SJ had spent time lighting two torches before entering the cave to collect the basket and pick the remaining mushrooms she needed. Wedging one of the torches on the far side, she found the entrance from which the Crepar had entered the chamber. It was a narrow tunnel with a low ceiling, and she wasn’t going to even attempt to investigate it. Moving round the cavern, she filled the basket before returning to the fresh air and the afternoon sun. The day passed quickly. She had been so busy that she was looking forward to getting back to town and getting a bath.

Her dress was pristine as normal, but her skin felt grime covered from being dragged along the ground and covered in Crepar ichor when she had fought it. Placing the full basket into her inventory, she transformed back into miniature form and flew back to where she had left Humberto. Thankfully, he was fine, and she reattached him to the cart before returning to the cottages. Leaving the caves behind her and thankful she hadn’t bumped into any of the Greyling’s, Terence mentioned she was quite pleased with the outcome. She had, after all, defeated a level 10 creature all by herself. It was her highest solo kill to date.

As she approached the turning for the cottages, there was a loud snapping sound, and she was thrown sideways from the cart, landing sprawled on the ground as the cartwheel broke.

“That’s a new way to fly,” Dave said, chuckling.

Picking herself up, ignoring Dave’s comment, she looked at the wheel. It was lying on its side, the pin that had kept it on the cart having sheared off. The amount of jostling she had felt probably had weakened it when she had been travelling along the rocky path.

“Damn. I need to go and see if the skeletons can help me replace it. There is no way I can do it myself.”

“It’s a good job we are close by then,” Dave said.

Unfastening Humberto from the cart, she continued back to the cottages. Waving as soon as the derelict cottage was in sight, she saw two familiar faces appear as she approached.

“Where is the cart?” Brian asked.

“The wheel fell off. It looks like the pin holding it snapped.”

“That’s not good. I am sure that Terence can probably repair it,” Charlotte said.

“Yes, but it is still up on the main trail, and I need to get it back to Lythonian at the church.”

“I am sure we can fix it. I will go and grab Terence,” Brian said as he turned and headed towards her cottage.

A while later, the pair came in sight walking back along the lake’s edge. Terence, from the looks of it, was carrying a wooden toolbox. Reaching SJ, he smiled. She was starting to get used to it now.

“Where is it?” Terence asked.

“On the main trail, by the turn-off.”

“Ok. Let’s go see if we can fix it then,” Terence replied.

The four of them headed back and it didn’t take Terence long to form a temporary repair on the cart, the most awkward part had been lifting the cart enough to reattach the wheel. It weighed much more than SJ had thought. With the help of Brian and Charlotte, the three of them kept the wheel and it in position as Terence worked on his carpentry skills to form a repair. He only used a wooden pin, but he said it would last long enough to get back to town if she took it easy.

“Thank you all,” SJ said as she reattached Humberto to the cart again from where he had been lazily grazing at the roadside.

“We are here to help whenever you need it,” Terence replied.

The sun was starting to dip in the sky, and knowing how long the journey would take to get back, SJ did not fancy travelling the final part in the dark on the cart.

“I think I am going to stay at the cottage tonight and head back in the morning,” SJ said.

“It will be nice to have some female company,” Charlotte said, nodding towards Brian and Terrence.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Brian asked.

“You two never stop talking about rubbish. That’s what that means,” Charlotte said, smiling at them.

“What rubbish?” Terrence said defensively.

“How many times have you both told the same story now about the Minotaur the master tried to reincarnate,” Charlotte said.

“Minotaur?” SJ said, taken aback by the statement.

“The story gets more elaborate each time it is told. About how bravely they both fought against it.”

“You fought a Minotaur?” SJ asked.

“They didn’t fight it. They just think they did. You would have to hear it, which I am sure if you gave either of them half a chance, they would tell you,” Charlotte said.

“That was an epic battle,” Brian replied, huffing.

“No. It really wasn’t. You both got your asses handed to you, and the necromancer killed it,” she replied.

“That’s not entirely true. I agree Brian did, but I didn’t,” Terence replied.

“You both did. I remember picking bones up from both of you after he had stomped the pair of you into the ground. I was the only one of us left standing.”

The two male skeletons stared at Charlotte, and neither said anything in response. Their expressionless faces made it difficult to understand their thoughts, but SJ could imagine them both having red cheeks from embarrassment.

SJ climbed back into the cart. “Come on, let's head back, and I would love to know how you both got stomped on by a Minotaur,” SJ said, chuckling.

The two skeletons trudged grumpily behind the cart, both muttering to each other.

The night at the cottage had been very pleasant. SJ had eaten some of her rations and listened to the Minotaur story's exciting rendition. Terence had promised he would not complete any work overnight while she slept, and she had eventually moved into the cottage as the darkness set in and settled on the sofa. The three of them were taking turns being lookout at the derelict cottage throughout the night just in case the Orcs returned, and when SJ awoke the next morning, it had been uneventful. Leaving the next morning, promising to come and visit again soon, she headed back to town.

