1st June,1329.
The road to Glasgow, Scotland.
Earth.
Liam awoke from nightmarish dreams with a start.
He looked about, blinking in confusion. The canvas of a tent fluttered with the wind above him.
A blurry form moved away in surprise as he surged to his elbows.
Not recognizing where he was, Liam tried to look about. Something bumped beneath him, and as it did, his hearing seemed to return. A warbling squeal rose above the steady thumping of hooves. Each beat in counterpoint to the wood scrapes and metal clunking of wheels.
A wagon? He thought.
Red visions with golden text obscured the form. He blinked and things came into focus once more.
Tu enim assecutus es scientia: COGNOSCO
Cognosco est autus per punctum 1
Liam looked at the visions, confused.
He tried to display them, hoping someone would help him understand.
A soft gentle voice nearby said, "You have gained the ability: Identify. Identify has increased by 1 point."
I must have identified something before I fell asleep. He realised.
He dismissed the vision and blinked a few more times. The figure resolved itself into the face of Lady Tatania.
He was safe.
The Lady was hovering over him, saying something he didn't hear above the wagons noise.
He slowly sat up, turning so his legs stuck out of the cot. They were cold, so he quickly covered them with the blankets.
Groaning, he stretched, as his fragmented mind linked things together once more. He lay upon a cot in a covered wagon, adapted for the comfort of the road.
A small furnace, bolted to the floor, shook and rattled as the wagon bounced steadily along the road, sparks kicked up by the movement of the burning wood inside landed on a metal plate designed to protect the fabric from catching aflame.
The brazier was keeping the canvas-covered wagon remarkably warm, fighting against the slight chill from the wind outside. Liam still felt small wisps of cold seeping through the cracks in the floor beneath his legs.
“How are you feeling Liam?” The Lady asked. Liam’s previous increase in the intelligence attribute aiding him in understanding her.
Smiling gratefully at the Lady. "I am well, Thank you, Milady.” Liam said.
“How long have I been...?” His voice trailed off into a yawn as he stretched.
“Asleep?" She demanded, "Resting? You’ve been unconscious! No wonder you were having nightmares, after all you've been through!”
Her lips pursed in displeasure, adding softly. “And all because of my unkind, impatient, mean-spirited…” she huffed, smoothing her skirts as she slowly calmed. “... my dear beloved husband forced you to work yourself to the bone for a foolish trial of the system.”
“Milady, it wasn’t…” Liam began. He thought rapidly. "It wasn't your husband's fault. I just wanted to be useful, and I was interested in finding out how strength works too!"
A girl stuck her head into the wagon. Liam had never seen her before, but her bearing was clearly that of a noble.
She was incredibly pretty, and eyed Liam with the wary look of a girl newly grown into her beauty.
"Highness," It was Tatania who spoke. She gave a curtsy that was elegant despite the movement of the wagon upon the road. Liam moved his blankets aside to make a bow. But the Princess waved him quickly back to the cot.
The young princess returned the Lady's curtsey. "Milord Douglas said to tell you we are approaching a camp site ahead."
She studiously ignored Liam, who was sure he had never seen a girl close to this perfect before. The Lady being the exception of course.
"Well Margaret, I suppose it is time for your first lesson in how to deal with a stubborn fool." She said, and the two turned on Liam with a predatory gleam in their eyes. "He had just got done saying that falling unconscious during a foolish contest, at my husband's behest, is NOT the responsibility of the Lord! And all from his sickbed, still clad in his small-clothes!"
Liam's brain seemed sluggish, despite the increases in intelligence. He kept being distracted by the girl's proximity, her amazing brown hair and sky-blue eyes. Her...
Are they laughing at me!
The next thing Liam noticed was that he did indeed lay in his small-clothes. He blushed a deep crimson. Covering himself as best he could, he changed quickly. Both the Lady and Princess turning to allow him to rise and change with some privacy.
"I'm sorry Milady," he said, struggling to remember what she'd just said. "But it wasn't the Lord's fault, truly. I should have been more careful. I just got carried away after he ordered me to keep assigning points while lifting the tabl..." His brain finally caught up to his mouth and he snapped it shut.
He bowed his head in shame as the two women laughed. His failure to protect Lord Douglas apparent to all.
