The Followers - Part Eleven¶

Soon the three Homins were swimming in the small lake, floating lazily around the still waters in the calm afternoon. As the sun crossed the sky they realised that they needed to get moving in order to attempt some harvesting before the day became evening.

Feuor and Nih'na had light armour made by Limeh, crafted with utmost precision and sewed with a careful hand. They fitted perfectly and very soon both Feuor and Nih'na were ready to begin.

Dinah was clearly less fortunate as she unpacked her harvesting clothes. The vest and caster pants were made of medium Matis Light Armour while the gloves were low Fyros Light Armour and the boots were low Tryker. She looked so embarrassed when she had put it all on that she was unable to meet their surprised gaze.

“What's wrong Dinah?” Nih'na asked gently.

“I am... this dress... I...” Dinah started saying but was abrupt by Feuor.

“It is truly not the armour that makes the Homin, but the Homin that makes the armour!” he said laughingly but with utter conviction.

“It was given to me by my father, from one of his journeys. I have tried to care for it as much as I could”

“It really means a lot to you, Dinah” Nih'na said warmly.

“Yes, it was one of the last things he gave me before he..... before he vanished without a trace or a word.”

“Then it should be packed away somewhere special I say.” Feuor smiled.

“Yes, it should be kept and treasured, Dinah.” Nih’na could tell that Feuor had a plan.

“But.. but... I have no other dress to... harvest in”

“That is easily solved Dinah. My mother is a great crafter of Light Armour. If you do not mind wearing Tryker or Zoraï she will make you a lovely one!” Feuor said happily.

“Yes and my mother is almost a master of jewel crafting. She will make you some jewels to wear with it.” Nih'na added.

“But... we are... dappers..” Dinah started saying, she was almost stuttering.

“It is a gift to a friend.” Both Nih'na and Feuor said simultaneously, then looking at each other almost burst out into laughter realizing that they had thought the same thing.

Suddenly Dinah's face changed as she realized what she had just been offered. It wasn’t just the dappers, it was the unconditional friendship that placed a delighted grin on her strained face.

It didn't take them long to begin to find materials. In this it seemed as if both Nih'na and Dinah were more prepared then Feuor so he chose to care for their sources while they harvested. He had not studied it as much as they had since his combat training required such relentless practice.

Dinah once more surprised them when she closed her hands and formed a globe that gave off a shining light. The light seemed to shine brighter in one particular direction.

“About 30 meters that way we will find sources to dig from.” She stated and started walking in that direction.

“How did you do that?” Feuor asked in surprise.

“It is a technique to focus the source to reveal itself to you, even though it is not near. It seeks the ground for the stronger sap flows that are usually found near sources. It will then show a direction where it senses the strongest flow.” Dinah explained to them both.

“It's amazing, that is what it is!” Feuor replied as he walked behind them both, subconsciously counting the steps from where they stood until they reached where Dinah had pointed. It was 32 steps exactly.

Dinah once more formed her hands into a globe and now it shined with uniform brightness.

Suddenly the ground rumbled as small, green rocks tumbled up through it. This he had seen before, but found it as surprising every time. They immediately started harvesting while Feuor attempted to make the operation safer for them all. This, while he was peering into the small harvester guide he had in his pocket trying to figure out what the materials were and what they were used for.

“Ah, this is shell. We can use it for Light Armour, right?” Feuor said after a moment when they had dug some sources.

“No, you cannot use those shells to make a Light Armour Feuor.” Nih'na said.

“But, this book we got from the teachers says so?” He replied as he stopped caring for Dinah's source and looked at Nih'na.

“The book is upside down, Feuor.” She replied with a grin.

“Gah! Feuor watch out!” Dinah suddenly shouted as the source gave off a short boom and the shock wave pushed them both to the ground.

“Ooops” was all that Feuor found to say.

Dinah and Nih'na subsided into laughter when they realised that his harvesting skill did not quite match up to his combat one. Lying prone on the ground, he gave up and joined in the general hilarity.