[Maruem]

Maruem had so far had a rather busy day, and now was the time to relax. He had woken up in the Ciminian Forest again, although this time it was not as pleasant a morning, what with the swarm of Corvus which attacked him quite rudely.

Despite the large, cacophonous, dark blue ravens interrupting his nice dreams, he overall felt pretty content with his morning. After all, it had been a good opportunity to test some of his skills again just to see about their versatility and experiment with the different ways he had of throwing them out. It also helped that despite the foes flying out of reach a lot of the time, they fell rather quickly to his frigid blade spell, causing Maruem to wonder if mayhaps they were vulnerable to ice, or perhaps they were just so extremely weak that a handful of daggers was enough to cut them down. Either way, he had prevailed, and they had been slain.

Maruem looked over at his lance. The roughly crafted wooden pole was visibly cracked and splintered at several points where boar tusks had connected with the staff or where raven claws had grabbed it. It had a hefty and very poorly balanced iron lance head that was too thin at the tip, the taper was too extreme as well and interfered with cutting, getting too wide near the shaft. The blade was also rough and chipped and caught on flesh when it stabbed, make it harder to use, both when thrusting into a foe, and when trying to draw it back out.

”I need to get to a blacksmith.. Clearly, but first, a shaft, and before that, an axe.” all this he thought as he looked around at his surroundings. If this was like any other game maybe he would be lucky enough to find a spare axe just lying around like in Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, a game he had very much enjoyed before all this went down.

His eyes searched the area, hunting for his target, and about fifty meters away from him, it stood on a rather unremarkable hill. A great, powerful, and tall old mossy oak. He walked over to it, admiring just how truly massive the impressive, wild, ancient relic was. Before doing anything else, he decided to give himself a bit of a boost. At it stood his lance kept him alive, but it was not great. In order to help himself stay alive, he had experimented a little in the past with his Sigilmaker ability <Equipment Enchanting>. He took his lance now and, tracing a yellow sigil, he inscribed the rune of Su, enhancing his lance with the power of wind in order to boost his accuracy in any future engagements he may be faced with in the next hour.

After the thirty seconds it took to inscribe the wind rune, he got up to his feet and patted the trees bark. He left his lance resting against the tree as he circled it once just to scope out where it was he would have the easiest time climbing up from. Finally he settled on a spot and clapped his hands together loudly, and then jumped with all his might. His large and powerful fingers found themselves barely able to wrap around the girthy branch he had selected. He patiently adjusted them to a more secure position and swung his legs forward, and back, and then forward once more.

On the third and final backward swing, he released with his left hand, and ,thrusting his legs toward his left side, he rotated in the air around the branch. His right arm pulled and then he released with that one as well. He then quickly pushed his spread his legs outwards while simultaneously reaching out with both hands in order to steady his landing.. His legs swung up past his arms and as simple as that, there he was, comfortably seated on the branch. He stood up, brushing little specks of fine greyish green moss from his fingers and his rear. The next branches were much closer, and he made his way to the top with little trouble.

Looking around from his new vantage point, he was disappointed to announce to himself, and absolutely no one else, that there was not, in fact, a free axe lying around anywhere ready for the taking. That being said, there were clearly a small scattering of homes in the area, mostly far off in the distance in a small town looking place, but a handful of individual others as well. He selected one that looked alive enough and decided he would go to meet with the owners

He hopped from one branch to the next, slowly making his way down from the top of the tree until at last he planted his feet on solid ground again. He looked in the direction of the quaint cottage he had seen from above and, grabbing his lance from the tree it had been resting against, dashed for the home in the forest.

Making his way between the dense outcroppings of brush and foliage he sprinted toward the building. Along the way, he passed through some smaller bushes, and on the other side was a Calydonian Boar. The boar gave a shriek in shock and surprise as he bound over it, accidentally kicking its snout as he passed from above. It became rather enraged at this great offense, once it got over the initial astonishment, and charged after him.

Maruem, now being pursued by an angry boar, decided to have some fun. He was still at a full sprint, so he just turned to his left and began to circle a thick stumpy tree with the boar shortly behind him. He slowly began to gain on the boar and as he sprinted he looked up. The boar had continued to pursue him, and as soon as they were on opposite sides of the tree he ran around it once more and grabbed the thin branch above him. He swung around it and as he did so, he drew his lance from his back with one arm.

His speed and momentum carried him over the branch and, now holding the lance with both hands, he fell over the other side, directly onto the boar. He’d misjudged the direction just a bit and as it was now ,the lance would not pierce where he needed it to. Suddenly, as if a small gust had pushed it just an inch, the poor quality weapon flew true. It seemed that it still had some use despite its quality, or rather lack thereof, as it plummeted completely through the boar’s thick resilient hide. Then all the way through to the other side, and into the ground below. Maruem finished it off with his dagger, and with that tangential distraction eliminated, he continued on his way. He was glad he had inscribed the right rune, extra damage would have done little i he missed his mark. He made sure to note where his foot prints had led from to be sure he was going in the right direction as he continued toward his target.

