Chapter 35: 1.35 Compensation

We had quickly waved Ember goodbye and were currently running up the path again that we had previously descended. My companions were ahead of me while I closely followed. Once we were back at the top, we could have them jump in the cart and run down the mountain.  

There were a couple of circumstances that put my mind somewhat at ease. I was fairly certain Ember would not put us in any real danger given her reputation of being very receptive of visitors. A dead adventurer was one less person to talk to, after all. No, I was certain her warning had been timely and would give us plenty of time to get out of any real danger. 

The other thing was that, as far as I could tell, this was what one would call a shield volcano. the slope wasn’t too steep and I hadn't seen any other vents besides the main crater. A shield volcano would mean that the eruptions it would undergo were non-violent. This means there was not going to be any of those stereotypical balls of lava flying through the air. Instead, the magma in the central crater would simply rise and flow down the sides of the mountain. 

This did, however, mean that the lava would flow at a rapid pace, which is exactly why we were in a hurry to get off this mountain. I hoped we were not in a dangerous situation, but I would not sit idly to see whether I was right. I was not going to screw around with an active volcano! 

It didn't take long for us to reach the top of the mountain again. I could still feel the ground lightly trembling which made me feel uneasy. The feeling of imminent danger made my heart beat faster as my companions jumped back into the cart.  

I then started running over the cooled down lava from previous eruptions. If my calculations had been correct, we should be somewhat safe when we reached the end of the hard rocky floor. Once I felt dirt under my feet again, I would be put somewhat at ease. That didn't mean I was going to stop running. Again, no messing with active volcanoes. 

The ride down the mountain was a bumpy one, but no one dared to complain this time. Not even Seralyn. Turned out that the feeling of imminent danger was a great motivator for one to keep quiet while they were being escorted out of said danger.  

On the way down, we did not encounter a single Ashclaw scorpion. I would assume they had fled as soon as the tremors started happening. Maybe even before that. If I recalled correctly, some animals could feel when a volcano was about to erupt and get out of the danger zone in time. It appeared I wasn't counted among them. That was, unless the tremors that I felt would give me enough time to escape. I had no idea when these scorpions started to flee, after all. 

I looked behind me a couple times to make sure we wouldn't be surprised by anything, but it seemed all that had happened so far was an increase of black smoke rising up from the crater. No lava was in sight, and I'd like to keep it that way for as long as possible. 

We crossed the border where the rocky ground abruptly changed to volcanic ash and dirt. I hoped that meant we would be out of danger, but I continued onward without slowing down.  

I wondered if Ember's cave would be a safe spot from the lava flows. I was certain it wouldn't be flooded by lava, but I imaged the temperatures during an eruption would skyrocket and cook anything alive that wasn't a dragon. I wondered if her eggs relied on the increased heat from these eruptions to incubate. 

The tremors in the ground stopped and I looked to the crater that was already a fair bit of distance away from where we were, but still didn't see anything that would indicate danger. A further increase in dark smoke was all that was visible.  

I picked up the pace and ran down the mountain as fast as the cart with three passengers would allow me, careful to not hit any bumps that could destroy the wheels.  

We really kept up the pace and soon reached the foot of the mountain. I decided to look towards the crater far off in the distance and I could see yellow specks of light near the top of it. I assumed that meant that the eruption had actually begun. We were far out of any possible danger and I sighed. 

Better to be safe than sorry. 

''Draco, could you fill one of the crates with this dark dirt?'' I asked politely as I took a small break. 

Running downhill turned out to be more of a strain on my body than I would have expected. I think it had something to do with the weight behind me that was constantly forced upon my legs with every step that I took. Who would have known that uphill would be easier? 

''No problem.'' he said as he jumped out the cart. 

I sat down and spread my many legs, slightly tilting the cart as I did so. It felt relaxing to have the weight lifted from them.  

''You alright?'' Velariah asked. 

''I'm okay, just need a minute.''  

At least from here on out the journey was mostly even terrain.  

Draco filled up the crate and closed it with its lid before loading it back on the cart.  

''What's up with a crate of dirt?'' Seralyn asked. 

Had we not explained it to her before? Either I forgot or she was denser than a neutron star. Perhaps both. 

I was happy with a crate of dirt though, not as happy as if it had been a jar, but still pretty happy.  

''Fertilizer.'' I said with a single word. 

''What's so special about this ''fertilizer''?'' She raised an eyebrow as she emphasized the last word. 

''Do you have any experience with farming?'' I asked. 

Velariah grinned. ''Probably not.'' 

I would assume Velariah to have some knowledge about the subject, seeing as her father basically runs the show in Dawnleaf. She was bound to pick up bits and pieces here and there about the local economy and such. Seralyn however, didn't seem to understand anything as she shook her head. 

