Had they noticed that a skeleton had died here? Or whoever controlled them? Daniel was certain that someone did control these undead. They seemed too mechanical and unintelligent to achieve anything if left to their own devices. Likely they were controlled by the necromancer who raised them. That is, provided magic worked at least similarly to what he knew about. There was also a non-zero chance that corpses in this world simply raised themselves when they absorbed enough magical energy or whatever else fuelled spells in this world. Were there even spells? Daniel would have to remember these fundamental questions. This was not the time.
His heart raced as the skeleton troop proceeded towards his location. He could now see them without issue. There were three of them. He could possibly take them if it came down to it but they looked to be in much better condition. None had obvious injuries. They did, however, still move slowly. Bombardment seemed the best option. Daniel dropped his sword and rushed back into the tunnel to gather and stack rocks of large enough to do some damage.
He had had ten minutes until the first skeleton stepped out of the vegetation into the open. It had been enough to gather a sizable pile. Daniel threw his first stone. He wanted gauge how accurate he could be. The answer was not very. Deciding that quantity presided over quality he began to swiftly throw stones with rudimentary aim. It took only five stones until he hit one skeleton at its shoulder. Logically, the force should not have been enough to shatter the bone but it did so anyway. Maybe the skeletons’ bones’ integrity had suffered under the passage of time. The skeleton, he hit, lost its arm.
Fuelled by his success, he missed the next three rocks. Fortunately, the skeletons showed no sign of speeding up. Even the damaged one was unperturbed by its injury. His strategy was unexpectedly viable.
Another stone hit a skeleton. This one had hit the knee of an undamaged one. Once more, the hit inexplicably shattered the entire knee, thoroughly disconnecting the leg bones and felling the skeleton. It tried to stand up again but failed since it seemed unable to adapt to its missing leg. Daniel considered it disabled for now when it started its second, equally futile attempt.
Unexpectedly, his next throw hit the last undamaged skeleton which had been walking in the lead. The attack landed perfectly. Its forehead shattered easily under the rock’s impact. It collapsed just like his previous victim had.
[You have slain a Lv. 3 Skeleton. You are awarded 300 Experience Points.]
[You have levelled up.]
[Level: 3 (200/300)]
[Strength: 7 + 1]
[Strength: 8]
Daniel once more felt a familiar surge of energy. His next throw soared over the heads of the remaining skeletons. He had been attempting to hit their skulls. It seemed he would have to get used to level ups. It made sense in retrospect. He was also glad to observe his experience requirements rising linearly.
He also strongly suspected that skeletons, at least the ones he had so far fought, were also F-rank with no class to their name. They seemed far too weak to be of higher ranks. Additionally, he could not pinpoint any difference between the Lv. 3 Skeleton and the Lv. 1 Skeleton. It did question whether there would be an experience difference if the slain creature was of higher rank.
Daniel concentrated on throwing the next rock more accurately. It seemed his higher strength did not inhibit him much when he focused. The rock hit the still standing skeleton at its temple, smashing the skull with continued ease.
[You have slain a Lv. 2 Skeleton. You are awarded 200 Experience Points.]
[You have levelled up.]
[Level: 4 (100/400)]
[Constitution: 6 + 1]
[Constitution: 7]
The now familiar feeling of surging strength filled Daniel. He was glad that levelling up, at least so far, seemed easy and comfortable. It filled him with hope that Agonising would soon become a distant memory.
The only skeleton left was the one he had hit at the knee. Having apparently finally given up standing, it was now crawling towards him. Daniel was confident that the threat was minimal. His arms had begun to burn. His frail body was not made for this continuous exertion. He picked up the sword from the ground. He made his way over to the skeleton. Daniel was sure of this kill. Which is why it did surprise when he suddenly felt a stinging pain in his right arm. Looking towards it, he took a moment to register that something had sliced through part of his arm. He snapped out of it when a something fast flew narrowly past him.
Raising his gaze, he saw a new variant of skeleton standing at the edge of the mushroom forest. Its bones were thickened and radiated a sturdiness unusual in its brethren. It was currently reloading a medieval and well-functioning crossbow. Just the fact that it could apparently comfortably reload a crossbow was a feat of superior strength. Curiously, the flames, lighting up its eye sockets, were significantly stronger than he was used to.
