Nelly blushed at the attention, as all of us were looking at her. She stammered, “I.. um I… I only have stories from my grammy.” She looked as if she wanted to disappear and Jack moved to put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a slight comforting squeeze, “We love stories!”

  Fidgeting a bit, she began, “My Grammy was a young girl, this is like 70 to 80 years ago…” Barlo and Jack gave her encouraging nods, and I said, “please Nelly, I am going in blind, I would love to hear your stories”

  Nelly took a deep breath and started, “Okay, since you know nothing about Sweetwater, let's start there”

  At this point, as if summoned by the prospect of a story, Sslaras appeared, quickly got caught up on what was going on and soon he was on his bunk, chewing jerky and ready for the story to continue.

  She looked at him, frowned and then continued, “Grammy grew up in Sweetwater, a small town on the border between the Dunro mountains and forest, situated near the Blackwater river. I grew up in a city, so her stories of the mountains and forests were favorites of mine…”

  “Booooring!” Sslaras interrupted, earning the ire of us all, but he just grinned and said, “Come on Nelly, give us the good stuff!”

  Exasperated, she said, “fine! Be like that” and while we all gave Sslaras the stinkeye, I secretly agreed.

  Nelly picked up again and said, “these are the stories that Grammy only told when she thought we children were asleep…” She looked uncomfortable, “so I never heard all of it, I hope that is okay?”

  “Of course Nelly!” we all said.

  “Grammy would talk about how her father and the other parents would come home after long days in the mines, not digging for ore, but searching for something…” Nelly lowered her voice and we crept closer. “At some point they started coming back with a haunted look in their eyes, Grammy said, they would sometimes cry, sometimes be so angry that Grammy had to run and hide” Nelly looked at us, nervously smoothing her ears.

  “The worst though, was when they came back and couldn't remember who they were… sometimes for hours, a few times for a day or so, totally different person, scared the dead gods out of her and her mother”

  Nelly shuddered and Jack moved closer and offered her the warmth of his arm and side, blushing a bit again, she snuggled up to him and Sslaras gave a little woop woop, lifting everyone's spirits a bit and making Jack blush as well. Though I noticed they did not move away from each other.

  Looking much more comfortable Nelly continued, “I never heard Grammy talk about what they were digging after, but something happened, maybe they found it or maybe something found them… The last stories Grammy had from Sweetwater sounded crazy to us all”

  We all moved our bunks closer for this final story. I have to admit it was almost cozy and reminded me of simply hanging out with friends in my old life… I wonder if Torle would know how to make pizza?

  Taking a deep breath, “Grammy said that the town started breaking apart, not the buildings, but for example sometimes you would look out a window and see a totally different place or you would find a piece of road, suddenly being grass or something else…”

  “Like reality was breaking apart?” I asked, my mind turning to the corrupted environmental shards I had encountered before.

  Nelly nodded, “Yes, something like that! At first she said it was only small and gone before anyone could be sure it had really been there… Then people started disappearing and dying… Eventually they began coming back as undead… Grammy and her mom, along with several others were already starting to leave town, when people started disappearing, when the undead came, they ran”

  You have unearthed a historical truth (lesser)!

  You have gained experience!

  The blue flash had come and gone without me noticing it, so it wasn’t until later I discovered that Grammy’s stories had some truths to it. Also it confirmed that stories, at least stories with truths in them could provide experience, which was nice, just meant I had to find someone else then Sslaras to tell me stories…

  We spend a good hour just hanging out, laughing, sharing stories and getting closer to that elusive switch from work friends to just friends.. It was wonderful! watching Stalker and Sslaras get into a tug of war over some Jerky, Jack and Nelly sitting together, Barlo teasing them a bit…

  I went to bed with a smile that night, and Stalker emoted me play pack, strong pack as I fell asleep.

  Morning came, and I grabbed my gear and went to meet up with Luca and Celine, making sure to move quietly, so I didn't wake anyone up. I said my goodbyes last night.

  They were waiting for me, Luca greeted me with a big grin and almost shouted, “Harr, you came!” and looking me up and down, he continued, “You almost look the part, a proper explorer” Celine just shook her head, handed me some stuffed bags with supplies and said, “ignore him, he is a morning person” Then she turned and began a brisk walk out of the camp.

