“Hello there! My name is Sam, and I come in peace,” Sam winced at the stupid statement as soon as she said it. Still, it seemed to work when the trio of humans huddled against the lone stone wall in the ruins visibly relaxed. Their eyes, however, stayed alert as she approached. The man and a woman in robes were hovering over the injured but now-conscious warrior girl who had lost her arm and looked to be in extreme pain. All three of them were now staring at Sam wide-eyed. It looked to Sam like the woman in the robes was a healer and trying her best to heal the warrior girl's lost arm, judging by the fresh pink skin and fresh growth from the stump.
“Damn, less than a centimeter in what ten minutes? At least five,” Sam wasn't sure if the lack of progress was because the healer wasn't that good or because her only reference was herself, and she was an anomaly.
When she entered the ruins, Sam asked the male, who jumped up to stand between her and the two women, "Can you understand me?"
"Yes, and halt. I mean, please stay back, mage; your prompt aid is appreciated, but we neither requested it nor do we have a means to reward you, so please leave us,” Arron’s words were far from commanding after having just witnessed the destruction Sam caused. The obvious fear in his voice made Sam stop walking.
After a few moments of thought, Sam said, "Nah, I don't think so, buddy," she gestured at the injured warrior, "Your friend there is hurt; I think I can help her," then gesturing to herself. Sam said, "I could use some spare clothes if it's not too much to ask. I'm not asking for a handout; I can pay you for the clothes.”
***
Arron finally looked at Sam at the mention of clothes as she continued ambling forward and flushed. Her clothes were little more than rags, stained with old blood, grime, and fresh blood from the alpha. Her short violet hair was matted with blood, and who knew what else? It looked as if she had tried to cut her hair herself after lighting it on fire and putting it out in a swamp. Her eyes, however, were vibrant and powerful as they were no longer glowing but were still a deep violet. The intensity of her gaze made Arron feel like the strange woman was staring into his soul; her focus reminded him more of the gaze of the alpha wolf than that of a human. “How does one even get purple eyes? I’ve never heard of purple eyes before.” he thought. Except for her eyes, she looked the part of a helpless young woman who had been lost wandering the forest for weeks. In fact, if he hadn’t just seen what she was capable of only minutes earlier, that is exactly what he would have thought. “But no one who could defeat an elite alpha wolf and whatever dark variant it turned into, as well as take that kind of punishment, could be lower than level…,” as he identified her discreetly.
S.A.M.; [Level 19]; Pathfinder; Neutral
HP: ????/????
MP: ????/????
Affinity: ?
Strength: ?
Weakness: ?
Attack(s): ?
“NINTEEN! Is she only level nineteen? That means she was at an even lower level when the fight started! Why can't I see any other information, and how can she already have four spaces for health and mana? This isn't good. Is she a monster posing as a human?” Arron’s mind was racing at the implications of what the woman’s class could be and, of course, how he could exploit it, “if we can get her comfortable enough to let Alice siphon her,” Arron’s eyes glinted with malice, “we will have an unstoppable force that only I control.”
***
Sam broke the awkward silence as Arron seemed to have locked up and only stared at her weirdly, “I said I can help her,” she gestured to the wounded woman again, "with the arm, that is. I might be able to regrow it faster than your healer.”
When Arron continued to stare at her, Sam had enough and pushed past him, which he let her do without a word. She looked back at him as she moved to the two women on the ground, saying, "Look, old man, if I wanted you harmed, you would be harmed, so relax and let me check on your,” she knelt next to the healer. She looked between Arron and the injured woman; there was an obvious family resemblance between the two, "daughter, I presume.” She wasn't entirely sure, but they did share similar features, such as their noses and eyes, “I really don’t know how these things work in this world, though; both women could be his love slaves, or it could be the other way around for all I know. Although I doubt either of those options is correct. How he is protective of the warrior makes me think she must be related to him or at least important to him somehow. So, if I help her, it should at least make me less of a threat to him and make all of them more likely to help me; at least, that's the hope.” She knew it was a lot to hope for; it was all she had now, and she desperately needed information about this world and the System that controlled it. “Please don’t be assholes,” were her thoughts before Arron finally spoke.
