8) overview: week one

The next week passed in a blur of setting into new routines, with Claire being the builder and Skye being the explorer, which they both seemed to have a skill for. Claire had more education than Skye due to growing up on the Fleet, where mechanical expertise was a necessity. Even so Claire was studying to become an engineer so her knowledge far surpassed even her peers on the floating city. 

In no time at all the clearing got wider and wider and a perimeter of fallen trees was laid down around their new camp, which was moved to the direct centre of the clearing. Claire was finding it easy to cut down the trees with mighty swings of her sword, making it as heavy and dense as the ground she stood on. Dragging the trees was slow, but only as slow as she usually was by transferring weight from one leg to another as she walked backwards. She said the speed was getting faster but it was hard to see.

He learned that her title was Warden of the Castle Wall, which was really fitting, she was like a wall herself, or at least as unmoving as one. Skye felt a bit silly telling her he was a seed druid but she already said she'd be his teammate, cant take it back now. 

She also had two abilities like he did. One innate and one spell she could activate.

Her innate ability and minions had to do with matter and force. She could transfer the weight and density of things she was touching, and the force she absorbs can be stored inside of her and then be expelled. Her active spell is a taunt that seemed to work as an area of effect spell, taunting everything within sight of her to become super pissed at her. Skye thought that was funny due to the fact that he would bet that no one had ever been mad at her in her whole life. She was just one of those people, built to be loved by all. 

The camp perimeter wall started out as the height of a single fallen tree on its side all the way around the clearing, and by the end of the week it was now 1.5 meters high with a single entrance which was guarded by the replanted Flower Boys. Could a beast easily climb these walls? Yeah, without a doubt. Did it make the two feel more safe? No not really but at least now they had a cool wall. 

The web of roots that reached out 300 meters in each direction was also finished, weaving in and out of each other, stealing the design from a spider web. Now if there was a vibration Skye could tell how far away and how strong it was more accurately. So even if something started to climb the wall Claire would be waiting for it on the other side sword in hand. It felt nice to not get snuck up on. 

They also had a better understanding of where they were positioned. To the north they had about a 8 hour journey before they left the forest, to the west about 3 hours to where Skye started, south was endless and so was the east. 

Skye had ventured out almost every day, only staying back once to create rope to be used to keep the walls together, and had yet to find anyone else. The forest was big, but could it really be that big?

He had a few more places marked out to check, one was a ruined structure farther south than he had been before, almost to the point where he would have to hide out there and return the next day, something he wasn't really excited to do. But if he was going to find more people, he had to take some chances. 

There had been a few more battles, two larger ones, a pack of 13 on the 4th day and another of 10 on the 6th. They were able to lure the monsters into the opening of the gate so they'd have to either funnel in and face Claire's blade or climb the fence and get stabbed by Skye's spear or blown to bits by a flower boy. 

God they both loved those Flower Boys so much, and it was safe to say the Flower Boys loved them too. 

That long with the few one on one fights they each had 13 slivers to absorb. Which lead to the first enhanced weapon they'd seen. A dagger obtained by Skye. When he received it the feeling of absorption felt weird, like he was expecting to take a breath of air and a bug flew into his mouth, but with his chest. The world wrote into existence at the same time

{A part of this world resigns in your soul}

When he unfocused his eyes and allowed himself to be pulled back into his mark, a cube shaped hole was carved into a towering wall and inside he found it on display. A long dagger with a wide base and white leather handle. Flakes of different coloured metal shone in the blade, almost as if they were falling snow. He picked it up, inspected it and found the world shift and the letters take shape, moving along like the end credits to a movie. 

Name: [Snow Carver][0/50]

{The winter was coming to an end and the forest trees still resemble the tips of the mountains, a young man in dark furs sat atop a stump and mindlessly carved a stick into a point. When he finished he threw the dagger into the forest with all his might and held up his newly pointed branch and exclaimed "Ah, finally, a weapon of my own."}

Rank: Bronze 

Status: Dead World I (Dormant)

Enchantment: [Cold Cut]

{Cold Cut: Cuts from this blade leave a lingering freeze causing frostbite to take root}

Skye had no idea he was going to get a backstory as well as the enhanced tool, he didn't know if it had any meaning, but it was still an interesting read. Throwing a dagger away in favour of a pointy stick seems quite dumb but at least he got the dagger in the end. A win is a win. Not many enemies were going to bleed out due to this short dagger so even the enchantment seems to be a good replacement. 

"Hey Dubs, this thing says that its Rank is Bronze and its status is Dead World, what does that mean?"

Dubs floated about watching Skye fiddle with it and his stick

"Everything you see here and everything you get here comes from a dead god, it may seem full of life but it's not going anywhere, it will always stay the same, and so will that tool. It will forever be stuck at the lowest level, Bronze. The more powerful the god of the world the more it can improve. You can waste slivers into bringing it back to life but that seems pretty wasteful to me."

Skye was was surprised he actually got useful information out of Dubs, which Dubs seemed to sense as he replied

"Thanks for asking"

It might have sounded dumb at the time but Skye actually replaced the rock in his Thorn with the dagger at the end, really quite enjoying the reach it gave him. So his pointy stick Thorn became an even pointy…er stick? Either way he now had the most pointy stick of all. . 

Both Claire and Skye would have rather it been a spare set of clothes but had to make do with what they had, taking time to wash and dry them while the other was out working. 

At the end of the week Skye could no longer put it off, he was going to have to make an overnight trip. He mostly explored everything that was within a day trip from their camp by now and needed to find more people as quick as possible. 

He was meant to go the day before but it started raining and he didn't want to make it more dangerous than it had to be. It seemed to rain every few days so he was in the clear for now. 

Wrapping himself in ropes and making sure he had a belly full of water and monster meat, he started the journey south. Claire yelled as he got to the start of the forest.

"Be safe! Get back soon please! If you die the Flower Boys die and that would be the worst day ever, so please stay alive!"

She was right. He had to stay alive, he had to do it for the Flower Boys, his Flower boy children who he very much loved