“There were… magical keys among the loot that creatures dropped when killed,” the Mick informed us, eyes flickering as he recalled them. “At first, it were only Virindi, dropping Singularity Keys we had t’ carve up to open magical chests, or exchange fer Healing kits and the like. Then there were Sturdy Iron Keys, Director’s Keys, Master’s Keys, Sturdy Steel Keys, Mana Forge Keys, Skeletal Keys, Bone Keys, Legendary Keys, Reliquary Keys, and I be probably missing a few kinds.” He waved at the Diamond Heart after he finished ticking them off. “Instead o’ carrying around a mess o’ keys, ye could put ‘em magically on keyrings that held them, an’ peel them off when ye found a chest they could open. Saved a lot o’ pack space, but got used up with fifty keys, so there were always demand fer the things, at least until the keys weren’t worth picking up nae more. Diamond Hearts could be carved in a few minutes t’ make a keyring for Singularity Keys.”
Kris and I sighed together. “But you couldn’t carve Scarabs out of them.”
He glared at the Diamond Heart as if it was betraying him. “Nae, the secret were never revealed t’ us.”
She hefted it in her hand. “We’re going to work on that, then. If we’re using a new magic paradigm, like Ryin is using, the demand for these things is going to go through the roof.”
His fingers twitched. “I did stop by me place for a reason,” he mused, and she tilted her head inquiringly. “The Lockpicking skills hae served me well even after magic fell, but part o’ learning them was making gears an’ locks an’ whatnot. Lockpicking is the basis fer the skill t’ carve up Golum Hearts an’ make Keyrings.”
“Of for Sylune’s sake,” I muttered in exasperation. “How damn inconsistent can you be? It’s not Item Tinkering, or Magic Item Tinkering?”
The Mick blinked again. “Huh. That… would actually make sense? Except the Tinkering skills all eventually involved making things that ended up magical, I think?”
“And a Keyring that can magically store fifty magical Keys is not magical?” Kris said slowly, and the Mick could only give a lopsided smile and shrug his shoulders. “No wonder the System is failing. It’s so damn internally inconsistent.” She just shook her head of dark hair and pointed. “Last spawn, and let’s get moving. We’ve still got an island to cross.
“Lord Mick, you and I are going to see about carving up this Heart later.”
He rubbed his hands in anticipation, and even wiggled his fingers. “Aye. Let me see if I’ve still the touch…”
------
The archer teams we passed included a lot of trainees, who came over to exchange words on what was happening, enthusiastically recognizing the Lord Mick and what were effectively their seniors. They were all aspiring to come under him and receive his personal instruction, and even tagged along with the group to see what was expected of those who would become Royal Scouts.
They were a bit shocked by the incredible kill-speed the Scouts displayed, the mercilessly grim efficiency and teamwork, and both the deadliness of their ranged attacks and the swarming, murderous speed of their close-up fighting prowess.
Then the Mick deigned to show them how it was done personally, tearing through a group of angry green moarsmen with alacrity and brutal power, faster than they’d ever seen anyone kill the things, and his legend took a jump up the meter of fame quickly.
They also saw how I casually Healed anyone who was injured. I also easily treated a few of them with injuries without complaining about mana usage and reserves and the like, and they wondered just what exactly was going on.
If Kris didn’t want to be noticed, she wasn’t, and the Scouts weren’t going to say anything about her.
-------
“Problems, lass?” the Mick asked, as we faced the ancient temple that buttressed the new bridge on the other side of the waters.
Ithaenc Island, home of the great and powerful, playground for those who wanted to gain Karma the fastest, awaited us on the other side of the bridge.
I was rubbing my fingers together as I stared across the waters at the place. “The magic is stronger there. It is reacting to me,” I informed him and Kris, who both looked at me curiously.
“Be for your new magic, or something more?” the Mick asked shrewdly. “And be it hostile, or what?” he added cautiously.
“It’s… anticipatory. Like it wants something from me, and is waiting for me…” I sent glances at the both of them. “Tomorrow might be a bit more exciting than we’ve experienced so far.”
The Mick pursed his lips thoughtfully. “There be undead spawns, o’ Dark Magus an’ their ilk, all through the island. We couldnae change that, even if we scoured the place forwards an’ back an’ got rid of any ‘real’ ones. They still come back, claiming the Cathedral be theirs, an’ they be honoring Adja an’ the like, despite being stinking dead things who’ve nothing t’ do with life an’ light, an’ bringing their moarsman an’ snake toadies with them t’ do any real work.
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“That temple there be one o’ the places they be wantin’ t’ reclaim. They be havin’ problems getting’ t’ the Vesayans now, aye, no Portal magic working reliably, but they sometimes still send in sneaks an’ spies, the same way we can use Rituals t’ reach Dereth.
“However, there be a lot o’ lugians working the hills now, an’ a lot of Aun tumeroks working the jungles, an’ they be having a hard time of it.”
The green-skinned, digitigrade Aun ‘tonks’ did not look like their red Hea counterparts, although some of the younger red ones had noticeable reversions back towards what looked like the Aun form. The Mick had informed us that Virindi magic had changed the Hea to look more human as part of their service to them, but that magic seemed to be losing its grip in the new generation, and some were reverting back to their ancestral forms… if raised away from Hea society, at least.
