Onward!

We travelled throughout the day, making our way down the King's Road.

While Ami had the shortest legs, I felt like I was the one slowing us down. Still, it seemed like we made pretty good time.

Valentia's anger continued to fade, and we made small talk along the way.

Ami still didn't seem to like me much. For the most part, she only interacted with Valentia, occasionally glancing my way when she thought I wasn't looking.

We stopped for lunch, and the two were nice enough to share their food with me. It wasn't much - some dried fruit, jerky, and thick, hard crackers that reminded me of Wasa bread - but it was better than nothing.

By afternoon, I could see the mountains in the distance. At first, I thought they were clouds sitting on the horizon. Then I realized they weren't moving.

They stretched across the horizon in a jagged, dark line, their peaks barely visible through the haze.

Ami said it would still take four or five days to reach them. She was from Valedorn, so I assumed she knew what she was talking about.

As the sun sank toward the horizon ahead of us, we moved off the road and into the forest, looking for somewhere with enough cover to make a decent camp.

I offered to try hunting since I was the only one with a bow. Granted, I only had ten arrows, but maybe I'd get lucky.

I assured Valentia I wouldn't disappear, and eventually she relented. Not before reminding me that if I didn't come back, she was leaving me behind next time.

I headed into the forest.

I wandered around for almost half an hour, searching for tracks or anything else that looked remotely edible. By then, the sun had dipped behind the mountains. If I didn't find something soon, I'd have to turn around.

Just as I was about to give up, I heard rustling in the bushes. I crouched and crept toward the sound.

A wild pig was rooting around beneath a toppled tree.

It was the sort of thing I'd expect to find in a game, though it was smaller than I'd expected. Definitely not a hogzilla. Maybe a hundred pounds.

It was about thirty feet away, completely oblivious to me.

A small blinking light appeared in the bottom-right corner of my vision. An alert.

I ignored it for now.

I drew the string, sighted down the arrow, and released.

The arrow sailed over its back. Another arrow I'd probably never see again.

The pig perked up with a snort and looked around.

I froze. I didn't even breathe.

After a few seconds, it apparently decided there was nothing to worry about and went back to rooting beneath the tree.

I nocked another arrow. Took aim. Released.

The arrow thudded into the rotten wood. The pig squealed and bolted.

I watched it disappear into the underbrush, holding still and hoping it wouldn't go far. I was wrong.

I crept forward, retrieved my arrow, and started following.

The snapping branches and squealing gave me a direction for a while. Then the forest went quiet.

I kept moving, watching for broken twigs, disturbed earth, and torn-up grass. Eventually, I found it again.

The fading light meant I didn't have much time left.

I had to hope my aim was getting better. I nocked another arrow, drew the string, and sighted down the shaft. I released.

The arrow sank into the meat just behind the shoulder.

The boar shrieked and bolted deeper into the forest.

I picked up the trail again, this time trying to follow more closely. I watched for signs of its passing, and it sounded like the pig was tiring faster this time. It didn't make it nearly as far before stopping.

I found it in a small clearing, breathing heavily. I drew another arrow and let it fly.

Miss.

The arrow disappeared into the darkness beyond it.

The boar ran to the edge of the clearing and stopped, its eyes darting around as it searched for whatever was hunting it.

I waited. Gave it a moment to settle down. Then I fired again.

This time, the arrow sank into the meat just below and in front of the shoulder.

The boar squealed, but this time, it seemed to realize where I was. Instead of running away, it charged.

“Shit!” I dropped the bow and started casting.

The boar was almost on top of me when Spark Lance finally went off.

The boar stumbled and slammed into my legs, knocking me backward.

I hit the ground hard.

Most of the arrows in my quiver went flying.

The boar didn't move.

I pushed myself off the ground and rolled to my feet.

Nothing.

I drew my sword and cautiously poked it.

Still nothing.

I let out a long breath. Apparently, I'd won. I sheathed my sword, picked up my bow and scattered arrows, and then stared down at the dead boar.

Okay, now what? I had no idea how I was getting this thing back to camp. Or, more importantly, exactly where camp was.

I'd lost two arrows during the hunt and broken two others.

I tried casting Mend.

