Chapter 46
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"I think that will suffice for now, keep up your practice. Try not to use Tyrfing too much, include her in your practice though, until you are adjusted to her demands."
Val stood with a half-broken stance, panting lightly. "Hah, tired already, old man?"
Valor grinned, small lights flaring in his eyes. "No, you have a guest, can you not hear it?"
"Huh?"
"Hmm, it will not do for you to be so defenseless here. Focus on the brand, it can work like a window to the outside world."
Doing as instructed, Val heard a few faint knocks from 'inside' the brand. It was a jarring experience, but obvious enough what was occurring.
"I see. Alright, I'll be off then." Valor simply nodded, as Val 'pushed' himself back out through the brand, waking in the physical world.
Val's senses returned in time to hear two more polite knocks. Sheathing his blade, Val walked over and opened the heavy iron door, revealing a smiling Harken.
Val's brows raised. "Hmm? What's up?"
Harken looked him up and down, noting a tinge of sweat near Val's hairline. "I had heard you were in fairly bad shape just last night, but you're really pushing it, aren't you?" The mercenary boss handed Val a canteen of water, which he gratefully accepted.
He popped off the cork and took large, refreshing gulps. "I'm mostly recovered to be honest. Sides, I'm not quite done with that monster in the hills."
Harken raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You're in need of coin?"
"No, just made a deal with someone, with a side of vengeance for a nice bonus."
"Hmm, well, if you're in a hurry, I think I have something that might help."
"Really trying to win favors quickly, aren't you?"
Harken chuckled, as he produced a small stoppered flask. A murky, red-brown liquid swirled within. "When the opportunity presents itself." He handed Val the flask as well.
"What's this?"
Harken wore a brief expression of surprise, before regaining his polite smile. "Right, you fit in so naturally, it's easy to forget you're one of the Barren Worlders. This is a kind of restoring tonic, particularly useful for recovering from blood loss."
*Huh… A healing potion…?*
"Mind you, this will not heal wounds, it is simply rich in nutrients and some magical herbs to accelerate your body's natural process to replenish blood." Harken added.
"I see, thank you." Val glanced at the ravens, holding up the flask. Muninn caught his eye and nodded slightly.
Confirmation enough, Val popped off the stopper and was immediately assaulted by a pungent smell. The smell reminded him of raw liver, a meal he did not mind cooked, but the raw smell was gag-inducing.
Harken laughed. "Medicine rarely ever pleases, but I assure you it is effective."
Steeling himself, Val took a small sip of the liquid and struggled not to spit it out. The taste could not be described as disgusting, but it had an iron-rich flavor, again reminding him of liver, but in liquid form it was not nearly as palatable. Not wishing to test his ability to acclimate himself to the flavor, Val quickly upturned the flask and emptied its contents down his throat in two large gulps. Immediately after doing so, he quick chased it with the provided water.
In mere moments he felt his muscles tense and warm, a strange warmth emanated from his bones.
Harken nodded to him, satisfied, he took the empty flask. "You should feel much better within the hour."
"Thanks. So, what's your timeline anyway? It's clear you're very interested in making contact with others like myself."
"The sooner the better, but an endeavor such as this will take some time to prepare. Considering the ongoing skirmishes between the Aurulians and the…?" Harken paused, looking to Val expectantly.
"Americans. To us, the lands from the West to the East coasts, as far as a thousand miles to the north and even more to the south was the United States of America."
"I see. Americans… America…" Harken was muttering the words to himself as if to commit them to memory, but seemed very pleased with the sound of the names.
"Hmm, well, considering the conflict, I'd like to avoid catching the attention of the Aurulians, it would ruin business to bring them into contact with your people. Besides, that aligns with your desires as well." Harken added.
Val expressed a question to Muninn with his eyes, hoping she would pick up on his intentions. She eyed Harken carefully, before simply nodding to him.
"I'll tell you what, I'll give you the information you want, but I have a few conditions."
Harken brightened with excitement. "Name them."