Daniel exploded into action. He sprinted towards the downed skeleton and crushed its skull with his heel. A decision, he quickly regretted, when the sharp shards of bones cut his sole. A foreseeable but currently irrelevant consequence. Daniel ignored the pain with surprising success and continued sprinting towards the crossbowman. Agonising seemed to have increased his pain tolerance. As he closed in, the skeleton seemed to recognise the approaching danger and, in a move uncharacteristic for anything he had seen of its kind before, abandoned reloading to adapt to the changing situation.
It raised its crossbow to catch iron sword, Daniel had swung at its head. Instead of giving it a chance to counter, Daniel used his remaining speed to barrel into the skeleton knocking it prone. While it was sturdier than usual, that did not make it heavier. It was still just a heap of bones.
Daniel attempted to kick its crossbow away but the skeleton managed to maintain its grip. Aborting, Daniel stepped on the crossbow to lock it down for now and swung his blade at the skeleton’s skull. The skeleton tried to evade but his blade still managed to strike a glancing hit, already cracking the brittle bone.
The skeleton put its strength into lifting its weapon and Daniel stumbled backwards as his body weight was overpowered. The skeleton swiped at Daniel’s feet while standing up. Daniel hopped backwards to evade, still stumbling a little, but reacquired a sure footing quicker than the skeleton. In one lunge his iron blade crashed into the skeleton’s skull, shattering it completely. Like any other skeleton, that spelled its end and it collapsed to the ground.
[You have slain a Lv. 3 Skeletal Crossbowman. You are awarded 450 Experience Points.]
[You have levelled up.]
[Level: 5 (350/500)]
[Dexterity: 12 + 1]
[Dexterity: 13]
This had been a tough fight. Daniel was proud of how he had held up. However, he was still very much aware of how fortunate he had been. Mainly, the skeleton missing its two shots had drastically contributed to his success. A stinging reminded him of the two injuries he had sustained. The bolt wound on his arm could have been much worse and the wound on his foot did not really want to contemplate for a long time. That had just been plain, adrenalin-fuelled stupidity. His arms were killing him by now. Especially his sword arm.
Daniel considered his options. The first three skeletons likely had nothing value but he still checked to make sure. He exchanged his own sword with the leader’s which was in better condition. Then he strapped on the crossbow bolt quiver and shouldered the crossbow. A crossbow, as far as he knew, was easy to use, save for the strength required to load it, and offered him a range advantage he could use. His priority for now however was finding something to bandage himself with.
He trekked into the mushroom forest, quickly deciding to use the crossbow as a crutch to avoid using his injured foot. He could not imagine that the mixture of organic matter on the forest floor was good for an open wound. Daniel also took care not to cut his remaining foot on anything lying about but luckily the forest floor was rather soft.
He did not quite know what he was looking for but some clean water would probably be a good start. He had heard that it was possible to use some plant matter like moss in first aid in his previous life but he had to admit that he was somewhat fearful to use some sort of toxic plant. Most of the vegetation being mushrooms and mushrooms famously sometimes being quite indigestible did not help the matter. He decided to venture onward for now. He tended towards the village he had seen on the left since it seemed more likely that living beings lived there than in the tower and living beings would most certainly require similar necessities he did. Not least medical supplies.
Daniel had to admit that his most recent experiences had dampened his previous unhappiness about his circumstances. Combat had been exhilarating. More so levelling. That feeling of becoming stronger in an instant was extremely addictive. To some extent it worried him. Would he become an Experience junky? Then again, the explanation by the system indicated that he could gain Experience through almost any action. Especially if they were spectacular in the eyes of the system. Though Daniel had no what criteria it set. So, becoming addicted to Experience probably would not impact his daily life.
Unless of course there were actions which gave more Experience in less time. Like slaying enemies. That could be dangerous. Already he began to see the skeletons as walking bags of Experience. What if that ever were to happen to actual living, sentient beings? Would he slaughter them just to gain one new high? Daniel did not think so. Then again it was difficult for him to relate to a feeling such as this. It was difficult to say how he would feel in the moment, what would have become of his inhibitions in those days. Daniel expected to kill people in the future. He did not think he would mind. Unless he knew and liked them, naturally. Or maybe if it was a woman. He would mind killing children. That was a line he was not willing to cross. Of course, most people were not willing to cross the line of killing at all. Daniel knew that. It made him wonder why he did not mind. Maybe he did and only felt like he did not at this moment.
