Soul Caller 1 - Chapter 17 (Patreon)

After a moment of thought, he realized what was going on. In order to acquire skills from those trees, he had to increase the level of the blessing that he had from that spirit. Currently, he had unlocked a minor blessing from both the Snake and Jaguar paths, granting him an uncommon ability to run and a level of courage that allowed him to remain calm under pressure, but if he wanted to access the skill trees they controlled he would have to increase the minor blessings to major blessings. With that in mind, he looked at the only skill tree that was active, Warrior. There he found three skill paths: Tactical, Survival, and Manatech, each with a single skill that could be picked. Focusing on each of them in order, he saw their descriptions pop up.

Warrior’s Knowledge: Tactics

Know thy self, Know the enemy, Know the environment. Armed with these three types of knowledge, the warrior can accurately predict the course of the battle, ensuring victory.

You have gained the ability of a seasoned warrior to plan and execute advanced tactics.

[Unlock Level 1]

Warrior’s Knowledge: Survival

It is not enough for the warrior to be able to read the land. Knowledge of how to anticipate and react to the changing environment is the cornerstone of the warrior’s ability to survive.

You have gained the ability of a seasoned warrior to survive in even the most hostile environments.

[Unlock Level 1]

Warrior’s Knowledge: Manatech

To understand his tools is to multiply his ability to affect the world. The warrior’s ability to use and create manatech is only as good as his knowledge of it.

You have gained the ability of a seasoned warrior to use and maintain manatech tools.

[Unlock Level 1]

All three of the skills seemed equally strong to him, though he was most interested in the manatech skill. Before he picked it, however, he decided to wait a bit longer. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to get a skill, but that he wasn’t sure which would be the most helpful. Rather than pick a skill and find out it wasn’t as good as he thought, it seemed more judicious to keep the minor blessing in reserve and wait till he had an actual need. That left his skill point to spend, and only a single option to spend it on. He had known from the beginning that he was going to spend his skill point on increasing Warrior’s Observation from level one to level two, and as he did Merrick felt the world sharpen around him.

The sensation was subtle, causing everything around him to come into clearer focus. At first he thought that he was just able to notice more things at once, but he quickly realized that he had always seen everything he now observed. The change was that his mind was able to keep up with everything he saw, processing the visual information faster, allowing him to notice more things simultaneously. If before his ability to observe had been like looking through a small hole, he was now able to look through a much larger hole, seeing more at once.

Additionally, he could feel dormant energy in the back of his head, as if a sixth sense had been strengthened. Though it wasn’t currently active, he could feel it lurking there, observing everything around him and looking for threats. Merrick had never experienced anything like it and he felt almost as if there was someone standing behind him, keeping watch. Slowly the feeling began to fade as he adjusted to his heightened sensitivity and after a few moments his keen awareness of his environment integrated fully into his experience of the world.

Back when he had leveled up in the village, there had been a qualitative change in how his body felt, but this time it was only his mind which changed, allowing him to operate with greater clarity. Rising from his blanket, he swiftly packed his blanket and the rest of his gear, and went to assist Evan and Dugan as they tore down the camp. Vale was once again fiddling with his devices, and Barak crouched at a distance, gathering up the meat that they would take with them.

From where they stood on the knoll, they could see deeper into the mountains where their path would take them. The terrain was steep and treacherous and Merrick knew from a glance that they would have a hard day's journey ahead. According to Vale's instruments, the direction to their objective was still due north, taking them into the heart of the most difficult and dangerous part of the mountains. Though they had scared the wolves off the night before, Merrick knew that the beasts were still lingering around, and that if their guard was let down, the wolves would return with a vengeance, trying to finish what they had started the previous evening. Evan and Dugan didn't seem to have any thought for the predators, but Merrick and Barak both knew that the wolves would not have gone far.

Still, they had agreed to take the prospectors further into the mountains, and as the sun rose, casting its rays across the sharp peaks, they began their trek. The ground they were covering was rocky, and occasionally they came across large shale fields, where hundreds of thousands of loose rocks formed what looked like rivers running down the side of the mountain. Often, at the bottom of these giant shale piles, it was possible to see the massive stones that had tumbled down the side of the mountain, tearing through the earth, and causing the avalanche.

Crossing these fields was always a treacherous task as the stone was wont to shift under their feet, threatening to restart the avalanche of stone and it was with utmost care that the five men passed over them. Whenever they came to a rock slide, Barak would take a rope with him as he carefully crossed over. Once on the other side, he would try to secure it to something, allowing everyone else to use it as a guide. When he couldn’t find something to secure it to, he would plant his spears into the hard ground and wrap the rope around his waist, using himself as an anchor. The prospectors would cross next, as Merrick held the other end of the rope. After everyone else had crossed, Merrick would carefully move across the shale field, his nimble feet and observation skill allowing him to cross the wide stretches of loose rock with relative ease.

There was only one accident, but it nearly proved fatal. Halfway across one of the rock slides, Evan suddenly slipped, and his rifle nearly fell from his shoulder. Desperate to catch it, he let go of the rope, only to realize his error as he started to slide down the mountain. Thankfully, Barak was quick thinking, and was able to jump further down the mountain, causing the rope to swing over Evan's head and catch him as he started to slip down the loose stones. Gripping tightly onto the rope, Evan managed to pull his feet free of the falling stone, barely stopping himself as he held onto his rifle with his other hand. After a few trembling seconds, the white-faced prospector slowly secured his rifle by passing the band over his head and across his chest, and then hand over hand pulled himself across to the other side. After that close call, the others took more time as they crossed, but eventually everyone was on the other side and they were able to continue their journey.

