I am having a blast rewriting this story. I'm working on chapter 51, and I still haven't gotten to the point where she strengthens her people.  Since I learned so much writing the outline, this one feels a lot better on it's path.  It has not gone off the rails, but the personal relationships might have gotten inflamed a little bit earlier. It will be explained, but not right away. No sense in revealing all the secret details in an info dump.  Tomorrow's chapter will be released as normal, but here is a little bonus as I'm so happy to write this story right now.

* * *

"That took more effort than I expected." Aila said with a growl. "Another three trees are dust, but I'm finally able to picture it properly, and cut the trees the way I want them to look." She nodded once as a point on her statement, and looked at the two half logs she just split.

Aila also noticed something as she used the green elemental essence, as this detail was something she hadn't yet understood. Like all skills, if a human can do something once, they can do it again.

What did that mean? Now that she had split a log down the middle, she could do it again. Once she had that picture within her mind, she was able to slice planks off the surface of the half logs until it had been turned into a pile of planks.

"Okay, I have planks. How do I make a cart?"

* * *

"Well, I guess wooden wheels are okay, just a bit rough." She lifted the handles and sighed. "I can remake it later, when I get more skilled, but I need to get this bear over to the town."

With her two wheeled handcart trailed behind her, Aila pulled it towards the town, with seemingly no regard for any beasts she might meet on the way.

Even when a small pack of flame wolves stopped her on the way, she didn't flinch. Instead, she put the handles down, pulled out her sword, and quickly killed them.

"Head." Sliced the head off with one swipe when she approached too quickly for the wolves to react. "Eyes." She stabbed through the bone between the eyes, and killed it with one quick jab. "Brain." She smashed down with the hilt of the sword.

"Well, that is three more carcasses. I hope Toril doesn't mind."

* * *

With the cart made of thick ironwood, even though there were an additional three carcasses, it held up during the entire trip. She pulled the cart around the stable, and almost got to the gate when she lifted her eyes.

"Don't let them in!" Aila frowned as Venn shouted.

"Beast shit, who allowed these guys to become zombies!" Drom said loudly. His arrows stuck in the chest of one of the 'zombies' attacking the gate, but that didn't slow them down.

Three men tried to climb the gate so they could get inside, but they were uncoordinated, and didn't seem to be able to think. The problem was the way they moved, and how familiar they looked.

"Young lady, look out! They are zombies!" Drom called out. Aila looked as the men turned towards her, which made her startled.

"Wait, you're the guys I killed!" Her eyes narrowed as she felt something rotate and revolve around the three men.

"No headless ones, just the ones who still have their heads. Interesting." Aila shivered as she sensed an energy within the zombies, and unintentionally licked her lips.

"Gimme!" She growled as she held out her hand, palm facing towards the three dead men. They twitched, shuddered and shook, and finally fell down onto their faces. She took out her sword.

"You guys just keep causing trouble, don't you?" Three quick swipes later, the gate slowly opened.

"I don't believe it. You killed them without using light or life elements to purify them." Drom said.

"Life and light can purify zombies?" She asked.

"Ah, yes, you're new around here." Drom said, although he was quite shaken inside. She destroyed three zombies by herself, and though the carcasses on the cart were quite impressive, he hadn't noticed the pile there yet. He was preoccupied by the zombies, and their end.

"Zombies are animated by death elements when the body is left for several hours. That's why all bodies are beheaded before they are buried." Drom explained, but looked at her cart.

"Bloody beast stones, young lady, you're going to give an old man a heart problem." Drom said as he shivered.

"If they wouldn't have attacked me, I wouldn't have to kill them." She said and shrugged. "I just hope Toril, Rirn, and the butcher will buy the materials." Drom rolled his eyes.

"Young lady, they will fall all over themselves to be allowed to purchase the flame wolves, and the stone bear." Drom said.

"He's right, little lady. A stone bear has premium materials, and no one can bring the materials from one of them in unless they were killed by other beasts, but those are usually just scraps of hide. Never anything intact." Venn said, and stared at her cart.

"I'll follow you in, just in case another fool decides to try and rip you off." Venn said. "Not that I don't trust that you can protect yourself, but I don't want you to be responsible for killing people in town."

"Makes sense. Fools are everywhere." Aila said. Venn grinned.

"Some even become zombies."

* * *

"Now I'm sure you're not human, girl!" Toril said with a large belly laugh. Aila smiled, but didn't comment on the longer canines the demi human possessed as she thought it might be rude considering he was quite nice to her.

"The bear appeared while I was walking home. The wolves decided that they could take the bear from me, and make me their meal." she grinned. "You can see that they were both wrong."

"Quite easy to see, if you ask me. Come on. Bring them in one at a time, and we'll strip those buggers of their fur. Since you didn't gut them, you can get a premium price on that organ meat from Nel." He said and slipped the skinning knife out of the sheathe. He ran it over the sharpening stone while she brought in two of the wolves.

"Can you sell a few of the cores to Rirn? If not for your business, he could barely make a living, and he's no where near making a decent living." Toril said as he started to skin the first wolf.

"Easily." Aila said. "I'll probably take off the stone bear plates and sell them to him. Though bones have some use, those plates are thick and can be polished. Make some nice inlays, or handles." Toril nodded.

"Thank you. Unless the Inaris decide to kick up a fuss, or try to steal them, he'll make a good profit on it." Toril said, but didn't see Aila's eyes narrow.

She was not fond of bullies, and this clan sounded like the worst kind of bully. A stupid one.