After a few more minutes of running, he broke through the brush on the forest floor and into a clearing, and before him stood the quaint cottage he had seen from his great oak tree perch. An elderly man was out in front, chopping wood on a thick, well worn stump.
“Excuse me.” Maruem spoke first.

The old man was startled, but did not seem scared. He looked up, and gave a smile as he responded. His voice reverberated from his chest. It was a powerful deep voice that seemed to demand respect, Not that the demand was necessary. The man was built like a tank. His skin scarcely had any room at all to wrinkle. He had a strong presence, but he was not intimidating, or at least not in a way that took away from his friendly expression.

“Ah, good morning! What brings you to my humble little home so early in the morning, boy?”
“Good morning indeed. As for your question... well, to be perfectly honest with you, I was wondering if I could trouble you for a spare axe if you have one? My lance here is of quite laughably poor quality, and I would love to at least be able to replace the shaft, if not find a smith to assist me and make a head for a completely new lance.”
“Aha… I”
“Oh! I can pay you for the axe if you would like!” Maruem interrupted.
The old man laughed heartily. “Ah, to be young again, so much vitality, so much impatience. Not a worry boy, I am certain I have a spare axe somewhere in the shed. I have likely got a spare climbing rope in there if that would be to your liking as well, There is no need to pay me, I have just about everything I need out here as is. Keep your coin, you will likely have more use for it than I.”
“I… Thank you very much sir” said Maruem with a slight bow.
“Hahaha! Please, call me Basilio, it would be good to hear my name again instead of just being called an oaf by that mad witch I chose for a wife. Oh, but don’t tell her I said that. Come, come, let's find you that axe of yours boy.”
“If I am to call you Basilio, than you should know my name as well, it’s only fair. I am Maruem.”
“It’s a pleasure bo… Maruem, now come, come, let’s get you that axe.”

The old man slammed his own axe into the stump, and it stuck in very deep. He was clearly a powerful man. He began to walk Maruem toward the shed.

“So, why do you live on your own out here, wouldn’t it be safer to live in town where all these monsters can’t reach you?”
“Hahahaha! Boy! I don’t go about choosing where I live based on how safe it is. This place is mine, and no monster is going to drive me out just like that. I may be old, but im more than enough for the goblins and boars this forest has to throw at me!”
“What a free spirit.” Maruem thought out loud, stroking his beard in contemplation
“What was that? Oh haha! Yes, I suppose I am aren’t I!”

With a final chortle from the strong old man, they stood before the old shed, and right before them, hanging from the door was a nice, if a little speckled with rust, felling axe, waiting to be used once again. Maruem lifted the axe from the door with his left hand. Or rather, he tried to before realizing his lance was in his hand.

He pulled open the pouch at his belt and pushed the lance down into the the magical sack, starting with the poorly forged blade, and ending with the partially splintered hilt of the shaft. As he lowered it in, he noted that the sigil had faded, its hour almost up. Still, it had served its purpose.
“Impressive, if a bit unexpected, where do I get a magic pouch like that boy?” Basilio said slightly wide eyed at the magic before him.
“Oh I.... um… well to be completely honest with you Basilio, I’m not really sure, I woke up with it on my belt several ago. I don’t know how much you have heard living out here in the woods like you do, but several months ago, myself and many others woke up in this land with different clothes, weapons, and for many of us, different races than we once had. It was no curse or hex either, at least to my knowledge. No indeed, it really could not have been a hex, because we come from a world with no magic unlike this one.So now here we are, a group of what many have taken to calling ‘Adventurers’ who are without a true home, without much wealth, in new bodies, and in a new city we know no one in. Some of the ‘People of the Land’, people like you who have always lived here, did not take kindly to us for any number of their own reasons, but that being said it is not all bad.” He explained, looking around and eventually settling for a log as a good seat to explain more from.

“We are a strange group, us adventurers, but it carries some benefits. For one, we grow in proficiencies rather quickly, at the least faster that most People of the Land from what I’ve gathered. For another thing, we seem to have a rather easy time attaining gold with odd jobs and training. We seem limited in what crafts we can perform effectively, but can become rather proficient in those crafts quite quickly, just as with all our proficiencies. There is still much I can not speak to as being certain about us, because it has only been a few months, and there is still a lot I do not know about adventurers, despite being one myself. Sorry, I know this is..”
“It’s a lot boy!” Basilio interrupted with a great and powerful laugh. “To think I’ve missed so much, living off in these woods, who would have thought! Hahahaha! But I think I’ve got it. You are weird. Your friends, all these so called ‘Adventurers’, are weird. And us People of the Land are weird, so really nothing has changed, least ways not for me. So the magic bag, just something you woke up with? Not a store I can pop into real quick and get one for myself?”
“Not to my knowledge, no, sorry. Although some of the Adventurers seemed to have given up on any of the dangerous stuff early on. It is possible you’d be able to find one in a store pawned off for the gold, but I can not promise anything.”
“Damn!, well, if nothing else it’s worth a shot. Judging by the state of your clothes, most of the time you’ve been here has been in these woods just like me, but without a nice little cottage.”
“Well, you’re not wrong about that, but I have enough saved up that it should be able to hold me over for the winter.”

