152. Steam Lands: Wiremu

We gathered at dawn by what they call the Steam Gate. I was feeling quite shabby in my patched-together armour. Shopping is the next thing on my to-do list. Skavt was there with a small shield, spear and a quiver of javelins. Her Yak bond Okse was staying behind. Apparently, the Steam Lands were treacherous for heavy-hooved animals. Najprej and Drugič wore their normal swords and heavy shields. Ört was there with his massive two-handed axe. He also had a backpack of medical supplies, being our ‘Guild Qualified Healer’. Kryddor, his mountain dog bond, was sitting at his feet. I had my bow, my typical three spears, and the usual knives and darts. Tāoke was camouflaged on my shoulder. All our backpacks, except Ört’s, were empty, apart from some basic supplies. We were hoping we would be bringing them back full.

I saw Tabitha and Modrica heading over. Tabitha had her twin swords on her but no other obvious weapons. Modrica had her mace, but I understand from Tabitha that she had two basic classes. Brawler and Blunt Weapons. She had a Pugilist Specialisation plus something else Tabatha wouldn’t say.

“Morning,” I greeted them. “There is no sign of our guide yet.”

“He is over there, watching us from the shadows,” Tabitha said with a raised voice.

A shadow detached itself from the building and walked toward us. Our guide was a short dwarf dressed in leather with dual knives. Definitely a rogue type.

“Morning,” he said unapologetically. “I am Daegal, your guide for today. I see most of you comply with the requirements. I can’t see your classes, Lass,” he nodded to Tabitha, “but the fact you spotted me indicates a high-level rogue or scout class.”

I had ensured my Status showed my Hunter Class and Monster Hunter and Scout Specialisations, so he would not have probed any further.

“The first hour or so, we should not have any difficulty with monsters, although it is good we have some experienced Monster Hunters with us.” He nodded to Skavt and me. Skavt had picked up the class on the way to Obalno when we had a run-in with a pack of Bone Dogs. “Don’t stray too far from me. I will point out the common dangers as we go. The difference between a pool of boiling mud and a Mud Elemental can only be seen with Journeyman level Spiritual Senses. If you don’t have that, stick with someone who does. There is so much spiritual energy everywhere in the Steam lands, and it can confuse experienced people.”

“Some dangers we just can't stop or fight,” he continued. “There is a lot of Steam in the area, obviously, and it can confuse the physical senses. Many a person without mapping skills has gotten lost. You may not realise that some of those clouds of steam may, in fact, be Steam Elementals. If I say run, you run. Follow me because I will be in the lead.” It didn’t take my Truth Sensing to tell me he was deadly serious.

“Right, I will explain more as we go. Follow me.” Daegal led the way out the gate.

That first hour went quickly with no major problems. Steam billowed from the various pools and blew across the landscape. The mud pools plopped mud and gasses out. The pools were separated by low scrub, and this went on as far as the steam allowed us to see. In the distance, a geyser erupted, sending boiling water into the atmosphere, adding to the steam and creating scorching rain.

All the valuable material had been scavenged from this area, so we waited till we got further from the city. It was interesting how the Spiritual density affected even the plants and birds in the area. There was one very common scavenger bird. It was almost flightless. I only saw it fly about 50m maximum. It has blue feathers but a whitetail called a Pukeko. The unenhanced bird was larger than a chicken but smaller than a turkey. We saw enhanced versions almost the size of Kryddor, and he is a big dog. Kryddor had fun chasing them.

Then there was the smell. The smell of sulfur was the strongest. There was a build-up of white material around some of the boiling ponds, and my Granite Affinity was sensitive to it. Daegal said it was Silica, a common mineral added to various crafting mixes. I got the feeling from my Affinity and Mineral Lore that it was a building block of Granite. I grabbed a sample even though Daegal thought I was wasting my time.

Daegal was updating us on the area as well. Two monster cores a month is about the average extraction, although some may not declare or sell their cores. Monster cores can just be found lying around if you are lucky. These are usually a result of monsters fighting monsters. The ritual to find out the affinity of the Monster core is fairly straightforward and uses common spiritual materials, but you are recommended to have the Spiritual Sensitivity Skill or similar to sense the results. We will have to try to teach Mayakku. Her mother Am'mā may have the skill as well, I will ask.

