The trip back to Sart was slow and painful. To make sure Agga wouldn't be too upset about everything if she found out, I passed the tree and got the branch. Between hauling that, the ax, and the Wirg carcass, it was pitch black when I reached Sart.

Seeing the burning torches atop the wall and the archers patrolling it, I got a new sense of wonder. This was all real? That meant they were patrolling against something, but what? I had so little information, but not the capacity to learn it. Walking into the open, dragging the Wirg along, one of the archers noticed me.

"Agga, your welp is back! It appears he went hunting again!" The archers shouted to below.

Immediately the small door in the gate swung open, and Agga came through. When she saw me, she had a look of anger and hurt in her eyes. My heart clenched a bit as I realized she was real and not an AI. I had hurt her, and it wasn't just a questline that could go south because of it.

Dragging the Wirg forward, I stopped in front of her.

"Fool! Why did you go look for trouble?"

I forced a grin, dropped the Wirg, and pointed at my pants. "I needed another so I could get a tunic to match the pants! I've heard it gets cold here in the winter! Besides, if these things are here, it would be dangerous for you to go out!"

Agga snorted and shook her head. But as she turned, I saw a small smile on her lips. "That bloody Hag was right. You do feel like you're a hero. Fine! Drag that thing back, and I'll see what I can do."

With a weary, pained grin, I grabbed the Wirg around the neck and hoisted it up. A small ping came, and my smile widened. With a quick summon of my status, my stamina refilled as I gained another point in muscle mass. Straightening my shoulders, I followed Agga. I saw Egilla atop the wall. She grinned at me, shaking her head and wiping some mock sweat off her forehead. I grinned back and barely resisted sticking out my tongue.

Slogging after Agga, my feet splashing in the filthy muck, I reconsidered. Perhaps I should ask her to make a pair of boots first. Seeing the filth caked around my feet, I wondered how horrible they must smell. The knowledge that all of this was real made me realize how filthy I was. I'd fix that tomorrow by taking a swim in the sea!

A plate was waiting for me in the shop, as was the now much shorter beam on the ground. The wood scrapings shoved in a corner. Dropping the carcass, I rushed to the table.

"Est!" Agga's shout made me freeze in my tracks and turn to her. A pained look covered her face, and she seemed weak and frail as I looked at her. Remembering what Egilla had told me of her past, I felt a wave of sympathy.

"Don't stay out that late again! The night wights are more powerful by night, and if you come across one in the dark, you won't come back. Then I'll need to find another fool to help me get wood!" Although I heard her words, the pain and fear in her eyes and face told me what she actually wanted to say. Be careful, and come back alive.

I nodded and held her gaze for a moment before turning to the table. As I stuffed my face with bread and fish, I wondered if there were no culinary foods in this world. If there weren't, I could make a killing by creating them. Fidgeting with my feet, I remembered the boots.

"Agga, can you make me a pair of boots first?" I asked, looking up. Agga was sitting at the table again, but her head was lowered, her hands shaking and shivering. With a curse, I jumped up and shot across the room.

Putting a hand on her arm, it felt cold. The last time this happened, she had been fine after eating. Had she not had anything? I got the remaining bread from my plate and put a small bit in her mouth. It took a moment before she began chewing and swallowing, and I continued until the whole bread was gone, and Agga's shivering had stopped. Scouring the cupboards where she had held the food, I found them all empty. Only a single half apple was still there, free of mold but brown. Grabbing one of the knives she used for woodcarving, I scraped a small layer off and cut it up, and fed them to her.

When it was gone, she was lying with her head on her arms, breathing deeply. Knowing I couldn't leave her there, I picked her up carefully and carried her to the stair. Having four arms made it a lot easier. I even had one left to hold the railing.

I had not been on the first floor yet, and when I got there, I saw it was empty but for a small bed, a pair of closets, and a massive chest. Had this been a game, I'd expect there was loot in there. But it wasn't, so there probably was just bed linen. I put Agga down on the bed, covering her with the blankets before returning down.