"I know of an encampment of survivors, they could use assistance rebuilding. Last I left them they were on the upswing after being caged in by ghouls. Helping them with construction and reclamation work should fall in line with your interests, as it gets you the exposure to technology you wanted."
"I will finance it myself, I have business connections with several of the finest craftsmen and masons in the city."
Val grinned. "You'll need more than just craftsman and masons, I suggest you ensure there are apprentices who are eager to learn as well."
"Makes sense, consider it done, what else?"
"They may have a few enemies of their own kind, but you cannot take action against them without the expressed approval of their leader, a man named Richard."
"They're at war with their own kind?"
"I'm not entirely sure, there's a disagreement between them and the remainder of the American government. Don't worry, you still stand to benefit greatly and I'm sure the dispute will be resolved in time."
"Alright, anything else?"
Val's expression hardened slightly. "Just one last thing, last I was there, some of them were suffering due to magic exposure, can you treat it?"
Harken's turned serious. "How bad? And how long ago was this?"
Val looked slightly surprised. "Almost two weeks now."
Harken held his chin, thinking for a moment. "This occasionally happens in gifted children, and can happen in adults if they are exposed to too much magic. What symptoms do you remember? Exhaustion? Injuries from overexertion?"
"Uhh, exhaustion mostly, some of them were collapsing or fainting, pulled and torn muscles, and a young man had a heart attack."
"I see, that's not too terrible then, they must be located a fair distance from any active ley lines. I was curious about this point, but did not expect to hear of it so soon. You are an anomaly, and I won't ask, but sudden exposure to magic with no built up tolerance for it can kill people. It has happened to mages imprisoned in facilities completely devoid of magic. It is a severe sentence, and if they survive their term, some have died shortly after being released. Their bodies atrophied and they foolishly sought to regain their magic too quickly." Harken explained.
Worry grew on Val's face, but Harken reassured him. "To answer your question, it is very treatable. Manipulating magic is easy enough for even apprentices in the use of magic, I'll make sure some skilled sorcerers are included in the expedition. They might even take apprentices from your people if there are those gifted enough among them."
"I see, then that's basically everything. A hundred or so miles to the south, you'll come across a city near a large bay. There are a hundred or so survivors encamped there, and there may still be ghouls in the area. I'll pen a letter to notify them, they'll be looking for the emblem of the Black Dog, otherwise I can't promise they won't shoot on sight."
"Excellent, I assure you, you will not regret this. Now then, if you'll excuse me, preparations must be made with this new information." Harken left immediately after excusing himself. Val was not sure whether it was right to involve Richard and his folks. Sooner or later the survivors would run into people of this other world, better to do so earlier and with those not interested in conquering them. If Harken proved to be disloyal to his word, Val could go to others with the information and turn it into a bitter business war for the benefits of being first to this new market.
"Alright, let's head back, I'm done here for now. Muninn, can you deliver a letter to Richard for me tomorrow?"
"I can, if you'd like I can also guide Harken's expedition."
Val turned to her in surprise. "If you would do that for me, I'd be grateful."
The three left the room, closing it after them. Val returned the key and left to return to the Chimera's Den.
. . .
"Boldir, can I borrow a pen and some paper? I need to write a letter." Val was sitting at the bar, Asha was off on some business in the city.
"Aye." Boldir handed Val his requested stationary, along with a mug of ale.
"You have informants in all of the mercenary groups, right?" Val smirked at the Dwarven barkeep.
"Hmph. I might, why?"
Val began to hastily write his letter to Richard with a fountain pen. "I have some information you might be interested in, if you clear my tab. You'll probably get this information sooner or later, but there's value in sooner, no?"
"Oh? Not too high a price, what's the information?"
"I've given Harken exclusively, the location of a group of survivors, my own kind. He's putting together an expedition to contact them, provide assistance, and do business."
