Triple Strength

54. Miners: Wiremu

Tabitha came to see us off on our contract. When Skavt saw her injury and found out that the Dwarven Devils had tried to kidnap her, she was angry. She was angry that they would dare, and she was very angry at me for not coming to get them to help. If I am to be part of this team I need to get it in my thick head that team members help each other. We are never to take on two people as high levelled as Borc on our own again. We may not have told her some of the finer details of the fight, like how many opponents there were. She did however have a point. Because there were six of them and not the expected four, Tabitha nearly lost her life. That was an unnecessary risk when we could have had a team with us. It wouldn’t have happened if we had more people.

It was a cold, showery day when we met to join the mining caravan. Fifteen miners, ten wagons, twelve wagon drivers and a cook and two horse specialists, all watched by five guards? When the Canine Queens saw my cloak, I suddenly had another four to make. When they heard about Tabitha’s injury, that became my punishment for not calling them to help. I am feeling a little ganged up on. I am going to need to go hunting sometime.

We were all mounted, moved out mid morning. It was good to be taking Rocky. We would be following the road to Hrothgar for two days then another three days on a road constructed by the mining company.

Skavt had the Scout Class and was quite proud of it. It was available to her because of her riding Class and she had learned Throwing Weapons and chosen Farsight. Once Throwing Weapons was at Journeyman level the Class became available. She wanted it for the mapping Skill it came with. She was a rider and an animal trainer and went all over the place and Scouting new places levelled the Class. So far she had just been around Jern so the Class was proving harder to level than she expected. She was loving the Mapping Skill and what she could do with it. She would never get lost again. She was a Scout but she was not a stealth Scout and she wasn’t a tracker. She was a hard front line fighter with a riding / fighting specialisation Dragoon. Dragoons apparently, generally rode to battle but usually fought on foot. She was keen to try mounted fighting and had been practising, mainly with charges and spear thrusts, and some javelin throws from horseback.

She and I would share the Scouting. Usually the Miners didn’t bother with a Scout as the road was fairly safe. If they were attacked, the Miners could fight. They were strong, but quite slow, according to the Head of their Guards. Ört and Kryddor would be the best to give warning at the wagons when I was out scouting.

They were right, the two days on the road to Hrothgar were uneventful. The private road was narrower and windier than the main road, but serviceable enough. It started winding its way up into the mountains. These miners were keen to keep levelling their cold resistances and we started with a morning swim if we were close to a stream. My Cold Resistance had really slowed down in levelling, and that was normal. Winter was coming. What I discovered was that Snakeskin transmitted temperature much easier than my normal skin. So Tāoke was practically about 3 or 4 points behind in resistances than it would appear. I would need to make more effort to level it. Fortunately I now had a way to make me more susceptible to cold and going for a dip in my Snakeskin sped up the levelling again and bumped Snakeskin into Apprentice. I realise that Tāoke being cold blooded was unable to get these resistances from himself and this was a weakness. If we ever had to fight a snake monster, Cold was the way to go.

We didn’t see any goblin signs. Lots of bears, cougars, goats and the big horned sheep. I brought meat back to supplement the meals. Everybody was grateful. I asked the Dwarves, and they were all dwarves, to help me learn dwarvish. The Canine Queen’s were all helping me with Orcish which was crawling towards Journeyman. Dwarvish seemed harder. By the time we got to the mine, which was actually the size of a village, my Dwarvish was at level 2. My aim was to get it to Apprentice by the time we got back to Jern.

The mine was a walled permanent workers village. There was a monthly supply from Jern, with a change of shift. There were three shifts, two months on and then one month off. We had three days off at the mine while they unloaded the supplies and loaded the ore. It was mostly iron ore, but there were pockets of other metals and the occasional Spiritually Enhanced Material. It was quite an extensive mine and had been operating for four decades so far. Every three months the company Prospector would visit to guide their digging and the estimate was another one to two decades of the good material.

I wanted to see their operation, but on the first day off Skvat, Ört and Kryddor wanted to go with one of the company hunters to hunt a Yak from a herd that was nearby. One adult Yak would supply meat for almost a week. If we helped we could have the pelt and I had the best Skinning Skill. Tāoke decided to stay with Najprej and Drugič in the visitors hut, by the fire.

Yak were like a large bull type creature with horns and thick fur. The fur was too thick and long for clothing, but made for a good sleeping pad and soft floor coverings. Looking at the Yaks, they were huge. Their shoulder height was taller than I was. The males were bigger than the females and there were a number of not quite full sized younglings. Teenagers, I supposed you would call them. We tagged an older male who seemed to be slowing down. He certainly wasn’t going to be taken down by anything as simple as an arrow. We would need to separate him from the herd first. Skvat had her javelins and a spear and I had three spears and my bow. The Company Hunter, Ruben, had a spear. This would normally take all three hunters, and then still be tough, with too high a risk of injury. They would normally go after easier prey like goats and sheep.