Sunken into his own thoughts, Daniel took a long while to realise he had gradually begun to hear a burble in the distance. Maybe it was a stream. That would likely provide him with some mostly clean water. Daniel adjusted his direction toward the burble. He now began to pay much more attention to his surroundings. Where there was water, there should be living creatures.
It occurred to him that he should have been paying attention previously already. It was dangerous to disconnect from reality in this fashion out here in the wild. This was by no means a safe area. At any time, an enemy could appear.
Daniel slowed his pace as he neared the suspected stream of water. He now took great care when stabbing his crossbow into the ground as a support.
It took only a few more metres to catch the first glimpse of a clear river of water. It was large enough that several fully-grown men could lay along its width. It was a sight unlike any he had ever seen before. The mushrooms framed the river bank and small shrubbery sometimes arched a little into the river. He even managed to see quite a few fish swimming up against the current. The burble was caused by the tiny waterfalls as the river flowed down several steps of rough natural stone. The light of the crystals on the ceiling reflected in the river, making it sparkle. The rocks lining the edges of the river were covered in thick, vibrant green moss.
Daniel approached, glancing around to make sure there was nothing in his surroundings. He sat down on one particularly well-padded rock to rest and leaned his sword, crossbow and quiver securely against the stones. Even his injured foot did not complain when he propped it up on another conveniently placed moss-covered rock. His tail curled around his waist. In fact, it felt incredibly soothing. Daniel completely relaxed.
River gently continued to burble and he could for the first time appreciate that the crystals apparently did not only radiate light but also a surprising amount of warmth. He chalked it up to magic. It did make him wonder why mushrooms grew here. As far as he knew they liked it rather colder and damper. But maybe these had different requirements. Or the crystals were more special than he gave them credit for.
Daniel enjoyed the peace of the river. His feet brushed over the moss, enjoying its softness. His soles had stopped hurting. His arms had stopped hurting. The wound, too. Daniel’s eyes snapped open.
He had stopped hurting. He sat up. His arm only showed a tiny scabbed wound. Inspecting the sole of his foot was more difficult to inspect but after some difficult contortions, Daniel could confirm that those wounds too had healed at an irrational speed. There was barely a mark left.
Daniel looked at the moss. It was not just vibrant. It was positively glowing. This moss was magic. He was certain of it. Daniel was at a loss. He just wanted to rest some, away from the complications of this magical world. Daniel froze.
Had he wanted to rest? Daniel was certain that he had been quite ready bandage his wounds and continue walking or something to that affect. So why had he sat down and rested? His body tensed. He got to his feet, checking his surroundings for threats that might want to take advantage of his vulnerable state.
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As his eye movement got increasingly more frantic, Daniel could swear he heard a quiet, high-pitched chuckling behind him. He twirled around. Another chuckle. Suddenly the glow of the moss around him dimmed and Daniel suddenly felt something weird. It was as though a gust of wind surrounded him but his fur betrayed that notion as it lied still. Then the feeling was gone and with it the, he now realised, unnatural feeling of peacefulness.
Something had been here. Someone, maybe. Right under his nose. That being had made him feel peace and healed him and then left when he began to pierce its illusions. He was to some extent grateful but it had been incredibly dangerous to be this relaxed. He quickly gathered his weapons. It would be prudent to change locations right now. Just in case. It’s not as if there was any reason to stay. While the moss was still soft, it had lost its magical appeal.
Daniel contemplated whether he should cross river. It was more than shallow enough. He supposed, it depended on whether he wanted to reach that village and whatever creatures inhabited it. Daniel did want that. He wanted to finally speak to somebody living. Of course, it was dubious whether they would be able to understand one another but they would surely find a way if they tried.
Daniel kept his equipment away from the water as he stepped into the river. The current was strong but not nearly strong enough to endanger him. The water gurgled as it crashed against his legs.
It was slippery, climbing the stones on the other side of the river. The moss had been alright when he had been dry but now that he was wet it did not help his grip. He did feel as though he had bruised his shin a little when he completed his climb. His breathing had become ragged. He did not have much time to recover from the exertion as he heard speech. His heart rate accelerated as he strapped on his quiver and hid behind a mushroom stem. He put the crossbow on the ground nose first and put his foot though the metal frame made for exactly that. He leveraged his weight as he struggled to pull back the string and hook it behind the trigger. Then he laid a bolt in the groove. The crossbow string now formed a triangle with the wooden beam which made it a crossbow. Inside lay the bolt. If the trigger was pressed the hook currently holding the string would retract enough for the string to be released and the bolt would be catapulted through the air. As such a crossbow was almost as simple to use as a hand gun.
