After enjoying a dinner with Azur, Vincent, Baldrick, and Haldwin, Morn went to bed early. The others continued drinking together, long into the night. Morn woke up early as the sun rose, and gathered his harvesting supplies.
The previous day, he had talked with Ankvert, the villager miner from whom Haldwin had gotten the tersalt metal. Ankvert informed him that there was a meadow about an hour walk to the east of the village. He needed to look out for a large white tree with golden leaves and pink flowers at its base. The metal deposit was in a small hill just past the meadow, hidden in a cave.
Morn had informed Azur of his plans, who had reluctantly agreed to let him go alone as it wasn't too far from the village, and should be relatively safe. Additionally, Ankvert had agreed to come looking for Morn if he didn't return by the afternoon, after lunch had passed.
Morn excitedly trekked out from the village, hoping to find a new gas near the tersalt deposit. He walked for some way, enjoying a handful of smoked fish and a flask full of watered down fruit juice as he travelled.
After an hour of walking along the forest searching for the tree, he finally found it. The white trunk of the tree rose high above the canopy. The beautiful gold leaves fell gently to the ground around the meadow creating a field of gold. The light shined through the leaves, bouncing off them and casting a brilliant light throughout the clearing.
The pink flowers that dotted the meadow formed a blanket around the base of the tree. The flowers gave off a smell similar to a Yoltaen pastry that he and Azur had loved as children. It smelled like home. Morn let out a sigh, taking in the beautiful sight for a moment longer before walking to the small hill at the edge of the meadow.
It didn't take very long for him to find the cave. It was located at the base of the hill a short walk from the edge of the clearing. A knotted tree formed a barrier in front of the entrance that made the squeeze into the cave quite difficult, but once Morn entered, the cave widened out to a comfortable size. Morn assembled his gas detecting walking stick and walked deeper into the cave.
A variety of glowing crystals dotted the walls, lighting the cave up enough for Morn to see his surroundings. The crystals were a common sight in caves across most of Malsata. They were known as sun stones as the light they admitted could give one a sunburn after a while. As such, gas lamps and candles were used more widely, as not many wanted the risk of sunburn in their own homes.
With the light of the sunstones guiding his way, Morn tapped his walking stick on the cave floor. The ringing of the stick reverberated, echoing loudly in the enclosed space of the cave. After a few minutes, Morn detected a gas deposit and used his drill to extract the gas.
Morn continued wandering the cave for a short time. As the cave was fairly straightforward and didn't have any branching paths, Morn didn't bother leaving a trail.
Eventually, after finding several more gas deposits, Morn encountered a dead end. Having no other option, he turned around and walked back to the entrance of the cave.
As he approached the entrance, he heard a growling noise from outside. He slowed his movements, moving carefully and quietly.
As he snuck out of the cave entrance, the growling grew clearer. It was the bubbling growl of the Levjottun species that had taken his hand. Filled with thoughts of revenge, Morn slowly loaded a can of pyral into his drill, then attached the ignitor to the tip. This time, the Levjottun would be the one getting ambushed.
Morn left the cave cautiously, peering around, looking for the Levjottun. As he emerged from the cave, he heard the creature again. This time, he pinpointed the sound, it was coming from the meadow.
Morn crept through the forest, back towards the clearing where the growls were coming from. He paid careful attention to his footing, making sure not to step on a dead leaf or branch.
After cautious manoeuvering, Morn arrived at the edge of the clearing. He hid behind a tree and glanced around the clearing, quickly spotting the Levjottun.
The creature was eating the pink flowers from the base of the tree. Filled with anticipation, Morn equipped his inhalant mask and crept carefully towards the monster.
The golden leaves were relatively soft, not making a sound as Morn moved through them. Even when he was only several arm lengths from the creature, it still didn't notice him.
With a grim smile, Morn pulled the gas release on his drill, sending a stream of pyral towards the creature. After a moment, Morn clicked the flint ignitor, lighting a spark that immediately turned the stream of gas into a violent flame.
The sudden explosion sent Morn back a step, but he quickly caught his balance and continued to hold down the gas release.
Flames spewed from the drill, drowning the Levjottun in fire. The creature began to howl in pain as it flailed violently around the clearing.
