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“When I cut off that giant wolf spider’s head, I swear it felt better than spending the night with a centaur. Not two, but you all get the idea.”

During the party’s two day trek through the cramped dark woods they had learned far more about Dimitra’s sexual preferences than they had expected to. Free from the strict behavior expected in the training hall, she was truly cutting loose, much to the chagrin of anyone with delicate sensibilities. Cire, having been inured to such behavior by his association with Durg, wasn’t bothered by it. He had long ago learned to cope with unwanted mental images.

I suppose I’m not really one to talk. I spent the night with Kalani. Whatever lights her fire is good with me, just wish I didn’t have to hear about it in so much detail.

The group was occupying themselves during one of their many waits between Honey’s enumerable scouting trips. Cire realized that if he was willing to stay as a bat for any prolonged period of time, and if someone was willing to carry his clothes, he could accomplish the same feat. He was getting better at identifying how to utilize his abilities. How much of that was his increased perception, he wasn’t sure.

Rocketing through the trees at head height, Honeydrop returned clapping her hands rapidly.

“We’re there! I didn’t see the others, I bet we won!!”

She slapped her tiny hands over her mouth and flew behind Fizz’s head, hiding from Obelius’ s chastising gaze. Fizz swatted his hands behind him attempting to shoo her away. He didn’t succeed.

As they moved on, the barest hint of a worn trail emerged among the roots and cloistered trunks. Vines and branches started filling in over their heads creating a tunnel effect. The party emerged from the dark into the warm vibrant afternoon sun. The clearing before them was similar to the Tempest Treetops, but there were no woven skyscrapers or buildings, only robust single spaced trees.

Each tree was distinct, not only in type, but also in maturity. A single fur tree was spaced equidistant from a small twisted juniper tree, and so on. Towering over all of the others at the center was something wholly unique.

A massive oak with bark black as night crackled with energy as lightning bolts struck the ground intermittently at its base. Following the electricity upwards Cire was dumbfounded, the tree didn’t have leaves so much as clumps of roiling storm clouds. Repetitive small thunderclaps reverberated through the air in discordant crashes.

The whole group’s attention, except Obelius, was so fixated on the wondrous tree that none of them saw the approach of its caretaker. Long hair, well past her waist, shifted in hue mirroring the clouds of the great oak. Her dark ebony skin matched the bark, down to small scars scattered across her body. The dryad’s eyes were the most peculiar. The orbs possessed no true definition, just swirling white electric energy. As she spoke, each of the students reacted in some form of surprise and turned around to face her and the instructor.

“Welcome, to the Hamlet of Wreath. For many of you this is your first visit, take care where you tread. We will provide you succor and hearth. You shall respect the dryad’s trees, some, but not all, are meliae. Particular care is to be taken near the storm oak.”

Obelius bowed deeply, gesturing for the other students to follow his movements. His response lacked the common tired tone to his voice.

“Thank you matron. We are honored by your greetings.”

Around them other dryads, all resembling their trees, began to emerge from trunks and foliage. Many wore long gowns or simple dresses made of leaves, but others went without. All of the dryads had female forms.

Pushing up through the soil roots changed and warped on many of the trees into rudimentary legs. Branches pulled down and wrapped together forming arms. Hidden under moss, or tucked away in small nooks, blinking eyes and jagged mouths emerged from bark covered trunks. The meliae, or sentient trees, followed after the dryads, but at a much slower plodding pace.

Minutes later, the group was surrounded by curious eyes and unreadable expressions. Cire was approached by two dryads and a walking willow tree. The dryads both had lithe, athletic figures and could have passed for twins. Their skin tone matched the light brown of the willow tree. Both their hair and eyes resembled the light green leaves. Each wore a short skirt and blouse, exposing their legs and midriffs.

They looked at Cire like they were examining a strange wild creature. While the dryads were both shorter, the willow tree meliae was many feet taller than him. A wispy set of coiled branches reached out and brushed his golden hair back over Cire’s ear. The two dryads both nodded in sequence, and one of them cocked her head to the side.