Liam HAD wanted to test out the system and the strength his attributes gave him. He knew there were better things to use the Available Attributes on, but his new strength was still a useful thing!
He was now at least a quarter again as strong as he'd been. While it wasn't much in the scheme of things, he suspected he was now as strong as some full-grown men. He felt that Lord James wasn't to blame. At least not entirely, as the Lady seemed to suggest.
The Lady, however, saw fit to blame all of this on the Lord, and Liam didn't know why.
In the way of boys, not understanding the matters of women and men, he asked bluntly, "Milady, why do you want to blame the Lord for the trial? It was his idea, but I willingly took part!"
The Lady turned to the Princess and smiled. "You flash them a pretty smile and their brains forget what their mouth is doing. Then they get all defensive and ask blunt questions, like 'is everything alright' and 'why are you wanting to blame the Lord for pig-headedness'."
The young maiden giggled, but glared at Liam when he said "I never said the Lord is pi..."
Turning back to Liam the Lady sat straighter in the wagon's bench, placing her hands together over her skirts. "You may have willingly taken part, young Page," she said, her voice stern. "But you shall not defend my husband in this matter. He knows it is his fault, and he shall offer you an apology when he arrives."
She said this as though the matter had already been settled beforehand. Given the Lady's confidence, it likely had been.
Liam heard the words but still didn't really understand. Rather than press the issue, he capitulated. "Yes Milady. May I ask where we are?" He queried.
"We are on the road North, to Cardross, only about a day out from Glasgow if the roads are good." she said. "You've been unconscious for nearly a full day, and we worried you may never awaken. Margaret and I stayed by your side, ensuring that you were given water and were kept warm. Even the Lord watched over you for a time! He delayed our leaving until today, although it grates at him."
Liam looked at Margaret who blushed as deep a crimson as he did at the word 'warm'. Scandalized, Liam looked to the small fire crackling in the steel brazier, hoping that is what she meant. Margaret nodded, discreetly pointing at the brazier, and saw him make the correct deduction. Her frown deepened as he looked much relieved.
Thank God! Liam thought. At least I'm not to be executed for being unconscious! Even a hint of a suspicion that he'd lain with the daughter of the King would see him swiftly for the chop - or more likely - the noose, a drawn-out disembowelment and then the chop.
Not realizing what Liam had been thinking, Lady Tatania moved on. “My dear apologetic husband also explained to me you were needing the learning of the Latin, and of the ways of books.” Lady Tatania said.
“I suppose now is as good a time as any if you feel up to it.” She said, smiling. "Young Margaret here shall aid you."
She looked at the girl whose mouth turned down at the corners in a very pleasant pout. "You shall not pout missy!" The Lady ordered. "Spending all your time reading folio's and quarto's in the convent has spoiled you. You shall help Liam, or you can wait out in the cold! Besides, how shall you survive the intrigues of court if you cannot stand even the company of a single boy?"
The Princess Margaret, glowered. First at Lady Tatania, then at Liam. She has a beautiful nose. He thought.
"I cannot stand the Latin!" The princess said in a huff. "You always make me seem like the most stupid person in all the world! Surely no one could understand it less than I?"
Liam coughed, getting the girl's attention finally. He found he quite enjoyed her staring at him patiently. "Highness, I still do not even know how to read!" he said. "Do not worry yourself about being slow of learning, when I can barely understand English on the page!"
He tried to sound soothing, but she clearly heard something else. "Slow of Learning, INDEED!" She glared at Lady Tatania. "You expect me to learn languages with this glaikit?" She demanded.
Lady Tatania merely smiled, whispering. "Aye, I do. And mind your language!"
Margaret sat down next to Liam upon the cot, and laid the blanket over her legs, tucking them beneath her so Liam could not warm himself.
Lady Tatania sighed at the petty Princess. "Now open the Bible and let Liam see." Margaret reached under the bed, and took out a heavy tome. It was not the jewel encrusted book upon which Liam had sworn his oath, but another, age worn and well used.
Eager to learn, despite the constant elbow which hit him in the side every time he leaned too close, Liam began.
As the pages turned, he slowly deciphered the Latin, and at an even slower pace, the language of women and men.
*************************************
A few hours later, the cart stopped. Liam’s intelligence increase had clearly helped his capacity to absorb information, and now he could read most of the English and some of the Latin.
