Before beginning the process of deconstructing the Steel Boar, Samantha sent Silas off in search of a place where they could shelter while her arm healed. As they parted ways, she took a moment to remove the tourniquet she had fashioned earlier. Her severed arm had scabbed over completely with her earlier advancement and the pain had been reduced down to a dull ache and a mildly-distracting itch, so it was no longer necessary.
Groaning with tiredness, she mentally prepped herself for the hours of further exhausting work she knew lay ahead.
With a spirit beast this size, she had to be strategic about what she collected from its corpse. There was no way she could take all of it with her, even with her enhanced Strength. She also suspected that if she remained in the area for too long that she and the fate of this herd would be discovered by other denizens of the forest, which likely would end poorly for her. By her estimates, she had maybe seven hours until morning–eight if she was lucky. Even with two fully intact arms it wouldn’t be enough time to fully break down a creature of this size, but she was determined to do as much as she could.
Looking over the carcass, she decided she could reasonably hope for three things: the pelt, a good cut of meat, and the tusks. The pelt and meat were the highest priority because they would be consumed by scavengers if she didn’t harvest them immediately. The hide would eventually make fantastic armor–as it had successfully turned aside her spear many times–and the meat could serve as crucial rations while she hunkered down somewhere to heal. The tusks were the lowest priority primarily because of their sturdiness, meaning she felt the most comfortable leaving them behind. Steel Boar tusks were infused with high amounts of metals and minerals so it was unlikely that they could be damaged easily, and given that they were currently stuck in a tree it was also unlikely that they would be carried off before she came back for them.
Her plan set, she got to work.
Unsurprisingly, skinning the beast was exceedingly difficult with only one good arm. Using her teeth and some rope to hold the pelt taut as she cut it free from flesh, she managed to skin most of the boar–admittedly with ample cursing. She had to leave the underbelly alone since she didn’t have the ability to maneuver the boar by herself. Unfortunately, this also meant she couldn’t salvage even a remnant of her Primitive Bone Spear, but she comforted herself with the knowledge that she could rely on her skinning knives as weapons for the foreseeable future. Even with this limitation, however, she was still able to cut free around 200 pounds of pelt.
After placing the fur aside, she got to work on harvesting the backstraps—the choicest cut of meat that she felt she could reasonably carry. By the time she had carved out 50 pounds of meat, dim rays of light were already beginning to filter through the canopy. Soon the heat of the day would cause the scent of the carnage to travel through the forest, drawing all manner of potential predators to this spot. Her time was up.
She packed her things as quickly as one hand allowed, simultaneously paring down on now-obsolete spirit beast materials that she collected over the weeks. All other pelts, bones, and pieces of chitin were left behind, leaving only the essentials she had originally brought with her and the newly acquired Steel Boar pelt and backstraps. Hoisting the nearly 300 pounds of equipment onto her back, she began following the binding thread towards Silas.
“I’ve finished collecting what I could for now, though we should come back before we leave the area permanently. Did you find anywhere suitable?”
“I think so! Come find me.” Silas replied.
Samantha sent an affirmative and obliged, continuing towards Silas’s location at a slow but steady pace. Judging by the faintness of the binding thread he was quite far away, but despite the bone-deep fatigue she did her best to stay alert and focused on her surroundings as she traveled.
She was only partially successful.
Her mind wandered as she marched through the dense underbrush, and she repeatedly caught herself dangerously oscillating between alertness, sleepiness, and daydreaming. As the hours passed these lapses in attention became more frequent, but camping in the open was an even worse option than continuing the hike. So, she pushed on.
As she neared Silas, her weariness became crippling. The thicket constantly threatened to tangle her legs and trip her, and every time she stopped to catch her breath she nearly fell asleep. Upon hiking uphill for nearly a mile, she feared she would faint from exhaustion, but Silas encouraged her.
“You’re almost there! Just a bit further.”
Gathering what little energy remained in her body, Samantha crested a small rise on the hill and found–to her relief– that she had finally reached her destination. Silas came to greet her and promptly directed her to an old dried up riverbed, leading her behind a smattering of large, rounded boulders. Then, he pointed out a crack in a stony portion of the river wall about three feet wide.