Daniel leaned forward, peeking around the mushroom stem he hid behind. There were five lanky, green humanoids. They would barely reach his hip. Equipped with leather armour and primitive spears, they dragged a dead deer behind them. Hunters. Presumably from that village or camp he had seen. They spoke in a squeaky, snarly language. Daniel knew, they spoke a language and not just making noise because he could understand their meaning while being fully aware that the language should be wholly unfamiliar. It reminded him of when he could instinctively understand the labels on the barrels in the cave he awoke in despite not recognising the script on an intellectual level.
“Boss, switch.” one of the two green men dragging the deer grunted. His breathing was ragged.
“No. We just switch.” the guy in the lead answered with a sneer on his face. At least Daniel assumed it was a sneer. He did not know their culture. It might very well be their way of smiling. He doubted it.
“Prey heavy.” the other humanoid dragging the deer contributed to the exchange.
“You weak.” one of the unburdened creatures following them said. This one was looking down on its kin. Daniel was certain.
It seemed to Daniel that the leading humanoid was the smartest of the lot. Their language, as far as Daniel could tell, was rudimentary but functional. There was a certain potential for eloquence but it was obvious that none of the creatures before him had ever tried to explore it.
He now had to decide whether to treat them as hostile. These beings were sentient if a bit unintelligent. They had the ability to be friendly. Daniel inspected their equipment to evaluate the threat they posed to him. None of them seemed to carry any ranged weaponry. In fact, they did not carry anything other than those spears. It made him wonder how they had hunted the deer. Daniel decided that it would not do to wordlessly attack the first sentient people he met in this new world.
His heart still racing, he stepped out of his hiding place and deliberately made some noise, careful not to point his weapon at them or make overly aggressive gestures. The group in front of him spun around. The two dragging the deer dropped it. As it turned around, the creature in the lead raised its spear at him.
“You! Drop weapons!” it cried.
It seems Daniel had been mistaken. That one did not always speak properly either. Maybe it was not translated properly by whatever translated their speech to him.
He lowered crossbow a little to signal non-aggression.
The group of humanoids sneered a little.
“Ha! Weak man.” their boss jeered. “Kneel, so we bind you. King may let you live as slave.” The creature seemed sure of victory.
Daniel did not need long to deliberate. He did not intend surrender to these unknown creatures. Especially, if they looked down on him. Truthfully, they also looked rather too repulsive and savage.
Daniel raised his crossbow at them to communicate his stance. The leading creature snarled and waved at its subordinates who immediately rushed toward him. Daniel swiftly took aim and shot his loaded bolt at the leader. He was the smartest. Without him, the rest of them at least would not think about tactics.
[You have slain a Lv. 5 Goblin Hunt Leader. You have been awarded 750 Experience Points.]
[You have levelled up.]
[You have levelled up.]
[Level: 7 (0/700)]
[Strength: 8 + 2]
[Strength: 10]
Daniel felt the energy flooding his body in unusual quantities. He could feel his strength notably increase. Two levels were just what he needed and the points had been allocated quite favourably into strength. The system also revealed that the little, green creatures were apparently called goblins.
As his enemies closed in, Daniel realised that reloading was impossible. He also belatedly realised that he had left his sword behind the mushroom on the ground. Daniel began to retreat towards it but the first goblin arrived swifter than he had anticipated. The small being was faster than its kin and was already extending its spear to pierce his belly. Daniel evaded the straight strike and swung his crossbow, catching his target at the brow with the crossbow’s limb. The strike stunned his attacker and Daniel used that time to rip the spear from its wielder, turn it around and stab it into the goblin’s chest.
Its remaining three squad mates came to a stop in a semicircle around him. Daniel drew his newly acquired spear back, leaving his victim to die, and pointed it at the goblin in the middle of the three. His crossbow he now wielded with just his right hand, ready to club any overzealous goblin over the head as well. The fight arrived at a stalemate. Daniel could already feel exhaustion creeping up on him.
[You have slain a Lv. 3 Goblin Hunter. You have been awarded 450 Experience Points.]
