Master Of None

"So, what one of the trails are we going to take?" Gil saw the multiple trails ahead of them. Many were obvious and led to different parts of the mountain a. Walker could make out some small caves partway up the mountain that must be small mines that the dwarfs had explored. 

The sound of rustling paper attracted all eyes to the wandering blacksmith who was pulling out a map from his coat. They were all wearing an extra layer at the moment because the cool air blowing from the mountains spoke of ice and snow. Soon they would be in the midst of it and need a third layer of clothing to properly stay warm. 

"That's great, you even have it outlined. This map is very detailed too." Su was impressed with the details and how well the wandering blacksmith had outlined the route they would take. He had been planning the trip for a while now and it only made sense that he would be ready. 

"So this is marked as a place to find centennial ice, but what are the icicle falls?" Near the place that the wandering blacksmith had marked as the centennial ice forging spot was a small river marked as the icicle falls. 

"I actually know this one." Gil stepped up, "I read about it when I was looking for information about water elemental materials to make an ice arrow. The icicle falls are a waterfall that often freezes in pieces causing ice to fall down instead of water. They usually come down in sharp pieces that can cause a harsh injury. But it is also the place where blue koi live. They apparently have the best scales for water elemental arrows. The bones might be useful for Lisa to use as a needle. And apparently, the meat helps resist the cold." The proud look that Gil wore was not one anyone could rebuke. He had been lucky to find the information and was glad to show it off. 

"Then I guess we will investigate there. I have only been fishing once and I was not able to unlock my system so I never tried it again." The thought of fishing in a water fall pool was odd to Walker, but it was something that not many people would do in their lifetime and he had his heart set on it now. 

"How will you go fishing without any fishing gear?" Remey was certain that Walker had never bought fishing gear nor taken it from his inventory while they were out adventuring. 

"Well, there are two of us that have the ability to do some crafting here. Forging hooks, making a rod, and even braiding some string is enough for me to have my own fishing pole. Not to mention bait can be anything." The smug look on Walkers' face infuriated Remey to a small degree prompting her to chase him around a little before they all started up the rocky path. 

"Remember, The path doesn't have much ice or snow here, but when we get higher up it will be difficult." Su was taking the lead for this while Midnight and Gil were holding the rear. 

"Midnight seems pretty distracted right now. Do you think she is still stuck on flying?" Gil came up beside Walker and the wandering blacksmith to chat about his worries.

"Most likely. That was her first time flying and she has wanted to do it for a long time. But it takes a lot of time and effort to develop her wings. Compared to what she could do before she has made great leaps." Just the other day, Walker had seen Midnight flapping her wings and managing to hover off the ground for a short moment. The muscles were being trained slowly but surely. Her ability to glide was there and he had watched as she jumped and glided a very small distance. It would all come down to more training and experience. 

"I think she must have learned something while flying with the hawks though. If she is that focused then she would have to be connecting some dots." Gil felt it in his bones. Midnight had learned something and would be making another big step toward her own flight soon. 

"Midnight, Let me switch with you." Walker let Midnight walk in the middle with the wandering blacksmith and took up the rear with Gil.  It was better to let her have her time to think than to stifle her growth in any way. 

The trail they were taking was not hard to traverse by any means and even seemed well traveled. This would make sense if there were multiple places along the route to stop and gather materials or hunt certain monsters. What worried Walker was that they would eventually begin to run in to ice type monsters or potentially flying monsters. Both of which could cause them some trouble on the narrow areas of the trail. 

"Stop here for a moment," Remey called the group to a stop and knelt down by some of the rocks on the side. "These mountain thistles are good for fighting off the cold. We can add it to soup or water to help us through the nights." She lifted the small brown spiky ball that she named mountain thistles. The rest of them stopped to pick up a few and store them away for when they rested. It was a good find for Remey who had been carefully scanning the sides of the trails for such herbs since she knew they would grow in this area commonly.

The rocks became slightly larger and Su had to climb over a few that had fallen from the sides of the mountains down to the trails. There were scratch marks on them that caught everyone's attention. They had not fallen naturally and had been knocked down somehow by a monster. It put them all on edge just a little more. 

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