Basilio sat for a moment, thinking deeply, as if trying to remember something. “Say boy, what’s the date?”
“Today? Hmmm… best I remember Saturday was the second, and that was two days ago so… I suppose it must be the fourth.”

Basilio slapped his knee in excitement. “Boy! I’ve got the perfect solution for all your problems! Today marks the start of the Commoner’s Fall Festival! They throw it right on the outskirts of the city and I’m sure they would love the help. Forget about getting wood for your lance for now, in fact, you will probably just be able to toss it out after these two coming weeks. The Festival has all sorts of rewards including weapons that are at least better than the crud you’ve got with you. On top of that, you’ll be able to make some money off of the events, or off of delivering wood you could be chopping for them.”

Maruem was surprised, but very pleased at this news that he would be able to gain stronger equipment as well as make some extra coin. He may not have mentioned it to Basilio, but he had no place to stay for the winter, and any coin would help him get out of the cold. He had slept in the trees a lot up until then, but the days and nights were gradually getting colder, and sooner or later he would either need to invest in cold resistance armor or a home.
“Basilio. Thank you, for everything, really. I suppose I have some work ahead of me, then.”

Basilio reached behind himself and pulled the rope out. “Take this as well, it will help you make a sleigh for all the wood, even if there is no snow to reduce the friction, you will still be able to carry more than if it was just in your arms. Now go. Chop wood. Help the festival workers. If fortune favors us, you and I will meet at the games!”

Both of them now stood, and the men grabbed each other but the forearms. Then they gave a firm shake and Maruem walked away with his new rope in hand and the axe resting up over his shoulder.

Word Count: 2784
Total Word Count: 2784

[Maruem]

Out of Basilio’s home clearing now, Maruem would have to search for a tree thin enough to make his wood sled out of. It would be simple in design, likely just a couple logs on the sides with one crossing at the bottom, and two perpendicular at the same junction to form an L shape, and keep any logs from rolling off.

The brush was thick, but it fortunately was not high enough to obscure his vision too much. Maruem pushed aside any branches in his way as he wandered further and further from Basilio’s home. The chopping sound of the old man’s axe crashing down on the many logs he had gathered was now almost completely silenced, and within a few more steps it was gone all together.

The silence was calm and peaceful. Maruem sensed no enemies he need worry about in the area and even the animals seemed mostly quiet aside from some scattered birds. He knew that the wood around here was off limits, not because Basilio was a greedy man or had forbidden it for some other reason, but because Maruem had morals to follow. This stranger had already shown him great kindness. And to take advantage of that kindness and then also take wood from so close to an old man’s home well, that just would not do at all.

Maruem marched through a multitude of different plants, carefully making his way out at least a couple kilometers from Basilio’s home. Finally, he felt he had made such a distance from the old man’s home that any wood chopped down here would be only a mild inconvenience if it was even an inconvenience at all.

He began his search for the right tree. He figured a good width would be something that he could just barely have his fingers touch when both hands were around it. Upon checking a roughly hundred meter radius to where he had stopped, there seemed to be three trees that fit that circumference almost perfectly. Unfortunately, one of them was mostly rotten and only remained standing by some small miracle. Well, either a miracle or the massive tree a single pace from it blocking any wind or debris. The second seemed solid enough, but upon striking it with the axe, Maruem realized that it was just a bit too hard for what he wanted. The axe he had been given was sharp, but this wood was hardy and resilient, barely taking much of an impact at all from the strike. He needed a wood that was sturdy, certainly, but one that he could work into the desired shape for his wood sled.

The third tree was not perfect, but it was easily the best of the three options. It was dry and dead, but clearly recently, as no rot had set in, and the bark still held firmly to the wood. After a test strike upon the base of the tree, he decided that this would be the tree that made his sled. He sat on the forest floor right next to his sled tree, and over the next thirty seconds he once again traced the Su rune onto an implement of his, though this time it was his axe. He needed that pieces to be relatively uniform, and the precision was far more important to him than any boost in power at this moment. He slammed his axe into the tree near its base, and within a handful of chops he was halfway through. A few more chops on the other side and he had the tree in a position where he could simply push it over.