''Alright, so.'' I paused for a moment as I tried to find the easiest way to explain this to a layman. ''Plants ''eat'' very small pieces of things such as iron from the ground. This makes crops and plants grow. When there are no more, or very little of these nutrients in the ground, the crops don't grow as well or they don't grow large or grow at all. You got that so far?'' 

Seralyn nodded. 

''This soil is incredibly rich with these nutrients. The ash from volcanoes has a lot of things like iron mixed in, just look at where it comes from. This stuff is simply the best possible soil for plants to grow in, why do you think these trees here grow so well, despite the place flooding with lava every now and then?'' 

I pointed at the small, young trees in the area.  

''Makes sense, I guess.'' 

Explaining the basics of farming to an elf in another world. Not exactly the life of adventure I had imagined. Well, I did just outrun an erupting volcano, I guessed. 

I shrugged.  

''You know, the yellow stuff I filled a crate with can also be used as fertilizer. Next time, think twice before you call something useless, you may simply not know what you can use it for.'' 

That ought to put a dent in her cockiness. 

''I don't know because I don't care. It doesn't help me shoot monsters now, does it?'' 

Maybe not. She was stubborn as well. 

''Who knows? You might be wrong there again.'' I smiled without turning my head so she couldn't see it. 

''Just move already.''  

Hah, I won. 

Maybe I should completely change her view about things someday. I reckoned if I had gunpowder, I could make some kind of exploding arrow. Only to be used against monsters, of course. I wouldn't want to commit any war crimes.  

I should actually just do it. Create gunpowder that was. Not a single person in this world was going to be able to replicate it, even if they managed to get their hands on some of the powder after I'd created it. Without my knowledge, there was no way they were going to get both the ingredients and the exact amounts right.  

It's curious, this would be far more advanced than crossbows, but crossbows could be easily replicated if taken apart. Using gunpowder for things such as explosions would not leave a trace.  

'An interesting thought.' I concluded. 

And a nice addition to our firepower. Literal firepower. 

But first, we were going to have to make our way back to the village. 

I stood up again and prepared to moved out when something came running at us from the distance at great speed. I couldn't quite make out what it was, it looked like multiple figures advancing quickly. From their size I could make out they weren't human. I asked Velariah to cut loose the rope with her sword and prepare for the worst-case scenario, combat. 

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Not much later we found out where the mountain lynxes had run off to. Or at least, a pack of them. I thought lynxes were solitary creatures? These appeared to work together in coordinated fashion to attack us.  

Of course, we were going to have this happen? How could it not? 

Upon closer inspection, they didn't even look like lynxes in the first place. I had no idea who came up with that name. Sure, their base form looked like the lynxes we had on Earth. They were basically large cat like creatures, but that’s there the similarities ended.  

As far as I could recall lynxes did not have antlers like deer. I was also pretty sure they didn't have horns like those of a ram either. To top it all off they had a large set of canine teeth that made them look like sabretooth tigers. I was pretty sure they were compensating for something at this point. 

But wait, there was more! 

Along the back of their bodies ran a line of green leaves from their neck all the way to their short tail.  

What was up with vegetation growing in the backs of animals in this world? 

We had a pack of about fifteen of these animals fighting us in turns. It kind of resembled the fight I had with the wolves back at the cave when I had first encountered Velariah. It seemed they had a few of the animals making feigned attacks to cause us to show openings for others to attack.  

It turned out to be a good idea to get me some armor as I had ram horns impact my belly a couple of times when they jumped at me. I couldn't hold them all off at the same time, but I did envenom a couple with my fangs mid-jump. The armor seemed to protect me against most of the blunt force from the ram horns, the skewering effect of the antlers was completely denied by it.  

I was certain I would have broken at least a few bones if it wasn't for the dwarf. 

Velariah was on top of the cart protecting Seralyn who was actually amazing in combat. I had to give her credit there. Her rapid fire caused more than a few of the beasts to hit the floor. Moreover, I had partly filled her quiver with my venom so that all the arrow tips would deliver a lethal dose of it to anything that got properly hit. Even the lynxes that would not have been mortally wounded by the arrows fell soon after.  

Velariah did a great job protecting our ranged damage dealer as she impaled a couple of the beasts when they tried to jump on the cart. She even cut off a few antlers in situations where she could not get a clear hit on their heads.  

Draco cleaved off horns and antlers left right and center as he was wildly swinging his large axe while in his ''berserk'' mode. These beasts weren't terribly powerful, but they were quick. I was certain Draco received more than a few impacts of horns on his body because of his sluggishness but his skill appeared to keep him mostly safe from any real harm. 

I tried to assist Velariah in keeping them off the cart as much as possible. My new exoskeleton seemed to be almost impervious to their attacks, although I still managed to feel pain wherever their horns impacted my body, likely due to the blunt trauma penetrating at least somewhat. My spear and fangs made quick work of them and I even surprised a couple with my legs while they were dancing around me waiting for an opening, quickly impaling their sides.  

