Sarah's Story Chapter 061 - A New Skill

A word on the tip of her tongue.

A thought that wouldn’t fully form.

Something like the feeling of a gaze on her skin.

Sarah sat on top of a cart loaded high with goods, on the lookout for monsters and bandits as the caravan passed through the mountains between Iberteria and the rest of the continent. The weak, late-winter sun barely warmed her skin. The air was chilly and thin. The predominant scents were pine and oak trees, but dampened by the remaining cold and moisture in the air.

Sarah frowned. Was it her [Family Trace]? Since she had left home, she had found that she could still generally tell where her family members were. Even her Aunt; she could tell she was still in the capital city.

There was something, though, and it was really annoying.

In the distance she heard the cry of a wyvern, faint enough that she was certain she was the only one who heard it, and far enough away that there was no point in alerting the entire caravan.

It made the sensation worse, and she tensed up.

“Tch.”

Eventually her shift on overwatch ended, and she returned to walking alongside the caravan with the rest of the guards.

They were still on the continental side of the mountains, even after weeks of travel. And there was months to go yet before she reached the Iberterian capital.

Was this feeling going to continue the whole time?

“Sarah.”

A deep baritone voice broke through her frustrated reverie, and Sarah jerked her head up at the mountain of a man. He was Zachary, the leader of the caravan guards, and he had over twenty years of experience guiding caravans along this route.

“You’re not going to make it if you don’t relax, lass.”

Sarah bit her lip, but then caught herself and nodded. “Yes, Leader.”

The man frowned awkwardly. “Oi, I’ve told you, you don’t need to be formal with me. I’m only B Rank after all.”

Sarah nodded again, not trusting herself to speak.

“Are you worried about your brother?”

Sarah had shared her story early on. All the adventurers, and even most of the merchants had. They were going to be traveling together for months, after all.

“I, well, yes, but it’s not that.” Sarah couldn’t find the words to describe the feeling.

“Hrmmm…” Zachary looked down at the clearly frustrated young woman. He was truly blessed this season, to have an A Rank Scout and Fighter in their caravan. He’d never had it so easy as this trip so far.

But the rest of the scouts were getting complacent.

“Sarah, take a couple days off.”

“Huh?”

“Stop working. It’s not that we don’t all appreciate your backup, but if you’re so tense the entire journey, you’re simply not going to make it.”

Zachary paused, and looked at the scenery he’d seen a dozen times before. The mountains stayed the same, even as the trees grew and fell and grew again.

“Try to enjoy the mountains, while we’re here. They’re one of the most beautiful places in the world, especially this time of year, when they’re still passable but the snowcaps haven’t melted. Go explore. Wander a bit. Get a feel for the land. Relax.”

He looked down at the woman, over a foot shorter than himself. Even in the cold, she only wore simple, loose clothing, and though she wore boots, they were the only concession she made to the elements or rugged terrain. Her hair was long, and braided, and at the end of the braid there was a jade ring woven in.

Her fists were clenched so tightly her knuckles were white.

Her tension was starting to spread to the rest of the guards, and especially the merchants. They were worried there was something to worry about.

“I’ll even give you leave to drink, if that’s what it takes.”

“You don’t need to go that far,” Sarah pouted. But then she sighed, rolled her shoulders, and met Zachary’s concerned gaze.

“Okay, a couple days?”

“Yeah, check in at mealtimes, and I’d rather you didn’t wander off at night, but if you must, just let the watch know you’re going out and when you’re coming back.”

Sarah gave him a small smile and then left, her magic bag on her hip.

The merchants complained to Zachary, but he rebuffed them. “She’s a young woman, freshly promoted to A Rank, and she’s stressed out about a missing family member. And this is her first time in this area, she’s never traveled the mountains before, and she’s going to an entirely new Kingdom. Of course she’s tense. It’ll be fine; my crew is more than strong enough to handle anything or anyone in these mountains. Like as not she’ll go out, hunt down some strong beastie, and come back smiling.”

Zachary, a Guide, was able to keep track of Sarah’s position within a certain range anyway. And if anything happened, he couldn’t imagine so dutiful a young woman ignoring the emergency whistle and doing anything but rush back to lend aid.

Sarah, for her part, didn’t stray far. The first day she let the caravan pass ahead, and strolled slowly along the path, just trying to enjoy the scenery. She sprinted ahead for dinner, and then spent the dusk watching the sunset and trying to relax.

She woke up tense the next morning, well before sunrise. She let the early morning watch know she was heading out, and she went and climbed the tallest tree she could find, and watched the sunrise from there.

The scent of pine and the brisk morning air was invigorating. The view was absolutely stunning. The sun rose over the horizon, and striking shadows formed all over the mountains, forming bands of light and dark. Early morning fog burned off, and the light dazzled as it reflected off the snowy peaks of the mountains.

For a long minute, she just sat and enjoyed it. Enjoyed the sensations, enjoyed the information about her surroundings streaming past her consciousness without analysis.

Finder Class Skill [Hot and Cold] has been acquired.

The intrusive thought passed, and it was only a minute later that Sarah twitched and realized she had a new sense.

She descended the tree as fast as she could, leaping and dropping from branch to branch, and she dashed back to the caravan. She could tell, something was different. After checking in and wolfing down some porridge from the communal pot, she dashed ahead on the path the caravan would take.

