Soren wearily opened his eyes not fully alert yet. He sat up and stretched being slightly stiff from sleeping on the hay cot that the small tavern inn provided before heading through the mountain pass. He peered over to Skadi, his eyes softening has his eyes fell upon her tattoo from the companionship ritual they performed. He never knew how nice it was to share a bed with someone, the security he both felt he provided and was provided for. After his stretch he got up and snagged his pants and got dressed fully. His lackadaisical approach for the day was due to the stress of the previous one, he went to a corner in the room and meditated until he heard Skadi waking up and moving about. "Soren, I've been thinking once I see you safely through the pass I was thinking of going into training seclusion." Soren was a bit taken by surprise by this revelation, "Are you unhappy following me and helping me now? Is it cause James got a way? He is only safe for the moment ya know?"
Skadi rolled her eyes, "That has no baring at all on this decision. There are three things I want to accomplish in the short time frame I'd be leaving you. Firstly, I am only one level away from leveling up and evolving, secondly; I have this advanced ice magic tome in my possession and I haven't been able to learn anything from it yet; and lastly I want to go buy a weapon. Once I have accomplished these short term tasks I'll be back, besides it's not like I can leave you anyway we're blood bound remember?"
"Not a problem, I know I have been selfish and haven't had the time to do what you needed to, I'm sorry. We should prep for things before we head out anyways."
"Soren, it should take me more than a month to catch back up with you, and this is after going through the pass."
He nodded his head, not exactly looking forward to being alone again, but he understood. He roughly knew where James was headed so there was no need to rush blindly, he would get him and make him pay no matter what. Soren had become partial to Irene's skill as a blacksmith and definitely agreed that Skadi needed a comparable weapon, and after they made it through the pass Skadi would go to here there first in order to get her new weapon of choice. The two of them walked around the small bordering village of the mountain pass until they found the stable, outside tending to the biggest mountain goats Soren had ever seen was a stalky young man in his early twenties.
[Inspect]
Hmm, I guess not all classes are combat based.
"Excuse me," Soren began, "Could we rent a couple of horses to get us through the pass, the faster the better." Cale looked up at Soren, but didn't shy away, "No can do sir, horses aren't able to go through the pass, but these goats here will get you through much quicker and safer. They are generally really good at sensing danger as well. I can show you through the way for two gold pieces." It was the first time that Soren had heard goats were faster than horses, but he supposed that was only true for forest travel, not a mountain pass. He flipped the young man two gold coins as Cale started to prep for their journey. "The name's Cale, I make it a point to know who hires me since I don't get many visitors to these parts."
"Soren, and this is my companion Skadi, it's a pleasure Cale."
Cale was quick with his work, within half an hour he had three goats all loaded out with tac and provisions for the journey. Soren was quite surprised how smooth the goats moved after they were mounted, their gait wasn't nearly as jarring as a horse. The three of them proceeded on with a quicker than normal pace but not a sprint, but it was significantly quicker than the two of them walking. Twenty minutes into the journey Cale turned slightly more serious as he warned the group, "I know you guys are in a hurry, so before you can argue with me I am going over the rules. The mountain pass is dangerous, these animals are good at sensing most dangers which is why we mainly take them the speed is just a bonus. That being the case, there is almost a halfway point we'll be stopping and it'll have to be for the whole night." Soren furrowed his brow, "How do you know we are in a hurry?"
"This is a border mountain village and after I told you the price of the voyage, which isn't exactly cheap, you didn't bother trying to haggle. So that either tells me you're rich, which I don't see much on you, or you're in a hurry for some reason."
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
"That's fairly astute, you're right though we are in somewhat of a hurry. We understand though, we will not endanger you what so ever," finished Soren. As the day wore on Soren felt cold sweat go down his face, he wasn't sure why but he had this uneasy feeling since they had made it past a certain point. The point in question was a juncture where one side went deeper into the mountain and the other went along the cliff face. The cliff face was a lot quicker way to travel but Cale insisting that it was too dangerous to go that way took the path deeper into the mountain. The two of them not knowing much of the difference followed him, it was mid afternoon by the time they decided to take their first break. Cale had passed around some jerky for everyone to gnaw on and let the goats graze, they were sitting in a half circle quietly. The conversation had been pleasant enough on the trip, but at this junction they just wanted to snack and rejuvenate before continuing on. After their thirty minutes of rest Cale had given the signal to saddle back up but before he mounted he stopped, "Oh no. Shit! We have to turn back right now," warned Cale. He quickly jumped up on his mount and began to moving slowly back down the mountain but waiting for Soren and Skadi.