She must have kept all the food for me. It was the only thing that made sense. She did say that the mushroom would get us food for a week. Was that a lie? I didn't know, but I knew I needed to get food for both of us, and I needed it fast. I had to find Sandra, warn the other humans who thought this was all a game, and I had little time, I also needed to learn wood crafting so I could become stronger.

Staring at the massive log, I picked up the thick chisel and began scraping wood from the top of the beam. My motions were smooth, and I didn't make many mistakes anymore. Images of Sandra mixed with the realization that we were actually in another world, one that worked like a game. Did that mean I could become a truly powerful mage and live for centuries?

I had always been resilient in the face of trouble, and my mind took everything that had happened and began imaging what I could do in a world like this. Drifting away in my imagination, I continued working at the log, forgetting time.

--

A kick against my leg awoke me. Feeling the fog in my mind, I groaned and opened my sandy eyes. Unfurling my arms, I found I was still at the log, having fallen asleep across it, the chisel still clasped tightly in my hand. Agga stood beside me, staring at the log in stunned silence. Still groggy, I followed her gaze and saw that a circle of wood shavings surrounded me. A fourth of the log was gone, turned to shavings.

"Did you even sleep?" She muttered.

Looking up, I frowned. "Did you even eat?" I countered.

She blinked, and a guilty look crossed her face for a moment before disappearing below a scowl. "I'm old. A few days without food won't kill me."

That was a lie if I'd ever heard one, but I didn't respond. Instead, I got up and stretched my sore arms. I couldn't remember when I'd fallen asleep, but I did remember one thing. I had a good idea of how I could find Sandra. But first I needed food.

"So, how long did you not eat?" I asked. I needed to figure out how much time I had to get more.

Agga turned away and moved towards the Wirg corpse. We had left it there overnight, and it was stinking up the place. Grabbing a knife, she dragged the corpse outside. Moving towards the ax, bloody and dirty on the ground, I picked it up and followed her outside.

"So?" I asked again, not willing to let it go.

"Only a few days, "she muttered as she sliced the belly of the wirg. The moment the intestines spilled out, I felt my empty stomach heave, and I quickly turned. I hated blood and guts. In the midst of battle, it was fine, but like this?

"I am going to clean the ax and myself. When I get back, explain to me how we are going to get food in this place," I said. I didn't get a reply, but didn't expect one and began walking away.

The main street was still empty; this early in the morning, that appeared to be normal. Moving towards the pier, the sight of the thick stream of muck flowing into the water made me shiver. No hygiene here, none at all! The road led up to a massive stone pier that almost seemed chiseled from one piece. It stretched twenty meters to both sides and had two long walkways of stone that led into the sea. A few boats lay atop it, but none were attached to the sides. Looking down, I saw that the water was a bit murky, but not so much that I couldn't see the bottom.

Left, at the end of the pier, I saw a small dock with a ladder leading up. I moved there and saw the stone tiles and buckets. So little wood here, not strange if most of it was poisoned. Seeing a bucket with a rope, I put down the ax, got the bucket, and lowered it down. Full of water, I found the ax barely fit inside. Leaving it there to soak for a while, I stripped off my leather leggings but left my disgusting loincloth. Instead of jumping in, I climbed down the ladder until my foot touched the water. I had anticipated it to be freezing, but instead, it was just a bit chilly. I lowered myself in, gritting my teeth, and swam a bit away. It was far too deep to stand, but it was even easier to swim with four arms than with two.

As I rubbed my legs, belly, and chest, I saw a thick wave of brown dirt begin to float around me in the water. Disgusted, I dove down and continued to clean myself. I even removed my loincloth while submerged and cleaned it as best I could. I could see underwater as good as could be expected, but Grablons must be awesome swimmers because I could hold my breath for a long time. Minutes later, feeling a lot cleaner, I climbed out of the sea and froze at the top of the ladder.

Egilla stood there, her eyes glittering as she looked at me, arms across her chest. I stared back at her with a frown until she grinned and turned around. Then I came out of the water.