[Level: 7 (450/700)]
The enemy on the left looked back to their fallen leader and it occurred to Daniel that they might be waiting for orders that would not come. Using the distraction, Daniel stabbed at the goblin who had turned back with his spear. His strike pierced the goblin’s neck but he had to abandon the weapon to dodge the counters of the other two goblins.
Daniel considered his options. His considerations ended, when the one who had originally stood in the middle lunged to attack him. Daniel once more side stepped the attack and swung his crossbow. He hit the creature squarely in the face. He paid for the strike in blood. While his original attacker was knocked on its back, its mate successfully stabbed his side.
Daniel yelped, more in surprise than in pain, and let go of the crossbow which fell to the ground and guarded by the goblin who had stabbed him. Immediately acutely aware that he was now unarmed, Daniel reigned in his aggressions, watching the last remaining danger warily. He could see out of the corner of his eye that his crossbow swing had knocked out the goblin he had hit.
The point of the spear drew circles in the air as its wielder grinned due to what it thought an assured victory. Daniel was not inclined to disagree. Despite their primitive look, those spears where incredibly sharp and he doubted that his blank fur would be able to stop even a slashing strike. Stabs were already proven to work. Luckily, the injury he had just sustained likely was not deep since the creature had not had the reach to properly follow through.
Daniel raised his hands in an amateurish boxing stance. As his fingers entered his field of view, he realised that he had neglected a weapon he had against fleshy opponents. A flex of his novel muscles made all ten claws extend out of their sheaths. They would have been of little help against skeletons but they would do much against the goblin. Unfortunately, they did not offer a lot of range. Daniel decided that it would still be best to play this last encounter defensively. It would not do to acquire a new injury now that the fight almost over. Daniel’s tail lashed from side to side.
Daniel was much more confident in his victory now that he was not helpless anymore. Apparently, this translated into his posture since his opponent’s posture became slightly more reticent. The goblin growled and began to circle Daniel. Not willing to let the enemy get behind him, Daniel turned as well, keeping eye contact with the small creatures.
He could only now fully appreciate the viciousness of the goblin’s appearance. Its large, hooked nose partially covered its pointy teeth as its maw stretched wide in a savage grin. Its yellow eyes darted around, looking Daniel up and down as well as keeping an eye on the surroundings. It reminded Daniel that he himself had planned to watch out during his next fight and attempt to avoid focusing too much on just his opponents. That had not worked out well.
The thought distracted him just enough that the goblin saw an opportunity and lunged forward. Daniel circled around the attack trying to get close to the goblin. Inconveniently, this goblin had wised up from watching him do exactly this to several of its now dead or unconscious friends. It did not commit to its attack, drawing back its spear and evading the claw swipe Daniel had sent at it. The immediately retaliated with a horizontal swipe at Daniel’s new position. Unable to jump back in time, Daniel instead moved into the attack against all instinct, exploiting the fact that the spear was not a weapon made for this kind of attack and letting its shaft collide with his side. It hurt but not nearly as much as being hit by the spear head.
Now in grappling distance, Daniel wrapped a hand around the much lighter creature’s neck lifted his opponent up and slammed them into the ground. He used one hand to restrain the goblin’s spear arm, digging his claws into its lower arm. The other he swiped at its throat.
Daniel jerked back as, for the first time, his claws ripped through flesh and a small fountain of blood splashed in his face. He had not expected the move to be quite this messy.
[You have slain a Lv. 5 Goblin Hunter. You are awarded 750 Experience Points.]
[You have levelled up.]
[Level: 8 (500/800)]
[Constitution: 7 + 1]
[Constitution: 8]
The fight was over. Daniel’s chest was heaving. He sat back, his body still positioned over the goblin’s corpse. He did not know what he had expected when he stepped out from behind the mushroom but it had not been this. Daniel looked at the battlefield. In the distance he saw the crossbow bolt sticking out from the goblin leader. The bodies of the other goblin’s surrounded him. The battle had moved surprisingly far with all the retreating and evading. He had moved past the mushroom where he had left his sword in the heat of the battle. Daniel turned his attention to the unconscious goblin hunter.
He stood up and began to search the bodies. On the goblin he had killed last he found a rough rope. Presumably the one the goblin leader had intended to tie him up with. Daniel took it and tied up the still unconscious goblin. He had decided that he would attempt to learn more about the goblin society here and his general circumstances through this prisoner. How exactly he would approach the interrogation, he was not sure. For one, Daniel could understand the goblin but the goblin would not understand him. For another, the goblin might refuse to answer and Daniel was uncertain how he would deal with that if it happened.