Boldir paused, partway between moving some plates and mugs, before breaking into a large grin. "That is valuable to know… Of the various mercenary lords around, he's a good choice too. All mercenary outfits have some skeletons in the closet, but Harken's truly interested in doing… legitimate business, these days. Consider your tab cleared, in fact, food and board for the remainder of your stay is on me."
"That good, huh?"
"Indeed, if a proper channel between your people and ours is established, it'll mean an explosion of growth as ideas and wares are traded. Anyone with an early ticket to that table will surely leave rich."
In a few minutes, Val finished his letter, downed half the ale, and stood up, taking a small loaf of untouched bread from a plate someone just left.
"I'm heading out for a bit." Val, still fully equipped, left the bar alone, heading for the gates.
Ten minutes later Val was approaching the eastern gate, sure enough Durnham was on duty. It seemed the captain took night shifts regularly.
Captain Durnham spotted him quickly, stepping in his path. "Oi, this isn't funny boy, even with your sword fixed, you only just got mauled by the beast."
Val smirked. "And I feel great! Harken gave me some sort of potion and I'm not having any more dizzy spells or fatigue."
"Potion or no, it's too early to be going after it again."
"You can't stop me from leaving, and I'd rather strike now, it must be at least weakened after last night. Better to finish it off before it recovers by eating a few more people."
Durnham glared at him for a few moments. "…Fine, but I'm going with you, wait here."
"Huh?" Val gaped as the dwarf bolted off into the guardhouse. After a few minutes, he returned, still in his chainmail armor beneath thick metal plates. Aside from a meter and a half long spear with a broad pointed blade on his back, he was holding a bladed war bow. The bow was entirely crafted from steel, even with a meter long, thick wire for bowstring, with a pair of curved blades capping the ends.
"Are you allowed to leave your post?"
"Hmph. I'm simply carrying out the proposed extermination earlier than planned, let's go." Durnham signaled to a couple guards who lifted the gate for them to pass, closing it behind them.
Before long the two were off into the hills, proceeding along paths still familiar to Val from the night before. Durnham seemed fearless in spite of the danger, probably from decades of experience in battle. Val channeled his brand to heighten his senses, familiarity with his prey led him to wear caution. When they reached a clearing, without warning Val drew his blade and ignited Sigil, very clearly challenging the wendigo of the hills. Durnham cast a disapproving glance, but nonetheless knocked an absurd arrow. It was cast from steel all the way through and looked far too long and thick for the size of the bow. Funnily enough Val thought the dwarf to be using something of a portable ballistae.
It was only a moment before the familiar, disconcerting howl echoed down the hills. Val poured magic into Tyrfing and the blade ignited as if in response, orange runes glowing with flame. In the far distance Val could barely make out the sound of twigs snapping as the stomping and galloping wendigo thudded its way toward them.
Val grinned, much more prepared this time. "Well then, round two." Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting.
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"I think that will suffice for now, keep up your practice. Try not to use Tyrfing too much, include her in your practice though, until you are adjusted to her demands."
Val stood with a half-broken stance, panting lightly. "Hah, tired already, old man?"
Valor grinned, small lights flaring in his eyes. "No, you have a guest, can you not hear it?"
"Huh?"
"Hmm, it will not do for you to be so defenseless here. Focus on the brand, it can work like a window to the outside world."
Doing as instructed, Val heard a few faint knocks from 'inside' the brand. It was a jarring experience, but obvious enough what was occurring.
"I see. Alright, I'll be off then." Valor simply nodded, as Val 'pushed' himself back out through the brand, waking in the physical world.
Val's senses returned in time to hear two more polite knocks. Sheathing his blade, Val walked over and opened the heavy iron door, revealing a smiling Harken.
Val's brows raised. "Hmm? What's up?"
Harken looked him up and down, noting a tinge of sweat near Val's hairline. "I had heard you were in fairly bad shape just last night, but you're really pushing it, aren't you?" The mercenary boss handed Val a canteen of water, which he gratefully accepted.
He popped off the cork and took large, refreshing gulps. "I'm mostly recovered to be honest. Sides, I'm not quite done with that monster in the hills."
