Limits

The journey to the Obsidian Mountains was mostly boring. Besides the training, I tried teaching Frosty some things, from time to time. When I finally arrived in the vicinity of the Obsidian Mountains, I noticed a great change in the environment. There were no trees around, lava pools were scattered everywhere, and the temperature seemed to rise, the closer I got.

In the distance, I could see a huge mountain, but it wasn't a simple mountain. It was a huge volcano, with lava spewing out from the top once in a while. 'This place is different. No wonder Crow said, it's much more dangerous' I thought. Travelling a bit further, I noticed a new lifeform. It looked like the Black Sludge, that originated from the huge factory, not far away from the Dead Forest.

At first, I thought that it was some lava laying on the ground, but then it moved. 'This creature must be quite dangerous. If its body is made out of lava, how hot can it be?' I wondered. Besides that lava creature, I also noticed some horse like creatures, running in the distance. These were not normal either. They were covered in flames. Their tail and mane seemed to be made out of fire, while their hooves were covered by flames. They were entirely black, other than the orange flame, burning around the mentioned parts. The horses were quite tall as well, at least double the size of a normal horse.

'This place seems to be a lot more dangerous, than anywhere I've been so far. Not counting Yagaroths of course, but who knows what type of creatures, dwell deep within that volcano' I thought. I already saw, what the Obsidian Mountains was about. A place of fire and dangerous creatures. With a food shortage, I turned around and returned the way I came from. For one, I didn't have enough food, in order to stay there. I also didn't know whenever the Flaming Horses, were edible or not. I decided to go to the Great Forest, hunt and return at a later time.

This time, I didn't train on my way back. I wanted to return as fast as possible. Time passed slowly, but without the sun, I didn't know how long it took me to walk back. I returned to the place, where my journey in the North started. The all familiar wastelands and the bordering line, that separated the North from the Great Forest. As I approached the borderline, I realised something. 'Can Frosty cross the borderline?' I thought. The best way of getting an answer, was to ask Frosty. I called out "Frosty, come out for a moment".

Frosty appeared in front of me, with an expression that stated "I don't want to learn anything!". I didn't comment about that, and asked "Can you cross that borderline?", then pointed my finger at it. Frosty looked over and saw the borderline. It then motioned to me, that it had no clue. I asked "Can you try?". Frosty was a bit worried, I was too, I didn't know what would happen, when a creature that was unable to pass, would try it anyway. After awhile of hesitation, Frosty nodded its head, and walked towards the borderline.

I watched with anticipation. When Frosty stood in front of the bordering line, it extended one of its arms, and tried touching the barrier. What happened next was surprising, but for another reason. Frosty's arm passed without a problem, it then proceeded to pass fully. 'Whew. I thought it would be impossible for it to go' I thought.

I waved my hand at Frosty, for it to return back. It did just that, also without any issues. I then came up with another idea. I said "Frosty, change back to the tattoo on my hand. Let's see if we can pass like this". Frosty nodded and jumped onto my shoulder, then changed to the tattoo. I marched forwards, and crossed the borderline without any problems as well. My hand didn't get stuck, nor did I felt any discomfort, everything was in order. 'Alright, we can come and go as we wish. Time to hunt some animals!' I thought, and moved deeper into the Great Forest.

The biggest change, was the sun, high up in the sky. 'I haven't seen that thing for a long time now. I missed it' I thought. There were white clouds, floating around the blue sky, and the weather was quite chilly. 'Probably the winter season is coming. Doesn't matter, I will return to the North, when I have enough meat' I thought.

I could see the Black Sludge from time to time, as well as assimilated animals, that the Black Sludge took control of. I didn't dispose of them. For one, the animals were already dead and secondly, these belonged to Crow's race. It wouldn't feel right, exterminating his race. 'Although we didn't have many interactions, Crow is a nice guy. I can treat him as a friend, of course provided, he doesn't betray me' I thought. I would have to check that later on, but I was already prepared for that possibility.