Princess Margaret, however, now glared at Liam with a frustration; the likes of which he had not seen since Duncan dropped the Tanner's daughter into the brook. "I thought you said you were an idiot?" she said, slamming the tome closed in annoyance.
Liam was too proud of his achievements to let the Princess' ire dampen his mood. He had gained the skill ‘languages’ and had improved it rapidly to level four. His reading had also improved to level seven!
Liam knew it would not take long for him to understand all the visions.
He’d also gained a level in writing, scrawling a bumpy version of his name out with charcoal on a piece of cloth he stretched out on the floor.
Lady Tatania had smiled with pride as he showed her the jagged scrawl.
The Princess however had been quite rude. Pointing out all the jagged spots, the lack of a dot above the 'i' and how the 'm' seemed to have one too many arches. He ignored her, instead displaying his vision marking that his writing skill had increased by one.
The Princess became even more sour then, and had ignored him except for angry frowns.
The other thing that lifted Liam's spirits was that he was no longer being beaten for trying to learn! Perhaps it was because of that too, things were progressing much faster.
Liam found joy in the idea of Father Doreen discovering that his brutal teaching methods were far less effective than the patient and kind ways of Lady Douglas. He would likely have a fit!
And good riddance if it killed him. Liam thought unkindly.
The wagon jostled as Lord James clambered in, taking a seat next to his wife. His large form making the space a bit cramped.
“Ah, you’ve awakened, laddie!” he said. “My wife tells me I must apolo…” He grunted as her elbow rammed into his ribs.
“I understand I must apologise to you for my insistence earlier! It does not become a Lord to order page boys to extreme tasks.”
“Thank you, Lord. I am well.” Liam said, feeling somewhat stuck between the intentions of the Star of Douglas to make her husband feel contrite, and the obviously awkward situation of a Lord apologising to the Page-boy.
“I am grateful to you, however,” Lord James continued, ignoring the awkwardness. "Learning how strength alone can cause problems allowed us to spread the word! I sent the pages down to the town and helped the craft workers and others who gained levels in how to assign statistics safely. Most spread them out over multiple attributes."
“But that doesn't mean I'm not sorry to you for my thoughtless commands," he said, eyeing his wife carefully. "I found one of my son’s old chain-mail hauberks for you to wear. I had the Seneschal gather it from storage with an old gambeson and coif, though it’s likely still too large for ye. It is in the saddlebag of your horse.” He said, gesturing outside.
“You may be in for a surprise when you see some of the men now! Squire Iain and the kings messenger both assigned theirs to one attribute, the differences are significant!”
Lady Tatania agreed. “The Messenger, Squire Glengarry, put all his points into strength. He seemed confident that his already high Vitality and Agility would not harm him."
"He looks strong enough now to carry the horse he rides upon! He still has to test his strength, however. It would not do for him to fatigue himself if we are attacked." The Lord agreed.
"We have both assigned our attributes as well.” Lord James said. “I put mine into vitality and wisdom, while my Lady wife put hers into Intelligence, wisdom and will."
Liam looked at his Lord closely. He could see the smile lines and crow’s feet that delineated his Lord’s face had faded somewhat.
“Did you get younger, Lord?” He asked, surprised at the changes. The eyes and general structure were still much the same, but the lines around his smiling mouth and corners of the eyes were much faded. It also looked as though his nose and earlobes had shrunk by a small amount too.
Liam's increased intelligence meant he failed to notice but a few of the changes..
“He is, and it is not only his appearance that has become younger." She said, grinning at the Lord. "And he isn’t letting me forget it either. He did not agree with how I assigned my own attributes.” she said.
“Don’t worry my love,” Lord James reassured his wife. “After all, there are plenty more opportunities for experience in this new world. And if not, then I shall be young enough for us both!”
She swatted at him, laughing now too. The Princess looked puzzled, as did Liam. Neither were expecting all to be well now between the Lord and Lady, but the Lady was now going to great lengths to make the Lord feel at ease.
“Regardless, we now need to increase our levels further, and do so without risking our lives over-much.” The Lord eyed his wife, worried. She merely sighed.
There was clearly a discussion at play between the couple that Liam would be wise to stay out of. “Begging the Lord and Lady’s pardon,” Liam said, thinking quickly of a way to escape, “I should go see to my equipment and duties.”