On arriving at the meadow at the top of the crags she had to move Humberto off the road as a large, covered wagon was travelling on the trail. It was painted blue and had a golden livery on the side. Six horses were pulling the wagon, and it looked like at least eight could have sat comfortably inside it. As it passed, she waved to the Ent, who was driving, who waved back, smiling at her. Ents were probably the strangest looking of all the beings she had met in Amathera. There were not many in the town that she had seen, but seeing a small tree with sprouting leaves walking through the streets was always strange.

“I wonder who was in that,” SJ said as she moved Humberto back onto the trail.

“That’s the usual stagecoach that runs to Asterfal twice weekly,” Dave said.

“How do you know that?” SJ asked.

“Have you not seen it in town?”

“No. I have never seen it” SJ frowned.

“You were probably too busy training. I have seen it a couple of times over at the stables.”

“Oh. I had never noticed.”

“If I recall correctly, the last time I saw it was when Greb taught you a lesson of manners.”

“I did well against him, I will have you know. He is much higher level than me.”

“He still taught you a lesson, though.”

SJ could not argue with that since he had. She felt the side of her face instinctively where he had kicked her.

Arriving back at the church, SJ met Lythonian, who helped the old Gnome lead chorister plant flowers in the churchyard.

“Morning, Lythonian,” SJ called as she drew up in the cart.

Lythonian stood, wiping his claws off on a rag, and walked over, smiling broadly.

“I hope Humberto behaved himself.”

“He was perfect, thank you. I did have a problem with the cart, though. It lost a wheel on my journey back. It has a temporary repair now, but it needs fixing. I was going to take it to the wagonistas and get it fixed properly.”

“Don’t worry. I will speak to Katiyanna. She owes me a favour or two.”

The remark made SJ wonder why the wagonista would owe Lythonian a favour, but she wasn’t going to ask. “Thank you for letting me borrow it. I would have been at a loss without it.”

“Did you get everything sorted that you needed to?”

“Yes. I dropped everything off and managed to collect the mushrooms for Grewlas, although I had a bit of a problem with a Crepar.”

“Crepar. Nasty beasts they can be. They have a tough body.”

“I noticed,” SJ replied, chuckling. Hearing Lythonian say a word such as beasties made her smile. “Anyway, I need to go and see Grewlas, and then I am going for a nice long bath.”

“No problem. I will see you soon.”

“Thanks again,” SJ replied as she headed to see Grewlas.

Grewlas had been over the moon receiving the basket of Sancasia’s and her display had triggered with the quest completion.

Quest – Gather Sancasia Mushrooms – completed

Rewards: 336xp (96xp bonus for reputation), 2 silver

Returning to the Inn, SJ ordered a sandwich and a large coffee, missing the morning cup she had gotten used to. She would have to take some back to the cottage next time she went just to have a supply there. Going upstairs, she had poured a steaming bath with scented oils and was relaxing, soaking in the hot water, humming, when Dave interrupted her.

“I found it,” Dave said excitedly.

“Found what?”

“The code gaps. I know what the crafty System did when they patched the code.”

“That’s great news. Can you recode it then?”

“It will take a little longer than I initially hoped. It is buried behind over fifty layers of pre-cursor code, and then two algorithm locks must be overcome. Now I know where it is though I should at least be able to get to work on it fully.”

“How long do you think before you can crack it?”

“It depends. It could be a day, a week, a month, or a year. It all comes down to the locks they have added. I don’t know how complex they are until I work through the pre-cursor code.”

“That sounds like a foreign language to me.”

“It’s quite easy once you know the basics.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“I will let you worry about that.”

Disturbed from her relaxed state, SJ pulled up her character sheet to check on her experience needs for the next level and reread the details of her new skill choices.

Legionnaire 25007077

Name: SJ

Age: 27

Race: Fae

Class: Assassin

Alignment: Neutral Good

↻ Level: 7

Experience: 372 of 1000

Hit Points: 52 of 52

Mana Points: 40

Armour Class: 22 (15)(7)

Attributes:

Strength: 10

Dexterity: 17

Intelligence: 10

Wisdom: 10

Constitution: 12

Charisma: 11

Skills

Racial:

Night Vision – you have improved vision in poor light conditions.

Flight – when in miniature Fae form, you can learn to fly. Flying is not available in humanoid form.

Shapeshift – the ability to switch between Fae forms.

Class:

Martial Arts - Kata Level 5

Subterfuge - Identification Level 6 - 2 of 100 to level 7

Profession:

Tailor Level 3

Symbiosis:

Dragon Sense – your senses, touch, hearing, smell, and sight are heightened.