The battle was short, but intense. They didn't seem to give up, no matter how many of their kin fell to our weapons, unlike the wolves which had shown similar coordination. This led me to believe there was an external factor driving their efforts to get rid of us. Either that, or they were desperate. I couldn't find myself wanting to believe that though, they could have simply run around us to wherever they wanted to go. 

Something sure was fishy about this as well. 

I let down my guard for just a second and saw one of the animals jump up to Seralyn who had her back turned to the attack. Before I could warn her, its antlers had already impacted her. I could see they pierced her skin from here and I knew it was going to be bad.  

Velariah quickly turned around and finished the animal off that had got stuck with its hindlegs behind the cart's side panel with a stab to its belly. Its legs soon stopped their wild struggle to get free. 

Seralyn cried out in pain as she fell to her knees.  

Draco and I quickly finished off the last of them and turned our attention to the wounded elf. 

''Seralyn! Are you alright?'' I yelled out. 

I already lowered my abdomen to the floor and started spinning thread which I then picked up with my hands and wrapped around them, creating some sort of bandage.  

Draco ran to the cart and reached for his bag, pulling out a canteen of what I believed was alcohol. 

''Velariah, how bad is it?'' I asked as Seralyn hadn't replied.'' 

Velariah was pushing down on the wound with a piece of Seralyn's clothing.  

''It missed her vitals, but the bleeding's bad.'' Velariah stated.  

''I'm... fine...'' Seralyn struggled to speak. She was obviously not fine. 

''No, you're not.'' Velariah spoke before she was handed a green potion by Draco. A healing one if I recalled correctly.  

Velariah uncorked it and forced its contents down the other elf's throat. 

I then handed her the silken bandage and instructed her to make a ball in the wound and make sure it was wrapped very tightly and pressed down hard. Draco jumped into the cart and poured some alcohol over the wound which caused Seralyn to scream once more.  

Ouch, that ought to sting. 

After that, Velariah did as I instructed and wrapped the bandage around the brunette tightly. 

''How much is that potion going to do?'' I asked.  

''It will slowly heal the internal damage but it doesn't stop the bleeding quickly. If this bandage works properly, we should be perfectly fine.'' Velariah replied. 

''I could always cocoon her up further.'' I stated, not entirely joking. ''Make sure she drinks enough as well to replace lost blood.''  

As I said that, Draco fished out another canteen and handed it to the white-haired elf who then forced Seralyn to drink. 

''Might as well give her a painkiller while we're at it. What good are potions if we aren't going to use them? Besides, it's not like we are going anywhere else'' 

''You're right.'' Velariah answered and fished out a yellow potion out of her pack, sniffed it and then put it back before pulling out yet another yellow potion. She uncorked it again, sniffed and then forced Seralyn to drink even more.  

With that, she seemed to be able to speak again. I was actually surprised to hear her thank us.  

I started gathering the corpses of the lynxes and stacked them on a pile, not wasting any time. It turned out there were sixteen of them and I imagined they would be worth something. Even if we were not going to be paid for these at the guild, it would be a waste to throw them away. Draco helped me and picked up the antlers and horns that had broken off during combat and tossed them on the cart. 

''How is she? I asked Velariah as I was wrapping sticky silk around the animal corpses. 

''She is fine, you can take your time. She is out of danger, just need the potion to do its work now.'' 

If she had been in danger, we would have been in a sticky situation. Even if I ran at full speed, I was sure that the trip to Dawnleaf was going to take a few hours at least. Of course, I would have started running immediately, but if she was fine, I was going to make sure to take these lynxes with us.  

I observed my handiwork.  

I couldn't really call it that. All it was, was a bunch of animal corpses held together by silk. I had packed them together in one ball as much as I could. The result was a messy ''ball'' but it would work, I thought. I had then attached the ball to the back of the cart with multiple thick threads. Confident that they would not break I had Velariah bind the cart's beams to my abdomen again. I had told my companions to keep an eye out for any snapping lines as I intended to go back to Dawnleaf at great speed.  

We had taken a short break so my companions could eat and drink. After that I started running back to the elven village. Velariah was going to make sure Seralyn's bandage would be pressed down and make sure she drank often on the way back, while Draco kept an eye out for the lines behind the cart.   

I made sure to go as fast as I could on our way back. I imagined it was going to be a good idea to have Seralyn checked out by one of the treemenders, preferably a non-evil one.  

I ran for hours, not bothering to make any further stops and soon the hill outside of the village came into view.  

I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing we would be safe soon.  

Faragi

I've added a WIP drawing of Elania someone is working on to the glossary. Make sure to check it out!

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