The Princess also begged her leave.
Lord Douglas turned with a grateful smile to Liam. “I’m sure you will want to attend to your duties, my young Page. Be sure to escort the Lady to her tent and see she is guarded.” Lord James said, dismissing him from the wagon. "And see that we are not disturbed!" He ordered.
Liam bowed low in the carriage at the dismissal and escaped to the pursuing chuckles of a lord and lady, who - once Liam and the Princess were long gone, resolved their differences with a more natural and gentle conversation.
*********************************
Leaving the covered wagon, Liam saw the beginnings of a camp being built beside the roadway North. The sun was low in the Western sky, and the frozen environment immediately chilled him.
He approached a guard who was standing post near the wagon. Liam spoke up to be heard over the wind.
"His Lordship orders he should not be disturbed!" Liam said. "Do you know where the Squire and the Pages are encamped?"
The guard nodded his understanding of the order and pointed out across the frozen landscape. "Over there!" He yelled.
Where he pointed was at the end of the long picket line of horses. Liam recognized his fellow squires gathered around a fire, rubbing warmth into their hands.
Turning to the princess, Liam was awestruck by her beauty. The lowering light of the pre-dusk, the Princess appeared as a miracle to Liam's inexperienced eyes. Her amazing shocks of brown hair shone a radiant gold in the sun, while her eyes sparkled with a bright light blue the colour of a clear spring sky.
As he stared, a vision appeared in front of him, and with care he read it.
Margaret de Brus
Level 1
"I was identifying you, your highness." Liam said proudly, as though he'd meant to do so. "The system lets me know things about you, like your full name and level."
He expected her to be surprised, but she only scoffed. "Anyone can do that. If it works for your Attributes screen why wouldn't it work for other things too?"
She folded her arms across her chest. A clear sign of impatience. "Now, are you going to stop staring and take me to the tent, fool?" the Princess asked, embarrassed by the unflinching attention of the open-mouthed page.
"Yes, Milady!" Liam said, and, snapping out of the hypnosis, gestured her to precede him. He assumed her tent was near the other Nobles.
"Liam!" Andrew greeted him. The other Pages turning. Squire Iain Campbell emerged from the tent as they approached. They all bowed low to the princess.
"Highness," Iain said. "I assume you wish to inspect your tent?" He asked, turning the canvas room he'd just vacated.
"That would be well. Thank you, Squire" The princess said. Liam noticed she was smiling an awful lot at the Squire. Liam did a double take. The squire looked like he'd walked off a sculptor's podium.
"Ah, so I see that you're up and about again!" The squire said.
Noticing the quizzical look Liam gave him, he grinned. "All my points in Vitality!" he said. "The side effects are that your body changes to best fit your strength and agility. And so now, I look like this" He laughed. "I thought that being able to take hits would be wise, given we don't know what is out there. I did not know it would have this effect!" He gestured at his far more toned physique.
As Liam sat at a fire with the other Pages, he looked about the landscape. The frozen landscape was still and quiet, making Liam think that most birds had either died or gone south, seeking warmer climes. A few trees were scattered about, many having already shed their leaves in response to the changed weather. Evergreens alone seemed to thrive.
Liam was enraptured by the view. He could see all the way to the distant horizon, where the sun was beginning to set behind the hills of the Scottish Lowlands.
His nose beet red, and dripping, Andrew grinned at Liam. “Look who woke up to join us!"
He cuffed at his nose, breathing into the cloak he’d bundled around his arm to warm his face.
Liam was still warm from the wagon, but stretched out his hands over the fire, anyway.
“Hello lads,” he said, nodding a greeting. "Where did you all find her?" He asked, pointing a thumb over his shoulder toward the Princess' tent.
"Oh, she was riding north to see her father, King Robert. We thought them an ambush at first, her with an escort of ten men! Fortunately, one of her party recognized the kings essenger. Squire Glengarry commands them now." Aidan explained. "So, what's she like?"
Liam frowned. "Well, she's obviously very beautiful, but she was also quite mean to tell the truth." He said. "She kept calling me 'idiot'."
The boys laughed. "Well, she isn't wrong." Llywelyn said. "After all, how many men can say they fainted while trying to lift a table!" He said.
