“I am Commander Jaggear Strongarm,” said the commanding dwarf who had disciplined the guards. “You can call me Commander. We need to train you as a Guard. Most young people want to be trained as a Warrior, but if you want that, go join the army. The class that is best at protecting people and things is the Guard Class. The Guard Class focuses on perception, speed and restraining your opponent rather than killing, although we also guard against monsters. The Guard Class will open up a lot of specialisation classes, the most common of which are the Sentry, Interrogator, and Detective. To get the Guard class, you will need a specialised Perception, like Farsight or Keensight, Unarmed Combat, weapons, and movement skills. What level is your Unarmed Combat?”

  “I don’t have Unarmed Combat.”

  “What? Everybody has unarmed combat just from wrestling as a kid.”

  I held up my claws, “I am never unarmed.”

  “Fuck this is a mess. Unarmed Combat is not just about throwing a punch. It is about your balance and footwork. It is about knowing your strength and throws and holds. It is the basis of every other combat style.”

  So I put away my claws and started learning what all these dwarves learned as a kid. I was much better at Unarmed Combat than I was at Mental and Spiritual Perception. It was good, too. I enjoyed the physical challenge, although I had to watch the short dwarves, or they slipped under my guard.

  I started earning attributes without levelling my class. This was amazing, and I have missed out on so much. I went hunting with Yoboc and levelled my class as well, but even the new skills I was learning sometimes gave me free attributes. When Common went to Journeyman level, I got a point in Mental Agility, and another was when Dwarvish went to Apprentice.

  They had me work on my Identify skill, and I got a point in Mental Perception when it levelled. I was also getting more reliable information on how dangerous people were.

  When Unarmed Combat reached the Apprentice level, they started teaching me to use a shield and a spear. Normally, a guard would learn a blunt weapon like a truncheon first, but because we were out in the wilderness, the spear was better. These dwarven guards use shields, spears and one-handed war axes.

  That was also when I started doing what all guards do. Stand watch. There was no slacking off on watch either, as the Commander would sneak out, and if he got too close without you seeing him, you would be biting the dirt. I caught him several times with my Olfactory sense of smell, but then he caught on, and I had to pay special attention downwind. He also started masking his smell. He is a sneaky bastard. This levelled my Nightsight and my Physical Perception.

  It turned out the Commander had a Trainer specialisation and trained guards for the Forgemaker Clan. With his skills, he could reduce the twelve months of required training down to eight. Even that was going to be a tight time frame for me before everybody left.

  Yoboc was my other main trainer, and he was a nature scholar. His training of my perception increased my Arctic Lore and taught me Herb Lore and general Plant and Animal Lore. I never realised how connected everything was, as Animal Lore bumped up my Tracking and Camouflage skills. When we went out hunting, it was always with me and Goldie. Apparently, the titless Dwarf was working in the mine. He was a young clan member out here for experience.

  I needed to keep levelling my class as I needed to get my Physical Perception up to 30 to get another perception skill. Apparently, if I got Farsight, I would be more inclined to specialise in the Sentry path, but if I got Keensight, I would probably go down the Detective path. Nobody could really tell me what I would get with Clearsight. This was not a common skill down south. I was inclined to get it as there were clear benefits up here in the north. It was also better at seeing through camouflage and stealth skills.

  Felix would often keep me company through these months of training. Often, the old husky would just sleep nearby. The months seemed to fly by. Being around people was a bit much at times, and I would spend time alone under the stars just to get away.

  I was growing and learning so much, and I hadn't even set foot in the mine yet. Apparently, I was not a proper dwarf until I learned to mine.

  I knew where the mine was, as there was a constant stream of people and mules from the entrance. The ship had departed, and the ore was being stockpiled for its return. A miniature forge had been built to smelt part of the ore and test its purity and properties.

  They were digging up a lot of different ores. They had ordinary iron and gold. The main reason they were here was for Lightsteel ore. Apparently, there was an empire that tried to monopolise all the Lightsteel sources. Thomwea didn’t tell me that when she said ”rivals” would be looking for the mine. Said rivals would include this powerful empire when their forges started refining and selling the metal. A powerful empire with an entire naval fleet.

  Lightsteel was light and strong, which made it great for shipping and armour. It was also very conducive to light affinities, which this empire specialised in. Mixed in with the Lightsteel ore were gems that conducted light and had many light properties. Most were small, like a flea, but occasionally, there were ones the size of a thumbnail.

  I started learning this when my Dwarvish got to Apprentice level. I also got lectures on mine safety and gained Mineral Lore.

  The most critical piece of safety equipment in a mine is your helmet. This is doubly so for me as the dwarves sized the mine for them, not for a 2m tall Bear-kin. The dwarves also found or made me a leather vest that added more protection than just my fur, and I had leather chaps for the front of my legs and belts for pouches and sheaths.

  When I crawled into the mine, I got a small light crystal stuck to my helmet, which gave a soft glow and was just enough for my Nightsight to see. All the dwarves had Darksight, so they didn’t need any light down there. This is what pushed my Nightsight into the Journeyman level.

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  Walking into the mine was incredibly awkward. I ended up moving on all fours as if I were in my bear form. About five meters into the mine, they had hollowed out a large staging and work area. I could stand up fine in this, but we soon headed into the tunnels. As we went, I could see the occasional streak of lighter ore, some of which glowed slightly. This would be the remains of the Lightsteel.