“I'm sorry, I got lost in thought for a moment. My name is Arron, and she, yes, she is my daughter," Arron finally said, “I will be grateful if you heal Alina’s arm but like I have already said, we will not be able to pay you,” he paused for just a moment and seemed to be thinking something over before continuing, “would it be possible to let Alice,” he gestured to the healer in the forest green robes,” watch you and perhaps assist? If you would offer some of your mana to her, she would be a great help.”
At Arron's words, Alice tensed ever so slightly, averting her blue eyes from Sam as she did so. This did not go unnoticed by Sam, putting her on high alert.
Narrowing her eyes at Arron, Sam asked, "How would she assist me exactly? Also, I already told you all I wanted was clothes, and that was a request, not a demand," Sam settled into a comfortable position next to the injured girl and tried her best to ignore the weird old man as he stammered.
"Alice can only heal if she has enough mana, and if you were to, ahem, donate some to her…" Arron trailed off when he realized Sam had stopped listening to him and was already talking to Alina.
Sam asked the young woman, “Your name is Alina, right?” Sam continued when the woman nodded affirmingly, "Will you let me try to heal you?
“Yes," the young warrior replied through clenched teeth. The stump of her left arm had stopped bleeding, but that was about it; the muscle tissue and bone were still exposed, and there was less than a hair’s width of growth from the nasty wound. The healer, who looked exhausted from mana drain judging from the pallor of her skin and beads of sweat running down her face, reached over to touch Sam but stopped when she saw Sam's eyes flare with purple light for a second as she shook her head. Alice pulled her hand back and placed it in her lap with her head downcast.
Sam looked back to Alina, saying, “Well, Alina, I'm Samantha, er, Sam, just call me Sam. I'm going to try one of my healing skills on you. The description says it should work on others, but this will be my first try. If it doesn't work, I can give you a health potion instead," placing her hand on the woman's leg, Sam looked her in the eyes, "Are you ready?"
Alina nodded, and Sam activated Mana Repair and Mana Casting at the same time as the skills guided her on how to push her mana into Alina. Watching with her mana sight, Sam tracked what was happening as her mana flowed into the other girl. Directing the healing process outside her body was much more challenging, but she managed to get the hang of it quickly. Realizing it was working, Sam focused, and with a grunt of effort, she began repairing Alina’s and her own lost limbs centimeter by painful centimeter.
***
The others watched in amazement as Alina’s arm fully reformed in just over two hours. Sam had started meditating and slowed her channeling once she became more comfortable. She made sure to stay at a point where she wasn’t depleting her reserves and could maintain her mana while she healed Alina. She didn’t know these people and certainly wasn’t going to exhaust her mana reserves right in front of them on the off chance they would attack her as soon as the warrior woman was healed.
***
Sam stood up once Alina's arm was fully restored. Reaching out a hand, she helped Alina to her feet. As Sam looked around the clearing, she saw Aaron had begun piling up the drained bodies of the wolves to one side of the large clearing near the tree line. At the same time, Alice had moved to the center of the ruins and built a small fire over which she had placed a spit and cookpot.
“How do you feel?” Sam asked Alina, who was looking at her new arm in amazement, flexing her fingers and moving it in all directions to check its function.
"It itches a little bit, but that's fading," Alina flexed the fingers on her new hand again, staring at them in amazement, "What kind of healing spell is that?" She quickly shook her head, "Wait, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that," she backed away from Sam a couple of steps as if expecting her to be angry at the question. Alina quickly bowed, saying, "Thank you, Miss Samantha."
“Please just call me Sam. And it wasn’t a spell; it is just a couple of my skills that synergize well," Sam wasn't sure if she should have told Alina that and was already regretting it but didn’t see any harm in it at the moment. She did think it was a bit strange. Alina apologized for asking, though. “Something to figure out later, I guess,” she started to push it to the back of her mind for the time being, then thought better of it, “On second thought, this is not Earth; I have no idea who these people are. I refuse to be taken advantage of. I will need to guard my words for a while until I can trust them, especially Arron; he gives me the creeps the way he stares at me and the little healer.”
Oblivious to Sam's thoughts, Alina just nodded, “Oh, I see; I thought it might be a high-level healing spell that Alice could learn,” Arron had just strolled over. He and Alina shared a strange glance at those words. Alice looked up from the campfire and quickly ducked her head again when Sam glanced at her.
“Is that fear in her eyes? No, that’s not it…” Sam thought when she caught Alice’s gaze before the woman looked down quickly. “Just what is going on here? I need to keep my guard around these people," Sam’s thoughts were interrupted by a question from Alina.
