Limits.

I turned toward Ricky and waited for the instructions . The guy was still in daze but after a while snapped out of it and said "I"m Ricky, which you know already by the way . This kid over here is Natan . Follow me, I will show you what you can do" . I followed after Ricky while the kid called Natan, said in whisper to his friend "I"m not a kid" .

We arrived at a small hut, that was further away from the central plaza and the entrance to the village . Ricky said "This is where we process wood and create various things . We make some tools or we use some wood as heat source and cooking fire . This will be your job . You will go inside and the person working there will explain everything to you" . I asked "Is this where I will work all the time?" .

Ricky responded "Are you not satisfied?" . I shook my head and said "No, it"s fine . I know my way around wood a bit . I can also help with smithing, although my experience in that department is much more shallow" . The guy seemed surprised and said "First work here . If what you say is true, we can maybe think about the other job" . Then both youngsters left .

I purposefully asked about smithing job . I needed to create a few daggers and if I could get some ore to make those daggers, that would be great . I entered the hut and saw a elderly man carving a piece of wood . He seemed busy and didn"t turn around to speak to me, so I waited for him to finish .

I stood there looking and after a while, I noticed that the man was carving a wooden handle for some sort of tool . From his carving, I could see that he was very experienced . this meant that he probably did this for many years . Each stroke of the carving knife was precise and decisive . I stood there and admired his skills, I too worked with these type of tools in the past and I knew my way around wood . The elder man finished his carving after a while and was about to reach for the next piece of wood .

I called out to him "h.e.l.lo . I"m here to work" . The man turned around and said "I know . I could hear your conversation with Ricky . You are quite patient, you allowed me to finish my work before you disturbed me . Is it true that you worked with wood in the past?" . I nodded my head and said "Yes, I was a craftsman in the past . This was my professions… It probably still is, I didn"t change my profession really . Although it"s been a while since I did anything properly, I should still be able to help you" .

The elder man said "This will save me the trouble of teaching you then . I"m Woody, this name was given to me by my father, who also carved . Come, I will show you what to do" . I followed Woody to the workbench not far away and he started explaining my job . "I want you to carve the arrow shafts . It"s not really difficult but it requires you to create a balance and specific size . This is the size and balance I would like you to create" he said and shoved me a completed shaft of an arrow .

I took it and examined it in details . The shaft was much more exquisite than those of the Eterian Laly . It had a very good balance and wasn"t too thin or thick . It was pretty much perfect . I said "Did you create this? It"s very well balanced and would create nice shaft for the arrow head . Your skills are very good" . Woody didn"t mind the compliment and said "If you can create shafts like those, that would be great . Did you ever do stuff like that?" to which I responded "Not really or at least, I"m not experienced with arrow shafts but I will certainly try my best" . Woody smiled for the first time and said "Good, then start your work" .

I sat down at the workbench and started creating the shafts . It might"ve seemed simple in the beginning but I soon found that it was actually quite hard to make a balanced shaft . It took me about an hour to make one, that was of similar quality to the one Woody showed me . The more I did it, the more used I became to it and after a few hours of work, I was able to create arrow shafts of similar quality . They weren"t as defined as the one Woody made but the balance was there and the shape was solid .

At the end of the day, I managed to create about 50 of such arrow shafts, the others were discarded . When I stopped my work, I asked Woody who was still working "So where do I stay the night?" . Woody still worked on his own carving and replied "You can sleep here . I don"t have a second bed but if you are skilled enough, you can make your own . By the way, how many did you manage to create?" . I replied "I made 50 of them, they are not as good as yours but the balance is there and they have solid shape . I think they are going to be usable . I left them on the bench, if you want to check, you are free to do so" .

Woody replied while still working on his piece "There is no need, I already saw them . They are not bad, that means you weren"t lying about your profession . Although they are a bit crude but they are certainly usable . You can rest or work some more, If you want to leave and see the village, you are also free to do so, just don"t disturb other people" . I said "Sure" and prepared to make my own bed .

The materials were already there, so I simply took some tools and started creating a solid wooden bed . It wasn"t hard at all with all those tools available, the wooden planks were in abandon in the workshop as well . Soon my bed was constructed and I placed some animal skins on top of it, for some comfort .

With that done, I decided to go out and have a proper look at this village . "It"s been awhile since I saw a village . I might as well go for a tour" I thought and said to Woody "I will go out for a bit to take a look . I will be back shortly" . Woody didn"t reply, so I just left .

