Osmal snatched a bottle as a waiter strode by. Ash proffered her glass. He tipped the bottle, a deep amber liquid filling the glass. She downed it in one go, smacking her lips.
"Are you really going to just leave a girl hanging?" Ash asked with a sweet smile.
He laughed, topping off her glass again.. "Stressful trip here?" Osmal asked.
"Something like that. There was a massive bird that kept attacking our caravan at night. Took a bunch of caravan workers, and even a couple of soldiers before we killed it," Ash replied.
"We had a similar issue with some raptors," Osmal said. "The pack was led by a sky beast whose mere presence made my skin crawl,"
"Shame you couldn't kill it. Its refined core would have fetched quite the pretty penny," Ash replied.
"Yeah, the damned thing didn't even show itself," Osmal muttered.
Getting right to business, she waved a hand as if to change the subject. "So, are you all tapped out, or still have some pocket change?" Ash asked, placing a tattered scroll on the table.
"Why, did you already get your hands on something good?" Osmal asked, reaching for the scroll.
She smacked his hand away, tisking.
"No touchy, you haven't paid yet," Ash said.
"What is it?" Osmal asked curiously.
"It's a map of the area I was scouting the other day. I found a good honey hole with some rare herbs. Could be yours for only five crowns," Ash said.
"What herbs, and why is the information so expensive?" Osmal asked.
She placed a small white orchid on the table.
"It's a magnolia orchid. Everything from the pedals to the thorns along the stalk is useful. The nectar is valuable as well, but honey made from it is like liquid gold," Ash said.
Osmal sighed.
"So, it's a literal honey hole?" Osmal asked dryly.
She grinned.
"Exactly," Ash said.
He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. "If the honey is like liquid gold, why are you selling the information so cheaply?" Osmal asked.
"Cane killer wasps," Ash said.
He scowled. "Give me the information for free, and I'll owe you," Osmal said.
She shook a finger at him.
"I like you, but not that much, "three crowns and the favor," Ash said.
Osmal tried to haggle down further, but she wouldn't budge.
After the earthen sky elixir, he really was getting low on funds. Being indebted to this sly scoundrel was risky, but sacrifices needed to be made for the sake of profit.
After spending most of the evening drinking with Ash, he slept off the liquor in a small room in their barracks.
Over three hundred soldiers of the Blue Spring Sect filled the rows of buildings, taking up a good portion of their wing of the fort. Thankfully, he didn't have to muck it with the common rank and file.
As a middle-ranking sect member, he could confidently take a private room. Basically, a closet with a one-person bed, but it was much better than the average grunt.
He slept like the dead. The next day, he went to the job board, a common theme amongst the sect.
In preparation for the tide, they were clearing monsters ahead of the walls. Every monster they killed now would be one less they had to fight later.
These efforts afforded decent merit, with additional merit being offered to those who brought back valuables. Everything from ore to rare herbs, energy-dense wood, and so on. These missions could be quite lucrative.
Too bad that most of them were forced to participate in weekly outings. This wasn't a social gathering. Every member of the sect had to report once a week for scouting duty.
The tide was still deep in the mountains, but it was gradually approaching. The forward units of each respective force were being constantly dispatched to whittle down the tide.
Osmal was not spared from this duty. Every member of the sect had to play their part. Osmal wanted to go hunting for some valuable honey, but unfortunately, he couldn't afford to be injured.
Before he knew it, he and a squad of soldiers were on the move. Riding horses, they venture deep into the Blade Mountains, moving much quicker than the caravans.
It was a combined force of twenty kingdom soldiers backed by three sect members. Most carried bows, with quivers bursting with arrows.
Their job wasn't to stop the tide, only to whittle the lead elements down and clear local monsters.
Osmal himself was a decent shot with a bow, not his preferred method of killing. He neither had the technique to empower the weapon nor the patience to get good with it, making it of middling effect.
In the hands of the right cultivator, a bow could be extremely deadly. His eyes flicked to the burly man to his right. The man carried a custom war bow taller than himself, with a second, shorter recurve. The man was called Buntar. Osmal had watched the man shoot a squirrel from a hundred paces like it was nothing.
The third member of the sect was a woman who only carried a small crossbow. Lina hadn't stated it outright, but he suspected her techniques leaned towards ranged destruction.
Quite an enviable skill set. If he got the chance, he would love to take a peek inside her pockets. Too bad most cultivators destroyed techniques after memorizing them.
After all, if you let everyone have a powerful technique, you would just be one among many.
Still, it was a shame. He would love to have the ability to set something on fire from a distance instead of getting up close and personal.
After a few days of riding, they caught sight of their first quarry. A mishmash of monsters was coming down the valley, led by a massive boar. About thirty in total.
Their squad set up on cliffs, hiding as the monsters approached. Eventually, they came within range.
Bow drawn, Osmal aimed at the lead elements, his arms straining to hold back the heavy bow.
The captain gave the signal, and twenty arrows flew, pin-cushioning the monsters below. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. The monsters scrambled to climb the rock to attack, but their group had the high ground, and there was nowhere to hide.