He looked around to ensure that it would not fall on any stray animals or hit any branches with birds nests he may have missed before. Seeing that there did not appear to be anything in immediate danger in his vicinity, he planted his palm on the tree at about head height, and have a firm shove. With a crack as the remaining wood holding the tree up began to splinter and tear, the tree fell. The soft forest floor absorbed a lot of the impact from the small tree, and the noise was thus not very loud as it slammed down, bounced once from its branches as they splintered, and then fell back to the earth a second time, resting still.

Maruem marked the tree about two axe lengths from the bottom with a shallow cut, and got to work cutting it. Upon chopping the length of wood from the rest of the tree, he rested it between two stones so as to avoid it rolling away from him. Fortunately the bottom of this tree had no branches he need worry about clearing off. This also helped him immensely with splitting the length of wood into two halves as there were no knots from the bases of branches to mess with his near straight split down the center of the log. He was extra careful lining up each of his strikes, even with the added benefit of the Su rune enhancing his accuracy he wanted to make as clean a cut as he possibly could. Finally, after a handful of minutes spent lining up and placing very careful strikes, he had two almost perfect halves of his log.

He next marked the remaining tree with a cut about one axe length from the bottom, and chopped that portion off. He again positioned it between the stones to prevent rolling, and again he carefully lined up each of his strikes to ensure an even split. Setting that split length aside, he went to work on the tree again and cut another length, this one also about one axe long. Proceeding with the process he had now all but mastered, he laid the log down between the rocks, split it carefully, and had two more halves. Admittedly, this last split was tougher than the previous two as this portion had a few branches that needed to be knocked off, and a few knots that needed to be avoided, but overall it split in two without giving him much trouble at all.

He had the makings of his sled, at least the rough parts, and now it was time to refine them into safe and comfortable to handle pieces. He started by taking each half and individually rounding the sharp edges at the spot where they split. He then rested the now rounded pieces at an angle and ran the axe carefully along the flat that marked the original center of the tree, taking with the blade any splinters and smoothing the wood. Of course, with no sandpaper, files, chisels, or other woodworking tools, he was limited in just how refined he could make this sled, but at the very least it would not injure him as he pulled it. He took the longest two pieces from the first log he had split, and rested them so that the flat side facing upwards. About two fingers width from the bottom, he began to carve in a square hole with his dagger. He used the side of the axe blade as a hammer to drive the dagger deeper in and cut out larger flakes of wood when needed.

Eventually, once he had finished the holes in both halves of the log, he grabbed the pieces from the second log he had split and began to carve their base to fit the holes as snugly as possible. He began by cutting from the side, and then placing the blade at the bottom and smacking it to cleave off just the small bit. The small cut from the side helped to prevent the wood splitting too far. He repeated this process until he had a product that he was mostly satisfied with. He then refined the shape a little with just the dagger, and when he tested the fit with the first one he finished, it was just a little loose. He took some of the flakes from carving out the initial hole, and hammered them in between the edged of the hole and the peg at the end of the log half. He was more careful with the sizing of the second one and after repeating the careful process of alternating between cutting from the bottom and the side, he had a peg with a much snugger fit into the second hole.

He grabbed the third pair of halves. With one of the halves, he cut slightly rounded depressions into the flat face, and placed that piece under the holes on the long beams. The second one he placed flat face to flat face against the two pieces that have been cut to have pegs. He tied off the pieces to form a strong connection and he now had his wood sled completed. He even had spare wood to put on, the left over top and branches from the making of the sled. He broke the wood that needed breaking into manageable lengths, and lined everything in his sled, with the pieces of wood hanging over the edges only ten to fifteen centimeters at most.

He tied a length of rope between the two longest half logs which served as the base of the sled, giving himself a handle to push or pull as he saw fit. He found that holding the rope in front of him and pushing, at least for the time being, was most comfortable, but it would not work in the long run, because as more lumber piled on behind him, his legs would have less room behind them.

But he would come to that crossroad when it came to him, for now the sled was perfect, and his new axe had helped tremendously. He thanked Basilio silently in his head as he tossed the axe onto the sled with the logs, the Su rune having faded only a few minutes before he had finished lashing everything together.

Word Count: 1667
Total Word Count: 2784 + 1667 = 4451

[Maruem]

With his new wood sled sliding in tow, although it was admittedly a simple construction it most definitely served its purpose well, with all the wood beams staying firmly together and the random branches and remnants of log staying secure on top of them.

Maruem began to search for more wood that he could place on top of his sled. He wanted wood that would serve well as either fire wood for any festival bonfires or as structural wood for obstacles, stalls, and other amenities the festival might be providing. With that in mind, he searched for a tree wider than the one he had used for his sled, but still slim enough he could reasonably lift the shortened logs from it.