Thankfully, it worked. The broken shafts knitted themselves back together as if they'd never been damaged.

That left me with eight usable arrows.

I shook my head. I really needed to find somewhere to buy more.

The boar weighed at least a hundred pounds, maybe more. Getting it onto my shoulders was a challenge. It was dead weight in every possible sense of the phrase. After several attempts, I finally managed to get it up and started staggering back toward camp.

It took almost an hour.

Luckily, Valentia and Ami had started a small fire. Without it, I never would have found them.

I dropped the boar with a groan and collapsed onto the ground.

“Wow,” Valentia said, looking at the fruits of my hunt. “I was expecting a rabbit.” She glanced at the boar. “Or nothing.”

I rolled my sore shoulders. “Yeah. I'm an overachiever like that.”

She grinned. “There's a stream about fifty feet that way.” She gestured into the darkness. “It's not much, but you can clean up there if you want. We can take care of this.”

“Thanks.” I got to my feet with another groan.

The stream wasn't far at all. It was barely a stream, really. Maybe a foot deep and only a few feet across.

I peeled off my shirt and tried to wash away as much blood and dirt as I could.

Then I cast Mend. The holes the Lutins had torn in my shirt closed up, the threads weaving themselves back together until the fabric was… well, not good as new. But at least it wasn't full of holes anymore.

I washed my face and chest, getting rid of even more grime, then took off my pants and washed those too.

By then, it was fully dark. Under the canopy, there was very little light. The small campfire flickered through the trees not far away, its orange glow barely reaching the stream.

My clothes weren't going to dry out here, and I didn't have a spare set. I also figured it would be a bad idea to walk back into camp naked and lay my clothes out beside the fire.

Begrudgingly, I put my wet clothes back on and headed back.

Valentia already had some strips of meat propped up on sticks beside the fire.

Ami sat a little ways away, cutting up the rest.

I sat across from Valentia, the fire between us, hoping the heat would at least help dry my clothes.

We sat in silence for a while.

“So that healing spell was pretty good,” I finally said. “Where'd you learn it?”

She glanced at me over the low flames. “It's just a novice spell. My mum taught it to me before I left home.”

“Was she a healer?”

The blonde nodded. “Not a powerful one, but she helped the people in our village well enough.”

She sighed. “She didn't really approve of me leaving to become an adventurer. But there really wasn't anything for me there. What was I going to do? Marry a farmer?”

I chuckled. “I can't imagine you as a farmer's wife.”

She laughed. “Right? No. Not the life for me.” She glanced back at Ami. “No. I'm happy with my decision to leave.”

“Sooo…” I drew the word out, wondering if I was about to cross some kind of boundary. “Is that something you can teach me?”

She raised an eyebrow.

Ami stopped cutting.

“Do you have any talent for Vitalism?”

I shrugged. “I don't know.”

“Weren't you tested by whoever taught you your spells?”

I chuckled. “No. My education was…” I paused. “Unconventional.”

Valentia looked dubious. Then she shrugged. “I guess I can try.”

She launched into a discussion about what the spell was, how it worked, what it felt like to cast, and how to focus my Will.

“These things usually take a few weeks to learn,” she told me. “We'll keep at it on the trip, as long as you don't do anything stupid and leave. But I can't make any guarantees after that.”

Two hours later, my hands glowed green as the spell began to take shape.

“Emperor's ashes!” Valentia practically jumped. “How did you do that?”

I shrugged. “I just did what you said.”

“You just learned the spell in, like, two hours!”

“I told you I was an overachiever.”

She shook her head. “I don't even know how to respond to that anymore.” She yawned.

“Hey,” I said.

She looked at me.

“I'm going to need to disappear for a little bit. I shouldn't be gone for more than…” I thought about it. “Four hours.”

“What?” Valentia immediately perked up. Her eyes narrowed.

“Hey, I told you I wouldn't do it without letting you know. But it's something I kind of need to do.”

She didn't look convinced.

“I promise I'll be back in four hours.”

She crossed her arms and glowered at me. “It's not like I can stop you.”

Ami just watched us.

“Sorry. It's important. But I won't be long.”

Exit, I thought.