I wandered a city so dense,

Where odors made little to sense.

Fish, smoke, and decay,

Mingled halfway,

While crowds left me lost and immense!

Goldie Honorhide.

Nash had us all sweeping the area for the entire next day. Only one other queen was found, and poor hotheaded Brom was too slow for that as well. It wasn't me this time, but one of the other teams.

There were a lot of questions. A LOT of questions. I just ignored them all. I had a reputation as a silent type anyway. I just didn't talk to anyone except Felix.

Makara had a different strategy. She grinned with a lot of teeth. Then winked and said, "Guild Secret." That put everything back on Nash. Nash was growling a lot.

Obviously, there was a lot of speculation and rumours going around, especially about what was actually in the barrels. The guild had arranged for the barrels from the alchemists, and it obviously was not poisoned water.

Those weren't the only speculations. Why would Nash take to strangers for a secret explosion? Brom suggested the most likely reason was that we were disposable. There was some doubt about that, as an affinity user is extremely valuable even if it is a Mer.

The ants didn't disappear just because the nest was destroyed. However, there will be no new ants, and they can now be killed over the next few weeks by mercenary teams and natural wildlife.

I was helping, but I was only selectively using Frigid Void. Makara was maxing out with her new Cutting Water. She loved that skill. Apart from that, we did this by hand. I would use Tremor occasionally alongside Fred's Quake. I have discovered that if I get my Tremor to Journeyman, I can evolve it into Quake. Normally, you would also need to increase your Spiritual Strength, but mine has already passed the minimum required.

What I did was cover everybody in my aura and level my Damage Mitigation. There were lots of hotheaded Idiots here who rushed in and got hurt, so I had a lot of practice getting my timing right. Good old Hotheaded Brom was the one who actually let me push it through to Apprentice Level.

I now had 18% mitigation and 11 seconds maximum active time. If I used less, I used less energy. Without that 18%, I am sure Brom would have lost his leg. As it is, it will need a proper healer to walk again. The fire and mandible damage was too deep, and the bone was broken.

That signalled the exit from the area. We got to the campsite, where the caravan had stopped. The ants were still advancing, but it was slower as reinforcements weren't coming, and the ants leaving to carry the energy to the nest were not returning.

We would stay there for a day to recover, and those who wanted to stay and farm the ants could. The rest of us would head to Jern. We were slowed by the wounded, so we would get there two or three days behind the caravan.

Thomas was sent off with a message, as he was the fastest among us. I was tempted to run ahead as well. I probably couldn't keep up with Thomas, but Felix and I were runners.

After a day of travelling with the group, I was fed up. With no fighting or danger to distract them, they felt they were entitled to know what had happened that night. When we camped for the evening, I said to Makara, "I need time alone. I will meet you in Jern." She looked like she wanted to come with me, but in the end, she just nodded. I gave her my pack with the ant sacs and mandibles, but I kept the monster cores in a small bag to take with me.

Felix and I slipped away into the night. We didn't head straight for Jern. It was a city with lots of people, and I wasn't kidding about needing some alone time. I decided we would scout the area around Jern and Map some key points.

It was steep and rugged terrain. We crossed a couple of solid roads that must have been used for carting ore. We followed one for a while, but didn't find the mine.

I did find a hidden narrow valley with a creek. I stripped off and washed in the moonlight, then changed into my bear form and had a decent sleep.

The sun was up when I woke, and I fiddled with my Transform skill for a bit. I kept some fur on my torso and groin area. This is normally covered with clothes, as dwarfs and humans are sensitive to that. Orcs are, too, but to a much lesser extent.

Felix and I spent almost two weeks in the wilderness around Jern. It was definitely what I needed. I spent time as a bear and ate as a bear. We avoided people, and I plotted the positions of several mines and small villages.

Jern had limited farming space around it, so small villages were dotted around, usually in the fertile stream valleys. The inhabitants farmed and hunted, and sometimes, there was a small mine there as well.

We didn't approach any of them. I got a wave from one alert watch tower, but that was the nearest we got.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

We hunted and ate raw. I wasn't bothered by all the trappings that people need. When it rained, I went naked. I plotted the stars and the area, and I spent time examining the monster cores I had.

Spiritual fire. This was different to my astral fire. There are similarities on the surface, but there is a fundamental difference. Were the similarities enough that I could use the energy? The short answer is definitely not yet. I probably need to see what the Lore Society has on Spiritual Energy.

I also spent a lot of time with Felix, concentrating on our bond. I wanted him to learn Damage Mitigation, but it didn't seem to be working. I know you can't teach a skill until it is at least Journeyman level, but I was hoping our bond would let me bypass that. Our bond is at a journeyman level.