The matron’s voice was warm, but carried a hint of disappointment as it danced on the wind.

“Girls, if you are going to visit with our guests, speak out loud. Tumblebranch, you too.”

The pair of younger dryads looked appropriately chastised and blushed. Tumblebranch, the meliae, gave Cire an odd creaking smile. Then he rolled his shoulders and shook, sending a gentle cascade of thin leaves over them. To Cire it was reminiscent of a dog stretching and re-settling.

One of the dryads dipped her head before she spoke, “You are an elf, to be sure. But you are no wood elf or moon elf. What are you?”

Cire had become more acquainted with the peculiar natures of fae, his budding friendship with a fairy had done much in that regard. He didn’t know how young these dryad were, but he would wager they were much older than him. Cire was still considered a pre-teen as an elf and fae tended towards longer lifespans. He decided to error on the side of caution and be as open as possible, while still holding back pertinent details.

“I am a sun elf. From what I understand, there aren’t too many of us walking the world these days. What are you?”

Blinking wide green eyes, the dryad leaned in extra close and brushed her lips across his cheek before she whispered in his ear.

“A willow dryad, silly.”

Sliding along his ribs from behind, the other dryad’s hands encircled his stomach as she pressed her body against him.

“We have not had many visitors. Will you be here long?”

Extricating himself from the tangle of limbs and bodies like a slippery eel, Cire took a step back from the pair. Bumbling out a stammered response, Cire put up his hands between them.

“Uhhh… sorry ladies. I’m married.”

Whipping his head around, Cire searched for help navigating the turbulent waters he was wading in. To his chagrin, the rest of the group was similarly inundated by energetic and forward forest folk. He couldn’t even see Fizz buried under several bodies and twisting branches.

“We do not care, do we?”

“No, sun elf, we do not.”

Cire was saved further excuses by a loud thunderclap and the matron announcing the arrival of the other party of students. Following the same welcome as before, Eliana’s shrill voice sliced through the ruckus, sending students and dryads scattering.

“Setup camp and assemble for assignments.”

The Wreath didn’t have any buildings, but several of the meliae worked out an agreement to provide shelter. They planted themselves in a large circle around a lone fire pit and spread their branches over it. Calix’s party was sent on a quick circuit around the hamlet, downing several small monsters. Cire and the others were set to prepare camp.

Eliana and Obelius walked with each other around the inside of the hamlet’s clearing. While shadowing the party on patrol they reviewed the student’s progress during the trip. Each party had mistakes and successes, but constant improvement was the goal.

The wizened melee fighter prompted Obelius on the next topic, “What holes do you see in Cire’s form?”

Obelius blew a puff of air out his mouth, sending his mustache waving.

“Obviously, you are a better judge of that Eli. You have been working closely with him. However, we did form the parties so that we could swap students for the trip. If I was facing him, or any magic user for that matter, it is his approach that is most lacking. He showed some creativity when we fought a troll, but in his current state, the boy is just hack and slash.”

“His off hand? His legs?”

Rubbing his chin, the wizard gave her questions some thought.

“Cire does not utilize them like you. That is clearly his area with greatest offensive potential. Without a shield, dual wielding, or two handed weapon skill, he is at a disadvantage until he properly incorporates a full body fighting style.”

I never saw him shift forms. You said he has an ability that greatly increases his physical prowess, but he never displayed it. Does he use a sword after he changes?”

Tilting her head and giving her long gray braid a tug, Eliana scowled.

“No. Cire has only sparred with me in that form. He fears revealing his true self, it holds him back. Mixing skills and abilities is something he has been fixing, but I do not have a years to mold him. If Daphne had not requested his admittance personally...”

Obelius waved his hand and let a tired wheezing chuckle pass his lips.

“But she did. We both know Lady Silverstar is quite aggressive, in ways foreign to the two of us, but just as deadly.”

Sparking up a campfire after crafting it from gathered downed wood, Cire peered around the inside of the shelter. He couldn’t see any of the meliae faces watching him. However, he could palpably feel the presence of the treefolk all around him, something to do with the density of the air.