We carefully avoided the Mud Elemental pools. I could easily tell the difference between the mud pools and the elementals with my Sense Spiritual. We had a couple of small fights. Eventually, this area enhanced every creature, and a flock of enhanced Pukekos were dispatched fairly easily. Kryddor took down two alone. Their feathers, claws and beaks were valuable, although fairly common.

The giant mud crab was a bit more difficult. However, once the legs were hacked off, we worked our spears in under the shell, and its demise was inevitable. The Shell can be worked into a shield or armour by the right craftsman and is highly heat resistant. The smaller shell pieces from the legs would make smaller sections of armour or sell well. Najprej and Drugič were fighting over who would get the new shield. The shell may be big enough for two shields, but despite the size of the mud crab, it was not a monster. Daegal was of the opinion it was close to becoming a monster. Najprej and Drugič were designated to carry the shell back.

The herd of enhanced boars were not fun. We were in light scrub, Najprej and Drugič took point with their shields, and Skavt and I were behind with our spears. Ört and Modrica were behind us, and Tabitha and Daegal disappeared. Najprej and Drugič took the initial charge on their shields and were pushed backwards. They stabbed forward with their sword as Skavt and I stabbed from behind with our longer spears. Ört and Modrica then came out from the sides swinging their respective weapons. Kryddor hassled them from the rear. After the initial charge, it became a free for all, but the six of us stayed together. I caught glimpses of Tabitha slicing and wounding from the rear, and I did notice the area darken slightly.

One boar slammed into Modrica, and she was pushed back. It was trying to gore her with its tusks, but she obviously had a Skill to harden her skin. It was more effective than my Snakeskin, as the boar's tusks would have ripped through that. That was when Tāoke decided to make an appearance, launching himself off my shoulder and onto the Boar, trying to gore Modrica. He Grew mid-flight and landed on the boar, wrapping his body around it and sinking his teeth in. Modrica stunned it with a massive punch and then left Tāoke to finish it while moving on to the next one. After the first charge, it was fairly straightforward, and we only took surface injuries. The boars took a lot to put down, though. They had a tough hide to get through and soaked up a lot of damage before finally collapsing. It was a long tiring fight.

We put down the last boar and were starting to relax. Tāoke was heading back to me when Daegal suddenly appeared above him with daggers drawn. Then he froze, caught in Tabitha's Binding Shadows. Tāoke had curled into a ball, ready to strike, and I had moved my spear into a throwing grip.

“What are you doing?” I asked in a menacing tone.

“It’s a monster with a core!” he replied.

I moved forward to stand by Tāoke. “That is my bond, Tāoke.”

“You have a monster bond,” he said incredulously.

The other Canine Queens came to stand with us, and I could sense Tabitha behind him.

“Do you know how much a core is worth?” he said.

“Yes,” I replied, “and my bond is worth more.”

He suddenly saw everybody arrayed against him and sheathed his knives. “I am sorry I didn’t realise we had more than one bond with us. You need to be careful. There are a lot of greedy people in Duhovno looking for cores.”

“Indeed,” I said, “are we going to have problems with this news spreading?”

“No, no. The Guild agreement includes confidentiality.”

He knew this was a life-or-death answer. My Truth Sensing was telling me he did intend to keep it confidential, so I nodded to Tabitha, and the shadows retreated, and she stepped back. The intentions of a dwarf tend to be lowered after a few ales, but I wasn’t going to kill him on a maybe. He didn’t know about our second bond. I am not sure what he will do if he finds out about the third bond with us.

I turned away and got out my skinning knife. Ört and I had the two highest Skinning Skills, so we got to work. Kryydor and Tāoke feasted on boar guts while we worked at cleaning and stacking pelts. The scavengers started to gather, and Kryddor caught another Pukeko. Twenty-three spiritually enhanced Boar pelts will bring a good price in addition to the tusks and hooves.

We kept moving. Ört was collecting a lot of plant samples, including mosses and other plants he had never seen anywhere else. These were going to be for his own uses, to level his Herbalist Class and create some interesting potions. Much of the plant material was also highly heat resistant, and he hoped to create something to treat burns. It was Ört that upset a monster.