Harken raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You're in need of coin?"
"No, just made a deal with someone, with a side of vengeance for a nice bonus."
"Hmm, well, if you're in a hurry, I think I have something that might help."
"Really trying to win favors quickly, aren't you?"
Harken chuckled, as he produced a small stoppered flask. A murky, red-brown liquid swirled within. "When the opportunity presents itself." He handed Val the flask as well.
"What's this?"
Harken wore a brief expression of surprise, before regaining his polite smile. "Right, you fit in so naturally, it's easy to forget you're one of the Barren Worlders. This is a kind of restoring tonic, particularly useful for recovering from blood loss."
*Huh… A healing potion…?*
"Mind you, this will not heal wounds, it is simply rich in nutrients and some magical herbs to accelerate your body's natural process to replenish blood." Harken added.
"I see, thank you." Val glanced at the ravens, holding up the flask. Muninn caught his eye and nodded slightly.
Confirmation enough, Val popped off the stopper and was immediately assaulted by a pungent smell. The smell reminded him of raw liver, a meal he did not mind cooked, but the raw smell was gag-inducing.
Harken laughed. "Medicine rarely ever pleases, but I assure you it is effective."
Steeling himself, Val took a small sip of the liquid and struggled not to spit it out. The taste could not be described as disgusting, but it had an iron-rich flavor, again reminding him of liver, but in liquid form it was not nearly as palatable. Not wishing to test his ability to acclimate himself to the flavor, Val quickly upturned the flask and emptied its contents down his throat in two large gulps. Immediately after doing so, he quick chased it with the provided water.
In mere moments he felt his muscles tense and warm, a strange warmth emanated from his bones.
Harken nodded to him, satisfied, he took the empty flask. "You should feel much better within the hour."
"Thanks. So, what's your timeline anyway? It's clear you're very interested in making contact with others like myself."
"The sooner the better, but an endeavor such as this will take some time to prepare. Considering the ongoing skirmishes between the Aurulians and the…?" Harken paused, looking to Val expectantly.
"Americans. To us, the lands from the West to the East coasts, as far as a thousand miles to the north and even more to the south was the United States of America."
"I see. Americans… America…" Harken was muttering the words to himself as if to commit them to memory, but seemed very pleased with the sound of the names.
"Hmm, well, considering the conflict, I'd like to avoid catching the attention of the Aurulians, it would ruin business to bring them into contact with your people. Besides, that aligns with your desires as well." Harken added.
Val expressed a question to Muninn with his eyes, hoping she would pick up on his intentions. She eyed Harken carefully, before simply nodding to him.
"I'll tell you what, I'll give you the information you want, but I have a few conditions."
Harken brightened with excitement. "Name them."
"I know of an encampment of survivors, they could use assistance rebuilding. Last I left them they were on the upswing after being caged in by ghouls. Helping them with construction and reclamation work should fall in line with your interests, as it gets you the exposure to technology you wanted."
"I will finance it myself, I have business connections with several of the finest craftsmen and masons in the city."
Val grinned. "You'll need more than just craftsman and masons, I suggest you ensure there are apprentices who are eager to learn as well."
"Makes sense, consider it done, what else?"
"They may have a few enemies of their own kind, but you cannot take action against them without the expressed approval of their leader, a man named Richard."
"They're at war with their own kind?"
"I'm not entirely sure, there's a disagreement between them and the remainder of the American government. Don't worry, you still stand to benefit greatly and I'm sure the dispute will be resolved in time."
"Alright, anything else?"
Val's expression hardened slightly. "Just one last thing, last I was there, some of them were suffering due to magic exposure, can you treat it?"
Harken's turned serious. "How bad? And how long ago was this?"
Val looked slightly surprised. "Almost two weeks now."
Harken held his chin, thinking for a moment. "This occasionally happens in gifted children, and can happen in adults if they are exposed to too much magic. What symptoms do you remember? Exhaustion? Injuries from overexertion?"