“If you don’t mind my asking, what is a Pathfinder?”
The question caught Sam off her guard, but she responded, "Huh, oh, is that what shows up when you try to identify me?” Sam had to admit she was curious about how much information others could gain from using Identify on her, “what exactly do you see, Alina?”
"Only you are at level nineteen and a Pathfinder,” Alina said.
“So, they see my race level and only part of my class name. Assuming she is telling the truth, that is good information to know. If Identify doesn’t give them the information, I sure as hell won’t,” Sam was now more guarded than ever. If personal information was protected somewhat by the System, it could be used against her.
“Let the girl be Alina,” Arron interrupted.
Looking over to the man, Sam looked him over. He had short salt and pepper hair in a military-style cut, squinty brown eyes, a small nose, and a stern jawline. He was dressed in a combination of leather and steel armor that had seen better days, with his only weapon being a hammer hanging from a loop on his belt. Sam guessed he was in his late forties, maybe early fifties; at least, that is what it looked like by Earth standards.
"Arron, right?" Sam asked, then changed the subject, "What do you plan to do with those corpses?" She pointed to the pile of bodies.
“We’ll have to burn them sadly. I...we don't have the carrying capacity to bring them all back with us," Arron looked longingly at the pile of bodies and then back at Sam, "You wouldn't happen to have the means to carry some of them, would you?” He paused as if in thought before nodding his head as though coming to a decision,” I will admit I am in possession of a storage item. Still, it is almost full with our provisions,” he gestured to the pile of wolves, “if you would help us carry the items, I will be happy to assist in harvesting the useful bits for a small portion of the profits,” he looked toward the pile, “at least the parts that are not completely mutilated beyond use.”
"I could help with carrying the loot," Sam said, slowly thinking about how much she was willing to reveal about herself. She decided to go with a half-truth: "I have a storage item, with enough free space for most of the pelts—” An angry hiss from Alice stopped her, and Sam jerked her head toward the woman by the fire.
Alice had burned one of her fingers with the cookpot and looked at the group apologetically, “sorry, so clumsy of me,” she gave Arron a thin smile that did not reach her eyes.
Arron returned the smile, but Sam could tell he was angry at the woman for interrupting her. She resolved to try and get Alice alone so she could question her without the others overhearing, which gave her an idea.
Sam cleared her throat, “Arron, as much as I love standing around talking about the spoils of our battle, it is getting a little drafty around here, so about those clothes I was asking for,” she looked pointedly at Alice with a raised eyebrow, “Alice, do you have a spare robe?”
All three people took a good look at Sam, and Arron flushed crimson; even the two women colored up a little when they looked at her. Sam's clothes were so shredded by the fight with the alpha they left very little to the imagination.
Alice pulled her eyes away from Sam and moved to a large hiking pack leaning against the stone wall, saying, "I have some clothes and a sewing kit," she looked back at the leather strips that Sam was wearing as clothes and continued, “I don’t think I can fix your outfit though. Maybe the pants…” she trailed off as she dug through the pack.
"I can keep my pants, I guess," Sam said, looking down at the bloody disgusting leathers she was wearing, "I just need a top. I really don't care if it fits, just so long as my tits aren't hanging out anymore," she said with a laugh.
With that statement, Arron turned an even deeper shade of red, which surprised Sam because she didn't think that was possible. Laughing even harder, she said, "Careful, old man or you’ll blow a ring gasket.”
Arron grunted, "Blow a what? I don't know what that is," he shook his head as if to clear it, "the girls will get you some clothes," he nodded toward the pile of corpses, "if you're willing to split the earnings from the pelts, claws, and teeth I will not ask for any payment for the clothes," there was a glint in his eye. He continued, "Say, 50/50?"
Even Alina had the decency to look surprised at the ridiculous offer. She opened her mouth to say something to her father, but Sam spoke first, "That's fine, but you process all of them." She knew she had slain at least eighty percent of the wolves. Still, she didn't have the mental energy to argue with the greedy man and figured distracting him might give her a chance to talk to the healer alone. Besides, she figured she could loot them quietly before he burned the remains. She wasn’t sure it would work but figured it was worth a shot.