Liam grinned at that. "Aye, well the Lady made the Lord apologise for it, and give me a suit of mail and all!" he said. "So there."
Aidan nodded. “Jokes aside, we worried about you.” He said. “When you collapsed, we thought you’d died! You were straining so hard at that table!”
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The other boys nodded, and things around the fire descended into an awkward silence for a moment.
Llywelyn grinned. “You looked about to crap yourself.” The other boys laughed, as did Liam. “Well, I’m sorry I had you worried. I didn’t realize how quickly stamina can drain.”
A more companionable silence descended as the boys broke out some food to cook over the fire. Taking a swig from a wine-skin, Liam looked around the campsite. About forty Men at Arms now accompanied the Lord of Douglas and his retinue. Twenty-seven were the Lord's men, while thirteen were the kings.
At least safety is not an immediate issue. Liam thought. Turning back to his fellows, it surprised him to notice they all wore chain hauberks and weapons beneath their cloaks. Aidan and Llywelyn only carried dirks, while Andrew, being taller, carried a hunting sword.
It was just short enough to clear the ground as he walked, but a capable weapon if things came to a fight.
“We have your gear, and your horse." Andrew said. "Squire Iain made sure you had the items to travel, so you shouldn’t be wanting for much.”
Liam, excited by the prospect of his own armour couldn't wait to see it. After some convincing, the boys reluctantly stood up from the fires warmth.
Leaving the meat to cook awhile, the Pages proceeded to the centre of the camp, bundling their cloaks about themselves to ward off the cold. As they drew close to where the horses were tied, Liam saw someone had brought the mare he usually rode. He greeted her with a pat, while thanking his friends for the kindness they'd shown.
Saddle, bags and bridle hung upon two stakes thrust into the ground. Andrew pulled out a coat of chain mail from one bag, shaking it out and presenting it to Liam.
Liam looked over the chain closely. The links were joined in a six-through-one pattern, all riveted. It was incredibly fine work. Truly a great gift from his Lord.
The only thing which required work were the small specks of rust upon the lower skirts of the chain garment.
Despite its condition, Aidan assured him that the rust would come out with the application of oil and dry sand. The young noble had already inspected the armor for Liam, finding the wear of long storage had done little harm.
Aiden had produced his Gambeson, while Llywelyn held a scabbarded arming sword. Given the length of the blade compared to Liam’s size, it was functional as a bastard-sword. The prince also held a kite shield that rose from the ground to above waist height on Liam.
The boys helped Liam put his armor on. He’d never worn so much as a gambeson before, but now was being armed in a gambeson, mail and both a padded and mail coif. He turned around and was disappointed to hear gales of mirth from his fellows.
The armor was far too loose to be serviceable without significant tying at elbow and knee.
The chuckling started when they saw It hung off his arms and over his hands, while the skirts of the mail dangled nearly to his ankles. The gambeson was a little better, but the coif flopped about on his head. This was when Aidan lost his calm, having to excusing himself as he howled with laughter. Fortunately, the padded coif beneath was large enough to be folded back on itself, and thus filled out the mail.
Liam knew he must look ridiculous. But the laughter of his fellows still stung. This was his first armor, and none of it would make him look at all impressive.
The look of misery on Liam’s face caused the other boys to take pity on him, and they began tying the armor onto his limbs. They used several silken cords taken from Liam’s tunic.
Soon he was far more comfortable in the gear, and although he could not move as fluidly as the other boys in his mail, at least he would not embarrass himself with pieces of his armor flailing about as he rode.
As Llywelyn strapped on Liam’s sword and ensured the sling for the shield was firmly in place over his shoulder, Liam turned a full revolution to allow his fellows to inspect him properly.
Aidan was the first to comment. “He still presents like a smelly peasant, but with a bit of work, we may make a Page from him.” Liam bit his thumb at Aidan, causing the other page to laugh when Liam instead bit mail and winced.
“It’s good to have you back.” Andrew said. “Travel is wearisome, and it’s been a long, bitter-cold ride. We have half the free time we did at the keep, and we spent all of that riding! We only left the keep at noon today the preparations took so long!”
Llywelyn nodded. “I’m wishing that we stayed with the Seneschal. After all, how bad can the privy really smell?”