  Surprised by the abrupt departure, I hurried after her, and laughing Luca followed me as we began our journey to Sweetwater.

  Celine set the pace, moving with a swift, predatory grace through the underbrush, almost as if it parted before her feet. Luca on the other hand was more of an unstoppable engine barreling through obstacles at high speed, ignoring even small trees.

  I moved at a speed I would never have been able to sustain in my old life, my muscles working at peak efficiency, my endurance in a whole new realm compared to before and yet… I was the one holding us back. Stalker had no trouble keeping up with the two others and even had time to go exploring a bit, but after a few hours I had to call out for a break.

  Breathing heavily and with sweat running down my body, I stood bent over with my hands on my knees as Luca’s big hand clapped me on the back a few times.

  “Easy now… If you can’t keep up… Let us know!” Luca grinned, Celine rolled her eyes at Luca and added, “He is right, Mike, we need you in fighting condition if something were to happen and when we get there.” Although I was busy catching my breath, I noticed the looks going between Celine and Luca, and even though they hid their exhaustion well, I could see the small signs, like the barely visible tremble in their legs, their breath just a tad more staggered, signs of sweat.

  This breakneck pace had been a test of my abilities…

  After the much needed break, we set off at a slower pace and I had more time to study my two travel companions. Looking closer at Celine, she really did bring the image of a predator, an apex predator, stalking through the forest to mind.

  She was swift, silent and it looked like the environment adapted to her! For example, plants and bushes swayed out of her way, small natural indentations in the ground evened out to allow her easier foothold. I switched my Echo skill to Skill lore again and quickly identified a handful of skills that could do what I was seeing, most commonly related to a scout or hunter profession.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Lucas was almost the opposite, he seemed to almost take pleasure in plunging through bushes or smaller trees. He was like a truck bulldozing through the forest. Unfortunately I couldn't identify any skills using Skill lore, so still unclear if he had a class or profession.

  Stalker was enjoying himself by trying to sneak up on and spook Celine and Luca. Celine quickly caught on and after the first time, she was not really surprised anymore. Stalker knew of course, but seemed to enjoy playing with her anyway. At one time during the day he emoted to me Strong predator, strong mate, stronger pack I nearly stumbled and Celine called a quick break, probably wondering why I was so red in the face.

  Luca, on the other hand, seemed to fall for Stalkers shenanigans everytime, and he did not like it… There was shouting, threats, even a thrown stick or two, eventually I had to tell Stalker to leave the orc alone or risk a serious confrontation that we did not want.

  I was unsure of how long we travelled that day, but long enough that all traces of the Ghostwoods were gone, we were back in a forest area with the vivid colour scheme and strange plasticlike bark trees, home of dropbears and other monsters.

  That evening when we made camp, Celine went out on a quick hunt, and after talking with me Stalker turned and followed her. Luca appeared to be busy arranging the campfire and setting up his bedroll. Done with the practical tasks he turned to me and said, “Celine will be along soon enough with some fresh meat, how is your cooking?”

  “Bad, bordering on very bad?” I said, thinking back on the decidedly burned cuisine I had mastered since arriving here. He shrugged and said, “okay, so no cooking skills either, eh?” He looked at the fireplace and said, “Nothing like travelling to make you miss that old goatface Torle”

  Soon we had a good fire going and he looked at me, with an appraising look, “You did well today, keeping up with us is not easy, Deggan told us that you have no classes…” He let that statement linger like a question.

  I just shrugged and said, “True enough, but I have leveled up a bit and boosted my physical stats”

  He nodded, that was not uncommon in the lumber camp, some of those guys were quite beefy. Looking out in the forest where Stalker had disappeared, “That pet of yours, I have never seen its like before, what is it?”

  Frowning, I said, “I’m sorry he gave you a hard time today, he likes to play.” I looked at Luca, "But Stalker is not my pet, he is a friend and I am not sure what he is, we found each other here in the forest.” and looking out into the forest. “He also likes to hunt.”

  Luca took out his greataxe, his weapon of choice, and started cleaning and polishing it, as he said, “Yeah, it was being a real pest today” he chuckled a bit, and then added with a hard undertone, “If it keeps that up, I will not guarantee its safety, no matter what the boss has told me!” and looking me in the eyes, “So keep your pet in line”

  I stood up and grabbed my lumber axe, my body trembling with adrenaline, fury and panic, “Touch Stalker and I will end you!” I said, my wavering voice betraying the brave words.

