The Commander went to discuss this with Thomwea and Yoboc. I explored around the base of the wall where Rock Eater fell and then wider. I went as far as the stream, and it was fresh water. One of the first basic lessons is to know the ground you might end up fighting on. It was hard rock and very uneven. If you have one misplaced foot, you will end up with a broken ankle. A dodge-roll was going to be very painful. There will be no sliding along the ground.

  I spent some time examining the rock protrusion that Yoboc claimed was a rib. I got out my chisel and chipped some off. It was very, very hard to chip. I would have to re-sharpen my chisel. It had the same cold vastness that the “scales” did. They were connected spiritually, at least as far as my senses went. More sensitive people might detect other variations, but the base spirituality was the same.

  I climbed to the opening, which was being widened. I found a piece of the so-called scales that were being stockpiled to be taken back for analysis. They were not as hard as the “rib”.

  “The Ship! The Ship has arrived,” a dwarf yelled as he ran down the tunnel. He stopped where the Commander and Thomwea were and said, “Mistress, the Captain is not waiting. There is a storm inbound, and the channel is already too narrow. He wants to leave on the morning tide.”

  Thomwea’s voice rose above the sound of mining: “Everybody stop! The ship has arrived! All hands are on loading the ship as it leaves in the morning.” She turned to me: “Ivan, you are on watch here while we load the ship.” She turned to the others, “The Commander will be looking for volunteers to stay the winter and watch the camp and this find. Move it, you bunch of scraggly beards.”

  They moved. Undoth collected the pile of “scales” to take, and I was soon left alone in the dark. I was still holding the scale I had picked up. I wonder how many will stay?

  I picked up a pick and chipped away at the stone above the entrance tunnel, and I made a space for the largest Light gem I had, which wasn’t that large. The weak light shone out into the cavern and was useful for my Nightsight. I kept the smaller one on my helmet.

  I kept moving in a circle, looking for danger. I guess that is called patrolling. About an hour later, the light above the tunnel went out, and I was plunged into darkness, except for the dim light on my helmet. I was still convinced it made me a target. Like, what took out the tunnel light?

  I ducked low, removed the light stone from my helmet and moved in stealth towards the tunnel. I held the stone in my hand away from my body to give me light to see. Attaching it to a pole is probably better, but later. First, find out why my light went out.

  Suddenly, the light was back and brighter. I looked up and saw a dwarf silhouetted against the light. He was stepping down from replacing the light gem with a larger one. Then I caught his scent and recognised it. I stood and walked to the base of the wall.

  “Hello, lad,” Yoboc said. “I brightened your day.”

  A voice chimed in.

  “In a dark cave, the light softly gleamed,

  Casting shadows that danced and dreamed.

  It showed the way clear,

  Easing every fear,

  In the stillness where echoes seemed.”

  Goldie was with him.

  “Hello, you two. I was not expecting you,” I said.

  “Well, we wanted to see this wonder,” Yoboc said,

  Goldie slowly eyed me up and down and winked, “Yep, still a wonder. The cave’s not bad either.”

  I was slowly getting to understand Goldie. This type of talk and look was some sort of sexual reference that seemed to be aimed at causing some sort of embarrassment in dwarven culture. It was linked to wearing pants in humanoid form. I am not sure why sexual references and genitals would be embarrassing. Everyone has sexual organs, so why are they an embarrassment? Why is sex embarrassing? It is required to create offspring, so I am still not totally getting it. I put it aside, but I think Goldie has made me her focus in this.

  “We volunteered to stay, so we were sent down to keep an eye on things,” Yoboc said.

  “We volunteered to get out of loading the ship all night, you mean,” Goldie said.

  “That too,” Yoboc said.

  “By volunteering to stay, do you mean staying for the winter?” I asked.

  “That’s right, you gorgeous hairy ass. We are staying the winter,” Goldie said.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “But you are a Forrester and Hunter not a Miner or Guard? Why?”

  “I have no reason to go home,” Yoboc said, “and I would like to stay by Sheila for a bit longer. We both spent time in mines in our youth.”

  “Which is why we chose the forest route,” Goldie added, “However, a change of scenery for a while is fine.”

  I looked at her with a raised eyebrow question. She bypassed the half formed path and grabbed the ropes that had been attached and slid down to me. As she walked past she whispered, “Sheila hated enclosed spaces. This will have less reminders than outside.” I guess that made sense.

  Goldie started to look around as Yoboc made his way down the path. Over the last few months, Yoboc opened up with stories of Sheila as we carved her monument. They had been together a bit over two decades. I was surprised to learn Yoboc had a bond prior to Sheila, a red fox named Copper. It is clear he is still missing Copper, even though he died a couple of years before he bonded with Sheila.