Ensuring the horses were warm and watered, the boys returned to their fire. Fortunately, the meat was just about done.
As they ate, they talked about the journey to come, and told tales of chivalrous knights they'd heard of over their brief span of years. Llywelyn even told them of King Arthur and his knights. A petty Welsh king according to Aidan, and one who had only gained the title by pulling a sword out of a pile of rocks.
It intrigued Liam.
As night deepened, torches were lit, and men settled into blankets they had warmed at the fires. For them, it would be a restless night.
Everyone slept in armor, while Lord Douglas had posted pairs of sentries to either side of the Lady’s wagon, and around the Princess' tent. A glow from within showed that a brazier had been lit for her comfort. The girl confused Liam. She seemed so distant and ill-tempered, but also incredibly beautiful. The Lady seemed to like her, and she had always been kind to Liam, so he supposed the Princess was merely unaccustomed to being around boys her own age.
Trying to think of anything besides the Princess' piercing eyes and delicate features, Liam spent the hours before sleep going over his attributes. He spent some time focusing on each one and understanding what they did and how they would affect him.
Before he settled into sleep, he increased his vitality to thirteen and his wisdom to eight, using the last of his twenty-one Available Attributes. The Lord Douglas had also put his points into these attributes, and Liam wondered how they would affect him. Would I appear younger?
No, that shouldn't happen. Iain didn't look any younger. Perhaps it only does that for older people. He thought.
He decided to put points into wisdom first. After all, improving his ability to learn was always a good thing.
Assigning the points, he confirmed that adding points to Vitality was necessary. Not only would it mean his new strength would not drain his energy as quickly, but it would also ensure he became less vulnerable to attack.
He assigned all of his remaining Available attributes into Vitality at once.
His muscles and bones stretched and contracted rapidly in a series of cramps, making Liam want to scream in pain.
Unfortunately for Liam, the growth in Vitality had seized his muscles, and he could neither inhale nor expel breath to scream. His intelligence attribute then helped him understand that assigning all the points at once was a terrible idea.
As his body settled, he looked over his attributes once more. Somehow he was feeling better than he ever had in his life. The pain disappeared, and his body no longer felt the cold so much.
The changes now made his lowest attributes wisdom and will. Something he felt he would have to rectify to avoid making obvious errors like he just had.
Titles: *****, Page. Name: Liam Lamberton Level: 7 Class: None Age: 13 Tribulation Experience: 127/596 Health: 100 Magic: 80 Stamina: 100 Attributes Strength: 13 Agility: 10 Vitality: 13 Intelligence: 14 Wisdom: 8 Charisma: 12 Luck: 22 Faith: 13 Will: 8 Skills: Sword: 3 Swimming: 1 Manners: 12 Tactics: 4 Animal Husbandry: 11 Light Armor: 4 Riding: 7 Carpentry: 19 Chivalry: 4 Reading: 7 Stealth: 4 Forestry: 19 Writing: 1 Housekeeping: 10 Mathematics: 1 Maintenance: 16 Athletics: 16 Hunting: 4 Spears: 1 Shields: 4 Archery: 1 Languages: 4 Sewing: 12 Abilities: Identify: Level 1 Tribulation Credits: 250
He spotted something he'd been curious about since he'd first understood his statistics screen. He focussed on the series of stars within his title panel.
He found he could read the message easily, but received a twinge of disappointment.
Titles granted by God are not visible to mortals until they achieve the age of 20 or the level of 10. Attributes and skills granted by these titles are also not in effect until this time.
Well, it's only three more levels until I find out. He thought, his eyes drooping. He dismissed the message and nuzzled into his cape, resting his head on the soft wool. To the snores of his fellow pages, Liam drifted into a dreamless sleep.
************************
The next morning Liam rolled off his sleeping mat and stretched, feeling amazing, but somehow cramped, as if he was being squeezed by something. As he stood, his head hit the ceiling and nearly pushed the cloth off the nearer tent-pole.
Strange, he thought. Did the tent sag during the night?
He reached down for his sword.
His once loose clothing and armor now seemed somewhat tighter than before.
The sleeves of his mail didn’t require tying back. They hung down to his wrist naturally.
The skirts of his mail hauberk now dropped to just above his knee, and he’d filled out the coif so it fit snugly with the padding for comfort, no longer doubled over. He looked down more carefully and realized what had happened.
