We didn’t start mining the next day, but spent it in preparation. We would keep the camp where it was as it was a good spot. We set up a staging area near the cliff, for some mules and supplies. Ulfhildr, Tabitha and I would basically be based there all day every day, only returning to the main camp for the evening meal, sleep and breakfast. Not forgetting the morning routine before breakfast.

The first shift would start mining at 7am and mine till 8am. The next would arrive and mine 12pm to 1pm and the third shift 5pm till 6pm. We needed my senses on the job every mining hour, and I was thinking I could also pick up a hammer occasionally. It is quite a different thing when you are profiting from hammering rocks. I would be directing where the miners were to mine, aiming for the Darksteel. This was to be overseen by Snøfrid who will make sure we don’t bring the cliff down on ourselves. She would also have some alchemical supplies on hand in case something happens to Tabitha. Ulfhidr was in her usual job of sorting and evaluating the ores, maintaining the mining equipment and packing the mules. Security was Koza and Velikan although I think Velikan just needed to mark his territory and we would be left alone. The heaviest workload was to be taken by Tabitha and her Aura. We were going to mine for six days then give her a full day's rest.

The first mining session was done by Erik, Lars and Ashby. The lunchtime miners were Borje, Thyrrni and Ylwa and then they would alternate. It was a pretty easy gig for the miners, as long as the Rock Worms were kept at bay. To mine flat out for an hour then have at least a 9 hour break before repeating.

The first session went as well as our test. Tabitha kept trying different things with her aura to find the most effective method for the least energy. She was exhausted at the end of it. I stayed up by the rock face after the session. I wanted to see what the worms would do. After chasing off the miners with their frenzy they stayed near the rock face for an hour or so before starting to drift off. When the Lunch time minors arrived there was only one in my senses.

The lunch session went OK as well, but it was a longer session for Tabitha as the worms were still closer so arrived faster. Thyrrni stayed with us after the session and she and I went over what she considered basic Mineral Lore that every level 1 Miner should know. Skill books are definitely no substitute for learning under a competent Master.

There were two worms in my senses when the evening miners arrived and we had to cut it short when Tabitha collapsed. I was able to warn everyone and Ashby was the only one who didn’t duck and vacate the area fast enough taking a hit. Erik told him to take the next day off. Ulfhildr would take his spot. Apparently Dwarves were slow to recover from Spiritual Damage.

Tabitha swore she would be OK in the morning. The Skill was on the verge of levelling and once it levelled it would be easier. That was why she collapsed, she was pushing it to get it to the next level.

When we came back the next morning there were no worms in my senses. They had gone up a level too, so I was sensing further. Tabitha’s Aura levelled during the session and she was slightly less tired. I think that the main increase was in the strength of her aura. She was getting better at controlling the strength, focus and direction as well. Thyrrni stayed after the morning session as well and we continued our lessons. Today’s was a mix of Mineral Lore and basic health and safety in a mine or quarry. Tabitha was made to listen to that as well.

The day went well. Even with the level up Tabitha was barely hanging on to Dusk as we walked back to camp. After dinner I was surprised when I was approached by Koza. He had questions about the spears I had made. The spears had been stacked by our sleeping pads and been left unused. I handed him one and he looked at it carefully. Apparently it was made from Red Oak which was a good type of wood for a spear. He had me handle it and go through some motions. I still found it awkward and he said it was because I made it too long for me to hunt with. The shaft of the spear should only be shoulder height and the point only 20 centimetres on top. I realised I had sized my spear on what I had seen of Kopje and Smeška’s spears and Orcs were a tall race. The spears were also thicker than needed, but that's OK if I had the strength.

He asked me about the stone heads I had on the spear and I showed him how I made them. He drew a shape on the ground and asked if I could make a spear head like that. I managed it on the fourth try. Apparently these were a good general purpose spear head. The spear we were practising on was the right size for him so I gifted it to him.

“Wiremu Hunter,” he rumbled, “You resize your spears and make spear heads like this. In the morning I will show you some practice moves. If we are to hunt together on the return trip, your spear must at least be apprentice level.”