I sped through the Great Forest, until I reached more populated parts, that contained healthy animals. I hunted bears and wolves alike, boars were also there in the mix. Anything that had meat and was edible, would be hunted by me. I quickly gathered enough food to last me a few months. 'With this, I shouldn't have to worry about the food shortage, when I travel to the Obsidian Mountains again' I thought. I only had one weapon, against creatures that were made of lava or had the element of flame. That was my arm's freezing ability. I didn't know how well my right arm would perform, but it was something at least.

I decided to stay a few more days inside the Great Forest, and collect some herbs, that Frosty could eat. I took out my map, and tried to located the nearest water source. I was in luck, there was a small lake, not far away from my current location. 'It will take me half a day, to get there. I will make camp for now, then head there in the morning' I thought, and lit the campfire.

When I went to sleep, the situation with my dreams didn't change. It seemed that the environment didn't play any part in that. The next morning, I exercised first, then went straight to the lake on my map. When I arrived, I noticed that the lake's water was very clean, the fishes were swimming around happily, and there were some herbs growing here and there.

I thought 'I didn't take a bath for a while, might as well use that chance'. When I stripped my clothes, I noticed many small scars. Those were the leftovers, from the battle against Avians and Yagaroths. The most obvious scar, was on my right hand. I touched my head, and I could feel some hairs growing back. 'This is a good sign. I don't want to be bald, for the rest of my life' I thought. With some time, my hair would grow back to the length I used to have, before I embarked on my journey.

I was lost in my thoughts, as I collected some herbs with water element. I reminisced about the past, about the good times, and those bad times. 'It seems, I mostly have bad memories. Becoming a slave, being betrayed couple of times, having my arm cut off… Yet, I'm still here. I now have more strength and I have Frosty, who is always with me' I thought. Although, I went through a lot of bad things, I was still happy. I travelled to many places, and learned about many things. I exceeded my limits, and began to explore my life. At that time, I felt at peace.

But, I learned one thing, throughout so many years. Peace, doesn't last long. As I was collecting some herbs, I could hear some noise in the distance. 'Probably some wolves or bears are coming this way' I thought, as I passed it of as something unimportant. But I was wrong. What arrived, were not bears or wolves, but humans. About 6 of them arrived not to far away, from my location.

They stopped, and took a look at me. 'I don't know what they want, but I surely smell trouble' I thought. I always had troubles, when meeting humans in the forest. I therefore always assumed, they were trouble. After a while of debating, they moved towards me slowly. I was dressed in clothes, that I made myself from animal skins. My previous set of clothes, was pretty much useless at that point, and I was used to wearing animals skins on me.

They group stopped about 20 metres away from me, while one male took a step forward and asked "Hello friend. Have you been to the North?". 'What a weird question to ask. Are they trying to judge my level of strength?' I thought, and said while still picking up a herb "Why do you want to know?". The guy seemed a bit stunned, that I didn't pay much attention to them, but still acted politely. "We are going there for the first time. If you've been there already, we would like to ask for some tips".

'They are not stupid, I must admit. Although, I don't intend to share any information for free' I thought. After a while, I said "I've been there, but if you want information, I will not give them to you for free". The guy didn't seem to mind it and said "We can pay you. Especially, if your information is useful to us". I said "I don't need money. What else do you have?".

The guy seemed surprised and asked "What would you like then?". I said "Show me what you got, and I will tell you. Don't worry, my informations can save your lives. If you think I'm lying, you may continue on your journey". The guy turned towards the rest of the group, and they discussed in hush tones between themselves.

Although they used hushed tones, I could still hear them very well. "We shouldn't trust him. Look at him, he is dressed in animal skins. What can he possibly know" one of them said. The leader guy argued back "That is exactly the reason, I believe him. He seems to know how to survive, and if he really went to the North, his information could really be useful to us". Another person butted in "He is collecting some grass, near the pond! You want to believe that kind of guy?".

Most people in the group wanted to simply leave, there were only two people who wanted my informations. Those were the leader guy, that I spoke with, and another guy, who seemed scared of the North, and wanted any information he could get his hands on.

