41 A Test of Skills

During my break the following day, I tried to copy the mood of a guest inside the tavern. He looked to be an adventurer, and quite tired as well. I tried to the best of my abilities, but didn't know whether it was right or wrong. 'I'll need to come back late afternoon, when there's more people. Maybe this way I'll find out whether this works or not', I figured.

Once my work was done, I headed straight to the tavern. The atmosphere was more bustling at that time, and some people were already drinking. 'With my past experience of drinking, I should be able to copy these people even while sober', I thought and then ordered something to drink. I wasn't going to drink it, but act like a drunk person.

Slowly but surely, I made it into a group of drinking men, who came by the village on their journey. They weren't dead drunk, but couldn't tell my acting from reality. They'd happily accept a round of drinks on me, and even inquired as to what my job was. I responded in the same louder voice, and acted drunk at all time. They were surprised I was a blacksmith, since certainly my body didn't look like it belonged to one.

Nonetheless, acting drunk and talking with these people seemed natural to me. I decided to call it a night after a while, and stumbled out of the tavern. 'They really had no clue, though this was an easy one. I know how drunk people behave very well, next time, I should try something different', I figured.

The training with Nick proceeded as usual. My aim was all over the place, while the collection of my dagger prompted Nick's words each time. As the days slowly passed, I managed to make more daggers, and learn a few things here and there. Besides being able to copy people better, the flexibility of my fingers and hands improved a lot. Though it wasn't at Nick's level yet, it was an improvement.

With five daggers, Nick whipped out another puppet. He assured me that fighting multiple opponents would teach me faster, even though I struggled with one puppet. Besides the usual training, the date for the wedding approached. Nick and others would leave the village for a while, which meant my revenge got closer and closer.

During the few last days, he made sure my ability to copy people wasn't useless. He also made sure to go through all the previous exercises with me. Whether it was balance, knowledge of pressure points or my aim, he tested them all. "I'm not claiming you are ready, but we don't have any more time really. The rest is up to you, whether you succeed or fail, that will depend on your abilities. I've given you the poison, and you have a weapon. Before you leave, I'll show you how to navigate the forest, find the desired direction, and of course make sure you memorize where Grasshill Village is", Nick explained.

He showed me a local map of the Great Forest. The map had a few villages, but the most important was of course the Grasshill Village. He then taught me how to find the northern direction based on the time of the day. During day, I could use the rising sun as my guide to find the direction. If that didn't work, there were herbs and plants in the forest that would grow towards certain directions. During the night on the other hand, stars became my map. He explained how to figure out which stars should be where, and how to tell direction based on them.

He mentioned a few other methods, that could be used in certain situations or seasons. "You might encounter wolves or bears on your way. I'm sure these shouldn't pose any threat to you, but just in case some variant appears, I'll give you this", he said while handing me a bottle of murky liquid. "This poison is called Cloud Haze Poison, and it's really deadly. You should be aware what sort of properties it has, right?", he added.

"Yes, this poison turns into a cloud or a mist once released. The area it covers varies due to weather, but it's not small. Anyway, once breathed in, this poison will spread to all organs with the circulation of the blood, and cease their functions. The death is pretty much guaranteed, unless antidote is taken", I said. "That's correct. Hence, you will get an antidote too. Nex, I'd rather you return without using this poison. Make sure to be careful, though your journey shouldn't be difficult. Forest between villages doesn't hide variants... usually. This is for that eventuality. Here, this bag will help you carry stuff around. And no, it doesn't have that formation. It's a normal bag", Nick said while gifting me a bag.

Though the lack of that formation made me a bit disappointed, it was still rare for him to shower me with gifts. Though it wasn't always obvious, Nick cared about me in his own way. "Thank you, I'm sure this will help out a lot", I replied. "Okay, let's go through a few more things. I'd rather you not get lost in the forest", he added with a grin.

The day finally arrived. Rand came to the smithy to announced their departure. "You can take these few days off, as promised. We should be back in a few days, if anything goes on, just let my attendant know. She's staying at my house", he said. "Sure, I'll take it easy for a few days. Have fun", I replied before Rand left the smithy.

I had to wait until the evening, before leaving the village myself. I considered getting that horse from the shack in the fields, but decided not to do that. The farmers would realise the absence, which in turn could reveal my absence. 'I'll have to thread through the forest, since that's the fastest path. Besides, I need to avoid trade routes as other people will see me', I figured.

Leaving the village wasn't a problem anymore. Even though the gates were closed for the night, I was able to easily climb over the palisade. After all, Nick wouldn't carry me all the time. As the night fell, I grabbed my bag filled with daggers and a few bottles, and left the village swiftly.