“Yes, Uōlek” I replied. I was very excited.

“Uōluk is the better word in this case,” he corrected me.

I nodded in acceptance and he left me to it. I went straight to Ulfhidr as I knew she had some woodworking tools for the handles of the mining equipment. We shortened the spears and she showed me how to smooth the shaft, which made it a lot better. I then made the first spear head and she watched me.

“Wiremu, I am interested in your affinity. I knew a dwarf with a stone affinity, a Basalt, if I remember correctly. He was able to turn a piece of wood into stone. It wasn’t a fast process but he had a wooden club where he had changed the centre of the club into stone and it made it stronger and heavier.”

“That sounds fascinating.” I said. I retrieved my offcuts from the firewood pile. “I do believe I have many spare hours in which to experiment.” I observed.

She just grinned, “Let me know how it goes and you might ask Thyrrni about it as she knows more about stone than any of us.”

I thanked her and left.

The following morning Koza asked to see me practice with the spear. I went through the moves Kopje showed me back when we were sorting out which weapon I was to focus on.

“No.” Koza declared. “Those are a warrior’s moves, but mainly a warrior who is behind a shield wall. These are better for hunting.” He then showed me a much more mobile set of moves to practice. He walked me through it several times and told me to practice every day.

Thyrrni wasn’t coming to the cliff until the lunch mining session, so in the morning I reviewed my skills. I was disappointed that Bow had stalled at 9 after all the effort I had put into it. But I didn’t have enough arrows to keep practising and the mining team didn’t have any. Mineral Lore and Granite Sensing were the only skills increasing, although Spear would start. Cold resistance was now at 14 and Pip was going out hunting on his own again during the day. I tried to see if Identify would give me any clues on turning wood into stone but there was nothing.

The lunch session went well and Tabitha and I were starting to settle into a routine. When Thyrrni came I asked her about turning wood into stone.

“The natural process is called Petrification,” she said. “It is where any organic material is turned into stone by filling the original pore spaces with minerals which then changes the organic into stone. It happens slowly over many hundreds of years. I haven’t heard of a skill that can do that, but it does make sense for those with stone affinities. I imagine it would be an advanced skill and take a lot of Spiritual Strength to force the process.”

She went on to talk about the variations to Petrification, depending on the different minerals. Because Granite has a high silica content it actually hinders Petrification without a lot of water being present.

With this knowledge my Identify did sense a Petrification skill, but my Spiritual Agility is a little too low and my Spiritual Strength is a lot too low. If I want the skill I know where I have to focus my attributes. After this session I discovered Mineral Lore was finally in the Apprentice levels.

On the fifth day of mining we uncovered the first Darksteel deposit. This triggered my Sense Treasure Skill to go to the Apprentice Levels and my Prospecting Class to level. Sense Treasure gave me a point in Spiritual Perception when it broke through to Apprentice. With the apprentice level of Sense Treasure I could get a better feel for the Treasure I was sensing, and I could focus more on a type of treasure to try to find it. I tested this out at the diamond rock area and found another diamond, and several Pyropes. Pyropes were the more in demand by the alchemists and therefore were easier to sell. Diamonds were hard to work with and therefore less people were in the market for them.

The seventh day rolled around and Tabitha wanted to go for a long ride on Dusk. I decided that Rocky could do with a run as well and joined her for a while. Dusk was always faster than Rocky and with her bonus with her Rider Class there was no hope of me keeping up. She was in a very restless mood so I pitied any stray wolf packs that might cross her path.

Rocky, Pip and I found our own way. I had bought my bow and a spear as I was looking to hunt, or better yet, a nice quiet spot to fish. I found a nice spot to fish. Rocky grazed, Pip went exploring and I fished. It was a very pleasant way to spend a day off. We got back and I helped Ashby prepare the fish for dinner. Cooking with him gained me a level in cooking. Herbs are definitely the way to go. Tabitha rode in just before dinner. On the back of Dusk was this long necked woolly sheep / deer thing. Apparently it was called a Llama. It had amazing soft wool and she wanted me to make her a vest from it. I skinned it and set it drying and Ashby helped me butcher the carcass for tomorrow's meal. Even Butchering with Ashby and him explaining the cuts and methods pushed that into Apprentice level too. Ashby was a Skill gold mine. Or Darksteel mine.