“I’ve hid here before. It’s safe. No beasts inside.” he informed her.
Samantha nodded to him silently, eager to rest. She squeezed through the narrow opening, and noted that if she had not been specifically looking for it, she probably wouldn’t have noticed the cave entrance. She hoped that this would also be the case for would-be predators.
After sidling through the tight, twisting entrance, it opened up into a moderately-sized cavern. There were no other openings that she could see apart from the entrance, so this was likely the end of the cave system. While not ideal if they were trapped inside by a powerful spirit beast, they also didn’t need to worry about guarding more than one way in. In all honesty, Samantha was too tired to care much about defense logistics.
Trusting Silas’s evaluation that the cave was safe, she set her heavy pack down and immediately fell asleep on the hard rock floor–not even bothering to pull out her sleeping mat first.
----------------------------------------
Samantha woke with a pained jolt as the stump of her arm knocked against a rock. She sat up to cradle the injured limb with her good hand, then winced as her sore, abused body protested at the movement.
Everything hurt.
In a bid to ease the pain she spent a qi point on [Flawless Regeneration], only to instantly regret that action as well. Her dantian and heart meridian burned as the art activated, and she held back a groan as the formation completed and healing energies migrated through her body.
Silas’s ears perked up as the sound of her movements disturbed the relative silence of the cave. Leaving his guard position near the exit, he made his way past Samantha and towards the back of the space, “Glad you’re awake! Wanted to show you backpack. This way!”
She had gotten much better at interpreting Silas’s communications, but every now and then something he conveyed confused her. In this case, to transmit the word ‘backpack’ he had sent her a mental impression of her own bag.
“You mean… the one I’ve been carrying this whole time?”
Silas let out an impatient huff, “No, different! Come see.”
Curious, she carefully stood and slowly followed the Lunar Hare.
Now that she wasn’t dead on her feet, she was able to get a better look at the structure of their temporary sanctuary. The cave itself was asymmetrical with every surface being relatively rough and uneven. It was difficult to estimate the size of the space due to the unusual shape, but the somewhat oblong hollow was about 10 feet wide, 20 feet deep, and 10 feet tall. Some parts of the cavern jutted out at odd angles, and the area that Silas led her to was neatly hidden behind one of these outcroppings. Curled in this semi-secluded space, tucked tight into the fetal position, was a human skeleton clothed in rotting robes.
It wasn’t difficult to tell that they had been from a very wealthy family when they were alive. A few patches of their clothing remained intact, and Samantha could see that the materials were high quality and the stitching was beautifully done.
“This! Here!” Silas called excitedly.
Samantha’s attention was drawn to a backpack that looked to be extremely well-made and in almost perfect condition. Silas stood on his hind legs, placing his forelegs on the fallen-over pack and bouncing up and down slightly like a child showing off a new toy.
“This had tasty food too! Just like yours did. You like it?”
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“You searched through this pack while I was sleeping?”
His ears flattened, “No! Before. A long time ago.”
Samantha held up her left hand appeasingly, “I think I’m understanding the situation a bit better now. Is this why you led me to a cave so far away? Because of the bag?”
He narrowed his eyes at her.
“Not–not that I’m unappreciative! It’s a good spot, and I do like the bag! It’s very nice… Thank you. I realize I’m a bit late in saying it, but you’ve been a great help.” she said sheepishly.
Silas’s ears perked back up and his nub tail wiggled in delight at the praise, “Other spots were closer. Too small for you though. I knew you’d fit here! Now… I’m going to sleep. Your turn to guard.”
Without waiting for her response, Silas hopped away to a nearby depression in the ground and curled up in the divot. In moments his eyes were closed and he was asleep, and Samantha couldn’t help but smile at her cute companion. She did feel truly grateful for his help.
Turning her attention back to the fallen human and their belongings, Samantha gave a low bow in the direction of the skeleton.
“I thank you for the unintended gift.” she whispered somberly.