He’d grown! And not just a little, but almost an entire foot of height. Now he thought he may be as tall as Iain or Lord Douglas!
He gave a smirk, realizing that the other Pages would likely not even recognize him in his rapidly grown form.
Buckling his sword belt around his waist, he found that the scabbard no longer touched the ground when he moved the sword to a position parallel with his leg. His shield too now felt comfortable across his back, no longer too large. He glanced at the other pages as they groggily stirred.
Deciding to surprise his peers with his attribute fueled transformation, Liam stepped out of the tent’s opening, drawing the flap aside.
As he did so, he saw the campfire embers were being stoked by the kings messenger and one of Lord Douglas’s Men at Arms. The two must have held sentry duty in the pre-dawn light. Liam wandered over, warming his hands over the rising smoke as the embers caught fresh wood aflame. The kings Messenger stood, confused by who approached, but as the fire drew closer, he recognized Liam.
“By God!” he said, “What attribute caused that change?” He asked, deducing correctly the cause for Liam’s transformed size.
” Vitality.” Liam said. "I increased it from six to thirteen."
“Gods! Didn’t that hurt like hell?” The squire asked. Liam almost hadn’t recognized him either.
Muscles bunched and flexed as he spoke. Making the young mans face appear gaunt. His arms were considerably thicker, and the mail he wore bore a Douglas crest. Liam realised that the man no longer fit the mail he’d arrived in.
"I didn’t thank you properly for your swift action the day afore last,” the Messenger said, bowing slightly. “I owe you my life.”
Liam smiled at him “It was a pleasure to be of service, Squire. I am Page Lamberton in service to Lord Douglas.” He bowed, as was appropriate.
The Messenger introduced himself. “I am Squire Glengarry, in service to Chief MacDonald. So, this is what vitality does?” he mused. “You look much stronger, too. Did you put points in strength?” He asked.
Liam smiled. “I could ask the same of you, Squire. You’d be twice as massive as when we first met.”
Squire Glengarry looked himself over. “Aye, well, I put fifteen points into strength. I suppose I ought to have something to show for it! How many points did you assign?” He asked.
” Twenty-one.” Liam said. “I put five into strength before we left the keep, then eight into vitality, five into intelligence and three into wisdom.
The Messenger's face went slack as he heard how many attributes Liam had available. “Just how many levels did you get for that beastie?”
“I am at Level Seven. Lord Douglas created me a Page within this last week for assisting him and his Lady in an ambush.” Liam explained. "I received five levels for killing an Archer in that ambush. Then another two levels for killing the Harpy and using its core,” He said, summing up all of his experience gains in this changed world so far.
Squire Glengarry’s eyebrows rose slightly. “For the man I see before me, that seems like an effortless task. For the boy I saw... Less so.” He bowed to Liam. “I admire your courage, and the strength of your intent.”
”You also, Squire.” Liam returned the bow. “I can only imagine that it would take great courage to travel towards the borders with only two men as escort amid the Apocalypse.” This caused the squire to smile at Liam, grateful for the acknowledgement of his efforts by a peer.
The other pages had left the tent by now and were muttering to each other quietly. Squire Campbell approached the boys. “Is Liam up?” He asked. Liam strained his ears, just making out the words over the crackle of the fire.
Andrew shook his head. “Aye, but we cannot see him about camp! Do you know if the Lord had a duty for him, Iain?" He asked.
“The Lord sent me ensure his armor fits properly.” He said. “Are you telling me Liam is missing?” He asked.
The princess chose that moment to emerge. "Is something the matter?" She asked, looking about, her eyes darting over and over back to Iain's face.
"No Highness, we were looking for Liam." He said. Noticing the looks. "Is there anything you need, Highness?"
"Oh, nothing in particular." She said, flicking her hair away from her face so it cascaded around her. "I was just hoping to find out if any meal would be prepared this morning. I would also like some company for the meal?" She requested.
Andrew and Aidan both stepped forward at the same time. "Oh, Highness, we thought you'd like to join us!" Andrew said. "Yes!" Aidan said, guiding her unwillingly to a camp chair the boys were saving for Iain. She began to protest but went silent when Iain sat near her and pulled out some dried meats. He passed the tough meat around, and the Lady nibbled at hers, casting furtive glances at Iain.