  Yoboc offered to teach me the mental exercises to form a bond but I haven't decided. The loss Yoboc went through seemed to be to much, but then I found out he did it again after a previous loss. Why? Us bear-kin are solitary creatures. I will think about it. Is it a skill I want if I am never going to use it? Yoboc did say knowing the skills for a bond does not mean you have to form a bond and it should boost my Mental Agility.

  The Commander, Eric and one other dwarf turned up the following morning with food. The dwarf was Orir Silverbeard the beastmaster, he had two huskies with him.

  The Commander took charge, “We are setting up our main camp in the staging area by the entrance. There will be a rotating guard here. Orir has sent the donkeys back with the ship but has his huskies to watch the camp. Two other patrollers are setting up the camp now, Sinmot and Hadal, and that is all of us.”

  I am pretty sure there were eight huskies on the team, and probably Felix. Yoboc voiced what I was thinking: “That is a lot of mouths to feed, Commander, especially with the dogs.”

  He nodded. “We will need to hunt and fish, even with what Thomwea left us. I counted the dogs as worth it as they would give plenty of warning of trespassers. The biggest unknown is this cavern. Did you notice the slight breeze from the mine? That means air is blowing through, and therefore, there are other entry points.”

  I remembered catching Yoboc’s smell, but it didn’t occur to me that meant the air was moving or that the air would probably not have been breathable in here if there weren’t other entrances. I am not a miner.

  Yoboc just nodded, “You need us to scout this area?”

  The Commander nodded, “It will be one of our first tasks. I tried to get Undoth to stay, but Thomwea wouldn’t let him. He has mapping skills that also link to his prospecting skills.” he looked at Yoboc, “How is your mapping?”

  “Not as good as Undoths and not for finding minerals, but it can map the cavern and any accesses.”

  The Commander nodded, “Good, that is the minimum we need. Go and get some rest,” he told us three. “Eric and I are going to start trapping the tunnel, so don’t come back until we show you where they are.”

  We nodded and headed off. “How did you get the mapping skill?” I asked Yoboc, as it seemed to be a very handy skill.

  “When I specialised Hunter with Scout, I got it from the class specialisation. You knew a relevant skill comes when you specialise a Basic class, didn’t you?” I nodded. Youboc had gotten in the habit of checking my basic knowledge, as I had some major gaps in my education. I was also turning eight years old, so I didn’t have a lot of experience. You had to learn the skills for a basic class, both Skills and the job skills that weren’t on our statuses. When you specialise, it comes with a relevant skill, but it is not always the same one every time. It varies depending on your experience.

  “How close are you to Journeyman level in your Hunter Scavenger Class?” he asked me.

  “I am level 9, so I just have to bump it up to 10 to be a Journeyman,” I replied.

  “Good,” he said. “I have been giving you scout training when we went hunting. However, you won’t be a scout as Scouts need Farsight and a ranged weapon, although your Throwing Weapons might qualify. I am pretty sure you are also short on Physical Agility, but that will come. Hunter specialises in Scout, but I am not sure about Hunter Scavenger. However, once we get you over the line to Journeyman, you should be close to specialisation, and you can use Identify to see what you need.”

  “Wow, thanks,” I said. “I never realised.” Then I thought about all the scouting tricks he taught me about marking the trails and what to look for when searching for a route. Then there were the hand signals and a lot about the area and animals. I thought it was for levelling my Hunter Scavenger Class, but it was obviously more than that.

  “You weren't supposed to,” said Goldie. “Some training is better if you are working towards it, and some is best if you just learn stuff.” She grinned, “And sometimes it is just fun to watch you being oblivious and see what you get.”

  I thought for a bit and looked at her, “What have you been teaching me?”

  She just laughed and said, “I look forward to finding out.”

  By my count, we had seven dwarves and nine dogs, including Felix, and then me. The Guards, in order of seniority, were the Commander, Eric, Sindot, Hadal and then me at the bottom. Orir, Yoboc and Goldie were not in the chain of command, but they had a lot of experience. I was still at the bottom of those not in the chain of command. I was the fetch and carry and general help. This was not how I expected to spend the winter.

  The next day, everybody was diverted to clean up the camp and close it for the winter. There was a storm on the horizon, and this took priority. The dog kennels were moved to be near the mine entrance, but the dogs had a section of the staging area marked out for their use. The smell of wet dog is going to get to me, I can tell.

  The storm didn’t arrive until the early hours of the morning, and I was put on entrance watch for the day. My Clearsight did help me see through the sleet and snow. It was not a great help, but it will be when it levels. I spent most of the day in my Bear form, as it was better protection against the weather.

  That night, I arranged a den for myself in the staging area. I widened out an uneven section of the wall and set empty ore crates as a barrier. I padded out a sleeping area for my bear form.

  I needed a visual barrier from Goldie as she would stare at me when I changed to and from my Humanoid form. I think she must have a mental sickness because she doesn’t do that to the other dwarves, and she is the only woman here.

  I say I built myself a den, but I was soon joined by Felix. I didn’t mind.