The tailed, furry Aun were stealthy hunters and bowmen, favoring the traditional tools of the ranger: knife, axe, spear, and bow. We hadn’t visited any of their child-rearing villages, but the current War Chief of the Aun, Aun Gulchuta, was ensconced in their main encampment here on Ithaenc, and we were definitely going to visit him and relate the treachery of the Aun who had betrayed the Scouts.
The Lugians, on the other hand, had pretty much all moved to Ithaenc. The tall, gray-skinned humanoids loved their mountains and hills, and Ithaenc was the only island with hills tall enough to really satisfy their urges to be surrounded by stone. They had aggressively dug into and hollowed out areas in the mountains, taking care to avoid any existing Dungeons or dangerous zones, and the spawn points and undead interests that came with them.
Thus, they’d carved out their own safe spots in the hills, completely free of even slithyr infiltration, and basically only had to worry about the occasional wasp, zefir, or wisp wandering in, rapid flights of head-sized rocks taking care of those problems with alacrity.
Given they were the best metalworkers and runesmiths of the kingdom, we’d also be visiting them. There was a great deal of information to be exchanged, if they were willing to do so, and Princess Kristie was practically salivating at the chance to sit down with them.
Ithaenc itself, the town of the paramounts, was sprawled out around the Cathedral, which was carefully kept sacrosanct as far as its personal grounds. The spirits about the place tended to react badly to any attempt at building or claiming the Cathedral’s personal grounds, and there were more than enough adherents and admirers of the legacy of the revered Lady Adja to make sure no ambitious sot trying to claim the grounds there succeeded at anything.
Given they didn’t come back when they died, such threats had proven quite successful in the past. Now a low stone wall was about the place, with a nice wide walkway about it, warding away anyone with delusions of claiming the temple grounds for themselves.
That was our ultimate goal, but first we had to get there.
This island was where every human, tumerok, and lugian over Level 200 went and played now. It had the only accessible Dungeons that could be any real challenge to such folk in the Vesayans, and the only landscape spawns that could provide any sort of threat or exercise.
That many of them were extremely reluctant to go back to Dereth and face the greater dangers there after having lost their immortality, so many of their friends, basically all of their Gear, and were starting to age on top of it all, well, that was a different issue. They still numbered the most powerful warriors and spellcasters of all the races, even if their numbers were only a tithe of those who had once strode these lands like giants of their own, fancying themselves the equal of the Undead, Shades, and all the other races who were here.
Life had shown them rather rudely that they hadn’t reached that point yet.
“What’s your plan for tomorrow?” I asked the Mick.
“We make for Greenhaven and the Aun first, testing things out as we go. The roaches need more exposure t’ the magic o’ the undead, especially at close quarters. The more we give them t’ help, the better. Having a Healer in support will help a great deal, an’ they need t’ learn how to take them down better an’ faster.”
“Kill Traits, Achievement Feats, and Favored Enemy bonuses,” I nodded, and Kris looked over at me in interest, as did the Mick.
“Kill Traits?” Kris repeated gravely.
“You don’t know them?” I blinked at her. “My apologies. I assumed you had maxed them. They are like half-Feats you can buy, representing lesser tendencies from upbringing, past deeds of arms, legacies, or the like. One of those is like a warm-up for Favored Enemies, the Killer Traits.” I met both their eyes. “Pick an enemy type, the default being undead. +2 to hit, damage, and Will Saves against those foes.
“Achievement Feats reward grinding. Free +2 to hit and damage a specific foe type you’ve killed at least fifty of, but you have to carry a trophy of them. Stacks with Favored Enemy, and an inroad to the Favored Enemy: Slayer Masteries.”
The Mick fairly jumped at that news. “Nae to brag, lass, but there be no enemy alive on Dereth I’ve like as not killed a hundred thereof, and some o’ them, thousands!” he said with grim emphasis.
“Did you buy the Feat, then?” I asked him, and he blinked at me. “It’s an Achievement Feat. There’s no limit on how many you can buy, it’s not Class tied, but unless they are part of your background, you do need to spend the Karma on them.”
“Obviously not, fer I didn’t know the damn things existed until a moment ago.” He looked off into nowhere. “The roaches can all do it with wasps, wisps, and zefir, I’m sure, an’ slithyr, moarsmen, an’ mosswarts, along with the dillos and reedsharks. A few might have picked up enough for the Hea, Gotrok, undead, and perhaps even the burun an’ some shreth.”
“Summons qualify for kill tasks like those?” Kris asked, amused at the implications.
“If they are uncontrollably hostile, yes, they’d qualify,” I confirmed. “That means the Mick here should have them against virtually everything, on top of him qualifying probably for every Favored Enemy bonus that likely exists here!”
The Mick was rubbing his hands energetically and grinning now. “Tell me more of how awesome I ‘twill be!” he exclaimed in delight.
“Favored Enemy Masteries come in three flavors: Hunter, Stalker, and Slayer,” Kris told him expertly. “Hunter Masteries deal with knowledge of the Enemy: customs, languages, where they are, what kinds exist, the territories they can be found in, their habits, their tactics, their religions, gods… all the Lore related things that a Hunter should know when he goes to find his prey.”