She didn’t feel good about taking from the dead, but she rationalized that it was better than leaving the items to rot where they served no one. Maybe she could even take something back to the family and give them closure if she was able to locate an identifying crest on his person. She decided to start with the bag to see if there was anything useful.
The backpack itself was made from a dark, supple leather, and had light brown stitching around the edges and seams. Additional sets of clear, transparent stitching were placed strategically on different areas of the pack in various shapes, which she immediately recognized as a form of enchantment. Although she wasn’t experienced enough to tell what the symbols did at a glance, she knew a bit about the general enchanting process since her parent’s shop sometimes enchanted items.
The clear stitching was some sort of spirit beast material–usually hair or tendon–that had been alchemically treated and lost its color as a result. This thread was then charged with qi and expertly arranged and attached to the item to imbue it with certain effects. In the case of a backpack, the most popular enchantments either strengthened the material or preserved the contents inside. She could easily see it being either one or both, given its near perfect condition when compared to the body, and the fact that Silas was able to eat something inside it at one point.
Taking the pack and moving to the cave exit, she emptied the contents and neatly arranged them on the floor. In terms of what was salvageable, there was a manual, a journal, a locked metal box, and some camping supplies which appeared to be of much higher quality than the ones she’d brought with her. Aside from that, there were some broken glass vials, some chewed-through cloth bags that looked to have at one time contained provisions, and an empty leather satchel that smelled strongly of herbs. She suspected she knew what had happened to the food and herbs, given what Silas had said earlier.
She picked up the journal and started reading, hoping to get an idea for who the individual had been. She didn’t need to look further than the first page, which had ‘Eduin Granvich’s Journal. DO NOT READ!’ written in large letters. This page also had a few skulls doodled in the corners, and ‘DO NOT READ’ was underlined with messy scribbles. She smiled sadly at the words, which reminded her of something one of her friend’s little brothers would have written.
Skimming through a handful of entries, Eduin frequently complained about the many activities and meetings he was forced to attend as a part of his familial duties. He constantly referred to himself as a high ranking member of House Granvich–one of the three most powerful families in Yivesh–and lamented how his parents coddled and sheltered him.
He apparently received his cultivation quest at the tender age of 13, which his parents swiftly discouraged him from pursuing despite his protests. Believing that he was destined for great power due to his early access to the questline, and the high status he was born into, he took matters into their own hands. Packing supplies discreetly, he ‘borrowed’ a copy of a manual containing the Granvich cultivation cycling pattern and snuck out of the city.
The rest of the journal detailed a sad decline in Eduin’s condition as his journey into the wilderness did not go as expected. The Granviches were owners of a permanent qi fount about a weeks journey away, and the young cultivator-to-be had been led to the location once or twice for family events. He initially was confident he could find his way there and back again, but the tone of the writing quickly shifted as his supplies ran low and he wasted days traveling in circles. Afraid and frustrated, he climbed a hill to try and get his bearings, but became so exhausted by the effort that he took shelter in this cave. A final entry mentioned a plan to try to find his way back in the morning, but there was no update as to what happened next.
She put the journal down gently and went back to the skeleton. Looking at it with this new knowledge, she realized now that the bones were notably smaller than a full-grown adult–though not by much. He must have been tall for his age. She gave a bow of respect once more as a twinge of grief for the young stranger made her heart ache.
Looking more closely at Eduin’s skeleton, Samantha noticed something around his neck that she had missed earlier. Bending down and nudging a strip of cloth aside, she saw it was a metal key on a chain that looked like it was a match for the locked box. She removed it from his remains as gently as she could, doing her best not to disturb the placement of the bones.
“I will give you a proper burial once I have healed.” she promised.
Returning to the cave exit, Samantha sat down and immediately tried the key on the box. It took some finagling to line up properly due to scratches and dents around the lock and the use of only one hand, but eventually the lid popped open with a satisfying ‘click’.
Inside the box were four grape-sized spirit pearls, which sat nestled in padded indentations. They looked to be a bit smaller than the one she had harvested from the Steel Boar, but she estimated they would be around Rank 2-Mid. She set two of them aside for Silas, placing them near his sleeping spot so he could consume them when he awoke, and kept her two cores in the lockbox for later. She wouldn’t be able to use them right away, else she’d risk permanently damaging her already-irritated dantian and meridian.