Ört had his axe, but he and Kryddor would take the main task of separating him from the herd and turned toward us. We would then try and take him down. Ört and Kryddor did their job well without panicking the herd too badly. With the big bull stampeding towards us Skavt and I moved in on each side on our horses at a gallop. This was new for me. I put a couple of arrows in his neck trying to get an artery. Ok, the truth is, two missed entirely and two hit the neck. Shooting from a galloping horse is difficult. Skavt had a better idea to slow him down by going for the legs and her first javelin made him stumble slightly. I put away my bow and got a spear. I threw it hard, Throwing Skill kicked in and somehow it still missed entirely. My second spear pierced the front leg on my side.

Skavt had put two more javelins on her side and the bull slowed and decided to stop running and start attacking. Ruben had been keeping up on his mount and slid off and grabbed its attention with a Skill powered spear thrust. That went deep into his chest but must have missed the heart. The Yak tried to get him with its horns but he was an experienced Hunter and avoided it. I dismounted then and came in with my last Spear. Quick Strike and Power Strike to the neck did finally open an artery. It didn’t stop him. He turned on me and I wasn’t as quick as Ruben and got flung away. He was turning to charge and trample me when Skavt’s spear thrust into his brain and that was the end.

I picked myself up slowly. Ruben and Ört were coming fast expecting me to have broken something. Granite Bones for the save again, although I think this time the bones were bruised. Hopefully not fractured. The muscles certainly felt like mince meat and I think the skin was only intact because of Snakeskin.

“How the fuck are you standing, boy!” exclaimed Ruben.

“I … actually I might need to sit for a bit,” I said unsteadily.

Ört caught me before I collapsed and lowered me to the ground. He was pulling a potion from his belt but I waved him away. I needed to level Regeneration, and a potion wouldn’t do that. Plus they were expensive, even if Ört had a deal with the Alchemist Healer and supplied a lot of the ingredients.

“Just let me sit for a half hour and then I can hopefully be well enough to start skinning.

Ört and Ruben went to collect the horses. Skavt came and sat with me for a bit and watched the herd of Yaks in the distance. The others were in hearing distance when she said, “You know, I am inclined to try riding one of those.”

“The Yaks?” I queried.

She nodded with a grin and a light in her eyes.

“Not again,” Ört said with a pained expression. “Remember what happened the last time you tried riding a wild beast,” he reminded her.

“It was fun,” she said with a wider grin.

“You had two cracked ribs and were very lucky not to crack your skull,” he said.

“It was fun.” she said. “Where’s my horse?”

“It is lucky you didn’t need that potion, boy, because we will need it now.” Ört said sagely.

We all watched as Skavt rode up to the herd gently and circled them obviously looking for a likely candidate. Ruben and I both had Farsight so we had no problem seeing. I don’t think Ört wanted to look. Then she moved in on the herd and they moved away and this increased the pace until they were all at a full run. I am sure Skavt gave a whoop of joy as she moved in. This deduction came from her actions. All Hearing Aid could pick up was the noise of a stampeding herd of beasts.

Then she leapt from her horse onto one of the Yaks. At least she chose a teenager one. It tried to run from her, obviously unsuccessfully and then slowed and started bucking furiously. Somehow Skavt sayed on. Her riding Skill must be Master level. This went on for a long time and still she stuck it. Then it tried to rub her off against other herd members and then another series of bucking. Eventually, the beast was tiring and slowing. Then she slapped the side and the Yak snorted and pawed at the ground. Then I swear she turned the beast and rode it back to us.

“Fucking Troll shit sandwich. Did she just bond with it?” Ört stared amazed. “I have never seen anyone bond like that!”

“What a Ride!” she yelled when she was close enough for all to hear. “Yak boy here got my Riding Skill to Master level!” Her grin couldn’t get any wider. She brought him to a stop close by and slid off. He wasn’t fully grown yet and his shoulders were at her head height. She was not a short person. “You're going to need a name, aren't you boy.” she patted the Yak. The Yak lowered its head to graze. “Okse, that's a good name.”

“There is nothing subtle about you,” I said.

Skavt grinned again, actually the original grin hadn’t gone away. She grinned wider. “Everyone is going to know we are coming and they had better get out of the way!”

The horns are already impressive and Okse’s size is impressive and he is not yet fully grown. They are going to be an impressive team. I am imagining them ploughing through hordes of goblins.

“Right,” I said, “let's get skinning and get back.”

Ört said “Kryddor and I will round up your horse, Skavt. Remember that one? It is the small skinny animal you use to ride.”

“The short furred one, right? I remember, Thanks,” Skavt grinned even more. She was looking over Okse, legs, hooves, fur etc. Just like a good animal trainer. Okse just kept grazing.

