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 flames, 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 pa.s.sed 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 pa.s.s, would try it anyway . After awhile of hesitation, Frosty nodded its head, and walked towards the borderline .

I watched with antic.i.p.ation . 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 pa.s.sed without a problem, it then proceeded to pa.s.s 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 pa.s.s 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 a.s.similated 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 pa.s.sed 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 a.s.sumed, 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 "h.e.l.lo 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 b.u.t.ted in "He is collecting some gra.s.s, 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 a.s.sume" . 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 weary, 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 .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 wasnt 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, its 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 flames, 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 Ive 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 didnt have enough food, in order to stay there . I also didnt 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 didnt train on my way back . I wanted to return as fast as possible . Time pa.s.sed slowly, but without the sun, I didnt 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 dont want to learn anything! . I didnt 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 didnt know what would happen, when a creature that was unable to pa.s.s, would try it anyway . After awhile of hesitation, Frosty nodded its head, and walked towards the borderline I watched with antic.i.p.ation . 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 . Frostys arm pa.s.sed without a problem, it then proceeded to pa.s.s 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 . Lets see if we can pa.s.s 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 didnt 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 havent 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 . Doesnt 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 a.s.similated animals, that the Black Sludge took control of . I didnt dispose of them . For one, the animals were already dead and secondly, these belonged to Crows race . It wouldnt feel right, exterminating his race . Although we didnt have many interactions, Crow is a nice guy . I can treat him as a friend, of course provided, he doesnt 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 shouldnt 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 arms freezing ability . I didnt 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 didnt change . It seemed that the environment didnt 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 lakes water was very clean, the fishes were swimming around happily, and there were some herbs growing here and there . I thought I didnt 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 dont 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, Im 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, doesnt 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 pa.s.sed 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 dont know what they want, but I surely smell trouble I thought . I always had troubles, when meeting humans in the forest . I therefore always a.s.sumed, 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 h.e.l.lo 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 didnt pay much attention to them, but still acted politely . We are going there for the first time . If youve been there already, we would like to ask for some tips . They are not stupid, I must admit . Although, I dont intend to share any information for free I thought . After a while, I said Ive been there, but if you want information, I will not give them to you for free . The guy didnt seem to mind it and said We can pay you . Especially, if your information is useful to us . I said I dont 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 . Dont worry, my informations can save your lives . If you think Im 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 shouldnt 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 b.u.t.ted in He is collecting some gra.s.s, 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 didnt know whenever to prepare or wait . I decided to help them out on that, and said Im 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 wouldve done it a long time ago . With that sentence, the four people took out their weapons . Im not a great negotiator… I thought . The leader guy, finally decided to go for it, and dumped everything out from the bag . I said Thats 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 Its 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 mustve realised, that I probably didnt lie . I replied I never said, you didnt . You also didnt 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 dont 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 its very hard to get food in the North . I said Good . Make sure you have more than you a.s.sume . 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 dont 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 didnt 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 Dont 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, dont go there . There are also some Flaming Horses or whatever they are called . They will be much faster than you, so I wouldnt 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 dont step on it . You mightve 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 dont 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 weary, but who wouldnt be, when they met someone for the first time . I hope they do alright I though, as I went back to my herb collection .