The forest was as dark as I remembered from my previous travelling experience. The difference was my experience, and a clear direction to head towards. I decided to travel during the night for a few reasons. One of them was the easy way to leave the village, while the other was nocturnal animals like wolves.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't curious how strong my body and skills became. I possessed confidence which was missing before, as well as proper daggers inside my bag. A wolf was a good opponent for me to face, and find out the results of my training. One hour after the other passed, but no wolves were in sight. I was a bit surprised, and perhaps disappointed, but that was about to change.

"Awooo!", the howling of a wolf sounded in my ears. 'Judging by the sound, it should be in that direction... Not that far away', I thought. Like a moth to a flame, I headed straight towards the howling wolf. The wolf wasn't alone, there were about four of them. 'They are pack animals after all... How should I approach this?', I asked myself while hiding behind the tree.

Four wolves were visible, but I wasn't sure how many there were for sure. My bag contained five daggers, but throwing them all was a stupid idea in this circumstance. My training with Nick proved how difficult it would be to retrieve them, in case two or more wolves survived. Killing one wasn't an issue though, as the element of surprise was still on my side. Besides, they mostly remained in one place, without making any sudden movements.

I observed them for a while, then got closer and closer. My practice with Nick really paid off. The forest's ground wasn't precisely clean. Branches, leaves, stones or bushes were everywhere, yet my feet made no sound. 'Good, this should be close enough', I figured, and prepared my daggers. Too close, and the wolves could notice, whereas too far, and my dagger would miss.

Though my aim wasn't great with rapidly moving targets, the story was different when the target remained motionless, or barely moved about. With one swift swing, a dagger flew through the air, and hit one of the wolves right in the neck. "Awooo!", the other wolves realised they were under attack, and quickly scoured their surroundings.

I was lucky the wolves didn't notice me, and I wasn't stupid enough to rush at them after that throw. Two more wolves appeared in my view, which meant more wolves than daggers. 'I can't throw all my daggers, I'll have to fight them up close... Before that, There needs to be two or three less of them', I thought.

Two wolves headed in my direction, while other three headed in the opposite. They were trying to find out who attacked them, but not individually. 'They aren't stupid enough it seems. Though two wolves less, should be enough. I think three wolves is something I'm able to handle', I thought and two daggers emerged from behind the tree, flying straight at the two wolves walking my way.

"Arwoo!...", one of them died, but the other managed to escape death. This wasn't ideal, as the other three were alarmed. Though my escape wouldn't be too hard, my strength and abilities weren't tested properly yet. It was a gamble, but a calculated one.

I rushed out from behind the tree, and quickly attacked the wolf who managed to survive. The other three were already rushing towards me, but the distance gave me enough time to collect my daggers from the two dead wolves in front of me. As the wolves approached closer and closer, I threw one of my daggers, rolled to the side, and threw one more.

The first dagger missed, but it was expected, that's why I rolled and threw another one. One of the wolves was severely injured, while the other two remained healthy. "Grrrowl!", the wolf closest to me jumped towards me. I quickly jump to the side, and managed to evade the pouncing wolf, but it's friend wasn't simply standing around either. As one wolf missed me, the other was about to bite me.

"As if!", I exclaimed and slashed at the wolf with my dagger. The wolf couldn't change the direction anymore, and even though my dagger injured it severely, it's body managed to tackle me in the end. The other wolf was already approaching, ready to bite my head off. "Ugh!", I lifted the dying wolf off of my body, and quickly rolled to the side.

The pouncing wolf barely missed its mark, but this was enough of an opening for me. I threw my dagger, straight at the wolf's belly. Though not lethal, it was enough to give me time. The wolf whimpered in pain, but was determined to chase me down. Unfortunately, I already managed to grab another dagger off of it's friend's carcass. *Swoosh*, "Arwoo....", the last wolf dropped with a final howl.

One of them remained alive, albeit too injured to run away or fight me. I ended it's misery, and retrieved all my daggers. "Haah, that was close. Thankfully, I'm strong enough to lift and push a wolf's body away. Otherwise, I could've been a goner. I really need to have more daggers... At least ten... or maybe fifteen", I said to myself looking at the dead wolves on the ground.

More daggers would of course weight more, but provide more throws at any given time. If the group was bigger, I'd struggle a lot more. Perhaps even use the poison that Nick gave me. That was a good check of my abilities, but I wasn't keen to try that out again. My curiosity was more than satisfied.

There were six wolves, and their meat or fur would be great, but I couldn't carry all that stuff. That didn't mean the meat would go to waste though. There were other animals who'd find these carcasses, and eat the meat. 'I'll grab some meat for myself. While I'm at it, it might be a good idea to learn how to extract meat or maybe even fur', I figured, then went straight to work.