"Uhh, exhaustion mostly, some of them were collapsing or fainting, pulled and torn muscles, and a young man had a heart attack."
"I see, that's not too terrible then, they must be located a fair distance from any active ley lines. I was curious about this point, but did not expect to hear of it so soon. You are an anomaly, and I won't ask, but sudden exposure to magic with no built up tolerance for it can kill people. It has happened to mages imprisoned in facilities completely devoid of magic. It is a severe sentence, and if they survive their term, some have died shortly after being released. Their bodies atrophied and they foolishly sought to regain their magic too quickly." Harken explained.
Worry grew on Val's face, but Harken reassured him. "To answer your question, it is very treatable. Manipulating magic is easy enough for even apprentices in the use of magic, I'll make sure some skilled sorcerers are included in the expedition. They might even take apprentices from your people if there are those gifted enough among them."
"I see, then that's basically everything. A hundred or so miles to the south, you'll come across a city near a large bay. There are a hundred or so survivors encamped there, and there may still be ghouls in the area. I'll pen a letter to notify them, they'll be looking for the emblem of the Black Dog, otherwise I can't promise they won't shoot on sight."
"Excellent, I assure you, you will not regret this. Now then, if you'll excuse me, preparations must be made with this new information." Harken left immediately after excusing himself. Val was not sure whether it was right to involve Richard and his folks. Sooner or later the survivors would run into people of this other world, better to do so earlier and with those not interested in conquering them. If Harken proved to be disloyal to his word, Val could go to others with the information and turn it into a bitter business war for the benefits of being first to this new market.
"Alright, let's head back, I'm done here for now. Muninn, can you deliver a letter to Richard for me tomorrow?"
"I can, if you'd like I can also guide Harken's expedition."
Val turned to her in surprise. "If you would do that for me, I'd be grateful."
The three left the room, closing it after them. Val returned the key and left to return to the Chimera's Den.
. . .
"Boldir, can I borrow a pen and some paper? I need to write a letter." Val was sitting at the bar, Asha was off on some business in the city.
"Aye." Boldir handed Val his requested stationary, along with a mug of ale.
"You have informants in all of the mercenary groups, right?" Val smirked at the Dwarven barkeep.
"Hmph. I might, why?"
Val began to hastily write his letter to Richard with a fountain pen. "I have some information you might be interested in, if you clear my tab. You'll probably get this information sooner or later, but there's value in sooner, no?"
"Oh? Not too high a price, what's the information?"
"I've given Harken exclusively, the location of a group of survivors, my own kind. He's putting together an expedition to contact them, provide assistance, and do business."
Boldir paused, partway between moving some plates and mugs, before breaking into a large grin. "That is valuable to know… Of the various mercenary lords around, he's a good choice too. All mercenary outfits have some skeletons in the closet, but Harken's truly interested in doing… legitimate business, these days. Consider your tab cleared, in fact, food and board for the remainder of your stay is on me."
"That good, huh?"
"Indeed, if a proper channel between your people and ours is established, it'll mean an explosion of growth as ideas and wares are traded. Anyone with an early ticket to that table will surely leave rich."
In a few minutes, Val finished his letter, downed half the ale, and stood up, taking a small loaf of untouched bread from a plate someone just left.
"I'm heading out for a bit." Val, still fully equipped, left the bar alone, heading for the gates.
Ten minutes later Val was approaching the eastern gate, sure enough Durnham was on duty. It seemed the captain took night shifts regularly.
Captain Durnham spotted him quickly, stepping in his path. "Oi, this isn't funny boy, even with your sword fixed, you only just got mauled by the beast."
Val smirked. "And I feel great! Harken gave me some sort of potion and I'm not having any more dizzy spells or fatigue."
"Potion or no, it's too early to be going after it again."
"You can't stop me from leaving, and I'd rather strike now, it must be at least weakened after last night. Better to finish it off before it recovers by eating a few more people."
Durnham glared at him for a few moments. "…Fine, but I'm going with you, wait here."