  Luca, still sitting with his greataxe, laughed, “YES! there is the fire in you, boy!” waving his hand dismissively at me. “Your little pet is safe” he continued polishing his axe, “am I a monster? Going after little animals?” A small pause, as if he was waiting for me to say something, “Bah! Sit down and relax”

  I stood for a moment, embarrassed by my outburst and how quickly the impulse for violence came to me, but also that I had been baited by Luca… He was testing me, my temper, my bond with Stalker and I had underestimated him. He was a brute yes, but certainly not stupid.

  The next 5 minutes were tense, and only broken by Celine arriving with Stalker, back from their hunt. They had caught some of those rabbit looking monsters and soon we had them grilling over the flames. Stalker told me that they had a good hunt and reiterated that Celine would be good mate material. I told him to go bite a rabbit and he huffed with amusement.

  Even though our communication was without sound or signs, it was obvious that both Celine and Luca were watching and seeing that something was going on. I really needed to come up with a way to hide this better.

  The rest of the evening went with some smalltalk, some probing questions, which I tried to dodge as best I could. I was thankful though when it was time to sleep. Sharing the guard duty, we luckily got through the night without incident and we were ready for an early departure.

  I managed to get Stalker to lay off the pranks on Luca, although he did grumble a bit about it as he found Lucas' tantrums funny. Thinking back on the calm orc with the greataxe at the fireplace I couldn't help but shiver and think that fun could be too dangerous.

  The travel on day two was pretty much the same as day one, we made good speed and I had time to marvel at the feeling of using my body like this, it felt good! Sometime during the day I spotted the mountains, through the canopy, for the first time. We were getting nearer.

  This evening we made camp near a little lake and Luca decided that he wanted to take a swim, leaving me and Celine alone… He might not be stupid, but a great actor, he was not. I rolled my eyes as I noticed the looks he sent Celine as he left the camp.

  As I set up the campfire, she began preparing dinner, taking out a pot for a stew from yesterday's meat. While we were working she opened up with a few light questions about where I was from, what I had been doing before and stuff like that. I deflected them all and eventually she tired of the pretense and said, “look, I know that you know that we are trying to get information about you and your abilities”

  I stopped poking the logs in the fireplace and looked up at her, “Finally! Could we stop this dance then?” I tried a smile, and said, “if we are going to work together, it will be hard if I constantly have to watch out for what I say or do?”

  Smiling, she said, “I think you are mistaken, we are here to bring you to Sweetwater and back, making sure that anything you find gets back to the boss” a slight pause “and that is it.”

  Frowning, “Am I getting this right? You are going to dump me in an undead infested town and then just leave me there? "That's insane!”

  Shrugging, she countered, “not insane, we are not explorers, we are guards in the employ of Deggan Bragona” and she stopped stirring the pot and looked at me and Stalker, “You seem like an okay guy and I like your pet well enough, but you and I, we are not friends”

  “Ahh… I I don’t know what to..” I started, startled by her candor

  She interrupted, “And most importantly Deggan is not your friend. He is at best your employer and as long as he feels you are worth employing, that can be a sweet enough gig” She stood up and walked over to me, letting a hand rest lightly on my shoulder, as she said, “and right now, he is unsure of what you bring to the table, so if I were you I would bring something good out of that town…”

  Damn! I thought that was harsh, but I really appreciated her honesty. I had hoped that we would enter Sweetwater together, but at least I would not have to think too much about them seeing what I could do, and in a few days I would have my class and things would hopefully change for the better.

  Slightly flustered at her being so close to me, I said, “What if I can't find anything?” she licked her lips and I could see her sharp canines, “It might be best if you don’t come out of Sweetwater then, or we will see how fast you can run…”

  Stalker not really that good at reading social cues, chose that moment to emote Mating dance? Tiny protector leave? I almost burst out laughing, it was so misguided, but I could see how it might look from his perspective.

  Luckily the sound of Luca bulldozing his way back to camp, stopped more awkward questions from Stalker.

  Dinner was better, the honesty had released some of the tension and there were moments where it almost felt like coworkers on a field trip.

  The next morning we arrived at the town of Sweetwater…