While he had killed four sentient creatures just now, Daniel did not feel much different. The battle had been exciting and every blow struck had filled him with accomplishment. That was something to consider. Did he like combat? Well, yes. Indubitably, yes. But had he always liked combat? Or had that somehow changed through his rebirth? Looking back at this past, Daniel could not confidently say that he had always liked it. The few times he had actually fought in a melee battle with anyone, he could not remember feeling the same excitement. If this had changed through his rebirth, what else had?
Regardless, Daniel still felt that torture was not necessary at this point. He resolved that if the goblin were to refuse to answer, he would simply give it a clean death. Of course, the goblin did not need to know that.
When he was assured the goblin would not be able to escape, Daniel used what rope he had left to tie it to one of the medium tall mushrooms. He then turned his attention once more to his loot, going so far as to strip the goblins to see how much cured leather he had to work with. The looted corpses he piled up on the side. He left the unconscious goblin alone for the most part except for taking all weapons he could find away, mainly just a flint skinning knife the goblin had tucked away into his belt. All goblins had carried one of those.
Daniel was surprised at this uniformity. It suggested to him that the goblin camp, assuming that settlement was where the goblins came from, was more organised he had expected. It looked to him as though the goblins’ equipment had been provided by some public authority rather than being a personal possession like he had expected. The leather armour he had taken from the goblins, too, looked as though it had all been made from the same design. It was complete even if the craftsmanship was somewhat rudimentary. It would provide more than enough leather material for Daniel to maybe make himself some equipment. Provided, he took the time to craft it. He could go a little up the river, away from the presumed goblin camp, to set up a little camp of his own.
The deer and the fire-starting kit, he had acquired from the hunting party, made that especially attractive. Daniel had never butchered an animal before but he expected it to be more than possible to get at least a few worthwhile pieces from the deer. On closer inspection, Daniel discovered that the goblins seemed to have already done some of the butchering for him. There was a long cut across the deer's neck, the edges dyed red with blood. It's belly had been cut open length-wise and all organs seemed to be missing. The rest of the deer Daniel himself would have to cut up.
He gathered the spears together and recovered the crossbow bolt, he had used earlier. Recovering ammunition was a necessity in his situation. The goblins carried some other supplies. In addition to three tents, each had one more leather bag for food and a water skin. Three were empty. The other two contained some cured meat of unknown origin and some bread and cheese.
It made Daniel wonder how the goblins had achieved farming and animal husbandry underground with just the light of these crystals. Sure, the crystals illuminated the cavern and radiated some warmth but Daniel did not think that they could replace proper sunshine. Husbandry had less strict requirements of the environment, depending on the beast.
It gave Daniel some comfort that he found food which at least looked so very familiar to what he was used to. He had not thought about it until now but he should have expected food to differ significantly in this new life compared to his past life. Though he supposed, it did. The bread was much whiter than he was used to even though it had obviously been baked. The cheese also seemed to have an off colour. Under normal circumstances, Daniel would have thought twice about eating this but he couldn’t be picky now.
He used one of the empty provision bags to pack up his loot, tying the spears to his back for now with leather strips cut from one of the other empty bags. Then he untied his prisoner and hoisted them upon his back. He made his way back to the river bank to follow it upstream, away from the camp. He did hope that the goblins did not come from a different camp which lay in the direction he was walking. Daniel supposed he would have seen it from his vantage point when he exited the tunnel but he also had to consider that his eyesight was impaired. Still, he had seen the other two settlements. It would stand to reason that he would have seen any others near him as well. If it was not near, he did not care that much.
Maybe two kilometres up the river Daniel found a spacious clearing almost directly next to the river. He decided that it would be a good point to make camp. He set down his baggage and collapsed to the ground. While it normally would not have taken more than half an hour to walk this distance, Daniel suspected he had needed almost twice that time. He had underestimated the burden his supplies would be on his frail body. While he was strong enough to fight for a short time, the prolonged marching had quickly worn down his stamina. He had had to rest frequently and even with rests he still felt as if he had been walking for several hours.
For a few short minutes he just lay on the mushroom forest ground looking up at the blue, illuminating crystals and enjoyed their strange and mysterious warmth.