We started our second week of mining. I took all my hide and sewing gear, some of which I borrowed from Thyrrni. I got Tabitha’s vest done and started on a tricky project for us both. Gloves. I was going to make us each a fingerless pair and then some mittens to fit over top for when we don’t need to use our fingers. This was very fiddly. I look back at some of my early work, like my wool vest, and shudder at the fit and the stitching. There should be enough left in the Llama to make a new shirt for me, I hope. Yes I said shirt not vest.

It was lunchtime on the third day when I gave the emergency signal and everybody dropped everything and backed off. There was something big moving through the rocks. It was like the worms but much bigger and more powerful. The biggest worm we had had so far was as long as my arm. This was as long as I was tall and gave a much more powerful vibe. The worms scattered in its presence as well.

Snøfrid came up beside me with a big jar of what she called her ‘Killer Alchemy.’ This wasn’t the repel stuff, this was the kill everything stuff. I saw she also had a bag of explosive powder as well. When I described what I sensed to her she suggested it might be a Rock Serpent. They feast on worms but they can also manifest into a rock snake form and are one of the monsters in the rock elemental family. This one sounded like a small one. She was keen to try and kill it, but Erik overruled her and we cancelled further mining for the day and would hope it was gone in the morning.

We consulted our resident monster expert that night and Koza said it could hang around for weeks. It was probably attracted to the Darksteel ore, or that was the prevailing theory. If we wanted to mine in the next month we would need to kill it or drive it off. He asked me what my trapping was like and then said the best way would be to set a trap with Darksteel ore as bait and Snøfrid’s explosives be triggered to damage it. When the explosives damage the outer skin we get the killer alchemy into the wounds. Heavy blunt weapons only. It is young, so we should be able to kill it and the real prize is the monster core. It is young so the core will be small.

I asked about the monster core and Rock Cores are often used to empower a city's wall enchantments when the city is attacked, making the walls nearly impenetrable. A small core like this might be used to empower a rich person mansion or by enchanters for many other purposes. A person with the right affinity could use the core to empower themselves and their affinity skills. If I wanted to do that I would have to buy it from the team. I was the only one there with a rock affinity. When I asked how much Erik said it would probably double the profit from all the Deep Iron ore. I am pretty sure he was inflating it to get back at me, but it was clearly out of my price range.

Apparently rich people can use cores to get an affinity. There was no guarantee it would succeed and the core might be wasted, but apparently the old Emperor had been buying cores at one point and the rumour was he was trying to get an affinity for his heir. No one knows if he succeeded. His heir succeeded him in suspicious circumstances so no one is saying.

Tabitha came to me that night and asked, “Did we leave a monster core from the field troll lying in the grasslands?”

“Maybe?” I replied. “I did see Smeška spend some time with the Troll. If they did collect the core, and I can’t see Branik missing a trick like that, then that would help explain why she wasn’t very mad at me. Regardless of the reputation loss they would make a big profit.” She looked grumpy at that. I guess she played a big part in bringing it down so she wanted a part of the profit. I can see her making an effort to look Branik up in the future.

The next morning Koza, Snøfrid, and I went up to the cliff mining site. Everybody else was below in the staging area. It is not often you get to witness a monster fight. I confirmed it was still there and laid out a trap and baited it with a piece of Darksteel ore, Snøfrid placed her powder explosive and handed us jars of her killer concoction. Koza and I both had heavy rock mining hammers. There was only room for Koza, myself and the rock serpent in the mining area so we could move around and swing the hammers. The others were hoping we would lead or drive it to them so they could lay into it as well, but that was very doubtful.