After a while of debating, the leader guy turned towards me, and said "I, and my friend here, will show you what we have". Then they took out their bags and started taking out things. I took a look at them and started walking towards the group. The four that were against paying for my information, immediately grabbed for their weapons.

The two guys taking out the stuff, also stopped and didn't know whenever to prepare or wait. I decided to help them out on that, and said "I'm just coming closer to have a look. Besides, I already heard your conversation". The whole group was stunned, but even more on guard now.

I stopped about 5 metres away from the group and said "Just show me everything. If I wanted to rob you, I would've done it a long time ago". With that sentence, the four people took out their weapons. 'I'm not a great negotiator…' I thought. The leader guy, finally decided to go for it, and dumped everything out from the bag.

I said "That's the spirit", then took a closer look. I noticed a bow inside that pile and asked "Are you an Archer?". The guy was still a bit dazed, but managed to answer "Yes". I nodded my head and said "It's a good skill to have. This will come in handy to you, when you meet Corpse Dogs". The whole group was dazed this time, while one of them managed to squeeze out "We already knew about Corpse Dogs".

They must've realised, that I probably didn't lie. I replied "I never said, you didn't. You also didn't pay me anything". I took a look at the pile and said "How many arrows do you have?". The guy replied "Around 200". I shook my head "And for how long are you going to the North?". He replied again "We don't know yet. A month maybe?". I asked again "Do you have provisions?". This time, a woman answered a bit impatient "Of course we have! We are not idiots, we know that it's very hard to get food in the North".

I said "Good. Make sure you have more than you assume". I then continued "I can see you have some pots and whatnot. I want those in exchange for some information". They seemed shocked and looked at me, as if looking at an idiot. The leader guy said "Are you sure?". I replied "Yes, that pot with the lid, as well as some utensils. I will need them in the future. You don't really have anything else of interest to me. I would take arrows, but you only have 200".

The guy nodded and said "Sure, You can have the cooking tools". I then turned towards the other guy and asked "What about you?". When he saw that my selection was some pots, he was no longer scared and dumped all the things inside his bag, onto the ground. I examined the stuff, but ultimately there was nothing of interest to me.

I turned towards the leader, and said "For this pot and stuff, I will explain some of the locations on your map. Do you have it?". The leader nodded his head, and took out a map. I walked over and took it. When I opened it up, I saw some locations on the map, that I didn't have. Those were the locations in the Great Forest. The amount was quite substantial, but all of them were minor. I looked at the Northern section and saw the Sludge Factory, displayed on the map. I also saw the Vulture Cliffs and Obsidian Mountains. There was a location of a city, that I saw from the Vulture Cliffs, when one of the Avians transported me.

I said "Don't go to Vulture Cliffs. If they see you, you will die". I then pointed at the Obsidian Mountains and said "There are Lava Sludges living in there. If you only have physical attacks, don't go there. There are also some Flaming Horses or whatever they are called. They will be much faster than you, so I wouldn't try to go against them either".

I then pointed at the Sludge Factory and said "This thing is alive. I was shocked when I saw it for the first time. Just don't step on it. You might've already know that, but I suggest to not get close. The city on your map is of limits. You will die or worse, whenever they spot you. Humans are not very well received over there".

I continued "With your strength, and the fact that this is your first time going there. Make sure to first get accustomed with that place. You can enter and exit whenever you wish, so don't try to be brave, and go around dangerous areas for stupid reasons. There are no seasons in the North. Watch your food supply, as you will not be able to count days or nights. There is no sun or moon, you will miss them after a long time".

"That is all, I will offer you. I wish you luck, in your journey". The leader thanked me and asked couple of times, if I wanted something else. They all thought, that a simple pot was worth to me more than gold. In a sense, it was true. It was a solid pot, and I needed one in order to make medicine or poison. With that, I would be able to do it properly.

The group left, and for once, I was glad about the fact, I was wrong. 'They seemed to be decent people. Although wary, but who wouldn't be, when they met someone for the first time. I hope they do alright' I though, as I went back to my herb collection.