"Good to see you know something, at least, Arms. You were starting to smell worse than those Wirgs you brought back!"

I ignored her and began rubbing my legs, trying to dry them faster. Picking up my leggings, I groaned. The caked dirt inside was as thick as it had been on my legs. Shaking my head, I filled a second bucket with water and began rubbing it clean. When I finished, I put it on the stone, inside out, hoping the sun would dry it fast.

"That must be the first time I've ever seen a Grablon use those hands for something other than killing!" Egilla said. She was sitting to the side, looking at me. Feeling her eyes scan every part of me, I shivered, which caused her to laugh.

"Is it cold?" She got up and walked away before turning. "Perhaps you should find someone to warm you!" With a roaring laugh, she walked back to the main road.

I was stunned. Was that an invitation, an insult, or sexual harassment? In the end, I decided it didn't matter. Thirty or so minutes later, I quickly donned the still soaking leather pants. A group of men and women with arms full of laundry walked across the pier to where I was sitting. Throwing the dirty water out, I rinsed the stone buckets and moved off. I heard a muted conversation behind me, and the term Arms was repeatedly whispered. What did I do now?

Heading back to Agga's place, I realized this was one of the few times I'd been out in the town early in the morning. It was busy, many people going about their business. Most were humanoid, some with pointy ears but most without. Besides another two Grablons, I didn't see any of the other, more exotic races. Perhaps they didn't mingle a lot?

Reaching Agga's, I shuddered as I saw a disgusting pile of stinking innards tossed in the alley where I'd once started. Turning away before it'd made me lose what little I had in my stomach, I entered the building.

Agga sat at another table beside the tanning rack. The Wirg hide was already on it, scraped clean and strung tautly.

"So, how are we going to get breakfast?" I asked, looking at Agga, who was doing something just out of my sight.

"We are going to sell something and earn a Soulwood fragment. Hopefully." She said as she turned around. In her hands, she held a long, dull, wooden dagger. Almost a shortsword, it had straight sides and an angular tip. The handle was adorned with a leather wrapping, and even without holding it, I could see it was high quality.

"I made this with the wood you brought back over the last few weeks. I'd prefer to work on it longer, but there is no time. Those Doom Daggers will like it either way. With the promise of more like them, we will be able to secure a lump sum."

Looking at the dagger, I frowned. It was nice, but how would one dagger sell for enough food?

My uncertainty must have been a bit too obvious, because Agga hissed. "Those thugs only have metal weapons, perhaps a single magic one, but none of them will have something like this. With the howling forest so close, they won't be able to resist having it."

Shrugging, I nodded. "Fine, let's go and sell it."

Agga shook her head, handing me the dagger. It was surprisingly heavy for something made of wood and slightly warm to the touch. Not at all like any dagger I had ever held. Probing the edge with my thumb, Agga drew in a deep breath as it cut a deep line in my finger.

"Shit!" I cursed, putting the finger in my mouth and staring wide-eyed at the dagger.

"Are you a toddler?" She cried, carefully taking the dagger away from me. "This isn't like some blunt metal thing! I grained it to perfection before burning it. Before the burn, it was already sharp as a knife. Then it shrunk three times over!"

Seeing my dimwitted look, she wrapped the dagger in a piece of cloth and gave it back. "Don't try the edge, boy!"

Nodding, I took the dagger, the finger still in my mouth. It bled profusely. What was with this wood? Did it cause a bleeding debuff?

"You go and sell it. It is worth five Soulwood fragments, but they will probably offer three small ones. Bargain until you get three large fragments or four small."

Agga turned back to the woodcarving table, and I saw another three, much larger daggers lying on the table. No leather-bound handles, and I presumed they still needed to be burned.

"What are you waiting for? Get going before we starve to death!"

I grinned and shook my head before turning away, feeling my wet leather pants chafe and stick to my legs. I'd wanted to ask about the boots, but I guessed that would probably be another few days.

As I trudged out, Agga's voice came from behind. "And Est? Be careful…"

I snorted. Wasn't I always?