"Huh?" Val gaped as the dwarf bolted off into the guardhouse. After a few minutes, he returned, still in his chainmail armor beneath thick metal plates. Aside from a meter and a half long spear with a broad pointed blade on his back, he was holding a bladed war bow. The bow was entirely crafted from steel, even with a meter long, thick wire for bowstring, with a pair of curved blades capping the ends.
"Are you allowed to leave your post?"
"Hmph. I'm simply carrying out the proposed extermination earlier than planned, let's go." Durnham signaled to a couple guards who lifted the gate for them to pass, closing it behind them.
Before long the two were off into the hills, proceeding along paths still familiar to Val from the night before. Durnham seemed fearless in spite of the danger, probably from decades of experience in battle. Val channeled his brand to heighten his senses, familiarity with his prey led him to wear caution. When they reached a clearing, without warning Val drew his blade and ignited Sigil, very clearly challenging the wendigo of the hills. Durnham cast a disapproving glance, but nonetheless knocked an absurd arrow. It was cast from steel all the way through and looked far too long and thick for the size of the bow. Funnily enough Val thought the dwarf to be using something of a portable ballistae.
It was only a moment before the familiar, disconcerting howl echoed down the hills. Val poured magic into Tyrfing and the blade ignited as if in response, orange runes glowing with flame. In the far distance Val could barely make out the sound of twigs snapping as the stomping and galloping wendigo thudded its way toward them.
Val grinned, much more prepared this time. "Well then, round two." Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting.
"I think that will suffice for now, keep up your practice. Try not to use Tyrfing too much, include her in your practice though, until you are adjusted to her demands." Val stood with a half-broken stance, panting lightly. "Hah, tired already, old man?" Valor grinned, small lights flaring in his eyes. "No, you have a guest, can you not hear it?" "Huh?" "Hmm, it will not do for you to be so defenseless here. Focus on the brand, it can work like a window to the outside world." Doing as instructed, Val heard a few faint knocks from 'inside' the brand. It was a jarring experience, but obvious enough what was occurring. "I see. Alright, I'll be off then." Valor simply nodded, as Val 'pushed' himself back out through the brand, waking in the physical world. Val's senses returned in time to hear two more polite knocks. Sheathing his blade, Val walked over and opened the heavy iron door, revealing a smiling Harken. Val's brows raised. "Hmm? What's up?" Harken looked him up and down, noting a tinge of sweat near Val's hairline. "I had heard you were in fairly bad shape just last night, but you're really pushing it, aren't you?" The mercenary boss handed Val a canteen of water, which he gratefully accepted. He popped off the cork and took large, refreshing gulps. "I'm mostly recovered to be honest. Sides, I'm not quite done with that monster in the hills." Harken raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You're in need of coin?" "No, just made a deal with someone, with a side of vengeance for a nice bonus." "Hmm, well, if you're in a hurry, I think I have something that might help." "Really trying to win favors quickly, aren't you?" Harken chuckled, as he produced a small stoppered flask. A murky, red-brown liquid swirled within. "When the opportunity presents itself." He handed Val the flask as well. "What's this?" Harken wore a brief expression of surprise, before regaining his polite smile. "Right, you fit in so naturally, it's easy to forget you're one of the Barren Worlders. This is a kind of restoring tonic, particularly useful for recovering from blood loss." *Huh A healing potion?* "Mind you, this will not heal wounds, it is simply rich in nutrients and some magical herbs to accelerate your body's natural process to replenish blood." Harken added. "I see, thank you." Val glanced at the ravens, holding up the flask. Muninn caught his eye and nodded slightly. Confirmation enough, Val popped off the stopper and was immediately assaulted by a pungent smell. The smell reminded him of raw liver, a meal he did not mind cooked, but the raw smell was gag-inducing. Harken laughed. "Medicine rarely ever pleases, but I assure you it is effective." Steeling himself, Val took a small sip of the liquid and struggled not to spit it out. The taste could not be described as disgusting, but it had an iron-rich flavor, again reminding him of liver, but in liquid form it was not nearly as palatable. Not wishing to test his ability to acclimate himself to the flavor, Val