Precognition – foreknowledge due to increased perception will allow you to evade a killing blow. (24hr cooldown)

Divine lightning – your blood is combined with that of a Blue, increasing healing speed while out of combat.

Malware: Waiver (Sandboxed)

Inventory: 10 slots (10 special)

Followers: 3

“Dave,” SJ said, surprised.

“What is it?”

“I have three followers?”

“Oh. It must have been all of them as a group that became followers.”

“How? There was only a single notification.”

“Let me check.”

Silence.

“Yep. Thought so. The alert said ‘Followers assigned’”

“All three of them jumped to being followers just like that.”

“It made sense when you freed them all, provided them with a place to live, and gave them equipment.”

Lying in the bath, SJ was trying to contemplate that she had followers who would do anything for her that she asked them to do. It was a scary feeling having that sort of influence over someone. “It doesn’t feel right.”

“Why not?”

“Having that control over someone.”

“It was their choice. No one forced them. Did you not have people back on Earth that followed people and would have done anything for them?”

“I suppose there were fans of certain famous people who probably would have or even some politicians would have fanatic supporters, not seeing the damage they did even when informed.”

“There you go then. It is just a means of influence due to how you interact with people around you. I can see you gaining more the way you have been going so far.”

“I hope not. I am supposed to be an assassin and not known about.”

“Haven’t some of Earth’s biggest influencers had massive followings?”

“Yes. But they have all been in the public eye doing what they do.”

“Your skill tree is subterfuge, remember. Part of your choice in the future will be about how you can persuade and interact with others to get what you need from them. Before killing them, of course.”

Sighing, she lowered herself into the water, allowing her head to dip beneath. Holding her breath, she counted to ten slowly before coming back up again.

“Can I set them free?”

“You did that already.”

“No. I mean, release them from being followers.”

“Nope. It was their choice to choose.”

“It makes me feel so uncomfortable, though.”

“You will get used to it. Anyway, once you leave the territory, you can easily leave them at the cottage, just looking after it for you. It is not as though they need to travel with you. Followerships remain in place once set.”

Not wanting to contemplate having three beings that would answer her back and call, she focussed on her skills again.

“I have decided which skill I am going to learn.”

“I thought you were waiting for Level 6 in Kata before you chose?”

“I was going to, but it makes no difference either way, as I will select Shroud.”

“Great choice.”

“I should have selected it sooner and wish I had. Had it during the Crepar fight, the reduced damage would have helped.”

“It is only 30 seconds at level 1, remember.”

“I know, but it also doesn’t need me to level an attribute to increase it further compared to the others.”

“You will still need to level other attributes, though. Once your initial class skills increase, you will eventually get a second skill choice.”

“I meant to ask how I learn more?”

“You can assign hard points, which are earned at level stages, the first being 10, and then every two levels, you earn another hard point to use.”

Looking at her skill tree, she selected Shroud and confirmed the details one last time before selecting it.

Shroud – As an assassin, you may hide in the shadows; when you are shrouded in darkness, damage is reduced temporarily. The skill lasts 30 seconds per level, up to five minutes at level ten. (No base attribute)

Highlighting the option she selected to learn the skill. She was a little deflated as she felt nothing. There was no sudden rush of energy or any other feeling that allowed her to even know she had learned the skill apart from the new entry next to her Subterfuge skill on her character sheet.

Subterfuge - Identification Level 6 - 2 of 100 to level 7, Shroud Level 1

“I selected it.”

“Congratulations. You have started on your true path as an assassin now.”

SJ smiled at Dave’s comment.

“So then, what should we do about the note we found and the Wandering Ogre?” Dave said.

“I had forgotten about that. I suppose I can go and speak to Niweq.”

“What if he is the one the Dark Elf was going to meet?”

“Do Elves and Dark Elves usually get on?” SJ asked.

“Not normally, but Niweq is a little different by all accounts. Most Elves wouldn’t be associated with the type of place he owns.”

SJ had always imagined Elves to be upright and Lawful beings as most games and books portrayed them back on Earth, and she had been a little taken aback when she discovered that the local pole dancing club was run by one. Having met several in the town since she had arrived and many other races, it appeared that it didn’t matter what race any of them were, they all had the same chance of being whatever they wished. Apart from considering direct racial influences that prevented them from picking certain classes, professions seemed an open book in comparison.

“That’s it. I am going to see Niweq. My mind is made up. If someone is after me, I need to understand why.”

“You need to be careful.”

“I know, but I can’t ignore a potential threat. Maybe I should speak to Fran rather than Niweq.”

“That may be a more sensible option since you are the only two Fae here.”

“Ok. My mind is made up. I am going to see Fran.”

“You just made your mind up to see Niweq?”

“A girl can change her mind, you know.”

“Obviously!” Dave sarcastically replied.