Vina stared in shock at the popup window, eyes wide.

New Skill Learned: Blood Runes. Progress to next skill level 4% Quest updated: Learn Skills 2 13/25

Her hands twitched upon learning the skill. She felt something unfamiliar worm into her mind. Her eyes rolled up as she cringed in fear and discomfort. She pressed her hands to her head, trying to stop the worms in her brain. The squirming feeling in her head soon stopped, but she felt absolutely sick to her stomach. She stared at the wall in shock as new information flowed into her mind. “I can read them now.” She breathed out. “They really are letters.” She knew now the two runes she activated with her blood were consonants.

Still stunned, but curious, Vina pressed her bloody knuckle to what she could now read as a vowel. It too lit up red, and this time Vina felt the blood pulled from her finger. It hadn’t taken much, but it definitely had sucked it from her.

You are afflicted with mild bleeding. You will take 1 damage per minute until the bleeding has been stopped.

Vina looked at her knuckles and saw they were bleeding steadily. Not enough that she couldn’t stop it, but definitely enough she could draw with it like ink. When Vina looked again at the alphabet she had carved onto the wall, she felt something. “They’re hungry?” She whispered. Almost in a trance, Vina let the blood flow down to her finger and began to activate the rune letters she had drawn. The runes eagerly absorbed her blood and she noticed some letters were more thirsty than others. Soon Vina had turned all of the letters to red, and her trance-like behavior was overridden by a popup.

Warning: Your health is at 50%! You are afflicted by moderate bleeding. You will take 5 damage per minute until the bleeding has stopped.

Vina immediately looked at her health and saw she had only 45 health left. She almost panicked when she realized she would run out of health in just nine more minutes! Vina rushed to her old backpack and drew out the rags of one of her old clothes and immediately wrapped it around her now bloodied hand. She then held it above her head while squeezing the makeshift bandage. The blood slowly slid down her wrist and reached her elbow. Vina checked the bleeding warning as her health ticked down to 40.

You are afflicted by moderate bleeding. You have bandaged your wound and bleeding is slowed by 80%. You will take 1 damage per minute until the bleeding has stopped.

She felt a bit of relief, but knowing she could still die in the next forty minutes from bleeding was making her uneasy. Vina had just eaten some of her foraged foods and had the 5% healing effect active. “Will it be enough?” She wondered. She anxiously watched her health finally stop at 38 out of 90. Vina took a steadying breath when the bleeding effect finally vanished from her vision a moment later. Vina sat down when the lightheadedness and exhaustion became too much. She continued to hold her arm in the air above her until the foraged items healed her for a single health point.

Vina felt confused and disoriented. “What happened when I fed the runes?” She shivered when she recalled how hungry they were for her blood. She shivered again when she realized she had wanted to feed them, to bring them to life. She looked at the runes on the wall still shining in red and was tempted to approach them again, but she resisted.

Instead she checked her knuckles by peeling back the bandage, and was surprised to see the damage was more extensive than she had expected. The skin had been peeled back and was almost completely missing from all of her knuckles. She replaced the bandage back over her wound, trying to get the image out of her mind. “I need to rest. I can’t do that again anytime soon.” She gathered some of her bedding together and soon fell asleep.

Vina woke up feeling groggy. She had no idea how much time had passed, but she noticed her health had recovered a few more points. She was now sitting at 62 out of 90 and she felt much more alert.

She saw the red blood runes on the wall were still lit up, but they had seemed to dim ever so slightly. They still called to her, but only when she looked at them. Vina sat there and tried to reach an understanding within herself. “Are the runes alive?” She said to herself. She couldn’t be sure. She had given them her blood, so they had some kind of life. Her fear subsided somewhat as she continued to stare at the runes. They may be calling to her, but they didn’t compel her to take action like before. “I am in control.” She said, reassuring herself.

She tried to bring forward all of her knowledge about blood runes. As Vina contemplated what she had experienced and what she had learned, she got a popup.

Skill Level Up: Blood runes have reached level 2. Blood runes can be drawn 5% faster and take 5% less blood to activate or maintain. You have gained 35 experience from leveling a skill.

Vina stood up, but she did not approach the red runes. She instead approached the original runes that were scratched into the wall. She could read each of the letters now. Her skill even told her what sounds they would make if she chose to speak them aloud. With her new skill, Vina could see that the letters drawn on the wall were more than just simple letters. There was something else that held it all together. She suddenly realized what she was looking at. “This is a keyboard!” she exclaimed.

Vina hesitatingly reached out with her uninjured hand and pressed on a single lettered key. As before, nothing happened. Vina reached into her blood rune knowledge, trying to find a solution. “Okay. These runes have no power. How are they powered besides with blood?”. She considered what to do for a while. How had Priya powered these runes? Was she using blood as well? Vina was not eager to repeat what happened before, but she saw no other way.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Vina moved all of her possessions into the new backpack Priya had made for her and slung it onto her back. It was time to leave this cave. Vina took the edge of her knife and pressed it into her thumb, drawing a pinprick of blood. Vina pressed her finger to the keyboard and lit up the first letter. Using her blood, she spelled out the sound that Prosit made, the name of the town in Priya’s letter. Vina was once again afflicted with mild bleeding, but it was quick to stop now that she was in control.

