Jacob Longstrider lived up to his name, running as quickly and as far as he could. He left the battle behind him. He could hear the clash of weapons and explosions of magic and over all of it, he could hear the roar of Grim Skullcrusher as he went into a complete Berserker state. Jacob could only hope that most of the Guardsmen would be slowed down by the battle and that he could lose them in the forest.
Constantly running and carrying Thera was draining Jacobs' Stamina at a dangerous rate. Thera was moaning in pain from the constant jarring to her broken arm. "Hey birdbrain, wake up!!" Jacob hissed at Thera. It was only a matter of time before he ran out of Stamina, and if he was still within range of the Guards, he would be hunted down. Jacob spotted a dense copse of trees and made beeline for it. He slowed down and made his way into the trees and laid Thera down.
Jacob made a makeshift gag and shoved it in Thera's mouth, then pinned her down with his leg then manually straightened her arm before setting it back into place. Thera's eyes flew open, and she screamed like Jacob had ripped her arm off. He then soaked some bandages in a healing potion and wrapped them around the arm. Thera spit out the gag, "Thanks Dick for fixing my arm!! Why didn't you just wake me up, so I could fix it myself??"
Jacob responded, "I tried, but just cause you got a little scratch, you think you can lay down and take a nap. Get your lazy ass going and fix your arm, so we can get out of here!!"
Jacob glanced through the trees and spotted 2 Bloody Hands running from a group of 6 Guardsmen. Fuck we got to get out of here, Jacob thought. Thera was channeling some healing magic into her broken arm to speed her recovery, Jacob messaged Thera, "Finish up on the move, we are still to close to the main battle site and more Guardsmen will come this way to make sure they kill or capture every Bloody Hand they can." They both silently and slowly moved out of the corpse of trees and continued to move south.
Jacob and Thera had been moving south for 20 minutes, the sound of the distant battle had died down, either due to distance or due to the battle stopping. Thera was walking more normally, but Jacob was still nervous. He still felt like someone was looking at him and that the "other shoe" had yet to drop. He was right, a Veil dropped and a squad of guardsman started swarming their way, Thera's eyes bulged, she glanced at him smirked and leaped into the air and changed into a Roc. "Fuck you, Thera!!!" Jacob yelled at the retreating Roc.
Battle Alert...
De-Buff Mark of the Damned: Break visual contact in 10 seconds or you will be marked with Mark of the Damned, (100% increased incoming Damage, 100% decrease to Dodge, decreased Speed by 75%) Mark will last until killed or captured.
Battle Alert...
Oh! shit, Jacob thought. In 10 seconds, Jacob would be royally be fucked!!!! Jacob turned into the attack and shot off an Arrow of Confusing Darkness and threw a couple of smoke bombs into the area as well. Then he chugged a Stamina potion and activated another emergency skill Swift Feet (increase speed by 50% for 15 seconds), he ran away like a bat out of hell. Please, please let this work, Jacob begged to anyone who was listening.
5 minutes later, Jacob had broken contact but was depressingly low on Stamina. He was out of smoke bombs and Arrow of Confusing Darkness was still on cool down. He had reached his goal though, the Bone River. He quickly went over to a nearby tree and hacked off a couple of limbs bound them together with an extra belt and jumped in
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2 Hours Later...
Jacob was soaked and exhausted. He had three De-Buffs that sapped his strength and health,
Alert...
De-Buff Hypothermia: Decrease Movement Speed by 25%, lose 1% health every 5 Minutes (Duration until healed)
De-Buff Broken Ribs: Stamina Regeneration decreased by 25% (Duration 30 Minutes)
De-Buff Internal Bleeding: Lose 5% health every 10 Minutes (Duration until healed)
Alert...
He had gained those amazing debuffs when he went over a waterfall while taking a short nap on his makeshift raft. One good thing was he could see smoke on the horizon, smoke meant people and hopefully a healer or surgeon. He slowly swam for the northern bank of the Bone River. He would never question again why they called it the Bone River, he was soaked to the bone and cold, it almost felt like the river didn't want to let him go.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Once he got to the bank there and just laid there and stripped off his armor and clothing to let it dry out. Jacob also started a fire to try to warm up while waited for his clothing and armor to dry out. Thirty minutes later, Jacob was finally dry and warm enough to start moving around. The Hypothermia De-Buff was gone, Jacob had chugged a health Rejuvenation Potion and had eaten some food to regain his health and to keep ahead of his remaining De-Buffs. He slowly put his armor and clothing back on and started making his way back to civilization.
Jacob slowly walked/hobbled toward the town, hoping that no Guardsman was at the Town. He had no idea what awaited him, his map just marked it as a location that had been settled. As Jacob came over the rise, he laughed. This wasn't a town at all, it was a couple of cottages, a sawmill, and thank the gods a church. Church meant Priest or Healer, and that meant he could get some healing for a "donation." People that were not processing wood at a sawmill, were busy running around trying to expand the "town."
As Jacob stumbled into the church, he looked above the Alter to identify which God or Goddess was the churches Patron, it was a crossed Scythe and Wheat the symbol of Demeter. A portly woman rushed over as soon as she saw Jacob. "Dear boy, what trouble have you been getting into!?!?" the Priestess asked.
"Well Mother, I argued with a waterfall. The waterfall won, but I will get it back next time ma'am!" Jacob said.
The Mother arched her brow, but then giggled like a little girl and said, "I am sure you will and I will be here to heal you again if you do." She placed one hand on Jacobs' head and one on his chest and his insides felt like they were on fire. The debuffs disappeared shortly after that.
"So boy, want to tell me exactly how you almost ended up with a Hunter Mark???" the Mother asked.
"Ahhh, I was profiled because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time..." Jacob squirmed.
"HAHAHA, sure. Since you have provided the most entertainment in a long time and because you got away fair and square, you are free to go. Get out of here kid, because I won't protect you from any guards showing up." The Mother stated. Jacob bowed low toward the Mother depositing 20 Gold in the donation box and logged out.
As Jacob Longstrider faded away, two young adults in their late teens too early 20s appeared in the church. No one saw them, no one heard them. As far as anyone in this world was concerned, they did not exist. "Well dear sister, what do you think?? Is he worthy? Do you think he can stand up against the others?" Adam asked.
Eve looked at her brother and answered, "He is damaged, lonely, and sad. At his core, he still has hope, in other words, he is bent but not yet broken. Given the chance, I think he will challenge the Heavens and take control of his Fate."
Adam asked, "Do you think She will give him a chance or will She kill him??"
"Oh dear brother, he is perfect for Her, She will not give up this chance" Eve answered. They smiled and for the first time in a long time, Fate smiled on Jacob Longstrider. Time will tell if this is a good thing or bad.
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Real World
Kevin slowly came too and pulled off his Visor. He was sore and tired. He needed a shower, bathroom, and food. It had been a long day, and the last raid on the caravan had gone FUBAR just like he predicted and he had earned nothing. He had to sneak back where the Bloody Hands were camped and pick up his stash of gold, jewels, equipment, and potions he had stored there. It was critical for his future that he reclaim all his stash there, he needed everything there to set his character up for long-term play and earn his way into an established guild. He walked like a zombie toward his bathroom.