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Jokes aside, we prayed for each others’ safety and promised to meet again at the inn in exactly five days. I was going to go straight into my hunting trip after that, but needed to buy a few supplies first. The smell from the street vendors was very inviting as I stocked up on some food and sold the goblin weapons I had collected, at a smithy. At least it paid for everything I needed. It seemed that there was a bigger demand for metal here than in Fhiraldo, which meant great prices. It was too bad that I had to use it all for buying supplies.

 

Now that I was finished with preparations, I left the city through the western gate. The gatekeeper looked at me suspiciously, probably due to it being a strange time to be heading out, but his partner told him to let me through. ‘Are you the one who arrived during the day?’ ‘Probably,’ I answered. He must have been in the group of soldiers. He let me through after that.

 

The setting sun looked beautiful as I made my way through the plains and towards the forest. I had used ‘Legs of the Forest Wolf’ when coming here, but it was a long and peaceful walk without it. Perhaps all the grass wolves had fled when the wyvern attacked, because I could not detect their presence anywhere nearby. It was so quiet. The sounds of insects were music to my ears.

 

Finally, the forest came into view. The sun was long gone by now. I looked back and could see that the city was brightly lit within the night’s darkness. I guess Spiris was a city that did not sleep.

I, on the other hand, was looking for a place where I could sleep. Yes, a tree. And I could see them now. There would be plenty of vines in the forest as well. But I was a civilized man now. I bought something called a rope. There was even a discounted claw-like thing being sold at the smithy, which I bought. Actually, this was probably some kind of weapon you attached to your hand to fight with, but it would still serve to tie me to a tree, right? Though, maybe I could use ‘Jack of all Trades, Master of None’ to learn how to fight with it. I’ll get to that eventually, I think.

 

Now, I was in the forest. The first thing that I needed to do was eat. I briskly proceed to make preparations. This was clearly a sign of how accustomed to being on the road I had become. First, it’s the bonfire. You can’t do anything until that’s done. It’s warmth and it’s light. I avoid things that might burn, like grass and leaves and create a spot for the fire. Dried grass and twigs are used as kindling, which then starts to burn the thicker branches. And with that, I was done. My surroundings are suddenly nice and bright. Now I would go and scout the area. I needed to make sure there was nothing dangerous nearby, or possibly find something I can use. Hmm, there was nothing in particular that would obstruct my vision from the camp. There was also nothing useful to me. Boring.

I went back to my camp and sat down by the fire. Ahh, it was warm… I take out some food I had bought at a random street stall and begin to eat as I make careful plans for the next day. Annihilate, exterminate, slaughter. Okay. That’s done.

 

Ahh, I was full now. Might as well go to sleep. Ideally, there would be a bath after this, but such luxuries didn’t exist in the forest. So I had to shut up and sleep in my tree. I climb to the top. The views were always so great from here. The sky seems so much closer and the stars more dazzling. It was a clear, cloudless night.

I wonder what Daniela was doing now?

I would take four golds and forty silvers from the money we made and we would split the rest. I hoped we could celebrate. I started to get drowsy as I thought of these things, so I checked that the rope was secure and then pulled a blanket out of the hollow bag to cover myself with. I would start hunting tomorrow morning! And with that, I surrendered my consciousness. I had very high hopes for the next day.

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