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Alice pulled a shirt out of her pack and held it up, looking from it to Sam to gauge if it would fit. Sam strolled over to her and ran her hand down one of the seams. The shirt was made of thin, deep green material with long sleeves and a low collar. It had a hook and loop system down the front to keep it closed and looked roughly the right size for her.
"Thank you," Sam said, taking the shirt. "I'll go change over there," she pointed to a shadowed area behind the stone wall out of the fire and moons light, "would you mind coming with me to hold my canteen while I clean up? I'm pretty filthy, and I would like to be able to bathe at least a little before putting this on.”
"Yes, of course," Alice replied quickly, casting a furtive glance at Arron's back as he walked away.
Seeing Alice’s look, Alina spoke up, "I can help too,” and started walking toward the pair.
"Shit, I want to get the healer by herself to ask some questions!" Sam thought before telling Alina, "I think you should rest. Remember, you just lost an arm," looking up at the moons, she continued, "And there can't be more than a few hours left before morning, so why don't you try to sleep for a bit." When Alina still seemed like she was going to argue, Sam said, "Look, I realize I'm pretty much naked already, but that isn't by choice, so the fewer people who see me changing and bathing, the better. Alice is a healer, so I'm sure she's seen it all by now."
Alice nodded and said, "I also have a cleansing spell, but it won’t work on your clothes," she shrugged, "only living things." With that, she reached in and pulled some pants from her pack.
Alina sat by the fire while Sam and Alice walked behind the wall. Sam glanced back at Alina just before disappearing behind the barrier to see her gaze was fixed on Alice. It wasn’t a kind gaze.
***
As soon as they were behind the wall, Sam turned to Alice and asked, "Are you able to speak freely to me? I have some questions about the other two.”
“Of course,” Alice said with a forced smile while at the same time shaking her head no, “we are just a traveling party of adventurers. We have nothing to hide.”
“Shit, what in the fuck have I just got myself into. Okay, so she doesn’t want anyone to overhear her answers, I guess. But what is she? A captive? A slave?” Sam thought. Then she held a finger to her lips, whispering, "Do you understand what this means?" When Alice nodded, Sam continued in a low whisper, "I'm going to ask you a few questions. Just nod yes or shake your head no to answer me. Is that okay? Can you do that?” Alice nodded once, her eyes wide with either excitement or fear; Sam didn't know. That’s when Sam realized she was gripping the woman's shoulder tightly, too tightly. Sam quickly healed the damaged muscle with a sigh and released her, "I am so sorry; sometimes I forget how strong I am.”
“It’s okay," Alice said, throwing the pants she held to hang over the top of the wall and rolling the sleeves of her robes up, "although I must say you are powerful for a mage."
Sam only smiled at the healer, hung up the shirt Alice had given her next to the pants, and began pulling off the rags that were her clothes. She asked her first question, "Can I trust Arron?"
Alice quickly shook her head no, saying, "Of course you can.”
Sam tossed the remains of her shirt aside, “Alina?”
Again, the answer was no, but the head shake was less aggressive.
Sam removed one boot, then the next, "Can I trust you?”
That question caught Alice off guard, but she only hesitated momentarily before shaking her head again in the negative. Her eyes were pleading and expressive, full of unspoken words, and her jaw muscles were pulsing from being clenched so hard.
"Okay, this is interesting. Who would tell someone straight up they weren't trustworthy? What is your angle here, Alice?” Sam thought as she loosened her belt and let her pants drop to her ankles before stepping out of them and kicking them aside. She asked, "Are they criminals?" When Alice didn’t answer and only stared at her wide-eyed, she asked, "Are you a criminal?" Alice vehemently shook her head no.
“Am I in danger if I stay with you and the others?” Sam asked.
Alice thought on that for a minute and shrugged slowly, then after more thought, shook her head no. She held out her palms facing Sam, “I can cleanse you now if you like. I still have a little mana left.”
“Is that all you’re going to do?” Sam asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion; she wasn't sure she should trust Alice to cast a spell on her.
Worried this was a trap, she reached out with her mana threads around the camp to see where the others were and found Alina lying by the fire and Arron still by the pile of corpses. Sam was surprised when Alice's eyes followed one of her mana threads as it snaked over the wall. She only did it briefly before snapping her gaze back, but it was enough for Sam to notice.
“Yes, it is only a cleansing spell,” Alice said, getting Sam's attention. A coy smile played across her lips, and she said, “That is unless you would like me to help you with something else,” she looked Sam up and down, raising one eyebrow.