I then started mining. As I sensed the Serpent moving toward me I moved away from the face of the wall and moved so the trap was between us. Watching it emerge from the wall was fascinating. It formed into a snake form, with a multitude of rock scales and gems. If we can keep our damage to a minimum this thing is worth a fortune. I can see the attraction of Monster Hunting. It moved over the trap seeming to absorb the Darksteel ore and then the trap triggered and Snøfrid’s explosions ripped into it. Koza and I were right behind throwing jars of liquid into the ripped areas and then creating more gaps with our hammers for more jars. It trashed about in obvious distress and then lay still.

Koza spoke, “OK it is dead. I got the monster kill.” It was a frantic few minutes, but a bit anticlimactic over all. I guess that is the power of a good trap and the right weapons, which in this case was Snøfrid’s alchemy.

I checked my status. I didn’t get the kill so Koza must have finished it. He was pleased as it levelled his Monster Hunter specialisation. My trapping was finally at Journeyman level getting me a point in Physical Agility and Mental Agility. Hammer and my Quarry Worker class went up. Koza got the core and then we moved out of the way and let Erik and team dismantle the serpent. This trip had moved from wildly profitable to ‘beyond their dreams’ profitable. Everything in the Serpent was Spiritually saturated or enhanced. One scale I saw was platinum and it had Spiritual properties. Crafters would go crazy bidding on this stuff.

They moved very quickly dismantling the serpent for materials because if the Serpent had scared away or eaten the worms we probably had several hours of undisturbed mining available to us. As soon as there was space they started in on the ore going for the Darksteel ore.

It was Ulfhidr’s clan that had fronted the costs for the expedition and was taking a tenth share. They also had the first option on buying any materials. They would want all this, but it would bankrupt them to buy it. There would be an auction and it would attract bidders from kingdoms away and bidders for those kingdoms.

The serpent loaded two full mules and we had three hours mining before I sensed the first worm. We got the Darksteel before we had to stop. That bumped Sense Treasure up again, but not Prospecting. We all went back to camp to celebrate and sort out the spoils. After dinner Erik called a meeting. We actually had a full load now. If we were to keep mining we would be discarding some of the lesser value items, starting with the silver ore. The general feeling was they wanted to get back to civilization and get paid. Erik warned that there would be some payment when we returned, but most of it would have to wait for the auction which would be several months away. The feeling was to head back so tomorrow was a pack up day and the next morning we would hit the trail.

That night I finished my gloves and got a level in Hide Armourer and Sewing. Tabitha’s gloves can wait until my new shirt is done. The morning training got my spear to 4, so we will see if Koza thinks that is high enough. I checked my Status.

Wiremu Hunter

Class

Hunt

QW

Spy

Pros

Total

Type

Attribute

Level

6

11

6

2

Constitution

Physical

Strength (PS)

9

10

2

22

1

44

97.0

Agility (PA)

12

5

6 4

27

Poison R +8

Perception (PP)

11

0

12

1

2

26

Crush R +17

Mental

Strength (MS)

9

12

2

23

Cold R +16

Agility (MA)

12

2

2 6

22

63.0

Perception (MP)

11

1

6

18

Pain R +9

Spiritual

Strength (SS)

10

1

11

2

24

63.0

Agility (SA)

8

1

4

6

1

20

Perception (SP)

10

1

6

2

19 Totals

92

33

28

33

30

7

223 Free Points

2

0

0

1

Skills

Novice: Cooking 4, Animal Care 4, Spear 4, Lock Pick 4, Disarm Traps 4, Truth Sensing 2, Manipulate Status 4, Sense Spiritual 3, Disarm Spiritual Trap1, Detect Spiritual Trap 3, Detect Traps 4, Bond Senses 4, Animal Lore 3, Spiritual Trapping 3,

Apprentice: Small Blades 7, Tracking 8, Skinning 7, Bow 9, Deceive 9, Fishing 5, Unarmed Combat 6, Far Sight 7, Riding 7, Throw Weapons 6, Granite Bones 7, Sewing 7, Granite Sense 7, Camouflage 6, Sense Treasure 6, Hide Armourer 7, Mineral Lore 5, Butchering 5

Journeyman: Hearing Aid 11, Hammer 13, Identify 10, Animal Bond 10, Granite Spike 10, Trapping 10

Master: Stealth 15

Affinity: Granite

Monster Kills: 1