Lowlife, Scoundrel, Bandit Queen

With my newest booty safely stored in my pack I return to the tower at long last. Thankfully I have neither seen nor heard anything from my new, scaly neighbor. As much as I dislike living next to a flying terror like that, even if it's just temporarily, I have to admit that the creature seems to be serious about protecting its offspring, not leaving the nest any more than absolutely necessary.

After gorging itself on what appears to be just about any larger creature in the area, judging by the piles of bones I saw earlier, it seems that one good drink a day is enough to keep it going.

I can only hope that it stays that way for a little while longer. If I'm really lucky it'll even utterly ignore my distractions or my presence in general as long as I don't get any closer to the nest and the eggs therein. Of course I can't just count on that. Better safe than sorry still seems to be the more sensible approach to the situation.

If the patterns the creature follows don't change I might still be able to use them to my advantage though. I can wait for it to have its usual drink after which it'll return to the nest. Afterwards I should be able to make my way back to the city without too much trouble. Probably.

First things first though. And this, as I slip back inside through the rooftop access, means, that I have to do some cooking. Cooking I want to get done before I have to worry about flying terrors again. And since I don't exactly know when that will become an issue again, this means, the sooner the better.

I unload my pack in the entrance hall and get the fire started again using some of the firewood I brought. Next I get started on the ingredients. I really hope that these new mushrooms, these chanterelle, live up to my expectations. I cut them up into finer chunks. Afterwards I slice some more of my sausage and the cheese too. It's essentially a repeat of yesterday's meal, except it uses different mushrooms. I don't skimp on the cheese and sausage either, since I intend to share with Fox.

Before I get the pan with the ingredients on the fire I do some more wood carving though. I carve a simple plate out of a leftover piece of wood, adding little stylized fox decorations to the edge. It's good enough to improve my [Woodworking] skill a little and it's looks certainly please me to. It may not be high art, but it certainly looks nice.

With that out of the way I start my cooking. It's a simple enough dish, but I still have to be mindful to make sure nothing burns. By the time it's done, sizzling in the pan and emitting a mouthwatering smell, I even earn a little progress for my [Cooking] skill too.

I don't dawdle. Using my spoon I put a generous helping on the new plate, set the rest aside in the pan besides the fire and head downstairs to the shrine. I better serve it while it's hot after all. I bow to the Fox figurine as I enter and move to kneel in front of the altar. After another brief bow I place the plate with the food in the offering bowl.

"I'm terribly sorry Fox. Sadly there isn't any fresh meat on the table today. I have run into a spot of trouble out here. A scaly, winged and quite terrifying spot of trouble. Well, I hope you can appreciate my offer anyway."

There is no direct verbal response. Not at first anyway. Instead it sounds like someone is eating. Quite messily so too. As I shift my gaze to the offering bowl again I find the food gone, plate and all. Finally it's almost like I can hear a content sigh and before I can even blink two brief notifications brush through my mind.

[*Ding!* Your skill Sacrifice has leveled up to level 5!]

[*Ding!* Your Karma increased by 2!]

That's not all either. I have the feeling that my [Prayer] skill has improved a little too. It seems my words have not gone unheard, even if there was no direct response. Overall the little one sided exchanges lifts my spirits too. I certainly feel a little more lighthearted afterwards. I bow my head again and get up.

"See you back in the city."

With those words and one last quick bow I'm off again. I still have to eat my own meal after all. Since I left it by the fire it's still warm enough too for me to properly enjoy. As I eat I think back on the day so far.

Everything considered it hasn't been all bad. Sure, that monster gave me a good scare. Well, actually it was more like two good scares, but that's alright. Essentially its presence shortens what exploration I need to do here to a minimum.

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I don't have to go looking for other dangerous predators. Any other dangerous animals or monsters of note have probably already been gobbled up. And I know exactly where this one can be found and why it's sticking to that place. Tomorrow I might even be able to find out if it sticks to a schedule when drinking. That would be very convenient.

I can't exactly return any stone samples either. I hope the circumstances allow for some leeway in that regard. Sneaking in right under the nose of the monster is out of the question and I don't think it's gone from the nest long enough while drinking to rush in and grab some stones either. Besides I suspect it would react with a non negligible amount of anger if anyone were to get even just close to the nest.

I can hope that it'll ignore me as long as I keep my distance, even if it's aware of me. If I get that close though? No, I don't even want to think about it. That probably wouldn't end well.

Once I'm done eating I rub the pan somewhat clean with a fist full of ash, which I in turn wash off with water from my canteen. That's the best I can do right now. I can look after it better once I have put some more distance in between me and the nest.