Sam was torn between being creeped out and flattered at how openly Alice stared at her. She thought, “What the hell, man? What happened to the scared little puppy that wouldn’t even look me in the eyes when she was sitting by the fire just a few minutes ago? Why is it that the quiet ones are always the biggest freaks? Has it all been an act to get my interest so we could have this conversation? Am I being played by all of these people? And to top it all off, I think she can see my magic! Why hasn’t she said something about it?” Sam was getting a little worried that she may be in real danger but was confused as to why Alice was acting the way she was, “I’m in way over my head here with these people. I’m not sure sticking around is the best idea.”
Sam looked into Alice’s expressive blue eyes and was surprised at her husky voice when she said, “I appreciate the offer, but I'm good for now, thanks. I just want the cleansing spell.”
Alice was cute and all, but Sam needed to figure out the rules of this world. For all she knew, the woman could be trying to trick her into something binding or worse, “Can I get a magical STI? Would mana repair even work on that sort of thing?” Sam decided, “I need to get directions to the nearest town or city and try to slip away from this weird group without anyone noticing as soon as possible. I don’t want to get caught up in whatever these people have going on.”
Alice’s hands glowed slightly in the moons light, and Sam let her press her palms against her chest, transferring the glow to Sam's body.
A warm feeling washed over Sam as the glow traveled across her skin, followed by all the blood, dirt, twigs, and grime that had built up from her travels, sloughing off her body and leaving a pile of filth on the ground around her feet. The process took less than a minute, and Sam kicked herself for not watching the spell with mana sight. Resisting the urge to ask Alice to cast the spell again, Sam whispered one last question, “Alice, are you in danger?”
Tears welled up in Alice’s eyes as she nodded silently.
Sam closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, “Well, shit.”
***
When Sam and Alice walked back around the wall to the fire, they found a grumbling Arron sitting next to a sleeping Alina. He was roasting an entire wolf leg on a spit, mumbling about how it would cook without blood as it slowly turned above the flames. He looked at the two women with slightly narrowed eyes as they sat across from him.
“I thought I was going to have to come get you girls. Wouldn’t want some dangerous forest creatures to sneak up on you while you were…distracted," Arron said, staring hard at Alice, who ducked her head submissively.
Knowing it was all an act now, Sam laughed, “I think I have proven that I can handle myself against forest creatures. Don’t you think, Arron?”
He only grunted in response and returned to staring at the roasting meat.
Looking toward the pile of corpses, Sam realized they had all been skinned, and pelts and meat piled up around the campsite. “How did you process all those wolves so fast?” she asked, genuinely curious. "Does he have a loot ability, too?"
Arron looked up from his cooking and shrugged, saying, “I’m a metal mage.” He said it as though it was explanation enough and went back to cooking.
Sam didn't know what to say and looked to Alice, hoping she would help clarify.
“He’s a metal manipulator,” Alice said helpfully, “why skin an animal slowly when you can use magic?”
Arron looked at Sam curiously, "You really aren't from around here, are you? Don’t tell me you harvest your kills without using magic. Where did you say you were from?”
"I am not, and I didn't say," Sam responded, stalling while trying to think of a plausible explanation for why she was wandering in the forest alone at night without giving too much away, especially how she harvested her kills. When Arron and even Alice continued to stare at her expectantly, she sighed and said, "I'm from north Alabama," when there was, unsurprisingly, a noticeable lack of recognition in their eyes, Sam continued, “I don’t actually know how I got here. All I know is that I went to sleep in my bed one night and woke up in the forest over a week ago. I have been fighting for my life ever since.”
Alice spoke up, “Oh, I’ve heard of that happening, summoning rituals going wrong and accidentally sending some poor, unrelated person through the void." She poked Sam's arm as if testing she was real, "It's very rare though, and usually the person doesn't come out with," Alice struggled for the right words, "they don't usually come out, with all their parts." She looked earnestly at Sam, "You are lucky to be alive. Not just to have survived an accidental summoning, if that’s what happened. But also, that you arrived on this side of the Tauris River. The forest on the east side of the Tauris is called Gloomwood and is much more dangerous than where we are now.”