He tried to remember what he had learned about felling trees safely while he searched. Once he found a tree, he would need to examine it as well as its immediate surroundings.

As he began to recall the details he needed to identify for his first real tree felling since he had logged into gaia way back when, he spotted a large tree that looked promising. It was a tall one, and it alone would potentially be enough to fill his sled. Now granted, it was a lot of wood, but he was also at a slightly higher elevation than Romalia, so perhaps the gentle downhill slope would be enough to help him carry all this wood back, and if all else failed he did have his adventurers pack to help him carry to wood.

He walked the sled up against a larger tree that was not too far from his target one, but shielded the sled enough away that if and when he began the felling of it, it would not be able to fall on and crush the sled. He had a good fifty meters between his sled and the target tree, and as he began to walk toward it, he grabbed his axe and raised it up onto his shoulder.

He walked up to the tree and looked up, examining it as he had remembered to do. The branches at the tree crown seemed to be mostly evenly distributed, although there were a few more on the southern side of the tree. It was barely an uneven distribution and would hardly impact the weight balance, but it was still something to keep in mind.

Knocking softly on the wood, there was no hollow echo, and the trunk seemed mostly straight all the way to the top, aside from a divergence in the trunk which led to two large branches. There was no sound or sign of decay in or around the tree either. High up on one of the branches rested an old dry branch, but it appeared to be from a different type of tree. While the loose limb was a point of concern, Maruem was reasonably certain he would be able to dislodge it without injury to himself, which was the biggest goal here.

He gave the tree a solid kick from the side opposite to the one the dead branch hung from. There was a slight shake to the tree, but nothing nearly strong enough to dislodge the branch. He gave the tree another kick as he began to consider his alternatives. The kick did nothing, as he expected, but as his foot connected with the tree he had a thought about maybe throwing something. The branch seemed a bit high to be throwing stones at, and then he remembered that he had more than just stones.

He layed down under the tree and specifically under the loose branch and he began to focus. He took one deep breath, in… and out. Another, in ...and out. He reached his right hand in front of him and snapped, ending the snap with his index finger pointed at the branch. As he did so he uttered the skills name and [Frigid Blade] activated. He rolled away the instant the dagger began to form in front of him and within the three seconds he made enough of a distance to stand and watch the dagger fly up, striking true and hitting the branch.

The dagger shattered on impact, and the dead branch swung violently. It was barely hanging on to the tree now, and Maruem walked back to the tree, brushing a few twigs and leaves, which had clung to him as he rolled away, off of his clothes. As he got to the tree he swung his right leg around using his other foot as a point of balance and roundhouse kicked the side of the tree opposite to the branch with the sole of his boot. The branch came crashing down, and upon impact with the forest floor, the long dead and dried wood burst into little splinters. With that, he had no more loose dangling branches to worry about.

Of course, there were some things he did not need to worry about to begin with. There was no risk of the tree hitting a power line, phone line, or car on the way down, so at least the regression of technology came with some advantages.

Fortunately for him, the tree Maruem had decided on had no trees particularly close to it. At least none that were standing. The branch that had been up in its branches appeared to be from a tree that had fallen what must have been a long while ago, as it was already in the process of decaying. The next nearest tree was the one that he had hidden his sled behind.

So, the tree and its immediate surroundings had been examined, and he had cleared any obstacles that may prevent him from proceeding safely with the felling process. Next up was to plan at least two escape plans. This step was simple though. His plan A was to rush for the large tree shielding his sled. The second was due North, on the off chance that the weight distribution from the extra branches on the trees southern side was greater than he had planned for.

He kicked the shards of the dead branch he had dislodged, making sure that he got most of them far enough away that he would have no risk of tripping or anything like that, and also ensuring that they stayed out of either of his escape routes. There were no bystanders or fellow workers to worry about so that was a step he could easily skip, although just a precaution he did take a cursory glance to see if there were any animals in the area, which there were not.

Finally, Maruem felt like, just maybe, he had ticked all the boxes on his imaginary checklist and he could get to chopping down the tree. He lifted the axe off of the forest floor and stood facing the tree from the east. With his left hand resting above his right, he slid it down the shaft so that both hands were together near the base of the handle, and simultaneously he brought the axe up, over hand behind his back, and then swung it toward his left.

Down the axe went towards the forest floor a bit of a ways from the tree and then he forced it upwards, slamming the blade into the tree at an upwards angle, and sinking it into the wood several centimeters. He pulled the axe out, and repeated the motion, though this time he came at the tree from a higher angle, striking downward. A large piece of wood from between the two cuts came rocketing off from the impact and flew at least three meters, spinning in the air as it sailed away from its home on the side of the tree.

He lifted the axe again, pulled it out again, lifted it again, and repeated four more times before he was satisfied with the depth and angle of his cut. It was not quite half way through, but it was a wide angle and so a large chuck had been removed from the tree, allowing it to have room to fall toward the south. Maruem got to work on cutting a far narrower angle into the northern side of the tree.