Arrows rained down, riddling the monsters. Some cut and ran, but most died. They had a field day, not an injury amongst them.
Using the tight corridor as a choke point was a good strategy, but with the stench of blood below, it was unlikely to work a second time. It took more time to harvest the monsters for cores than to kill them.
With the bounty, they were in good spirits. If things kept going this well, they would be drowning in merit. Karma had to come back and take a dump on his salad.
The easy kills were like a distant dream, replaced by a constant drizzle that soaked everything. The smell of blood from the previous day's kills attracted others as suspected. They were perched up on a ridge, watching for movement.
They had a good view of the valley they were in, but in the rain and thick trees, he could see almost nothing.
In the early morning, Osmal huddled under a waxed skin, the patter of rain on the tarp filling the air. His breath misted, and he rubbed his hands together for warmth.
Damned rainforests. Thankfully, it wasn't long before light started to brighten the sky.
At first, nothing, but eventually it cleared up just enough to let him catch movement. It was distant, and at first, he thought it was a figment of his imagination.
The plume of smoke and distant explosion gave him no doubt.
Another joined him in his lookout, cautiously peering from the blind.
"What's going on?" Captain Tommy asked.
"Someone looks to be in trouble," Osmal replied, handing Tommy his spyglass.
The stern-faced man grunted in agreement as he looked through the scope.
"That's not good odds," Tommy replied.
"Think they will get away?" Osmal asked.
"Doubtful,"
Three people were fleeing on horseback, the remnants of a scouting force, currently being chased by a pack of about fifteen wolves headed by an alpha whose fur crackled with lightning.
The three horses were lathered with sweat, clearly having run full out for miles already.
The ridge they were on intersected three valleys, two of which led away from them. Nothing but dead ends in those directions.
As if aware of this, the wolves directed the three away from the only real escape.
Tommy collapsed his spyglass.
"Well, nothing we can do for them now," Tommy said.
"Should we ambush them?" Osmal asked, gesturing towards the ridge a few miles away, to the mouth of the valley, where the wolves were chasing the three riders.
Tommy nodded. "I like the way you think. We will be too late to save those poor sods, but the least we can do is get some revenge," Tommy said.
Osmal wanted to do it for the spoils, but some revenge couldn't hurt. It was a cold, wet few hours as they descended their lookout and crossed through the valley. Every branch, blade of grass was wet, soaking them to the bone.
Keeping dry was impossible; the group was soaked and grumpy by the time they reached their mark.
Tommy gathered them all in.
"Alright, Buntar, take that far crag. Lina, you are with me. Osmal, you take up the rear. Osmal, you take ten of the soldiers and hide. Once the battle starts, block their escape. Same plan as last time: we use the choke point to take out the leader, and then kill the rest," Tommy said.
Osmal nodded in approval. If it worked, why change it.
They set up a similar ambush to the one prior, hiding on either side of the valley to create a killing field.
They waited most of the day, as the wolves gorged themselves. Full and tired from their recent feeding, the wolves were not expecting to be ambushed.
The leader of the pack headed the group and was the first to die.
Five arrows riddled the massive wolf, turning it into a porcupine. One of them lit its fur on fire, courtesy of Buntar, the sect member with the massive war bow.
It died an ignoble death, with several others following suit in the first volley. The wolves, suddenly the prey, were completely unprepared for the coordinated ambush.
Some tried to run, to flee after the alpha died, but ended up running into the spears of waiting soldiers.
Osmal, who had brought up the rear to cover an escape, smashed a smoking fist into a lupine face.
The smoldering phoenix technique hit a wolf's face with a puff of smoke, cracking its skull and singeing its fur.
Sidestepping snapping jaws, his body thrummed with energy.
Drawing from his core, the benefits of the earthen sky elixir showed themselves. His energy flowed much more smoothly, his muscles responding more quickly. He gathered energy into his legs as he kicked the monster in the shoulder.
The blow staggered the monster as he channeled his smoldering phoenix technique through his feet. It tried to retreat, but he was already in its face, his fist beast sword technique gouging a deep furrow in its skull as he punched it in the side of the head.
Stepping over his fallen foe, he met another wolf head on. Frothing at the mouth, it attacked.
Claws raked his arms, but he got within its guard, his fists slamming into its body.
His energy churned as he went to work on the monsters. The pain of the claws grounded him, kept him focused. Failure meant death, but death had been so close for so long that it might as well be his only friend.
The soldiers fought together, but Osmal fought alone, meeting the wolves by himself.
This was the way of the sect. They didn't fight as a team. No, everything was for the sake of benefit. He had been reminded of this countless times since the day he was taken from his village as a child of only ten.
By the time the wolves were all dead, he was gasping for breath, blood leaking from his robes. A short, brutal affair. Now that the battle was winding down, the pain came in full force.
Not a pleasant sensation, but he couldn't be too upset. There were quite a few monsters he had just killed. That meant cores, and merit would soon be entering his pockets.