It was subtle, but she could tell.

Finder Class Skill [Hot and Cold] has reached level 2.

Her missing brother’s face flashed through her mind, and she felt like she was getting warmer.

[Hot and Cold] had been one of the skills the Avenger Class had offered her, what felt like a lifetime ago. Avenger had described it as the weakest of the Skills it could offer, and said that the trade off would be that Sarah would be unable to feel warmth in exchange.

The hot porridge in her belly gave the lie to that statement.

She ran and she ran, and two miles ahead of the caravan, she stopped.

She was indeed getting warmer.

“Woohoo!” she shouted, and her cry of elation rang through the mountains, echoing over and over in reality as a weak imitation of the joy in her heart.

The plan was working.

The Finder Class was going to work.

She had already resolved to kicking down every door in the world if that was what it took to find her kidnapped brother.

But after so many years of training and searching, without any concrete evidence that she was getting closer… It had worn her down.

But now, she knew. She could feel it.

She was getting closer to James.

She tested the Skill against the caravan, and ran up and down the path, but…

She skidded to a stop and frowned.

The Skill just felt warm. It didn’t change at this range.

She was near to the caravan. That was as much as she could tell. Of course, with her other Skills and her Perception, she could easily hear the men and women and animals preparing to set off on another day of trekking through the mountains.

She sat down on top of a large boulder overlooking the caravan’s path and meditated on this. She could feel the gazes of the merchants and guards as they passed, but ignored them. The new Skill consumed all her focus.

The caravan passed, and she tracked it in her mind.

She sat there for several hours more, and then as the sun reached its zenith, she leapt up and sprinted along the path, reaching the caravan as the lunch rations were handed out.

“Sarah, you look better already!” Zachary said as she was checking out.

“Yeah, I got a new Skill. I’m testing it out.”

“Ooh, congratulations,” he said, impressed.

After an afternoon of testing, Sarah decided that the Skill was just too weak. It was only level two, after all. She would have to train it, the same as any other Skill.

That evening she turned in early, and for the first time in a long time, she overslept, and had to be awoken by a fellow guard so that she didn’t miss the morning porridge.

After conferring with Zachary, they agreed that Sarah would resume regular shifts the next day.

After another day of enjoying the mountains—Zachary was right, they really were beautiful—Sarah was on her way back when she found a Mountain Stag blocking her path. The B Rank monster was huge, ten feet tall at the haunch, with a massive rack of antlers with over two dozen points. The mountain quaked with each hoof-fall, and its gaze upon the Brawler and Finder was heavy.

Mountain Stags were territorial, and the males especially were aggressive year-round. They were earth-aligned, and used their affinity to keep their footing in rugged terrain and boost their defenses generally.

Sarah picked up a stone from the ground, and took a sling from her bag, and started whipping it around.

Fwip!

Thock!

[Technique: Critical Strike]

[Technique: Stunning Blow]

Brawler Class Skill [Sling] has reached level 7.

The Mountain Stag was stunned, but didn’t fall. It merely bleated in pain and lost track of the trespassing human, only for a second.

And then it felt its head jerked back by its antlers, and a sharp knife at its throat, and it was bleeding out before it could react…

And in the end, Zachary was exactly right. Sarah came back dragging a massive seven hundred pound Mountain Stag that evening, with a refreshed smile on her face, and the caravan was treated to fresh meat of which everyone ate their fill.

The Mountain Stag turned out to be the biggest threat to the caravan over the next six weeks, and they reached the frontier trading city of Corto early, even before the vernal equinox.

Sarah had been practically vibrating with positive energy as they made their approach.

“He’s been here… he’s been near here!” she muttered excitedly.

Zachary made a complicated expression. “Are you going to drop out of the caravan?” he asked. Sure, the road from here to Cordova was much safer, but he’d rather the best Scout with whom he’d ever worked stick it out.

Sarah tilted her head, thought about it for a few seconds, and then shook her head side to side. “No, I’m not dropping out. We’re here for a week, right? I’ll do some investigating, but I’m pretty sure he’s not here now.”

[Hot and Cold] was feeling warmer, but it didn’t feel like he was here. But if she had to guess, they hadn’t passed him yet, so she’d keep going. She could always double back if she went too far.

Zachary smiled. “Good, good. We’ll gather again to leave for Cordova in eight days. We’re all staying at the Mercado Inn, so if you need me, you can leave a message with the concierge and I’ll get it.”

Sarah nodded. The caravan had booked a room for her as well. Though it was small, it was a room for her alone, a privilege reserved for her only because she was A Rank. Even Zachary was sharing a room with several other guards.

They checked in around midday, after spending the morning getting through the city gates and entry inspections. Sarah proudly avoided paying any entry fees, herself, by flashing her A Rank Adventurer’s Crest.

“Oh, an A Rank Adventurer? How rare. You better go check in with the Adventurer’s Guild, on the main street.” The guard was polite and professional, even though Sarah looked like a petite young woman.

“Is something going on?” Zachary interrupted, concerned about the caravan’s safety.

“No, nothing in particular,” the guard replied. “But there’s always some outstanding issue, you know? Stuff lower ranks can’t handle.”

Sarah nodded sagely. She remembered the money transfer quests she had completed to promote to C Rank in a hurry.

“Yeah, I’ll check it out. There’s also a quest I want to check,” she grinned.