His hands switched spots on the axe and he swung with his right hand on top, but came in at a much more direct angle. The axe hit hard, and again he pulled the axe back to cut more. He needed to repeat this side more than just the four he did with the last, because coming in more directly ended up cutting a bit less deeply per strike, but soon enough, he had made it rather deep and began to think that the tree would likely be coming down soon.

He tried giving it a push, and it swayed a little bit more than it had before, but not enough to make him think it was ready just yet. He swung again, this time coming at the cut particularly hard, and the axe sank deep. The tree leaned toward the north a bit from the depth of the cut, pinching the axe and locking it in place, but the tree did not fall.

After taking several steps back to ensure that he was safe and the tree was no longer moving, Maruem went to the northern side of the tree and once again pushed the tree. He planted his feet into the soft forest floor, and bent his knees, pressing his arms against the tree. He slowly straightened his legs and the tree, while at first resistant to the southward pivot on its barely intact carved hinge, began to move more noticeably after a few seconds of shoving. Maruem pulled back and ran for the shielding tree down path A. He got to his sled and turned around just in time to see the tree crash down. The uncut remnant on the tree had already split on the way down and the portion of the now cut tree that was closest to the stump launched up into the air from the impact. If he had stayed to admire his work, Maruem would more likely than not have been smacked in the face by the back end of the felled tree, and that would have hurt quite bad.

Once there was no motion coming from the tree, He walked back to the stump, and found the axe still in great condition lying several centimeters from the stump.

With the tree now on the ground, it was time to begin cutting off all the limbs that had not broken off on impact. Maruem got to work chopping off the branches that stuck up. He would swing as close to the junction between the branches and the felled tree as he could effectively cut. And once the branch was cut he tossed it to the side. He proceeded to do the same with the other branched, cutting and tossing them to the first one, eventually making a nice pile of fine wood for fires, as well as many small twigs for kindling.

After a few more cuts, he had finished. With the branched all removed and cleaned up off the forest floor, he got to work segmenting the tree into pieces he could carry on his sled. He first chopped off the portion of the trunk which had supported all the branches at the crown of the tree. He took that piece and put it into his hammerspace bag. He did the same with several more logs as he went down the length of the tree, until he ran into his bag being just a bit too full for some of the larger logs. He began to cut those to length, and one by one, he lifted them and carried them onto his sled, which he had moved closer to the tree for convenience.

All in all, it was a lot of wood, and it was heavy. He picked up his new axe, and pushed it down into his bag, taking up the last of it’s available space. After this, he piled all of the cut branches up onto the logs on the sled, and began, with some great effort, to tug and slide the wood toward Romalia.

Word Count: 2053
Total Word Count: 4451 + 2053 = 6504
Rolls: CH2w29Vc1-1001-1001-1001-1001-1001-1001-1001-1001-100·1-100·1-100·1-100·1-100·1-100·1-100·1-100

[Maruem]

As he began to make his way back to Romalia with the spoils of his first tree felling Maruem realized just how light the sled felt, despite what he had imagined must have been a massive amount of wood. He looked back to see a single large log among the branches, and in his hammerspace bag there was another singular large cedar log. Either he had imagined the grand tree and cutting it into smaller bits, or there was some unknown mechanic that made the gathering act like a game.

He decided that researching or deeply investigating it probably was not worth his time as one way or another, he would pick up on how this world works and have enough of an understanding that the trivialities of it ceased to bother him and he could fully appreciate the world for all it had to offer.

As was though, he had another dilemma. He could either return to town with just two fine logs of cedar wood, or he could gather some more, fill up his sled a bit, and head into town with more items to profit off of. The answer seemed pretty simple. It was not even noon yet. The tree had taken an hour or so, but it was not a particularly tiring hour and on the contrary he felt quite energized. He was very excited to see whatever else he could maybe find in this forest.

He took the first Cedar log he had cut, the one he had placed into his bag of hammerspace, and with both hands he slowly pulled it out of the bag. It was a snugger fit than he remembered, but with a bit of tugging and angling of the opening of the bag, he managed to get it out and placed it onto the sled alongside the other Cedar log. As he placed it down next to its fellow log, he noticed that among the branches there was something else, something he did not remember picking up.

Maruem reached down. He listed one of the larger and fuller branches and placed it by the side of the sled before picking up the object which apparently had been lying beneath it. What he found in his hand was a thin twiggy sapling of a Carob tree. The carob tree was known for being a nice decorational tree in gardens, as well as, and perhaps more importantly for, its palm sized edible pods, which could be crushed into a powder often used as a substitute for cocoa powder. As a sapling, it had yet to produce any of these pods, but it left him excited to know that if he made friends with any chefs in this world, or if he was just not remembering and one of his friends was already a chef, then perhaps come the winter a year from now, they may be able to enjoy some hot cocoa… or rather hot carob together.

