May the eyes of the hallowed gods lay lightly upon you.
- The traditional welcome of the city of Al-Lazar.
Raising the visor of my helmet, I drew in a deep lungful of air. The slight notes of rot and metallic copper wafting up made me wince at the stains that adorned my cheap robe. Almost instantly, the countdown to assign my points began and I put all of my attribute points into Constitution, and my new skill point into Drain. The spell was a good choice, I decided, as it both healed me and could also be used offensively. Also, if I was being completely honest with myself, it was pleasant to use, save for the rasping sibilant voices that always accompanied its cast, promising unspeakable things. The spell would have to do as a substitute for a good coffee.
As the adrenaline left my system, I slumped heavily onto the forest floor as Kidu began butchering the Karilla. Patches began to nuzzle my face as I brought myself back to some semblance of mental order. Interesting, I thought between labored breaths, my little twist on throwing knives was recognized by this world as a sort of special combat skill and cost Stamina to use. Perhaps I could learn other skills by experimenting in a similar fashion?
Not caring to look at the bloody work in progress, I took the moment to relieve myself behind a tree, making sure to wash my hands with a little water from my drinking flask. Leaning against the tree, I took a moment just for myself as a fragment of mental respite. Regaining some semblance of forced calm, I checked over my gear, noting that the boss of my shield was dented a little from my encounter, before rejoining my companions.
The donkey looked forlornly at me as Kidu continued with his messy work, while Elwin was searching the clearing for something. I patted Patches’ head affectionately and fed her a carrot from the bag. She displayed her great appreciation by braying loudly.
“Got some!” Elwin shouted, which caused Kidu to pause for a moment from his butchery.
Wending my way over to Elwin, I looked to where the Rogue was enthusiastically pointing. Near where the Karilla had been basking were several clumps of silvery-blue moss.
“Moon Moss, and a lot of it! We’ve got Hell’s own luck, we do!” Elwin shouted, his voice going up by an octave, as he began scraping it off the bark of a fallen tree. I joined him in his labor, and together we stripped off as much of the visible moss as possible. Even though my hands were covered with the thick leather of my gloves, I could feel a tingle every time I gathered up the strange plant. It was a strange sensation, though not particularly unpleasant, and I guessed that this was probably due to the moss being magical in nature. Perhaps the moss was the very reason that the Karilla had chosen this clearing for part of its territory?
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Butchering the creature and gathering up all the moss from the clearing took the better part of an hour-and-a-half. I contributed by patrolling the clearing and encountered a trio of jackal-like creatures who were drawn to the scent of freshly-spilled blood. Their fur was a dull brown, with soft gray spots that broke up their outline. Close to our recent kill, their tongues lolled in anticipation and hunger and they barked a warning at me. Leaving my visor raised, I did not break eye contact and cast Entropic Aura. The invisible dark waves of the spell flowed over and through the beasts. Sensing that something was amiss, the trio quickly whined and yelped. They soon turned tail and fled towards the depths of the forest. Sighing in mild disappointment, I brought the dark energies back inward and ended the spell.
Returning to my companions, I saw that they had reduced the Karilla to bloody chunks of meat, bone, claws, teeth, and hide, all of which were neatly stacked into piles. Despite having eaten earlier in the day, the smell of cooking meat on an open fire caused my stomach to rumble with hunger. Elwin was cooking three large chunks of meat on the open flame, occasionally adding salt and spices.
I sat down next to my companions and waited for the meat to finish cooking, while Kidu finished off his last few chores. In good time, the meat was cooked to perfection and tasted like a mix of beef and chicken. It was grilled beautifully on the outside and seasoned well with hot spices, adding a delightful kick to the meal. My companions all tore into the delicious meat, not caring much for table manners out here in the wilderness.
“Karilla makes for good eating,” Kidu stated bluntly, which drew a laugh from Elwin and me.
“I must say, well-fought everyone! To more victories to come,” I said as I raised my canteen in cheer, washing out the last taste of Karilla from my palette.
The toast was taken as a signal to move, and my companions started to break camp. Leaving behind the offal to rot in the clearing, they loaded up a worried-looking Patches with the spoils of our latest encounter. Kidu once again led the van of our formation, and in my estimation, he was leading us in the direction of the river that we had crossed in our hurried escape from the mines. Sneaking back a look at the clearing, I saw the earlier trio of jackal-like creatures barking with glee and tearing into the offal, bones, and other parts of the Karilla that we had no use for. On a whim, I silently cast Identify on one of the scavengers. I believed that the spell completed a little faster despite my heavy armor.
Spotted Uakari - (Lesser Canid lvl.7)
Health: 73/80
Stamina: 30/35
Mana: 4/4
I viewed the canids as little threat to my party, despite Patches’ braying in anger at the small creatures. Pulling the donkey by the harness, I finally convinced the stubborn creature to continue by feeding her another carrot, which she chomped on angrily, narrowly missing one of my fingers.