The gates had been forced open. I could spot part of the doors strewn about the place. The inner barrier was down as well, not that I expected anything else.
Alan landed on my arm and I scratched him below the beak. He preened under my touch. His feathers had texture even though his body was raven-shaped a black void. I dismissed the skill and he decomposed into a cloud of black flecks which vanished after a few seconds.
"Do you think there are other teams out?" I asked.
"No idea. We can check. I think there's a mission board in the scout headquarters."
"Let's check. We can't stay too long here with the barrier down."
"You're thinking of going to Nis?"
I nodded. It was the closest village, only about two days away.
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There were two teams out on mission besides us. From what the board said, they were on their way to two other villages on the other side of the jungle. They weren't expected to return for several weeks at least.
Had it been a coincidence that the village had been attacked right at that time?
I thought about leaving a note but it wouldn't survive all that long without the barrier. Monsters would slowly take over the village grounds and probably trash everything.
"No luck," Vel said with a frown.
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The healer's building had taken a beating. The laboratory section had burned down almost completely, a stray spell had probably hit a volatile reagent. I dug around the rubble and found several intact potion cases, mostly empty phials. The hospital side had fared a bit better, less flammable materials.
Breknir's office looked like a tornado had gone through, maybe it was literally the case. I found a few intact books among the dozens of destroyed ones. Part of the village druid records. I stashed them in my pack, in case they had useful information.
In the ground, underneath the carpet, I found a small safe with a few objects inside. After clearing some space, I sat down and took a loot at the mechanisms. It was a mechanical safe with five dials.
"Let's see …"
I turned the first dial left and watched the disc inside rotate. I wasn't an expert safe cracker but I didn't really need to be. Each dial had only one disc.
"And a click out of three …" I smiled.
I turned the dial until the notch in the disc was aligned with the bar. I made quick work of the rest and once the last was in place, I saw the spring loaded mechanism engage.
I pulled on the handle and lifted the door.
At the bottom was a thick leather bound book.
Identify
[Breknir's Notebook (Durability)]
On top sat two small boxes with several items of jewelry inside and two letters. Each of the boxes had a name engraved on top.
"Liscura" and "Velatha"
I shakily opened my enveloped and started to read.
> My Dear Apprentice,
>
> Congratulations on completing your trial. As a reward, I have commissioned several enchanted items from a friend of mine in Nis. He is a talented enchanter and was more than happy to create them in exchange for a few bottles from my private collection.
>
> Hopefully, they will serve you well in your adventures as I have no doubt you will go on to discover the world as I did in my youth.
>
> PS: I have included a silverwood ring as well, you know what to do.
>
> Breknir
A tear splotched down on the letter, marring the ink.
"Teacher …" I sighed.
I dried my eyes and opened the box. The various items were all resting on a soft cushion.
Identify
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
[Silverwood Ring]
[Lesser Amulet of Protection (Protection II)]
[Lesser Amulet of Storage (Storage; 0/50)]
[Lesser Bracelet of Strength (+5 STR)]
[Lesser Ring of Mana (+5 MP/s)]
[Lesser Ring of Health (+5 HP/s)]
"I'll find you," I said to the empty office. "You better still be alive."
I took all the objects except for the silverwood ring out of the box and equipped them. With a small tap on the box, it vanished into my amulet. The rest of what I had found vanished as well except for Velatha's box.
I met back up with Vel at my house.
"Are you alright? What did you find?"
I wordlessly handed her the box and the letter. She read it carefully for what felt an eternity. When she was done, she tackled me into a hug. I felt her cry against my chest and it opened the floodgates on my side as well. The weight and reality of the situation. I gently stroked her hair while she clung to me.
I left all of our preparations to the side and lifted her in my arms. I brought us both to my room and we collapsed on my cot.
When we came back to our senses, our grief well and truly spent, it was almost night. Vel and I were still holding each other tightly. Neither of us had bothered to ditch and piece of clothing along the way. One of my daggers was digging into my side and my bow still hung on my back.
"Let's stay here for one last time," Vel said.
I nodded and gave her a soft kiss.
"Let's get a bit more comfortable," I said, "closing the door should be enough to keep any adventurous monsters at bay."
I temporarily disentangled myself and went around collecting the supplies we had left outside the room. Vel had found two expanded backpacks and stuffed them with provisions and supplies.
Identify
[Handy Haversack (Expansion)]
[Handy Haversack (Expansion)]
I dragged everything inside the room and closed the door. Vel had already removed most of her armor. I did the same and piled everything in its usual place.
"You suddenly have a lot of jewelry," Vel tilted her head at my equipment.
"It's the life of an adventurer I think," I said, "I have a feeling we aren't finished collecting either."
I flopped down on my cot and Vel slid in next to me. It was comforting to feel her next to me.
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I was woken up by the sound of scratching. Through my sphere, I could see a lone lizard in front of the door. This one was a blue variant and seemed more lost than anything. I poked Vel a few times to wake her up.
Identify
[Young Blue Jungle Lizard (Rank 1, Level 12)]
"We have company," I said.
"What kind?"
"Just one young blue. Can't find more in my sphere."
She rolled away with a groan.
"He won't get through the door any time soon," she said, "let's get ready and he'll make a nice breakfast."
"Sounds like a plan," I said as I stretched.
Putting my armor back on was the affair of a few minutes though, from the smell, it was in need of a good wash. I put the Ravri set and the rest of my enchanted items back on. Once completely dressed I opened the door and the waiting lizard tried to pounce on my shins.
My boot blurred and trapped his head which was swiftly detached from his body with a water blade.
Since one monster had made their way into the village, I summoned Alan again and sent him on patrol. I went around the house and stored the rest of my clothes in my amulet alongside some mementos then, we quickly moved everything to the communal kitchens. There Vel started to dress the blue lizard corpse the leftover meat we had brought back from our expedition.
As she was preparing the food, I started organizing our supplies. With two storage items plus the expanded backpacks, which could contain around eight times their normal volume, we would be set for traveling. It was a bit overkill for only two day of travel but it was better to be prepared.
While the food was cooking, Vel went to her house to get her own possessions. She came back cradling a small doll in her hands. It had been her favorite for a long time and when she had outgrown it her parents had kept it. The doll had been sitting atop one of their shelves for several seasons now.
I took her in a hug and we watched the crackling fire in silence for a while.
----------------------------------------
I accepted the bowl from Vel and we ate in silence. The dish was simple but flavorful, I savored the grilled vegetables and roasted meat.
"Let's take as much as we can before leaving," I said, "I've noticed a full box only takes a unit of storage. We can fill some crates and take them with us."
"Yeah, good idea. Not like they'll do anyone good rotting here."