Chapter 70 — A Neighborly Visit
Toren didn’t get far with his meditation before exhaustion overtook him.
In the dream that came before he woke to the first light of Horevi’s arrival, he was training with Yana, running through the Corvast Jungle, dodging jungle stalkers and throwing practice knives at bleeding hangman ents.
The cubs survived the night, thanks to Falma’s care and hourly feedings. Nilly had started producing milk by then and been brought into the house to nurse them. Having birthed and mothered hers and other hounds’ pups before, the horror hound proved immediately protective of the three cubs.
The runt was still worryingly frantic during feedings, and Falma was continuing to supplement him with the watered-down blood and tavi porridge at Emina’s advising.
For Laiya, consistent small doses of ossification potion had hardened the sections of mended bone enough that the girl was given permission by Emina to attempt standing, walking, and light range-of-motion exercises. Laiya looked like she was brooding over something, but he got a sense of a gritty determination that had taken the place of the previously naive dedication she had shown before. Warnel did ask her about it and was grumblingly told that being a cripple left a lot of time to think about things, that she was fine, or would be fine.
Toren congratulated himself for not walking into that response. Unfortunately, breakfast finished without him having finalized a plan for the day’s activities. Falma was going to need sleep before she could venture out into the jungle again, and Laiya would need at least one more day of recovery before resuming training—if Emina or Warnel would allow even that. All of which left him at an impasse.
Taking on the ants without the girls felt a waste. He and Warnel could try to cull the zoots, but Warnel was hardly stealthy. The jungle stalkers needed butchering, but even if they brined the meat, for it to properly season and preserve in the humid heat would require smoking.
After seeing Warnel’s work with the tree he felled, Toren was fairly sure the man could build a smokehouse. That, or have the man make arrows. The [Mend Material] Ability would make crafting fletching from thinly sliced wood simple—not that getting feathers from saberbeaks was particularly difficult or onerous. The birds seemed happy to gather around the tavi trees outside the stead. He was just a bit worried about overly upsetting the flock by hunting the wrong bird.
His growing mastery of [Berserker Weapon Arts] had unlocked knowledge of more techniques: Savaging Strike, Renewing Fury, Call For Blood, and Last Breath. He could spend the day learning them and teaching the others.
“A bit of industrious work is what we all need to take our minds off the last few days,” Emina eventually declared. “Toren, let’s get those big cats cut up. Warnel and Laiya can help with the pelts. Between his [Mend Material], my [Scraps to Treasure], and Laiya’s [Color Permanence], the resulting material should fetch a good value, whether we sell it or use it to make something to sell.”
She was probably right. Setting aside thoughts of new techniques, he nodded his acceptance and pushed up from the table to get his tools. “Sounds like a plan.”
Warnel shrugged. “Bit rawer than we’re used to working with. Maybe that will bring new insights.”
“Anything that gets me out of the house,” Laiya huffed, pushing away her empty bowl and grimacing before repeating the motion and testing each finger in sequence.
Falma looked up from her own empty bowl she had been expressionlessly staring into, desperately trying not to nod off. “Ah, guess… I’ll stay with the cubs, Mom.”
Emina’s suggestion proved wise. The simple physical labor helped Toren continue to consolidate the changes to his body and dissipated the odd mood that had settled over all of them.
Not long into working beside the Hatterwicks, Toren felt a familiar presence approaching the stead on raptorback. Nog and the pups were quick to notice as well and were soon running over to bark at the approaching raptor.
“Who?” Emina worried, and Warnel’s eyes narrowed and he moved to reach for his sword but relaxed upon seeing Toren’s grin.
“Why don’t you wave him over, Laiya?” Toren suggested.
Laiya had also figured out who it was and excitedly waved. “Over here, Kota!”
Reaching them, Kota swung his leg over and hopped down from the raptor, tying the reins to the washing post by the well. “Heya, Laiya.” The boy gave Laiya a cheerful grin before turning his attention Toren’s way. “Greetings, Steader Toren, and ma and pa Hatterwick.”
“Welcome back, Kota,” Toren greeted. “What brings you by?”
