Chapter 2: The Island
Morn clenched his drill tightly, one hand on the gas-lever, one hand on the igniter. He drew ragged breaths through his mask, his nerves on edge. The bubbling screams of the Levjottun echoed through the forest occasionally, never allowing Morn's guard to drop.
After a quarter hour, the screams sounded distant. In another few minutes, they stopped entirely. As they moved further inland, the forest thinned- allowing Morn to spot a column of smoke reaching into the sky.
"Azur, look."
Morn pointed to the smoke cloud.
"A settlement?" Azur muttered.
Morn nodded, "It must be."
The two quickened their pace, arriving at a small, walled village shortly after. The walls of the village were several metres high, only the roofs of the buildings within the walls could be seen.
The walls themselves were made of the same stone as the cliffs. They were either recently cleaned, or recently constructed- as they were free of moss or dirt.
The walls formed a large enclosure, capped at one end by a large wooden gate. A man stood at the gate, a well constructed spear in his hand. As Azur and Morn approached, they removed their masks. The guard quickly spotted the two, his spear swung forward into position as he let out a startled yelp.
"You two, stop right there!"
The pair froze, obeying the wary guard. Azur began to speak, hoping to calm the man.
"We don't mean any trouble. Our boat was wrecked by a class 5 Levjottun at the edge of Fairjott. We came here on the rowboat, hoping for shelter until we can return to Yol."
The guard seemed to relax slightly, but not completely.
"Yol, you say?" The man stared at the pair's drills, "Harvesters, are ya?"
Morn and Azur nodded.
"Yes. We were on a harvesting expedition that ended in a Levjottun attack. Our farseer abandoned us and our captain strayed off course. No one else made it…" Morn added.
The guard shook his head sadly, relaxing completely.
"I see... Those damned oracles. I always say, you can't trust someone from a deadly sea. They'll do anything to survive.
The guard sighed, as if recalling the past. After a moment, he looked at the two once again:
"Alright you two, come on in. Anyone's welcome, so long as they don't bring trouble."
The guard smiled and opened the gate, leading the two into the village. The pair finally allowed themselves to relax. The two disassembled their drills as they walked, not wanting to intimidate the villagers.
After passing through the gates, the whole village came into view. It was a small place, only a few dozen huts occupied the interior of the walled village. The scene was far removed from the massive scale of Yoltaen cities, but how could one expect a wandering isle to compare to a great island.
Several villagers stood by their homes. Some gardened, others talked, a few were craftsmen, working. A blacksmith stood outside a hut, sweating over an anvil. The sounds of his hammer echoed throughout the village as he skilfully moulded a billet of metal.
The guard continued to the other end of the village, to a hut, larger than the rest. An old bearded man sat inside the hut, hunched over a pair of wooden bowls.
He was sorting a strange, red berry, separating the pinkish ones from the darker reds. His right arm was covered in a long glove from the elbow down, creaking sounds came from his arm as he moved.
The guard knocked at the doorway of the hut, alerting the old man to their presence.
"Toli, we have visitors."
The old man looked up from his sorting, observing the visitors.
"They're Yoltaens- Harvesters, actually. Their farseer abandoned them, left 'em to shipwreck a few hours away, over by Fairjott." The guard elaborated.
Toli stood slowly. He braved his hands against his knees as he stood, his bones audibly creaked with age. The old man stroked his beard, then spoke.
"You two may stay as long as you need, but you'll have to feed yourselves, or work or trade for the food. I believe that Haldwin should have an extra room in that house of his. That man even works in the middle of the night… all that hammering! Ah, at least his work is exceptional."
With a nod, the man bent to pick up his bowls. Morn stopped him, picking them up for the old man. Toli smiled in thanks as he left the hut.
"Thank you, elder!" Azur and Morn expressed their thanks, bowing slightly as the old man left.
The guard stepped outside then turned to face the two.
"I'm sure you saw Haldwin on the way here, he's the smith. If you need anything, you can find me in the guard house, my name is Eldwin."
Eldwin gave a curt nod, then walked back to the gate, returning to his duty.
The pair left the elder's hut and walked slowly through the village, enjoying the calm of a small settlement.
"So what do we do now?" Azur asked.
Morn stroked his chin thoughtfully before responding:
"To start, we should look for gas deposits. We'll need to refill our stock for the trip home."
Azur nodded in agreement.
"If we discover a new gas here, maybe we can synthesise something unique! We'd earn a fortune on a new formula."
Azur smiled at Morn's remark as he daydreamed about riches. The two arrived at the blacksmith's hut. Haldwin had stopped his hammering and was resting atop a small log, drinking from a waterskin. Morn waved politely, then began to introduce himself.
"Haldwin? I'm Morn, this is Azur. We shipwrecked nearby and are staying in the village until we get closer to Yol. Toli said we could ask you for a room?"
Haldwin closed his waterskin, smiling genially at the two.
"Of course! I sleep by my forge anyway, you never know when inspiration will strike!" Haldwin set down his waterskin, "You two can borrow my bedroom for a few weeks."