It’s going to be super weird essentially sleeping inside of other people. The meliae are sentient trees, and the dryads live inside of them, but this is still odd. I guess it’s not any weirder than a tree with perpetual thunderstorms as leaves.

As Cire was laying out his bedroll, Calix and the other’s returned. They began spreading out their gear, noticeably on the other side of the makeshift building. Most of the other party were wood elves, but there was another moon elf besides Calix and the lone glade elf in the class. The glade elf had pale skin, dark hair, and almond shaped eyes with a familiar appearance. She stared at Cire unabashedly, keeping eye contact as he unpacked.

There was no doubt in Cire’s mind that sooner than later the unwanted tension between him and Calix would come to a head. If he could, he was going to head it off at the pass. Brushing his hands clean, he stood up from his crouch and made his way over to the other party.

“What do you want?”

Resting the urge to reply with an equally short and disagreeable response, Cire flattened the tenor of his response to as banal as possible.

“Calix, I’d like to talk for a moment. See if we can work things out.”

Pursing his lips, the white haired moon elf considered the request. Obviously valuing his public persona, it wouldn’t do any good for Calix to refuse outright. With the instructors absent this was an opportune moment to humiliate the scum who had garnered so much attention.

“Speak your piece vampire, but no tricks of glamour or bewitchment.”

Wrapping a warm, if insincere, smile to his face Cire sidestepped the obvious attempt to provoke him. It wasn’t definite, but Cire was pretty sure that he saw several branches of their roof shake with small tremors.

“Mind taking a walk? We can take a look at the trees before the sun goes down.”

“We can talk here, where there are others. I won’t be brought under your curse.”

Cire pressed on, evading the barbs and feints of Calix’s words.

“It is warmer in here away from the wind. It is best for me to let others judge for themselves. I’d like to apologize. I’ve obviously wronged you in some manner to garner this reaction. What can I do to make recompense?”

Spitting in the dirt at Cire’s feet, a sneer cut its way across Calix’s visage.

“You can keep your filthy cursed blood away from us and keep your disgusting hands away from Katherine. Keep servicing that broken Silverstar and leave with her when she flees to the mountains.”

Calix couldn’t have picked a much better target to raise Cire’s hackles than he had. A seething heat palpated through his veins as this boy sullied Selene’s name and reputation. He wanted to tear Calix apart, not that he had any illusions that he actually could. It wouldn’t do to appear weak, but he could care less what Calix’s opinion was at this point, this was a demonstration for the others. The best way to undercut an aggressive bully, kill him with kindness and implied insults.

“Sure thing. Like I said before, my apologies. I didn’t even ask Katherine to dance, she pursued me. I’ll make sure to steer clear. You’re in luck on the last account as well. I plan to leave during the summer. Got plenty at home to see to.”

Cire turned and walked to the other side of the shelter and snagged his pack, unwilling to leave its valuable contents out of sight. Several sets of eyes followed him. On his way out of the door, he muttered to himself.

“I wonder how he keeps his hair so spotless. I mean, we trudged through the forest for days and it’s as white as snow.”

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Together the class refreshed and reinvigorated themselves at Wreath. Only being a place respite for a day, most did not have a chance to explore the grounds. Although, this did not stop the grounds from exploring them.

Their shelter hardly resembled its appearance when first constructed. Meliae had come and gone during the evening, alternating the placement of their branches as needed. Cire found it hard to keep track. He was pretty sure that the willow tree overhanging his section of the structure was the same one he had gone to sleep under, but he hadn’t noticed a stand out feature.

Gathering on the western edge of the clearing before setting out, another gaggle of dryads clumped around them. Either some of the class had been overly affectionate with some of the nature folk or they were taking excessive liberties with their goodbyes. In any case, Cire was pleased to see the two willow dryads who had cornered him yesterday draped around Dimitra’s arms, enraptured in conversation.

Prying some of the students away from their new acquaintances may have been difficult if it weren’t for Eliana and Obelius. Neither of the teachers would put up with dallying, nor would the matron. With morning mist still chilling the air, the large group set out together towards the center of the island. Far from support, the dozen students and two instructors didn’t split in two, but kept close.