“Where exactly are we? And what makes Gloomwood more dangerous than here? That alpha I fought was plenty dangerous.” Sam said while thinking, “I probably shouldn’t tell them I actually arrived on the other side of the river in Gloomwood forest.”
"You are in the Lengwood Forest in the kingdom of Orlina," Alice said, looking for some acknowledgment from Sam. When Sam just stared at her, she continued, "Are you not familiar with the Kingdom of Orlina?”
Sam shook her head, shrugging, "I'm from the Kingdom of America. I have never heard of Orlina.” figuring now was as good a time as any to ask for directions, she asked Alice, "Where is the nearest town or city from here? Is it far?”
Before Alice could respond, Arron spoke up, “Helms Peak is the closest city. It is a three-day walk from here. But don’t worry, you can travel with us,” his look was conniving, “I wouldn’t want you getting more lost than you already are in this dangerous forest,” he looked to the stacks of pelts and meat, “and you agreed to carry the pelts, remember.”
"I remember," Sam said, disappointed in not getting proper directions. Still, she figured once they had a direction set, it would be easy to determine their destination.
Pointing at the piles of pelts and meat, she asked, "Is this all for me to carry?" Arron nodded, so she walked over and placed her hands on the piles, making them disappear into her storage.
With the pelts and meat stored, Sam walked over to the pile of corpses. Arron had created a funeral pyre of sorts and piled the bones and unused parts on top. Using her flint and steel along with some kindling from her inventory, she quickly had a fire under the pile. On a whim, she touched one of the skulls in the stack and tried to loot it. It worked although not quite as she expected.
Corpse Pile Items:
15-Gold; 43-Silver; 97-Copper; Monster core x 19 [Red Wolf]; Small Mana Potion x 7; Small Health potion x 9; Stamina Potion x 4. Take all Yes/No
Selecting yes, Sam was thankful the pile didn’t disappear or diminish noticeably and absently wondered, not for the first time, how the monetary system worked in this world. “Just how valuable is fifteen gold?” she mused, returning to the campfire to rejoin the others.
Sitting next to Alice, Sam produced a cube of Deep Hunter meat and a skewer she had made with her mana crafting skill. She was putting the meat on the skewer when Alice slapped it out of her hand and threw the cube into the fire.
“Hey! What gives?” Sam snapped at Alice.
Alice pointed at the charred cube of meat, "That is very poisonous! It can kill lower-level people and even higher-level people with low endurance!” She looked at Sam like she was an idiot.
"It's also delicious!" Sam said, annoyed. Pulling another cube out of her inventory and quickly skewering it. Holding the cube over the fire, she looked at Alice defiantly, "It is also a great way to level poison resistance."
Alice stared at Sam slackly jawed, and Arron chuckled, saying, "I suppose that's one way to look at it," looking at Alice, he said, "It appears the Pathfinder class is not to be trifled with." He looked to Sam and asked, "From the state of your clothing when you arrived to help us, am I to assume you fought and killed the Deep Hunter on your own?" Arron raised his eyebrows questioningly, and Alina, who had just woken up, rolled to a sitting position to stare at Sam in disbelief.
Sam decided to sow a little fear into the group, hoping it would dissuade them from trying anything stupid. Like attacking her while, she was distracted or deep in meditation. She figured giving them a healthy respect for her strength wouldn’t hurt since she was stuck traveling with them for at least a day or so. So, she responded, "Yes, I killed a couple of Deep Hunters," as she pulled a couple of steaks out of her inventory. I have some Blade Tail and Great Timberwolf steaks if none of you want to level your poison resistance." She looked at the bloodless meat Arron was roasting and made a face, "I'm not sure that meat is worth eating; it looks a little leathery."
Arron looked at the meat he was roasting and gave it a disgusted look. It hadn't even dripped any fluid while it was roasting. He took it off the fire and started poking at it with a knife. The meat made a hollow sound when the knife tip tapped against it.
Alina cleared her throat, "Um, Sam, you wouldn't have happened upon the Great Timberwolf and Blade Tail when they were heavily injured or maybe dead?”
Sam responded, "Nah, the meat is fresh; I killed them myself," she was enjoying the opportunity to show off without revealing anything about her powers, so she continued, "The Great Timberwolf was a tough fight. I had to get it close enough to the river for a Deep Hunter to latch onto it and drag it under so I could—” she trailed off at the three stunned looks she was getting, "what? It was tough. I nearly died several times!"
