B2-Chapter 5: Rumblings.

B2-Chapter 5: Rumblings.

Farmer Doleds eyes twitched between my face and the veritable offering that rested upon my upturned palms. His face remained impassionate -much as it could be when a stranger offered you a fortune- but his scent betrayed any emotion he attempted to hide. On the surface, he chewed over his thoughts, a man on the edge of accepting my offer. Underneath, the scents of uncertainty and adrenaline raced.

This seems well and good enough. The middle-aged human finally admitted. A more than reasonable offer for my land, given everything thats been happenin lately.

I am aware. I nodded in quiet stoicism. He was not the first farmer to take my coin today, and heavens willing, he would not be the last. A modest farmstead and decently maintained land not too far from my own. We were both aware that what I offered was a decent, generous sum that was just a tad more than what the land was worth. House and animals included.

He wanted more.

I could be persuaded to part with my hard-earned land. But tis a hard thing, for a man to give up what is his. He glanced me up and down all the while, his scent reeking of uncertainty. Lots of memories here. Lots of time. Might need some time to think it over.

The decision was already made, I knew. Now came the part where he tried to get as much value from my generosity as possible. I could respect that, on some level. Yet that did not mean I was wholly willing to play along.

Think quickly, then. I rumbled back, fully straightened to loom over him. There was fright in his stench now, but such was not my intent. I was merely tired of having to hunch forward to better talk to the man.

There are others who would be more than happy to take this coin. I have offered you the courtesy of time, and coin that more than equals the wealth of your land. Yet I am not deprived of other options. You are paid for the convenience, not the need.

What I spoke was the truth. If he wanted to drive a harder bargain and attempt to wring more gold from me, there were options aplenty further down the mountain slopes. While further away, there was only so much I was willing to pay for sheer convenience. I had already purchased the land from several of this mans neighbors that was closer to my own homestead, yet his would neatly round out this section. The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.

The decision had been made to approach every landower here patiently, with pleasant greetings and chats of the weather before I inevitably sprung the offer to neatly purchase all their land from underneath them. There was a price of what the amassed acreage was worth, and there was a cost of what it would sell for. These people were, in general, a stubborn lot. Had to be, to make it both as a farmer and to live somewhere so far away from the rest of society.

Several had left me with offers to think it over and contact me once the decision was made. Those, I had respected, for even coins allure could not convince men and women to quickly part with homes they had sunken years of daily effort into.

Farmer Doled, however, had already made his decision. From what Ishila had told me of the neighbors, he was more than eager to be rid of this property and onto a new step in life. Now came the matter of how stubbornly he negotiated price. One could argue that I was stubborn in my refusal to go higher as well, yet I preferred to be thought of as firm.

Once at the mountains very foot, I veered across the road towards Hullbretch and kept on for a time, then turned back towards the slopes on a much smaller, far less maintained path. Up I climbed on what could be accurately described as a fair-weather trail. Growth choked to either side here, and at times overtook the meager trail entirely.

Map unfurled and sweat caking my hide, I poured the remnants of my waterskin down my throat and wondered if this was a reasonable use of precious time. Ishila had promised it was, and the orc had yet to let me down.

Perseverance yielded reward, albeit much later. The trees ended abruptly and I emerged into what would best be described as a massive crater upon the land. Yet this was not a rocky, ruined wasteland. The earth here was lush and loamy, a massive reserve of soil and land.

All unclaimed, or so I was told. The crater itself was not overtly steep, I found as I paced along the edge. Simply large. Grass, weeds, and blooms overran its soil and tree roots poked from the edges. Large enough to fit the entirety of my home farm several times over. Others might look at this and see the mess of weeds, roots and boulders, but I chose to see opportunity.

Once more, I rolled out the map that Velton had drawn up for his daughter. If the elfs geometry was correct, I was not physically far from my own home. Thick, choked forests lay between this destination and my land. With no path, the only option was to go down the mountainside to follow the trail over and up again, a multi-hour journey on the best of days.

In the rain or at night, I myself would be hard-pressed to make this journey. The forest presented a barrier for even the hardiest of humans. Massive trees swarmed by undergrowth, bushes, layers of ancient leaves and growths of every variety presented an impossibility that would render almost anyone lost within moments. Canopies above blotted out the sun and made direction meaningless.

And yet. I was a minotaur. There was an axe at hand. And I had a dream, a need for this place. If the forest would block my way, then the forest would be made to yield.

The afternoons sweltering heat had begun to cool come the time when I finished my examination of the land and turned to my task. I checked and doubled the map to ensure I was correctly lined up. Once satisfied, I hefted the enchanted axe and began to swing in powerful, measured strokes. Trees crashed down around me -occasionally onto my form- as I began to cleave a path of destruction through these woods.

If there was no path available, I would make my own. I returned to a simpler time, now. Cut, push and move on. My trail was marred with destruction as I clove the forest in twain, a path of shattered trees and trampled growth left behind me. I was thirsty long before the end was in sight. Yet I trusted the map and pushed on. My faith was put in Velton that this was indeed only a quarter-mile stretch of woods I needed to rip through. For now, I focused only upon the larger, much more obvious trees to hew down.

There were people on the road, I realized as the trees abruptly ended. The massive trunk next to me tethered and began to fall. A tired, agonizing moment later, I realized that instead of standing there and watching it, I could just grab and heave the damn thing in another direction.

There were yells of surprise as the tree reversed direction and collapsed back into the forest, its weight and trajectory tearing down others in its path. I did what any friendly person would do, then. Waved, hoisted my axe, and stood to admire my handiwork. A rough guess put me somewhere between my farm and Veltons property. The road seemed familiar enough with its curve and upward climb. There was a path marked out now, however slim that was. Once I had other things under control, I would return and shape this into a proper road through sheer stubbornness.

That, however, was a task for another day. Now, I really could use several drinks of water. Perhaps something stronger, given the occasion.