She picked up the final item of interest–the manual–with fearful reverence. If this really was the Granvich cycling pattern and it was discovered that she had read it, the consequences would be severe. An outsider learning a family’s unique pattern was akin to stealing an inheritance or heirloom, and had been the cause of more than one blood feud over the centuries. She honestly considered whether it was worth the risk to read the manual, but in the end she couldn’t allow herself to pass up this opportunity.
She opened to the first page and read the introduction, her excitement growing exponentially the further she got. It was even better than she had expected.
Not only did the book contain instructions for the Vital Wellspring Cycling Pattern–which was a significant improvement over her Entwined Circlet pattern–but it also contained the mindset [Sage’s Rumination] to supplement it! In short, the Vital Wellspring Cycling Pattern focused more on qi pool size than regeneration, but that’s where [Sage’s Rumination] came in. This mindset, if mastered, would allow a cultivator to maintain a permanent state of meditation, essentially allowing them to double whatever qi regeneration rate they possessed.
As badly as she wanted to lose herself in the manual and learn all of its secrets, she couldn’t afford to have all of her focus and attention absorbed while on guard duty–especially when she wasn’t in good shape to defend herself from an attack. There was one thing that she could do while she kept watch, though. As painful as the experience would be, she needed to start healing her arm.
Fortunately, though her use of the beast cores had severely irritated her cultivation base, she had not received a notification that she had permanently damaged anything. This meant that although activating arts would feel like she was setting her insides on fire, she could safely use her own qi without causing herself further damage.
She checked her qi pool and found that she had 8/13 points to work with–more than enough for what she planned. Gaining knowledge of [Flawless Regeneration] directly from her third eye vision was a lot different than learning it from a manual like she had with [Inspect]. While both resulted in an almost mystical transfer of information, the third eye vision had given her additional insights into the art and its usage. It was as if she had been practicing using [Flawless Regeneration] for years, and understood every nuance of the skill. She could even treat the art like a passive ability, funneling her qi regeneration into healing herself without much conscious input.
She decided that before exploring the passive healing, she needed to experiment a bit with the healing effects to ensure that they matched with her expectations. After all, even though she felt as though she was an expert with the art, she wouldn’t know for certain until she tried.
She spent the first point without any particular focus or goal, just wanting to confirm what healing was prioritized. Over the course of a minute, a warm, comforting sensation spread out from her chest and she felt her aches and pains lessen wherever it passed. She also noted that the scabbing around the stump of her arm remained unchanged. As she expected, undirected healing affected whatever was closest to her meridian until the qi was expended.
The next point she again spent without any specific focus. This time she found that after all her minor aches and pains were fixed, she felt refreshed as if she had just gotten the best night’s sleep. There was also a slight improvement to her arm this time, now that her other injuries were completely repaired. Her knowledge of the art told her that [Flawless Regeneration] could not fully prevent the need for sleep, but it could help with her overall energy level and alertness.
With the third qi point, she attempted to direct the warm energies specifically to her missing arm, confirming that she’d gain a greater healing effect over a smaller area. She looked at the end of her stump, examining the changes that had taken place. She couldn’t tell if the limb had begun to regrow exactly, but the giant scab that her wound had become had significantly reduced. There were a couple places where the scab still showed, but most of her stump had transformed into a semi-smooth lump instead of a disgusting crust.
Spending one last point, she got rid of the scab at the end of her stump and covered it with fresh, new skin. From there, the additional healing energy served to slowly extend the length of the stump and restore her arm. She smiled. Everything seemed to have happened as she anticipated it would. She would now let her qi pool fill up completely, and only heal using the excess qi regeneration after topping off her pool.
Satisfied with her progress, she maximized [Prey’s Perception]. In the dark, quiet cave, she could practice keeping the bond ability maximized with reduced risk of overstimulation, as well as leverage her enhanced senses to keep her and Silas safe. During her long watch she mentally planned out how she would fortify the small cave’s defenses once Silas awoke.