There is something else I should do now while I still have time though. I get out all my weapons and my whetstone to show them some love and attention. I'm half hoping that I might unlock a metalworking skill, but of course it's not quite that easy. I'll probably have to do some actual smiting for that.

Once I'm satisfied, I gather up my gear again. My weapons go on my belt as they should and the rest goes into the backpack. The over sized scales go into the latter too. Wouldn't want to lose the after all the trouble I have gone through to get my hands on them.

Only the wooden spoon, freshly carved just the other day I throw into the fire that has already mostly burned down. I'll make a new one the next time around. After one last reluctant look I turn and start to descend the stairs. I head down all the way to the water in the basement, to refill my water bottle and have a quick drink too. Then I climb back up until I reach the landing with the doorway leading to the room I have turned into a shrine.

There is just enough room in between the first stair and the empty doorway to curl up. Although, maybe it would better if I were to sit against the wall instead. It won't exactly be comfortable anyway. The important part is that I'm not visible should the monster decide to try and look in through one of the narrow windows of the room.

I place my new blanket on the ground to make the spot at least a little more comfortable. It probably won't change much, but it's better than nothing. Together with my cloak I should stay somewhat warm at least, even without a fire and the stones warmed by it. As I sit down and wrap myself up in the cloak another idea comes to me.

Using my ability to change shape and identifying mushrooms I used up a noticeable part of my Mana reserves today. I still have plenty, but I won't be able to recover all of the rest just by sleeping. Especially not like this. And besides, I should practice meditating anyway. That sounds much better than just sitting around, waiting to fall asleep early.

I straighten up a little and adjust my pose to make sure I wont tip over sideways, as I slip into the desired meditative state. It's something I haven't experienced so far, and to be honest, I have no desire to make the experience anytime soon either. I mean, who would?

Anyway, I close my eyes and calm my breathing. My heart soon follows and as its beat slows down my mind empties as well. Something is different though. The smell Brygida and Rysia taught me to associate with ambient Mana is stronger here than anywhere else where I have tried this so far.

It's a startling realization and I actually have a little trouble to maintain my meditative state due to it at first. Is it because this was a wizard's tower? Are there arcane secrets to the construction of those? Details that make recovering Mana through meditation easier? Or is it something else entirely that I'm feeling? It's thoughts like these that keep me from achieving the proper state of mind at first until I finally manage to push them aside, at least for the time being.

By the time I pull out of the meditative state again quite a bit of time must have passed. There is no more light coming in through the windows of the shrine room. My [Meditation] skill has improved more than usual too. It feels like it's pretty close to the next level up. And of course there is the expected Notification brushing the very back of my mind.

[*Ding!* Through Meditation your Mana increased by 8!]

I blink in surprise at first. The amount recovered really isn't surprising though. With a skill level of four this probably just means that I was in my meditative state of mind for at least two hours, but not three. It's quite simple to be honest. This answers at least one of the questions that troubled me at the begin of my meditation too. It seems whatever I felt doesn't influence Mana recovery at all. Not through meditation and not through rest either. I have slept here before more than once after all and noticed nothing out of the ordinary so far.

I wrap my cloak a little tighter around myself, as I sit there in the dark with my back against the wall. A mystery! Just the thing to keep me entertained, at least until I manage to fall asleep. The idea certainly serves to entertain me and I allow myself a little grin. I got to take what I can get, right?

Whatever it is, it's not related to Mana recovery in any way. Well, not in any way I know at least. It has a noticeable effect, interacting with the ambient Mana though. There is no doubt about that. Could I have missed something regarding the tower itself? Not in the floors I have explored and used so far. I can't exactly speak for the flooded basement though. I have come to assume that it's just a well dug into the actual bedrock, but maybe, just maybe, I'm mistaken about that?

I really can't rule it out. Not without exploring it somehow. Just thinking about the ice cold water makes me shiver though. Good gods and goddesses. Not without a proper fire, a change of clothes waiting for me and preferably some nice and fluffy towels. It's something I'll keep in mind though. Maybe after that winged terror is dealt with?

That's not the only possibility though and I shouldn't get to hung up on it. There is at least one other option I have to consider. The research notes of Bianka the Pale. They suggest that there might be some grand magic affecting the frontier lands, causing more people to rise as unquiet dead of one kind or another than usual.

If I recall her notes right, and that is all I do for now, as I don't want to actually dig up the pilfered research notes from my pack, I should be closer to the source of whatever it is the woman was onto around here. Maybe that's what I felt? I'd need to spend more time meditating out here in different places to find out. That too is something else to keep in mind for another day.

I yawn long and hard, as my eyelids grow heavier. It seems my plan of distracting myself is coming together. Finally at long last I fall asleep.