The village wasn"t very big, it had all the necessary things inside but in overall it was as small as the h.o.r.eseplain Village, that I burned down in the past . It was constructed in peculiar way as well . All the roads led to the center plaza of the village . When I arrived there, I could see people walking to and from while doing something . In the middle of a plaza was a large stone, it was elongated and quite tall . It looked like a large, long rock, fell from the sky and pierced the ground .

It looked different and I never saw that type of thing in any other village . Sure there would be some sculptures in a large village, for example of an ancestor who founded the village or the current Village Chief but this was neither of them . I came closer to have a look and noticed some carvings on it . They weren"t that apparent from far away and I didn"t really pay attention before . I looked at the strange carvings and couldn"t figure out what they were supposed to represent .

The more I stared at the stone and those carvings, the more I felt that I knew this from somewhere . Suddenly, I got a splitting headache and could barely stand . I could hear voice… voice of my mother . "Son, grow up and stay healthy, ok?" . The headache intensified and I screamed "ARGHHH!" . The people on the street stopped whatever they were doing and looked at me . I couldn"t think straight as I grabbed my head due to the pain . I screamed and screamed but to no avail, the headache didn"t stop . I then saw an image of my mother, talking to me when I was a kid . Then the news of my parents dying, flashed before my eyes .

Then, I felt someone grabbing me and dragging me back . The headache eased a bit the further I moved away from the stone . I took in large gulps of air due to the pain . Then I heard "Boy, are you alright?" . It was the voice of the Village Chief . I took a few more breaths in and out, then responded "I"m fine . I don"t know what happened . My head hurts like h.e.l.l and then, I saw memories of my mother" . The Village Chief asked "Does this happen often?" to which I said "No, it never happened before . What exactly is that stone and those markings?"

He looked at me for a while, then said "This is our ancestry stone . Our founder fought a great battle here and killed a beast by piercing that large stone through it . After the battle, he decided to settle in this place and founded this village . It was very long time ago and none of us know what those runes mean . We call them runes by the way" .