Honeydrop still played scout for the combined party, zipping ahead to flit between the trees.

The two instructors hung back at the rear of the group. Fizz and the wood elves from the other party moved through the brush fanning out to the sides. Cire walked in the middle behind Lander and Philip, and unfortunately near Calix. Cire’s saving grace was that unlike before, they weren’t conversing while traveling, only waiting until they were resting to exchange words.

Pulling up at the banks of a bend in the river, they refilled their waterskins and took a break. Obelius kept watch sitting cross legged on a large boulder while Eliana lectured the group. Her instructions were quick, more commands that statements, each sentence packed with critical information.

“We are close to the foothills of the Spine of the Island now. If you do not remember, the spine is neutral territory and cannot be claimed. Hence, the monsters and magic are wild and chaotic. We could as easily run into a high level monster as a magical confluence. Do not wander off and follow our instructions.”

Still willing to interrupt, even after countless scoldings, Dimitra blurted out her question.

“I’ve never been anywhere near the Spine instructor, what monsters are common? How far do they encroach into the forest?”

“If you had waited, instead of speaking out of turn, you would already have your answer. Mountain ogres, yetis, cynolycus, harpies, and even manticores are common threats the closer we draw to the peaks. We will head south, away from the main ridge. However, many of the threats I have described venture into the forest for food. Be alert, be ready.”

“Yes teacher.”

Cire and the others responded. Busy securing his pack, Cire’s hand drifted down and gripped the cool metal of his hidden item, taking comfort in its power. The only entities Eliana had listed that he was familiar with were yetis, and they hadn’t been foes to be taken lightly. He could see others with similar expressions of caution.

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Picking their way through the thinning trees, tension built in correlation with their uneventful travel. After Eliana’s wary words, Cire expected a terrifying beast to come rampaging through the bushes. When none came, he was paradoxically pleased and worried. Scattered birdsong and buzzing insects revealed a forest alive in late spring’sheady embrace.

Building anticipation of a nebulous threat aside, the band of trainees reached the base of the mountains in good spirits and swung south. After heading back into the forest for several miles, they took to the trees for rest without a fire. Cire volunteered for an early guard shift with Fizz and Honeydrop. The gnome desired a smoke before turning in and the fairy didn’t need to sleep. Dimitra joined in for the first round of watch as well, not wanting to miss out on any choice gossip.

Lander and Philip, both exhausted from the heavier weight of their gear turned in after rushing down trail rations. Spread out as they were between three sprawling oak trees, Calix and his knot of companions kept to themselves. The teachers both set their hammocks high in a center tree, easily within earshot.

Dimitra and Fizz both sparked up pipes as they split off to the opposite end of camp from Cire and Honey. The fairy took off to search for a flower that grew in the region, but promised to keep an eye out and stick to the perimeter. That left Cire with some time to himself and an opportunity to address a curiosity that had popped up during their trek.

Somehow, the mushroom quest had completed. That, along with finishing off the quest to visit the Tempest Treetops, and the various monsters slain along their patrol; pushed him up another level.

Flay the Fungus I, II, & III Complete: Your territory has gained dilapidated dwarven residential and mercantile quarters. Your territory has gained a dwarven fungus farm with a legendary relic. You have gained 6,000 experience points. This quest line was completed by subjects of your territory.

I get experience for quests that members of my territory complete for me? The naga must have expanded into the great hall. What sort of relic did they uncover? I somehow doubt that it’s another piece of the regalia set. I bet it has something to do with how farmed mushrooms turned into mushroom monsters that can explode.

Anyways, what Durg and Selene were saying about the benefits of being in a royal house makes a lot more sense now. When I get back I need to send some scouting parties out to find a divine site and see about founding my capital pronto.

I had the option to set Sunset or Mistfall Lake as the territorial capital after I bound them. But I prefer founding something new. A fresh start is better to ensure that folks don’t have any preconceived notions of how things will operate.

Elucidate your Elven Ancestry Complete: Your relationship status with Selene and her people has increased. You have gained valuable knowledge regarding sun elves. You have gained 3,000 experience points.