Apart from rock slides, there were other dangers as well, including poisonous insects, snakes, and the ever present threat of the wolves who continued to track them. Occasionally they would hear the long howl of the wolf pack in the distance, and the prospectors would stop and look behind them, clutching their rifles tight against their chests. Merrick found that he wasn’t nearly as worried, and assumed it had something to do with his upgraded skill. Not only did the second level allow him to better assess threats, but as a side effect, he found that he was calmer and less anxious when there were no threats present.

Stopping for lunch in a small hollow they found in the side of the mountain they got their stove out and seared some of the mountain goat meat they had carried with them. By this point, there was a leanness to all of the prospectors that had not existed when Merrick had first seen them. The steady diet of meat combined with their intense days of non-stop trekking had caused their faces to slim down. For Barak and Merrick, this was simply the way life was, and they had no issue keeping up the heavy pace despite the lack of variety in their food. But for the prospectors, who had never experienced anything like this, the lean meat was getting old fast. Vale, who had never been forced to eat such a restrictive diet, was suffering the most and found that the meals were growing progressively harder to swallow. Still, he managed to force his portion down when he saw the others eating with gusto.

“Gotta keep your strength up, boss,” Evan said, jerking a thumb at Merrick and Barak, who were both crouched nearby, devouring their portions. “That is one thing I'll say for the savages. They know how to eat when there's food available. You gotta keep your strength up if you wanna make it. Remember, we've got a return trip, too.”

Frowning, Vale nodded.

"Yeah, I got it.”

After lunch was done, the group packed up their things and continued on their way. They had just come down a long ridge, and ahead of them they found another. Vale's devices seemed to point directly into the heart of the mountain, which frustrated him considerably. But as he looked up the long climb to the peak, he called Dugan.

“What we're looking for should be right on the other side of this mountain,” he said. “So keep your eyes peeled. We're looking for caves of any kind, any sort of great big cut into the earth, a gorge, a canyon, something like that. We're likely to find water nearby as well, so pay attention.”

As usual, Barak led the way as they began to climb up the mountain in front of them, but after a few hundred feet Barak stopped and looked around.

“I don't like this,” he said.

It only took a moment for Merrick to confirm the feeling that Barak was getting. He too felt a faint unease. He hadn't noticed it until the more experienced spirit warrior had pointed it out, but as he began to scan the environment, he realized that something had changed. The biggest indicator that something was wrong was the complete lack of signs of small creatures. The entire time they had been traveling through the mountains he had been picking up the signs of the local wildlife. Rabbits, mice, insects, birds, there were all sorts of small creatures who lived in these mountains but now that they had started to climb this particular peak, all of that life seemed to have vanished. The bare rocks were covered in lush vegetation, but that just made it all the stranger as there was plentiful food on the mountain, but no creatures. Even the sounds of birds, which they had regularly heard during their travels, were absent, and the silence weighed heavily on them. Crouching, Merrick examined the ground a little bit closer but didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.

"What's the matter?" Evan asked. "Why aren't we going?"

Standing up, Merrick gestured around. "Something's wrong. There's something dangerous here. Maybe a predator."

Clutching his rifle, instinctively, Evan looked around. "Could it be a bear? Or maybe the wolves are back."

Shaking his head, Merrick spoke with certainty. "No bear. There would be signs of that. No wolves either."

"Evan, what are we waiting for?" Vale asked impatiently.

Tapping his translator off, Evan gestured with his head to Barak and Merrick.

"They say that there's something dangerous here."

"The mountains are full of dangerous creatures," Vale replied. "Let's get a move on. We're too close to stop now."

Nodding, Evan turned to speak to Merrick again.

"The boss says we gotta keep going. What we're looking for is right on the other side of that peak. And this is the fastest way to get there."

Nodding to show he had heard Evan’s words, Merrick looked at Barak. The older, more experienced spirit warrior was the primary guide on this trip, and Merrick would abide by whatever he said. Barak, looking around at the group, stayed silent for a minute. Finally nodding, he said, "We'll climb the peak."

Without further hesitation, Barak turned away and began to move up the mountain, forging a narrow path that wound up the steep slope. Merrick moved up with him and in a low voice that Evan couldn't hear, Merrick spoke to Barak.

"Is something the matter?"

Nodding only slightly, Barak scanned the ground for threats, his eyes rising slowly to take in the whole mountain ahead of them.

"Yes, that black-haired one, I don't trust him. I don't like the way he looks at us."

Resisting the urge to look back over his shoulder at Vale, Merrick followed Barak, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of danger. As he walked, he tried to think back over the time he had spent with Vale, looking for any signs that might have pointed to what Barak was talking about. It didn't take him long to realize the clear contempt that Vale had for them. Before, he had always taken it to mean that Vale was just too occupied, too focused on the devices that he carried and the goal that they sought. But as he thought about it, he realized that the disregard had masked a quiet disdain.

Furthermore, more than once he had seen Vale's hand resting near the butt of the pistol he carried while Evan was trying to convince them of taking a course of action they didn’t like, which didn't bode well for Barak and Merrick should they step out of line. At the same time, he wasn't entirely convinced that Barak's suspicions were right. He knew the veteran soul warrior didn't trust the strangers in the first place, but so far, the prospectors had given Merrick no reason to think that they might betray them. The climb was steep, but they made good time thanks to the smooth path, and as they neared the top of the peak, Merrick could hear Evan, Dugan, and Vale behind him and Barak, speaking mockingly of their fear.

"They probably just didn't want to have to climb this mountain," Dugan said, shaking his head.

"Well, I admit I didn't want to either," Evan said.

"Not long now," Vale cut the others off. "Keep your eyes peeled."