It seems we can't completely bypass the restrictions. You have to know a skill very thoroughly to be able to teach it. With our bond, I might be able to lower it a level or two.

My Cosmic Aura was at Journeyman level. I tried to teach Felix, but he didn't seem to be able to grasp it. Maybe his brain was not wired that way? Perhaps I am a shit teacher. I am definatly a shit teacher.

About two weeks later, Felix and I approached Jern. It might have been longer than two weeks; I didn't count the days. I did know the goblin constellation was rising in the sky, does that count?

I did add alpine camouflage and forest camouflage, but both were still only at a novice level.

We approached the gate in the late afternoon. The guards weren't busy. I had a few pelts with me, as there was this woolly mountain sheep we hunted. They made a nice mat to sleep on, and they were tasty as well. The pelts were not treated properly, so they were getting past their use-by date.

"Anything to declare?" the guard said, eyeing my bedraggled appearance and lack of bags.

I shrugged, "What are you looking for? It is my first visit."

"You got some ID?"

I pulled out my Mercenary Guild token, which seemed to be enough for them. He had a look through my small bag. There was a raised eyebrow at the monster cores, but he didn't say anything.

A dwarf came out of the guardhouse. "You fit the description of Ivan Medved. Is that you?"

I nodded. The other guard had read my ID; he should know.

"There has been a watch put out for you. You are to report to the Mercenary Guild as soon as you arrive."

I nodded, "OK, where is it?"

"You will need the central office. Head to the centre of town, it is a large three-story building above ground. There are plenty of signs there."

I nodded, "OK."

I guessed the main road would lead there, so I started in that direction. I would go to the mercenary guild and see what Nash wanted, but I wasn't going now. I wanted to find Yoboc and Goldie first.

There was a problem with that. I never realised how big Jern was. There were a lot of Inns and taverns, and they may not even be in one of them.

I sniffed deeply, getting a sense of the smells of Jern and trying to pick up their scent, but there were too many people. I figured Makara's scent would stand out, but the place was big. They said this was a smaller city, but it didn't feel like it to me.

I looked at the buildings. Most were stone. A few had a wooden upper floor. Most roofs were slate. This was a predominantly dwarf and orc city, where Humans were the minority. Every house will have at least as many stories below ground as above it.

I spread my Void Senses below ground. I should have been doing that as soon as I stepped into the city. I am not used to cities. This will take some mapping.

Several Inns I enquired in had rooms for rent, but I was not interested. I had just found my centre again in the wild, and to be crammed in a building with hundreds of others was too much.

I moved away from the busy main street and onto smaller streets. The sun was going down. I knew that the larger moon, Atarau, would rise soon, and the smaller moon, Mahina, would follow a couple of hours later. The sky was relatively cloud-free, so there would be plenty of light for my Master Level Nightsight.

Then I saw a handwritten sign in front of a clothing store, "Basement for Rent. Enquire within." This might do me for a few nights. I entered the shop. The human at the counter looked up and said, "We are about to close." Then she looked up again, "Ah, you will need custom-made clothes. My father won't be back till tomorrow."

"I am not here about clothes." I looked around, "although I do need some. I am here about renting the basement."

She looked at me, "It is quite small."

"Can I see it? I am Ivan by the way, and this is Felix."

"Ah, sure. I am Susie. The outside entrance is around the side. Let me close up, and I will show you."

The building was stone, and there was a narrow alley along the side. It sloped down from the road as it was on a hillside. I noted some small narrow windows, which must let some light in. I didn't need it because of my Void Sensing, but I would appreciate it if I were here for more than a few days.

"You don't mind dogs, do you?" I asked.

"As long as they are quiet and you clean up any mess."

"Fair enough,"

We came to a wooden gate with stairs down to a door. There was a second gate next to it.

"Where does that lead?" I asked.

"That is our delivery yard," Susie said. The outhouse is there," she said and opened the gate to show me. "There is no internal loo, but there is water, and both are plumbed into the city drainage. Good Dwarven plumbing."

The door opened into a small living dining area with a kitchen with a sink and a tap over the sink. That will be handy. The narrow windows opened into the living space. There was one doorway with a curtain hanging down as the door. I looked, but I already sensed that it was a bedroom with a single bed and a straw mattress. That was the only piece of furniture in the basement. The bench with the sink was built in.

It was small. My head nearly scraped the ceiling, and I had to duck through doors. Even Orcs would find this small. It was fine for a bear cave.

"I will take it. How much for a week?"

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