Harvey took the time to review the kill notifications still hovering at the edge of his consciousness.

  You have slain Level 9 - Timberwolf. Essence Gained. 742 Merit Earned X3

  …

  You have slain Level 10 - Timberwolf. Essence Gained. 811 Merit Earned X3

  …

  You have slain Level 16 - Moonshade Stalker (Variant). Major Essence Gained. 2781 Merit Earned

  It was the first time he’d seen a kill notification call something a variant, but considering its unique ability to control shadows, it seemed like a fitting description. Hopefully, that meant the skill was unique and not something all Timberwolves could do as they continued leveling up.

  In less than a day outside the walls, his wealth had skyrocketed all the way up to 14,327 merit, and since Hannah was nice enough to buy his slipsack for him, he’d have money to spare after buying Elena’s profession. He’d never admit it to anyone else, but being broke was starting to bug him after living on a California software developer's salary the last few years. Having a safety net again felt really nice.

  Satisfied, he threw all four free points his double level provided into Dexterity. He’d been sinking most of his free points into it, but he kind of had to without any help from his class or his profession. Now sitting at a healthy 30 points, he could focus on the stats powering his skills.

  “Hey there. Don’t worry, we got rid of the scary wolves. You’re safe now.” Hannah called in a sing-song voice, hand extended out to the deer.

  It was trying to scramble away, but stumbled with every step. The Moonshade wolf had shredded the muscles on its lower legs, ensuring it was both alive and immobilized. Harvey had no idea if timber wolves back home would play with their food like this, but seeing the state of the thing left him feeling no remorse for the dead wolf at his feet.

  Looking at the mangled corpse, he decided to toss it into his slipsack with the fish. He definitely wouldn’t eat it, but maybe someone could make use of its unique body.

  The frantic bleating grew louder as Hannah drew close, reaching a crescendo as she knelt beside it. In her hands, she held a broad green leaf of lettuce and a health potion. Uncorking the ruby red vial, she clumped up the vegetable and dipped the end inside.

  The buck thrashed, too panicked to understand her intent as she held the food up to its lips. An antler slammed into her head, but she stayed calm. Eventually, her patience ran out, and she shoved the leaf into its mouth, holding it shut until it finally swallowed. Heaving breaths came in ragged bursts as shredded muscle began stitching back together in real time.

  He could never wrap his head around medicine. The fact that a person could cut someone open, fix them up, and have them good as new in a matter of weeks never ceased to amaze him. A few years earlier, his dad had torn a bicep, and the doctors went into his arm, stretched it back out, and screwed it into his bone. And it worked? A doctor could nail a muscle into place, and the body would take care of the rest? The nails were probably a little better than the ones he made, but still.

  Scientific healing was fascinating enough, but it was nothing compared to the magical kind. The body had a blueprint, and all it needed for repairs was a little red water.

  Understanding the power in her hands, the buck lunged at the vial, muzzle twitching greedily. Hannah jerked it back just in time, moving it out of reach before dipping another leaf in.

  “Don’t get greedy, fella.” She chastised.

  “It’s probably going to take the whole thing to get it walking again,” Harvey suggested, walking up beside her.

  “I know, but if I give it all to him now, he’ll run off,” Hannah replied.

  “What’s stopping him from running off later?” He asked.

  “Nothing. But, if he thinks I’m a vending machine, he’ll stick around.” She laughed as the deer lunged for the head of lettuce on the ground beside her. “Whoa there, Buttercup! You’re a hungry little guy, aren’t you?”

  She’d only used a little over a third of the health potion, but she corked it and let it disappear into the slipsack. Its wounds had stopped bleeding, but it wouldn’t be running anytime soon.

  “Buttercup? Is it a girl?” Harvey asked.

  “Can’t you see the antlers? He’s a boy. I can prove it if you don’t believe me.” She laughed, moving to lift one of the hind legs.

  “Nope! I believe you!” Harvey yelped.

  “Come on, it’s just a deer.” Hannah chuckled.

  “And yet it still feels so weird. Gross.” Harvey gasped. “You’re a creep, you know that?”

  “Oh, hush, you just weren’t raised on a farm.” Hannah shot back, not breaking eye contact with the buck as she slowly fed more lettuce.

  “I guess, or maybe all you Idaho people are creeps too.” He laughed. “Why are you naming him Buttercup?”

  “That was my first horse’s name when I was a little girl. She died a few years ago, and I figured if I get to come back, why doesn’t she?”

  For a moment, the soft sadness in her eyes he’d seen when she talked about her cancer returned. It was a look he’d seen on everyone’s face by now. The look of loss.

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  Light shone out from her skin once more as she gained another level.

  “What was that for?” Harvey asked.

  “Feeding my new pet.” Hannah snickered. “I’ve already got my profession up to level 3.”

  “No fair! I have to slave away in a hot forge all day while you get levels for breakfast? Give me that book.” Harvey sniped, trying out her strategy of using humor to ignore the tragedy all around them.

  When Buttercup was healthy enough to walk, she pulled the potion vial back out and started moving toward the river. Just the sight was enough to convince the deer to follow her, and Harvey watched its lips quiver as it gently nudged her hand. Their pace was slow, barely faster than a crawl as Buttercup fought through the pain. Occasionally, he tried stealing the vial away, but the potion would disappear into her slipsack, only to be brought out again when she was a few feet away.

  “This is pretty cruel,” Harvey complained after her third bait-and-switch.

  “Cruel, but necessary. Besides, he’d be dead without us, and I need to make sure he knows that. Trust me, I hate seeing an animal in pain, but it’s for the best.

  When they got to the water, she took out a large wooden bowl and filled it up, adding a few more drops of the potion before letting Buttercup drink his fill. Strength returned as its Vitality transformed each drop into new, healthy muscle.