'Monster," Alina mumbled under her breath, but for Sam, who had mana threads next to everyone, she may as well have been shouting.
The statement caught Sam by surprise. Yes, it had been dangerous, and there had been a lot of luck involved in that fight, but she was fairly certain the three of them could have done the same. With Arron’s ability to control metal blades and Alina’s warrior abilities, they could have kited the beast until it fell. At the same time, Alice would ensure they stayed healthy enough to keep going.
Sam’s thoughts were interrupted when Arron asked, "Sam, you know Great Timberwolves only become 'Great' after level fifty?"
"I did not know that," she responded, "but this one was only level sixty-one, so it hadn’t been ‘Great’ for long, I guess.”
"A level sixty-one Great Timberwolf and a Deep Hunter simultaneously! And at level…what, twelve or fourteen? I…I feel lightheaded—" Alina placed a hand on her forehead.
Sam thought the woman was being a little dramatic but answered her anyway, “Seven,” she mumbled, staring into the fire.
“Wha—what?” Alina asked in disbelief.
“I was level seven,” Sam said, bringing her attention back up and looking all of them in the eyes, making sure her words sank in.
Alina’s head made a light thump when it struck the grass after she fainted.
"Does she do that a lot?" Sam asked, "This is like the third time I've seen her unconscious in an hour. It cannot be healthy."
“Not really, but it has been a trying night for all of us,” Alice said and got up to check on Alina. She surprised Sam by returning and sitting beside her on the grass once she was sure Alina was fine. With a wistful look, Alice leaned into Sam and told her, “You are not a monster," she patted Sam's leg, "You're like one of the ancient heroes from the old fables."
“Don’t be daft, girl!" Arron said gruffly, "She's just a human who got lucky with her class. Nothing more, nothing less! Don’t go making up stories!”
Alice surprised Sam again when she snapped back at Arron, "I bet there was a lot more to it than luck! You don't get a powerful class like hers by being lucky!"
Arron’s face flushed with anger at Alice’s outburst as he started to retort, but Sam cut him off by holding up a hand and saying, "Pain. The cost of my power was pain," she shuddered at the memory of the blue grass entering her body, “there was an insane amount of pain that brought me to where I am now. Like, thousands of hot needles being shoved slowly into my eyes, my fingers, toes, they bored into my bones…" She trailed off. Then, looking Arron dead in the eyes, she said flatly, "I am not some lucky girl; I have done nothing but suffer and fight to stay alive since the day I arrived here." Looking at Alice, she said, "I'm no hero either. I am just a normal person who has been alone and afraid since arriving in the forest. All I want is to get somewhere safe and away from all of this,” she waved her arm around at the forest, “at least for a night or two.”
"I meant no offense," Arron started, but Sam waved his sentiment away with her hand, a tired smile on her lips.
"I am the one who should be sorry. I didn't realize just how stressed I have been." Sam smiled at Alice, "I'm glad I met all of you and could save you from the wolves." Pulling the now-cooked Deep Hunter meat from the fire, Sam produced a small leaf bowl of ink and dipped a corner of the cube before taking a large bite.
Alice and Arron watched in fascination as Sam moaned in pleasure as she chewed and swallowed. Sam then released a very unladylike belch, which caused Alice to jump a little.
Arron looked at the jerky-like chunk of wolf haunch he had roasted and said, "I'll take you up on those steaks if you’re still offering.”
"Sure," Sam said, gesturing to the small flat stone she had placed them on, "be my guest."
Arron took the offered steaks, and after removing the wolf haunch and tossing it into the fire, he skewered the steaks and began roasting them. Looking to the sky, he said, "It will be morning in another hour or so; we'll break camp then. That should get us over halfway to the road to Helms Peak before nightfall," he looked at the pile of burning corpses, "even with us burning the bodies I’m not confident the smell won’t attract other predators.”
“Sounds fine to me," Sam said, turning to Alice, “you want a piece?” She offered the cube of poisonous meat to Alice, who, after only a short hesitation, pulled off a piece with her hand, dipped it in the ink, and took a tentative bite. When she froze from paralysis, Sam touched her arm and channeled her repair skill into her. The tiny bit of ink she had consumed hadn't been enough to counter the paralysis, but for the most part, she was in no danger with Sam healing her.
Alice recovered a few seconds later and exclaimed, “You're right! It is delicious!”