The idea make him stop for a moment. Would he be here in a year? How long did he intend to stay in Gaia? Would there be a return home? Was there any way back, and would he be one of the ones looking for it? His simple thought of warm carob with a friend had raised some deeper and perhaps unsettling questions he would need to come to a conclusion on some day, but for now? For now, just maybe he could enjoy the nice cooler weather, the slowly changing leaves, the various plants around him, and the oncoming festival he was preparing this lumber for.

His hammerspace pouch was relatively empty without the log in it, so he raised the carob sapling and carefully lowered it into the opening he now held stretched with his other hand. He assumed, or rather hoped, that given the nature of the hammerspace, the carob sapling would be relatively safe, and hopefully did not die from being in there for a bit longer a period of time. The last of the leaves at the tiny crown of the miniature tree made their way into the pouch, and with that he was able to pull out a completely empty hand.

He scratched the top of his head slightly, more for the gesture than to appease any real itch. Maruem was questioning where he could have pulled the sapling form, or rather when he had torn it from its soft loamy home in the forest floor. The only logical answer was that his cursory investigation of the area around the cedar tree he had felled was simply not enough and he had missed it. If that was the case he had likely pulled it p and added it to the pile of branches. Not paying as much attention during tat step, it was much more likely that it had slipped through the cracks so to speak then rather than any other time he could think of.

He looked over at his sled again. It was pitiful really, holding only two admittedly large cedar logs. What kind of work was that to be bringing to a festival. And a festival held by the very people who’s world he had unintentionally invaded at that. This was an opportunity to repay all the months of generosity these fine People of the Land had shown to all the adventurers, himself included.

Maruem slammed a fist into his right palm, a smile overtaking his face as he thought of what a good opportunity had been placed in front of him. He gave a firm nod after uttering a couple words of self encouragement and also some of gratitude to Basilio for leading him down this path. He raised the axe up once more and again placed it down to rest on his shoulder.

Maruem walked away from the spot he had done much thinking in, with his sled in tow. His gifted axe sat resting up on top of his left shoulder. He had the sled in his right hand, trailing behind him. He was fit enough that with only the two cedar logs on it he could pretty easily drag it with just the lone right hand. He was walking to the right of where Romalia was. He was not planning on going deeper into the forest anymore, he was plenty deep already. Instead, he just planned to stay about equidistant to Romalia’s city borders as he searched for anything else to add to his wood sled.

He began by making his way toward the sounds of a bubbling little brook in the woods. He assumed that any source of running fresh water would have thicker and more numerous vegetation around it. And so, it stood to reason that among all of that vegetation would be some valuable and rare plants and miscellaneous curiosities. As he would soon be learning first hand, he could not have been more right.

Looking around the brook, it was initially nothing too special to look at. It was very overgrown im most places, and the foliage above was too thick to effectively let in much light aside from the bare minimum necessary for all of the plant life on the forest floor to grow well. As such, while it was not by any means dark, it was not a bright and serene environment to look at, but perhaps there in lied this areas deception. The gems of this area could lay hidden in its relative simplicity, not standing out enough to attract travelers who would admire its sights and while they were there pick it clean of its riches.

Maruem himself was going to pass it by, but carrying the sled as long as he had with only the one arm left him in a bit of a need for a short break. He walked closer to the water before resting the sled up against a larger grey rock that was resting on the ground, overgrown with moss and even a single snakey thin root from an unknown plant. He also turned and placed the axe on his left shoulder down onto the sled. For now he was just exploring and relaxing, there was very little need to be carrying the axe with that goal in mind.

He walked over to the bubbling water’s edge and rubbed his hands together as he was submerging them in the cool, crystalline, autumnal water. Not even three paces to his right side there was a larger elevated clump of soil and grass, roughly as tall as his hips would be while he was standing. The side facing the brook overhung it a little bit, but was also very eroded with no grass or moss growing on it. There was a tangle of roots and webs visible on the eroded face of the dirt bump though.

On top of it grew a large blue wooded fig tree, but Maruem took little interest in that. He ate one of its fruit and it was quite pleasant, if a bit sweet for his taste. As he bit into the fruit however, the syrup of the fruit dripped out of it and down his chin, sticking in his beard and making him feel the need to was up a bit. He leaned down over the water. First, he rinsed his hands once more to remove and remnants of fig juice that had missed his face and instead poured over his fingers. He then lowered his beard into the crisp water and scrubbed the sugary liquid from his facial hair and lips. He was thorough, ensuring that if left to dry, he would not find any little sticky spots on his face that may attract insects.