quickly upturned the flask and emptied its contents down his throat in two large gulps. Immediately after doing so, he quick chased it with the provided water. In mere moments he felt his muscles tense and warm, a strange warmth emanated from his bones. Harken nodded to him, satisfied, he took the empty flask. "You should feel much better within the hour." "Thanks. So, what's your timeline anyway? It's clear you're very interested in making contact with others like myself." "The sooner the better, but an endeavor such as this will take some time to prepare. Considering the ongoing skirmishes between the Aurulians and the?" Harken paused, looking to Val expectantly. "Americans. To us, the lands from the West to the East coasts, as far as a thousand miles to the north and even more to the south was the United States of America." "I see. Americans America" Harken was muttering the words to himself as if to commit them to memory, but seemed very pleased with the sound of the names. "Hmm, well, considering the conflict, I'd like to avoid catching the attention of the Aurulians, it would ruin business to bring them into contact with your people. Besides, that aligns with your desires as well." Harken added. Val expressed a question to Muninn with his eyes, hoping she would pick up on his intentions. She eyed Harken carefully, before simply nodding to him. "I'll tell you what, I'll give you the information you want, but I have a few conditions." Harken brightened with excitement. "Name them." "I know of an encampment of survivors, they could use assistance rebuilding. Last I left them they were on the upswing after being caged in by ghouls. Helping them with construction and reclamation work should fall in line with your interests, as it gets you the exposure to technology you wanted." "I will finance it myself, I have business connections with several of the finest craftsmen and masons in the city." Val grinned. "You'll need more than just craftsman and masons, I suggest you ensure there are apprentices who are eager to learn as well." "Makes sense, consider it done, what else?" "They may have a few enemies of their own kind, but you cannot take action against them without the expressed approval of their leader, a man named Richard." "They're at war with their own kind?" "I'm not entirely sure, there's a disagreement between them and the remainder of the American government. Don't worry, you still stand to benefit greatly and I'm sure the dispute will be resolved in time." "Alright, anything else?" Val's expression hardened slightly. "Just one last thing, last I was there, some of them were suffering due to magic exposure, can you treat it?" Harken's turned serious. "How bad? And how long ago was this?" Val looked slightly surprised. "Almost two weeks now." Harken held his chin, thinking for a moment. "This occasionally happens in gifted children, and can happen in adults if they are exposed to too much magic. What symptoms do you remember? Exhaustion? Injuries from overexertion?" "Uhh, exhaustion mostly, some of them were collapsing or fainting, pulled and torn muscles, and a young man had a heart attack." "I see, that's not too terrible then, they must be located a fair distance from any active ley lines. I was curious about this point, but did not expect to hear of it so soon. You are an anomaly, and I won't ask, but sudden exposure to magic with no built up tolerance for it can kill people. It has happened to mages imprisoned in facilities completely devoid of magic. It is a severe sentence, and if they survive their term, some have died shortly after being released. Their bodies atrophied and they foolishly sought to regain their magic too quickly." Harken explained. Worry grew on Val's face, but Harken reassured him. "To answer your question, it is very treatable. Manipulating magic is easy enough for even apprentices in the use of magic, I'll make sure some skilled sorcerers are included in the expedition. They might even take apprentices from your people if there are those gifted enough among them." "I see, then that's basically everything. A hundred or so miles to the south, you'll come across a city near a large bay. There are a hundred or so survivors encamped there, and there may still be ghouls in the area. I'll pen a letter to notify them, they'll be looking for the emblem of the Black Dog, otherwise I can't promise they won't shoot on sight." "Excellent, I assure you, you will not regret this. Now then, if you'll excuse me, preparations must be made with this new information." Harken left immediately after excusing himself. Val was not sure whether it was right to involve Richard and his folks. Sooner or later the survivors would run into people of this other world, better to do so earlier and with those