"Whoa hold on a minute, we just traveled all day what do you mean we gotta turn back," asked Soren angrily.
"I'm sorry I didn't know it was a full moon tonight, things are crazy here on full moons and I am not going to be in a cave during one."
"We aren't going, where is the half way marked cave?"
"That's fine, you want to die by all means, but I won't. Give me the reigns you're on your own. If you don't stray from this path you'll reach the halfway mark by nightfall, I hope you survive good luck," finished Cale as he rode off at a faster pace then when they traveled up here with the two other goats in tow. Skadi and Soren continued their trek up the mountain and right when the sun sank below the ridgeline coating the land in darkness a cave appeared in the side of the mountain. It was not large by any means, just big enough for a group of travelers to get some rest before having to continue down the mountain. The two of them laid down to rest, however, several hours into the night Soren awoke with a jolt, there were snarls, whimpers and sounds of fighting coming from outside the cave, it sounded like a group of twenty people were having a brawl. Skadi was already awake and alert guarding Soren who was slow to wake up.
"Glad you're up I can use your help I am having quite the trouble seeing in this mess," Skadi explained.
"Here let me protect you, I can see perfectly," Soren responded. They swapped places and Soren took his sword midnight out from his spatial storage while Skadi guarded his other side. While they waited there sounded seemed to be a clear winner as the sounds of the fighting died down, but there were three snarling growls coming from the front of the cave as three massive wolf like creatures appeared. Their growl was deep and menacing and they were large enough that they could feel the vibrations of their snarls in the air. These wolves were just as big as the adolescent demon bear he had faced prior. Soren had gotten into the habit of using his [Inspect] skill on everything, which is why he knew they were in trouble.
____________________________________________________________________
Soren
Race: Trollkin Variant: Herculean
Class: War God
Level: 14/25
Health: 650/650
Str: 111
Dex:83
Def: 79
Int:62
Vitality:130
Charisma:60
Magic: 100
Luck:100
Bloodline: Royal
$%* ^$ &#(@!
Blessing:???????
skill points (SP) available:37, 32 shop currency (SC), free upgrade skill box x2, random skill box x1,
abilities: [30% Magic Resistance-C] [Reciprocated Helper-C] [Charm Immunity-B] [Poison Immunity-A] [Indomitable Will-B] [Iron Hide-c] [Assassins Vision-B] [Troll Libido-D] [Hydra Regeneration-S] [Trolls Musk-D] [Omnispecies Reproduction-F] [Magic Amp-A] [Mana Cost Reduction-B] [Magical Malady Immunity-S]
Magic:
[light-D] [Radiant-B] [Holy-A] [Lightning-A] [Gravity-A] [Space/Time-B+] [Shadow- A]
Lightning Spells:
[Lightning Spear lvl-4] [Lightning Whip lvl-2] [Reflux lvl-2] [Lightning Guard lvl-1] [Zakir lvl-2]
Light Spells:
[Light lvl-1] [Healing Touch lvl-1] [Bedazzlement lvl-1] [Restoration lvl-1]
Shadow Spells:
[Shadow Spike lvl-2] [Shadow Meld lvl-2]
Space/Time Spells:
[Blink strike lvl-1]
skills: [Sanguine Flash lvl 1] [Polearm Mastery lvl 4] [Clawed Slash lvl 3] [Inspect lvl 3] [Lycanthrope Silat lvl 1] [Spike Bombardment lvl 3] [Hunters Stride lvl 2] [Sonic Blast lvl 4] [Dash lvl 3] [Haste Strike lvl 3] [Sunder lvl 2] [Concealment lvl 1]
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Inventory
-1098 gold pieces
-black blade sword (midnight)
-lunar lance
-3 health potions
-2 mana potions
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Level: 29/30
Health: 625/625
Str:115
Dex:75
Def:95
Int:63
Vit:125
Cha:100
Magic:80
Magic:
[Ice magic]
Ice Spells:
[Artic Combat lvl-3] [Frostbite lvl-1] [Avalanche lvl-1]
skills:
[Nemean Lion Baran lvl 1] [Boulder Throw lvl 3] [Identify lvl 2]