It rolled on the ground attempting to put out the fire on the soft grass. But before it could free itself from the flames, Morn charged. He activated the drill lever as he rushed at the creature, causing the piston to rapidly vibrate the drill. Morn lunged for the creature!
The needle penetrated easily through its skull, scrambling its brains in less than a second. After a moment, the creature's flailing came to a stop as a red foam poured from the hole in its skull.
Morn panted heavily, then wiped away the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead. Morn smiled, happy to have gotten a form of revenge for his left hand, even if the original creature was already dead.
Seeing that the sun had yet to reach noon, Morn settled down in the clearing at the base of the white tree and began to eat an early lunch. After he finished, Morn approached the dead Levjottun and studied its body.
He noticed that a luminous green acid dripped from its mouth onto the grass, causing the ground to sizzle quietly. Morn switched the pyral tank on his drill for an empty one.
Following his usual procedure, Morn drained the gas from the creature's throat sac and decided to run some tests in the refreshing meadow. Morn still had several hours before Ankvert would come looking for him, so he began his tests immediately.
Morn studied the gas, a question on his mind. Why was the gas a liquid in the creature's mouth, but a gas in the throat sac? As Morn studied the acid, he came to understand some of its properties. When the acid was isolated in the throat sac, it remained a gas. It only turned into a liquid when exposed to air.
As he ran his tests, he also noticed that the acid was very slow in its gas form. Even then, it showed early signs of slowly corroding his gas containers. However, when the acid was in its liquid form, it could melt through the metal in mere minutes. Morn noted to himself to check on the tank of acid gas in his workshop at some point in the near future.
"I may need to change the container every once in a while if it can eat through the metal, even if it's a slow process."
Morn continued with his tests, attempting to find a material that could safely store the gas in either of its forms. He quickly lost track of time, eventually discovering that the acid wouldn't eat through most types of wood, including the stormwood of his prosthetic.
After researching the acid, he quickly moved on to the gas he'd mined in the cave. Luckily, the gas seemed to be new. When he finished his research, he glanced at the sky. He quickly noticed that the sun had long risen to its apex, indicating that it was already noon.
"Damn!"
Morn scrambled to collect his gear, ready to rush back to the village. As he donned his pack, he heard a voice from the treeline.
"Morn, hello? Are you there, it's me, Ankvert."
Morn facepalmed inwardly then spoke in an embarassed tone, "I'm... I'm sorry Ankvert, I'm here and perfectly fine. I just lost track of time while researching the Levjottun's acid. Please forgive me."
Ankvert emerged from the forest with a smile.
"Ah, don't worry about it! It's good to be out and about, I enjoy the exercise. I'm just glad you're okay!" The miner laughed genially, "Let's head back before your friend starts to worry about you."
Morn nodded, collecting the last of his equipment before following Ankvert back to the village. As the two left the clearing, Ankvert spoke again. An even bigger smile appearing on his grizzled face.
"You know, my son loves you and your friend's stories. I'm sure you met him, his name is Endull, he enjoys pretending to be you. He calls you the hero king of Yol! He's started following me around, begging me to take him to Yol one day…"
The miner scratched his head and looked pleadingly at Morn.
"If it's not too much trouble, would you consider bringing us with you when you head back to Yol? We don't need to stay with you two or nothing, I have my own savings, we can afford some time in Yol. Ah, of course we can't stay too long, or we'll lose track o' this island."
Morn nodded, his cheeks slightly red after hearing that someone referred to him as a 'hero king.' He took a moment to calm himself before replying.
"I'll have to talk with Azur about it, but if he has no complaints then I don't see why not, as long as you can find a boat back."
Ankvert smiled happily.
"That's great to hear! Oh, he'll be so excited. Of course, I'll wait to tell him until you get confirmation from your friend."
The rest of the trip back to the village remained in silence. Eldwin greeted the pair as they returned, mentioning that Azur had gone out with the hunters and would be back for dinner.
Upon entering the village, Morn returned to Haldwin's house, planning to drop off his supplies at the workshop the next morning.
Morn then spent the rest of the time before dinner helping around the village. When Azur returned, the two dined with Haldwin and Vincent, then retired to Haldwin's house for the night.