Llywelyn looked nervously about. "I'm worried about Liam. I'm going to check to see if the guards have seen him."
Liam approached then. He had no desire to let his light prank turn into a camp wide alert. As he approached, he noticed that he now stood head and shoulders over Andrew, who himself was the tallest page. Andrew, however, was much more broad. Liam hadn’t spotted the changes to his friend last night, the darkness and the cloak hiding the transformed youth.
Iain burst into laughter as he spotted Liam, walking over to pat him on the shoulder. "Well, if we don't have a regular bean-stalk here!" He said. "You must have grown a good foot overnight, Liam!"
Liam was now the same height as the seventeen-year-old Squire. The other pages had gathered around him, and stared up at their now much taller fellow. "Well, at least the armor fits now!" Aidan said, inspecting his friend. Liam grinned back. "It does! Although It was fortunate I removed the belt last night. I didn't only grow upwards!"
Andrew could see that. While Liam's muscular growth from the strength statistic had been considerable, it had not been enough to change his appearance. Now however, Liam's muscles were significantly longer. "Do you feel stronger?" He asked.
"Not a jot!" Liam said, "But I felt like I could run for days!"
"So you put the points in Vitality too?" Iain asked.
"I did!" Liam replied. "I couldn't risk passing out if I had to do something strenuous again. It gave me a good amount of size too!"
Liam looked more closely at the other pages. So far, only Llywelyn and Andrew had gained levels, and he thought he could see where Andrew had put his. Llywelyn looked completely unchanged.
” Llywelyn, what did you put your attributes towards?” He asked. “I can see Andrew put his in strength, and probably Agility too, but I can’t tell what you assigned your towards!"
Llywelyn looked at his feed. “I didn’t assign any attributes.” He said. “I wanted to wait and see if there was a more effective way of placing them to become a better knight.”
Iain nodded in approval. “Not a bad idea.” He said. “I put mine into Vitality and intelligence.” He said. “Now both are Twenty-One.” he said.
“Have you noticed any differences?” Liam asked.
“Oh, yes!” Iain said. “No more aches and pains, cramps from the cold or issues getting up.” He said. “That and the ability to think clearly! It’s wonderful!” he said.
Aidan was still staring up at Liam. "Imagine if you'd put all your attributes in Vitality!" He said. "You'd be at least eight foot tall!"
“Right!” Andrew exclaimed excitedly, clearly thinking the same thing. “Imagine what could happen if you put it all into charisma! No woman could escape your charms, even the Pri...." His voice trailed off as a small cough came from behind them.
A small feminine voice came from behind the other boys. "May I see?" the Princess asked.
The boys parted to reveal Liam, and Princess Margaret's eyes widened in astonishment. Gone was the lanky boy of yesterday. Now a man stood before her. Clad in mail with a sword at his hip and shield on his back.
She sniffed indifferently. "It certainly makes a noticeable change. I was meaning to ask, how did you all level?" She directed the question to Iain.
As Iain took the time to explain what they'd discovered so far of the system, Liam walked with the other pages towards the line of horses.
"I just had a thought!" He said. "Whoever gets the next experience can test it out! If we assign all of our attributes each into two or three areas, we should be able to see the differences soon enough!"
“I don’t know about putting all the Availables in one attribute, but three seems wise!” Aidan said. “Also, I think it may be smarter for us to test them over a few days! We've already seen that without balancing our attributes across multiple areas we become a danger to ourselves."
Liam remembered the pain he'd felt when assigning his Intelligence and Vitality over the last few days. "That's a good point. And when we do, we do it slowly. No putting all our available attributes in at the same time." He winced and saw the Andrew look similarly pained at the memories.
"Either way," Andrew said. "First, we need to make sure Aidan gets some levels so he can catch up!"
"What do you mean, 'catch-up'?" he demanded hotly. "If it weren't for you two greedy buggers I'd already be level four!"
The bickering continued as they broke camp, and Liam smiled. While his friends were far from perfect, there was no one else he’d rather have by his side.
Well, except maybe for Duncan, Lady, or Colm.
He thought of his friends back in Douglas, hoping they were safe.
His thoughts remained with them as the Lord's party continued the long ride North.