“Pa sent me to check on you all and make sure you'll be alright for the coming high-tide,” Kota’s eyes stopped on the half-butchered jungle stalkers, and the boy looked around, not finding Falma. “Stalkers, huh? Those are a pain even with the hounds. Is everyone okay?”
“Falma’s inside sleeping,” Emina volunteered, smiling faintly. “She was up feeding the cubs overnight.”
A goofy grin lit up Kota’s face, replacing the worry. “That’s great that you rescued the cubs! Falma must be thrilled! Trained stalker cubs sell for a good price. Wow, you all are doing great! Even started on a gate and defenses to deal with the beast-tide!”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“Mostly Warnel’s work,” Toren said.
The man looked up from carving out a rib with his [Knifework] and shrugged. “Woodwork isn’t uncommon for buttons and shoes. Bit larger than I’m used to working with though.”
“Mom, Falma, and I helped, too,” Laiya spoke up. “Toren’s really strong. He brought down the tree and moved the heavy logs for us.”
“Tier-2 wood, too, by the looks of it.” Kota gave an impressed thumbs-up. The boy peeked into the clay pots holding the separated meat and bones. “Don’t think I’ve seen a butchering this bloodless before. Hey, mind if I give a few bites to Toothy here?”
Toren waved that it was fine. “Kota, it’s good timing that you’ve come. There’s something I’ve been worrying about. The [Alchemist] in Farharbor told us the expected date for the high-tide, but should we expect the flooding and the beasts to come gradually over the next several days or suddenly with the cresting tide?”
Kota made an equivocating hand gesture. “It can vary. For high-tides like this, usually there will be some minor flooding in the low areas over a good number of days before the sudden flooding at the peak.”
“That’s going to be troublesome,” Toren groaned. “I was thinking to sneak in a run to Farharbor for our group to get another use of the Mirror of Truth there before the tide hit.”
Selecting two fatty chunks of meat, Kota fed them to the eager raptor, one at a time. “That’ll be a risky trek once the water starts rising. You’re close to Silent Hawk Lodge. Old Gerdim’s got a shrine to Sheveyi with a Mirror of Truth there. It’s not free and using it can be a bit creepy at times, but…”
“Oh?” Toren blinked. Sheveyi, Queen of Beasts, huh? Avoiding town would be preferable…
“By not free, what do you mean exactly?” Emina asked. “Offerings? Coin? Sheveyi, divinity of blood, hunger, and the hunt, isn’t known for being the most approachable of goddesses for tradesmen.”
Kota shrugged. “Most offer coin and a token of a hunt. The token dissolves to blood to power the Mirror. The offerings are actually a bit of a competition among us [Hunters]. Sometimes, if the goddess is impressed by the achievement, she will put a blessing on the token, instead.”
They all looked over at the pair of jungle stalker heads that had been set to the side.
“Say, my [Beast Handling] is pretty good. Mind if I go check on the cubs?” Kota asked, looking over at the house.
Warnel and Emina shared a look, and Emina chuckled. “Laiya, why don’t you go with him? I’m sure Falma would be happy to have some help.”
~~~
『Name: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 8 Burningblood Berserker (10766/16000)
Mana: 115/115
Strength: 16
Constitution: 16
Dexterity: 15
Agility: 13
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 18
Perception 15
Appearance: 9
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 7
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (WIL, Rank 1, Proficiency: High)
Control Blood (WIL, Rank 1, Proficiency: Mid)
Flurry of Blows (DEX, Rank 1, Proficiency: Low)
Ability Upgrade Points: 7
Profession Skills:
Constitution of the Phoenix 5
Empower 6
Focus Rage 8
Combat Awareness 6
Berserker Weapon Arts 6
Pain Tolerance 8
Intimidate 6
Skills:
Danger Sensing 3
Stealth 18
Mana Sensing 18
Wilderness Harvesting 12
Theravos Language 11
Religion 10
Divided Focus 7
Meditation 6
Hunting 20
Archery 19
Running 15
Wound Binding 8
Arithmetic 4
