A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

Troublesome though its ability to reform wood was, it didn't seem to be as quick as it needed to be. This time, as Oliver closed the distance between the two of them at lightning pace, it needed to use its other arm in an attempt to block, for the spear-arm was still having trouble reducing itself to meet him.

He feigned an attack towards the thinned-out arm. The creature hurried to block, forming a wooden shield with all its mass. Oliver ducked down, carried by the momentum of his own attack, and swept the Wood Sprites feet out from under it, earning a cry of surprise in return.

Disoriented, the Wood Sprite's vines sped off in the wrong direction, attempting to anticipate the strike that was to come. Oliver had already shifted to the other side and cast his sword down towards the Wood Sprite's neck.

With a spray of wood chips, it was over. It was as clean a kill as Oliver was likely to get, with the creature's neck only half severed, and whatever was on its insides – if anything – completely untouched.

Once more, he spared no time in hefting that corpse up, and dragging it backwards, knowing that he'd spent more time in this area than he'd intended to, and that if he wished to carry out his earlier plan of meeting the others back on the Gorebeast trail, he'd need to move a good deal faster.

It took a great bit of sprinting on Oliver's behalf – enough so that he had a sheen of sweat on his forehead – but he managed to drag the Wood Sprite corpse all the way back to the Gorebeast trail before the others had left. A minute or two later, and he would have missed them.

"Gods! What's that?" Karesh couldn't help but say once he was close enough to see the Wood Sprite corpse that Oliver had left in the snow.

"That's a Wood Sprite, isn't it?" Kaya said. "I've read about those."

"Mhm. It looks to be one. Were you not aware of what was being hunted today, Karesh?" Jorah said. "A simple process of elimination would have told you it was a Wood Sprite. It certainly isn't a Moonbear, after all."

"I have no idea what a Moonbear looks like," Karesh said, "but if we're talking about a process of elimination, I think I'd eliminate you first, Kaya."

"Amusing," Jorah said without the barest hint of a smile. "Do you not realize that we're in the middle of something?"

"It was just a joke."

"I see everyone's getting on well," Oliver commented dryly to Verdant, as he looked over the sledges.

Already, Pauline and Amelia had fallen, and both of them were taken a rest on Blackthorn's sledge, which currently happened to be getting pulled by Verdant.

The priest gave a small smile of amusement. "Even allowing for the concessions that you've made for us, on top of the original plan, it's proven to be quite challenging for them. More than a couple of arguments have been had – especially in regards to pulling Blackthorn's retainers along."

Now that Verdant mentioned it, he could see a particular tension in the air, as Amelia folded her arms, with an expression that was both ashamed, but also haughty and angry, as tell-tale a sign as any that she'd been in an argument, whilst Pauline seemed to be staring at the floor, her cheeks flushed, unwilling to make eye contact with anyone.

"The sledges are piling up as well," Oliver noted. They'd only taken what they needed from the corpses. They had an additional list from Nebular that Verdant was in charge of, telling them which particular parts of the creatures he was interested in.

Those wants were beginning to pile up, adding weight to the back of the previously empty sledges, on top of the two girls that they were already dragging along.

"Indeed…" Verdant said. "Worry not though, my Lord. Because of your assistance dragging the Wood Sprite all the way back here, we'll be able to afford a minute or two of rest, which should be able to keep them in check until the next pickup."

"How's it affecting you?" Oliver asked. "Tired?"

"Hm… Now that you mention it… I don't feel too bad," Verdant said, seeming surprised by that fact. "Strange, is that not? I don't push myself physically nearly as hard as I should. I would expect to be keeled over out here."

"The Blessing of Behomothia," Oliver mused. "As well as your recent training."

"I can think of nothing else," Verdant agreed, "I was never particularly good at endurance running in my days at the Academy, so this is indeed a most remarkable and welcome surprise."

"How about you?" Oliver said, calling over to Blackthorn, who was even quieter than usual, her chest heaving up and down, and her hair plastered to her forehead.

"Fine," she said, straightening up the second that she called on him, trying to make a show of indifference, but she could do nothing to hide how flushed her cheeks were from the cold and from the exertion.

"You could head back to the gate with Pauline and Amelia," Oliver suggested. "From here, the enemies should be light, and for your strength, they shouldn't prove to be troublesome."

"I don't want to," Blackthorn quickly said. "I'm fine."

"I know you are. They're not," Oliver replied, pointing at the girls.

A look of guilty understanding passed over her face. "Ah…" she said, realizing. "I shouldn't have… I'm sorry. Since I brought them, I should be the one looking after them, yet it's Verdant who's pulling the sledge."

"Don't apologise to me," Oliver said. "They're the one's getting inconvenienced. Fine, even if I pushed it and forced you to go back with them, I'm sure the three of you would be irritated – but I don't doubt that my own retainers are getting just as irritated by now. If they're going to stay, get some use out of them."

"I am being useful!" Amelia said, rather loudly. Oliver had thought that she might have been overhearing their conversation, but that little outburst quickly gave herself away. "I've been helping cut up the meat!"