Leor let out a sigh, shaking his head as he stared over the ledge at his slain foe. The Beast had been much weaker than he expected, almost like a common critter when placed beside someone as strong as Leor had become. Doubt pricked at him. Had he really needed to kill it, or could he have simply scared it away?
"No sense thinking about that now." he muttered, turning from the ledge.
He returned to the vein of Sunsteel, giving the sky a quick scan for any other unexpected guests before resuming his task. Now that he had a feel for how stubborn and tough the mineral vein was, he wound up for another strike, adding a burst of Willpower to his arms for good measure as he brought the pickaxe down.
A small explosion of stone chips flew in every direction like sharp little projectiles, as the tip of his pick bit into rock. Razor-like slivers of stone tore through the linen of his pant legs, but thankfully his sturdy scales stopped them. He began to chip the rock in a straight line, carving a weak point where the vein would hopefully crack.
Thick stone dust lingered in the air, covering his tongue with a bitter, metallic taste, and the dry scent of crushed stone filled his nose.
It was tedious work, even with his strength. It helped him realize why only a small chunk of ore had been taken by the previous miner, who likely wanted to take much more, but lacked the strength.
Just as Leor was getting into a rhythm, the first healthy piece of Sunsteel ore was split from the side of the plateau wall. It was only the size of a fist, but he was happy to take it. Leor scooped the ore up, turning it around in the light.
The mineral was warm to the touch, releasing a beautiful glimmer in the mid-morning sun. It was obvious where the ore got its name.
After quickly stuffing the rock into his oversized pack, Leor got back to work. The loud crack of his enchanted pick striking against the Sunsteel ore assaulted his eardrums for the next hour. It was brutally slow work. He was forced to knock away chunks of ore one fistful at a time from the wall.
The largest rock he managed to break off was the size of his own head, but it was only half Sunsteel, the other half being common rock from the plateau wall. Leor split the useless piece of rock off and added the hefty chunk of ore into his pack before continuing.
He worked all morning and into the afternoon, stopping only once to drink water and eat a few pieces of Beast jerky he snuck from Alina's stash.
The meat replenished his energy, and he used his newfound vigor to return to his task.
A few more hours passed, and just as the sun began to drift toward the far side of the horizon, Leor placed the final piece of ore into his pack. He'd filled it to the brim.
Laying down his pick, he wiped the sweat and stone dust from his face before leaning forward to strap the pack closed. He gave it a casual heft to feel the weight, nearly doubling over forward from the incredible burden.
Leor was forced to take the task seriously, grabbing with both hands and lifting with his legs as he pulled the ore-filled pack off the ground. Pulling the thick leather straps over his shoulders, he stood still for a moment, worried that the pack might be ripped apart by the weight of its load. Thankfully, no such thing happened. The oversized pack was made from sturdy Beast leather, designed to carry a great burden.
The heavy ore in it now was certainly close to the limits of the pack's abilities, but it still just barely fell within the materials tolerances.
With his prized ore on his back, Leor decided to quickly walk around the entire perimeter of the plateau. This high up he had an amazing view of the mountainside, so he was just curious what he might be able to see from here. Especially with his upgraded vision.
His snake-like eyes shone with their soft golden glow as he peered over the vast mountain forest before him. The forest canopy was thick, so it was difficult to see much happening on the ground, but over the massive distance his eyes were able to observe, he was able to catch sight of a few defiled Beasts, and even a hunting party from Drelk's fortress further down the mountain.
As he moved toward the far side, so that he was staring straight up towards the peak, he was able to see much more. The snow capped heights of the mountain were sparsely vegetated, so there were no trees to block his view up so high.
He'd been curious about the heights of the mountain ever since he made plans to go up there to hunt for a dragon egg, even though that trip hadn't ended up happening.
The snowy cap was still many miles away, so Leor was only able to just barely make out small details near the peak with his enhanced vision.
He saw a great stretch of snow, and then more snow. As he continued to scan the distance, however, a sudden chill shot up his spine as he locked his sights on the body of an enormous two legged Beast. The creature had a vaguely humanoid form, with shaggy white fur covering its entire body. Its oversized arms were thick with cords of solid muscle, giving the Beast a dreadful appearance.
It was hard to determine its exact height from so far away, but judging by the slain stag it had gripped between its bloody teeth, the creature was more than twice as large as Bone.
It seemed like some form of giant yeti, but Leor couldn't tell if the creature was defiled or not. He was too far away to sense any defiled Will it might possess. He continued to watch the terrifying Beast for a moment as it ate. Then, after swallowing the entire stag in a few large bites, the towering yeti seemed to turn and stare directly toward Leor.
The young man took a stifled breath and half a step back as he saw that the left side of the creature's face was covered in bulging deformities, like a thousand cancerous tumors had grown to devour the left side of its body. It was a clear sign of malignant defilement, the snow giant was a Twisted at least.
Leor felt an instinctual fear deep in his core as the defiled creature stared back at him, quickly averting his gaze as he turned to move across the plateau.
He was so far away that it shouldn't pose him any danger, but Leor couldn't help but trust the instincts that warned him to flee. Just as he had made it to the far side of the rocky tower, a strange whistle spread through the air like a falling missile.
Then a mighty crash shook the entire plateau so badly that Leor was knocked to his hands and knees. Debris began to rain down from the sky a moment later as he glanced back and realized what had happened.
The defiled bastard had hurled a boulder down the mountain at him, and had nearly hit the spot he was standing a few moments earlier. The creature's aim was just a bit high, sending the boulder crashing into the rocky wall above the platform.
As Leor was scrambling to his feet, the great weight of his overloaded pack slowed him down. Then, a sudden loud chirp right beside him nearly startled the soul out of the young man.
Turning to stare at the noise in alarm, he saw a large nest tucked into a crevice on the wall of the rocky plateau. Inside the nest was a tiny Beast, only the size of a teacup, its soft pink flesh had not even developed feathers yet.
As Leor locked eyes with the chick, another heavy boulder rocked the side of the plateau. This time the upper column began to crumble and tilt, nearly falling over toward them.
Without time to think, he rushed over to the nest. The baby Beast began to squawk in terror, attempting to flee from his approach, but its fat little body was not built for running. It had barely reached the edge of the nest when Leor scooped it up in his hands.
The valiant little creature began to scream with all its might, pecking at his hands in an attempt to free itself. Leor hastily stuffed the bird into his pocket, buttoning the top to keep it from escaping as he made his way to the edge of the plateau.
Just as he was lifting his leg over the side, and searching for the footholds to climb down, a third boulder crashed into the peak of the rocky column, finally knocking out its last support and sending it falling over. Leor's eyes shot open as he realized it was going to fall right on top of him.