Two days later, I went back to the large building, in the Upper part of Olrad. The Royal Lizards returned with the required amount of thread, and also brought scales with them. I had no issue with that, even if I gave them a few kilograms too much, I wouldn't suffer. After weighting all the Yellow Dust, they thanked me, and expressed the will to trade again, if I had something as valuable as this.
I politely accepted that offer, and left. 'With those threads, I can now practice my skill' I thought. When they were still weighting the Yellow Dust, I had a proper look at the threads. These were not the same, that Nick gave me. These were different, also thin and flexible, but who knows if not stronger. 'Nick once said, that his inheritance is not much inside a city. Those strings alone costed a fortune, I guess that they must be much better. From the Lizard's description, I need a very sharp weapon of very good quality, in order to separate that thread. Good, as I will use them in battles, and I don't want someone simply severing my strings' I thought.
When I got back to the tavern, I rented a room and immediately decided to try out my new daggers, with the strings attached of course. I only used 2 daggers, it was because I lost touch with that skill. I had to pretty much relearn it. 'It's been a long time, since I used strings. Let's see how this will go' I thought and started my practice.
I soon got back to my usual form, and was able to manipulate the daggers, to a certain extent. Of course, the skill offered much more, but that was for the future. 'This is pretty much all I wanted from this village. I already learned a lot about smithing here. I also acquired a new map, and I have my new threads as well as daggers. It's time to leave, to somewhere else' I thought. Then I remembered something. "Right! I need to ask about food!" I exclaimed out loud.
I ended my training, and went straight to Lazar. Fortunately he was home. I asked "Do you know where I can get meat?". He looked at me with questioning expression, and said "Have you tried tavern?". I realized my mistake, and said "I meant, what creatures can I hunt outside, to get some meat?". He said "There are couple of creatures, that are edible outside. For one, Fire Mare is edible. Its meat is not that great, but at least you won't starve". I knocked my head lightly, and said "I forgot about them. What else is there, outside the Obsidian Mountains?".
He said "That depends where you want to go. If you go further north, there will be some creatures called Ognars. These things are quite big, and usually live in groups. Hunting them alone, is not that easy, if you are not strong enough. They look a bit like bulls from the South, but are much bigger, stronger and grey in colour. They also have couple of horns on their heads, as well as spikes on their legs". I nodded my head, and asked "What if I go towards the east?".
He said "If you go to the east, the only source of food would be Lears. Although they don't look appetizing, they don't taste half bad, if you can prepare and cook them. Nothing else can be found over there really. As for the west, I don't think, you should be going that way". I nodded my head, and said "Yes, I'm aware of that". As I was about to leave Olrad, I asked Lazar to see his daughter. 'It's already been a while. I might be able to check, if she still has any of that coldness inside her' I thought.
Lazar had nothing against that, and even welcomed it. I check her blood first, but saw no signs of blue colour inside. I then placed my hand on her forehead, and waited. I didn't know whenever Frosty was asleep, or it was trying and she had no coldness inside her body anymore. 'I will have to ask Frosty later, if it tried. If not, well, I did what I could anyway' I thought, and said "Everything seems to be fine. I will be leaving tomorrow, so this is our last meeting". Lazar nodded his head, and said "I'm very grateful for what you did.." I stopped him, and said "Don't worry about it. You already helped me out, and I returned the favour. You don't need to pledge yourself to me or anything". He thought for a while, and said "Alright. If you ever come by Olrad again, please do visit. I will treat you to some food and drinks at the tavern". I nodded my head, and said goodbyes.
'I will visit the workshop as well. It would not be nice of me to just leave, without saying anything to that old Lizard' I thought, and went straight to workshop. The old Lizard, was as always inside the room at the back. I said "I came to say goodbye. Tomorrow, when I'm rested, I will leave Olrad". He seemed a bit sad about the news, but soon brightened up, and said "I knew this day would arrive sooner or later. You are a good kid, your skills in smithing are still in their infancy, but you have great potential. Train well, and you might reach the ranks of Advanced Smiths in the future".
I nodded my head, and said "I will try to achieve that. Take care of yourself old man". He also said his goodbyes, and I left. I returned to the tavern, and went back to my room. After resting properly on a decent bed for the last time, I woke up and said "It's time to go. Our new destination, is east!". I then left Olrad, and headed straight for the territory of Golems. 'According to my new map. If I walk there at a normal pace, I should be able to get there in about 2 weeks time. I also know that Lears live in cave. If I see any caves on my way, I should visit them, and find some supplies for my further journey' I thought.
I passed couple of inactive volcanoes, as well as couple groups of Fire Mares and Fire Sludges. I decided to go east, even though I wanted to meet Crow as well. 'Crow will probably need a lot of time, to gather some very useful information. I will leave it to him for now, and explore the eastern parts of the North. I will head back to see Crow, when I'm done in east' I thought.
A day later, I was already outside the Obsidian Mountains area, and the Wilderness spread in front of me again. I said "Frosty, come out. We have some talking to do".