  She needed time to let Buttercup get comfortable around her, so they decided to walk along the water's edge and enjoy a rare peaceful moment. When they came upon a bend in the river, Harvey went to fill his water jug and found his boot sinking in the mud. Looking back, it held his footprint perfectly, and he realized that he may have found the clay he'd been searching for. He hadn’t considered how to store it if he did manage to find some, so he chugged the rest of his water jug and knelt at the water’s edge. He wasn’t exactly sure what clay felt like when it wasn't bought at a crafts store, so he rummaged around just under the surface until he found a particularly sticky layer of sediment that he plopped into the plastic jug.

  “Aw, are you gonna build a sandcastle, Harvey?” Hannah mocked.

  “I was going to try to, but you never take me to the beach, so I have to build them out of mud.” He whined. “I think I found some clay.”

  “Oh, perfect!” Hannah smiled.

  His hands were slimy and wet when the jug finally disappeared into his slipsack. He could feel the dirt still caked under his fingernails, and he furiously scrubbed his hands under the water. Where some parts of the river raged like white water rapids, they’d found a horseshoe bend where you’d expect a gaggle of kids reeking of sunscreen to be floating by on colorful tubes.

  Just as he dried his hands on the tattered robe, the rumble of angry beasts behind him told him they weren’t alone.

  Buttercup let out a piercing scream and backed towards the water as five timberwolves appeared through the trees. Two still had arrows sticking out of their tough hides, while the other three were smaller than the ones they’d seen already.

  “They brought friends,” Harvey called out.

  “This is perfect!” Hannah replied. “Help me back Buttercup toward the river so he can’t run away.”

  “What?” Harvey asked.

  “Just do it!” She shouted, moving to stand between the buck and the snarling dogs.

  Slowly, they let themselves get backed into a corner. Water on all sides with five hungry hounds in front. The smaller wolves smiled with hungry eyes, while the injured pair hesitated, remembering the pain Hannah’s arrows had caused. Buttercup was screaming, an unsettlingly human sound, while nervously stomping his feet. Harvey had no idea if deer could swim, but for now, he wasn’t risking the water.

  The fight was one-sided, with the smaller wolves being at lower levels than those hunting with the pack. The injured pair made the mistake of waiting for their weaker brethren to wear Harvey and Hannah down, but they’d been killed before doing any real damage. In minutes, the rest of the pack was dead.

  You have slain Level 6 - Timberwolf. Essence Gained. 401 Merit Earned X3

  …

  You have slain Level 9 - Timberwolf. Essence Gained. 742 Merit Earned X2

  He could almost feel the shock and relief in Buttercup. He’d watched them kill the Moonshade Stalker, but had been in no state to understand the power Hannah possessed. Now, she’d saved him again, and he nuzzled up to her side.

  “Stick with me, and I promise to protect you.” She whispered, brushing her hand down Buttercup’s back. Light shone through her again as she got yet another profession level.

  “Oh, come on! It’s been like two hours!” Harvey groaned.

  They moved away, leaving the iron stench of blood behind as they started their journey back towards Veils End. It was getting late, the pale light of day turning to silver dusk. They’d have to camp out here tonight, but wanted to get as close as possible without leaving the living side of the forest.

  “I’m surprised your essence hawk hasn’t found any survivors,” Harvey commented.

  “Me too, but it's good we haven’t found any bodies that Julian and I hadn’t seen before,” Hannah replied.

  “I guess people aren’t travelling our way.” He added.

  “Or they’re all dead.” She sighed.

  “No way, we’ve only got, what, a hundred people at Veil’s End right now? And you guys have found maybe three times as many bodies? There had to have been thousands of people who died the day before the integration.” Harvey surmised.

  “Well then where are they?” Hannah asked.

  “We know all the kids and the elderly are at the fortress, and there are hundreds of miles between that portal and Veils End. My guess is there are other outposts we just haven’t found yet. There’s no way The System stuck the only Loom in the most dangerous place any Veilstriders appeared.” Harvey explained.

  “You give it a lot of credit.” Hannah laughed. “I wouldn’t put it past a being that created a place like this.”

  “It’s meant to be a trial, not a massacre.” Harvey encouraged.

  “I know. You’re right. It’s just hard seeing so many dead veilstriders.” She sighed.

  “It is, but I’m guessing there are a lot more people in outposts all over this forest. We just gotta go find them before the Undead start showing up.” He said.

  “Julian and I have talked about this a lot. We’ll probably head out in a few days once everyone’s gotten settled in and started leveling up. We’ll bring enough supplies to feed an army and be gone for at least a week. Probably longer.” Hannah explained.

  “What if you find more outposts? Are we going to try bringing everyone together?” Harvey asked.

  “Up to him. I assume we’ll hole up wherever we think we have the best odds in a fight with the undead. We won’t know where that is until we find everyone.” Hannah replied.

  They talked through the evening hours, making plans for the days to come and getting to know each other a little better. Harvey got a small fire going near the water, and they set up their sleeping bags in the cool, green grass. He suggested tying Buttercup to a tree, but Hannah assured him the buck wouldn’t run off in the night. Just to be sure, she offered to take first watch, keeping the rest of the health potion in sight as an extra incentive for Buttercup to stay.

  For the first time in years, Harvey fell asleep under the stars.

  THANK YOU!!! Forged Legacy just hit Main Rising Stars for the first time!

  I can’t express how much it means to see people enjoying this story! It's been incredible.

  Top 5 on Rising Stars, I’d get one of Harvey’s tattoos inked on me.

  Thank you for reading, supporting, and proving past-me very, very wrong.