It was over two hours of work to skin and butcher the old Yak. I skinned and Ruben butchered. We got back to the Mine village in the late afternoon. I was still moving carefully. I think it would take a good night's sleep to recover properly and that is if I didn’t fracture anything. If I fractured something I might need that potion after all.

The next morning I was fine so no fractures. I think Skavt slept in the open with Okse. I borrowed some solution to cure the yak hide and set it to dry. I say ‘borrowed,’ but I have no intention to return it. The hide was huge. Three generous sleeping pads, no problem, probably four.

The next day was our last before heading back in the morning. Everyone was frantically loading wagons etc. It looked like I wasn't going to get a tour of the mine. It was a bit disappointing, but them's the breaks. There will be other chances.

Heading back with wagons loaded with Ore was a very different experience to coming. Each wagon had their own brakes and needed to be carefully managed down the inclines, which was basically the whole way to the main road. This is where the wagon drivers earned their pay. It was a much slower trip.

The trip back went without a fight, which was fantastic. Dwarvish made it to Apprentice, so simple sentences. My Orcish was almost fluent in normal conversation, so very nearly Journeyman level. What was most beneficial for me was my conversations with Najpraj on gemstones.

As an Apprentice Jeweller Najprej had an early apprentice level knowledge of Gemstone Lore. This was a specialised subset of Mineral Lore. This meant she had a general knowledge of gems and a good knowledge of common gems she had worked with. She was interested in talking to me because there was almost no knowledge of gems in relation to Affinities. She could tell me about Topaz. It was one of the harder gems, not much below diamond, however it was also considered brittle. I learned more about its crystal shape and how best to refine and shape the gem, along with its enchanting properties.

Topaz was often used as a component in alloy, like my knives, to make it harder, but also so they would hold the enchantments better. Topaz was best for enchantments around hardness and corrosion resistance. To a lesser extent Topaz worked with heat and healing enchantments, but there are better gems for that. Because Topaz is quite common it is used often in weapons and armour. My knives weren’t enchanted, but according to Najprej they could be without a lot of extra material.

My Affinity was almost certainly reacting to Topaz. Najprej was going to refine some of the other Gems I got from the Granite so I could test my Affinity against those as well. She would refine the Diamond and Pyrope as well and I could see what happens about gems from other rock types. She would have a Diamond as payment, and we would sell the others. Cost sharing to be discussed with Tabitha of course, but don’t tell Tabitha about the diamond.

Wiremu Hunter

Class

Hunt

QW

Spy

Pros

MHunt

Total

Type

Attribute

Level

10

11

7

2

2

Constitution

Physical

Strength (PS)

9

11

2

22

1

2

47

114.0

Agility (PA)

12

5

10 4

2

33

Perception (PP)

11

0

20

1

2

34

Mental

Strength (MS)

9

12

2

2

25

Agility (MA)

12

3

2

7

24

68.0

Perception (MP)

11

1

7

19

Spiritual

Strength (SS)

10

3

6

11

3

2

35

83.0

Agility (SA)

8

2

5

8

1

1

25

Perception (SP)

10

4

7

2

23

Totals

92

41

47

33

35

8

9

265

Free points

3

0

0

0

1

Resistances: Poison +18, Crushing +21, Cold +22, Pain +9

Skills:

Novice: Animal Care 4, Truth Sensing 3, Lock Pick 4, Disarm Traps 4, Sense Spiritual 4, Disarm Spiritual Trap1, Monster Lore 3, Detect Spiritual Trap 3, Detect Traps 4, Venom Arrow 3, Spiritual Trapping 4, Regeneration 4

Apprentice: Fishing 5, Orcish 9, Far Sight 9, Riding 7, Unarmed Combat 8, Sewing 7, Camouflage 8, Sense Treasure 6, Mineral Lore 5, Spear 8, Animal Lore 8, Manipulate Status 8, Butchering 7, Plant Lore 6, Weapon Repair 5, Granite Shield 8, Power Strike 9, Darksight 9, Repair Leather Armour 5, Cooking 6, Imbue Venom 9, Granite Quake 5, Snakeskin 5, Dwarvish 5

Journeyman: Hearing Aid 12, Hammer 13, Identify 11, Granite Spike 13, Trapping 10, Tracking 10, Bow 10, Skinning 10, Deceive 11, Granite Sense 10, Small Blades 13, Granite Bones 11, Hide Armourer 10, Throw Weapons 10, Quick Strike 10, Bond Senses 10

Master: Stealth 16, Animal Bond 15

Affinity: Granite

Monster Kills: 3

Bond: Tāoke, Venom Serpent.

Crushing Resistance 21, Cold Resistance 22

Skills:

Novice: Growth 3, Regeneration 2

Apprentice: Power Strike 6, Granite Spike 5, Strength Boost 7, Venom Spit 5, Granite Shield 5

Journeyman: Granite Bones 12, Camouflage 12

Master: Venom Bite 16, Quick Strike 16

Affinity: Granite