It was dark, and Tal was sleeping softly besides her when Ai opened her status window.

Status Window : Level 1, 43%

Name Aitast (Lost One) Age 17 Race Beast-Bred Class N/A Strength 13 Speed 22 Agility 24 Intelligence 15 Reslove 25 Charisma 5 Constitution 16 Perception 20 Luck 16    

 Skills/Traits

Crafting Lv. 1 74% Stealth Lv. 4 30% Survival Lv.6 29% Tracking Lv. 4 87% Tailoring Lv. 2 41% Pain Resistance Lv. 1 77%

 Active Enchantment: Language of the Spirit Folk, Comprehension 57%

Rewards

It seemed that the expereince had been added automatically. It was a remarkable amount of XP actually, considering how long it had taken her just to reach level one.

The new skill, pain resistence, had the ever so helpful explination ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going.’

Ai stared at it speechless for a few moments before swiping it away. The only point in this system seemed to be to point out her natural progression in a numerical value. She could have told it herself that she was well aware that she was getting much better at surviving on her own. Or that she was very, very good at creeping around.

Interestingly it hadn’t given her a skill in daggers or dual wielding or something. She would’ve thought it would have, given that it wanted to for just about everything else. Her resolve had gained 10 points since she last looked at it, which didn't really surprise her. What was most interesting, however, was the small box at the bottom of the window with one word in it.

Rewards.

She wondered what the spirit mother was going to reward her with for this quest.

Title: Spiker

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Her brows turned slowly down as she read the definition.

You know your plants, and your creatures. You’ve proven that you’re not above using the drugging side effects to suit your own needs. Just be careful what – or whom you’re using them on. Increases experience gain of herbalism/poisoner skills.

The description reminded her of some shady poisoner in a cloak drugging everyone (fatally) then making off with all their riches. It was certainly not the way that she pictured herself.

It did seem, however, the first time she had been told, or given something, that was actually of use. A title that increased her skill gain? That would make it easier to learn how to work with plants (or poisons). She did feel that the spirit mother was trying to say something about her character though. Perhaps that was just the spirit mother though, how would Ai know she wasn’t like that with everyone?

Items: Bone Needles (x10), Essence of light, Rat Tail (x2)

Well. She had to say, she was far less enthused about these gifts. The window vomited them out onto her lap – complete with sound effects. Ones that Ai did not appreciate.

Her ears folded back as she looked at the items on her lap. 10 sharp needles, ones that she had last seen sticking out of her foot. She would have been happy never to see them again. The rat tails were, as stated, rat tails. No blue glow. They were just rat tails. When she picked one up between thumb abd fore finger she could see the spine and flesh where it had been neatly separated from the poor creatures body. What kind of gift were a few needles and a rat tail anyway? Was this some kind of joke? She bet the spirit mother was laughing at her somewhere.

The only really interesting thing on her lap was the essence of light. Light blue in colour it cast a dim glow across the room. It was stoppered in an old flask complete with illustrations in the glass. There was a tiny fairy, and many swirling patterns. It was hard to tell in the dark, especially given how small the artwork was. The whole flask was probably only half the size of her finger. She didn’t have long fingers.

She hoped it was valuable. Once she left perhaps she would come across somewhere she could sell it. She certainly wasn’t going to sell it here. If it was uncommon and Ermine got word of it…she was sure that it would raise a lot of questions. She wasn’t sure where to keep it though. She didn’t particularly want anybody to find out that she had it.

She scanned around the room but the woodwork was sound and the floor solid. She knew for a fact that Brandi took the furs to wash too, so she couldn’t leave it there either. Her eyes fixed on the wardrobe. Slowly and quietly she crept across the room, and over Tals sleeping head. The girl didn’t even stir.

The wardrobe didn’t creak when she opened it (thank fuck). Thankfully, Tal was messy. The mess was contained to the bottom of the wardrobe, instead of the floor, and now it was going to work in Ais favour.

She slid it under the messy heap of clothes to the back corner of the cupboard, then shoved the needles on top before covering the whole lot back up. She held her breath when Tal shifted. She didn’t know why, it wasn’t like Tal didn’t know what she had been doing. She may or may not have tossed the rat tails as far as she could out the window.

Shaking her head at the increasingly complex situation with Tal Ai gently shut the cupboard and crept back to her furs. They were warm, comfy, soft and free of the worries that Tal and the other people in the village caused. They were safe.

If Tal still wasn’t talking to her then that was her loss. One respectful nod didn’t count. The mad woman and her granddaughter could go and mess with some other poor persons head. Preferably one who hadn’t clearly been screwed over already.

She was going to be woken at the crack of dawn the day after tomorrow. Brandi had obviously decided that her tailoring skills were up to par despite the fact that the mother spirit was telling her that she was only level two. Ai wasn’t sure the woman didn’t just want the suspicion her daughter had screwed up again living under her roof. In the form of somebody who helped them all by cleaning it up.

Ai didn’t remember any childhood, but she couldn’t imagine breaking such a serious law. Especially one with such serious repercussions. Having your memories stripped from you? Your free will? It sounded like a living nightmare. One that Ai had some experience with.

So she would be leaving her wifely work early to go out with Kele. She barely knew the man, and apparently he didn’t, in fact, spend all of his time sitting on the wall. He was more of a scout. He would be teaching her to make a shelter from scratch. Craft her own weapons. Basically, he was teaching her how not to die once she left civilisation.

Which she would be doing, it wasn’t like she had really been given a choice.

Her claws absently kneaded the furs as she imagined what secrets the forest held. Without fear this time.

She ignored the odd twinge in her wrist and the urge to scratch at her foot.