Valdor smiled, happy his brother was willing to hear and help him out. he didn't even need to try convincing him.
Yes his previous schemes and plans had always gone awry and for one reason or the other but this time he was confident it wouldn't be the same, well he was hopeful. He had requested aid from his Oldman and even visited the other fogies in town for advice, maps and listened to their experiences, nothing could go wrong . Hopefully
After taking a minute to arrange the information on the table and calm his nerves, Valdor started
"As you know brother, the winter is upon us and everyone has done what they can to prepare for it. We have also done the same, but if you remember, my old man just had to take a quest and vanish with Ryan not too long ago, so he left me in charge of the smithy and everything else"
The quest Karl had gone on was the same Ryan left, it had been a month since they left and waiting any longer for their arrival would mean winter would have started, it was better that Valdor was gonna get the items he needed himself.
"So what do you have on ground and what is our objective this time"
Noah asked with all seriousness, this wasn't a joke nor one of Val's harebrained schemes, as it could very well affect their survival during winter
Noah still remember that the last winter season, all paths to the town's main storage caved in after a landslide, cutting off the supplies that had already been gathered, it was a brutal winter as the able men had to go out in the frigid temperatures, to find food and other materials.
Although it wasn't impossible to go out and act in such a weather, it was downright torturous, so the Val didn't want a repeat of last time due to not having enough material on ground.
"So we have enough food materials, wood and the supplies for running the town's heating systems just got delivered not too long ago. The smithy also should have enough materials for any construction or repair but I'm still not satisfied with the stock on ground, I'd rather head at now and end up having more than I need than to regret not going later when I'm in the middle of a snow storm"
"So I asked for information and help from the fogies and I here we are" Val continued
"What I need are more Coals and fire Crystals, we can find that after going through the northwestern part of the forest towards the natural springs, but I also need a natural fire treasure, could be a plant or otherwise but It's really important"
"Huhn, what's the treasure for"
Noah asked, as he cocked his brows, he didn't remember there being a need for a fire treasure last time they went searching for supplies.
"Hold your horses Noah, don't over think it, it's a contingency plan in case something happens to the heat distribution system. We had one on ground before but my old man had to use to prepare for his quest, so we down to nothing" Val explained
While he did tell Noah the truth, he didn't tell him all of it. Noah was 18 already as they estimated because not even Noah was sure. He just declared so after thinking about it, the problem was he was 18 and hadn't awakened yet, apart from the chosen ones for the order that could awaken at any point of their life, practitioners awakened between 5 and 20.
If you miss that window, you wouldn't awaken again.
'If it wasn't you making me worry, do you think I'll take the risk of going past the springs to the lava bath, you're lucky you have a brother like me'
The real reason for this trip was to get a fire natural treasure that would help Noah awaken. Val knew about Noah affinity due to Ryan bragging about it, but going to the mountains for a water or ice based treasure was impossible at this stage, so he settled for fire. He called in on all favors from the fogies and a feasible plan was ready
"Well, a job is a job, let's get it done, I'll inform Diara and we'll move" Noah said as he went through the materials on the table
"You really outdid yourself Val, gimme an hour and we'll leave"
Valdor couldn't help but smile, as much he tried, he used days to study all the information he brought and he couldn't even say he was sure he understood that, yet his brother asked for an hour
'Damn freak, just awaken already brother'
He chuckled
Noah still like reading, nothing could change that, and this was material that could save their life, he wasn't going to miss that
'Haste makes waste"
********************
The boys were in the forest, they dragged a cart along with them to store their gains, would have been impossible otherwise to take everything they'd get from the trip without it.
The cart belong to the smithy and was powered by a energy stone, pure concentration of aether in solid form without an elemental alignment.
Such resources along with elemental crystals could be found along the path to the mountains, as the mountain was the source of it, but venturing deeper than the ruins had proven to be more than dangerous which accounted for why the kingdom yet again gave up on Gamora, but it left the townspeople with more that enough for their needs
Noah watched the map, yet scouting the surrounding area, Valdor followed close behind, guiding the cart behind him without a care at all. Valdor was the stronger of the 2 as he awakened 5 years ago in the soul route using the earth element.
He wasn't much of a fighter as he only trained in the way of the blackmith since he awakened, according to his father, Valdor had even more talent than he would ever possess, so he never went easy on teaching him the craft, not sparing much for combat. Ryan objected but it wasn't his place to make the decisions, but he made sure he thought Val enough for self defense.
Noah sighed
"Hey Val, you should be more serious you know, you might be stronger than me but you've also lost to me multiple times, you need to be at alert and ready for action, and dammit you're making me sigh way too much"
"Well I have the human radar with me, the forest is your home, nothing escapes your sight or notice, as long as it's within range you'd find it, so why should I bother myself about a job I can't ever do successfully, I trust you and I'll be ready when you tell me to, that's all that matters"
Val laughed as he followed behind, he wasn't as carefree as he portrayed though because he couldn't help but wonder if he'll find the perfect material for Noah to awaken.
"Just keep doing what you do best Noah"
Val said, masking his worries with his attitude
"We have gathered quite a lot, so let's get the last bit of coal and fire crystals at the spring, then we'll keep the cart at the station next to the springs and continue with our bags to the lava bath"
"Yeah the cart would be a hindrance at that point forward, so we'd do just that"
Noah just shook his head and kept leading the way, Valdor was up to something and was hiding, but he also had great intuition so they'll be fine, none of Val's plan has been so bad that they could die.
"Alright, let's hurry then" Val hastened his steps clapping Noah from behind as they made the way to the springs in the distance.