While he scrubbed at his face he noticed a glimmer on the other side of the creek. Once he had finished with his hygiene, he reached over the narrow stream of water and picked up the glittering object. A slash of pain shocked his finger and he instinctively released it, dropping it back into the water. He reached for it again, this time far more carefully. Upon picking it up he found that it was a very large fossil. So draconian it was, that some may even refer to it as a fossil scale. Once he had rubbed of the little drops of blood that had stayed on it, as well as the remaining silt and debris from the brook, he found before him a large scale that he judged was roughly the size of his dagger.

While he had not exactly been looking for something of the sort, this could be a fine new tip for his next lance. It was surprisingly lightweight and, despite looking like it was made of dense keratin like many real animals scales were, it was slightly flexible. It was most definitely sharp, his finger could attest to that, but Maruem was willing to bet it would give the tough hides of the forests boars a run for their money. May even be tough and sharp enough to give some of the scaled beasties something to worry about.

He licked the few remaining streaks of blood from his wound and dropped the scale into his pouch. He looked around the spot he had found it to see if there were any more nifty remnants like that one, but no luck unfortunately. It seemed that either the scale had been lost by an advneturer that had hunted whoever or whatever owned the scale, or it had washed down the brook to here. If it was the latter option, it was not worth his time to search up stream for any others right now because the wood gathering was more important in regards to the festival than random forest scales.

Maruem found a birch tree that was not far off from death and kicked it down with the base of his boot. It had already been laying at a steep angle, hanging on only by the strength of a few thicker roots. The relatively thin tree crashed down the remaining few feet to the ground and he got to work. He cut deep with his axe, and from the splitting, he found himself with two prime logs of birch. The wood still held strong, and he trusted that it would serve well for any fires.

He listed the logs one by one and brought them over to the sled. He laid them on top of the cedar logs, and they did not even try to roll off. Heading back to the spot where he had kicked down the tree, he did not see any other bits of birch worth salvaging. That being said, he did notice a long bit of driftwood on the near shore of the creek.

He walked over to it and gave it a tug. It was a bit stuck up in mud, leaves and other small bits of watery forest debris, but with a quick rinse, Maruem held in his hands pretty fine looking juniper log. Despite the woods usual tendency to be twisty and warped, this piece stayed relatively true and straight, and he began to wonder if this could serve as the shaft to his next weapon. He brought the unusual juniper shaft back to his sled and laid it down with the other wood.

For the negative, or at least neutral, impression he had had of this spot initially, it really blessed him with some fine spoils, and he could hardly complain about that. He went back to the fig tree, trying to spot if it was worth cutting, though seeing how richly it was growing on the mound of soil, he was doubtful that he would be willing to cut it down. Once he got closer to inspect it he realized that there was something else growing on the back of it though.

He reached around the deeply blue short tree and pulled off of it some rocks. Or at least he thought they were rocks when he could not see them, they were definitely hard enough. He pulled them into sight and in his hand he held three prickly leaves. The leaves were adorned with three golden fruits that vaguely resembled the red berries he thought of as mistletoe. They were extremely hard as he had already noted, but what was even more odd than that was how they shone quite brilliantly. Holding them in his hand, they exuded an unmistakable magical might, something his senses had apparently become attuned to since he had begun his life in this magical world.

Whatever this golden mistletoe was, it was clear that it was something special and powerful, and Maruem put it gently into his pouch. He then walked back over to the sled, placed the axe down on top of all the wood he had collected, and began to make his way towards Romalia.

Or so he tried, but the plants only got denser the more he headed in that direction. He decided to navigate back to where he had come from and head to Romalia from there. The vegetation had not been as thick and it would save him having to get stuck in all of this shrubbery, potentially getting cut up by plants or attacked by wild beasties.

He found his way to the spot where he had realized he only had two logs of Cedar, and from there he turned toward the city. He marched for another twenty or so minutes before he saw the break in the forest wall. Light from the cleared borders of the forest much brighter than it was here under the foliage. Finally, he had made it.

Maruem broke through the tree line and found himself facing a completely new sight. The fields that had recently been harvested were dotted with makeshift stages and stalls preparing for the festival in just a few days. He had arrived with plenty of time to spare, and from what it looked like, the wood he had would be of big help to the people of the land. He stood for a moment, taking in the sight of all of the people of the land working diligently in their various corners of the world. From here, it all seemed so very peaceful, and he was glad to help out as he could.

“Hello there!” He shouted as he neared one of the stalls. “A wonderful day to prepare a festival isn’t it, sir!”

Word Count: 2750
Total Word Count: 6504+2750 = 9254
Rolls: R|OgfFtS1-100 1-100 1-100 1-100 1-100 1-100 1-100 1-100 1-100 1-100 1-1001-100·1-100·1-100·1-100·1-100·1-100·1-100·1-100·1-100·1-100·1-100