  “Here,“ Undoth Greyspine, the Prospector, was escorting me on my first tour of the mine, and he handed me a small pick. “Try mining a bit.” I lined up the pick and was about to bring it down when he caught my hand, “No, not like that, like this,” he showed me the right way to hold the pick and where to strike to work out a reasonable-sized lump. He inspected the lump and said, “Not great. You left too much rock attached, which increases the post-possessing required. Try a bit over here,”

  As we moved down the mine, he showed me the different veins of ore, which were gold and Lightsteel, and the side tunnel where they found a small vein of Orichalcum. The side tunnel was not as neat and smooth as the main tunnel. It was dug by hand, not this ‘Rock Eater’ that I keep hearing about.

  “Is it usual to find so many different types of spiritual ore in one area?” I asked.

  “Depends,” he said. “There are many theories on how spiritual properties are imparted to the ore, and more than one of those includes the influence of different rock elementals. I have come across more many times.”

  Right. Above my paygrade… seeing as I am not getting paid. Then my guard training kicks in. “What are the chances of rock elementals coming to disrupt the mining?”

  “Weeeell,” he dragged the word out. He wobbled his hand to indicate a vague possibility “Not sure. They don’t like our Rock Eater.”

  “That is pretty vague,” I said.

  “We have stomped a few small ones already.”

  I need to get the procedure for dealing with Rock elementals. The Commander has procedures for most things, so he will have one for this. He just hasn’t told me yet. Then a thought occurred to me, “Ah, would rock elementals be one of the things I need to protect against in the long dark?”

  Undoth laughed, “Only the destructive ones, laddie. The passive ones can be ignored.”

  When were they going to tell me this? Maybe I am being underpaid here. I thought I was getting the good end of the deal with free training and a nice peaceful winter, but now I have to add an empire and rock elementals to my watch list.

  “Here she is,” Undoth said fondly, “The mighty Rock Eater.” I moved forward to look at the thing. This was the machine that they would have me watch rather than disassemble and reassemble. It was about five or six meters long, and the front was shaped like a drill with lots of teeth. There were lots of moving parts. It was still at the moment while dwarven engineers replaced some parts and sharpened others. It was the same size as the tunnel, and they had carved out a wider space to get around it and work on it.

  “How does it work?”

  “It runs on Monster cores. In general terms, the cores power the belts and wheels here, and they spin the teeth that chew the rock and spit it out onto this conveyor belt. The miners then separate the ore from the rock and push it forward again.”

  There was obviously a lot more to it than that simple explanation. “Monster cores are expensive, aren’t they?”

  “Absolutely, and this beauty is even more expensive. It is not just dwarven engineering, lad. The gnomes helped. It is one of a kind. It is only economical to use it here because of the density and volume of the Spiritual metals we are getting. But it is worth it, lad.” He waved back up the tunnel, “This would have taken a couple of years to dig by hand, and we are not even halfway through the season. We are going to be rich!”

  It was my estimation that they were already rich. It must have taken a fortune to build the Rock Eater. This was my first visit to the mine and my first sighting of the machine. I would eventually know enough to keep it oiled, warmed, and protected during the long dark. It apparently takes specialist engineers two or three weeks to disassemble it and a month to reassemble it. The main difficulty is the enchanting required, which has to be done every time.

  Udoth rambled on about his baby, and most of it went over my head. I sighed. I still have a lot to learn.

  “Your spear and shield skills are at apprentice level. When your axe skills get there, too, we will practice against Rock Elementals,” The commander said. “It is pretty obvious, though. You break rocks with hammers or,” and he showed me the war axe they all used. It was a one-handed axe with a crescent blade on one side and a spike on the reverse. “The spike on the back of our axes is very handy for acting as a rock pick, ice pick, or armour-piercing attack, among other things. You haven’t even got a basic swing right yet. When your Axe skill is at the apprentice level, you will start learning the more complicated ways to use the axe. Dwarves prefer the axe, which is why we teach the spear first.”

  He looked at me. “I will get Yoboc to start teaching you Monster Lore. Elementals are a particular type of monster, and Rock Elementals are just one part of them.”

  The next time I was out hunting with Yoboc and Goldie, we stopped, and Yoboc pointed at claw marks in a tree. “You know what that is, right?” He asked.

  I nodded. “An Ice Troll marked its territory.”

  “Really? What evidence supports that?” came the surprising reply. “It is definitely a Troll, but it may not be an Ice Troll. How can you tell it is an Ice Troll and not a Mountain Troll or even a Cave Troll? Making assumptions will kill people. A good scout and a good guard have evidence to back them up. Can you tell what type of Troll it is from this marking?”

  Ice trolls were the most common Trolls here, but I understood what Yoboc was saying. I looked at the claw mark in the tree. I leaned closer and sniffed. Just like an animal, the claw was the visible mark, but the true mark was its scent. The scent was acrid and cold and somehow clear like Ice. I had never smelled the piss of an Ice troll before. I just avoided them. However, my Olfactory Skill confirmed this was probably an Ice Troll.

  “The scent smells like Ice,” I said.

  “That is a good start,” Yoboc said. “I don’t have Olfactory, but even I can tell the scents apart. What else?”

  I looked but couldn’t see anything.

  “Look closer,” Yoboc said, “See that black inside the claw marks?” I nodded, “That is iceburn in the wood. You only get it from Ice-aligned creatures. That, more than anything, confirms this is an Ice Troll. A Mountain Troll would only have left the wood. A Cave Troll could have petrified some of the wood. I say, could have, because that is not always the case.” He looked at me. “We are going to go into this territory and get eyes on this troll. The Commander wants as much information as he can, as he is planning to bring a Patrol up here and kill it. I daresay it will also be training for his newest recruit. Tell me what you know about Trolls.”

  “Ah… Watch for their sign and stay out of their territory. They are strongly territorial and very aggressive. Trolls are strong and have lots of regeneration, and I guess this one has Ice abilities?”

  Yoboc looked at me silently. I knew that was not good. Finally, he said, “Let's get back to the basics then. What makes something a Monster?”