not interested in conquering them. If Harken proved to be disloyal to his word, Val could go to others with the information and turn it into a bitter business war for the benefits of being first to this new market. "Alright, let's head back, I'm done here for now. Muninn, can you deliver a letter to Richard for me tomorrow?" "I can, if you'd like I can also guide Harken's expedition." Val turned to her in surprise. "If you would do that for me, I'd be grateful." The three left the room, closing it after them. Val returned the key and left to return to the Chimera's Den. . . . "Boldir, can I borrow a pen and some paper? I need to write a letter." Val was sitting at the bar, Asha was off on some business in the city. "Aye." Boldir handed Val his requested stationary, along with a mug of ale. "You have informants in all of the mercenary groups, right?" Val smirked at the Dwarven barkeep. "Hmph. I might, why?" Val began to hastily write his letter to Richard with a fountain pen. "I have some information you might be interested in, if you clear my tab. You'll probably get this information sooner or later, but there's value in sooner, no?" "Oh? Not too high a price, what's the information?" "I've given Harken exclusively, the location of a group of survivors, my own kind. He's putting together an expedition to contact them, provide assistance, and do business." Boldir paused, partway between moving some plates and mugs, before breaking into a large grin. "That is valuable to know Of the various mercenary lords around, he's a good choice too. All mercenary outfits have some skeletons in the closet, but Harken's truly interested in doing legitimate business, these days. Consider your tab cleared, in fact, food and board for the remainder of your stay is on me." "That good, huh?" "Indeed, if a proper channel between your people and ours is established, it'll mean an explosion of growth as ideas and wares are traded. Anyone with an early ticket to that table will surely leave rich." In a few minutes, Val finished his letter, downed half the ale, and stood up, taking a small loaf of untouched bread from a plate someone just left. "I'm heading out for a bit." Val, still fully equipped, left the bar alone, heading for the gates. Ten minutes later Val was approaching the eastern gate, sure enough Durnham was on duty. It seemed the captain took night shifts regularly. Captain Durnham spotted him quickly, stepping in his path. "Oi, this isn't funny boy, even with your sword fixed, you only just got mauled by the beast." Val smirked. "And I feel great! Harken gave me some sort of potion and I'm not having any more dizzy spells or fatigue." "Potion or no, it's too early to be going after it again." "You can't stop me from leaving, and I'd rather strike now, it must be at least weakened after last night. Better to finish it off before it recovers by eating a few more people." Durnham glared at him for a few moments. "Fine, but I'm going with you, wait here." "Huh?" Val gaped as the dwarf bolted off into the guardhouse. After a few minutes, he returned, still in his chainmail armor beneath thick metal plates. Aside from a meter and a half long spear with a broad pointed blade on his back, he was holding a bladed war bow. The bow was entirely crafted from steel, even with a meter long, thick wire for bowstring, with a pair of curved blades capping the ends. "Are you allowed to leave your post?" "Hmph. I'm simply carrying out the proposed extermination earlier than planned, let's go." Durnham signaled to a couple guards who lifted the gate for them to pass, closing it behind them. Before long the two were off into the hills, proceeding along paths still familiar to Val from the night before. Durnham seemed fearless in spite of the danger, probably from decades of experience in battle. Val channeled his brand to heighten his senses, familiarity with his prey led him to wear caution. When they reached a clearing, without warning Val drew his blade and ignited Sigil, very clearly challenging the wendigo of the hills. Durnham cast a disapproving glance, but nonetheless knocked an absurd arrow. It was cast from steel all the way through and looked far too long and thick for the size of the bow. Funnily enough Val thought the dwarf to be using something of a portable ballistae. It was only a moment before the familiar, disconcerting howl echoed down the hills. Val poured magic into Tyrfing and the blade ignited as if in response, orange runes glowing with flame. In the far distance Val could barely make out the sound of twigs snapping as the stomping and galloping wendigo thudded its way toward them. Val grinned, much more prepared this time. "Well then, round two." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.webnovel.com for visiting.