I asked "Did this happen to anyone else before?" to which he shook his head and said "No, it"s just a stone with some runes . Although it has been here for as long as people can remember, this never happened . At least to my knowledge" . I stood up and said "I"m fine now . I should probably go and rest" . He said "Yes, go do that" . I left and returned back to the hut, where Woody was still carving something .I turned toward Ricky and waited for the instructions . The guy was still in daze but after a while snapped out of it and said Im Ricky, which you know already by the way . This kid over here is Natan . Follow me, I will show you what you can do . I followed after Ricky while the kid called Natan, said in whisper to his friend Im not a kid . We arrived at a small hut, that was further away from the central plaza and the entrance to the village . Ricky said This is where we process wood and create various things . We make some tools or we use some wood as heat source and cooking fire . This will be your job . You will go inside and the person working there will explain everything to you . I asked Is this where I will work all the time? . Ricky responded Are you not satisfied? . I shook my head and said No, its fine . I know my way around wood a bit . I can also help with smithing, although my experience in that department is much more shallow . The guy seemed surprised and said First work here . If what you say is true, we can maybe think about the other job . Then both youngsters left . I purposefully asked about smithing job . I needed to create a few daggers and if I could get some ore to make those daggers, that would be great . I entered the hut and saw a elderly man carving a piece of wood . He seemed busy and didnt turn around to speak to me, so I waited for him to finish . I stood there looking and after a while, I noticed that the man was carving a wooden handle for some sort of tool . From his carving, I could see that he was very experienced . this meant that he probably did this for many years . Each stroke of the carving knife was precise and decisive . I stood there and admired his skills, I too worked with these type of tools in the past and I knew my way around wood . The elder man finished his carving after a while and was about to reach for the next piece of wood . I called out to him h.e.l.lo . Im here to work . The man turned around and said I know . I could hear your conversation with Ricky . You are quite patient, you allowed me to finish my work before you disturbed me . Is it true that you worked with wood in the past? . I nodded my head and said Yes, I was a craftsman in the past . This was my professions… It probably still is, I didnt change my profession really . Although its been a while since I did anything properly, I should still be able to help you . The elder man said This will save me the trouble of teaching you then . Im Woody, this name was given to me by my father, who also carved . Come, I will show you what to do . I followed Woody to the workbench not far away and he started explaining my job . I want you to carve the arrow shafts . Its not really difficult but it requires you to create a balance and specific size . This is the size and balance I would like you to create he said and shoved me a completed shaft of an arrow . I took it and examined it in details . The shaft was much more exquisite than those of the Eterian Laly . It had a very good balance and wasnt too thin or thick . It was pretty much perfect . I said Did you create this? Its very well balanced and would create nice shaft for the arrow head . Your skills are very good . Woody didnt mind the compliment and said If you can create shafts like those, that would be great . Did you ever do stuff like that? to which I responded Not really or at least, Im not experienced with arrow shafts but I will certainly try my best . Woody smiled for the first time and said Good, then start your work I sat down at the workbench and started creating the shafts . It mightve seemed simple in the beginning but I soon found that it was actually quite hard to make a balanced shaft . It took me about an hour to make one, that was of similar quality to the one Woody showed me . The more I did it, the more used I became to it and after a few hours of work, I was able to create arrow shafts of similar quality . They werent as defined as the one Woody made but the balance was there and the shape was solid . At the end of the day, I managed to create about 50 of such arrow shafts, the others were discarded . When I stopped my work, I asked Woody who was still working So where do I stay the night? . Woody still worked on his own carving and replied You can sleep here . I dont have a second bed but if you are skilled enough, you can make your own . By the way, how many did you manage to create? . I replied I made 50 of them, they are not as good as yours but the balance is there and they have solid shape . I think they are going to be usable . I left them on the bench, if you want to check, you are free to do so . Woody replied while still working on his piece There is no need, I already saw them . They are not bad, that means you werent lying about your profession . Although they are a bit crude but they are certainly usable . You can rest or work some more, If you want to leave and see the village, you are also free to do so, just dont disturb other people . I said Sure and prepared to make my own bed . The materials were already there, so I simply took some tools and started creating a solid wooden bed . It wasnt hard at all with all those tools available, the wooden planks were in abandon in the workshop as well . Soon my bed was constructed and I placed some animal skins on top of it, for some comfort . With that done, I decided to go out and have a proper look at this village . Its been awhile since I saw a village . I might as well go for a tour I thought and said to Woody I will go out for a bit to take a look . I will be back shortly . Woody didnt reply, so I just left . The village wasnt very big, it had all the necessary things inside but in overall it was as small as the h.o.r.eseplain Village, that I burned down in the past . It was constructed in peculiar way as well . All the roads led to the center plaza of the village . When I arrived there, I could see people walking to and from while doing something . In the middle of a plaza was a large stone, it was elongated and quite tall . It looked like a large, long rock, fell from the sky and pierced the ground . It looked different and I never saw that type of thing in any other village . Sure there would be some sculptures in a large village, for example of an ancestor who founded the village or the current Village Chief but this was neither of them . I came closer to have a look and noticed some carvings on it . They werent that apparent from far away and I didnt really pay attention before . I looked at the strange carvings and couldnt figure out what they were supposed to represent . The more I stared at the stone and those carvings, the more I felt that I knew this from somewhere . Suddenly, I got a splitting headache and could barely stand . I could hear voice… voice of my mother . Son, grow up and stay healthy, ok? . The headache intensified and I screamed ARGHHH! . The people on the street stopped whatever they were doing and looked at me . I couldnt think straight as I grabbed my head due to the pain . I screamed and screamed but to no avail, the headache didnt stop . I then saw an image of my mother, talking to me when I was a kid . Then the news of my parents dying, flashed before my eyes . Then, I felt someone grabbing me and dragging me back . The headache eased a bit the further I moved away from the stone . I took in large gulps of air due to the pain . Then I heard Boy, are you alright? . It was the voice of the Village Chief . I took a few more breaths in and out, then responded Im fine . I dont know what happened . My head hurts like h.e.l.l and then, I saw memories of my mother . The Village Chief asked Does this happen often? to which I said No, it never happened before . What exactly is that stone and those markings? He looked at me for a while, then said This is our ancestry stone . Our founder fought a great battle here and killed a beast by piercing that large stone through it . After the battle, he decided to settle in this place and founded this village . It was very long time ago and none of us know what those runes mean . We call them runes by the way . I asked Did this happen to anyone else before? to which he shook his head and said No, its just a stone with some runes . Although it has been here for as long as people can remember, this never happened . At least to my knowledge . I stood up and said Im fine now . I should probably go and rest . He said Yes, go do that . I left and returned back to the hut, where Woody was still carving something .