Haldwin stood from the log, clapping his hands together as he marched towards his hut.
"Come on, I'll show you your room."
Azur quickly followed the man, joined by Morn a moment later. Morn smiled as he caught up to Azur, then whispered to his friend.
"He seems nice."
Azur nodded. "Most of the small islanders are, or so I've heard. We rely on ourselves, but they rely on each other. Everyone is taken care of, unlike back home."
Morn frowned. Trying not to remember the slums, Morn quickly changed the subject.
"Let's get some rest today, we can start harvesting tomorrow. Once we have a small stockpile, we can begin synthesising."
Azur grunted assent. "Sounds good."
With their short exchange over, the two caught up to Haldwin. The trio stood in front of a small, but comfortable-seeming room. The wooden floor was raised off the ground with log slats, keeping the floor away from the cold ground.
A metal pipe extended through the room and into the ceiling. A comforting warmth emanated from the pipe, its end attached to the smith's forge outside.
Haldwin clasped his hands, smiling at the pair.
"It's not much, but it's comfortable. Make yourselves at home, you two!"
Morn and Azur muttered thanks as Haldwin left the room. The sound of metal being hammered soon resumed. The pair unslung their backpacks, putting down their heavy equipment with a thud.
Morn closed the door to the room, muffling the sounds of forging. The pair sat wordlessly, settling into a set of cushions at opposite ends of the room. The two quickly fell asleep.
***
Early the next morning, Morn awoke before Azur. He quietly opened the door to the room, not wanting to wake his friend. Morn brought his bag of equipment with him, donning his harvesting gear. He walked into the main room of the hut, where Haldwin was already preparing for the day.
With a smile, Morn greeted the man.
"Goodmorning Haldwin! Ah- I have several useful gases I could trade to you in exchange for food. Do you have anything Azur and I could eat?"
The smith nodded, then walked to a small box in the corner of the room and removed a small bundle. He returned, passing the bundle to Morn.
"I'll give your friend another when he wakes up."
Morn smiled. "Thanks, Haldwin. Is there any specific effect you're looking for? I have a wide variety of gas."
Haldwin paused thoughtfully, stroking his moustache. After a moment, he snapped his fingers and spoke excitedly.
"Do you have anything for sore muscles or exhaustion, something to keep me forging all day?"
Morn thought briefly, then reached into his bag to retrieve a small metal vial of gas. The vial had a small valve at the top with a mouthpiece. A label on the vial read 'Haidwal.'
"This is a tier 2 arcane gas. It prevents muscle tears, allowing you to work without soreness far longer than usual. When you start to feel tired, bite the mouthpiece and take a very shallow breath of the gas, then breathe a lungful of air. Hold your breath for about ten seconds, and the gas will take effect."
Haldwin nodded, accepting the gas from Morn. "How many uses is this?" He asked.
Morn sized up Haldwin before replying. "For someone with your physique, four or five. The effects last for about six hours on the average person as well."
Haldwin smiled and tucked the gas vial into his pocket. "Good doing business with you!"
Morn returned the smile then left the building. As he walked out the door, he turned and said his farewell.
"Good luck with your forging. When Azur wakes up, let him know that I went harvesting." Without waiting for an answer, Morn walked from the building and down the path. After a few minutes, he arrived at the village gate.
Eldwin, the guard from the previous day, stood at the other side of the gate. The two exchanged a polite wave as Morn left through the village gate, heading into the nearby forest.
As he walked, Morn assembled his drill and a metal walking stick with a large hollow-metal sphere at the base. After walking for several minutes, Morn found a small, rocky clearing.
The gas came from vents deep in the ocean and would be trapped in the porous rock that made up the base of most islands. This special walking stick would resonate when struck against the right type of rock, indicating the likely existence of a gas deposit.
Morn walked around the area, tapping his strange walking stick. Several taps later, the sphere resonated. Morn smiled and set down the walking stick.
Holding his drill with both hands, Morn placed the tip of the drill bit against the rocky ground and pulled the lever.
With a loud series of mechanical clunking noises, the drill bit made progress further and further into the ground.
A moment later, when the drill bit was fully buried in the ground, Morn then attached a small gas canister to the drill using a short metal tube with a hand crank on the side.
When the tube was firmly attached, Morn began to turn the crank. A small gauge on the side of the tube gradually rose. After a minute, when the gauge indicated the tank was full, Morn removed the canister and tube then stored it in his bag.
After pulling his drill from the ground, he began to walk around the clearing again, tapping his staff. Several hours later, Morn had filled four small storage tanks with gas.
Morn walked through the forest again, looking for a new clearing with visible rocks. As he walked through the forest, Morn grew nervous. The sound of animals had stopped, the forest was silent. As he listened carefully, the silence was broken by a gurgling screech.
A Levjottun had found him.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Candlwax
Candlwax I'm adding a short glossary for some terms as an Auxiliary volume. If you'd like any specific terms added and elaborated on, leave a comment!
I will keep writing authors notes for most of the early chapters; however, once I start posting two per day, I'll likely only add notes on important chapters or when I have special info to say.
Thanks for reading! :')
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