Cire didn’t look over the specific relationship gains. For the most part, everything was still neutral except for a few exceptions. Daphne, Eliana, Fizz, and Honeydrop stood out as individuals he had significant increases with. He hadn’t gotten a notification for Calix, but he had a feeling that he was too far negative for a general quest to effect it.

He kept his ears tuned to the forest, not wanting to slack off in his watch duties, but moved on to his leveling notification.

Level 14 Acquired!

Earned per level

Points

Health & Mana Points

You earn 5 – 10 hit points per level + constitution modifier (3)

You earn 5 – 10 mana points per level + intelligence modifier (3)

4

7

Skill Points

You currently earn one skill point per level.

4

Ability Points

You currently earn one ability point per level.

5

Racial Bonus

You earn an additional skill point per level that is restricted to a martial skill of your choice.

4

I suppose that answers that. Stat bonuses from items don’t carry over to increasing permanent growth from leveling. It makes sense. Otherwise you could load up a child with Constitution raising items, even if they are hard to come by, and watch their hit points sky rocket during early level growth. Heck, you could pass them around between family members right before level thresholds.

Also, ouch. That was one small hit point gain for this last level. At least it feels good to be back to banking points. Keeping them in reserve has paid off before, but I might as well level one of the under developed abilities once, I’ll still have enough to push Bite or Regeneration up a level if needed. If it’s one huge enemy, Bite, if it’s a large battle, Regeneration. Time to see what pumping up the rage ability a tier does.

Cire dropped a point into Blood Rage and gave the ability a once over.

Ability

Current Lvl

Points until next Lvl

Shapechanger: Can change into a small black bat once per rest for a duration of 2 hours. Bats are considered a tiny creature. You will have reduced stats in many areas, but increased stats in others.

1

1

Bite: You can savagely pierce your enemies' flesh with sharp fangs to drain their health and experience. HP drain is currently 250 per minute and experience drain is 7% if the target is killed by the action. This ability renders you helpless. This ability is synergistic with Regeneration and will boost it by 1 ability level.

4

4

Regeneration: You can heal from small wounds with ease and heal faster than most sapients. At your current level you regain 3 HP per minute.

3

3

Blood Rage: Significantly increases your physical stats while decreasing your mental ones. +50% to Strength and Constitution, +30% to Dexterity. -50% to Intelligence, Spirit, and Charisma for the duration of the rage. If your mental resistance is overcome by the ability, you will attack targets at random. At your current level, the duration of this ability is 6 minutes once per rest. Duration is refreshed if Bite is performed while enraged.

2

2

Like Cire had guessed, the ability was still a double edged sword. It had increased in duration by a minute and it had gained a five percent increase with the Dexterity buff, but there was no change in the negative effects. If he wasn’t wearing the crown, with his current level of mental resistance, there was little chance that he wouldn’t go berserk when activating the ability.

Based on what I learned from Honeydrop and Daphne, natural abilities evolve when they hit the fifth tier. That’s where I am most likely to see a qualitative change. Still, I was hoping that leveling it would do something more impressive. Even if that hasn’t been the case when I put points into the other two abilities, it would have been a nice surprise.

Biographical Information:

Name: Ciresil Eventide

Level: 14

Experience: 107,351

Lineage: Sun Elf – Vampire

Profession: Fighter

Disposition: Flexibly Idealistic (+1 to Chaotic, +3 to Good, +2 to Orderly)

Languages: Divine Elvish, Ancient Elvish, Elvish Handtalk, Elvish, Common

Stats:

Health: 161/161

Mana: 152/152

Armor: 0

Dodge: 19%

Strength: 14

Dexterity: 19

Constitution: 14

Intelligence: 13

Spirit: 11

Charisma: 19

Luck: 11

Resistances:

50% Enchantment

20% Weather

5% Mental

-50% Holy Magic

Aspects:

Indefatigable

Trustworthy

Favored Enemy:

Gnolls

Skills:

Wilderness Survival 9, Natural

Martial Combat 36, Natural

Sub-skill: Fluid Motion 32, Natural

Sub-skill: Martial Acrobatics 16, Natural

Sub-skill: Grappling 6, Significant

Swordsmanship 32, Natural

Sub-skill: Large Blades 28, Natural

Sub-skill: Curved Blades 10, Natural

Sub-skill: Exotic Blades 8, Natural

Sub-skill: Surging Strike 16, Natural

Scavenging 7, Natural

Adventurer 12, Natural

Meditation 16, Significant

Armor 10, Average

Sub-skill: Light Armor 10, Average

Lore 15, General

Sub-skill: Arcana 4, Significant

Sub-skill: Mountains and Hills 5, Average

Sub-skill: Woods & Forests 9, Significant

Sub-skill: Elvish Culture & Customs 10, Natural

Sub-skill: Fae Culture & Customs 7, Significant

Communication 10, General

Sub-skill: Persuasion 5, Natural

Sub-skill: Oratory 2, Significant

Sub-skill: Diplomacy 6, Significant

Climbing 2, Average

Sub-skill: Rappelling 2, Average

Acrobatics 16, Natural

Sub-skill: Flash Step 16, Natural

Abilities:

Vampiric Abilities: Shapechanger, Bite (4), Regeneration (3), Blood Rage (2)

Skill Abilities: Flash Step, Surging Strike

Traits:

Child of Night: Vampiric abilities, heat vision. Nascent vulnerability to silver and Light Magic. -100% resistance to Holy Magic.

Child of Heaven: You have retained a divine soul. Reduced susceptibility to Holy Magic by 50%, vampiric light & silver vulnerability negated, and vampiric hunger reduced.

Elven Heritage: 50% Enchantment resistance. Low-light vision & acute senses, Perception +1.

Honorbound: While within the Hamlet of Sunset you receive a 5% bonus to all actions.

Scion of the Chimera’s Mane: As ruler of the territories’ noble house you receive a 10% bonus to all actions within the area. You may summon a territorial keep once per month. Theia’s Blessing: Luck +1, Perception +1. Other elements of this trait may reveal themselves over time.

Inventory:

High Quality Set of Clothing (Body)

Blessed Fine Steel Longsword (Equipped)

Scrimshaw Necklace of the Naga (Neck)

Warden’s Bracelet of Elucidation (Wrist)

Ring of Lunar Sunrise (Finger)

Silver Ring (Finger)

Backpack:

Extra Set of Clothes

Bedroll

Wool Blanket

Fire Sparker

6 Tinctures of Minor Healing

6 Tinctures of Moderate Healing

3 Minor Antidote Elixirs

2 Concoctions of Fiery Death

1 Potion of Naga’s Quickness

Crown of Moonlight

Food Bundle

3 Waterskins

Small Pouch of Coins (Pocket):

1 gold, 11 silver, 54 copper

Cire’s skills continued to climb higher and become more defined as he applied himself during class and the patrol. He was pleased with the progress and felt that his variety of talents was starting to become commensurate with his level. Matching Selene or his peers was still out of the question, but he was rounding out an area of expertise.

There was a change of note at the top of his status page. Cire’s disposition had changed. Previously it had been “Reliably Flexible,” now it read as “Flexibly Idealistic.” He hadn’t gotten a notification, so he wasn’t sure when the shift occurred, but he had a few good guesses.

Disposition, reputation, and plenty of other mechanics Cire encountered were finicky. These systems weren’t as straightforward as the items in his inventory, but they were far more complex. The status sheet was more reflection than definition. In the same way that level didn’t truly indicate strength, the written description of his status didn’t truly belie who he was.

Buzzing in his ear, Honeydrop landed on his shoulder disrupting his train of thought. She reached out and held onto his ear lobe as she gave him an update.

“All quiet! Nothing scary around! I bet we won’t have any fun before we get home.”

Dismissing his status screen, Cire resisted the urge to turn his head. If he tried to face Honey while she was speaking to him it wouldn’t go well. He had learned this on their night out when he had gotten a fairy hand in his eye.

“You just had to go and say that, didn’t you.”