine or Ellette’s body for anything. While he does not seem to deny any advances towards him made in that regard, he does not seem to seek it out himself, at least not yet. Ellette seems to be completely safe from him as he barely cares to look at her, when not ordering her to bring him food, for that I’m overly happy. That child has seen enough to scar her mind for life, even a knife in the hand of ma’am makes her tremble with untold fear. I have little to hope for as my body is in damaged beyond hope, so I will likely soon once more find myself pressed underneath a man's body, but as a slave I can do nothing to chance that fact. While Sir. Raval does not seems to show any interest in me, the same cannot be said from the rest of the traveling band, eyes follow my body whenever I move, and hungry smiles show all too well the know lust hidden beneath.