Vina watched in fascination as the red letters grew brighter and brighter until the keyboard disappeared and the letters swirled together. A red shimmering portal appeared. It looked exactly like the blue one she had fallen into back at the mall, but this one felt warmer and inviting. Vina took a deep breath and walked through.

Walking through the portal was no different than stepping through a door. Vina let go of the breath she had been holding. She imagined it would be like walking through water, but there was virtually no sensation at all. The portal was still lit behind Vina as she surveyed her surroundings. Behind her was a massive boulder with a circle leaned against it that anchored the portal she just came through, and before her was a small animal trail leading downhill. It was apparently night time because when the portal snapped shut, Vina was plunged into darkness.

Remembering Priya’s warning about shadows, Vina quickly took the backpack from her back and imagined the small lantern at the top. She reached in and pulled out exactly what she had hoped to get. Vina hesitated for a second as she realized she would need to bleed again to turn it on. Vina fumbled around for her knife and finally poked her finger, finding it much harder to do in complete darkness. When she felt she had a good flow of blood, she pressed her finger to the lantern.

Vina grimaced and pulled her hand back as quickly as she could, but she had been just a little too slow. The lantern had stolen ten health from her almost immediately. “It’s way more thirsty than those runes!” she thought. Vina was shocked by how quickly this little thing could drink. Between the portal activation and the lantern, she was back to just 50 health. Vina was happy with the popup she got, however.

Skill Level Up: Blood runes have reached level 3. Blood runes can be drawn 10% faster and take 10% less blood to activate or maintain. You have gained 35 experience from leveling a skill.

Vina now had a tiny source of light when two runes lit up on the lantern. She moved the lantern closer to her face and could read a single word. The rune spelled On. Using a non-injured finger, Vina pressed the rune and the lantern turned on. It cast a red light around her that was bright enough to illuminate six feet in every direction. In the glow she could see a second rune word labeled Off. Vina checked and sure enough she did not have a shadow. She decided to Examine the lantern.

Item: Runic Lantern of Shadow Dispersion Epic This is an epic personal lantern created by a rune master. When active this lantern makes it 30% more difficult for shadows to form. Blood Runes: This lantern is 2% full. The remaining burn time is 2 hours. FireTending: This lantern does not have a flame and will not gain bonuses from FireTending.

Vina looked to the sky but couldn’t see any daylight yet. “Will two hours be enough protection time?” She asked herself. She decided she didn’t want to wait around to find out. She held the lantern out in front of her and followed the deer trail down the hill.

After just a few minutes, Vina had found a cobblestone path and a carved rock that pointed to Prosit. She felt an immediate sense of relief. So much had happened today she was feeling very overwhelmed. She was unsure how to process the cave she had explored, the letter from Priya, and the discovery of blood runes. The forced insertion of the skill into her mind had unsettled her. She felt like the privacy of her brain had been violated and she was scared of it happening again. On the other hand, part of her felt a connection to the runes on the lantern. They lit up with just life and such joy.

Vina was stuck deep in thought as she quickly walked toward Prosit. An hour later, she was getting nervous about having to refill her lantern. “I don’t have much health left to give.” She thought. Would it take too much blood from her this time? But her concerns were soon dispelled when she saw the wooden gates of a town. Outside stood two guards with a bonfire burning beside each of them. Their shadows danced on the firelight. As Vina approached slowly, the guards called out to her.

“You there! Come to the light where we can see you.”, one man called to her. The other guard drew a sword from his hip. Vina held her lantern up so they could see her face and she approached as close as she dared. “In Trina’s Name… what is she holding?” One of the guards said to the other. They both cringed at the red light. Vina was confused, but she quickly extinguished the lantern by pressing the Off rune.

“It’s my lantern of shadow dispersion. I’m no threat to you.” Vina said to them, holding her empty hand out. “I’m just looking for a place to rest tonight and recover. I’ve had a difficult time getting here.”

The guards looked her up and down. “Your clothes are strange. Where are you from?” said the first guard. He was clearly in command here.

Vina took a second to gather her thoughts. She realized she probably would have to lie here. Who would believe she came from another world? Vina gestured to her clothing and said, “I’m not really sure. I woke up in the wilderness and can’t remember anything beside my name. I am Vina. It is nice to meet you.” A window popped up on the side of Vina’s vision.

Skill Check: Deception Succeeded. The guards believe you.

The second guard turned to the first, “She’s awfully nice, Trip. Can’t we let her in?”

Trip looked her up and down and nodded. “I see you’re injured. Do you need medical help?”

Vina looked at her bandaged hand. “No… I think I have stopped the bleeding. I just need a bath and a restful night of sleep.”

Trip gestured to the second guard, “Marit, take her to the Rind Horn Inn. Miss Vina, tomorrow morning you will go directly to the Town Hall and register yourself. Failure to do so will result in imprisonment or even worse, exile. With the shadows about, you don't want that. If you find you need medical assistance in the morning, there is a clinic near the Town Hall.”

Vina nodded in agreement and followed Marit into the town.