As the party arrived back at the lake, Klaus said “Man I wish we could eat some meat! Too bad we couldn’t find any game.” Harry put down the firewood he carried and replied “I could catch some fish if you want.” Klaus' eyes lit up in excitement as he replied “Really?” Harry replied “Yep! I’m really good at it since I came from a coastal town and my dad is a fisherman.” Klaus replied “Awesome! Do you need any help?” Harry replied “No need! I’ll get right down to it” as he walked near the lake.
Harry touched the water and casted a utility magic “Current Shift!” that caused the water current to flow in a straight line. The fishes were starting to get caught in the current Harry created. Then, Harry drew his claymore, attached a rope inside the hilt, and placed the blade flat on top of his forearm facing towards the water current. Harry then shot a harpoon out from the center part of his claymore thrusting the fishes caught up in the current. He held the hilt strongly before pulling the harpoon back with a lot of fish stuck on it.
Klaus shouted “That’s freaking awesome! Your sword just transformed into a harpoon.” Harry looked really proud as if he was actually trying to show off and replied “Hehe, this weapon is specially made in Nusa Sol. It can be used for both combat and fishing.” Batara also got curious and suddenly asked Herschel in eagerness “What was the magic that you used?” Harry got a bit startled and replied “O-oh, that’s Current Shift. A utility magic to control the flow of water. But unlike the people in my hometown who can use it in the deep sea, I can only use it in shallow water.” Batara then went silent thinking about the things he can do and improvise from that utility magic. Harry on the other hand was confused of Batara’s sudden silence.
Harry then said “Alright I will prepare the fish, I brought some seasonings from my hometown.” Klaus got excited and replied “I’d love a traditional cuisine haha!” Harry then replied “If only we had some bread as a side, I’m kinda hungry hehe.” Batara finally spoke and replied “I brought some rice.” Harry got really excited as he replied “Really?! I never had rice since it didnt grow in my hometown. Can I try it?” Batara just nodded in response and said “I will cook the rice.” Harry replied “Sweet! Thanks umm Batara.” Batara’s name seemed to long for Harry to pronounce casually. Klaus then said to the two “I will help with the fire and the tent then.” The three then set up the camp and food together.
Batara cooked the rice over the fire with the pot he brought in his magic bag. Harry stood up two pieces of wood around the fire and laid his harpoon on top of them, grilling the fishes that got caught on it. While waiting for the fish and rice to cook, Batara prepared a vegetable soup from the ingredients they found earlier on the mountain. By the time Klaus finished setting up the tents, Batara and Harry had finished cooking. Unable to resist any longer, Klaus approached Batara and Harry to find that they had made Grilled Fish, Rice and Soup. With a drool on his face, Klaus said “Guys, the food both smells and looks delicious!” Before Batara and Harry even tried the food, Klaus helped himself to get some. Batara sighed, having grown used to Klaus' not-so-noble manners, while Harry smiled awkwardly and said “Eh-he, help yourself. I have seasoned the fish well.” Harry and Batara then followed Klaus and grabbed a portion before sitting beside the campfire.
As the three ate, Harry said “Whoa so this is rice. The texture is so fluffy and eating it with the fish made me want to eat more of it.” Batara then tasted the fish and was surprised by how complex and flavorful it tasted, unlike anything he had ever tasted. He then got curious and asked “What did you use for the seasoning?” Harry replied “Oh it's Nusa Sol’s special seasoning. It’s made from seasalt, dried seaweed, and coral fruit. All taken from the sea.” Batara thought it was interesting since he only ever read such ingredients in a book. Moreover, he never even saw the sea before since he never left Obenvale. Harry then continued “Your soup also tasted delicious. Unique but in a good way, what did you use for the seasoning?” Batara replied “Fish bones and cured mushroom poison.” Harry’s face suddenly turned pale wondering whether or not Batara was joking.
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Klaus who had finished his food then said “Ah, the food is so delicious I can’t stop eating. Bats, can I get more rice?” Batara replied “No. There won't be any left if you keep going for seconds.” Klaus replied “Aw you’re so stingy.” Batara rolled his eyes in response. Klaus then asked Harry “Hey Harry, how can you use healing on others? As far as I know, arte is only used to enhance our own physical ability.” Harry replied “Oh my arte? It's because since I was young, I’ve always had fast regeneration. Then I trained it regularly until I’m able to cast it on others.” Klaus was shocked as he thought about what kind of training that can enhance body regeneration. But he only dared to ask and replied instead “Ever thought about joining the priest’s guild? They must be thrilled to have someone with new healing methods.” Harry’s face suddenly turned sour and replied with a simple and cold “No.” Klaus sensed the sudden tension and quickly changed the topic and said “We should go to bed. We have to hike the mountain early in the morning so that we can reach the mining cave in the afternoon.” Harry replied “Got it. I will keep watch first.” Klaus replied “No need! I have a detection device here that will wake us up if something’s coming” as he took out the fancy-looking device and set it around the camp. Harry replied “Wow, the magic advancement here never ceases to amaze me!”
Even though Klaus let the matter about Harry’s healing arte rest, Batara who has been listening to the conversation was still curious as it raised some negative suspicion in his head. So he decided to stay silent and observe more to find if the information that Herschel kept to himself could cause trouble in the future.
The party then slept through the night without any disturbance. Before the sun had risen, the party had woken up. They took down their camp and cleared the firewoods before going up to Durden Mountain. After walking up for several hours, the party finally met the first troll. Klaus noticed the troll and said “Hold up, there’s a troll ahead” as he was crouching behind a bush. Batara and Harry followed Klaus and crouched. Klaus whispered “The troll’s movement is rather slow and they can’t really hear us being that tall while we’re down here.” Batara replied “We should walk right behind its foot then.” Klaus replied “You’re right if you are walking by yourself. But it will be hard since there are 3 of us since we have to avoid being trampled. So, we should sneak around them and avoid their vision.” Batara stood corrected and said “You’re right, let's walk around.” While Harry who didnt have any experience on troll or even moving across the mountain followed Klaus and Batara along.
As the party walked around the troll, Harry said “I’ve never seen a monster this tall and mossy before.” Klaus replied “Mountains are home to large monsters as they are comfortable on the treacherous terrain unlike us humans. It’s a good thing though since they won’t come down to human settlements.” Harry replied “The more you know. Thanks for sharing that! You really know your stuff around the mountain.” Klaus replied “Well as I said, I’ve trained here before so it’s no big deal haha.” Batara just came to a realization after hearing what Klaus said that this mountain was where he trained as well as when he met Raha. Batara suspected something when Klaus was so quick on taking this quest, but he won’t ask about it since based on what happened with Isha, he understood that people and even himself have different ways to process grief.
The party then continued sneaking around the trolls one by one until a pack of trolls appeared ahead of them. Klaus raised his hand gesturing to the party to stop moving. However, out of nowhere, Harry lost his balance and fell on the ground making a rustling sound. Both Klaus and Batara froze in panic as they looked at the pack of trolls. Thankfully, the trolls had not noticed them. Harry then whispered while he was still laying on the ground “I’m sorry!” Klaus replied “Are you okay?” Harry got up quickly and replied “I’m fine!” Klaus then said “Come on before they turned around” before he carefully ran ahead. Harry and Batara followed Klaus. However, Harry’s harpoon rope got tangled on a tree when he fell earlier. So as he ran, a part of the tree got pulled out by his rope creating quite a loud sound. The pack of trolls immediately noticed the sound and screamed before they rushed towards the party. Klaus shouted “EVERYONE RUN!”